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The Division of Consciousness: The Secret Afterlife of the Human Psyche

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"The Division of Consciousness" by Peter Novak is based on a simple realization. It is really quite amazing when you realize that the secret of the afterlife is staring us right in the face and we don't realize it. That the supposed conflict between reincarnation and the "heaven and hell" model, cyclical re-occurrence and lineal history (i.e. history that ends in Judgement) can be resolved simply, yet it is an answer that is so easily overlooked.

Novak's understanding of the afterlife is based on a simple psychological model of man. If we consider the nature of man and for a moment take a more psychological than esoteric view, we can clearly see that the psyche is made up of two characteristics, the conscious and unconscious mind. We may even surmise that at some time man existed in a state of full awareness but that due to some error, conflict or change, this awareness was lost or diminished and a divided consciousness resulted. This divided consciousness is comprised of the conscious mind and a sub or unconscious region where memories, emotions, desires and drives exist. Traditional psychology tells us that while we are motivated by the unconscious we have little awareness of its depth or intensity. In the Gnostic model we can suggest that the full awareness that once existed was more than its constituent parts and that it was a state of pure will. A state of undivided light and mindfulness. However, after the fall into matter, this state of will was diminished and a division developed between the two characteristics of the personality. As time progressed, this division increased so that there is now an immense gulf between the conscious and unconscious minds.

There are many models we can use to explain the development of this divided consciousness. However, regardless of how it occurred, it is clear that modern man works with a psyche comprised of two separate compartments. The gulf between which is immense. For Novak, this gulf while important in life, only takes on its greatest significance after death.

Imagine for a moment, what would occur if at death these two segments of the psyche continued to exist separately. Consider the resulting division of consciousness. Let us take the unconscious first. Separated from any critical facility, any outward awareness, it would turn on itself and become absorbed in its memories. Depending on its experience, these memories could be pleasurable or painful. As time progresses, these memories will become its only reality, it literally will create its own heaven or hell. This separate unconscious self will wander the astral realms of its own creation, external reality will be molded and conditioned by its perceptions which are clearly embodied in its experiences.

The conscious self, on the other hand, will have no memory. As time progresses, it will loose whatever records it has of its present incarnation and as it wanders the astral worlds will be inevitably be drawn back to matter. Since its perception is primarily though a physical vehicle, it will feel compelled to again incarnate. The longer it wanders, the more it loses its perceptions and awareness, and in the end it can do little but take possession of a body and begin to grow and develop once again.

As can be readily ascertained, if we apply this divided consciousness to the afterlife experience a truly momentous understanding results. Reincarnation and the heaven/hell model are both true. There is both a "underworld" or spiritual plane and a return to earth. There is soul-sleep in the sense of the self-absorbed unconscious memory and a lack of awareness with the conscious self. So many traditions are reconciled. The conscious self is not aware, on the whole, of the unconscious "shells" and hence has no memory of past lives. As it re-incarnates it brings with it some associational links with these unconscious "selves", but has little or no awareness of them. Accordingly, each life it re-develops a further unconscious, creating another unconscious self. Hence, as Gurdjieff argued, man is a multitude, not a singularity. There are thousands of selves, self absorbed and waiting to be realized. Each of these selves while existing in a dimension of its own making, is also however potentially linked to facets of the unconscious mind which has evolved in any incarnation. The conscious self has the pattern to re-create the unconscious and has some record of the unconscious "nodes" which exist as part of itself, but these records are automatic and it is not aware of why they exist. It cannot be aware of them since it does not have its own memory, each life it creates an unconscious region which stores the memories and these it loses, for all intents and purposes, at the conclusion of any incarnation. The image of the soul heading into the light is the moment when the two selves are separated and go in different directions. One into its own memory-caused virtual reality, the other back towards matter.

This division of the afterlife explains many of the descriptions that arise of wandering ghosts, channeling, spirit guides and the like. While there is no liberation in the afterlife, there is no real awareness either. Spirits can communicate from their own "virtual world" giving their view of what is occurring. Each will reflect only its own memories and history. Transcendence cannot be discovered in this world or the next, it comes from the source of light and it alone.

This interpretation of the afterlife is pregnant with meaning. Novak offers us a journey through the world of the Bible, myths and legend, re-interpreting them in the light of this new discovery. The traditions of the underworld, heaven, hell and reincarnation all come alive and mean so much more. Swedenborg's descriptions of heaven and hell as realities we create from within ourselves becomes surprising poignant as does the gloomy afterlife of the Sumerians and Israelites. Without union and awareness, the unconscious selves wander in self absorbed darkness. The otherworld is not some place of divine joy and abandonment nor of diabolic torture and pain, it is a dimension which is solely created from the memories of its creator and hence the origins of all experiences within it are from the soul at its source. The Egyptian initiatory system which demanded a reconstitution of the self so that it could escape the coils of the planets and return to the Treasury of light takes on a new relevance. The experience of simulated death and rebirth involves the process of re-uniting the divided mind and achieving cosmic union and is hence central to all the mystery traditions.

In the life and death of Jesus we can see this illustrated, his descent into the underworld and freeing of the dead can be understood as the liberating of the unconscious selves. His resurrection and ascension could also be interpreted as the state of full integration and awareness with the resulting transformation from fallen to light substance. Again Novak offers us a particularly comprehensive re-interpretation of the Life of Jesus showing both its significance as a core event within the division of consciousness and its value as a type for man's re-awakening of the Self.

The Final Judgement and the End of the world also can take on new significance. There is a great urgency within this vision of the divided mind. Since the origins of this dual consciousness are in the fall, man is on a downward trek and there must be a climactic conclusion to the process.

As man heads into the Kali Yuga, the barrier between the astral world and the physical dimension fade away and man is forced to deal with the thousands of "selves" which make up the monstrosity which is his unconscious. As these selves begin to dawn all sorts of mental disturbances occur, mankind begins to go mad, both individually and collectively. This is the re-awakening of the dead, not as flesh and bones but within our own psyches. The process of spiritual development is hence to awaken a superhuman sense of will, the true Self that existed beyond that conscious and unconscious, and through this heightened awareness, process the thousands of selves and achieve a true inner union, a complete state of awareness. As the dark age comes to a climax, there is little choice in regards to this process, mankind must either achieve rectification of his consciousness or have it destroyed in a dark night of madness, memory and suffering. The return of Christ is in one sense the awakening of the superhuman Self within, and the banishing of the hordes is the purification and processing of the unconscious selves. While certainly these images have other more prophetic meanings, their application to the divided mind cannot be ignored.

Novak's explanation of the Prophetic scriptures is quite profound and comprehensive. His re-evaluation of the symbols of revelation does not take away their historic and prophetic meaning, but adds a psychological depth which resonates beyond the superficial interpretations of Biblical scholars.

This a work of great significance. It ta

Back in 1985, I did a final project in college required for graduation on the Gnostic period of early Christianity. These "Gnostics" as we call them today had one thing in common; though they consisted of many different unorganized sects and groups, all of them subscribed to a version of Christianity different from what we take for granted today. Back then the mystery of who and what Jesus Christ was was greatly subject to interpretation, and many documents of his life and work were written that did not appear in the Bible. St Paul, who founded Christianity as we know it toady, was interested in making Christianity appeal to the Greeks and Romans; it is this version that we know as Christianity today. There were others, however, including some of Jesus' apostles, took a view that was somewhat more complex, suggesting that there were some important theological points that St Paul was overlooking.

I missed most of these points myself in my final project; I had in the back of my mind that there was something more that I was missing due to my lack of attention and time(I wanted to graduate that year). When I read through Peter Novak's "The Division Of Consciousness", I finally found that missing piece. I wanted to go back and rewrite my project after the fact, but Novak has already said it better than I could have. Novak's book deals with an ingenious concept he calls division theory, which postulates that the spirit and soul, which we often consider to be the same thing, are actually two different entities that usually split after the change called death. To coin a phrase from Carl Jung (who is quoted liberally by Novak), the spirit is the conscious mind, while the soul is the unconscious mind. The concept also addresses reincarnation; the spirit reincarnates, while the soul is frozen in whatever emotional state it tended towards in earthly life. The inference is that Adolf Hitler's soul is in Hell, while Mother Theresa's soul is in heaven.

My very natural question on this concept being introduced was "Well, how do we reintegrate the soul and the spirit?" This, according to Novak, is where Jesus Christ came in. In Novak's estimation, Christ appears to have been the first earthly being to successfully integrate the soul and spirit; it could be said he was sent here by God to show us how it is done. "That which I have done, ye can do also." As far as I as a sometime comparative religion student and researcher on the subject am concerned, there were probably others, but it does explain why some religions emphasize reincarnation (Hinduism)and others emphasize the continuance of the soul only (modern Christianity). The research of Elizabeth Kubler-Ross and others into afterlife experiences suggests that some have conscious memories of certain things happening (spirit), while others have intense feelings of either great bliss or pain (soul).

The book is very well-researched and written; it's clearly a labor of love on the part of the author. Some of the conclusions drawn may make casual Christians uncomfortable, but serious Christian scholars would either feel vindicated, be intrigued, or both. This is a book to disturb the comfortable and comfort the disturbed. The one thing that makes me uncomfortable personally is the emphasis on Jesus Christ's Second Coming in the last few chapters of the book, that would appeal greatly to any fundamentalist Christian who's fascinated with the Book Of Revelation. There's material that could be very easily misinterpreted with unfortunate results if not read very carefully. Chapters 9 and 10 were the most difficult parts of the book; they deal with what will happen to the divided souls and spirits of individuals in the event of The Second Coming. I will only say that it is more gruesome than the worst Christian apocalyptic warnings.

"The Division Of Consciousness" caused me to examine my own religion; it occurs to me that there is room in my religion for this concept. It appears to have been articulating it in its own way, I just may not have noticed before. It shows that there is room for improvement in all religions, that they all are missing the point in different ways. The caste system in India, for example, could be considered a result of their own misunderstanding of division theory, just as Christianity has over time excised all but a few references to reincarnation in the Bible. "This is the one...there has not risen anyone greater than John The Baptist...And if you are willing to accept it, he is the Elijah who was to come. He who has ears, let him hear." Matthew 11:11-15. There are many more in the Gnostic Gospels, especially the Gospel of Thomas (the apostle best known as 'doubting Thomas,' who would only believe Jesus had returned if he saw with his own eyes. When he did, however, he said "My Lord and my God!").

"The Division Of Consciousness" is very readable for any casual student of religion at the college level. I would have welcomed studying it in my college classes in the early '80's. It is, quite frankly, the most important book in its field since Elaine Pagel's The Gnostic Gospels in 1978, and takes Pagel's merely scholarly conclusions light years further. Division theory is such an ingenious concept I'm amazed nobody had been able to think of it in this way before. There are religions that have concepts of levels of spiritual experience that touch on the concept in some way; in my religion, for example, it's explained in terms of the subtle bodies (Astral, Causal, Mental (conscious mind), Etheric (unconscious mind)), that the Pure Soul goes through and eventually drops in its progression back to God. That, however, is another book entirely, but the connection between Novak's theory and theories of the Self postulated by Freud and Jung are significantly similar (conscious=Spirit, unconscious=Soul, subconscious=the overlapping point that occurs between the two in a living human being).

I started reading Novak's "The Division of Consciousness" and couldn't put it down until I finished it. Having read a great multitude of books on the afterlife and metaphysical thought, I have to say that this book ranks up there with the best that I have read. This material is fresh, thought provoking and you will not be satisfied in just reading it only once.

I am very impressed with this theory. I am glad that he relies on the Gnostic writings because I feel they are more authoritative that our modern Bible which has been tampered with through the ages. Also, Edgar Cayce in his psychic readings, while knowing absolutely nothing about Gnosticism in his waking state, has confirm that Gnosticism is the highest form of Christianity. Much of what Novak writes agrees with Cayce's revelations. Cayce talked about the body (conscious mind), mind (subconscious mind) and spirit (superconscious mind). According to Cayce, at death the conscious mind is shed and the subconscious mind becomes the conscious mind. At the higher dimensions of the spirit world, this conscious mind is shed and the superconscious mind becomes the conscious mind. As far as I know, Cayce did not reveal what happens to the subconscious mind (the astral body according to some metaphysical sources) after it is shed.

This DivisionTheory makes perfect sense to me. So much of what Novak has written agrees with everything I know concerning metaphysics, while adding much new information that ties everything together perfectly. Before I heard of Division Theory, I have come across many characteristics of the afterlife that would affirm Division Theory to be true. For example, I have read that the personality we currently project is but one facet of our entire soul, like a multi-faceted "diamond" to use an analogy. The personalities of our many past lives, taken all together, is the true representation of our soul, who we really are, what is written on our "Akashic record" or also known as "the Book of Life", our total experience as individuals separate in personality from the Whole, of God.

Accordingly, our complete experience in individuality and our complete personality is so immense, we can only project a small portion or aspect of our complete personality at a time. In other words, the personality we project here in the physical is only one facet of our entire soul personality that we desire to develop and perhaps change for the better.

Before a person incarnates into this physical world, it is said that they have a vast array of destinies, lessons, and people for which to choose to incarnate. Because of the immenseness and multi-facetedness of our soul, we can only choose that destiny, lesson, incarnation that will better help us develop a particular facet of our soul. Once in the flesh, that aspect of our personality we choose to develop can be better expressed by the incarnation we choose. A good analogy would be that our present personality is but a drop in a bucket of water representing our soul.

After reading Novak's book, it is very difficult to deny the fact of our multiple personalities and the multifaceted soul we have that exists only in the higher realms of consciousness. This is my take on the situation in light of Peter Novak's wonderful revelations. His book definitely ranks up there with one of the best. Wonderful and enlightening reading.

People who have had near death experiences report seeing their friends and relatives waiting for them. People who undergo past life regression discover that they lived many other lifetimes, in a variety of bodies. Both kinds of experience appear equally valid. How can we change bodies with each lifetime, yet appear to those who love us in the same body in which they last saw us?

Peter Novak attempts to answer this question in his book, The Division of Consciousness: The Secret Afterlife of the Human Psyche. Novak spent ten years studying psychology, theology, thanatology, comparative religion, biblical archaeology, past-life regressions, and near death experiences before formulating his theories. He says that "we still don't understand death or agree about it at all. Our sciences don't agree, our religions don't agree, our ideas don't even agree."

Novak says that we are composed of three parts: body, mind, and soul. Only the body "dies" at death: the mind and soul continue. He refers to the mind as "conscious" and the soul as "unconscious," and believes the conscious and unconscious split from each other after death. He has named this "Division Theory." Division Theory, he says, reconciles the "East's doctrine of reincarnation and the West's doctrine of heaven and hell."

He analyzes various theologies and philosophies, showing how Division Theory reconciles traditional differences. His assertions are carefully documented and supported.

Readers may or may not agree with Novak's Division Theory. As Novak says, "something profound changed" when he began his research. "A door opened; a new perspective dawned; an alternate possibility presented itself." Considering the theories presented in The Division of Consciousness will enable readers to open their own doors to what happens in the afterlife.

Perhaps the most original speculation on the nature of the human spirit in 50 years. Drawing on religious archetypes and passages in various ancient scriptures, Peter suggests that at death, the human spirit divides into two portions: Memories of the recent life, which continue to re-live themselves to eternity; and the spirit, which, lacking memories, seeks a new body to provide identity. The goal of existence is to integrate all our various sets of memories into one final, spiritual individual--and the process by which Peter suggests this might happens is almost too terrifying to contemplate.

My sole gripe is that Peter reads things into certain Biblical passages that are a real stretch, but fortunately, the premise is not wholly dependent on Biblical references, which are profoundly poetic and ambiguous in any event.

Easily the most thoughtful speculation on the future of the human soul that I have ever read.

The personal tragedy of the death of his wife stimulated Peter Novak to go on a 10-year odyssey about what happens to us after the death of the physical body. He examined a whole host of religions and cultures along with the depth psychology of Freud and Jung. Novak found an amazing thing: we do not have just one soul. Rather we have a soul that relates to the unconscious mind and a spirit that relates to the conscious mind. Unless the person is fully integrated while alive, the soul and the spirit go on their separate paths after death. Novak calls his concept "Division theory." With this theory, Novak is able to show the differences between Western monotheistic religions such as Christiantity and Islam - which describe the fate of the soul and its afterlife travels to either heaven and hell - and Eastern religions, such as Hinduism and Buddhism - which describe the fate of the spirit which repeatedly reincarnates. Division theory is exceptional because it shows there is historical and scientific verification for the concept of a spirit and soul with separate fates. All is not lost, however, as Novak shows us how to integrate the two haves to have a fully-integrated spirit-soul that can travel to eternal bliss with the Supreme Being. The concept is brilliant, and the book is well-written. It was a stimulus for me in my own book, "Searching for Eternity." I recommend "The Division of Consciousness" without reservation for all those who are puzzled about what awaits us in the afterlife and how we can help ourselves achieve eternal bliss.

This book ought to be read by every thoughtful person on this planet - not only those contemplating the after-life! Because by studying the after-life, we can learn to get more out of our current lives. Peter Novak effectively pulls it all together: religion (the major World religions' after-life beliefs of reincarnation and a heaven/hell scenario, and more); science (current scientific ideas about the duality of the mind, ie. the conscious and un-conscious aspects of the brain); "paranormal" activity (ie. near-death experiences, past-life hypnosis regression analysis, and ghosts).

Through his comprehensive research, lasting over a decade, Peter Novak has shown that the current major World Religions have all been partially correct in their after-life beliefs about what transpires after we leave this three-dimensional existence, but none has had the whole picture. The simple, yet profound, very early Christian belief of the Binary Soul Doctrine, which was effectively squelched over time by a variety of means, has been almost single-handedly resurrected by Peter Novak. And now, with the advent of the Internet, the ideas discussed in this book, may have a real chance to elevate our global consciousness and unity. Passages from the Bible, whose meaning had heretofore eluded comprehension by most of us, now re-looked at through the Division Theory filter, make a lot more sense.

While his book is brilliant, Peter would be the first to admit that his Division Theory is a work- in-progress. Peter continues fleshing out the nuances of the ideas proposed in his book, via his web site and discussion groups. I think a second book may eventually result from his continued research and I'll be one of the first in line to purchase and read it!

Peter Novak has synthesized a great deal of world philosophy and theology in his search for the meaning of death. This is a work in progress. Division of Consciousness has started a movement of discovery.

We are not the simple physical beings of biological science, nor are we merely spirit inhabiting a body on a temporarary basis. Rather we are a complex blend of spirit, soul, body, with an eternal history and infinite future. The reconciliation between Eastern and Western thought is well underway now.

This theory has legs. It is robust. A good theory has the ability to predict and foreshadow events and discoveries before they occur. Division theory does just that. There are not only parallels, but explanations for existing beliefs that seem odd or without context in various traditions. Add division theory and they seem to make a lot more sense. To me, this is the strongest recommendation for his new paradigm. Even religions the author has not yet studied are relevant to his theory and enhance each other.

Through the website and email discussion group Peter is accumulating more and more information and viewpoints. The theory is being refined, clarified, and is evolving. The contribution DT makes to ones personal understanding of Life, the Universe and Everything is different for each person, but powerful for most who dig into it and engage the theory with an open mind.

This first book whets ones appetite for more. I am eagerly awaiting the next book. There is more than enough meat here to give scholars and theologians something to chew for a very long time. Further research into NDE's, OBE's, past life regressions, psychotropic drug reactions and various spiritual and para-spiritual experiences continues to enhance the theory.

Read the book and join in the journey of discovery! You will never look at life in exactly the way same again. If it doesn't exactly fit perfectly for you now, just hold on. Join the discussion group and help Peter with the next book.

This book must be popular among heterodox Christians and Occultists, open to new and surprising interpretations about the spiritual realms. Its style is enjoyable to read, and its outlook is shaped by a sophisticated and eclectic kind of Christianity.

However, this religious overtone is also its main limitation, undermining the goal set by the author himself: to carry out a multidisciplinar research about the real nature of the human psyche and its afterlife. Rather, the book is a very Christian-cum-Jungian reading, with strong emphasis on the Bible, easily raising methodological questions Novak should have considered: can a religious book be considered an *empirical* source? Is it possible to reach the "truth" quoting some prophets' psychedelic experiences and their hermetic tongues of fire?...

The book totally ignores recent and good studies from parapsychology, transpersonal psychology, medicine, psycotropic drugs, and NDE/OBE field. These areas certainly put in question Novak's "Division Theory" - at least towards a "Unitary Theory". Novak's claims should be more wisely and modestly seen as a speculative hypothesis.

Being biased by his a prioris, the author sees things he wants to, and draws conclusions he is prepared to. Because of these serious flaws, the final result is a non convincent argumentation, whether the reader is a believer, a scientist or a theologian...

Some of the examples cited in the book are incorrect. The author states that the New Zealand Maori have a belief in reincarnation (p56), I have grown up and lived with this culture and they do not hold reincarnation as a belief. Another example is stating the New Zealand Maori believe in a descent to an underworld. They believe in an ascent not descent. These are just 2 examples of incorrect statements, for me, this throws doubt on other statements portrayed as facts.

I agree that division theory is a possibility but certainly not one of the best fits for an afterlife I've investigated. I was almost a believer in the first couple of chapters but the further into the book you go the more unbelievable the statements, it requires quite a stretch of the imagination.