Context in the Ra material; Left and Right-Hand Paths

[Bring4th_Austin]

There are many instances in the Ra material where Ra relies on the context of the conversation to relay specific information. With the amazing resource of LOO.info and the nature of discussion on these forums, it can be very easy to pluck a specific quote out of the context in which it belongs and change its meaning entirely. I recall one instance of a poster creating an in-depth thread on the nature of the Higher Self and in the process found some quotes from the hypothetical discussion between Don and Ra about a wanderer being placed in negative time/space. Being taken out of context, it seemed to read that all wanderers here on Earth now are in negative time/space. Understanding the implications of being in negative time/space shows how important context was in this case.

Not to say that a majority of the Ra material can't be dissected and understood in segments regardless of context, or that sometimes context is so obvious it doesn't need expressed. Ra did their best to ensure minimum distortions in the material yet they were still under the constraints of time, energy, and our own clunky language. Fortunately, thanks to LOO.info, context for any quote may be found easily. Whenever someone is in doubt of how a quote is being attributed, we can go and find the original session to see if it is actually relevant.

That said, something I've never been able to grasp in the Ra material is understanding the right and left-hand paths based on this quote:

44.15 Questioner: Well, does the left-hand path of this represent the service-to-self path more and the right-hand path the service-to-others?
Ra: I am Ra. ...This is incorrect. These stations are relationships. Each path has these relationships offered. The intent of the practitioner in working with these powerful concepts determines the polarity of the working. The tools are the tools.

It appears here that Don is referring to a wide definition of right and left-hand paths, and Ra is correcting his assumption that these paths may correlate to the service to others and service to self paths, claiming that this isn't the case.

However, many other times in the material, Ra themselves make this direct correlation between the left-hand - service to self path, and the right-hand - service to others path.

Just a few examples:

93.8 Ra: ...In the image you will note a suggestion that the offering of the illusion will often seem to suggest the opportunities lying upon the left-hand path or, as you might refer to it more simply, the service-to-self path.

94.12 Questioner: It seems to me that the Experience of the Mind would act in such a way as to change the nature of the veil so that catalyst would be filtered so as to be more acceptable in the bias that is increasingly chosen by the entity. For instance, if the entity had chosen the right-hand path the Experience of the Mind would change the permeability of the veil to accept more and more positive catalyst, and also the other would be true for accepting more negative if the left-hand path were the one that was repeatedly chosen. Is this correct?
Ra: I am Ra. This is not only correct but there is a further ramification. As the entity increases in experience it shall, more and more, choose positive interpretations of catalyst if it is upon the service-to-others path and negative interpretations of catalyst if its experience has been along the service-to-self path.

(Don makes the connection between positive and negative interpretation of catalyst upon right-hand or left-hand paths, Ra explains the exact correlation for the service to others or service to self paths.)

95.21 Questioner: In Card Four [in the] last session we spoke of the shape of the skirt and it has occurred to us that the skirt of the entity representing the archetype of Experience is extended to the left to indicate that other-selves would not be able to get close to this entity if it had chosen the left-hand path. There would be a greater separation between it and other-selves, whereas if it had chosen the right-hand path there would be much less of a separation. Would Ra comment on that observation?
Ra: I am Ra. The student is perceptive.

99.8 Ra: ...Those who choose separation, that being the quality most indicative of the left-hand path, are protected from other-selves by a strength and sharpness equivalent to the degree of transformation which the mind has experienced in the negative sense.

(Ra consistently defines the service to self path as one of separation.)


The explicit correlations between service to others and self, and the right and left-hand paths, seem to be at odds with the first quote which seems to explicitly deny these correlations.

However, browsing the material yesterday, I noticed the context I was missing for that first quote. The context for the question starts with the previous question, where Don asks a question about the Kabbalah Tree of Life. Though I know very little about the Tree of Life, looking at the diagram it is obvious there are distinct pathways in the tree, going up the left-hand side and the right-hand side. Just as importantly, there are stations upon these pathways. These stations have relationships between them, the most obviously being the relationship of the pathways to the left and right.



Now, if we take this into account and take the full context of the first quote:

44.14 Questioner: I was looking at the diagram of the advancement of magical practices starting from Malkuth and ending at Kether. I was wondering if these corresponded to the colors or the densities, with Malkuth as one, Yesod as two, Hod and Netzach being three, Tiphareth four, and so on. Is this correct?
Ra: I am Ra. This is basically incorrect although you are upon the correct track of thinking. Each of these stations has a complex number and shading of energy centers as well as some part in various balances; the lower, the middle, the high, and the total balance. Thus there are complex colors or rays and complex charges, if you will, in each station.

44.15 Questioner: Well, does the left-hand path of this represent the service-to-self path more and the right-hand path the service-to-others?
Ra: I am Ra. This will be the last full query of this working.

This is incorrect. These stations are relationships. Each path has these relationships offered. The intent of the practitioner in working with these powerful concepts determines the polarity of the working. The tools are the tools.

When Don asked about the right and left-hand paths in 44.15, he was referring specifically to the pathways upon the Tree of Life, not the paths discussed in the rest of the material, specifically in regards to the tarot. It was Ra's intention to convey the left-hand path as negative/service to self and the right-hand path as positive/service to others in the tarot. Any use of these terms outside of this instance where the paths are specifically discussing pathways upon the Tree of Life are in fact correlations.

I know this is may not a surprise to a lot of people. Perhaps it was obvious from the get-go for many. However, it's been a point of contention within my own mind, trying to understand the inconsistencies I saw. I know that I have "corrected" many people in the correlation between the two paths and their positive and negative natures by pulling up the quote from 44.15, completely out of context and irrelevant to the discussion, but seemingly relevant without proper context.

This thread is not just for pointing out this specific instance of contextual confusion, but to show how confusion could be caused in a broader sense. It's a reminder to me to stay diligent in the study of this material and to stay open to the idea that I may have interpreted the material incorrectly.


Edit: clarification