Being And Consciousness, What is the difference? Options

I am not the greatest at metaphysics so I thought I would throw this one out to all of you smart folk.

In the first lesson of Jean Dubuis’ FUNDAMENTALS OF ESOTERIC KNOWLEDGE He says:

Starting with the Absolute, the hierarchy of forces and energies in a descending order is as follows:
Being - Consciousness - Life – Matter

This got me thinking
What exactly is the difference between ‘being’ and ‘consciousness’?
I’ve had a few ideas but nothing which I can accept as non-fuzzy thinking,
so if anyone has any clearly defined definitions or ideas, I would be most appreciative

Greetings Pilgrim Child,

The definition of Being that I found from an Philosophical source was this: " Existence as opposed to nonexistence, state or sphere of existence."

And the definition of Consciousness that I found in a college Psychology book is: "Consciousness-Mental awareness of sensations, perceptions, memories, and feelings."

I guess the question would be is it possible to exist without the perceptions, sensations, and feelings of a sensate form. The answer in my opinion, is, Yes. A Spirit or one who has passed from the Physical to Spiritual Realm of Existence would be Existent, they may even have an awareness of their own existence, yet they would not feel sensations, perceptions, or feelings of a physical type, since, they would not be indwelling in a physical vehicle.

These are only my Perceptions and Understandings on this matter though. Thanks for sharing your question.

Respectfully,
Helel (Joseph)

I would add to those definitions the occult context of each, which is both just as simple, while being slightly more complex at the same time.

Beingness is, as said, simply the existence. Now, in many occult philosophies, least of which my own, the universe, the state of Being, is consciousness. I think there can, in this context, be a line drawn between perception and consciousness - that consciousness can exist without perception and physical limitation, but Being does not imply Perceiving, while Being does imply Consciousness.

Based on this sort of ideal, I would say that the difference between Being and Consciousness is activity. The Movement of the Being, is Consciousness.

However, it's curious that the author in question lists them as Being - Consciousness - Life - Matter. To me, life must imply specifically organic beings, that which is physically alive. To include pre-material consciousness as alive means we might as well throw the word Life out all together, along with Death and Dead. What other way is there to define life and death if not one being physical and the other being pre/post-physical? Therefore to my reckoning the positions of life and matter should be switched.

Thus,
Being Is,
Consciousness is it's movement to Act,
Matter is the Action,
Life is the Result.

When the universe was newborn, there was plenty of matter for a very long time before there was life. Life represents, IMO the evolved property of matter of contain perceptive consciousness.

that's just my two cents.

peace

Greetings Vagrant Dreamer,

That is profound, yet, yes I follow your line of deduction. After I considered your words thoughtfully, I reflected on some past subjects that I have read.

One of these subjects was of the Hebrew word : EHEIEH which has been definied as the Title with which God gave to Moses on the mount to tell the Egyptians. This name EHEIEH Refers firstly, to "I Am" this would be the State of Beingness. Then the same Title EHEIEH has also been defined as "I Am Becoming," This to me would indicate the Being "I AM" in the Action of "Becoming" Or the Movement of Being.

ALso if you know the Latin Word "Xeper" it means "I AM" the second or formulative aspect of that word is "Xeperu" meaning, "I Have Come Into Being" this is firstly a state of Beingness, then a Movement of the First or Primal State of Existence which brings forth the Consciousness of the Beings Ego, that the Being can further evolve with into a Sentient and Sensate being with both "Will" and "Form" with which the senses then become activated in the world of Matter.

Of course this is in a subjective sense, since some believe the entire Universe in all her existence is Conscious, whether we can discern the particular level of consciousness in a particular aspect of the Universe may be viewed differently, but I have a hard time believing in a Random Activity from which both Consciousness and Life could Evolve.

Respectfully,
Helel (Joseph)

Greetings Again Vagrant Dreamer,

I have just sourced the below quote from my previous post, I was mistaken in definition and meaning, and to the source of the quote:



(ALso if you know the Latin Word "Xeper" it means "I AM" the second or formulative aspect of that word is "Xeperu" meaning, "I Have Come Into Being" this is firstly a state of Beingness, then a Movement of the First or Primal State of Existence which brings forth the Consciousness of the Beings Ego, )

The True meaning of the Word "Xeper" I now rediscovered is actually Egyptian. "Xeper" means, I have Come Into Being" as in, something that has already taken place. The Word Xeperu comes in a phrase "Xepera Xeper Xeperu" meaning= "I have come into being, and by the process of my coming into Being, The Process of Coming Into Being is Established.."

This Motto is from the Temple of Set, I apologize to anyone who read the first post of my unintentional misquoting of such a wonderful Statement of Selfhood.

Respectfully,
Helel (Joseph)

Starting with the Absolute, the hierarchy of forces and energies in a descending order is as follows:
Being - Consciousness - Life – Matter

The simple answer, as I see it, is that in order for being to exist it must have the qualities of counsciousness and life and matter. In order for consciousness to exist it must have life and matter. In order for life to exist it must have matter.

SO being is the level of existance the encompasses all those qualities while consciousness is one of the qualities for the existance of being.