Paper 42 Overview: Energy—Mind and Matter

The foundation of the universe is material in that energy constitutes the basis of all existence, with pure energy being controlled by the Universal Father. This vast stream of energy proceeding from the Paradise Presences has never lapsed or failed, standing as an everlasting monument demonstrating and proving the existence and presence of the Universal Absolute. The Personal control of manifested power and circulating energy by the Universal Father is modified by the co-ordinate acts and decisions of the Eternal Son, as well as by the united purposes of the Son and the Father executed by the Conjoint Actor, who function through an almost unlimited number of subordinates, each variously expressive of the eternal and divine purpose in the universe of universes.

Paper 42 systematically explores the intricate relationships between energy, matter, and mind, presenting a comprehensive cosmology that integrates physics with metaphysics. It articulates a hierarchy of energy systems from space potency through to monota, describes the classification and behavior of matter in its various states, and explores the transformative processes by which energy becomes matter and vice versa. The paper further examines the fundamental role of mind in the universe, revealing how the cosmic mind from the Conjoint Actor overshadows and operates through all levels of reality, and ultimately demonstrating that the universe is not a mechanistic accident but a purposeful creation in which mind universally dominates matter while responding to the ultimate overcontrol of spirit.

THE foundation of the universe is material in the sense that energy is the basis of all existence, and pure energy is controlled by the Universal Father. Force, energy, is the one thing that stands as an everlasting monument demonstrating and proving the existence and presence of the Universal Absolute. This vast stream of energy proceeding from the Paradise Presences has never lapsed, never failed; there has never been a break in the infinite upholding.

The manipulation of universe energy is ever in accordance with the personal will and the all-wise mandates of the Universal Father. This personal control of manifested power and circulating energy is modified by the co-ordinate acts and decisions of the Eternal Son, as well as by the united purposes of the Son and the Father executed by the Conjoint Actor. These divine beings act personally and as individuals; they also function in the persons and powers of an almost unlimited number of subordinates, each variously expressive of the eternal and divine purpose in the universe of universes. But these functional and provisional modifications or transmutations of divine power in no way lessen the truth of the statement that all force-energy is under the ultimate control of a personal God resident at the center of all things.

The foundation of the universe is material, but the essence of life is spirit, with the Father of spirits also being the ancestor of universes and the eternity-source of the original pattern, the Isle of Paradise. Matter and energy, as diverse manifestations of the same cosmic reality, are inherent in the Universal Father, in whom all things consist. The ultimaton, the first measurable form of energy, has Paradise as its nucleus, and all lines of gravity involved in the energies concerned with physical phenomena are derived from and dependent on Paradise. There exists in matter and present in universal space a form of energy not yet discovered on earth, and when this discovery is finally made, physicists will feel they have solved, almost at least, the mystery of matter, though they will have only approached the Creator by one more step in mastering a phase of divine technique.

Energy proceeds from Paradise, fashioned after the divine order and partaking of the nature of the divine organization. All force is circuited in Paradise, emanating from and returning to the Paradise Presences as a manifestation of the uncaused Cause, the Universal Father, without whom nothing would exist. Force-energy derived from self-existent Deity is imperishable and indestructible, though subject to unlimited transmutation, endless transformation, and eternal metamorphosis. Energy, while eternal, is not infinitely manifest, as there are outer limits to the presently conceived master universe. Energy ever responds to the all-embracing grasp of Infinity, and that which is of Paradise Deity origin must have only a Paradise destination or a Deity destiny, confirming belief in a circular, somewhat limited, but orderly and far-flung universe of universes. All laws, organizations, administration, and the testimony of universe explorers point to the existence of an infinite God but, as yet, a finite universe with circularity of endless existence, well-nigh limitless but, nevertheless, finite in contrast with infinity.

Finding suitable words in the English language to designate and describe the various levels of force and energy—physical, mindal, or spiritual—presents a significant challenge. The narratives cannot always adhere to accepted definitions, as there is a paucity of language that necessitates using terms with multiple meanings. In this paper, "energy" encompasses all phases and forms of phenomenal motion, action, and potential; "force" applies to pregravity stages; and "power" describes postgravity stages of energy. The text proposes adopting a comprehensive classification system for cosmic force, emergent energy, and universe power to facilitate conceptual understanding of these physical energy manifestations.

This classification begins with space potency, the unquestioned free space presence of the Unqualified Absolute, a prereality domain responsive only to the personal grasp of the Universal Father. It progresses to primordial force, representing the first basic change in space potency, possibly a nether Paradise function of the Unqualified Absolute, activated by the tension-presence of living Paradise force organizers. Emergent energies follow in two phases: puissant energy (powerful-directional, mass-movemented energy systems) and gravity energy (the product of energy elaboration by Associate Transcendental Master Force Organizers). These evolve into universe power, space-energy ripened to the point where it can be directed into channels serving the manifold purposes of universe Creators, following through to Havona energy (the pre-existent triune energy of the central universe), transcendental energy (operating on and from the upper level of Paradise), and finally monota—the living, nonspirit energy of Paradise, an eternity counterpart of the living, spirit energy of the Original Son.

Matter in all universes, excepting in the central universe, is identical in its physical properties. The characteristics of matter depend on several factors: the revolutionary rates of its component members, the number and size of revolving members, their distance from the nuclear body or space content, and the presence of certain forces as yet undiscovered on earth. In the varied celestial bodies throughout the universe, there are ten grand divisions of matter, representing the full spectrum of material manifestation from the most elementary to the most complex states of organization.

These divisions progress sequentially through ultimatonic matter (the prime physical units of material existence), subelectronic matter (explosive and repellent stage of solar supergases), electronic matter (the electrical stage including electrons, protons, and various constituent units), subatomic matter (existing extensively in hot suns' interiors), shattered atoms (found in cooling suns and throughout space), ionized matter (atoms stripped of outer electrons by various activities), atomic matter (the chemical stage of elemental organization), molecular matter (as exists on earth under relatively stable conditions), radioactive matter (disorganizing tendency of heavier elements under moderate heat and diminished gravity), and culminating in collapsed matter (the relatively stationary matter in cold or dead suns). This comprehensive classification pertains to matter's organization rather than its appearance to created beings and does not account for pre-emergent energy stages or eternal materializations on Paradise and in the central universe.

Light, heat, electricity, magnetism, chemism, energy, and matter are, in origin, nature, and destiny, one and the same thing, despite their diverse manifestations. We do not fully comprehend the almost endless changes to which physical energy may be subject as it traverses the universes. In one universe it appears as light, in another as light plus heat, and in others as forms of energy unknown on earth; in untold millions of years it may reappear as some form of restless, surging electrical energy or magnetic power; and later still it may again manifest in a subsequent universe as variable matter undergoing a series of metamorphoses, followed by physical disappearance in some great cosmic cataclysm. After countless ages and almost endless wandering through numberless universes, this same energy may re-emerge and many times change its form and potential, eternally sweeping onward, undergoing the transmutations of time but ever swinging true to the circle of eternity, always responsive to its source and proceeding in the path ordained by the Infinite Personality who sent it forth.

The power centers and their associates are deeply involved in the work of transmuting ultimatons into the circuits and revolutions of electrons, controlling and compounding power through their skillful manipulation of the basic units of materialized energy. These unique beings control and direct energy even after it has transmuted to the electrical level, but their range of action becomes enormously curtailed once electronically organized energy swings into atomic systems, falling under the complete grasp of linear gravity. Throughout all space, cold and other influences organize ultimatons into electrons, with heat measuring electronic activity while cold signifies relative energy rest. Gravity presence and action prevent the appearance of theoretical absolute zero, as interstellar space contains gravity-responsive energy currents, power circuits, and ultimatonic activities. Throughout the never-ending metamorphosis of energy and matter, factors such as gravity pressure, the antigravity behavior of ultimatonic energies under certain conditions of temperature, velocity, and revolution, as well as the influence of living force organizers and power directors, all contribute to the complex phenomena of energy and matter transmutation across the cosmos.

In the superuniverse of Orvonton, there exist one hundred octaves of wave energy, of which sixty-four are wholly or partially recognized on earth. The sun's rays constitute four octaves in the superuniverse scale, with visible rays encompassing a single octave, number forty-six in this series. The ultraviolet group follows, while ten octaves higher are the X-rays, and beyond them the gamma rays of radium. Thirty-two octaves above visible sunlight lie the outer-space energy rays, frequently commingled with associated highly energized minute particles of matter. Moving downward from visible light, one encounters the infrared rays, and thirty octaves below these are the radio transmission group, representing the full spectrum of energy wave manifestations in our sector of the universe.

From the perspective of twentieth-century earth scientific understanding, wavelike energy manifestations can be classified into ten groups, forming a comprehensive spectrum: (1) infraultimatonic rays, the borderland revolutions of ultimatons beginning to assume definite form; (2) ultimatonic rays, the assembly of ultimatons into minute spheres creating discernible vibrations; (3) short space rays, the shortest electronic vibrations representing the preatomic stage; (4) the electronic stage, the basis of materialization in the seven superuniverses; (5) gamma rays, emanations characterizing spontaneous atomic dissociation; (6) X-rays, resulting from electrons suddenly stopping; (7) ultraviolet or chemical rays; (8) white light, the visible spectrum; (9) infrared rays, signaling slowing electronic activity; and (10) Hertzian waves, used for broadcasting on earth. These wave phenomena occur because the undifferentiated force blanket of all space, as well as intergravity tension of associated matter aggregations, create resistance to the passage of energy particles. The spacing of matter particles combined with energy beam velocity establishes the undulatory appearance of many energy-matter forms, demonstrating that space is not empty but filled with force-energy that reacts to the passage of materialized particles.

The organization of evolved energy into matter entails the concentration of energy into discrete masses with definite dimensions and established weight, subject to precise gravity reaction. Local or linear gravity becomes fully operative only with the appearance of atomic organization, while preatomic matter shows slight gravity responsiveness when activated by X-rays and similar energies. However, free, unattached, and uncharged electronic-energy particles and unassociated ultimatons experience no measurable linear-gravity pull. Ultimatons function through mutual attraction, responding only to the circular Paradise-gravity pull, thus remaining in the universal space drift without linear-gravity influence. They can accelerate revolutionary velocity to partial antigravity behavior but cannot independently attain the critical escape velocity required to return to the puissant-energy stage without assistance from force organizers or power directors.

The ultimaton, unknown on earth, progresses through many phases of physical activity before attaining the prerequisites for electronic organization. Ultimatons exhibit three varieties of motion: mutual resistance to cosmic force, individual antigravity-potential revolutions, and intraelectronic positions among the one hundred mutually interassociated ultimatons that constitute an electron. Exactly one hundred ultimatons (never more, never less) bind together to form a typical electron, with the loss of even one destroying electronic identity and creating a modified form. Ultimatons do not orbit within electrons but spread or cluster according to axial revolutionary velocities, determining differential electronic dimensions and positive or negative qualities. The scale comparison is staggering: an electron weighs slightly more than 1/2,000th of the smallest atom, while a proton may be no larger but weighs almost 2,000 times more. If an electron's mass were magnified to one-tenth of an ounce and its size proportionally enlarged, it would become as voluminous as earth, while a proton magnified to a pinhead would have a comparative diameter equal to earth's solar orbit.

The formation of all matter follows the solar system pattern, with a relatively stable, comparatively stationary, nuclear portion of material existence at the center, endowed with a threefold possibility of manifestation. Surrounding this energy center, energy units whirl in endless profusion but fluctuating circuits, faintly comparable to planets encircling a star. Within atoms, electrons revolve about the central proton with approximately the same comparative spatial relationship as Mercury orbits the sun in our solar system. The electronic axial revolutions and orbital velocities around the atomic nucleus transcend human imagination, as do the velocities of their component ultimatons, with positive particles of radium flying into space at ten thousand miles per second and negative particles approaching light speed.

Local universes manifest a decimal construction, with precisely one hundred distinguishable atomic materializations of space-energy in a dual universe, representing the maximum possible organization of matter in Nebadon. These atomic types constitute a regular series in which from one to one hundred electrons revolve around a central nucleus, creating the orderly and dependable association of energies that constitutes matter. Not every world exhibits all one hundred elements at its surface, as they may be present elsewhere in the planet's composition or in evolutionary process. Heavier atoms tend toward instability, exemplified by radium's behavior on earth. Atomic stability depends on the number of electrically inactive neutrons in the central body, while chemical behavior relies entirely on the activity of freely revolving electrons. The thirty electrons nearest the nucleus exist with diminished individuality, their energy systems intermixing, while electrons in the outermost orbits of the heaviest elements possess greater independence and can more easily escape nuclear control, as demonstrated by uranium's spontaneous disruption.

While gravity contributes to holding together atomic energy systems, there exists among basic physical units a powerful and unknown energy that permeates all space within this tiny organizational structure. This universal influence extends throughout the interelectronic space of atoms and does not fully conform to recognized laws of positive and negative attraction, sometimes behaving unpredictably. This unnamed influence appears to be a space-force reaction of the Unqualified Absolute, providing insight into the fundamental forces that maintain cosmic structure beyond conventional understanding of electromagnetic interaction.

The charged protons and uncharged neutrons within atomic nuclei are held together by the reciprocating function of the mesotron, a particle approximately 180 times heavier than an electron. Without this arrangement, the electric charge carried by protons would disrupt the atomic nucleus, as neither electric nor gravitational forces alone could maintain nuclear integrity. The mesotron performs a remarkable stabilizing function by causing protons and neutrons to constantly exchange places at an infinitesimal rate—approximately one-millionth of a second—switching between charged and uncharged states so rapidly that the electric charge has no opportunity to function disruptively. Acting as an "energy-carrier" particle, the mesotron significantly contributes to nuclear stability, explaining why atoms undergoing radioactive disintegration emit far more energy than would be expected. However, even the mesotron does not fully account for the cohesion between like charges (proton-to-proton or neutron-to-neutron), suggesting the existence of an additional paradoxical and powerful force of atomic cohesive integrity as yet undiscovered on earth, a form of energy that represents one of the significant frontiers of physical science.

Religion is not alone in its tendency toward dogmatism; natural philosophy equally inclines toward definitive assertions that may not be fully substantiated by evidence. When a renowned religious teacher reasoned that the number seven was fundamental to nature based on the seven openings in the human head, he exemplified such dogmatic thinking. Yet there exists throughout the physical universes, despite the universal manifestation of the decimal constitution of energy, a persistent reminder of the sevenfold electronic organization of prematter. The number seven is basic to the central universe and spiritual systems of character transmission, while the decimal system is inherent in energy, matter, and material creation, representing a fundamental duality in universal organization that merits philosophical consideration.

This sevenfold persistence of creative constitution manifests in the chemical domain as a recurrence of similar physical and chemical properties in segregated periods of seven when elements are arranged by atomic weight. This periodic change diminishes through the chemical table but is most markedly observable in the lighter atomic groupings, where any given quality tends to recur by sevens. Such a fact unmistakably points to the sevenfold constitution of ancestral energy and the fundamental reality of the sevenfold diversity of creation. However, not all suppositions of natural philosophy are valid; the hypothetical ether, for instance, represents an ingenious attempt to unify human ignorance of space phenomena rather than an accurate description of reality. Physical stability combined with biological elasticity exists in nature only because of the transcendental wisdom possessed by the Master Architects of creation, as nothing less than such wisdom could design units of matter that are simultaneously stable and efficiently flexible to meet the needs of a dynamic universe.

The endless sweep of relative cosmic reality, from the absoluteness of Paradise monota to the absoluteness of space potency, suggests certain evolutionary relationships in the nonspiritual realities of the First Source and Center. This eternal cycle of energy, circuited in the Father of universes, is absolute and expansile in neither fact nor value; nevertheless, the Primal Father is even now self-realizing of an ever-expanding arena of time-space, and of time-space-transcended meanings, where energy-matter is being progressively subjected to the overcontrol of living and divine spirit through the experiential striving of living and personal mind. This evolution of consciousness represents a fundamental process in the universe, whereby nonspiritual energies become increasingly integrated into living systems of progressively higher order.

The universal nonspiritual energies reassociate in the living systems of non-Creator minds on various levels, forming a hierarchical progression: (1) Preadjutant-spirit minds, the nonexperiencing, nonteachable mechanical intellect ministered by the Master Physical Controllers, functioning on primitive planetary life and many levels beyond; (2) Adjutant-spirit minds, the ministry of a local universe Mother Spirit through seven adjutant mind-spirits on the teachable level of material mind, ranging from subhuman (animal) intellect in the first five adjutants to human (moral) intellect with all seven, and superhuman (midwayer) intellect with the highest two; (3) Evolving morontia minds, the expanding consciousness of ascending personalities in local universe careers, bestowed by the Mother Spirit in liaison with the Creator Son, functioning differentially across 570 levels of morontia life with increasing associative capacity with cosmic mind; and (4) The cosmic mind, sevenfold diversified and ministered by the Seven Master Spirits to the superuniverses, encompassing all finite-mind levels and coordinating experientially with evolutionary-deity levels of the Supreme Mind and transcendentally with the absolute circuits of the Conjoint Actor. This progression demonstrates how mind, from absolute on Paradise to finite in Orvonton, serves as the integrative principle connecting the material with the spiritual throughout the cosmic order.

In evaluating and recognizing mind, it should be remembered that the universe is neither mechanical nor magical but rather a creation of mind and a mechanism of law. Although natural laws appear to operate in dual physical and spiritual realms, they are fundamentally unified. The First Source and Center, as the primal cause of all materialization and simultaneously the first and final Father of all spirits, appears personally in the extra-Havona universes only as pure energy and pure spirit, such as Thought Adjusters and similar fragmentations of divine essence. The divine mechanism of the universe of universes is too perfect for finite human minds to discern even a trace of the dominance of the infinite mind, which is neither material mind nor creature mind but spirit-mind functioning from creator levels of divine reality.

The ability to discern mind in universe mechanisms depends entirely on the capacity and scope of the investigating mind engaged in observation. Time-space minds, organized from the energies of time and space, are themselves subject to those same mechanisms. Motion and universe gravitation constitute twin facets of the impersonal time-space mechanism, with levels of gravity response for spirit, mind, and matter being independent of time, while only true spirit reality is independent of space.

Higher mind levels may also transcend spatial limitations, but material mind remains responsive to universe gravitation interactions, losing this response only in proportion to spirit identification. Spirit-reality levels are recognized by their spirit content, with spirituality in time and space measured inversely to linear-gravity response, which serves as a quantitative measure of nonspirit energy. The relationship between these fundamental forces creates a universe that appears mechanistic to lower intelligences but reveals itself as a purposeful, mind-directed creation to those capable of perceiving higher levels of reality.

The evolution of mechanisms implies and demonstrates the concealed presence and dominance of creative mind within the cosmos. The human intellect's ability to conceive, design, and create automatic mechanisms reveals the superior, creative, and purposive qualities of human mind as the dominant planetary influence. Mind invariably reaches outward toward seven fundamental objectives: (1) creation of material mechanisms, (2) discovery of hidden mysteries, (3) exploration of remote situations, (4) formulation of mental systems, (5) attainment of wisdom goals, (6) achievement of spirit levels, and (7) the accomplishment of divine destinies—supreme, ultimate, and absolute. This sevenfold drive characterizes all mind activity throughout the universe, from the most rudimentary to the most sublime.

Mind is always creative, capable of producing suitable and serviceable bodies for living creatures across the spectrum of existence. The personality form represents the pattern aspect of a living being, the arrangement of energies plus life and motion, constituting the mechanism of creature existence. Spirit beings possess real forms, with personality presences analogous to mortal bodies, and nearly all beings in the seven superuniverses have distinctive, recognizable forms. The liaison of cosmic mind with adjutant mind-spirits evolves appropriate physical tabernacles for humans, just as morontia mind individualizes unique morontia forms for mortal survivors. Each form reflects the creative mind that dominates it; no two are alike.

In the material realm, we conceive of bodies having spirits, but in higher realms, spirit has a body, with the material eyes serving as windows of the spirit-born soul. Throughout the phenomenal universes, there exists a progression from material to spiritual dominance, with physical energy predominating in nonpersonal situations but spirit increasingly becoming dominant as spirit-mind function approaches divinity of purpose and supremacy of action. Mind universally dominates matter, even as it responds to the ultimate overcontrol of spirit, with mortal mind that freely submits to spirit direction achieving immortality in the eternal spirit realms of the Supreme, the Ultimate, and the Absolute.