The Living Being: Difference between revisions

Latest revision as of 18:04, 26 August 2026

In Martinus's cosmology, a living being is an entity in which three inseparable principles are united: an eternal self or “I” (X1), a creative and experiential ability (X2), and matter or substance (X3), manifested through the bodies and organism used for creation. ^[1] ^[2] Martinus applies the term to microcosmic and macrocosmic forms of life. Cells and smaller particles are cited in this macrocosmic argument as living beings within organisms. ^[3] Globes, solar systems and Milky Ways are presented as macrocosmic living beings. ^[4]

The expression “living being” therefore refers not only to the familiar physical body. It denotes the unity formed when the I, its creative and experiential ability, and matter are considered together. The I itself is not identical with any particular person, animal, plant or other manifestation. ^[5]

The three principles

Martinus describes the I as an invisible, nameless “Something” revealed through its activity in matter. The creative and experiential ability is the consciousness through which the being creates and experiences, while matter or the organism is the medium and manifestation of that activity. The three principles are not independent things; together they constitute one living being. ^[6] ^[7] ^[8]

The I and matter are mutually dependent in manifestation: without the I, matter would remain unmanifested, while the I is revealed through movement and creative processes in matter. When this movement is logically organised and purposeful, it reveals the third principle, consciousness or the ability to create and experience. ^[9] X1, X2 and X3 are consequently not three separate entities, but three analyses of one and the same living entity. ^[10]

The eternal I and the physical body

According to Martinus, the I has neither beginning nor end because it is not itself a created thing. Its creative ability is likewise an eternal principle, whereas each particular creation in matter is temporary. Thus the living being’s threefold principle is not mortal in the same way as the creations it produces. ^[11]

Physical death is accordingly not a separation of the I from its entire organism. It is the separation of the I from its physical body, which Martinus describes as one of several bodies or instruments. The physical body ceases to function, while the I continues as an experiencing and creating being through its other bodies. ^[12] Martinus connects the alternating physical and spiritual existence of terrestrial human beings with Reincarnation. ^[13]

Martinus describes the physical body as a tool for sensing and creating in physical matter. Its use brings wear and tear, and it eventually becomes unusable. The I’s other bodies provide other forms of manifestation, so the loss of the physical body is a change in the form of experience rather than the end of the living being. ^[14]

Living beings within living beings

In Martinus’s cosmic analysis, the organism is the bodily structure through which a living being manifests and creates conditions of life for microbeings within it. Its organs are likewise living units that serve the larger organism, and the living being can itself be a microbeing in a larger organism. ^[15] ^[16] ^[17] This relation between living being, organism and organ is also developed in The Eternal World Picture.

He presents the universe as the largest living being with which we are in contact. Within it are the Earth, the solar system, and the Milky Way, each understood as a living being and, at the same time, as an organ in a larger organism. Beyond the Milky Way, Martinus refers to still larger systems. ^[18] In this analysis, the Earth functions as an organ in the solar system; the solar system functions as an organ in the Milky Way, and the Milky Way in a still larger system. ^[19]

This hierarchy means that the same being can be viewed from two directions: as a macrobeing for the smaller beings within its organism, and as a microbeing or organ within a larger organism. The smaller beings are essential to the existence of the organism in which they live, while the larger organism provides their world and conditions of existence. ^[20]

Martinus presents this as the principle of “beings within beings”. The triangle in his description of the symbol represents the triune principle of each living being, while the nested triangles express the way living beings are incorporated into larger organisms. ^[21]

Matter and spirit

In Martinus’s own cosmic analysis, “spirit” and matter are identical in their deepest analysis. In this terminology, spirit is consciousness: organised movement or planned creation is an attribute of a living being expressing consciousness, and Martinus consequently describes “God's spirit” as God’s consciousness present in all matter. ^[22]

This is a consequence of the triune analysis: matter cannot exist independently of a living being’s organised movement and consciousness. Matter, consciousness and the I are thus different aspects of the same inseparable living reality. ^[23] ^[24]

The universe as the Godhead

Martinus applies the same threefold analysis to the universe as a whole. The universe is described as one comprehensive unity corresponding to X1, X2 and X3, and therefore as “one single great living being”. Because this being comprises the whole universe, Martinus identifies it with the “absolute and only true Godhead of existence” (Godhead). Other living beings are described as units within this total organism, or as “sons of God”. ^[25]

This relationship is expressed in the statement, “In Him we live and move and have our being”, while through living beings the Godhead also lives and moves. ^[26] The individual being is therefore part of the universal organism and participates in an ongoing interaction with it.

Development and cosmic consciousness

The I remains eternal while its created instruments and manifestations change. For the living being, this change includes an evolutionary development towards permanent Cosmic consciousness, in which it overcomes the last remains of animal nature. With permanent cosmic consciousness, the being experiences the entire mental, spiritual or cosmic world in awake day-consciousness, becomes spiritually sovereign and experiences the Godhead. ^[27]

In this condition the being lives in conscious coexistence with the Godhead and is in harmony with its consciousness. Martinus presents completely evolved beings as attaining total spiritual sovereignty and unity with the Godhead. ^[28]

References

[1] Livets Bog 2, section 314

[2] Livets Bog 2, section 319

[3] Livets Bog 1, section 58

[4] Livets Bog 1, section 54

[5] Livets Bog 2, section 314

[6] Livets Bog 2, section 314

[7] Livets Bog 2, section 318

[8] Livets Bog 2, section 319

[9] Livets Bog 2, section 314

[10] Livets Bog 2, section 318

[11] Livets Bog 2, section 315

[12] Livets Bog 2, section 319

[13] Livets Bog 4, section 1367

[14] Livets Bog 2, section 319

[15] The Eternal World Picture 1, section 11.20

[16] The Eternal World Picture 1, section 7.5

[17] The Eternal World Picture 3, section 32.12

[18] Livets Bog 1, section 270

[19] The Eternal World Picture 3, section 32.12

[20] The Eternal World Picture 3, section 32.12

[21] The Eternal World Picture 3, section 32.12

[22] Livets Bog 2, section 318

[23] Livets Bog 2, section 314

[24] Livets Bog 2, section 318

[25] Livets Bog 1, section 251

[26] Livets Bog 1, section 251

[27] The Eternal World Picture 2, section 23.2

[28] The Eternal World Picture 2, section 23.2

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-== Introduction ==
+In [[Martinus|Martinus]]'s cosmology, a '''living being''' is an entity in which three inseparable principles are united: an eternal self or “I” ([[X1|X1]]), a creative and experiential ability ([[X2|X2]]), and matter or substance ([[X3|X3]]), manifested through the bodies and organism used for creation.{{ref|LB2|314}}{{ref|LB2|319}} Martinus applies the term to microcosmic and macrocosmic forms of life. Cells and smaller particles are cited in this macrocosmic argument as living beings within organisms.{{ref|LB1|58}} Globes, solar systems and Milky Ways are presented as macrocosmic living beings.{{ref|LB1|54}}
-In [[Martinus|Martinus]]'s cosmology, a '''living being''' (Danish: ''levende væsen'') is any entity that consists of three inseparable principles: an eternal self or [[the I|"I"]] (X1), a creative and experiential ability (X2), and an organism or body (X3). These three together constitute what Martinus terms [[the trinity principle|a "trinitarian principle"]], and no living being can exist unless all three are present and united. The concept extends far beyond ordinary biological life: from the smallest subatomic particles to planets, solar systems, galaxies, and the universe as a whole — all are, in Martinus's analyses, living beings.
-Because every independent energy unit in existence is the body of a living being, the universe is, in Martinus's words, "filled with life." [[The Godhead]] itself is identified as the one supreme all-encompassing living being, of which all individual living beings are constituent parts.
+The expression “living being” therefore refers not only to the familiar [[physical body]]. It denotes the unity formed when the I, its creative and experiential ability, and matter are considered together. The I itself is not identical with any particular person, animal, plant or other manifestation.{{ref|LB2|314}}
-== The Three Principles of the Living Being ==
+== The three principles ==
-Martinus demonstrates that every living being is composed of three mutually dependent principles, which he designates X1, X2, and X3.
+Martinus describes the I as an invisible, nameless “Something” revealed through its activity in [[matter]]. The creative and experiential ability is the [[consciousness]] through which the being creates and experiences, while matter or the organism is the medium and manifestation of that activity. The three principles are not independent things; together they constitute one living being.{{ref|LB2|314}}{{ref|LB2|318}}{{ref|LB2|319}}
-'''X1''' is the "I" — the nameless, eternal "something" that is the subject behind all experience and creation. In itself it has no size, no age, and cannot be directly perceived. It can only be known through its creations in matter.
+The I and matter are mutually dependent in manifestation: without the I, matter would remain unmanifested, while the I is revealed through movement and creative processes in matter. When this movement is logically organised and purposeful, it reveals the third principle, consciousness or the ability to create and experience.{{ref|LB2|314}} X1, X2 and X3 are consequently not three separate entities, but three analyses of one and the same living entity.{{ref|LB2|318}}
-'''X2''' is the creative and experiential ability — the faculty by which the I connects to matter and produces organised, purposeful creation. Because all ordered creation presupposes prior logical thought, X2 is the evidence of X1's existence wherever planned creation appears.
+== The eternal I and the physical body ==
+According to Martinus, the I has neither beginning nor end because it is not itself a created thing. Its creative ability is likewise an eternal principle, whereas each particular creation in matter is temporary. Thus the living being’s threefold principle is not mortal in the same way as the creations it produces.{{ref|LB2|315}}
-'''X3''' is the organism or body — the material result of X1 and X2 working together, the visible manifestation through which the living being acts and is recognised by other living beings.
+Physical death is accordingly not a separation of the I from its entire organism. It is the separation of the I from its [[physical body]], which Martinus describes as one of several bodies or instruments. The physical body ceases to function, while the I continues as an experiencing and creating being through its other bodies.{{ref|LB2|319}} Martinus connects the alternating physical and spiritual existence of terrestrial human beings with [[Reincarnation]].{{ref|LB4|1367}}
-Martinus writes in ''Livets Bog'', volume 2, §314:
+Martinus describes the physical body as a tool for sensing and creating in physical matter. Its use brings wear and tear, and it eventually becomes unusable. The I’s other bodies provide other forms of manifestation, so the loss of the physical body is a change in the form of experience rather than the end of the living being.{{ref|LB2|319}}
-<blockquote>''The three principles: the I, the consciousness or creative-and-experiential ability, and matter or substance — which we already know respectively as "X1", "X2" and "X3" — constitute exactly the three conditions required for a "something" to appear as a "living being"''.''</blockquote>
+== Living beings within living beings ==
+In Martinus’s cosmic analysis, the organism is the bodily structure through which a living being manifests and creates conditions of life for microbeings within it. Its organs are likewise living units that serve the larger organism, and the living being can itself be a microbeing in a larger organism.{{ref|TEWP 1|11.20}}{{ref|TEWP 1|7.5}}{{ref|TEWP 3|32.12}} This relation between living being, organism and organ is also developed in [[The Eternal World Picture]].
-These three are inseparable. There is never an I without consciousness and an organism, nor matter without a living being to animate it. The material world is therefore not inert: every independently existing energy unit is, to [[cosmic consciousness|cosmic perception]], the body of a living being.
+He presents the [[universe]] as the largest living being with which we are in contact. Within it are the [[Earth]], the [[solar system]], and the [[Milky Way]], each understood as a living being and, at the same time, as an organ in a larger organism. Beyond the Milky Way, Martinus refers to still larger systems.{{ref|LB1|270}} In this analysis, the Earth functions as an organ in the solar system; the solar system functions as an organ in the Milky Way, and the Milky Way in a still larger system.{{ref|TEWP 3|32.12}}
-== The Eternal I and the Mortal Body ==
+This hierarchy means that the same being can be viewed from two directions: as a macrobeing for the smaller beings within its organism, and as a microbeing or organ within a larger organism. The smaller beings are essential to the existence of the organism in which they live, while the larger organism provides their world and conditions of existence.{{ref|TEWP 3|32.12}}
-While the living being as a whole is eternal, its individual physical body is a created, temporary instrument. The I existed before the body was built, and it continues after the body dissolves.
-Death, Martinus clarifies, is not the separation of the I from its organism. The organism consists of six bodies or instruments; the physical body is only one of them. At physical death the I simply relinquishes its physical instrument while retaining the five remaining bodies, and its existence as an experiencing and creating being continues uninterrupted. The I, being beyond time and space, has no beginning and no end. As stated in ''Livets Bog'' 2, §315:
+Martinus presents this as the principle of “beings within beings”. The triangle in his description of the symbol represents the triune principle of each living being, while the nested triangles express the way living beings are incorporated into larger organisms.{{ref|TEWP 3|32.12}}
-<blockquote>''The I will always be prior to and after the creation. And it is precisely through this that it becomes visible as elevated above time, since time can only be the expression of the duration of "created" things from their origin to their cessation.''</blockquote>
+== Matter and spirit ==
+In Martinus’s own cosmic analysis, “spirit” and matter are identical in their deepest analysis. In this terminology, spirit is consciousness: organised movement or planned creation is an attribute of a living being expressing consciousness, and Martinus consequently describes “God's spirit” as God’s consciousness present in all matter.{{ref|LB2|318}}
-This understanding is foundational to Martinus's teaching on [[reincarnation]]: the eternal I incarnates repeatedly, building new physical instruments in accordance with its ongoing development.
+This is a consequence of the triune analysis: matter cannot exist independently of a living being’s organised movement and consciousness. Matter, consciousness and the I are thus different aspects of the same inseparable living reality.{{ref|LB2|314}}{{ref|LB2|318}}
-== Living Beings at Every Scale ==
+== The universe as the Godhead ==
-One of the most distinctive features of Martinus's analysis is the extension of the concept of "living being" across all scales of existence — what he calls [[microcosmos]], [[mellemkosmos|mesocosmos]], and [[makrocosmos|macrocosmos]].
+Martinus applies the same threefold analysis to the universe as a whole. The universe is described as one comprehensive unity corresponding to X1, X2 and X3, and therefore as “one single great living being”. Because this being comprises the whole universe, Martinus identifies it with the “absolute and only true Godhead of existence” ([[The Godhead|Godhead]]). Other living beings are described as units within this total organism, or as “sons of God”.{{ref|LB1|251}}
-Within the human organism, every organ — the brain, heart, lungs, liver — is itself a living being. Cells, bacteria, molecules, atoms, and electrons are likewise each living beings when perceived with [[cosmic senses|cosmic sensory faculties]].
+This relationship is expressed in the statement, “In Him we live and move and have our being”, while through living beings the Godhead also lives and moves.{{ref|LB1|251}} The individual being is therefore part of the universal organism and participates in an ongoing interaction with it.
-Conversely, entities far larger than humans are also living beings. The Earth is a living being; the solar system is a living being that forms an organ within a larger being; the Milky Way is a living being; and the universe as a whole is one single, all-encompassing living being. Martinus writes in ''Livets Bog'' 1, §270:
+== Development and cosmic consciousness ==
+The I remains eternal while its created instruments and manifestations change. For the living being, this change includes an evolutionary development towards permanent [[Cosmic consciousness]], in which it overcomes the last remains of animal nature. With permanent cosmic consciousness, the being experiences the entire mental, spiritual or cosmic world in awake day-consciousness, becomes spiritually sovereign and experiences the Godhead.{{ref|TEWP 2|23.2}}
-<blockquote>''The greatest living being we are thus in contact with is the universe itself, which in itself constitutes one single great and living organism, serving as a manifestation for a corresponding living being. In this living being's organism, all other living beings' organisms or bodies live and move.''</blockquote>
+In this condition the being lives in conscious coexistence with the Godhead and is in harmony with its consciousness. Martinus presents completely evolved beings as attaining total spiritual sovereignty and unity with the Godhead.{{ref|TEWP 2|23.2}}
-Living beings are thus grouped into three main categories in relation to any given observer: '''universe beings''' (''universvæsener''), whose organism constitutes the observer's universe; '''fellow beings''' (''medvæsener''), who share the same universe side by side; and '''matter beings''' (''stofvæsener''), who live within the observer's own organism as organs and cells. These three categories are each other's conditions of existence, and the boundaries between them correspond to what Martinus calls [[spiral zones]] (''spiralzoner'').
+== See also ==
+* [[Martinus]]
-== Matter, Spirit, and the Living Being ==
+* [[Livets Bog]]
-Martinus draws a direct consequence from the trinitarian analysis: matter and spirit are identical. Because all independently existing matter is the organised body of a living being, and because organised creation can only be the product of consciousness and intention, all matter is ultimately an expression of "spirit" in Martinus's sense — that is, of living, purposeful being.
+* [[The Eternal World Picture]]
+* [[Cosmic consciousness]]
-In ''Livets Bog'' 2, §318, he concludes:
+* [[Reincarnation]]
-<blockquote>''"Spirit" and "matter" are identical. The first great cosmic-chemical analysis of the matter of the universe is thus this: it is "spirit". And the eternal expression "the Spirit of God hovered over the waters" — which means "God's consciousness was present in all matter" — here begins to become visible as a scientific truth.''</blockquote>
-The universe and everything within it is therefore not a collection of dead forces operating by chance. Every movement, every energy, every structure reflects the creative activity of living beings. This stands in direct contrast to a purely materialist worldview, which Martinus regards as the deepest form of spiritual incapacity: denying the "I" that constitutes one's own innermost reality.
-== The Universe as One Living Being — The Godhead ==
-Because the entire universe shares the same trinitarian structure as every individual living being — a single all-encompassing I, a creative ability, and a total organism made up of all existing bodies — the universe is itself one supreme living being. This is what Martinus identifies as [[the Godhead]] (''Guddommen'') or "the Father." All individual living beings are, in his terminology, "sons of God" (''gudesønner''): the constituent units of the Godhead's organism.
-Individual living beings thus stand in a double relationship to the Godhead: they live and move within the Godhead's organism, and the Godhead in turn lives and manifests through them. As stated in ''Livets Bog'' 1, §251:
+[[Category:Pages needing cleanup]]
-<blockquote>''"In the Godhead we live, move, and exist", and "through us the Godhead lives, moves, and exists".''</blockquote>
-This mutual relation is described further in ''Livets vej'', chapter 2, where the living beings' cosmic journey through alternating zones of darkness and light is called the Godhead's "eternal breath" — the rhythmic pulse through which both the Godhead and all individual living beings maintain and renew their consciousness.
-== The Living Being and the Ladder of Development ==
-All living beings participate in an eternal [[the ladder of evolution|evolutionary process]], passing through kingdoms — mineral, plant, animal, human, and beyond — across an immense span of cosmic time. Each being's current form of manifestation represents a particular rung on what Martinus calls the "ladder of development" (''udviklingsstigen'').
-The quality of a living being's manifestation — whether it expresses disharmony or harmony, suffering-creating or bliss-creating patterns — reflects its position on this ladder, not the nature of its eternal I. The I itself remains unchanged; only its created instruments evolve. At the apex of the ladder, a living being attains [[cosmic consciousness]], the full experience of its own identity as an eternal, immortal creator — at one with the Godhead.
 == References ==
-* Martinus: ''Livets Bog'', volume 1, sections 54, 58, 251, 270, 271, 274
+{{reflist}}
-* Martinus: ''Livets Bog'', volume 2, sections 314, 315, 316, 317, 318, 319
-* Martinus: ''Livets Bog'', volume 3, section 962
-* Martinus: ''Livets vej'', chapters 2 and 6
-== See Also ==
-* [[The I (Martinus)]]
-* [[The trinity principle]]
-* [[The Godhead]]
-* [[Microcosmos, mesocosmos, and macrocosmos]]
-* [[The ladder of development]]
-* [[Cosmic consciousness]]
-* [[Reincarnation]]
-* [[The X-factor]]
-* [[Spiral zones]]
-[[Category:Cosmology]][[Category:AI-generated]]
 [[da:Det levende væsen]]