Why does Spirit forget Itself? Why does God Dream? Why was the Universe created? Why does the Universe exist? Why did God make the world? They are all three of them the same question. There are many more ways to ask this question and the way that we ask it is a product of what level of interpretation/development we operate from or identify with, the degree to which we have de-centered, deepened our self-sense. 'Why did God make the world?'- This form of the question is identified with the mythical level of interpretation where a personal God is elevated to the level of Supreme Father or Mother figure. This is a level which is unable to regard other views of the universe as being sufficiently valid and it is the one which produces what has come to be known as Fundamentalism in its extreme form. God is a unique and entirely separate being from us and faith/belief is the only substance which can bridge that gap. 'Why does the Universe exist?'- This form of the question is associated with the first emergence of reason. This premature reason still possess remnants and residues from the mythic level, but it is the first form of being to ask the question, "Where is the proof, the evidence?" Such evidentiary drives serve an essential function and it is the foundation of all of the progress that has been made for the last several centuries. But, like all levels of interpretation, it can go too far. This going too far is usually performed by elevating one's perspective to an absolute truth and denying value and validity to perspectives which lie outside of its bounds. This is its own version of Fundamentalism- 'my way is the only way to Truth.' It is this level that produces scientific materialism and reductionism. This premature rationality is in a state of conflict with both all levels beneath it, which it views as being childish, at all levels above it, which it views as being without evidentiary reality. 'Why was the Universe created?'- Though the differences between this question and the previous are subtle, it is an important distinction. This form of the question is associated with Mature Reason, or Wholistic Reason. It is here that we see the emergence and full formation of the true marks of Reason: an ability to take the perspective of another (empathy), the ability to engage in the hypothetical and create and engage in a realm of possibilities (imagination), the ability to see and appreciate the value of multiple perspectives and eventually discover the unifying threads between all ways and perspectives (unity-in-diversity). All of these characteristics are things which are usually not associated with reason in common understanding. Reason is usually conceived of as being cold and distant, and while objectivity is certainly a significant part of the capacity of Reason, for development itself in a sense is a progressive increase in capacity for objectivity, Reason is far from cold. In fact, as I mentioned above, it is only with mature Reason that we have the true ability to take the perspective of another. Therefore Reason increases our capacity for compassion and sensitivity substantially. 'Why does God Dream?'- This form of the question is associated with the emergence of the beginnings of the truly transpersonal stages when we begin to 'get in touch with' the Common Ground of All Being and Beings. When we perceive beyond matter, beyond energy, back to the Light from which all things emerge. We begin to apprehend that the common reality which we experience around us is an illusion, a dream, insubstantial and a final product of sorts in a long process of descent from Pure down through increasing degrees of condensation. We do not merely believe this Divine Reality, nor do we merely think of it, it is not merely a matter of us associating ourselves with more elaborate philosophies- we apprehend This Directly and the more we apprehend It, the more we realize that Source which extends well beyond self-ness and is the Ocean Out of Which We All Arise. We come to Know that creation is a forgetting; Spirit Forgetting Itself in matter and rising to increasingly levels of Wakefulness; through body, mind, soul, and Back to Spirit-In-ReMemberence. But again, we still ask the 'Why?'. And it is entirely natural to do so. In fact, while at the lower levels of awareness it is almost a blasphemy to ask the question for one should just have faith, asking the 'Why?' is an essential part of Awakening Grace. Asking the question and answering it, not in thought, but in experience, in living it, is Awakening Itself. But we can use concepts and language as a 'pointing' instrument as long as we understand that they can only approach but never apprehend, that they can never fully satisfy. Why does Spirit forget Itself? We can get a more clear idea of what this question means by realizing that the word 'forget' in the question can be interchanged with the word 'divide' or 'separate'. Why does the One divide Itself? Why does Spirit separate? Since we are not separate from Spirit or God, but are elements of Spirit, sensory extensions of Spirit, as are all existent things at their own level of Being, then we can find clues and hints to the Divine Nature in our own lives. And since, in an evolutionary sense, as beings of Reason, generally speaking, and thereby about halway between matter and God, we should be able to find some excellent hints. But the truth is, Marks of Divine Nature, what I called 'clues and hints', run up and down the entire specturm of existence, and therefore what is common, or 'Unitarily Present' through the spectrum of Nature, whatever that may be, is what best defines what constitutes a Mark of God. The central Mark of God is Consciousness Itself, which have an identical relationship to one another. Even down to those incredibly small particles that were previously discussed, there is an indication of some hint of 'knowing', an awareness of environment and 'self'. Atomic particles do not function by existing strictly in isolation, though maintaining a separate identity is a part of their purpose. They react to one another through physical laws, such as the electromagnetic forces. This 'reacting to one another' is a type of relational activity which does not imply an ability to formulate concepts as we do, obviously. But it does imply a basic prehension. The pinnacle of this relational activity for an atom is the integration with one another which gives rise to the emergent property or pattern of molecules. Again, at this level we have a relational activity which implies a basic level of consciousness, again, emphasizing that by 'consciousness' I am not meaning an ability to formulate thought, simply a 'knowing' of any type, an interactional matrix. But though the molecule also engages in the relational activity of physical law, it also possesses its own emergent relational activities, such as ionic and covalent bonding, which are not present in the atomic level alone. Farther along now...molecules coming together in relational exchange to form cellular beings which also follow physical laws and bonding laws of relational activity, but have their own emergent properties, like protein formation and chemical communication. As we proceed we see this same pattern of relational activity among beings giving rise to new beings and new levels of relational activity: cells of varying types into plants, which relate through complex pollination activity and intricate chemical reactions, into lower animals, and here's where it gets fun. For it is in the lower animals, around the level of the horse, where we first see the emergence of the capacity for image formation, the ability and capacity of mind to form and hold images of 'things' in the world. It is around this level where we start to see feelings and proto-emotions arise and even basic levels of compassion and empathy, such as in the bonobo species. From images through to symbols, like letters, for instance, which do not look like the object but do represent it. On to concepts, which form the basis of Reason, and rules and so forth, on into Spiritual Awareness. The point of all this is the phrase 'relational activity'. As I said, each being has an identity of its own, but it is defined in a complimentary fashion by its relational capacity with others. And that it where we find our clue, the one which bears relevance upon our question, because relationship is not just a ubiquitous quality of the universe, it is the very reason and purpose of its creation. Language exchange is so common and deeply implied that we hardly ever really contemplate what is going on. It is like all of the Great Truths: it is so obvious that we can't see it, like a fish not being able to see the water in which it lives; we miss the self-evident Truths. When I type or speak a sentence to you and you hear it and understand it, what is happening? I will not go into an extended explanation of the details of the process itself because what we are trying to point to is the Mystery of exchange and understanding as a whole. The implication has long been that my mind and your mind, all of our minds, are entirely separate and that one can never really know what is going on in the other (subject-object duality), and yet; we speak, we write, and others understand. Understanding is essentially the coming to know of another's mind, the sharing of it. In communication, we don't just process information in an isolated fashion, we literally bond with other minds. If we think about this, it is most extraordinary. How could this be possible if minds were not separate in the first place, but are instead arisings from the same cloth. In fact, how could knowing about anything ever be possible unless the thing know were already a part of 'us' and we were merely becoming aware of that fact. Herein lies the key, for God, Spirit, exists in the relation between one element of existence and another. For if duality is an illusion, then the beginning of the 'breaking' of that illusion is relationship, or realization of identity with that which is known. Whether it is electromagnetic exchange, chemical exchange, emotional exchange, linguistic exchange, or Exchange of Being; it is all an expression of the One that 'we' already are, that progressive process by which we discover our Original State. All of our lives is in some sense taken up with the task of either preparing for or exercising, or recovering from, relationship. Our primary drive to relationship is the drive to God Itself; whether that drive is expressed in relationship to material things, or to sexual experiences, or in true union with another person, it is a lower form, and expression of our drive to God Itself. So why did God create the Universe? Why did Spirit forget Itself? Relationship. And in order to have relationship, one (and One) must be at first apparently separate from that with which we intend to relate. God was lonely, so here we all are.