1983.08.21: Latwii on acceptance, treating others

[Sacred Fool]

In this case, what would be the difference between the emotion itself and its being experienced? I think this where the resonance of the archetypal mind comes into play, since it is the mind that blocks emotions and the mind that registers them.

The thing I was heading towards is that the emotions and the self which registers experiences are eventually left behind, as such, along with the perceived mind, in the process of transformation.  The fire of acceptance is a crucible where you enter in one configuration and leave in another, never to be the same again.

To explain further, when one enters the realm of transformation, if one holds to the old ways of referential thinking, one is lost.  Ergo, one must find underlying references to guide one into the new landscape.  One must search self deeply to find the more enduring meaning that will inform one's understanding.

As quoted above:
You, as an instrument of particularity and infinity combined, have the capacity to dwell within the surface of your emotions, responding with impulsivity and vigor to each and every feeling. You also have an infinite capacity to allow emotion to penetrate the conscious self, the dreaming self, the self that walks the corridors of myth and lore, and the self that has gained access to those great waterways of emotion that make up the archetypal mind.
 
As emotion penetrates the conscious self, one encounters new levels of transformation.


I thought of an illustration.  When I was around 10 years old, and chafing under the parental harness, I had clear determination that as soon as I turned 18 I would do two things as much as possible: (1) stay up as late as I wanted and (2) eat as much ice cream as I wanted.  But, you know, well before I turned 18 those things really didn't seem especially important to me any more.  Why not?  What happened in the mean time?

If you look at it closely, in between 10 an 18 y/o a person's consciousness transforms considerably (in most cases).  When younger, the world is your home, your street and your school, and your individual agency is quite limited.  Later on, your consciousness is no longer running in these tight circles, but has expanded into areas of relationships and travel and work and deeper forms of fulfillment.  One could say that the 10 y/o and the 18y/o may be related to one another biographically, but in terms of consciousness, they are nearly two different people.

Likewise, when one's interest moves from spinning in the eddies of the surface emotions to entering those "great waterways of emotion that make up the archetypal mind," the consciousness of one compared to the other are almost like two different people.  Therefore, when you imagine things like purifying the emotions, in order to frame the concept, you have to factor in the effects transformation will have, that is, the way transformation will distinguish the consciousness of the one who knows from the one who knows not.  The scope and sense of self are markedly different.  To have a sense of what it means, you must begin to bridge the gap as between the 10 y/o and the 18 y/o.  If you don't open your consciousness this way, then you're in the same position I was as a 10 y/o.