Insanity and the Waking Dream
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@Danica said
"in the light of your line of thought here, Bereshith, I'd say that this Waking Dream experiment/experience is a conscious and attentional play with the boundaries, which puts you in a situation that looks like being on an open sea without a boat. it's bringing yourself purposely into the highly dis-balanced 'state' (which is not a state but motion - and that makes the balance, or makes the balance again) in order to widen the horizon of that which you feel as yourself, essentially, to reach toward the Unknown."
Honestly, at the time, I had been deeply considering the possible interconnectivity between time, space, matter, and consciousness. The boundaries between these seemingly separate things were completely unknown to me. They had to be learned. And that was a very trippy, scary (for me), and highly symbolic conversation (and argument) to have with all the elements of my unconscious mind as it projected all these things (including the gods, angels, and devils) on the speech and events of my waking life. "Am I in another universe? In between possible universes? In hell? In an alternate timeline?" - That kind of thing.
Thanks for your post. You have helped me begin to formulate an actual question for discussion. Still in progress...
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At this point, we are getting into concepts that I am beginning to find more difficult to express, so please feel free to comment and let this take on the form of a discussion.
I now need to make a distinction between two primary aspects of mind that are both considered part of the unconscious. I refer you to tarot trump VI, the Lovers. Since I have been instructed primarily using the BOTA deck, which is very similar to the traditional Rider-Waite deck, I'll refer to the instruction I have received. In this instruction, the male character symbolizes the Self-Conscious mind, the female character represents the part of the unconscious mind more traditionally understood as the Subconscious mind, and the Angel represents the part of the unconsciousness mind traditionally understood as the Superconscious mind.
The instruction, as I am attempting to faithfully relate it, says that all experiences of the Superconscious mind come to the Self-Conscious mind through the medium of the Subconscious mind. Or, in whiter words, the Angel speaks through the medium of the Subconscious mind. But both the Angel (Superconsciousness mind) and the Subconscious mind are understood to exist together as aspects of the* totality *of the unconscious mind.
*However, not everything the Subconscious mind presents is a message from the Angel (Superconsciousness). *
That's the problem. It's difficult to discern what information from the unconscious mind represents truth. The reason that this is complicated is that the Subconscious mind absolutely will provide Self-Consciousness with conclusions based on the impressions that Self-Consciousness makes upon it. So, sometimes the information coming from the unconscious mind represents Superconscious Truth while other times it is merely the logically constructed reflection of the impressions that Self-Consciousness has repeatedly made upon the Subconscious mind.
The Subconscious mind itself does not seem readily able to make this distinction (though there are techniques that attempt to correct for this by attempting to release it from incorrect impressions).
But this is my point: The Subconscious mind always presents information to the Self-Conscious mind as if it is true. It feels real, it seems true, but the outcome can indeed be madness and a parting of ways with reality.
The previous debate on another thread about the ability or inability to trust one's personal experiences applies directly to this.
First, I think that many people fear the techniques associated with activation of the unconscious mind precisely because they fear that they will be lost in a flood of impressions about which they have no method of determining the reality. For some, this results in a before-the-experience mistrust and rejection of anything the unconscious may ever present to the Self-Conscious mind, leading to a rejection of any techniques that will intentionally stimulate this result.
Second, a question: What standards for truth-testing are there? Besides the material ones, I mean, if there are any possible.
I must admit, some conclusions to which I have come are the result simply of repeated argumentation with the information coming from the unconscious, with the result that I have repeatedly been ...overcome and dominated by what I can only understand as the experience of a "presence" and/or "intelligence" beyond my Self-Conscious ability even to demonstrate, much less command. I experience it as entirely capable of organizing my daily experience and its interpretations at will. As I experience it, time, space, and events seem like its play-toys. I experience it as impossible to conquer. And it was only as I admitted its presence and begged for sanity from it that sanity returned. I find it impossible to distinguish between it and any previous conceptions I had of "God" from my older Christian spiritual meme. I have simply stopped arguing against its existence, and I find this to be the only way forward.
What I have described cannot be tested in a lab by a skeptic who attempts to do me the favor of testing my hypothesis - by attempting to disprove it - though this seems to be the current standard of science.
The argument here lately seems to stem from Crowley's instruction not to take any experience for what it first seems. But, if we are to believe the report of his reception of Liber Legis, he does seem (eventually, at least) to have allowed himself to come to personal convictions/conclusions about the* real *nature of his experiences.
So, in your opinions, what standards may be used to come to actual conclusions about the nature of potentially existing beings like Aiwass or the Great White Brotherhood - if all of the proof comes through the medium of the unconsious mind, without concrete evidence? If we are to demand concrete evidence, what kind of concrete evidence could be demanded?
This is a real question of mine, and I would really like to know what other people have to say. I promise I'll be respectful (unless, of course, you start trying to tell my I'm crazy or stupid).
[The perfectionist in me reserves the right to make corrections in wording after the original posting, so please expect at least a few corrections as we go.]
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Going to shoot out a few things that immediately came to the surface...
An important aspect of meditation and mystical practices is, in essence, to make the practitioner passive.
To make the mind a mirror -
Which is what comes to mind when trying to discern these projections of "others"
From what has its source of origination in our selves.Thus, when we actively cause the body and mind to be passive,
We may then assume (rightfully so?) that what is picked up,
What is reflected back to us through the World-Mirror
Are glimpses of the very essence of Self,
Particularly our Self, in relation to its relative part with in the Whole
Fitting into this place, we can let go of Self -
To the anchor, for we develop the certainty that is our natural course,
Where the coin shall fall once its been flipped;
Once again the notions of Self, if true, relate to how one shall naturally fall
And into what one place one naturally falls into
As such is you as you were created by the Super conciousness
Only becoming lost when we resist, we recoil saying
"That is not I!" So, then, what are you?
Helplessly adrift in the Waking Dream -
I'm going to answer you this way:
The man and the woman in this Aeon live life as partners. Equal share. Maybe in the previous Aeon, the man was more in charge, and in the Aeon before that, maybe the woman - but it has always been the Hierophant who has come down from his Hermitage who consecrated the union.
The left eye is linked to the left brain. The right eye to the right brain. Yes, everything above the neck is the opposite from what is below the neck (put that on your Tree of Life and smoke it). The Mind behind your eyes is like the HGA.
You have to see accurately with both eyes in order to get stereo vision.
#MagickGlasses
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Pat brings up a good point about balance (the crux of the Work)
One may say the ultimate goal of yoga is to live the Waking Dream
To Be He Who Walks But Is Not Of This Earth
Differentiating between samadhi and its super state, permenant super consciousness
A state closet to the notion of objectivity one may attain to while incarnate
(Whether possessing a body or not - perhaps closest while existing?)
As what you are is not what you really are but is rather close, not really different (mind boggling)For you are a Silent Observer, without Lust - carried forth by primal swirling
Though I keep speaking of the End, The END, what of the start?
( I am trying to remember ) -
@Bereshith said
"
*However, not everything the Subconscious mind presents is a message from the Angel (Superconsciousness). *
That's the problem. It's difficult to discern what information from the unconscious mind represents truth. "
do you have Visions & Voices ? if you do, see 6th Aethyr, § 10. - 11. with Jim's commentaries.
those phenomena that lead you to Beauty (incite you, instruct you...etc.) to feel it, see it, produce it - those are the rays of Truth as we can see it below the Abyss
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@Bereshith said
"However, not everything the Subconscious mind presents is a message from the Angel (Superconsciousness)."
Sound observation.
This is addressed in one's training. First, one has to open up to witnessing and interacting with subconsciousness. A further step (a little further along, once that interaction is well developed) is passing the suggestion to subconsciousness that it reflect truly from superconsciousness. That starts a new leg of the journey.
To elaborate: Something not usually mentioned is that the Knowledge & Conversation of the Holy Guardian Angel begins as an experience that transforms our relationship to Y'sod, not Tifereth. This is why the symbols and dialogues are so sexual, intimate, union-based - it is a transformation of our relationship to shared intimacy, to a sense of connection. It is only indirectly a transformation of the ego, in that the ego is given a new dimension of perspective from the profundity of the experience. Consider Crowley's description of the HGA as "The Holy Guardian Angel is the Unconscious Creature Self – the Spiritual Phallus" - that's Yesod language. Or the longer passage, from comments in Liber Samekh:
"The main purpose of the Ritual is to establish the relation of the subconscious self with the Angel in such a way that the Adept is aware that his Angel is the Unity which expresses the sum of the Elements of that Self, that his normal consciousness contains alien enemies introduced by the accidents of environment, and that his Knowledge and Conversation of His Holy Guardian Angel destroys all doubts and delusions, confers all blessings, teaches all truth, and contains all delights."
Why does it seem that the dialogue is between the Angel and the Ruach? It is because the pattern of interacting with subconsciousness has been long, and solidly, established.
There is a powerful symbol of this subtly placed within the traditional Golden Dawn Neophyte structure. Three officers down the middle axis synmbolize Neshamah, Ruach, and Nephesh. The first two (Hierophant and Hegemon) face west. The Hiereus, in the west, faces east. The Hegemon has to take various actions (say, picking up a scepter) exactly when the Hierophant does so but is unable to see the Hierophant directly. The only way the Hegemon (Ruach) knows to do this is by watching the Hiereus (Nephesh), who can directly see the Hierophant (Neshamah) and reflect truly.
Whether this works depends on how true the Hiereus is in mirroring the Hierophant.
Crossing the Abyss is then a direct infusion of Neshamah into Ruach, overflooding its previous boundaries &c. Therefore, the symbols of the approach to this are all symbols of the sword, Air, fragmentation, spilling of blood, and all sorts of things one can find in Liber 418. That is, symbols of Ruach - Air, sword, Sun - are first hyper-stimulated and then undergo transformation.
FWIW
