There is That which watches the arising and passing away of consciousness. When consciousness arises there then arises Thought, of which the first is I. Thus arises duality with Not I. And this is the Fall of Man. And the path again.
There it is folks, the secret of enlightenment in the Western Magical Tradition. When you understand it fully, the sleeper has awakened.
Showing posts with label consciousness. Show all posts
Showing posts with label consciousness. Show all posts
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
States and Stages
A recent review of the NewAeon publication provoked a memory of an observation I made in the past. One commonly misunderstood aspect of initiation is that consciousness is not monolithic, and changes in consciousness often manifest in surges curiously reminiscent of waves beating on the surf. During the rites and meditations it is possible and even necessary to exalt consciousness, but all too quickly this fades although insights or partial manifestations of this state may linger. The 7=4 initiation is an example of this. However, people including even many promising adepts often mistake a temporarily elevated state of consciousness for a stage of consciousness, the former being temporary and the latter being either a permanent evolution or revolution of understanding.
The successful attainment of a state is not necessary for the eventual attainment of a stage, but serves to "grease the wheels" in a metaphysical sense by providing the glimmer of Understanding necessary. It is safe to say that an initiation does not provide for attainment, but serves to reflect recognition of an attainment or to provide that state that serves as a guidepost for the eventual stage of development. The achieved state should be a goad to further effort, not the signal that it is time to integrate new knowledge into a presumed whole on the way to Mastery. The admonition to "Invoke Often" also applies to achieving these exalted states again and again, so that the adept can plateau and eventually stabilize at the new stage.
The successful attainment of a state is not necessary for the eventual attainment of a stage, but serves to "grease the wheels" in a metaphysical sense by providing the glimmer of Understanding necessary. It is safe to say that an initiation does not provide for attainment, but serves to reflect recognition of an attainment or to provide that state that serves as a guidepost for the eventual stage of development. The achieved state should be a goad to further effort, not the signal that it is time to integrate new knowledge into a presumed whole on the way to Mastery. The admonition to "Invoke Often" also applies to achieving these exalted states again and again, so that the adept can plateau and eventually stabilize at the new stage.
Friday, October 23, 2009
Us and Them
Let me clear up a small point of common definitions here. Awareness is defined for the purposes of recent and future discussions as the original state of mind. It is the receptive state of not-knowing. Consciousness is the state of recognition of an object, whether it is a rock nearby, a memory or an itching of the earlobe. Mind is defined as thinking about an object.
The problem here is that consciousness as defined above puts the entire world into an “us and them” context. We recognize Steven’s shoes, my keys, her groceries and so forth. A subtler problem is the nature of this mine/not mine distinction because it is an artifact of the ego, a self-sustaining mechanism that keeps the mind in an egocentric context. However, when one recognizes that one’s thoughts, possessions and tasks to perform are all objects in consciousness, it is a complete liberation. You have thoughts, but you are not your thoughts. You have keys and possessions, but you are not your possessions. You have tasks, but you are not your tasks. The recognition that all save the base Awareness are merely objects of consciousness, mere constructs removes feelings of attachment. Fundamental changes in perception take place, as ownership issues are deprioritized or fall away completely.
The problem here is that consciousness as defined above puts the entire world into an “us and them” context. We recognize Steven’s shoes, my keys, her groceries and so forth. A subtler problem is the nature of this mine/not mine distinction because it is an artifact of the ego, a self-sustaining mechanism that keeps the mind in an egocentric context. However, when one recognizes that one’s thoughts, possessions and tasks to perform are all objects in consciousness, it is a complete liberation. You have thoughts, but you are not your thoughts. You have keys and possessions, but you are not your possessions. You have tasks, but you are not your tasks. The recognition that all save the base Awareness are merely objects of consciousness, mere constructs removes feelings of attachment. Fundamental changes in perception take place, as ownership issues are deprioritized or fall away completely.
Monday, October 19, 2009
Observations in Meditation
It's funny how the mind works. The mechanism of the meditation is to be simply aware, without conscious thought. The goal is to be a mirror, with your awareness simply recognizing thoughts, memories, snippets of songs and so forth but not thinking of them with your awareness. As I sat in the Formlessness, from time to time these stray thoughts entered my consciousness. I can't say how often or rapidly they came forward, because the state of Void is timeless. However, what I noticed was that when these thoughts came in, there was a distinct but subtle sense of pressure, of tightening when they entered my awareness. This sensation I had not considered before, but the sensation became more distinct as the meditation continued and seemed to have varying (albeit subtle) levels of intensity.
The second perception I have had before was that as I sat in my Aware state, at varying intervals these stray thoughts would come across my consciousness and were recognized as separate from my awareness. This awareness has been reached before, but in the past had been a temporary stage, a perception acquired after long, hard work. This perception of course is easily intellectually achieved but that is hardly the point.
The second perception I have had before was that as I sat in my Aware state, at varying intervals these stray thoughts would come across my consciousness and were recognized as separate from my awareness. This awareness has been reached before, but in the past had been a temporary stage, a perception acquired after long, hard work. This perception of course is easily intellectually achieved but that is hardly the point.
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
Impersonal Witness
These two quotes stand by themselves. Normally a blog is one's own thoughts, but these words leapt off the page when I saw them. Too good not to share.
Impersonal Witness
As the Impersonal, one experiences oneself as a vast, dark, silent, emptiness. It is a sheer emptiness, boundless, infinite and absolutely silent. One experiences oneself as an emptiness that has no characteristic except that of being a totally silent Impersonal Witness. There is a stupendous vastness, an absolute silence, a complete impersonality, and a singularly clear but absolutely uninvolved awareness of everything. One is merely a witness, a silent and unchanging witness. (The Pearl Beyond Price, pg 426)
Impersonal Witness and personal life
This realization brings a new clarity and understanding to one's personal life. It makes it possible to see the role one is identifying with in one's life, and to know one's function, work and unique contribution in one's personal life. One can see how some characteristics or skills are developed in one's life, for some unique role or purpose. Here one understands the role of conditioning, as a tool towards the development of personal characteristics and skills needed to actualize a certain role, to facilitate a particular contribution. One here understands one's personal maturation as a unique development exemplified in the Personal Essence. This development is a unique manifestation in the Impersonal background. One knows one's unique, real function or work, as a specific contribution to the totality of life. One's personal realization, including one's real personal life and work, become seen as a unique manifestation of the Real, which is the same as one's unique contribution to the universe. This is a direct insight, not the result of a thought process. (The Pearl Beyond Price, pg 428)
Impersonal Witness
As the Impersonal, one experiences oneself as a vast, dark, silent, emptiness. It is a sheer emptiness, boundless, infinite and absolutely silent. One experiences oneself as an emptiness that has no characteristic except that of being a totally silent Impersonal Witness. There is a stupendous vastness, an absolute silence, a complete impersonality, and a singularly clear but absolutely uninvolved awareness of everything. One is merely a witness, a silent and unchanging witness. (The Pearl Beyond Price, pg 426)
Impersonal Witness and personal life
This realization brings a new clarity and understanding to one's personal life. It makes it possible to see the role one is identifying with in one's life, and to know one's function, work and unique contribution in one's personal life. One can see how some characteristics or skills are developed in one's life, for some unique role or purpose. Here one understands the role of conditioning, as a tool towards the development of personal characteristics and skills needed to actualize a certain role, to facilitate a particular contribution. One here understands one's personal maturation as a unique development exemplified in the Personal Essence. This development is a unique manifestation in the Impersonal background. One knows one's unique, real function or work, as a specific contribution to the totality of life. One's personal realization, including one's real personal life and work, become seen as a unique manifestation of the Real, which is the same as one's unique contribution to the universe. This is a direct insight, not the result of a thought process. (The Pearl Beyond Price, pg 428)
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