The Three Aeons
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en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Long-term_potentiation
Long-Term Potentiation (LTP) is currently receiving the most attention as the function by which learning occurs (according to my education so far...)
"In neuroscience, long-term potentiation (LTP) is a long-lasting enhancement in signal transmission between two neurons that results from stimulating them synchronously.[2]"
"LTP improves the postsynaptic cell's sensitivity to neurotransmitter in large part by increasing the activity of existing receptors and by increasing the number of receptors on the postsynaptic cell surface.[4]"
What they have not included in this brief description is the fact that this phenomenon occurs because DNA triggers are activated within the cell. The latent potential in the DNA of a particular cell is activated, improving its sensitivity (as well as the strength the "new pathway" being developed in the brain). This is the main process in the brain associated with learning and memory (so far) from a biological standpoint.
Regardless of what can or cannot be said for certain about how and if memory is actually stored in the brain, to my mind, at very least, it does provide a biological rationale for the development and strengthening of brain pathways that already exist (in potential) within the logical architechture of our DNA.
Such processes also underly the theory that entheogens chemically awaken latent pathways in the mind (instead of through the effort of training and meditation alone) and lay the groundwork for an understanding of the the strengths and weaknesses of each method as it is implemented to expand the mind.
As new pathways (circuits) are developed, new ways of thinking are achievable, though disorienting at first - as anyone who has ever "tripped" in one way or another knows. To the extent that these new ways of thinking are made compatible with living in the world of time and action, genius is activated and achieved.
So... all that to say... What stimulates the change? In my humble opinion... large scale re-synchronization of thought that causes one metaphor (circuit pattern?) to be superceded by the next higher level of functioning...? Specifically in our generation, instantaneous global information and communication - as well as the new meme of electricity and computers...
Also... before, we only had DC. Now we have AC.... Which is a new layer...
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Very interesting read, and quite solid.
It might not fit within the parameters of what you are doing with the new book, but I'd love to see some mapping of these aeons and stages of consciousness to events in civilization and mythology - tool use, agriculture, adam & eve, etc., etc...
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Awesome stuff, Jim
As usual, I only wish I could read more of what you had to say.EXCEPT - I think you missed a question mark at the end of this sentence in the last paragraph:
@Jim Eshelman said
"Should not our purpose, then, be to awaken these faculties within ourselves, and encourage it in others."
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@AvshalomBinyamin said
"Very interesting read, and quite solid.
It might not fit within the parameters of what you are doing with the new book, but I'd love to see some mapping of these aeons and stages of consciousness to events in civilization and mythology - tool use, agriculture, adam & eve, etc., etc...
"I'll leave that for someone else. If I had another life handy to live right now, I'd probably go into social anthro; I'll need to let someone else live that life and report on it.
I tend to agree it would be interesting. OTOH I'm not quite sure we'd find much. Part of my premise is that the old-view sort of "ages" don't actually line up that way. But it would be worth really trying to discern that mapping. In particular, I'd like to know how close the hunter-gather shift to personalized farm plots relates to this shift. I'm certain there is no way that "my land" could emerge as a concept without a sense of ego-differentiation from the herd, but it's a critical shift-point when matrilinearity shifted to patrilinearity.
Adam & Eve may have a brief cameo in my discussion of the Abyss.
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@Ash said
"Awesome stuff, Jim
As usual, I only wish I could read more of what you had to say.EXCEPT - I think you missed a question mark at the end of this sentence in the last paragraph:
@Jim Eshelman said
"Should not our purpose, then, be to awaken these faculties within ourselves, and encourage it in others."
"You're right. I did. Thanks
And... "more of what I have to say" should be available in January when the book comes out. The section right before this one is a summary of Qabalistic psychology; the section right after (also written yesterday) is called "Light & Night," and discusses the L.V.X./N.O.X. relationship.
The Intro has gotten so large that I'm thinking of breaking it up into an Intro and five successor chapters. Here's what that would look like at the moment:
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INTRODUCTION
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THE PLAYERS
Aleister Crowley (1875-1947)
Victor Neuburg (1883-1940)
John Dee (1527-1609?) & Edward Kelley (1555-1597) -
QABALISTIC & MAGICAL CONCEPTS
The Four Worlds
The Functional Basis of Astrology
The Tree of Life: The Ten Sephiroth
The Tree of Life: The Hebrew Alphabet & the Paths
Qabalistic Psychology
The Three Aeons
Light & Night
Grades in the Golden Dawn & A.'.A.'.
The Angel & the Abyss
Choronzxon -
ENOCHIAN MAGICK
The Enochian Alphabet
The 30 Enochian Aethyrs
The Call of the 30 Aethyrs
Enochian Gematria -
[VISION WORK - title not finalized]
(Discussion of the nature & method of vision work)
(Discussion of factors observable as affecting the vision contents, including quantification of the extent to which astrological and other factors were responsible for the vision contents) -
SOURCE MATERIAL FOFR V&V
[might not be chapter title, but it's the first part of contents]
[how to use the book most effectively]
[wrap-up of Introduction section]
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@Jim Eshelman said
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@_aLL_seEIng_eYe_ said
"very interesting I've often wondered about the jump from sub-consciousness to consciousness myself; would you care to elaborate on what you think caused the shift?"I'd only be guessing. I think it was basically a natural evolutionary process unfolding potential already present in our DNA map. That tends to be the best theory, I think, of spiritual progress in general, that everyone has "super powers" encoded into them and certain practices and patterned external triggers set them off kin what appears to be an outright mutation - something understood better with 21st Century knowledge of how RNA throws the switch on active vs. inactive genes.
Environmental pressures can accelerate or impede these stages, of course.
Bottom line, I regard almost every single thing we do in initiatory occultism as part of natural pohysiological and psychological development - it's all "developmental psych.""
it is interesting to note that you mentioned the infantile stage as being equally subconscious and synonymous with the Aeon of the Mother; using that comparison it would seem reasonable to assume that the onset of consciousness coincides with the onset of "memory" since most of us do not remember anything in our first years of existence(my first memory is the birth of my younger brother when i was 2yrs old) likewise non-domestic animals memory also seems instinctive. Memory to me then seems somewhat synonymous with an awareness of the linear passage of time, or one event being consecutive to another. In my last post i was about to ask whether you thought that consciousness was synonymous with an awareness of the linear passage of time but refrained when i considered you mentioned in the first Aeon that they may have been aware of the lunar cycle which would indicate memory of consecutive events but it seems a valid consideration? At what period would you put the Aeon of the Mother? and can you say what type of calender or time tracking devices did they use then?
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@AvshalomBinyamin said
"Very interesting read, and quite solid.
It might not fit within the parameters of what you are doing with the new book, but I'd love to see some mapping of these aeons and stages of consciousness to events in civilization and mythology - tool use, agriculture, adam & eve, etc., etc...
"you might be interested in Ralph Abraham's article "Chaos and the Millenium" which does that from the standpoint of a bifurcation theorist.
www.ralph-abraham.org/articles/MS%2392.Millennium/millennium.pdf
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The introductory chapters seem pretty intriguing! I hope to get this book, just as soon as I get your other two main ones
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memory... hmm...
Would written language and history count anywhere? The exteriorization of the memory function?
I'm reminded of the High Priestess holding her scroll of the Law.
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"it is interesting to note that you mentioned the infantile stage as being equally subconscious and synonymous with the Aeon of the Mother; using that comparison it would seem reasonable to assume that the onset of consciousness coincides with the onset of "memory" since most of us do not remember anything in our first years of existence(my first memory is the birth of my younger brother when i was 2yrs old) likewise non-domestic animals memory also seems instinctive. Memory to me then seems somewhat synonymous with an awareness of the linear passage of time, or one event being consecutive to another. "
aLL_seEIng_eYe, the way I learnt this (but I learnt it as a matter of fact and not really as a theory, so I don't know where these facts come from and how well-researched they are) is that children under the age of 2.5 to 3 have not yet developed a sense of self. As babies they consider themselves as part of the whole of existence and only slowly begin to differentiate between themselves and the world. Only after a few months will they understand they are not the same entity as their mother and will get seperation anxiety, for example. Kids up to the age of 2.5/3 also refer to themselves in the third person. "Mike wants milk" not "I want milk". Only at the age of 2.5/3 do they start to see themselves as real selves and from then on they will start to collect self-related memories. It is also the age at which kids start to understand their gender-identity.
It's not that kids younger than that don't remember things - they do. And it is even likely that those baby memories are stored somewhere. For example - abused kids do sometimes have mental scars from the abuse of the time before 2.5/3 but will not be able to tell a coherent story about it. We can't relate to these 'memories' in the way we can relate to our other memories, so it is difficult and different to 'remember' them.It's very interesting to relate this to the aeons!
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Some readers of your book will be taking for granted a common view that the Aeons of Isis, Osiris, and Horus correspond respectively to the astrological ages of Aries, Pisces, and Aquarius. Even Crowley, though he was vague about the matter, seems to have believed that an "aeon" was a 2000-year affair. You might want, at least in a footnote, to acknowledge that view and state that you disagree.
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@Orione said
"aLL_seEIng_eYe, the way I learnt this (but I learnt it as a matter of fact and not really as a theory, so I don't know where these facts come from and how well-researched they are) is that children under the age of 2.5 to 3 have not yet developed a sense of self. As babies they consider themselves as part of the whole of existence and only slowly begin to differentiate between themselves and the world. Only after a few months will they understand they are not the same entity as their mother and will get seperation anxiety, for example. Kids up to the age of 2.5/3 also refer to themselves in the third person. "Mike wants milk" not "I want milk". Only at the age of 2.5/3 do they start to see themselves as real selves and from then on they will start to collect self-related memories. It is also the age at which kids start to understand their gender-identity.
It's not that kids younger than that don't remember things - they do. And it is even likely that those baby memories are stored somewhere. For example - abused kids do sometimes have mental scars from the abuse of the time before 2.5/3 but will not be able to tell a coherent story about it. We can't relate to these 'memories' in the way we can relate to our other memories, so it is difficult and different to 'remember' them.It's very interesting to relate this to the aeons!"
Yes Orione we are effectually saying the same thing; I equate "separate-self" and"self-relatedness" to the "linear-mind" since the self is now the "point of reference"(Hadit as opposed to Nuit). and yes i am just a little less than 2.5 years older than my brother,so the theory seems valid, I came to the same conclusion without being aware of it. often wonder whether that is actually a lower state of consciousness though?? sometimes i think the contrary is true.
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@gmugmble said
"Some readers of your book will be taking for granted a common view that the Aeons of Isis, Osiris, and Horus correspond respectively to the astrological ages of Aries, Pisces, and Aquarius. Even Crowley, though he was vague about the matter, seems to have believed that an "aeon" was a 2000-year affair. You might want, at least in a footnote, to acknowledge that view and state that you disagree."
Thanks. I'll think about that one.
The relationship is so far and so distant that I've been preferring to handle it by ignoring it completely - not even planting in anyone's mind that there could be a relationship. But you may be right concerning those in whose minds this already exists. I'll think about that.
(Oh, I just remembered where it's somewhat quietly covered: In the glossary!)
Yeah, I'll probably add a footnote at the point where I used "ages."
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I need to get my hands on this book of yours when it comes out, JAE.
Reading the section regarding the (eventual) baseline level of functioning in each Aeon, does this mean that when the Aeon of Hrumachis truly gets going, the baseline level of functioning will shift to Chiah, and will be Iechidah when the fifth Aeon is fully developed? -
Yeah, and the way we talk about how only the elite used to know how to read and write back in ancient civilizations.... that's how they'll talk about us.
"Back in the 21st century, attaining to K&CHGA (or whatever term they'll call it - maybe "basic individualization" or "basic spiritualcy" lol) was the equivalent of a PhD; only the elite geniuses ever attained it."
And the junior high students will guffaw, recalling that they attained K&CHGA back in 2nd grade.
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Interesting introduction. I did some research into Crowley's conception of aeons, trying to pinpoint it down to exact periods and dates, but I never arrived at a satisfactory answer. But I did notice one thing about his formulation. It places the subject at the center of all reality - Mommy, Daddy, ME!
I am intrigued by the thought that the Aeon of Horus will spread through intuition rather than intellect. I would like to hear more about this "sympathetic exposure".
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Kinda like contact high
It's mentioned earlier in the Introduction to the book. Basically, reading the remainder of the book and visualizing what you read will activate parts of the brain not usually used by most people. As a result, those parts become more active and integrated. Reading the book, therefore, is a type of initiation.
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@Jim Eshelman said
"Reading the book, therefore, is a type of initiation."
Ok I'm sold.
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@AvshalomBinyamin said
"It might not fit within the parameters of what you are doing with the new book, but I'd love to see some mapping of these aeons and stages of consciousness to events in civilization and mythology - tool use, agriculture, adam & eve, etc., etc.."
A couple of useful statistics - "tipping points" - might be of interest to you in the above.
As a preface, remember that I'm not seeing a time-based hard line or cut-off date. There is an extensive "blurring" transition. Some elements of ego-consciousness, for example, were surely extant while other characteristics were still substantially Isis-themed.
That said, I find the following interesting: Farming has been around quite a while - at least 10,000 years - but the "tipping point" of 5,000 years ago (about 3,000 BCE) marks the point where approximately half the human race had begun farming rather than just hunting-gathering. We might crudely take this as starting point of the Osiris Aeon. - The pattern unfurled from there, since the move from hunting-gathering to farming significantly altered the gender responsibilities, minimalizing the previously dominant female place in survival duties. It also allowed for the eventual building of communities, and it was in urbanization that the minimalizaton of women was accelerated.
Also, approximately 1900 CE was the point where half the human race had daily food. That's a huge shift! Think about it in terms of Abraham Maslow's models. That means that more humans than not were meeting one of the most crucial thresholds in deficit or survival needs. The emergence of the Horus Aeon at this juncture makes a great deal of sense!
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Very interesting.
In line with this, it's interesting what a prominent role food plays in Genesis.
Adam & Eve - don't eat this, or you'll die (although with the sense that you'll be born to something new...)
Cain & Abel - animal offerings have more life force (and, therefore, value) than vegetable offerings (a hint at levels of consciousness: plant > animal > man)
Noah - don't eat blood
Abraham - use intelligence to become prosperous, and use that prosperity to show hospitality (in the form of food) and gain favor
Isaac - famine in the land
Jacob & Essau - selling a birthright for food, and later tricking the father for the blessing by bringing him his favorite dish
Joseph - sold to slavery in Egypt, where he becomes a chief administrator in times of famineYou can really see a progression of how humans handled food, and the benefits it gave them.
For example, Cain & Abel, and Jacob & Essau, seemed to be in some ways an analogous pair. In the first story, there's murder and a curse. But in the second story, the more civilized, less hairy, less hunter-gatherer type, is cleverer, and fares better.
Or the famine of Isaac's time. The shepherd nomad is less prepared to deal with famine. But by Joseph's time, the 'good guy' is helping plan for a 7-year drought.
Basically, food becomes currency, stored energy, and the ability to plan and scheme and leverage it is a major tactical advantage.