The spiderweb theory

As said in the text The Meaning, I was sitting at a table in a coffee shop, which in the evening became a wine shop, next to Loureiro, the shoemaker who loved books and wine, and Sofia, his niece. We were ending an interesting conversation about the importance of understanding the meaning of all our experiences so that they can serve the evolutionary process, when I suggested that this idea had many points in common with the Spiderweb Theory. Loureiro agreed and Sofia wanted to know more about it. I explained to her that this was knowledge about a delicate area, as it involved metaphysical issues and I, I confessed, didn’t feel comfortable approaching interdimensional aspects anywhere because of the scepticism and mistrust with which they are often received. “Because of certain biases of existentialism and materialism, when I add metaphysics to philosophy, many people look at me like I’m crazy. Not that I care about that, but there’s no reason to waste time on a subject that people aren’t interested in,” I argued. I was warning her about the conversation to come just in case Sofia would like to know more. She laughed and joked that she loved crazy talk. Then she said seriously that she liked reading about metaphysics, although she still had some difficulty understanding many concepts of a universe that seemed quite complex to her. And it is.

I decided to illustrate the theory with a story that had been told to me by Starry Song, the shaman who had the gift of perpetuating the ancestral wisdom of his people. I closed my eyes and struggled to remember his exact words: “When the bison still grazed peacefully on the plains and could not be counted, there was a very prosperous and happy village. Its inhabitants had developed techniques for planting maize and wheat that provided very bountiful harvests. For years, the excess harvest was sold in markets shared by neighbouring villages. The profits were shared and used to buy various other consumer goods, such as tools, ornaments, and clothes. Even during the region’s harsh winter, everyone smiled, the village knew no hardship and lived in constant harmony. The equinoxes were celebrated with marvellous feasts lasting several days, a tribute to the regeneration and abundance of life. Until the day when the chieftain, a just, wise and loving man who knew how to give everyone their exact share and welcome everyone into his heart, had to leave, making the journey to meet the Great Mystery.”

“A new chieftain would be chosen to take the place of the one who had left. This is how life is endlessly renewed. Several inhabitants applied for the post and soon presented the qualities they believed they possessed for such an important position. It wasn’t long before harmony disappeared and the village split into several groups. Good fellowship, once as common as grass, became a rare commodity. No one paid attention to birdsong, took pleasure in a leisurely horse ride, marvelled at the crescent moon or remembered to thank the sun for its light and warmth. When they lost contact with the land, they distanced themselves from themselves and, with that, the smiles disappeared. It was still a rich village, but it was no longer prosperous. The honey of life had turned sour.”

“That’s when the news arrived that a distant tribe, known for its ferocity, dedicated to the craft of warfare, since it produced nothing, only took from others what it needed or wanted, was marching to invade the village. They needed to protect themselves, because they knew that if they didn’t, fate would bring them ashes, tears, misery and slavery. However, instead of coming together for the same purpose, they intensified their internal disputes, fuelled by pride and vanity. They fought over who would be the chosen one to draw up the defence strategies, lead the village and claim victory. Arguments raged to the limit. Under normal conditions, the attempted invasion wouldn’t pose any serious threat, as the old chieftain had always taken care of his protection with the same balance as his crops. However, warriors were more concerned with heated arguments than with sharpening their spears, they were more concerned with the laurels of victory than with protecting the children.”

“The days went quickly, as such days do. Until they learnt of the proximity of the invading tribe. It was two nights before the attack. The necessary precautions for defence had been ignored. There was no more time for proper preparation. At that point, they no longer believed they could look after the village on their own. The cradle of despair is the belief in the incapacity of one’s own strength. They remembered to ask for help from the shaman, who until then had remained quiet, silent and just watched. Only the powers of the invisible world could save them from the worst. The shaman welcomed the committee to his tent to ask for help. He listened to their requests and, in the end, showed them why they were in a situation they didn’t need to be in. Discord and intrigue, fuelled by pride and vanity, had sucked the vital force out of the village. If they were weak, it was because they had turned away from their own hearts. He said he would help them, but it was essential that they had learnt their lesson, because they would need it forever.”

“He asked everyone to go into the forest and bring back as many vines as possible. That same afternoon, an enormous amount of it was spread throughout the streets of the village. The shaman asked them to weave an enormous web, so fine that not even a small squirrel could pass through it. The web would be large enough to cover the entire village.”

“So it was done. They worked through the night and by dawn the huge web was ready. There was no time to lose, the invading tribe was only a few hours away. The shaman explained that the web would be raised over the village and the warriors would hold it steady, each holding one of its many ends. If the village remained united in the same idea and feeling, it would be invulnerable. But if one of the ends were to break, the web would weaken and then tear. Then there would be no way to contain the invaders. He then cast a spell on the web and the warriors whose job it was to support it, making them invisible to their enemies. He also said that the behaviour of each inhabitant in support of the warriors’ difficult mission was equally important.”

“When the invaders arrived, the web enveloped the village and, firm at each of the points held by the warriors, kept the village unscathed by the savagery of the raiding tribe. A few days passed without any success for the invaders, who were prevented from advancing beyond the thin, strong meshes of the protective web. Inside the village, the other inhabitants, who had dedicated themselves to feeding the warriors so that they could endure the difficult mission, began to believe in a hitherto unlikely victory. Even before the danger ceased, the discussion about the future leadership of the village resumed. Fights broke out again and they forgot to feed the warriors. Weakened, one of them couldn’t keep hold of the end of the web he was holding, which was enough for some invaders to enter the village. They were contained by the warriors who stayed behind. However, the broken end reminded them of the feeling of danger: the return of fear led to panic. The inhabitants once again disbelieved in their strength and forgot the indispensable purpose of unity called for by the shaman. Now they only thought of escaping with whatever possessions they could carry. As they fled, a group of them knocked down a warrior who was holding up another end of the web. Taking advantage of this, more invaders entered the village. However, they were also prevented from advancing by the good work done by the careful rearguard. However, with two loose ends, they ended up overloading the warriors who were holding the other ends next to them. They were unable to maintain the mission they were tasked with. The web broke and, this time, the rearguard wasn’t enough to contain the growing number of invaders. The village collapsed. Ashes, tears, misery and slavery remained. To this day, many believe that the problem lay in the making of the web or in the incapacity of the shaman.”

Loureiro, although he listened carefully, already knew the story. Sofia listened attentively and, at the end, asked for more details about the Theory of the Spiderweb. “In my father’s house there are many dwellings,” I quoted a well-known saying of Jesus from the canonical Gospels to introduce the subject. Sofia understood that the master was referring to the many possible destinations after the end of an existence. I agreed: “Yes, that seems to me to be the correct interpretation, although the subject deserves greater breadth and allows for other approaches, all of which are very interesting. What strikes me about the phrase is the reality of multiple cosmic dimensions with different vibrational patterns. Each dimension, a dwelling place. All these dimensions, to a greater or lesser degree, subtle or dense, are or can be in connection with us, exerting an enormous and often unthinkable influence on our lives.”

“Everyone, since birth, carries an egregore with them.” Sofia interrupted me to say that she had never heard that word before. I explained in my own way: “In short, an egregore is a vibrational structural field that has an affinity with a soul. They are energies of different colours, fundamentally built with the aim of enlightening, intuiting and guiding choices, and also protecting, avoiding attacks and influences that are harmful to that individual’s evolutionary cycle. To this end, an energetic web of light and defence is formed around them which, although real and even tangible, with various levels of interaction, is imperceptible to the human eye.”

“However, the maintenance of this web will depend exclusively on the intellectual, emotional and ethical standards of the individual. This is the important part that falls to them. Your thoughts and choices can intensify the traffic between the dimensions, helping to expand consciousness, to perceive the truth and, with this, to undo suffering, as well as optimising the evolutionary cycles by encouraging virtues to flourish. Intuition, an extremely valuable language in which the ego can listen to the soul, also manifest in an increasingly louder and clearer dialogue with its egregore. Another extremely important function of an egregore is to strengthen the defence system because we are constantly under attack from the denser dimensions. The protection offered by the egregore will depend on the individual’s capacity of perception and sensitivity, as well as their commitment to understanding themselves more deeply and offering the world, as widely as possible, the flowers they manage to germinate every day in their heart. A person with a strengthened and luminous egregore is like a house with firm foundations, sturdy walls, clear surroundings, and a blooming garden. There is no night to frighten them, because they will always have their own light with them.”

“As we have seen, there is a constant and intense harmony between the individual’s habits of thinking, feeling and acting and their egregore. On the other hand, the web can break or even disintegrate as a result of their behaviour. They will then be vulnerable to the most diverse attacks and influences.” Sofia pondered: “My grandmother taught me to pray to my guardian angel so that he would always protect and enlighten me. I’ve had this habit since I was a child and it feels good”. I explained: “Your grandmother was wise in her advice. The guardian angel is present in various religious traditions, although he appears under different names and guises. The guardian angel plays an important role in a person’s egregore. Although he won’t abandon the mission he has set himself, he has serious commitments to higher dimensions and cannot fail to fulfil a higher determination based on the cosmic laws of justice, wisdom and love. Often, he won’t be able to prevent a disastrous effect which cause we provoked. On closer inspection, this is an indispensable course correction, without which we won’t be able to revise gloomy behaviour or detach ourselves from obsolete concepts that we haven’t yet realised how unhealthy they are. Don’t forget: to educate is to make things better and that is why it is sacred. Don’t be sorry; remember to be grateful and learn”.

Analysing the story of Starry Song, she commented that if the egregore breaks, it’s because, like the villagers who had to look after the warriors to keep the web strong and firm, we become careless and end up moving away from the Light that guides and protects us. Sofia had understood the theory.

I wanted to add one more detail: “Egregores can come together when two or more people come together for the same purpose, such as a family, or even a company, just to take a few of the many possible examples.” Sofia was surprised that an egregore existed for a company. I showed her the bias: “A company has an important social and, believe me, spiritual function. Work, when well directed, will always be a source of evolution, whether by overcoming the various types of difficulties that arise, from the roughness that is common to relationships when people of different views live together under the same interest to the need for innovation in order to overcome obstacles. Many families base their livelihoods and well-being on the maintenance and growth of a company. The egregores of light want countless people to benefit in order to leverage progress for everyone. Companies with a healthy working environment, where employees respect each other and collaborate for the common good, with a good atmosphere of camaraderie, are sources of joy, have their creativity stimulated and have a strong web of protection against the inevitable inclement weather typical of business. The opposite also happens: an environment dominated by intrigue, pride, vanity, selfishness and greed often tears the web and exposes the company to the ravages of fortune. As a result, those who depend on it end up being hurt by the losses and annoyances they suffer. It wasn’t revenge from heaven or fate, but the just consequences of the causes they provoked, combined with the vulnerability they caused. Destructive energies, present in dimensions of dense vibration, are attracted through energetic affinity and cause enormous damage. This happens when the egregore breaks down.” I paused and added: “It’s quite common to see companies that have flourished for years and, because of a small disagreement between partners, the fights escalate and, before you know it, the company has gone bankrupt. The growing indolence of employees can have similar consequences. There was no turnaround in the market or change in management. It happened because the internal shadows grew larger and destroyed the web. In a short space of time, an absurd amount of deleterious energy is capable of invading and destroying a company, either by influencing decisions or by alienating suppliers and consumers for no apparent reason. These are reflections of the vibrational pattern of the people who work there and, above all, run the company.”

Sofia asked if something similar could happen to a marriage or even to our immune system. She recalled the psychosomatic illnesses that come from existential and emotional imbalances, which are increasingly present on the planet. I nodded in agreement: “We are attacked all the time, in countless ways and on many fronts. The workings and influences of the various cosmic dimensions is a broad and complex subject that requires a lot of study. For now, the important thing is to understand how to strengthen your egregore so that you don’t fall out of balance and can take care of other matters relating to your life with peace of mind, while this real force field protects you from something that, although real, we can’t see.”

The girl thought for a few moments, as if making a connection between the theory and some events in her life. Then she asked if the hurt she had felt towards her sister for months on end could have affected her egregore, because since then she has been extremely impatient with people’s behaviour, especially her husband’s, and this has greatly affected her marriage. I just looked at her like she knew the exact answer. Sofia smiled resignedly. The solution to the equation was clear.

She wanted to know the most practical way to strengthen her egregore and avoid harmful influences. I was succinct: “May Sofia never doubt or abandon her own Light; may she never forget the guiding principles of life. Therein lies her strength and beauty. Above all, never negotiate with the shadows.”

Sofia looked at me intently. I was a little more didactic: “Take care of your thoughts and, little by little, free your consciousness from the limiting conditioning imposed by fear, guilt and hatred. Allow yourself to think outside the box so that ancestral ideas of domination, revenge and intolerance don’t guide your choices. Life can offer us much more than we are led to believe. You have to think outside the box so you don’t fall short.”

“Be aware of your feelings. You have to love more and better every day. The virtues are at your disposal for this. They are like different instruments brought together in a single orchestra: yourself. There must be none left or none missing. Only in this way will it be possible to compose a beautiful cosmic opera.”

“The beauty of this symphony, to the extent of its chords, should not be restricted to the music we need to play to warm our own hearts. Do this all the time, but don’t forget to take moments to dance with the world. Only then will it be possible to join hearts in the same step and tempo. This is why choices exist.”

“Conscience is the conductor, virtues are the instruments; choices enable the music and the dance.”

“Believe me, your egregore will be there, whether it’s in intuition or in the tuneful rhythm of the strings of each instrument manifested in musical notes. It also watches over the hall where all the dances of your life will take place. It’s up to you to look after it and create it.”

It was time for my train. Loureiro said he would accompany me to the station. Before I left, Sofia wanted to know the correlation between the Meaning Thesis and the Spiderweb Theory. It was the shoemaker who replied: “Finding the meaning of all things lies in the importance of discovering the love hidden in all situations. The web teaches us that without love we become weak and vulnerable.”

Sofia thanked us. There was sincerity and joy in her eyes. She said she would stay to toast herself; it had been a day of important discoveries: “I need to reorganise my orchestra. Life still awaits me for many dances”. When we said goodbye, there was a beautiful smile on her face.

Translated by Cazmilian Zórdic.