Arriving at the completion of their lifes work
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It was said in Another thread here by a PriorySoul
" ........When a person arrives at the completion of their life's work, no matter how grand, it is all a masterpiece of foolishness....."
Now I think I am falsely inferring what what implied, or maybe not. Previously the poster stated that their Great Work had been accomplished, completed.
This life work, was/ is the Great Work that human beings are attempting to discern and utilize for their attainment and self actualization.
So, can you be finished with it? Completed it, turned it in, got graded ect....like in school and then you get to play on the playground....sort of thing.....??????
I had always believed that it was not at all something like that,
That it was more like, well
Finding your souls groove, and then dancing to it,Or finding the best pallette of colors, and then painting with it,
Or finding the right partner and then loving them,
And that it wasn't like earning enough cash to pay for a GT mustang.
Or Getting enough Vacation days to take a year off of work,Metaphorically of course,
Several times in my life I have really been in a good groove with what I was doing, think, feeling, and at those moments I knew I had attained perfect harmony with everything. And I can now look back and say, yes, doing that was part of my Great Work, and in doing that it brought me to this, which is also part.....
If a mother thought her Great Work, was in giving. Birth, then what will happen to that poor baby, who will not get mothered, because she had already done the best thing she can do?
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I would agree with you. My personal feeling is that those moments marked by a palpable resonance and vitality are definite guideposts in life.
There are a lot of different ways to view those relatively frictionless modes of existence, whether in terms of True Will, in Carroll's concepts re: experiencing Kia ("...felt as meaningfulness, power, genius, and ecstasy in action"), extrapolated from Wolfram's cellular automata theories (that there exists, in the ever-evolving pattern of existence some path of greatest subjective value for the pattern you are), et al.
However, I don't think you ever finish, per se. In my own experience, I analogize it to various games and races where you're not told the next destination until arriving at some checkpoint. I might know the next place to which I want to get, but I don't know where it all will eventually lead. ...and I don't feel that I have to.
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There are... layers.
Far be it from me to try to limit how someone experiences a plateau of accomplishment in their life. When someone actually hits a place where they feel complete in something dominant and central in their lives, this warrants celebration.
In reality, I don't see an "end" to any of it - just plateaus. When one phase is over, there is another to take up (or, usually, continue). I came to the staggering realization somewhere in the mid-1990s that no matter how bad everything went the rest of my life, I had succeeded - I had accomplished the core thing that was essential in my impact on the world as a whole for this incarnation, and it had impact waves spreading out into the future. Good enough, pat on the back, deed done. But... what then?
And this is where there is a difference in the kinds of beings that we are. I don't rest unless I have to. Even my vacationing is usually purposeful. (The one ONLY vacation I've taken in my entire life - my first trip to Puerto Rico - turned out to be a productive one, with significant fruits returned.) I have to work at truly "vacating." I sleep very little, partly because there remain things I can still do in the day. I spend very little time between incarnations. I look for useful, meaningful things to do while eating! <g>
So... having realized that I'd already "succeeded" at age 40... that only left the question, "So what are you going to do with the rest of it."
And the answer wasn't hard to find: Continue managing and improving what I'd started. Continue the work on myself (one significant threshold reached doesn't deny the ones beyond it). And wait to see what amazing thing life throws at me thereafter.
Oh, and when the crap hits and it looks like things are teetering... that's OK, because there is already success. (It's OK to get arrested after murdering the traitorous head of state who should have been tried for crimes against humanity. Nothing that happens thereafter retracts the bullet or its effectiveness.
)That all being said... the last developmental stage of adulthood that has been firmly tracked is the stage of accepting whatever your life is and has been. I would do nothing at all to intrude upon someone's high level of acceptance.
This last developmental stage is, I think, the biological equivalent of the 8=3 grade, Binah. (It's quite easy to track the three prior stages of adult development to the middle triad on the Tree - leaving this one, quite appropriately, to Binah.)
But even then... even in the peace of fulfillment of, "This is it, this is my life, this is what it was all about," there remains the question: And what next?
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JAE, 93,
"This last developmental stage is, I think, the biological equivalent of the 8=3 grade, Binah. (It's quite easy to track the three prior stages of adult development to the middle triad on the Tree - leaving this one, quite appropriately, to Binah.) "
That's a very compressed statement, or couple of statements. By "biological equivalent," you mean, I think, a point of tranquility in later life. Or maybe you don't. As for the three prior stages, I'm assuming 5=6 is young adulthood (in a broad sense of general maturity as much as actual years), 6=5 is middle age/maturity and full potency, and 7=4 is ... well, the next bit.
Could you expand on what I quoted?
93 93/93,
Edward -
A couple corroborating passages...
A quote from Crowley's Little Essays Toward Truth
"The Quest of the Holy Grail, the Search for the Stone of the Philosophers—by whatever name we choose to call the Great Work—is therefore endless. Success only opens up new avenues of brilliant possibility. Yea, verily, and Amen! the task is tireless and its joys without bounds; for the whole Universe, and all that in it is, what is it but the infinite playground of the Crowned and Conquering Child, of the insatiable, the innocent, the ever-rejoicing Heir of Space and Eternity, whose name is MAN?"
The description of the Ipsissimus, from One Star in Sight
"The Grade of Ipsissimus is not to be described fully; but its opening is indicated in Liber I vel Magi.
There is also an account in a certain secret document to be published when propriety permits. Here it is only said this: The Ipsissimus is wholly free from all limitations soever, existing in the nature of all things without discriminations of quantity or quality between them. He has identified Being and not-Being and Becoming, action and non-action and tendency to action, with all other such triplicities, not distinguishing between them in respect of any conditions, or between any one thing and any other thing as to whether it is with or without conditions.
He is sworn to accept this Grade in the presence of a witness, and to express its nature in word and deed, but to withdraw Himself at once within the veils of his natural manifestation as a man, and to** keep silence during his human life as to the fact of his attainment, even to the other members of the Order**.
The Ipsissimus is pre-eminently the Master of all modes of existence; that is, his being is entirely free from internal or external necessity. His work is to destroy all tendencies to construct or to cancel such necessities. He is the Master of the Law of Unsubstantiality (Anatta).
The Ipsissimus has no relation as such with any Being: He has no will in any direction, and no Consciousness of any kind involving duality, for in Him all is accomplished; as it is written "beyond the Word and the Fool, yea, beyond the Word and the Fool.""
(but what this really means is at least a little beyond me, I'm sure)
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@Veronica said
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So, can you be finished with it? Completed it, turned it in, got graded ect....like in school and then you get to play on the playground....sort of thing.....??????
"Hexagram #63
Chi Chi
After Completion"The transition for confusion to order is completed, and everything is in its proper place even in particulars. "
The commentary in the Wilhem/Baynes translation warns that this is just the stage before #12, Pi, or Standstill...
It's also curious that the last hexagram in the series, the one that comes after #63 is 'Before Completion.' The commentary seems to prefer this situation to the previous one—there is still work to be done, and that means we are potentially at our best, most engaged, most active, most awake.
Love and Will
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Digressing off the main topic briefly to discuss the stages...
@Edward Mason said
"That's a very compressed statement, or couple of statements. By "biological equivalent," you mean, I think, a point of tranquility in later life."
First, a correction - I misremembered and misstated. The 8=3/Binah biological equivalent is death itself. The last stage would be the Chesed stage, a sort of biological 7=4.
I termed it a "biological equivalent" of the grade because it's a natural development, rooted in a combination of biology (including predictable psychological stages of development) mixed with culture. That is, it isn't the 7=4 that can be reached by the methods of the Great Work, but an analogous stage (correspondence) built into the generic human life-path.
"[Or maybe you don't. As for the three prior stages, I'm assuming 5=6 is young adulthood (in a broad sense of general maturity as much as actual years), 6=5 is middle age/maturity and full potency, and 7=4 is ... well, the next bit."
Erikson's widely-adopted model of the eight stages of psychosocial development has a remarkable relationship to stages recognizable in the Great Work. The relationship is symbolic, not actual; but that's very fruitful. Being very brief in places, and with the caveat that what follows is what I want to say about these rather than exactly what Erikson said:
The first stage of adulthood - what Erikson suggested lasted until the mid-30s (and which at least lasts through the first Saturn Return) has an easy correspondence to Tiphereth. (Note how adulthood is the "Second Order" of the human life-path.) It shows "arrival at adulthood," the concentration and emergence of the ego-distinction for which the adolescent was preparing. The two primary developmental aspects can crudely be named "work and relationship" - independence vs. dependency, isolation vs. relationship. The parallels to the spiritual development corresponding to Tiphereth are pretty obvious, and this is also the baseline of effective adult maturity.
The second stage of adulthood - regarded by Erikson as from mid-30s and forward for a couple of decades (or longer) - he termed "generativity." The basic characteristic of this is that of contribution, wanting to leave something for the next generation. This tends also to be the stage of adulthood when people rise to leadership, "being in charge," etc. (though, depending on one's particular life-path, this can mean different things to different people). The developmental negatives to work through are ineffectiveness, fearing meaninglessness, and becoming isolated as the physical and practical "end of one's own line," without sense of posterity and heritage. The correspondence to the 6=5 grade and Geburah is close.
The third stage, then, is the last stage of a natural life-span. One can take this as "from retirement until the end of life," though what "retirement" means is highly flexible and varied. It basically starts when the natural cycle of creative contribution and seeding starts winding down. It is the stage of moving from "statesman" to "senior statesman," with a developmental characteristic of wisdom. Erikson called the developmental task "Integrity vs. Despair," and it mostly boils down to acceptance of one's life as a whole vs. rejection and negativity about it. Happiness, contentment, a sense of fulfillment, and especially an integrated acceptance of the whole marks success.
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JAE, 93,
So, I don't have to be dead in order to be at my last developmental stage. That's some comfort... I think.
Thanks for the clarification. I found the 6=5 material especially relevant.
93 93/93,
Edward -
@Jim Eshelman said
"In reality, I don't see an "end" to any of it - just plateaus."
@Edward Mason said
"So, I don't have to be dead in order to be at my last developmental stage. That's some comfort... I think."
I am more concerned with the relative wisdom of the point of view. I guess I just don't trust myself to be relaxed about my progress—to be relaxed in this respect might mean I stop progressing.
On the contrary, I want to be on, always, striving—there is a freedom when it becomes second nature and the habit of always working for more growth and development is the most relaxed attitude available.
I'm not saying I'm attached to accomplishment, just to the vision of self mastery that must be there when one is prepared to go on in this vein forever!
"...strive ever to more," right?
Love and Will
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Robert, 93,
Given that I'm well into Erikson's seventh stage, I have a passable idea how the arc of my life will probably play out from here. I don't think "relaxation" is in the cards. And even the final stage would require a certain degree of psychic energy. We can't assess our lives without having the inner spark, the vitality, to step back from the mind. I know any number of people who just let it slide after 65 (or even earlier), and hanging out with them was - is - extremely boring.
I also know a few people who are 15 or 20 years past that, and who are "Still too curious to see what comes next" to just sit back and take a long nap. That quote, BTW, is from the legally blind mother of a friend of mine, who has to be 82 or 83 at least.
True detachment requires an investment of mental energy. JAe referred to it as a stage of Wisdom, and Chokmah is not the place for a siesta.
93 93/93,
Edward -
@Veronica said
"It was said in Another thread here by a PriorySoul
This life work, was/ is the Great Work that human beings are attempting to discern and utilize for their attainment and self actualization."
Attainment and self actualization ultimately comes down to understanding Life & Death, our lives and our deaths.
Understanding of the spirit world, preparing for the afterlife, as the Egyptians did is what the Great Work is all about.
It takes quite a long time for me to describe all the things that take place along the way, toward the completion.
But I do explain it to those who are interested. Few are. -
@Baoding said
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However, I don't think you ever finish, per se. "
The normal average common person doesn't finish the Great Work.
Those who set foot upon the path of ascension do so with that aim in mind, that's the reason we have OTO and other various invisible colleges.Most people take the work lightly, it's a fun lifestyle, makes them feel part of a special network or community, but few take the actual work seriously.
Occult study is the study of Death, that is respecting Life & God and Love. But such words as this rarely ever make sense to those yet to cross the Abyss, fresh students and neophytes.
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I'll add one more note on this.
Each person has a potential within them to realize their True Will. This True Will comes to take the form as one's Art or Craft or Career in life, their life's mission, what they were born to give to the world, their mark on history, the fulfillment of that potential natural to each individual person.
Any person who comes to understand their True Will, and to follow their heart in their way in the work, eventually arrives at the end thereof. And those who don't, because of some accident or mistake leading them to death before they achieve this, it's a failure. It is what the Christians call "wages of sin is death".
But God protects the adept on his way, the Magus walks with God, he faces death and comes to understand it because he is immortal, one with God, one with Love, Thelema.
It should be known death is an illusion, and shuffling off the old used up vehicle through dying is just natural.My HGA gave to me a job to do by handing over to me certain wisdom yet unheard by the world, which was a gift but also a curse because I had to make it known to at least one other person in order to share the joy of the message inside me. A gift doesn't carry such meaning when you are completely alone in your joy, especially when the message is vital to the world.
It took me over 10 years teaching hundreds of people before finally 1 or 2 finally proved they had received the wisdom. Completing my True Will, my life's mission, and pleasing Adonai and mine Angel.Of course, I still enjoy sharing the message, and I'm still alive because I have work to do here on earth, but not much, I can leave at any time knowing I led a full life, and that is comforting.
If you wonder how I know these things it is because I have touched with death and pried into the spirit world a thousand times, that is where the real insight into magic power comes from.
Crossing the abyss, attainment of K&C is just a glimpse of what happens to you when you die. It is touching with death.
And this is what Judaism has the problem with, calling it the work of the devil, because it is not in the nature of man to know such things. That is left to shaman and prophets and wizards. -
@Priory Soul said
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The normal average common person"Normal...average...common person? "Every man and every woman is a star." Sheesh, I'm glad that I didn't complete the Great Work and think thus.
To quote John Lennon:
"I am He as you are He as you are me and We are All Together." -
@seekinghga said
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@Priory Soul said
"The normal average common person"Normal...average...common person? "Every man and every woman is a star." Sheesh, I'm glad that I didn't complete the Great Work and think thus."
But I have to agree with P.S.: Those who undertake this remain a distinct minority, a small percentave of the overall population.
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@Jim Eshelman said
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@seekinghga said
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@Priory Soul said
"The normal average common person"Normal...average...common person? "Every man and every woman is a star." Sheesh, I'm glad that I didn't complete the Great Work and think thus."
But I have to agree with P.S.: Those who undertake this remain a distinct minority, a small percentave of the overall population."
Is it too late to retract my statement? Hmm?
Jim, you are good. Thanks.
Namaste
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@seekinghga said
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@Priory Soul said
"The normal average common person"Normal...average...common person? "Every man and every woman is a star." Sheesh, I'm glad that I didn't complete the Great Work and think thus.
To quote John Lennon:
"I am He as you are He as you are me and We are All Together.""Again you are assuming I am implying one person is better than another. I'm not. Just stating the facts.
Sometimes you have to read between the lines.
Your idea that I am driven to egotism is only there because your mind works that way, so you think everyone's does. Mine doesn't.And no, I'm not sorry for being less eloquent than you demand. I could've used a different choice of words like "the non-adept" "the non-magician", but I just figured most people would catch my drift.
Earlier in my life I would thank you, and use your reaction to try and learn to be more eloquent with my words in the future, but see, I'm not trying to teach anybody anything, I'm just having fun. You should try and have fun too, rather than insulting my intelligence, if you don't understand the words I write, just reply asking what exactly I meant, then I'd be glad to express more clearly for you. -
@Priory Soul said
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@seekinghga said
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@Priory Soul said
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Earlier in my life I would thank you, and use your reaction to try and learn to be more eloquent with my words in the future, but see, I'm not trying to teach anybody anything,"
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"Not trying to teach, huh? Then what is the purpose of this post to me? If it's not instruction? Am I supposed to study it? Fun fun fun, she'll have fun until her daddy takes her T-bird away.
Edit:
No... No. You are right. One of the most pernicious things regarding people is the application of one's mindset onto another. You are most right about my cynical attitude in pertaining to one's intent. I shall need to work on that. I apologize to you PriorySoul. Namaste. -
In regards to:
"Normal...average...common person? "Every man and every woman is a star." Sheesh, I'm glad that I didn't complete the Great Work and think thus."
Consider...
"10. Let my servants be few & secret: they shall rule the many & the known."
...and the implications such.
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@Priory Soul said
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@Baoding said
"However, I don't think you ever finish, per se. "The normal average common person doesn't finish the Great Work."
From the earlier quote from One Star In Sight, "The Ipsissimus is pre-eminently the Master of all modes of existence; that is, his being is entirely free from internal or external necessity. His work is to destroy all tendencies to construct or to cancel such necessities." Emphasis added.
I believe that the nature of this world is such that one either works (i.e. continues applying effort/actively retaining focus of some kind), or one does not...and in the latter case atrophy then has some effect.