Living Under Fewer Laws

We're often told in the Work that as we become more conscious, we will be able to live under fewer laws.

In my early days as a Work student I wasn't at all sure what that meant. Mathematics was never my strong point, and I puzzled over the different levels of laws, trying to see what it could mean for my own personal evolution and that of others.

The greatest help to my understanding was Dr Nicoll's "Commentaries", where he explains the concept very clearly and gives examples of each level.

Firstly, we know that different parts of the Ray of Creation are under appropriate numbers of laws. The Moon is said to be governed by 96 orders of laws, the Earth by 48, the Planets by 24, and so on. The Sun itself is under only 12 orders of laws. All these levels are possible for us to contain within ourselves, but the higher levels come only when we work on ourselves. They are not found naturally in mankind.

Beyond the Sun comes the level of the galaxy, the Milky Way, at 6 orders of laws; then the sum of all galaxies, at 3 orders; and finally, the Absolute itself, which we cannot comprehend with our limited intellect, under only One law.

 As we are, without working on ourselves, we may collectively live under the 48 laws that are proper to life on Earth. And most of us, without such work, actually live under 96 laws, because of the compulsions of False Personality.

To live at a higher level, we must be able to come under fewer laws.

 We know that the level of the Sun corresponds to Conscious Humanity; I think of Jesus Christ in this connection, as He is at the level of the Sun for us. And the Work says that we may have the Sun within ourselves, that we can become a Sun to our own individual microcosmic solar system.

 So, according to our degree of evolution, we may be living under 96, 48, 24 or 12 orders of laws.

What does this mean in practical terms?

Think of False Personality. That is the part of us which restricts and confines us, which distorts our Personality and compels us to behave in ways that are incompatible with our highest understanding. If I am living under the laws of False Personality, it means that, for example, when someone treads on my toe I don't simply feel the pain and then let it go. I nurse it and encourage it; it sparks anger in me and that anger turns into long-standing resentment.

I then feel a great dislike towards the person who stepped on my foot - "Who do they think they are, to step on me! Don't they know how important I am?" - and a sense of outrage that is fed by pride and arrogance.  I may seem to accept their apology, but deep down I see them as my foe, and a wish to similarly harm them may arise in my False Personality without my awareness.

In all of the above I'm governed by 96 orders of laws. I am under a compulsion to retaliate, a law which arises from my negative emotional centre, which should not exist amongst three-brained beings, but which does because I, like everyone else, have been raised by people who themselves were compelled to act in certain ways by their own negative emotional centres.  I am unable to control my own manifestations and must arouse antagonism in everyone around me.

All in all, this is a psychological prison.

If, however, I live at the level of Good Householder, that of a "normal" life on Earth, I will come under half the number of laws. This level corresponds to Personality, and if my Personality is developed, and if I'm living according to my Real Conscience, I know that over-reaction to an accidental injury is quite unnecessary and will damage me and the person who caused me pain.

I accept their apology, and if they are quite unaware of having stepped on me I choose not to draw their attention to it, but simply let it be.

I feel the physical pain, let it go, and remain unaffected by it. I may choose to avoid getting close to a particularly clumsy person, but I won't hold any anger or resentment towards them. I go on my way, and give the matter no further thought. I'm not imprisoned by my False Personality.

Such a level of life will be under only 48 orders of law, and you can see how much more freedom it brings me.

This level - 48 laws - is that at which all of us three-brained beings are meant to live, at the very least. Good Householder should be the "default setting" for all of us, but because, as I have mentioned, we have all been raised by people with False Personalities we find that, without a good emotional education such as that which one of the great religions or the Work can give us, we fall back on our own False Personality at the slightest provocation, and live under far more laws than is necessary.

Disidentifying with False Personality I's gives us a real taste of freedom. We have more room within ourselves, and we give other people more room. These conditions can lead to an increase in consciousness.

If we have worked on ourselves, either by a traditional religious discipline or through the Work itself, we may eventually reach the level of Essence, the level of the planets. Then, our Essence directs our entire life. This is freedom indeed! We live by the values of Essence, which among other things include love of truth, justice, harmony, compassion, beauty, and peace. At this level, we are not imprisoned by the habits of Personality and we have left False Personality far behind.

After many years, perhaps many lifetimes, of work, we may one day reach the level of the Sun, with only 12 laws governing us. This is the level of the man or woman with good will. It is the level of Conscious Humanity.

Ouspensky puts it this way, "A growth of what belongs to a man means a growth of Essence. A growth of what does not really belong to a man means a growth of Personality". As that which does not belong to us gradually falls away, only the real, the Essence, is left. This is a huge increase in freedom.

Someone living at the level of Essence knows what she needs, and what other people need, in each situation, and is motivated by love, compassion, the search for harmony, and the desire for truth. She controls her manifestations so that these values are furthered, and not those of Personality or False Personality. If we are in the presence of such a person, we may know intuitively that they are living at a higher level, and we are aware of a different quality in their Being, a quality which - if we are able to receive it - helps our own transformation to take place.

This is the secret behind the Eastern practice of darshan, seeking out the presence of "saints", "mystics", "gurus", and evolved spiritual beings of all religious persuasions. We feel their difference from us, and we long to become more like them. These people may be quite unknown to others, may never have achieved fame or recognition beyond their own sphere, but we know when we are in the presence of someone higher than us, and we are grateful.

For any transformation to occur in us, for any change in Being which will allow us to come under fewer laws and live in greater freedom, we all need to let ourselves be transformed by higher energies, the energies of the Work.

What would it mean to live at the level of the Sun? Although it's difficult to imagine, for most of us are far below it, we know of the many verified accounts of conscious beings, or saints, that they can perform seeming miracles, may appear in two places at once, may appear to others after their own physical death. Such people are not bound by the 48, or even 24, laws which govern the rest of us. They seem to make nature obey them.

 Jesus manifested this power when he stilled the winds and waves of the Sea of Galilee. In recent times, saints such as Padre Pio have shown similar powers, appearing before other people at a great distance, performing miracles of healing and prophesying the future.

One day, if we work for it, we may reach the same state. It may take many lifetimes. But it is not impossible; it is within our reach some day, and it is the condition of which St. Paul speaks when he says that service to God is perfect freedom.