Here's my take on it: the world of the spirit represents the fifth dimension. It is neither confined to three-dimensional space nor to time but exists "above" the four dimensions. We might say the fifth dimension is "eternal," differing from both space and time. In popular religion (at least in the West), when people think about "after death," they often imagine "living forever." This notion likely entered the zeitgeist through the King James Bible's references to "everlasting life," implying a life that continues indefinitely. In other words, it's still about time, just a very, very long time. So, when you die, you simply continue in another "place." However, "place" also pertains to three-dimensional thinking. Thus, the popular understanding of "eternal" involves living forever in another place, not encompassing the fifth dimension, which is altogether different from places, times, and objects. Alan Watts, reflecting on the transfiguration at death in 1947, speaks of "an eternal present, not an everlasting future."
Fifth-dimensional thinking is found in Plato, where he discusses the Forms. The Forms are eternal realities above and beyond the world of space and time. Everything in space and time is an imperfect copy, a reflection of an eternal reality. Humans originated from this reality and will return to it. This Platonic view has been influential, often coupled with a very negative perception of the world. The human endeavor is to move away from and beyond the world of sense and feeling, returning to the fifth dimension. The four dimensions are seen as flawed, mere dross. Neoplatonic thinking, merged with early Christian theology, produced a highly negative view of the body (including sexuality), with the female body viewed as particularly threatening to the superior male body. In extreme asceticism, the body is mistreated (starved, beaten, bloodied, abused) because the spirit, which is destined to break free from the body, is what truly matters.
This perspective appears in various forms in both the West and the East.
Another, minority tradition seeks to affirm the world of four dimensions without dismissing the fifth dimension. Atheism, of course, discounts the fifth dimension, holding that the four-dimensional world is all of reality.
Pantheism is one attempt to affirm the fifth dimension within the four-dimensional world. In pantheism, "G*d" is everything: the chair I'm sitting on, the iPad I'm writing on, the air I'm breathing. Since all is G*d and G*d is all, everything is good and nothing is despised.
However, pantheism is ultimately unsatisfying for fifth-dimension thinking. If G*d is the same as everything, and everything is the same as G*d, then there is no fifth dimension. G*d, too, is confined within the four dimensions.
Panentheism may offer a more satisfying perspective. It posits that all is in G*d and G*d is in all. G*d is in the chair I'm sitting on, the iPad I'm writing on, etc., but G*d is not the same as my chair. Panentheism maintains the transcendence of G*d (the fifth dimension) while affirming the immanence of G*d in all things. If G*d is in all things, then all things are good. Panentheism is ultimately hopeful, despises nothing, but allows for transcendence, for the fifth dimension. This approach aligns more with the ancient Celtic Christians, though they too often viewed the world disdainfully.
Accepting something like panentheism leads to:
1. Wonderment, as everything contains G*d, the ultimate reality, making everything special.
2. An affirmation of all life: people, animals, nature. Nothing is rejected or despised.
3. Vigilance for the experience of the fifth dimension, which, though often hidden within the four dimensions, occasionally seems to break into and transfigure them. These moments may be brief, but their effects linger: an exquisite night, a day or two of wonderment. While there are no guarantees of experiencing the fifth dimension, certain types of prayer, meditation, and mindfulness can prepare us, opening the possibility without ensuring it. The experience of the fifth dimension is purely a grace.
+Ab. Andy