A person is a complex union of multi-dimensional fields. One person is multiple levels of energy which exist simultaneously. Of these multi-dimensional layers, we are most conscious of the physical body, which serves as the visible matter manifestation of the whole. However, there are many more.
The whole person consists of physical, etheric, astral, mental, and causal body. Each layer has its purpose, its own energy, and its own way of manifesting its energy. Each of these bodies are considered important to the whole life of the person.
As we know, the physical body is very apparent. I do not know of anyone who cannot sense the physical body or anyone who is aware of any other bodies primarily over the physical. The physical body is how we become aware of certain sensations, as we have our five (I mean, six) senses to detect changes in the immediate environment. We have adapted these senses to give us information about other visible or invisible matter. As you may already know from my previous posts, or from a good physics education, all matter is energy. This means the physical body is energy manifesting and vibrating within the visible spectrum of light (electromagnetic spectrum). (I will spare my quantum physics lecture this time.)
The next layer of body each person has is the etheric. The etheric body can be sensed just outside the physical layer of the body. Though this layer of energy is not vibrating at the rate the physical body does, the etheric body does contain the blueprint for the physical body. The etheric body contains all the information that the person needs to build the physical body. Taking the example of people who experience phantom limbs, people who are missing a physical arm are still able to sense their arm in an energetic way. This is because the etheric body holds the information needed for to build and rebuild the physical structure. Scientific studies suggest this.
Just past the etheric body is the astral body. This is basically one's emotional potential energy. Emotions, as energy, are generated and exercised from the energy that is known as the astral body. This is also the astral body that travels in astral projection. If you recall, as I do, astral travel may involve an emotional experience. That is because it is done from an emotional nature. It would make sense to claim that this is the layer of movement. (Note: root word for emotion references movement.) And, by the way, when movement happens, the concept of space and time are now conceived.
Beyond the astral is the mental body. This is the field of thoughts. If you read (and understood) my article, The Thought Realm, you can easily fathom the mental body. The mental body encases mental energy. This is the part of you that thinks - the mind. At the level of energy, our potential and connection reach out to something broader. The mental body also takes the initiative to create, to entertain, to store external information.
The causal body is the most obscure of all the bodies known so far. It is tough to put it into words. But, as you guessed, it is a level of energy that causes. It is from this field of energy that all thoughts, emotions, blueprints, karma, etc. originate. It is the essence of who you are in nature, it synthesizes what tasks you take on as a growing soul, and is intimately involved with every other level, penetrating and sharing forms on all levels of energetic existence. Whatever the causal body desires, it can be manifested in the mental, astral, etheric and physical bodies. I think of this layer as the inkling of energy that gets the energy moving into reality on other energy levels.
All of these layers of the person exist simultaneously, with the exception of the physical body and the etheric body. Originally, the person is causal, then mental, then astral. First, there is a form of consciousness (realization of self); then there is thought (the realization and presence of "other-ness"); then there is movement and emotions (the realization of joining, uniting). In each layer of energy, the substance becomes more "weighty," if you will. When we incarnate (in other words, take on a physical life of energy revealed as visible matter), we then create through the mental and astral energies, a form known as our etheric body. This etheric body contains more information than we realize. Using all layers of the energetic body (causal, mental, astral, and etheric), we create a visible, physical body. This body enables the person to accomplish tasks, whether it be for learning, for growth, for assisting others, or to manifest something else.
The etheric field of energy actually begins to exist immediately after conception so it can begin to create/manifest/form, together with the mother, the body it is designed to live in. It contains any karmic recipes, causal agreements, mental fortitudes, and the astral energy for a perfect personality mix. Though three of these five energy fields involve a concept of time, it is said that only the etheric and physical bodies are tied to this current life. IF the person incarnates again, they create a different etheric body and physical body matching their needs for soul growth at that time.
If you don't already know, I celebrate my conception date. I have celebrated it for years, as I have always understood this date to be the significant date that I really began. It was super exciting for me to realize that the etheric field comes into existence before the first cell division in the embryo. Before a fetus is even one cell manifested, the etheric field (the blueprint for the physical body) was already active. So, the celebration of my conception date is confirmed as valid!
Just think of the new meaning of being "born again" now.
References:
Floyd, T. R. PhD. (2017). Subtle Energy Therapy Course Handbook. Holistic Arts Institute.
Gerber, R. MD. (2001). Vibrational Medicine: The #1 handbook of subtle-energy therapies. 3rd ed. Bear & Company, Rochester Vermont
Schwartz, G. E. PhD & Simon, W. L. (2007). The Energy Healing Experiments: Science reveals our natural power to heal. Atria Books, New York, NY
