Origin of the Energy Body

[DarkCloud]

You may have seen this in the "Ask Robert Bruce" section , if you have, kudos, that will save some time, if not, I'll ask the question again.

Where exactly is the theory/idea behind the "energy" body officially derived from? Is this information just speculation, or fact?

I kind of disbelief that the ideas that have shown up so far regarding it are set in stone, seeing how their are so many different opinions of it.

Please, does anybody have any information regarding the first ideas regarding the energy/subtle body (ies)?

Thanks for any help.

[Scorpyn]

As far as I understand it :

It's not set in stone, because of 2 reasons :

1. As you progress, your ability to feel your energy body increases. What may at first seem like 1 chakra may later feel like it's divided into lots of smaller parts, for example.

2. As you progress, your energy body will change.


As for whether it's speculation or fact, you could say that anything spiritual is speculation until you have proved it to yourself. However, the concept of an energy body is way too common to just be ignored, even if you think you don't feel it.

[CFTraveler]

OK, I've been waiting for someone else to answer this, but no one has so I'll hazard an attempt.
I think (and someone correct me if I'm wrong, please) That the idea of an energy body, that is the body that is purely energetic and is a precursor to the dense (material) body probably comes from ancient Indian manuscrips, prob. the Vedas. In some of these manuscripts (and some people more versed than me in this will probably know) but prob. the Gita, the human body is said to possess energy circuits, and in ancient Hindu artwork, the idea of the aura is depicted. (These are thousands of years old (about 6000, if I'm correct, so the idea is not new)

I believe that the Greeks also had a similar belief, but not about the human energy body, but about the whole of reality itself, they theorized that the whole of existence was 'suspended' in a substance called 'ether' (not the gas we know as ether), which was nonphysical but that served as the background for all that exists. When Einsteins ideas about spacetime became known, the idea of 'ether' was discarded, and the idea of 'empty' space became popular. Now, interestingly, with quantum mechanics and the idea of virtual particles, and the fact that space bends, the idea of 'empty' space is going to have to be discarded. I have heard the term of 'excited' space, and chuckle. They should just call it ether again. (and maybe redefine it).

Later on in history, europeans that went to India brought back these ideas and popularized them (like Blavatski, et. al.). Famous occultists then added their own ideas to the mix- mixing their perceptions of our bodies having an energetic counterpart and using the ether concept to describe what they were made of.

Then comes modern physics which defines what energy is: 'the ability to perform work' and it seems to jibe with the old concept of energy- so we mystically-oriented westeners start using these physical and nonphysical concepts, to illustrate what we mean- which is maybe another way of saying the same thing- but adding the concept of consciousness. (which is another thread.)

a little note: We tend to use the words astral and etheric interchangeably, but some disciplines have very specific meanings to them. (Read AD or some of Aunt Clair's posts, for example.)
The world 'astral' literally means 'of the stars'. Interesting that some of us who AP tend to end up in space looking at stars. :lol:

[CFTraveler]

I wanted to add this snippet and thank Matt from Saltcube for this:
http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Max_Planck


As a man who has devoted his whole life to the most clear headed science, to the study of matter, I can tell you as a result of my research about atoms this much: There is no matter as such. All matter originates and exists only by virtue of a force which brings the particle of an atom to vibration and holds this most minute solar system of the atom together.
It may or not bear on your question, but I find it fascinating.