Panentheism is a term Ken Wilber and the co-founder of Esalen Institute, Michael Murphy, also use to describe their philosophy. In his article on Panentheism Murphy shows how some of the great geniuses in history have reached the same conclusion (Murphy, 2012).[1]<\/a>\u00a0Murphy mentions Johann G. Fichte (1762- 1814), Friedrich Schelling (1775-1854), G.W.F. Hegel (1770- 1831), Henri Bergson (1859-1941), Teilhard de Chardin (1881-1955), Paul Tillich (1886-1965), Alfred North Whitehead (1861-1947), Sri Aurobindo (1872-1950).<\/p>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\n From\u00a0 the article:\u00a0Psychosynthesis and Evolutionary Panentheism by Kenneth S\u00f8rensen<\/a> Read also Assagioli’s article about panentheism<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\r\n It is through evolution and thus humanity that God\u2019s inherent potentials are made manifest. According to this theory the human soul and all other beings emanate from God or \u201cPleroma,\u201d or psychologically from the Self. The word \u201cemanation\u201d comes from \u201cemanare\u201d, which means \u201cflow from\u201d God\u2019s abundance or density. All creatures thus emanates from the same divine source down through various (inner) levels of consciousness to the physical world, where humanity forget its divine source or origins. It is the unconscious\/subconscious yearning to return to source, which, according to this theory, is the driving force of evolution. Hence the purpose of human existence is to awaken to our divine potential that we are here to manifest. That the One is immanent in nature and man does not imply that perfection, perfected love, is a reality. The One is present as life and as divine potential that is hidden and we are here to unfold it.<\/p>\r\n Murphy is saying that: \u201dthough these forerunners framed their visions in different ways, they agreed that cosmic history was impelled by God\u2019s inexorable desire to manifest in the physical world.\u201d<\/p>\r\n According to Murphy evolutionary Panentheism \u201cis based on just a few fundamental principles, among them: first, that evolution is a fact (though its discovery has given rise to various theories about it); second, that our universe arises from and is constituted by a world transcending supernature, call it the One, God, Brahman, the Absolute, BuddhaNature, Allah, Geist, or the Tao; and third, that humans have a fundamental affinity or identity with that supernature, which can be known through immediate experience either spontaneously or by means of transformative practice.\u201d (Murphy, 2012)<\/p>\r\n The question I am trying to answer is whether this metaphysical perspective is similar to that of Assagioli\u2019s. There can be no doubt that Assagioli himself was familiar with the concept. In his booklet Meditation for The New Age<\/a>, vol. 3, booklet one, Assagioli writes the following:<\/p>\r\n “The balance and synthesis between transcendence and immanence, as two aspects of the One Reality, have been recognised and proclaimed by a number of great intuitives\u2014Philosophers, mystics and poets\u2014 throughout the ages.<\/p>\r\n This conception\u2014which, in contradistinction to pantheism, has been called a panentheism. (that, is, \u201c all in God \u201d) \u2014 is the basic teaching of the Bhagavad Gita. Krishna\u2019s well-known words illustrate this:<\/p>\r\n \u201c Having pervaded this whole universe with a fragment of Myself, I remain.\u201d<\/p>\r\n In the West it has been voiced in neo-platonic philosophy:<\/p>\r\n \u201c The One is eternally with His manifestation, which eternally proceeds from Him.\u201d<\/p>\r\n \u201c God is not external to any one, but is present within all things, though they are ignorant that He is so.\u201d (Plotinus)<\/p>\r\n![\"Panentheism](\"https:\/\/kennethsorensen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/Panentheism.png\")
It is important to distinguish Panentheism from \u201cPantheism\u201d. According to Pantheism there is no difference between God and nature, whereas pan-en-theism adds the One (God, Brahman, Spirit) who permeates\u00a0and<\/em> transcends the universe. The One is both transcendent and immanent in creation. The One is in everything, but is greater than the created universe. We can also differentiate it from theism, where God creates the universe and transcends it. (see illustration).<\/p>\r\nThe fundamental principles of panentheism<\/h3>\r\n