Ch. 12 The Creation of Reality-Tunnels (4/20-4/26)

[Hannah]

1. Let one member of the study group write to the Flat Earth Research Society, Box 2533, Lancaster, CA 93539. Let him or her present to the group some good arguments that the flatness model of Earth fits the facts better than the sphere model.
   Let all members attempt to listen calmly, rationally, objectively.
   Let all members observe that this attempt to listen without prejudice seems very much more difficult than you would expect in advance.

2. Let another member of the group similarly research and present a defense of Islam (especially its attitude toward women).
   Again, attempt to listen without prejudice, and observe how hard this seems.

3. Let another member research the brilliant scientist Nikola Tesla, father of alternating current grids, and present to the group Tesla's reasons for rejecting Relativity.

4. Let another member research and present the case against Evolution.
   Again: More profit will come from doing these exercises than from merely reading about them.

[jjones]

This chapter has influenced a lot of my thinking.

We get told, beginning in kindergarten, to "put yourself in someone else's shoes," as a means of discovering compassion. Rarely are we told how to actually do that. In my experience, people almost want that phrase to do the work of teaching, rather that taking the time to explain the nuances of this skill.

Chapter 12 is perhaps the best instruction on that phrase that I've discovered. RAW's illustration about how snakes perceive reality using heat signatures is one of the best examples about the diversity of perceptions available. It also presents a phrase that I find much easier to wield than the above directive, that phrase being the "Reality-Tunnel." I use this phrase frequently, as it seems to describe what it's pointing to more effectively people's shoes.

Paradoxically, by acknowledging that you'll never escape your own Reality-Tunnel, you're able to get a better understanding of other people's Reality-Tunnels. In fact, so much of Magick seems to be about finding your Psyche's structural limitations and advantages to craft better Reality-Tunnels.

There seems to be a spectrum of Reality-Tunnels that make up the infinitely layered thing we call the Universe. Those who are more dogmatic tend to have very cluttered Reality Tunnels that are impossible to peer out of. Those who have developed some level of critical thinking might have installed a window in their Reality-Tunnel and taken away some of the clutter that causes people to trip on their own perceptions.

The Qabalah seems to take this even further. It says, you can craft a Reality-Tunnel that is clear and strong like a crystal. This allows the individual to not only peer out of their Reality-Tunnel and into their surroundings, it also allows the Light from the external world to enter the internal world of their Reality-Tunnel.

Reality-Tunnels can be measured in Usefulness based on how well they align with the Universe and/or with the people around you. When our Reality-Tunnel is receptive to and confirmed by the Universe (Chapter 3, Verse 42 of the Book of the Law), our individual experience tends towards Joy. When our Reality-Tunnels align with other people's, it can result in Joy, but it can also result in Tyranny of the Majority. Hence why, if Truth is your value, Thelema emphasizes right relation with the Divine (the Divine being embodied in Nature) as opposed to the sliding scale of societal values. Without the Universe to test a society's Reality-Tunnel against, it is not hard to imagine how a collapsed Reality-Tunnel can be reinforced by masses of people that lead to devastating consequences. There are plenty of stories throughout history of people who have chosen to validate faulty Reality-Tunnels (whether due to Cognitive Laziness or Conformity) that have ended in disaster.

Cognitive Behavioral Psychology (often seen as one of the only branches in Psychology taken seriously by the "hard" sciences) provides lots of useful information to deepen your understanding of your Reality-Tunnel. It describes ideas such as the Fundamental Attribution Error, and the ways our brains use perceptual cues as shortcuts in decision making. Although Cognitive Behavioral Psychology doesn't provide a practical training regimen like the Qabalah, it largely describes what we are doing when we make use of the Qabalah. Paired together, Cognitive Behavioral Psychology and Qabalah provide a magician with a huge realm of information to challenge and validate your own Reality-Tunnel.

[Hannah]

@jjones I really appreciate how you highlight that we cannot escape the creation of Reality-Tunnels and so we might as well fashion one in as clear and intentionally as possible!

I totally feel you when you say that we are told to imagine ourselves in another's shoes but not given any tools or practice in doing so. I suppose English can sometimes be a vessel for learning but only vicariously through stories. It is a practice to learn how to transfer our consciousness beyond our own bodies.

[jjones]

@Hannah For sure!

Research in developmental psychology indicates that children typically develop the ability to understand outside perspectives around the age of 10. Prior to this age, children tend to concentrate primarily on themselves as they are in the process of becoming familiar with their own bodies and developing self-awareness. Around age 10, children generally begin to grasp concepts of independence, moral reasoning, and social integration.

I think about how there are so many opportunities to disrupt development before the age of 10. It is no wonder so few people seem prepared to enter the world, given that so much psycho-spiritual "dirt" can accumulate before we are even aware that we are in the thick of it all!