Attachment is an interesting concept. We are attached to our lovers, pets, jobs, possessions and illimitable other things. Attachment can be understood not as "me" but more accurately as "mine". In this context, attachments imply ownership, sovereignty, dominion. I have a book given to me by my father several years ago. It was his, and shows decades of use in the worn bindings and yellowing pages. However, the book has sentimental meaning for me. Is this attachment? Of course it is. I am perfectly aware that if the book is burned tomorrow or is lost that my physical being will not be damaged, and any mental distress I suffer will only be that which I allow by one means or another.
It is the awareness of attachments that is important. All attachments are voluntarily accepted on one level or another, even if the acceptance was unconscious or the reasons obscure. However, the power of those attachments to rule us is entirely dictated by our awareness of the attachments, as only with knowledge can one choose to either maintain or release that attachment, or to mandate what power it embodies.
One of the most pernicious attachments one must eventually encounter is the attachment to the ego. The ego may be loosely defined as the conscious mind and the apparent personality of the individual. The ego uses reason and other faculties to satisfy the desires of the mind, but who is really minding the store? Is the ego the complete self? Of course not. The ego is a convenient interface of the mind to the universe, again the conscious self that seeks to achieve the desires of the mind when possible and to override them when necessary. The ego deals with desires from conscious and unconscious elements, including suppressed ones and even the desires of the ego itself.
Most people confuse the ego for the self, which is like confusing the receptionist at the front desk for the corporation. People seldom expend the time and patience to explore and integrate the shadow, or to relive and accept traumatic memories and so bring these components into the realm of the conscious instead of the recesses of the unconscious and suppressed unconscious. It is a process of growth, where the whole of yesterday is expanded to become part of a larger whole today. Bringing unconscious elements into the conscious does not mean the ego expands, although that can happen, but rather that there are more and more conscious elements of the self present. This results in a change in the relationships in the mind. With the conscious contents of the self expanding there is a correspondingly smaller percentage of ego. This is not to say the ego gets smaller, but rather that the percentage of the conscious mind that is ego is proportionately smaller due to growth. As the conscious self continues to emerge, the self must give us exclusive identification with the ego.
This is a critical stage. As one ages, this cessation of exclusive identification with the ego allows for further development. With the egoic focus on the satisfaction of desires no longer the exclusive motivator, love for others can manifest to a greater degree and one can to varying degrees emerge into transpersonal awareness. Concern for others, community, nations and global units begins to emerge. Note the parallel here in that the (self) concerns of yesterday expand into the (transpersonal) concerns of tomorrow.
Friday, November 27, 2009
Monday, November 2, 2009
Perspectives on RHP and LHP Thought
“Black magic and the left-hand path serve ego and lead away from the True Self and the True Will, yet he is essentially saying that you can rise ever higher on the evolutionary ladder by submerging yourself in the primitive qliphothic primeval slime beneath the Ladder of Lights. Those above the abyss are capable of this, in a different manner, but for those below the abyss this is sheer nonsense.1 ”
Before we begin, it is necessary to establish a common understanding of the essential natures of the right hand path and left hand path perspectives. Although historical origins are interesting, at this juncture we shall confine ourselves with current definitions. While specific associations vary from tradition to tradition and occasionally within specific traditions, the essential distinction lies in the basic assumption or rejection of various forms of dualism and the values that derive from those assumptions. In the interest of clarity, select sub-beliefs such as the Dianic and Theistic Satanic corpus will be left unexamined.
One basic assumption that forms the foundation of these belief systems is whether the individual or organization in question subscribes to the duality of absolute good and absolute evil. Right hand path philosophies typically have a strong adherence to the belief in the duality of absolute good and evil. Often this belief is shared by many monotheistic religions and this certainty of absolute good or evil is the foundation for rules of conduct and other practices that allow a rigid standard of determining good and evil within a larger community. By contrast, the left hand path stresses that good and evil are relative, a continuum of shades of gray. This moral relativism means that with exceptions moral judgments are largely personal interpretations, leading to an acceptance of more flexible interpretations of good and evil when considering personal acts or the acts of others.
A second basic duality underlying the essential difference between these two schools of thought is esoteric or exoteric authority. The left hand path initiatory school of thought is esoteric, meaning that it is tacitly or explicitly understood that the path to spiritual perfection can be found by looking in and perfecting the self, cultivating self-awareness by a growing understanding of one’s inner nature and ultimate responsibility for success and failure is the sole provenance of the practitioner. Others may provide guidelines or one may choose to use an individual as an example, but it is a purely personal choice.
By contrast, the right hand path series of thought is primarily exoteric in nature, deriving validity from an outside source which is typically a god/goddess or higher principle such as Justice. For example, the right-hand religion of Christianity derives the validity of their initiatory path by adherence to the principles exemplified by Jesus Christ, with followers seeking to become more Christlike and consequently more in accordance to His will. Although not always, the mechanism of this relationship is submission to Jesus Christ, to essentially become an avatar of him on earth. Some right-hand path schools of thought combine elements of exoteric and esoteric assumptions, such as various manifestations of Western ceremonial orders such as the A. A. and others. In organizations of this type, the same esoteric self-examination and self-perfection is explicitly part and parcel of the initiatory process, but derives spiritual authority and validity ultimately through exoteric means.
The third and final major distinction between right hand and left hand path is the status of the ego in the practice of the respective traditions. This is perhaps the most difficult to present. Right hand path philosophies are surprisingly consistent in their identification of the ego as an obstacle to be overcome. These traditions seek to overcome the ego, to erode it, to excise it, overpower it or by various mechanisms allow it to serve the allied higher power or principle or be obliterated in its entirety, allowing that higher power or principle to manifest through the now-perfected vessel.
By contrast, the left hand path of initiation has varying views of the role of the ego at various stages of development. During the period of development characterized by initial magickal development before the experience which in the Golden Dawn traditions is typically referred to as the CHGA, the ego is idealized as the primary, driving force of magickal power and the road to initiatory experience. This period is typically characterized by the expansion of the personality by the systematic process of accessing and assimilating unconscious and repressed elements of the psyche into a whole united by the ego. By the use of the ego as the uniting force which assimilates these emerging elements, it typically hypertrophies with results typically identified with scorn by right hand path devotees.
The Changing Role of Ego in Left Hand Path Initiation
As previously mentioned, prior to the interval of development associated with the sephira of Tiphareth is concerned with the integration of the complete psyche under the aegis of the ego with the common but not necessary occurrence of egoic hypertrophy. However, the role of the ego in the left hand path initiatory pattern must necessarily change, manifesting in two successor phases corresponding to the interval after successful invocation of the Holy Guardian Angel and the Crossing of the Abyss. These are changes both in the perceived role and the manifestation of the ego, and are necessary preconditions in order to achieve final maturation.
In both right hand and left hand path perspectives, the initial success of the Conversation is a milestone of sorts, and reflects the beginning of a new phase of development. During this interval and ending with the initiation of the Abyss experience, the right hand path and its emphasis on disempowerment or more accurately disidentification with the ego serves well. However, in the case of the left hand path initiate and its focus until this interval with empowering the ego a new approach must be learned that does not conflict with personal mores but eases the apparent conflict between identifying with the ego and seeking to expand the psyche to encompass the archetypal true self.
The resolution to this apparent conflict is to begin the process of ceasing to exclusively identify with the ego and to begin also identifying with aspects of the Holy Guardian Angel, or idealized self as archetype. This is not an expansion of the ego, but rather an expansion of the self by identifying with additional and formerly repressed manifestations of the emergent personality in a new crystallization.
1 Frater Keallach 93/676. “Michael Aquino - Part I” Encyclical Letter May 1987 E.V., Anno LXXXIII
Before we begin, it is necessary to establish a common understanding of the essential natures of the right hand path and left hand path perspectives. Although historical origins are interesting, at this juncture we shall confine ourselves with current definitions. While specific associations vary from tradition to tradition and occasionally within specific traditions, the essential distinction lies in the basic assumption or rejection of various forms of dualism and the values that derive from those assumptions. In the interest of clarity, select sub-beliefs such as the Dianic and Theistic Satanic corpus will be left unexamined.
One basic assumption that forms the foundation of these belief systems is whether the individual or organization in question subscribes to the duality of absolute good and absolute evil. Right hand path philosophies typically have a strong adherence to the belief in the duality of absolute good and evil. Often this belief is shared by many monotheistic religions and this certainty of absolute good or evil is the foundation for rules of conduct and other practices that allow a rigid standard of determining good and evil within a larger community. By contrast, the left hand path stresses that good and evil are relative, a continuum of shades of gray. This moral relativism means that with exceptions moral judgments are largely personal interpretations, leading to an acceptance of more flexible interpretations of good and evil when considering personal acts or the acts of others.
A second basic duality underlying the essential difference between these two schools of thought is esoteric or exoteric authority. The left hand path initiatory school of thought is esoteric, meaning that it is tacitly or explicitly understood that the path to spiritual perfection can be found by looking in and perfecting the self, cultivating self-awareness by a growing understanding of one’s inner nature and ultimate responsibility for success and failure is the sole provenance of the practitioner. Others may provide guidelines or one may choose to use an individual as an example, but it is a purely personal choice.
By contrast, the right hand path series of thought is primarily exoteric in nature, deriving validity from an outside source which is typically a god/goddess or higher principle such as Justice. For example, the right-hand religion of Christianity derives the validity of their initiatory path by adherence to the principles exemplified by Jesus Christ, with followers seeking to become more Christlike and consequently more in accordance to His will. Although not always, the mechanism of this relationship is submission to Jesus Christ, to essentially become an avatar of him on earth. Some right-hand path schools of thought combine elements of exoteric and esoteric assumptions, such as various manifestations of Western ceremonial orders such as the A. A. and others. In organizations of this type, the same esoteric self-examination and self-perfection is explicitly part and parcel of the initiatory process, but derives spiritual authority and validity ultimately through exoteric means.
The third and final major distinction between right hand and left hand path is the status of the ego in the practice of the respective traditions. This is perhaps the most difficult to present. Right hand path philosophies are surprisingly consistent in their identification of the ego as an obstacle to be overcome. These traditions seek to overcome the ego, to erode it, to excise it, overpower it or by various mechanisms allow it to serve the allied higher power or principle or be obliterated in its entirety, allowing that higher power or principle to manifest through the now-perfected vessel.
By contrast, the left hand path of initiation has varying views of the role of the ego at various stages of development. During the period of development characterized by initial magickal development before the experience which in the Golden Dawn traditions is typically referred to as the CHGA, the ego is idealized as the primary, driving force of magickal power and the road to initiatory experience. This period is typically characterized by the expansion of the personality by the systematic process of accessing and assimilating unconscious and repressed elements of the psyche into a whole united by the ego. By the use of the ego as the uniting force which assimilates these emerging elements, it typically hypertrophies with results typically identified with scorn by right hand path devotees.
The Changing Role of Ego in Left Hand Path Initiation
As previously mentioned, prior to the interval of development associated with the sephira of Tiphareth is concerned with the integration of the complete psyche under the aegis of the ego with the common but not necessary occurrence of egoic hypertrophy. However, the role of the ego in the left hand path initiatory pattern must necessarily change, manifesting in two successor phases corresponding to the interval after successful invocation of the Holy Guardian Angel and the Crossing of the Abyss. These are changes both in the perceived role and the manifestation of the ego, and are necessary preconditions in order to achieve final maturation.
In both right hand and left hand path perspectives, the initial success of the Conversation is a milestone of sorts, and reflects the beginning of a new phase of development. During this interval and ending with the initiation of the Abyss experience, the right hand path and its emphasis on disempowerment or more accurately disidentification with the ego serves well. However, in the case of the left hand path initiate and its focus until this interval with empowering the ego a new approach must be learned that does not conflict with personal mores but eases the apparent conflict between identifying with the ego and seeking to expand the psyche to encompass the archetypal true self.
The resolution to this apparent conflict is to begin the process of ceasing to exclusively identify with the ego and to begin also identifying with aspects of the Holy Guardian Angel, or idealized self as archetype. This is not an expansion of the ego, but rather an expansion of the self by identifying with additional and formerly repressed manifestations of the emergent personality in a new crystallization.
1 Frater Keallach 93/676. “Michael Aquino - Part I” Encyclical Letter May 1987 E.V., Anno LXXXIII
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