Silver cord
Thesilver cordinmetaphysicalstudies andliterature,also known as thesutratmaorlife thread of the antahkarana,refers to a life-giving linkage from thehigher self(atma) down to the physical body. It also refers to an extended synthesis of this thread and a second (the consciousness thread, passing from thesoulto the physical body) that connects the physical body to theetheric body,onwards to theastral bodyand finally to themental body.[1][unreliable source?]
In other research, it is described as a strong, silver-colored, elastic cord which joins a person's physical body to itsastral body(a manifestation of the physical body that is less distinct).[2][unreliable source?]
Astral projection
[edit]Duringastral projectionandout-of-body experiences,some[citation needed]claim they can (at will or otherwise) see a silver cord linking their astral form to their physical body. This cord mainly appears to a beginning projector as an assurance they will not become lost.[citation needed]
Others asserted, though, that the cases of silver cord observations duringout-of-body experiencesandastral projectionsare rare;[2][unreliable source?]rather, noastral bodyis observed and the projector sees himself or herself as a "disembodied awareness or a point of view" in most cases.[3]
Passing through a tunnel is compared to thebirth canal,and the silver cord resembling theumbilical cord – these are a few observations duringout-of-body experiencesthat are sometimes likened tochildbirth."Birth theories" hypothesized that people who were delivered byCaesarean sectiondo not have tunnel experiences during astral projections. On the contrary, one study showed that there is no discrepancy between the experiences observed by people who are born throughCaesarean sectionand those born naturally during theirOBEorastral projection.[3]
The attachment point of the cord to the astral body differs, not only between projectors, but also from projection to projection. These points correspond to majorchakrapositions. According to the observations of Robert Bruce, there is not a single point of connection to the denser body, but rather a locally converging collection of strands leading out of all the major chakras, and some minor ones (Astral Dynamics, p398).
The silver cord is mentioned bymystics,especially in contexts of dying and ofnear-death experiences.[citation needed]It is said that the cord must remain connected to theastraland the physical bodies during the projection because if it breaks, the projector will die. If a person gets older or if their death is near, theastral bodyslowly separates itself from the physical body and the silver cord breaks, making a complete and irreversible separation of the two bodies. In this situation, the idea of death and dying is interpreted as a "permanentastral projection"that cannot be undone.[2][unreliable source?]
Origin of the term
[edit]The term is derived fromEcclesiastes12:6-7 in theJewish BibleorChristian Old Testament.
As translated from the original Hebrew inThe Complete Tanakh:[4]
- "Before the silver cord snaps, and the golden fountain is shattered, and the pitcher breaks at the fountain, and the wheel falls shattered into the pit. And the dust returns to the earth as it was, and the spirit returns to God, Who gave it."
As rendered in theAuthorised Version:
- "Or ever the silver cord be loosed, or the golden bowl be broken, or the pitcher be broken at the fountain, or the wheel broken at the cistern. Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it."
Or from theNew International Version:
- "Remember him—before the silver cord is severed, or the golden bowl is broken; before the pitcher is shattered at the spring, or the wheel broken at the well, and the dust returns to the ground it came from, and the spirit returns to God who gave it."
These verses, Ecclesiastes 12:6-7, are variously translated, and there is a lack of consensus among Bible commentators as to its meaning.Matthew Henry's commentary, for example, states that the silver cord refers simply to the "spinal marrow."[5]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^Bailey, Alice.Education in the New Age(PDF).Lucis Trust.pp. 19, 21, 76–9.ISBN9780853301059.
- ^abcSmed, Jouni A. (2013)."Out-of-body experience studies".monroeinstitute.org.The Monroe Institute.Archived fromthe originalon 2013-04-15.
- ^abBlackmore, Susan(2004). "Out-of-body experience". InGregory, Richard L.(ed.).The Oxford Companion to the Mind(2nd ed.).Oxford University Press.ISBN9780198662242.
- ^"The Complete Tanach with Rashi's Commentary - English translation with Rashi's commentary".
- ^Henry, Matthew; Scott, Thomas (1835).A Commentary Upon the Holy Bible.Vol. 3: Job to Salomon's song. London: Religious Tract Society. p.496.
Bibliography
[edit]- Fredrick, James; Tildes, Olga (1946).The Silver Cord or Life Here and Hereafter.Christopher Pub.
- Barham, Martha; Greene, James Tom (1986).The Silver Cord: Lifeline to the Unobstructed.De Vorss & Co.