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In Martinus’s analysis, the '''I''' is the innermost, eternal identity of a [[living being]]. It is not identical with the changing [[organism]] or any other visible manifestation. Rather, it is the invisible centre that creates, experiences and directs manifestation. Martinus identifies this centre with X1 and describes it as the eternally unchangeable “fixed point” from which the being’s changing movements can be measured.{{ref|LB2|319}}{{ref|LB3|779}}
The '''I''' is, in Martinus's analysis, the eternal and unchangeable centre of the living being. It is distinguished from the visible expression produced through the being's creative activity. Martinus describes the I as the fixed point from which the being's movement can be measured.{{ref|LB3|779}}


== X1, X2 and X3 ==
== The I and the triune principle ==
Martinus explains the living being through three inseparable principles, called X1, X2 and X3. X1 is the I; X2 is the I’s [[creative faculty]]; and X3 is the result of that faculty, the outer and visible expression of the I. What is ordinarily perceived as a living being therefore belongs to X3, not to the I in isolation.{{ref|LB3|779}}


These principles are not three independent entities. The I cannot appear as a creator without a creative faculty and something created, while a created expression presupposes both an organiser and the ability to organise. Martinus therefore describes the living being as a [[triune principle|triune unity]]. Its life is disclosed through the collaboration of the three principles, even though X1, X2 and X3 are each, considered in themselves, beyond sensory perception.{{ref|LB2|319}}{{ref|LB3|779}}
Martinus describes the [[The Living Being|living being]] as a triune principle consisting of the I, the faculty to create and that which is created. He also refers to these principles as [[X1|X1]], [[X2|X2]] and [[X3|X3]]. The three are inseparable aspects of one living reality: without the I there is no one to direct the [[creative faculty]], without that faculty there can be no [[creation]], and without that which is created there is no manifestation through which life can be experienced.{{ref|TEWP 1|8.3}}


The I is not identical with the changing body and personality through which it is expressed, but neither is it unrelated to manifestation. The I is disclosed through the activity of X2 and the expressions of X3. Visibility is something produced; the invisible I is what stands behind and precedes that production.{{ref|LB2|319}}{{ref|LB3|779}}
In this terminology, X1 is the I, X2 is the I's creative faculty, and X3 is the result of that faculty and the outer, visible expression of the I. The visible expression is therefore not the I itself; it is what makes the otherwise invisible creative activity perceptible.{{ref|LB3|779}}{{ref|LB2|319}}


== Superconsciousness, will and bodily construction ==
The same triune principle can be applied both to an individual and to the [[Godhead]]. Martinus says that the Christian expressions Father, son and holy spirit symbolically correspond to X1, X2 and X3. In this passage, those religious expressions are symbols for the inseparable principles of the living being.{{ref|TEWP 1|8.3}}
The [[superconsciousness]] is closely related to X2, but Martinus does not identify it with the I itself. He calls it the “body of eternity”: the enduring organism or tool through which the living being organises the energies required for its total manifestation. It contains the “fate-element”, in which abilities and skills are stored as [[Talent Kernels|talent-kernels]]. Since these faculties exist before particular bodies are formed and remain after those bodies cease, the superconsciousness cannot be located in any one of the six bodies of manifestation.{{ref|LB2|328}}


Martinus describes the superconsciousness as supported by the body of eternity. In this eternal body the being gathers its highest mental values, while the fate-element contains the talent-kernels. The body of eternity is identified with X2 in the account of the individual’s higher organism. From this level, wishes and desires send energy outward, sometimes automatically and, in beings with [[cosmic consciousness]], through day-conscious [[will]]. When these energies meet the energies of the surrounding world, creation or manifestation arises.{{ref|LB2|465}}{{ref|LB2|464}}
== X1: the nameless I ==


The relation between will and superconsciousness is developmental. Martinus argues that the superconsciousness’s present automatic guidance is the result of earlier, day-conscious acts of will. Former choices and inclinations become organised as talent-kernels and later influence attraction to, or repulsion from, particular energies and substances. Thus the superconsciousness can guide a being outside its current day-conscious awareness, while its character has nevertheless been shaped by earlier conscious will. Present acts of will in turn help determine how the superconsciousness will express itself in a future physical life.{{ref|LB2|327}}
Martinus calls the I the “causeless cause” because it stands behind [[thought]], [[will]] and manifestation rather than being an effect produced by an earlier cause. An effect is a [[movement]] or created result; the I is that which thinks, creates and manifests. It is consequently described as the absolute first cause in the living being's existence.{{ref|LB3|686}}{{ref|LB3|695}}{{ref|LB2|550}}


The body of eternity is consequently the organ for [[bodily construction]]. Martinus says that the individual gathers experiences, knowledge, skills and abilities in this eternal body and creates [[physical body|physical bodies]] from it, transferring abilities from one life to another. The physical organism is therefore an instrument of X1, built through the higher organism associated with X2.{{ref|LB2|464}}
X1 cannot be analysed like a created object. It has no weight, volume, colour or measurable size, and is not itself a physical or spiritual form. Martinus therefore gives it the minimal analysis “something that is”. X1 is the invisible originator of the manifestations that can be observed, while created forms are the products of the creator.{{ref|LB3|695}}{{ref|LB3|687}}{{ref|LB2|551}}


== The physical body and created manifestation ==
The I is not, in Martinus's view, an empty abstraction. It is the experiencing centre around which sensory impressions are gathered and from which decisions and acts of will are experienced as originating. Martinus argues that the brain and other bodily [[organ]]s are tools involved in this process, not the experiencing subject itself.{{ref|LB3|672}}{{ref|LB3|688}}
A [[physical body]] is a temporary tool for sensing and creating in physical matter. Martinus compares it to any other tool: use produces wear and tear, and the body passes through growth, maturity, ageing and breakdown. These changes concern the created instrument, not the identity of the I that uses it.{{ref|LB2|319}}


For this reason Martinus distinguishes physical [[death]] from the destruction of the living being. Death is the cessation of the form of manifestation possible through one particular physical body. The I continues to function and create through the other parts of its total organism, and the superconsciousness provides continuity between successive bodies.{{ref|LB2|319}}{{ref|LB2|328}}
Martinus contrasts this account with explanations that treat the brain as the origin of experience. In his analysis, the brain, nerves, eyes and other organs are instruments. He uses the contrast between a tool and its user to argue that the [[organism]] cannot by itself account for the “something” that experiences, wills and directs it.{{ref|LB3|672}}{{ref|LB3|688}}


The six bodies of manifestation belong to what Martinus calls the [[subconsciousness]] and are at the disposal of the living being for manifestation. The superconsciousness, by contrast, is associated with the fate-element and body of eternity. In the physical condition, the being is normally conscious chiefly through the body supported by [[gravity-energy]]; the other bodies and the superconsciousness remain outside ordinary day-consciousness while continuing to organise manifestation.{{ref|LB2|329}}{{ref|LB2|372}}{{ref|LB2|465}}
== X2: creative faculty and superconsciousness ==


== The I as causeless cause and fixed point ==
X2 is the creative faculty through which the I organises [[energy]] into experienceable forms. Martinus relates this faculty to the individual's [[superconsciousness]], including the “body of eternity” and its fate-element. He says that creative ability originates in this higher organism, which exists before and survives the particular bodies of manifestation.{{ref|LB2|328}}{{ref|LB2|464}}{{ref|short book 1|1.13}}
The sensory world can be analysed as an endless chain of [[cause and effect]]: a cause becomes an effect, and that effect becomes a new cause. In this chain, the causes found through analysis prove to be effects of other causes.{{ref|LB3|681}}{{ref|LB3|686}}


Martinus locates the deeper cause in the I. Effects and movements cannot themselves create or experience; they are subject to will and logic. The I is therefore described as the “first” cause of the individual’s causes and effects. It is not a product of a preceding thought or cause, but “that which thinks”, “that which creates” and “that which manifests”. In this sense it is the “causeless cause”: the prerequisite behind movement rather than another movement within the chain.{{ref|LB3|686}}
The relation between X1 and X2 is described by Martinus as the individual and the tool through which the individual creates. The I is the originator, while the creative faculty regulates movement, forms thoughts and produces manifestations. Martinus also describes will as regulation of thinking: primordial desire becomes will, will regulates thought, and the resulting combination of movements is creation.{{ref|LB3|694}}{{ref|LB2|465}}


This is also the meaning of the I as fixed point. Martinus describes everything otherwise sensed or experienced as peripheral in relation to the I, which is the still centre around which the rest of the living being moves or vibrates. In the highest spheres of the [[evolutionary spiral]], the I experiences itself as the fixed point in the universe: movements affect [[matter]], while the I does not itself travel with those movements.{{ref|LB2|386}}{{ref|LB3|686}}{{ref|LB3|779}}
The superconsciousness is not the I itself. It is the living being's most important tool because it organises the energies used in its manifestation. It contains talent-kernels in the fate-element, representing acquired abilities and skills, and remains a tool for the individual.{{ref|LB2|327}}{{ref|LB2|328}}


== The Godhead and individual living beings ==
Martinus distinguishes this eternal structure from the [[subconsciousness]]. The latter consists of the physical body together with the five other bodies used for manifestation, whereas the superconsciousness and its fate-element provide the higher basis from which those instruments are organised. These bodies are subordinate organs through which the I controls the corresponding basic energies.{{ref|LB2|329}}{{ref|LB2|465}}
Martinus compares the I’s fixed-point experience with the impression that God might have. In the divine world, a being experiences matter as coming to the I rather than the I having to move towards it. He also describes perfected beings as abiding in the mentality of the Godhead, with divine wisdom, desire, power and love entering their mentality.{{ref|LB2|386}}{{ref|LB2|383}}


Martinus further describes the perfected being as becoming “one with the Father” and manifesting in God’s image and likeness. The individual living being is thus a son of God: an eternal centre that participates in creative power, while still being an individual. This development culminates in cosmic consciousness and perfected creation, rather than in the physical body or any temporary personality.{{ref|LB2|386}}{{ref|LB2|464}}
Automatic functions of the superconsciousness arise from earlier conscious acts of will and practised ways of manifesting. Present choices can therefore influence the future character of the being's creative expression, whether as developed abilities or as harmful tendencies.{{ref|LB2|327}}{{ref|LB2|328}}


The I is consequently both universal in kind and individual in expression. Every living being has the same fundamental triune structure—an I, a creative faculty and a created expression—but its manifestation is shaped by its own experiences, abilities, talent-kernels and acts of will. The diversity of beings belongs to the changing expressions of X2 and X3; the enduring identity that makes each being a living subject is X1, the I.{{ref|LB2|327}}{{ref|LB2|464}}{{ref|LB3|779}}
== X3: creation, organism and visibility ==
 
X3 is the created result and outer, visible expression of creative activity. It includes changing forms and manifestations through which the I becomes perceptible, including [[matter]] and the [[organism]] as instruments. The physical organism is therefore one expression within the wider field of X3; X3 is not limited to one physical body.{{ref|LB3|779}}{{ref|LB2|319}}{{ref|LB2|372}}
 
The organism is both expression and tool. Through it the I senses and creates in physical matter, while its organs make particular forms of [[experience of life]] and action possible. The visible brain, nerves, blood, musculature, glands and other organs are tools used by the invisible centre; the tools would also be helpless without that centre's directing activity.{{ref|LB2|319}}{{ref|LB3|672}}
 
The superconsciousness gathers experience, knowledge, skills and abilities. From this “eternal body” the being creates new physical bodies and transfers abilities from life to life. The changing organism is therefore not the complete identity of the living being, but a renewed instrument shaped by its accumulated creative history.{{ref|LB2|464}}{{ref|LB2|328}}
 
This is also where [[Talent Kernels|talent kernels]] become relevant. The sources describe them as enduring seeds or stored abilities in the fate-element. They preserve developed abilities and dispositions, allowing these to influence later organisms and forms of manifestation.{{ref|LB2|327}}{{ref|LB2|328}}
 
== The I, death and continued existence ==
 
Martinus distinguishes the I from the particular physical body. The body begins, develops, reaches maximum usefulness, undergoes wear and tear and eventually breaks down. The I is not destroyed, because the body is a created tool and not the eternal subject that uses it.{{ref|LB2|319}}
 
Physical [[death]] is therefore the separation of the I from its physical body and the cessation of the manifestation possible through that body. The other bodies and the superconsciousness continue to provide means for the I to function, experience and create. Martinus connects this renewal of bodies explicitly with the living being's creation of its own [[Reincarnation|reincarnation]].{{ref|LB2|319}}{{ref|LB2|328}}
 
Martinus insists that the living being remains the unity of the three principles. What changes is the particular organism and mode of manifestation, not the underlying I and its creative capacity.{{ref|LB2|319}}{{ref|TEWP 1|8.3}}
 
== The I as fixed point and centre of experience ==
 
The fixed point is the I as the unchanging reference centre in relation to which movement, matter and experience appear. Martinus says that everything sensed is peripheral to this centre, while the centre itself cannot be reached as an object by ordinary sensory perception. He also describes the I and its superconsciousness as eternal and beyond time and space.{{ref|LB3|694}}{{ref|LB3|779}}{{ref|LB2|382}}
 
In the chain of [[cause and effect]], causes can be traced to earlier causes, but each such cause is also an effect. Martinus distinguishes the I as the cause that is not itself an effect. The I regulates thought and movement and gives the creative process its direction, while movement and created forms remain subordinate expressions.{{ref|LB3|681}}{{ref|LB3|686}}{{ref|LB3|694}}
 
At advanced stages of development, Martinus says, the I feels itself as the fixed point while matter obeys thought directly. This is presented as a culmination of [[creative ability]]: created matter becomes increasingly responsive to thought, while the I remains the still centre.{{ref|LB2|386}}{{ref|LB2|383}}
 
Thus, in Martinus's analysis, “the I” is the eternal subject of experience, the originator of will and the user of organisms. X1, X2 and X3 describe the complete living being: the nameless I, its creative faculty and the created manifestation through which it experiences life. None of these principles is meaningful in isolation, and the visible organism is one changing expression within this eternal triune relationship.{{ref|LB3|779}}{{ref|TEWP 1|8.3}}{{ref|short book 22|1.6}}
 
== See also ==
* [[The Living Being]]
* [[Livets Bog]]
* [[The Eternal World Picture]]
* [[Superconsciousness]]
* [[Reincarnation]]


== References ==
== References ==

Latest revision as of 18:04, 27 August 2026

The I is, in Martinus's analysis, the eternal and unchangeable centre of the living being. It is distinguished from the visible expression produced through the being's creative activity. Martinus describes the I as the fixed point from which the being's movement can be measured. [1]

The I and the triune principle

Martinus describes the living being as a triune principle consisting of the I, the faculty to create and that which is created. He also refers to these principles as X1, X2 and X3. The three are inseparable aspects of one living reality: without the I there is no one to direct the creative faculty, without that faculty there can be no creation, and without that which is created there is no manifestation through which life can be experienced. [2]

In this terminology, X1 is the I, X2 is the I's creative faculty, and X3 is the result of that faculty and the outer, visible expression of the I. The visible expression is therefore not the I itself; it is what makes the otherwise invisible creative activity perceptible. [3] [4]

The same triune principle can be applied both to an individual and to the Godhead. Martinus says that the Christian expressions Father, son and holy spirit symbolically correspond to X1, X2 and X3. In this passage, those religious expressions are symbols for the inseparable principles of the living being. [5]

X1: the nameless I

Martinus calls the I the “causeless cause” because it stands behind thought, will and manifestation rather than being an effect produced by an earlier cause. An effect is a movement or created result; the I is that which thinks, creates and manifests. It is consequently described as the absolute first cause in the living being's existence. [6] [7] [8]

X1 cannot be analysed like a created object. It has no weight, volume, colour or measurable size, and is not itself a physical or spiritual form. Martinus therefore gives it the minimal analysis “something that is”. X1 is the invisible originator of the manifestations that can be observed, while created forms are the products of the creator. [9] [10] [11]

The I is not, in Martinus's view, an empty abstraction. It is the experiencing centre around which sensory impressions are gathered and from which decisions and acts of will are experienced as originating. Martinus argues that the brain and other bodily organs are tools involved in this process, not the experiencing subject itself. [12] [13]

Martinus contrasts this account with explanations that treat the brain as the origin of experience. In his analysis, the brain, nerves, eyes and other organs are instruments. He uses the contrast between a tool and its user to argue that the organism cannot by itself account for the “something” that experiences, wills and directs it. [14] [15]

X2: creative faculty and superconsciousness

X2 is the creative faculty through which the I organises energy into experienceable forms. Martinus relates this faculty to the individual's superconsciousness, including the “body of eternity” and its fate-element. He says that creative ability originates in this higher organism, which exists before and survives the particular bodies of manifestation. [16] [17] [18]

The relation between X1 and X2 is described by Martinus as the individual and the tool through which the individual creates. The I is the originator, while the creative faculty regulates movement, forms thoughts and produces manifestations. Martinus also describes will as regulation of thinking: primordial desire becomes will, will regulates thought, and the resulting combination of movements is creation. [19] [20]

The superconsciousness is not the I itself. It is the living being's most important tool because it organises the energies used in its manifestation. It contains talent-kernels in the fate-element, representing acquired abilities and skills, and remains a tool for the individual. [21] [22]

Martinus distinguishes this eternal structure from the subconsciousness. The latter consists of the physical body together with the five other bodies used for manifestation, whereas the superconsciousness and its fate-element provide the higher basis from which those instruments are organised. These bodies are subordinate organs through which the I controls the corresponding basic energies. [23] [24]

Automatic functions of the superconsciousness arise from earlier conscious acts of will and practised ways of manifesting. Present choices can therefore influence the future character of the being's creative expression, whether as developed abilities or as harmful tendencies. [25] [26]

X3: creation, organism and visibility

X3 is the created result and outer, visible expression of creative activity. It includes changing forms and manifestations through which the I becomes perceptible, including matter and the organism as instruments. The physical organism is therefore one expression within the wider field of X3; X3 is not limited to one physical body. [27] [28] [29]

The organism is both expression and tool. Through it the I senses and creates in physical matter, while its organs make particular forms of experience of life and action possible. The visible brain, nerves, blood, musculature, glands and other organs are tools used by the invisible centre; the tools would also be helpless without that centre's directing activity. [30] [31]

The superconsciousness gathers experience, knowledge, skills and abilities. From this “eternal body” the being creates new physical bodies and transfers abilities from life to life. The changing organism is therefore not the complete identity of the living being, but a renewed instrument shaped by its accumulated creative history. [32] [33]

This is also where talent kernels become relevant. The sources describe them as enduring seeds or stored abilities in the fate-element. They preserve developed abilities and dispositions, allowing these to influence later organisms and forms of manifestation. [34] [35]

The I, death and continued existence

Martinus distinguishes the I from the particular physical body. The body begins, develops, reaches maximum usefulness, undergoes wear and tear and eventually breaks down. The I is not destroyed, because the body is a created tool and not the eternal subject that uses it. [36]

Physical death is therefore the separation of the I from its physical body and the cessation of the manifestation possible through that body. The other bodies and the superconsciousness continue to provide means for the I to function, experience and create. Martinus connects this renewal of bodies explicitly with the living being's creation of its own reincarnation. [37] [38]

Martinus insists that the living being remains the unity of the three principles. What changes is the particular organism and mode of manifestation, not the underlying I and its creative capacity. [39] [40]

The I as fixed point and centre of experience

The fixed point is the I as the unchanging reference centre in relation to which movement, matter and experience appear. Martinus says that everything sensed is peripheral to this centre, while the centre itself cannot be reached as an object by ordinary sensory perception. He also describes the I and its superconsciousness as eternal and beyond time and space. [41] [42] [43]

In the chain of cause and effect, causes can be traced to earlier causes, but each such cause is also an effect. Martinus distinguishes the I as the cause that is not itself an effect. The I regulates thought and movement and gives the creative process its direction, while movement and created forms remain subordinate expressions. [44] [45] [46]

At advanced stages of development, Martinus says, the I feels itself as the fixed point while matter obeys thought directly. This is presented as a culmination of creative ability: created matter becomes increasingly responsive to thought, while the I remains the still centre. [47] [48]

Thus, in Martinus's analysis, “the I” is the eternal subject of experience, the originator of will and the user of organisms. X1, X2 and X3 describe the complete living being: the nameless I, its creative faculty and the created manifestation through which it experiences life. None of these principles is meaningful in isolation, and the visible organism is one changing expression within this eternal triune relationship. [49] [50] [51]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Livets Bog 3, section 779
  2. ↑ The Eternal World Picture 1, section 8.3
  3. ↑ Livets Bog 3, section 779
  4. ↑ Livets Bog 2, section 319
  5. ↑ The Eternal World Picture 1, section 8.3
  6. ↑ Livets Bog 3, section 686
  7. ↑ Livets Bog 3, section 695
  8. ↑ Livets Bog 2, section 550
  9. ↑ Livets Bog 3, section 695
  10. ↑ Livets Bog 3, section 687
  11. ↑ Livets Bog 2, section 551
  12. ↑ Livets Bog 3, section 672
  13. ↑ Livets Bog 3, section 688
  14. ↑ Livets Bog 3, section 672
  15. ↑ Livets Bog 3, section 688
  16. ↑ Livets Bog 2, section 328
  17. ↑ Livets Bog 2, section 464
  18. ↑ Menneskehedens skæbne, section 1.13 (*)
  19. ↑ Livets Bog 3, section 694
  20. ↑ Livets Bog 2, section 465
  21. ↑ Livets Bog 2, section 327
  22. ↑ Livets Bog 2, section 328
  23. ↑ Livets Bog 2, section 329
  24. ↑ Livets Bog 2, section 465
  25. ↑ Livets Bog 2, section 327
  26. ↑ Livets Bog 2, section 328
  27. ↑ Livets Bog 3, section 779
  28. ↑ Livets Bog 2, section 319
  29. ↑ Livets Bog 2, section 372
  30. ↑ Livets Bog 2, section 319
  31. ↑ Livets Bog 3, section 672
  32. ↑ Livets Bog 2, section 464
  33. ↑ Livets Bog 2, section 328
  34. ↑ Livets Bog 2, section 327
  35. ↑ Livets Bog 2, section 328
  36. ↑ Livets Bog 2, section 319
  37. ↑ Livets Bog 2, section 319
  38. ↑ Livets Bog 2, section 328
  39. ↑ Livets Bog 2, section 319
  40. ↑ The Eternal World Picture 1, section 8.3
  41. ↑ Livets Bog 3, section 694
  42. ↑ Livets Bog 3, section 779
  43. ↑ Livets Bog 2, section 382
  44. ↑ Livets Bog 3, section 681
  45. ↑ Livets Bog 3, section 686
  46. ↑ Livets Bog 3, section 694
  47. ↑ Livets Bog 2, section 386
  48. ↑ Livets Bog 2, section 383
  49. ↑ Livets Bog 3, section 779
  50. ↑ The Eternal World Picture 1, section 8.3
  51. ↑ Livets vej, section 1.6 (*)
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