Look within the self or look outside the self?
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I've been having many thoughts about my relationship with the universe. I have come to the conclusion that all the rituals I have been doing seem to be directing me in one direction or another.
I guess this question strikes the heart of the old "is the HGA an external entity or not" debate.
I have noticed two differing perspectives arising from what I have been doing. I find myself forgetting the 'ego' more quickly than accustomed to and engaging the world. The result is a feel good sense of a union or flow with the universe that makes me feel that I am really real self= myself +the universe. Or to rephrase that, I am the ego, the HGA is the universe(everything that is not my ego) and all these Bornless rites are "hooking us up" more or less into one cohesive flow. This would mean for me, that the HGA is an external entity until there is union with it and then it is no longer external...but at that point you are the universe. Sort of like advaita vedanta but with the will intact.Then all this has me thinking about another developing perspective. It seems that I am able to "look within" more and more and develop a sort of inner consciousness disconnected from the universe. It's as if there was a core within disconnected from the universe which I am drifting to.... this would imply the HGA to be the "core" self or an interior phenomena.
The point is that these two perspectives seem to be at odds with each other and I feel I must dedicate my time and effort to one...
So which is the "right" approach..or maybe "right" is not the word..which is more interesting and why?
a) The Divine is outside the Self. So is the HGA outside the self. The magician reaches outwards and becomes one with the universe.
b) The Divine is within the Self. The HGA is within. The magician looks within and becomes one with the hidden inner self.
It's seems to me that it is a question of focusing outwards or inwards....I don't know...what do ya think?
Thanks,
Larry
p.s. PLS no Batman underoos or Star Trek on this thread!
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@Ash said
"I think the assumption that is holding you back is that the two approaches aren't the same approach. I'm not sure I would agree with that.
"I am above you and in you. My ecstasy is in yours. My joy is to see your joy." -CCXX I:13"
exactly.
they are both true. but methodically, you can assume only one and go with it - and at the different phases of the Path, you must sometimes assume only one - with all of your heart - and work according to it. -
@Ash said
"I think the assumption that is holding you back is that the two approaches aren't the same approach. I'm not sure I would agree with that.
"I am above you and in you. My ecstasy is in yours. My joy is to see your joy." -CCXX I:13"
I understand that it is said that ultimately both approaches lead to the same destination. But , as an experienced phenomena, both approaches feel very different. I feel like it involves taking a plunge one way or the other. Why do you think both approaches are the same?
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@danica said
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@Ash said
"I think the assumption that is holding you back is that the two approaches aren't the same approach. I'm not sure I would agree with that."I am above you and in you. My ecstasy is in yours. My joy is to see your joy." -CCXX I:13"
exactly.
they are both true. but methodically, you can assume only one and go with it - and at the different phases of the Path, you must sometimes assume only one - with all of your heart - and work according to it."Danica, I wish you would have said you CAN assume both at the same time!
I wish it were possible. Both approaches feel different and require effort toward same. I only have one will and feel forced to choose one. I like both. I want to do both at the same time.
Both approaches may lead to the same destination but it looks like the sights and sounds along the way of each route are different.
Did Crowley make a distinction on these approaches? -
@Mahanta70 said
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Did Crowley make a distinction on these approaches?"Mysticism and Yoga are geared toward working within yourself, and Magick is geared towards working outside yourself.
Don't forget that the Great Work is the Uniting of Opposites.
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For me, perspective on the HGA and what it was would change with every A.'.A.'. grade I took in the Outer College.
He moves in, He moves out, He moves all about... the formula built up would necessarily collapse near grade's end, like a shedded snakeskin, to make way for the new recognition that would emerge soon after I took the next grade oath.
I hold to the pragmatic position I've stated many times (including in my article on the HGA in the first issue of Trigger93 that just came out) - it doesn't matter what opinion you hold.
I do, though, think that it matters what practical approach you take (which is quite a different issue from what opinion you hold). The HGA must be approached as "other." The union must be approached as intercourse, not masturbation. Where that Other is "located," what methods you use for the approach etc., is enormously personal; and the question of approaching the Angel as "other" is not necessarily the same as believing the Angel is "other." (You might believe that, or the opposite, or neither, or both.)
But everyone asking what the Angel is seem never to ask the question which I think is more important in the equation, viz., what they themselves are.