Saturday, April 17, 2010

Coming to a Planet Near You: The Invasion of the Anthropoid Puppets

I suppose it would be fair to say that most people are living and acting in pornographic films, if we understand pornography more generally as a production devoid of transcendence, irrespective of the subject matter.

For when a human loses contact with transcendence, he is no longer properly human. Or, you could say that a human is the animal that transcends itself. And if a human fails to transcend himself, he inevitably sinks beneath himself. Sorry. Way it is.

Transcendence is like a funnel that opens up from the now. Picture an upside-down triangle, with its point at the now (importantly, there is another triangle below, with its point at the now as well). To transcend is to move up the triangle, where the space is wider and a man can breathe free. It is also of necessity a structured, hierarchical space, but we needn't get into that here. (I kind of like the image at the right, because it implies that the now is actually a kind of hologram created by the ascending and descending tendencies. As one moves up into the transcendent triangle, one can see that the upward-pointing one narrows, which would be the result of the world in general and mind parasites in particular having less influence over oneself.)

When we are trapped in a bad film, it is again as if we are in the meaningless line (the Death Train) or the repetitive circle (Groundhog Day). According to Mouravieff, "esoteric evolution" (let's just say spiritual growth) "is impossible as long as the film can always be considered as turning in the same circle. People who perform in such a film are those we have called anthropoids, puppets, the dead who, in the words of Jesus, 'believe themselves to be alive.'"

But growth into the triangle -- or what a Raccoon calls the colonization of the subjective horizon -- "starts when a man, by his conscious efforts, proves to be capable of breaking the circle and transforming it into an ascending spiral."

Now, before proceeding further, I would like to highlight a most excellent comment made by Magnus Noorwegenkøønen in broad nightlight, which you daytrippers may have missed. Not only is it true, but it is the substance of Truth, and speaks to the ubiquitous availability of nonlocal operators to assist us in our cosmic ascent:

Another amazing effect in spiritual aperture science: When your present expands to give room for a bit of eternity, you begin to get in contact with those who lived in eternity, such as saints or enlightened ones who lived long ago.

When you only have the needle-point now
[think of the upside-down triangle], the words of the eternals either make no sense or some pretty weird sense, but once you are in the same dimension as them, it is almost like they are talking to you face to face. It is just baffling. [No, not really, so long as one remembers that image of the expanding triangle.]

I believe this to be the meaning of Lao-Tzu's cryptic comment "When you are ready, the immortals will find you," and possibly the popular Buddhist saying "When the student is ready, the teacher will appear." I expect Catholicism to have a similar concept, since it enlists the Christian saints on a regular basis.


You bet it does. In particular, this book I'm reading about Eckhart provides a kind of Meister key for understanding where he's coming from (which is literally noWhere and noTime). I hope to get into it in more detail in a later post, but the author's central insight is that Eckhart cannot be understood -- and can only be misunderstood -- if we attempt to grasp what he is saying outside the transcendent space from where he is transmitting.

(The book is challenging and somewhat repetitive, -- nor have I finished it -- so I can't give it an unqualified raccoomendation, especially for those who are not already somewhat familiar with Eckhart's thought; probably better to begin with McGinn's chapter on Eckhart in his Harvest of Mysticism, and then proceed to his outstanding The Mystical Thought of Meister Eckhart: The Man from Whom God Hid Nothing; the latter is also challenging, but at least it will help you determine whether you are Qualified.)

Put it this way. There are two ways to try to comprehend God, one of which is from man-to-God (↑), the other God-to-man (↓). These modes are quite distinct (though not separate), but in our day, people have tended to lump them together, as if God's communication will not be radically different from ours.

According to (my understanding of) Kelley, Eckhart is always speaking in the (↓) mode, and if we try to understand it in the (↑), we will only miss the whole point (which some unfortunately boneheaded Church authorities did when they decided to investigate him, and which contemporary liberal theologians such as Matthew Fox do when they try to convert him to some sort of Buddhist environmentalist neo-Marxist).

Back to Mouravieff. He says that "The spiral [which is obviously a kind of triangle if looked at in two dimensions] represents an intermediate state between the position where the human Personality is found to be trapped in the film, which revolves mechanically in a way hardly separated from the eternal plane," and one's true individuality (which again must partake of transcendence).

True progression in time -- or "spiritual evolution" -- does not take place until we convert the circle into the spiral, a spiral which never ends, since it begins in time but ascends all the way to eternity, i.e., the timeless. And once one touches the timeless, it is useless to try to understand it in (merely) human terms.

Here again, this is where Eckhart comes in, at least according to Kelley. He makes the same point in many different ways, -- again, the book is repetitive; for example, he quotes John Tauler, one of Eckhart's disciples, who said that

"The wonderful Master spoke of that pure knowledge that knows no form or creaturely way.... He spoke in terms of eternity and you (regrettably) understood [him] in terms of time." (This is clearly the error people make in imagining that Eckhart is not fully orthodox, or that he's some kind of pantheistic liberal wacktivist.)

Think of Jesus, who is the quintessential instance of (↓). Therefore, in order to truly begin to understand him, we cannot do so from the standpoint of (↑). Rather, in order to "imitate him," -- or conform to his Truth -- we too must enter the "descending" mode of (↓). The meek shall inherit the earth, the wisdom of God is folly to the world, become as little children, seek ye first the Kingdom of Slack, shunyada yada yada.

Now, having said that, it is by no means easy to do this. Eckhart is clearly not for everyone. But if one has the calling for this particular path, then, as Kelley says, "it opens up truly unlimited possibilities of insight." One reason for this is that Eckhart does not arbitrarily stop at this or that particular knowledge -- as every lesser theology, philosophy, or ideology must do -- but at knowledge (or Truth) itself, which is unlimited by any human constraint, for it is the Truth of truth, the Experience of experience, the Subject of subjectivity, the Is of every it and the I of every am.

To be continued....

34 comments:

Rick said...

The "The Mystical Thought of Meister Eckhart.." was challenging. But thank God there are some things worth every effort.

Bob, have you read anything else of Kelley?

Gagdad Bob said...

No. I think he only wrote one other book, as he spent 25 years or so on this one.

julie said...

Eckhart is clearly not for everyone. But if one has the calling for this particular path, then, as Kelley says, "it opens up truly unlimited possibilities of insight." ...

No, that doesn't sound appealing at all. (Now, how do I justify buying non-vital tomes so soon after tax day...)

25 years? So, you're saying it's a wee bit dense, then.

Gagdad Bob said...

I'm not yet sure that it needs to be read, as it seems to contain only one Big Idea that is admittedly difficult to grasp. But once one grasps it, it opens up Eckhart to deeper comprehension. Or so the author promises. I'm only halfway through.

Stephen Macdonald said...

I doubt that I will ever read Eckhardt except maybe in small pieces I come across here. I suspect I'd become lost trying to navigate that particular path. The combination that works for me is to receive some of Eckhardt's light via and intermediary channel -- whether Bob, other raccoons or through some of the secondary sources Bob mentions. I don't in any way think that I will "miss out" on (↓) as this is available to any sincere Christian who is open to receiving it.

The more the left rails demoniacally against the Catholic Church, the more certain I am I will join her (though this is certainly not the primary reason). During the masses I have so far attended I regularly am able to open myself -- at least for a few moments -- to (↓), which of course flows always and evenly.

The passage in today's post about how we must experience Jesus almost exclusively in (↓) terms was for me yet another resonant, glowing piece of the puzzle. Ironic, isn't it? We're placing pieces into a Puzzle here at One Cosmos, which at the same time has already been completed for us.

Gagdad Bob said...

"I don't in any way think that I will "miss out" on (↓) as this is available to any sincere Christian who is open to receiving it."

That is exactly correct. It's really a matter of temperament and personality style. To paraphrase something Schuon said, God wishes to be worshiped in a manner consistent with the way he created you, and no one approach is intrinsically superior to another. Or, it takes all kinds to make a world.

julie said...

Actually, I was thinking I may have to finally cave in and start with the McGinn; if that appeals I may just try to dive into Eckhart's writings. I'm finding that with a lot of the old masters I'd rather just read at least some of what they said (with a bit of introduction) than read what other people have to say about what they said.

For one, not having read them means I don't have any context for other people's explications, so if the interpretation rings hollow there's no way for me to know otherwise. For another, I like to experience it without having it saturated by someone else's perspective.

Or in other words, for instance, I'd rather step into Heart of the World than have someone explain it to me. Some things just have to be experienced on their own terms.

Jason T. said...

From Magnus' quote-"Another amazing effect in spiritual aperture science: When your present expands to give room for a bit of eternity, you begin to get in contact with those who lived in eternity, such as saints or enlightened ones who lived long ago."

Not only this, but one can also begin to 'see' non-locally on a regular basis, experiencing this material reality and a higher, transcendent dimension simultaneously. I like the term 'vision-logic' for this, as it implies the integration of visionary experiences into the consensus existence that the losers, morons, and wimps on the left take to be the whole she-bang.

Another aspect of this is the ability to interact with aspects of individuals which are present in that eternal, non-local state. There are some on our planet whom are not teeming with mind parasites and yet are not yet open to the transcendent properties of being. In this case it is possible to have coon-versations with somebody in the energetic-overmind realm whilst their conscious mind is unaware of the activity.

As for hanging out with the fully-alive dead guys, I have an excellent way of receiving this experience: reading their books out loud with repeated practice. Without hurry or rush or worry of completion, just taking 20-30 minutes a day to turn their words of mystical origin into a song, with the dedication and properties presented in MOTT's Magician card (being guided by another intelligence, if you will.)

I recently finished "Savatri" with this practice. It took me three months, but I told myself that when I was finished I would start over again, so I re-read the first five pages yesterday morning. To balance this out I read the works of Schuon in the same way, twenty minutes of poetry, twenty minutes of Truth-science. Right now I am on my second go-around with "Esoterism As Principle And As Way." After a reading at the park a couple of days ago Mr. Frithjof came and sat with me for a while; or should I say sat THROUGH ME.

Don't know if my back has ever been so straight and narrow, like a freaking drill sergeant!

Bob- "True progression in time -- or "spiritual evolution" -- does not take place until we convert the circle into the spiral, a spiral which never ends, since it begins in time but ascends all the way to eternity, i.e., the timeless. And once one touches the timeless, it is useless to try to understand it in (merely) human terms."

This is the principle of the Wheel card in MOTT, right? To convert the circle into the spiral and unify involution and evolution through the transcendent objectivity of the sphinx; the integration of animality, humanity, and transcendent Identity.

Wonder how many sphinxes are hanging out in eternity? Might make for an interesting meditation, invoking a sphinx!

Stephen Macdonald said...

Julie:

I certainly understand your point and agree 99% of the time with that idea. For me personally it comes down to how far I want to take all of this. After a couple years of more or less down time, I am about to begin my fifth new company (three out the previous four basically failed, so it is stressful). I feel that for me to do something like Eckhardt justice I would either need a much faster brain (like Bob is obviously blessed with) or else a lot more time.

In any case my feeling is that to delve into Eckhardt and understand him would be immensely rewarding intellectually and spiritually, but not necessary to me in the way that learning to live in Christ is necessary.

If you decide to go that route I'll be reading your posts here with rapt attention as you proceed!

Gagdad Bob said...

"After a reading at the park a couple of days ago Mr. Frithjof came and sat with me for a while; or should I say sat THROUGH ME."

Very funny -- apparently Schuon could arouse occasional hostility when out in public because of that stern look of his, which, according to one description, confronts you with an existential judgment.

The book also says that his spine was indeed always straight, and that he never slumped. In fact, he even slept erect. So to speak.

Congratulations on finishing Savitri! That requires some real metaphysical athleticism!

Gagdad Bob said...

BTW, since Savitri was composed in an "overhead state," the Mother always said that it had to be understood in the same manner, by reading it from a wider space above one's head....

Van Harvey said...

"I suppose it would be fair to say that most people are living and acting in pornographic films..."

Well. I can't say that opening didn't snag the ol' attention span.

Speaking of pornography, an interesting (in the same manner), article about scientismists studying laughter,

"Laughter above all else is a social thing," Provine said. "The requirement for laughter is another person."

If that is true for the leftist (and please, no matter the declared political affiliation, that is pure undistilled leftism) might explain why they are so damned unhappy.

Well, back to finishing the opening sentence, and all the rest of them.

Gagdad Bob said...

The foreword to one of P.G. Wodhouse's books spoke of a researcher's attempt to describe a smile scientifically as "the drawing back and slight lifting of the corners of the mouth, which partially uncover the teeth, the curving of the naso-labial furrows …"

Stephen Macdonald said...

Off-topic, but I think important:

Speaking of starting a new company... at the behest of my new US partner I've been investigating which jurisdiction to use (all of my previous businesses were US companies, except one early one 20 years ago). In talking to my lawyer in Boston last week I discovered some rather troubling information. This guy is basically an expert at advising startups. Obama's policies are (intentionally?) strangling new companies in the crib, to the point where the rate of new startups is at an historic low. While Obama was instituting these policies, other countries such as Canada have been steadily removing barriers to new businesses (they recently changed foreign investment regulations to favor startups). More generally, I was stunned to learn that "socialist" Canada now has (post-Obama) a 14% smaller government per capita than the United States. In fact, only EIGHT countries in the world currently sport larger governments per capita than the US. The United States already is a heavily socialist nation, and that is becoming more so at a stupendous rate.

If you haven't joined a Tea Party yet...

Jason T. said...

Bob,

I don't even read "Savitri" with my head; I read it with my bodies, gross, subtle, and causal. At least I do on my best days. The intention I set with it is not to gain any sort of information, but simply a gateway into a state of Being. Which is why I am taking my sweet time--why hurry when the Gift is now?

Same thing with Schuon's works. That man speaks from such a place of Truth that the details and facts and relative truths are secondary. He provides me with the freeing and liberating Objectivity which brings me closer to the Absolute and transcendental prototypes in our hearts.

As for visits from him, my favorite when I was in a state of suffering. He was questioning me on why I was so torn up about living out this worldly existence. To paraphrase, "You know the way out! Forget about the world down there and focus upon us up here. We'll give you a standing ovation when you arrive; don't lose yourself in the world simply because you want to actualize a dream in it."

Of course he was right, but that is where he and I differ, and he gives me a rueful shake of the head: I like the world a whole bunch and think it can be a marvelous place!

julie said...

NB,
In any case my feeling is that to delve into Eckhardt and understand him would be immensely rewarding intellectually and spiritually, but not necessary to me in the way that learning to live in Christ is necessary.


Indeed, I think you are absolutely right on that score. For myself, it's simply a matter of being drawn in - the mind needs to grind, and the horizontal just doesn't provide the necessary nutrients any more. But no matter what I'm reading or doing, always there must be the same underlying focus and task: Patience and Trust in Christ. All else comes from that.

Gagdad Bob said...

"That man speaks from such a place of Truth that the details and facts and relative truths are secondary. He provides me with the freeing and liberating Objectivity which brings me closer to the Absolute and transcendental prototypes in our hearts."

Perfectly accurate description. His words cut like glass, like no other spiritual writer I've ever encountered.

Stephen Macdonald said...

One more point re my Tea Party stuff above: removing the expenditures on the military only changes that equation by <3%. The US really is developing a government of unprecedented size (currently identical in relative size to that of France, but soon to surpass that).

Jason T. said...

Bob,

As it so happens there is a phenomenal second-hand book store in the city where I am located that has a large selection of Schuon's works. The other day I picked up a copy of "Logic and Transcendence," which is next in line for the spoken-word practice. They also have a copy of "Songs Without Names," which I didn't even know existed; Schuon wrote lyrics!!!

So that is number one the the 'to-buy' list, along with "Synthesis Of Yoga." It will be interesting swapping them around, reading Aurobindo's philosophy out-loud side by side Schuon's poetry. But, as I said, that won't be for a couple of months yet as I am re-reading "Savitri."

Gagdad Bob said...

Logic and Transcendence is wonderful, especially the new translation.

Bear in mind that Schuon pretty much detested Aurobindo, since he wasn't strictly orthodox.

ge said...

"Laughter above all else is a social thing," Provine said. "The requirement for laughter is another person."

Nossir it ain't, necessarily, & no they are NOT!!

Laughter is likely best philosophically treated by Bataille

Van Harvey said...

NB said "The United States already is a heavily socialist nation, and that is becoming more so at a stupendous rate.

If you haven't joined a Tea Party yet..."

You got it. Quick post on my site of what I saw at our Tea Party in St. Louis, and a new program we're getting ready to begin rolling out,

"3.5 Duties of a Tea Party Block Captain",

" At the St. Louis Tax Day Tea Party 2010 held in Clayton’s Memorial Park, we told you about the next phase of the movement: an Army of Liberty Evangelists.

At the heart of this army lies the Block Captain.

Later we’ll tell you how to sign up. But first, let’s look at the Block Captain’s three-point-five principle duties....

1. Organize Knock Parties. Knock parties are simple. You recruit four or eight people to form two to four pairs of Evangelists. You take a stack of pocket Constitutions containing your Email address. You take a list of neighbors. And you and go door to door until the list is exhausted.

We will hold training sessions, provide pocket Constitutions, lists, and stickers for the Constitution booklets....
"

I know I once told a fellow on another site that "If I gave the impression that I meant to knock on doors and say "Have you heard the word of Madison today?" and save the union... I assure you, I've nothing remotely similar in mind. ", but.... it just might be an interesting way to get to the next step, that of getting them to think about it and engage with the ideas that can roll that socialistic load of govt back.

We all know there's more to it than that, but it's a start.

ge said...

[Surprise is the essence of Laughter]
Laughter shows God's soft spot for humans

wv=
herters
who need laughter most

Van Harvey said...

"But growth into the triangle -- or what a Raccoon calls the colonization of the subjective horizon -- "starts when a man, by his conscious efforts, proves to be capable of breaking the circle and transforming it into an ascending spiral.""

The bells...the bells!....

That is one heck of a poten image, IMHO. At some point in running around the circle, something causes you to stub your tOh, and looking down, you reach inwardly outwards, lift the edge of the track up and begin transforming your endless circle into an upwards and inwardly inclining circle.

Van Harvey said...

...er... Spiral.

(darn circular keyboard)

Jason T. said...

Bob- "Bear in mind that Schuon pretty much detested Aurobindo, since he wasn't strictly orthodox."

Yeah, I have heard you say that in the past, but it bothers me not. The way I experience it is transcendence (Schuon) and immanence (Aurobindo) unifying in my body-mind and Heart through the vehicles of their testaments. Of course, to say that Aurobindo wasn't transcendent is laughable, much in the way it would be to say Schuon was completely opposed to the world. To quote:

"According to a famous hadith, God was a hidden treasure who wished to known and who for this reason created the world. He was hidden from men as yet in-existent; God thus created the world for men in order to be known by them and in order to project His own Felicity into innumerable relative consciousnesses. This is why it has been said that God created the world out of love."

It seems to me that because Schuon had such a strong connection to the archetypal presences and realms, as well as to the Absolute, the Redemption of the world and humanity as a whole from the Fall through an evolutionary process was unnecessary, because the doorway is right there in the two-fold movement of admitting one's fallen state and surrendering to God's authority on earth--the Traditions.

For me what is important in both their writings is the first-hand Knowledge and Realization that God exists, Shakti exists, Truth exists, and that we are capable, as real human beings, of achieving a state of Love, Goodness, and transcendence of the physical and mental planes. Additionally, they both also recognized that Mind is much, much more powerful, wide, vibrant, and REAL than any butt-sniffing Keith Olbermann fanboy could ever possibly understand.

Gagdad Bob said...

That is correct. Aurobindo's is really a tantric -- which is to say, world-affirming -- path, whereas Schuon often writes as if the world -- especially the modern world -- is just a nuisance at best.

Gagdad Bob said...

The irony is that Schuon traveled the world and loved nothing more than getting out into nature, whereas Aurobindo never left his room. Go figure.

Rick said...

Or stay figure.

robinstarfish said...

Been out hunting jackalopes all day so missed the early edition. Anyhoo, I'm waiting for the first good Tea Party movie. Here's some raw material for the script.

julie said...

And now, for something completely different.

I may never be able to look at potato salad the same way again.

(Not advised for the inflexible mind...)

debass said...

Julie-

Benders are amazing to watch live. I got eye strain trying to read the background music and watching the act.

f/z-

Nice picts. My daughter went to our local Tea Party. She argued with some protester protesters.
I don't like to argue with people. It's usually a waste of time and energy but she is young and enjoys it. I was out exercising my second amendment rights while she exercised her first amendment rights, at least as long as we still have them.

ge said...

did the universe know we were coming?

just came a-cross

Dougman said...

OT
I picked up two books by Sri Aurobindo.
Secret of the Veda and The Upanishads for $1.00!
Soft cover in mint condition.

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