The Division of Consciousness by Peter Novak is based on a simple realization. It is really quite amazing when you realize that the secret of the afterlife is staring us right in the face and we don't realize it. That the supposed conflict between reincarnation and the "heaven and hell" model, cyclical re-occurrence and lineal history (i.e. history that ends in Judgement) can be resolved simply, yet it is an answer that is so easily overlooked.

Novak's understanding of the afterlife is based on a simple psychological model of man. If we consider the nature of man, and for a moment take a more psychological than esoteric view, we can clearly see that the psyche is made up of two characteristics, the conscious and unconscious mind. We may even surmise that at some time man existed in a state of full awareness, but that due to some error, conflict or change, this awareness was lost or diminished and a divided consciousness resulted. This divided consciousness is comprised of the conscious mind and a sub or unconscious region where memories, emotions, desires and drives exist. Traditional psychology tells us that while we are motivated by the unconscious we have little awareness of its depth or intensity.

In the Gnostic model we can suggest that the full awareness that once existed was more than its constituent parts and that it was a state of pure will, a state of undivided light and mindfulness. However, after the fall into matter, this state of will was diminished and a division developed between the two characteristics of the personality. As time progressed, this division increased so that there is now an immense gulf between the conscious and unconscious minds.

There are many models we can use to explain the development of this divided consciousness. However, regardless of how it occurred, it is clear that modern man works with a psyche comprised of two separate compartments, the gulf between which is immense. For Novak, this gulf, while important in life, only takes on its greatest significance after death.

Imagine for a moment what would occur if at death these two segments of the psyche continued to exist separately. Consider the resulting division of consciousness. Let us take the unconscious first.

Separated from any critical facility, any outward awareness, it would turn on itself and become absorbed in its memories. Depending on its experience, these memories could be pleasurable or painful. As time progresses, these memories will become its only reality; it literally will create its own heaven or hell. This separate unconscious self will wander astral realms of its own creation, external reality will be molded and conditioned by its perceptions which are clearly embodied in its experiences.

The conscious self, on the other hand, will have no memory. As time progresses, it will lose whatever records it has of its present incarnation, and as it wanders the astral worlds, will be inevitably be drawn back to matter. Since its perception is primarily though a physical vehicle, it will feel compelled to again incarnate. The longer it wanders, the more it loses its perceptions and awareness, and in the end it can do little but take possession of a body and begin to grow and develop once again. As can be readily ascertained, if we apply this divided consciousness to the afterlife experience a truly momentous understanding results. Reincarnation and the heaven/hell model are both true. There is both a "underworld" or spiritual plane and a return to earth. There is soul-sleep in the sense of the self-absorbed unconscious memory and a lack of awareness with the conscious self. So many traditions are reconciled. The conscious self is not aware, on the whole, of the unconscious "shells" and hence has no memory of past lives. As it re-incarnates it brings with it some associational links with these unconscious "selves", but has little or no awareness of them. Accordingly, each life it re-develops a further unconscious, creating another unconscious self.

Hence, as Gurdjieff argued, man is a multitude, not a singularity. There are thousands of selves, self absorbed and waiting to be realized. Each of these selves, while existing in a dimension of its own making, is also, however, potentially linked to facets of the unconscious mind which has evolved in any incarnation. The conscious self has the pattern to re-create the unconscious and has some record of the unconscious "nodes" which exist as part of itself, but these records are automatic and it is not aware of why they exist. It cannot be aware of them since it does not have its own memory; each life it creates an unconscious region which stores the memories, and these it loses, for all intents and purposes, at the conclusion of any incarnation. The images of the soul heading into the light is the moment when the two selves are separated and go in different directions. Once into its own memory-caused virtual reality, the other back towards matter.

This division of the afterlife explains many of the descriptions that arise of wandering ghosts, channeling, spirit guides, and the like. While there is no liberation in the afterlife, there is no real awareness, either. Spirits can communicate from their own "virtual world" giving their view of what is occurring. Each will reflect only its own memories and history. Transcendence cannot be discovered in this world or the next, it comes from the source of light and it alone.

This interpretation of the afterlife is pregnant with meaning. Novak offers us a journey through the world of the Bible, myths and legend, re-interpreting them in the light of this new discovery. The traditions of the underworld, heaven, hell and reincarnation all come alive and mean so much more. Swedenborg's descriptions of heaven and hell as realities we create from within ourselves becomes surprising poignant, as does the gloomy afterlife of the Sumerians and Israelites. Without union and awareness, the unconscious selves wander in self-absorbed darkness. The otherworld is not some place of divine joy and abandonment, nor of diabolic torture and pain - it is a dimension which is solely created from the memories of its creator and hence the origins of all experiences within it are from the soul at its source.

The Egyptian initiatory system which demanded a reconstitution of the self so that it could escape the coils of the planets and return to the Treasury of light takes on a new relevance. The experience of simulated death and rebirth involves the process of re-uniting the divided mind and achieving cosmic union and is hence central to all the mystery traditions.

In the life and death of Jesus we can see this illustrated. His descent into the underworld and freeing of the dead can be understood as the liberating of the unconscious selves. His resurrection and ascension could also be interpreted as the state of full integration and awareness with the resulting transformation from fallen to light substance. Again Novak offers us a particularly comprehensive re-interpretation of the Life of Jesus, showing both its significance as a core event within the division of consciousness and its value as a type for man's re-awakening of the Self.

The Final Judgement and the End of the world also take on new significance. There is a great urgency within this vision of the divided mind. Since the origins of this dual consciousness are in the fall, man is on a downward trek and there must be a climactic conclusion to the process.

As man heads into the Kali Yuga, the barrier between the astral world and the phyasical dimension fade away and man is forced to deal with the thousands of "selves" which make up the monstrosity which is his unconscious. As these selves begin to dawn all sorts of mental disturbances occur. Mankind begins to go mad, both individually and collectively. This is the re-awakening of the dead, not as flesh and bones but within our own psyches.

The process of spiritual development is hence to awaken a superhuman sense of will, the true Self that existed beyond that conscious and unconscious, and through this heightened awareness, process the thousands of selves and achieve a true inner union, a complete state of awareness. As the dark age comes to a climax, there is little choice in regards to this process; mankind must either achieve rectification of his consciousness or have it destroyed in a dark night of madness, memory and suffering.

The return of Christ is, in one sense, the awakening of the superhuman Self within, while the banishing of the hordes is the purification and processing of the unconscious selves. While certainly these images have other more prophetic meanings, their application to the divided mind cannot be ignored.

Novak's explanation of the Prophetic scriptures is quite profound and comprehensive. His re-evaluation of the symbols of revelation does not take away their historic and prophetic meaning, but adds a psychological depth which resonates beyond the superficial interpretations of Biblical scholars.

This a work of great significance. It takes the essential truth about man's psyche and propels it into the afterlife, offering us a true vision of man's condition. What we see is not always comfortable - the safety of the Christian future or the security of the spirit-guide are torn from under us, but in its place we have a challenge and an opportunity. A Chance to grow and rectify the division at the center of our consciousness, culture and way of being.

The Division of Consciousness
Peter Novak
Hampton Roads Publishing Company
Web: www.hrpub.com

Review by
Bob Jackson
"The Independent Review"
PO Box 492
Armidale NSW 2350 Australia
Phone: 067 711 724/ Fax: 067 711 522
Email: mediares@ozemail.com.au