The Three Realms of Existence
A Model that Can Change Your Life

It is a trait of our species that we attempt to resolve paradoxes through either a compromise of perspectives or an annihilation of the opposing perspective. It seems that for one viewpoint to be correct, it is assumed that the opposite must be incorrect. The “Three Realms of Existence” provides an understanding of the paradox of life that is simple and powerful. This schema is capable of transforming our relationship with the structure and nature of our existence.

To understand our existence and our health, we must first recognize that we are far more than our bodies. We inhabit a structure that includes three interconnected realms: the Physical, the Psychoenergetic, and the Transcendental. Each realm is divided into a myriad of sublevels.

Modern society identifies primarily with the Physical Realm. Newton’s laws of physics describe this realm and serve as the foundation for the great technologies of the current era. Logic reigns supreme. In the Physical Realm, matter is viewed as the essential nature of things. This realm includes not only the larger physical structures of our bodies, but also - at increasingly deeper levels - cellular structure, molecules and atoms.

Deeper than that, we find the Psychoenergetic Realm which includes our thoughts, psychology, and emotions at the surface of being (our personality). It is the realm that includes what acupuncturists, bodyworkers, and shamans refer to as “energy.” From this perspective, the foundation of everything is energy, and matter is considered an expression of energy. Astral phenomena are a part of this realm.

Deeper still, we come to what physicists call the Quantum Mechanical Level. We are now beyond the Psychoenergetic Realm, in what is called the Transcendental Realm. On the Quantum Mechanical Level within the Transcendental Realm, we merge with the oneness of all things, while simultaneously maintaining our individuality. Unlike the Psychoenergetic Realm in which the sense of union is based upon an emotional state, union with all is a 24-hour-a-day, living, conscious reality. This realm is the finest feeling level. When the human physiology is adequately refined, this level is experienced. It is the finest aspect of relative existence. This depth of being is experienced as bliss - life in eternal union and harmony. That state is referred to variously, in different religions, as oneness with God, enlightenment, nirvana, etc.

Moving more deeply still, we enter the pure Unified Field within the Transcendental Realm. At this depth, the unified field exists as the field of pure consciousness. Consciousness exists before it is conscious of any diversity or separation. Separation, when viewed from this perspective, is known as illusion. On this level, the only reality is the eternal union of all that is. The only thing that really exists is pure, unbounded, eternal, consciousness. On this level, there is no difference between this and that; there is no “other.” This Unified Field is a place of universality. Ancient masters referred to this level as the level of pure being, pure existence, pure consciousness, pure is-ness, and universal oneness.

As we approach the Unified Field deep within our being, we begin to sense that we are unified with everything; that, in fact, everything dwells within us. This is not a metaphor, but a reality. As we learn to go deeper within, we feel it more fully. It’s like the glow of a candle flame. As we move our hands closer, we feel increasing warmth; but we can’t actually grab onto the flame. This “glow” of the Unified Field as it radiates out through the Psychoenergetic and Physical Realms of our being is what we think of as soul.

These three realms are not concepts; they are actual structures, integrally connected with one another in a smoothly functioning continuum. The Physical Realm would not exist without the underlying Psychoenergetic Realm, just as leaves would not hang in the air without the tree’s trunk and branches. And neither the Physical nor the Psychoenergetic Realm would exist without the Transcendental Realm, as the tree would not exist without roots. Modern physicists think of the Quantum Mechanical Level and the Unified Field (the Transcendental Realm) as the basis of all existence.

In The Three Realms of Existence model, every point represents a different reality. From each point, existence is viewed and understood in a unique way. There are an infinite number of interconnected, though distinctly different, realities. Reality as defined here is not merely a perspective, it is the mode of function inherent to the universe. Each reality functions in a manner that is seamlessly integrated with the mode of function with every other reality. There are an infinite number of simultaneously valid, yet contradictory realities. Paradox is built into the system. In one reality, everything can be explained by pure physics. In another, the universe is all just the dance of yin and yang; in another, it’s all energy.

The three realms work together as a perfect, mathematically precise system. We don’t have to make it all start functioning. The whole system is already established. To understand our lives, our healing, and our very existence, it’s crucial that we come to an understanding of how these levels interconnect and interact. Reality changes as we move along the whole continuum from the surface to the depths, and even on the same level as we move horizontally from one reality to the next. It’s not just the perspective of the self that changes - the physiology functions within the parameters of a different reality. Health is achieved through the harmonious integration of all realities.

© Michael Mamas, 6/05