The easiest way to discover the fundamental patterns of reality is to deduce them from first principles.

In the conceptual beginning, there was the I AM. The I AM was the totality of reality—infinite, homogeneous, isotropic—one and all. So, if the I AM was such a perfect expression of infinity, why is there anything else? The answer is clear from the last three words of the previous statement. The I AM was not a complete expression of all potential. It was lacking one thing, true relationship. There was no “other”; it expressed only self-relationship, only the harmony of singularity.

Thus, reality as we know it exists for one purpose, to actualize true relationship; and that reality begins with unity and will end in the perfect harmony, the reunification, of an infinite set of absolutely distinct parts. The unity is conserved, but it is transformed from absolute simplicity to absolute complexity.

In the first event subsequent to the I AM, the will embodied in the whole separated itself from the nonwill. The will is that which acts; the nonwill is that which reacts. The individuated expression of will is personality, the harmonizing influence on the components of reality. The unindividuated will of the I AM is the First Source and Center of all things.

The first action of this infinite will was to infinitely separate the nonwill into two infinite halves, the Qualified (or Deity) Absolute and the Unqualified Absolute, thus establishing the primal relationship. The Deity Absolute is the reservoir of the potential for substance that is self-animating, spirit substance. The Unqualified Absolute is the reservoir of the potential for substance that is not self-animating, material substance. Reality is the simultaneous actualization of these two parallel potentials. The parallelism pattern that is founded in the Qualified and Unqualified Absolutes is expressed as pairs of spirit personalities and material powers, for example, the Eternal Son and the Isle of Paradise. It is also expressed as pairs of creator and controller personalities, for example, the Seven Master Spirits and the Seven Supreme Power Directors. This fundamental parallelism is separate from the twofold actualization of potential as existential and experiential, perfect and perfected, creator and creature, Master Son and Finaliter.

The bifurcation of the I AM introduced an infinite measure of separation into reality. Since unity must be conserved, an equally infinite reciprocal succession of events also came into existence. The Universal Absolute is the reservoir of the potential for this resolution of the disunity tension that was established by the bifurcation. The resolution takes literal form in mind, which bridges the gap between spirit and matter. The separation and succession form a reciprocal pair that constitutes the fundamental duality pattern of the evolutionary level of reality, the local universe level. This duality is expressed as space and time, the Creative Mother Spirits and the Creator Sons, female and male, place and direction.

The fundamental parallelism combined with the literalness of the relationship between the two components points to the first consequence of true relationship, a basic triune pattern. The relationship between the First Source and Center (which acts) and the Deity Absolute (which reacts) is the Eternal Son (which results), the one absolute, pure spirit individuated personality, the Second Source and Center. The relationship between the First Source and Center and the Unqualified Absolute is the Isle of Paradise, the one absolute material actuality. The personal relationship between the Universal Father and the Eternal Son is the Conjoint Actor, the creator aspect of the Third Source and Center. The nonpersonal relationship between the Universal Father and the Isle of Paradise is the Infinite Spirit, the controller aspect of the Third Source and Center, the Mind Bestower.

Unity of nature is reestablished on the absolute level with the existence of the Third Source and Center, and unity of purpose has its focus. The absolute mind of the Infinite Spirit is the literal expression of the relationship between the absolute spirit of the Eternal Son and the absolute matter of the Isle of Paradise. At the superuniverse level, the coordination between the spiritual circuits of the Seven Master Spirits and the physical activities of the Seven Supreme Power Directors is the cosmic mind.

The triune pattern is manifold, from the infinity of the Paradise Trinity to the universality of matter, mind, and spirit. Matter, mind, and spirit encompass the unity of substance, and they also stand in sequence in the upward ascent to God. They find expression in countless ways, perhaps none more significant to the development of mortals than the three fundamental intuitions of cosmic mind— causation, duty, and worship (see Paper 16, section 6). These three insights together constitute the reality response of an individual, and they must be developed in order. No person can acquire spirit values or truly know God without first knowing cause and effect and then right and wrong. All of reality is first grounded in logic, then equilibrated with reason, and finally culminated by divinity.