The Experience of the Mind - Printable Version +- Bring4th (https://www.bring4th.org/forums) +-- Forum: Bring4th Studies (https://www.bring4th.org/forums/forumdisplay.php?fid=1) +--- Forum: Strictly Law of One Material (https://www.bring4th.org/forums/forumdisplay.php?fid=2) +---- Forum: Archetypes of Mind, Body, & Spirit (https://www.bring4th.org/forums/forumdisplay.php?fid=19) +---- Thread: The Experience of the Mind (/showthread.php?tid=4480) |
The Experience of the Mind - JustLikeYou - 03-16-2012 The Emperor The Emperor shows himself to me whenever I feel confident about who I am, but he also makes his appearance when I make a genuine effort to understand the information I’ve been given by the Empress. The sexual relationship between the Magician and the High Priestess can be imagined as the immobile Magician focusing his attention in order to penetrate the mysteries of the High Priestess as she moves in response to his desire (placing her in the stronger position and him in the weaker position). It is for this reason that the book the High Priestess holds is directly atop the reproductive center and it is for this same reason that I rather like the phallic wand depicted in my cards. The sexual relationship between the Emperor and Empress, however, is just the opposite. The Catalyst presents herself in all her radiant beauty and it is the onus of the Emperor to take her into his arms and explore her infinite bounty. The act of processing that which is revealed to the mind about the mind is depicted very specifically in the disciplines of the mind in Session 5 (http://lawofone.info/results.php?session_id=5&ss=1). If you are an STO entity, then this description is a highly detailed explanation of the relationship that the Emperor (the now informed conscious mind) has with the Empress (the now revealed unconscious mind). As will be depicted later in the Sun card (the Significator of the Spirit), the bird in flight is the avatar of the conscious mind informed by the unconscious mind. The Emperor card is named by C.C. Zain the “Sovereign”, which is another name that I find very fitting. This card shows the mind as master of itself: when you know something that is deeply true about yourself and you have learned to accept it, you will become powerful in your actions no matter what you do. For this power comes not from your doing, but from the mere fact that you are confident and self-owned. As Nas said “It’s never what you do but how it’s done.” The bird in this card is depicted upon the chest of the Emperor; whereas, the bird on the Empress card is upon her hand, looking her in the eye. Clearly, the soaring of the spirit comes from the perspective of the conscious mind, giving us insight into the interplay between male and female: the female, who bears an ankh on her chest (Archetypes 2 and 19), is the part of you which is already connected to the Infinite Beyond, while the male, who bears a bird on his chest (Archetypes 4 and 19), is the part of you which is witnessing the illusion of separation. The female opens her illusion for you to explore and the male enters this illusion for you to experience the exploration. Imagine the bird flying through the loop in the ankh and then ponder the lingam yoni upon the Sun card. The cat is white, suggesting purity. If we consider what it is that the Emperor does, we may infer that the role of purity in the act of accepting what lies within you, knowing that the mind contains all, and balancing every concept with its opposite, is in “knowing that the mind contains all”. There is a constant temptation, when you are examining that which is within you but hidden from your conscious mind, a constant temptation to feel guilty. Guilt hides the unconscious mind from the conscious mind, guilt is often what causes the eyes of the conscious mind to be blinded by the protective sun in the Empress card. But for the informed conscious mind, there is a growing awareness that one can learn to be innocent again. This feeling of innocence is highly protective for those on the STO path because it teaches you that you can trust yourself, that whatever the unconscious mind wants you to see, it is good and it is worth loving. RE: The Experience of the Mind - Ankh - 11-14-2012 Archetype Four: 78:37 Wrote:Questioner: The fourth archetype is called the Emperor and seems to have to do with experience of other-selves and the green-ray energy center with respect to other-selves. Is this correct? In the Q/A just before this one, Ra and Don were speaking of the Third Archetype, the Catalyst of the Mind, and Ra said: "The Archetype, Three, is perhaps confusedly called Empress although the intention of this nomer is the understanding that it represents the unconscious or female portion of the mind complex being first, shall we say, used or ennobled by the male or conscious portion of the mind. Thus the noble name." Ra puts an emphasis on the nobility of the Fourth Archetype. I understand the mind, containing all things, being complete and whole, due to the veil, is fragmented, and what we are studying through the Archetypes are these fragments; it is still one mind, what we are exploring here, in the Archetype Four, is a male portion of the mind, a part of the conscious mind (thus the word (mind) *complex* was chosen; Ra, 79:19: To be complex is to consist of more than one characteristic element or concept) which is being ennobled by the vast resources of the unconscious mind, the female portion of the mind, when the catalyst has been processed by the potentiated consciousness. Ra, 94:11 Wrote:Questioner: I have drawn a small diagram in which I simply show an arrow which represents catalyst penetrating a line at right angles to the arrow, which is the veil, depositing in one of two repositories which I would call the right-hand path and the left-hand path, and I have labeled these two repositories the Experience. Would this be a very rough analogy of the way the catalyst is filtered through the veil to become experience? This is a beautiful picture that Ra paints, of the deeper mind being an archipelago with many isles of positivity and negativity where the biases of a mind/body/spirit complex pilot the catalyst around these isles. The next quote is of fascination to me: Ra, 94:12 Wrote: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 acceptable in the bias that is increasingly chosen by the entity. For instance, if he 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. Also the other would be true for accepting more negative catalyst if the left-hand path were the one that was chosen. Is this correct? So as the partially polarized catalyst from the deeper mind is perceived by the conscious mind, further polarization is available to this portion of the mind; and as the entity increases in the experience it shall choose positive interpretations of catalyst if it is upon the positive path, and vice versa. Then Don asks this interesting question: Ra, 94:14 Wrote:Questioner: Now I can understand, to use a poor term again, the necessity for the archetype of Catalyst of the Mind but what is the reason for having a blueprint or model for the Experience of the Mind other than this simple model of dual repositories for negative and positive catalyst? It seems to me that the first distortion of free will would be better served if no model for experience was made. Could you clear that up for me? Although the question "wouldn't the first distortion of free will be better served if no model for experience was made" is certainly interesting, I am more interested in what Ra said about "the attraction of various archetypes to male and to female". It seems to me that it is where Ra puts the emphasis in this quote on. In 92:20 Ra says: Ra Wrote:Questioner: The Matrix of the Mind is depicted as a male on the card and the Potentiator as female. Could Ra state why this is and how this affects these two archetypes? So, since the Matrix of the mind is attracted to the biological male and the Potentiator is attracted to the biological female, is the Experience of the Mind then attracted to the biological male? Moving on: Ra, 94:15 Wrote:Questioner: In the fourth archetype the card shows a male whose body faces forward. I assume that this indicates that the Experience of the Mind will reach for catalyst. However, the face is to the left which indicates to me that in reaching for catalyst, negative catalyst will be more apparent in its power and effect. Would Ra comment on this? Here Ra confirms that the Experience of the Mind grasps with firm authority that which is given, and that the negative catalyst is more apparent in its power and effect, i.e. the positive catalyst is not apparent: Ra, 94:20 Wrote:The nature of experience is such that the attention shall be constantly given varieties of experience. Those that are presumed to be negative, or interpreted as negative, may seem in abundance. It is a great challenge to take catalyst and devise the magical, positive experience. That which is magical in the negative experience is much longer coming, shall we say, in the third density. I love how Ra says that it is a *great* challenge to take catalyst and devise the magical, positive experience, which goes into what they are saying in 49:6: Each experience will be sequentially understood by the growing and seeking mind/body/spirit complex in terms of survival, then in terms of personal identity, then in terms of social relations, then in terms of universal love, then in terms of how the experience may beget free communication, then in terms of how the experience may be linked to universal energies, and finally in terms of the sacramental nature of each experience. And in 18:5 Ra says: The proper role of the entity is in this density to experience all things desired, to then analyze, understand, and accept these experiences, distilling from them the love/light within them...//...These desires become more and more distorted towards conscious application of love/light as the entity furnishes itself with distilled experience. Now, I am not sure in regards to the english language used in the sentence: That which is magical in the negative experience is much longer coming, shall we say, in the third density. But my interpretation of this sentence is that distilling magical nature of the negative experience is something that might take time in third density? Does anyone else have another interpretation of that sentence? Moving on: Ra, 94:16 Wrote:Questioner: The Experience is seated upon the square of the material illusion which is colored much darker than in Card Number Three. However, there is a cat inside of this square. I am guessing as experience is gained the second-density nature of the illusion is understood and the negative and positive aspects separate. Would Ra comment on this? Here we have a seated image, milk-white leg, its pointed foot and the cultural meaning of the great cat guarding "what, O student, does it guard" and with "what oriflamme does it lighten that darkness of manifestation". What I find of personal interest in the above quote is the piece when Ra says that the separation is nonexistent except through the sifting which is the result of cumulative experience. "Seated image" means to me that which has already been said, i.e. Archetype Four grasps with firm authority what it is given. "Milk-white" legs means to me purity. And the pointed foot is discussed later: Ra Wrote:94:18 Questioner: In Card Number Three the feet of the female entity are upon the unstable platform, signifying the dual polarity by its color. In Card Number Four one foot is pointed so that if the male entity stands on the toe it would be carefully balanced. The other foot is pointed to the left. Would Ra comment on my observation that if the entity stands on this foot it will be very, very carefully balanced? It is interesting when Ra says that this concept complex is not only the key to this image or concept complex but also other concept complexes as well. Archetype Four is architecturally expressed having both the fragility and surety of the structure. More about pointed foot: Ra Wrote:94:19 Questioner: It would seem to me, from the configuration of this male entity in Card Number Four, who looks to the left with the right foot pointed to the left, that this card would indicate you must be in a defensive position with respect to the left-hand path, but there is no need to concern yourself about protection with respect to the right-hand path. Would Ra comment on that? So what this pointed foot seems to indicate is the attention of the entity which is caught by the negative catalyst, and they also say that the cross formed by the living limbs signifies that which is the nature of mind/body/spirit complexes in manifestation within our illusion. This is what Ra said about crux ansanata or ankh: We may indicate that the crux ansata is a part of the concept complexes of the archetypical mind, the circle indicating the magic of the spirit, the cross indicating that nature of manifestation which may only be valued by the losing. Thus the crux ansata is intended to be seen as an image of the eternal in and through manifestation and beyond manifestation through the sacrifice and transformation of that which is manifest. Ankh is then indeed a part of the archetypical mind and the crossing limbs of the entity in Archetype Four is the symbol of it, that the nature of manifestation may only be valued by the losing. Then Ra directs the attention to the great cat, that which it guards and the cultural meaning of it. The cultural meaning of cats in Ancient Egypt: From wikipedia: Praised for controlling vermin and its ability to kill snakes such as cobras, the domesticated cat became a symbol of grace and poise. The goddess Mafdet, the deification of justice and execution, was a lion-headed goddess. The cat goddess Bast (also known as Bastet) eventually replaced the cult of Mafdet, and Bast's image softened over time and she became the deity representing protection, fertility, and motherhood...//...Bast developed into an immensely popular and important deity representing fertility, motherhood, protection, and the benevolent aspects of the sun - along with Sekhmet, she was known as the Eye of Ra. Tour Egypt: They were not only the most popular pet in the house, but their status rose to that of the sacred animals and then on to the most esteemed deities like no other creature before them...//...Another very common scene in tomb paintings was a cat seated under a woman's chair, showing that the cat had become an integral part of the ancient Egyptian family life...//...Bastet was often depicted as having the body of a woman and the head of a domestic cat. She was associated with the Eye of Ra, acting within the sun god's power. The Egyptians loved Bastet so much that she became a household goddess and protector of women, children and domestic cats. She was also the goddess of sunrise, music, dance, pleasure, as well as family, fertility and birth. (From the same page just for fun: Her supposed evil counterpart was the goddess Sekhmet who represented the cat goddess' destructive force. She is known as the goddess of war and pestilence. But even she was tamed by Ra (who supposedly got her drunk) lol! and she eventually became the powerful protector of humans. Together, Bastet and Sekhmet represented the balance of the forces of nature.) Ra tells a bit later though what this great cat protects: Ra, 95:23 Wrote:Questioner: What I meant to say was that the entity is guarded along the right-hand path, once it has chosen this path, from effects of the material illusion that are of the negative polarity. Would Ra comment on that? So the cat guards the entity in direct proportion to the purity of the manifestations of intention and the purity of inner work done along the right-hand path. But what does this cat guard the entity from? It is certainly not from other selves: Ra, 99:8 Wrote:Those upon the right-hand path have no such protection against other-selves for upon that path the doughty seeker shall find many mirrors for reflection in each other-self it encounters. Ra and Don explore this protection in session 95: Ra Wrote:95:24 Questioner: From that statement I interpret the following. If the Experience of the Mind has sufficiently chosen the right-hand path, and as total purity is approached in the choosing of the right-hand path, then total imperviousness from the effect of the left-hand catalyst is also approached. Is this correct? And finally Don and Ra say this: Ra, 95:26 Wrote:Questioner: Am I to understand, then, that there is no protection at all if the Experience of the Mind has chosen the left-hand path and that path is traveled? All random catalyst may affect the negatively polarized individual as a function of the statistical nature of the random catalyst. Is this correct? So what this great cat guards the entity from is the random catalyst if the right-hand path is purely chosen. With what "oriflamme" does it then lighten that darkness of manifestation? Oriflamme means an inspiring standard or symbol according to this dictionary. And what I guess that this oriflamme is, is the purity, and is that "oriflamme" or an inspiring symbol, that Ra speaks of...? My interpretation would be that this "oriflamme", this symbol, is the purity of manifesting an intention, and that purity is what guards the entity, who has purely chosen the right hand path, from the random catalyst. Or put in other words: to the pure all that is encountered speaks of the love and the light of the One Infinite Creator. Then we have the polarity aspect of this archetype: Ra Wrote:94:21 Questioner: Both the third and fourth archetypes, as I see it, work together for the sole purpose of creating the polarity in the most efficient manner possible. Is this correct? So as the random catalyst is hitting an entity, and this might take some time before the entity in third density is ready to develop a bias, but as this bias is being more and more chosen and the experience is interpreted in a more polarized way, this follows more and more the blueprint of the Archetype Four. This archetype is there to create a blueprint for a polarized experience. There is more to the image: the bird on the entity's chest, the skirt which is skewed to the left, the sphere this entity is holding in his right hand and the serpent in the indigo ray. Another thing that I want to mention is that this entity is looking to the left, to which Ra answered: Ra, 103:15 Wrote:We might also note that we, in forming the original images for your peoples, were using the cultural commonplaces of artistic expression of those in Egypt. The face is drawn to the side most often, as are the feet turned. We made use of this and, thus, wish to soften the significance of the side-long look. In no case thus far in these deliberations, however, has any misinterpretation or unsuitable interpretation been drawn. The skirt skewed to the left: Ra Wrote:94:28 Questioner: The entity on Card Four wears a strangely shaped skirt. Is there a significance to the shape of this skirt? I interpret the above that the meaning of the skirt skewed to the left means the distance to other selves one is gaining when choosing the negative interpretation of the experience, and the unity one is attaining when choosing the positive interpretation. The bird on the entity's chest: Ra Wrote:94:24 Questioner: The bird in Card Number Three now seems to be internalized in the center of the entity in Card Number Four in that it has changed from its flight in Card Number Three. The flight has achieved its objective and has become a part, a central part, of the experience. Could Ra comment on that? Ra says following in regards to the birds in Tarot images: Ra, 91:25 Wrote:The wingèd visions or images in this system are to be noted not so much for their distinct kind as for the position of the wings. All birds are indeed intended to suggest flight, and messages, and movement, and in some cases, protection. The folded wing in this image is intended to suggest that just as the Matrix figure, the Magician, cannot act without reaching its wingèd spirit, so neither can the spirit fly lest it be released into conscious manifestation and fructified thereby. So the position of the wings is what is to be noted. The bird in Archetype Four has unfolded wings, suggesting the spirit that can fly? And this spirit is now seated in the green ray energy center... Ra, 93:10 Wrote:Questioner: The bird, I am guessing, might be a messenger of the two paths depicted by the position of the wings bringing catalyst which could be used to polarize on either path. Is this in any way correct? So the position of the bird is significant. And I love Ra's statement of once having made contact with its potentiated self, the mind/body/spirit complex is now beginning its flight towards the great Logos... Then we have the sphere that the entity in Archetype Four is holding in its right hand: Ra, 93:18 Wrote:The sphere of spiritual power is an indication indeed that each opportunity is pregnant with the most extravagant magical possibilities for the far-seeing adept. Ra, 96:15 Wrote:...the sphere may be seen to be held by the thumb and index and second finger. Ra, 91:20 Wrote:...sphere which indicates the spiritual nature of the object of the will of one wishing to do magical acts within the manifestation of your density. Lastly I would like to offer the last quote that has to do with the Archetype Four which is: Ra, 95:27 Wrote:Questioner: The possibility of the legs of the entity of Card Four being at right angles was linked with the tesseract*, mentioned in a much earlier session by Ra, as the direction of transformation from space/time into time/space and I was thinking that possibly it was also linked with the crux ansata. Am I in any way correct in this observation? And finally I would like to offer my current interpretation of the Archetype Four. Interpretation of Archetype Four: The entity is sitting on a cube which to me symbolizes the third density illusion. This cube might or might not appear, if the magic is found, as a tessearct, having more dimensions. The seated image indicates the inner work in the lower energy centers being done, and the experience in those rays being seated. The polarity comes into play, and the experience can now become more polarized through conscious work. The entity is then able to grasp with firm authority the experience in a conscious way. When purely positively polarized entity facing the left (although without any bigger significance attached to this detail) and with its milk-white, i.e. pure in intention, pointed leg experience a seemingly negative catalyst, this entity is able to interpret a seemingly negative experience in a positively polarized way, understanding that this is where magic and power lies, that each opportunity is pregnant with magical, infinite possibilities. The spirit is in this case seated in the green ray, and the gateway to the indigo ray open, the entity is now guarded towards random catalyst by its purity and is now able to grasp the fullness of this archetype. The great pitch of light is now being held high above and all interpretation can be seen to be protected by light. It is now that this entity is ready to begin its flight towards the great Logos, which is a calling of an adept. RE: The Experience of the Mind - Plenum - 11-15-2012 thanks for the great compilation of quotes and thoughts Ankh. There is a voluminous amount of information on cards I-IV, as opposed to the other archetypes, of which there is only a scattered paragraph here and there on which to ground one's analysis. personally, I can't say that I've spent much time with the Emperor. A great deal of effort, however, has been expended on the previous card, the Empress. in regards to your personal summary ... (11-14-2012, 08:30 PM)Ankh Wrote: Interpretation of Archetype Four: I personally understand this to be the concept of Wise Service. The Emperor sees his kingdom or domain, and then chooses a method or way of relating to it (the so-called experience of the mind). The experience is self-chosen via the catalyst of the mind, but the interpretation of it takes place in this card, whether to make it a positive, negative, or a non-acknowledged experience. It is the 'create your own reality' paradigm, but here rather a 'create your own interpretation'. here is Scott Mandelker's view of the card, if you are willing to sit through some poor audio quality and some side rants: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-umVJrg38S4&list=UUnYjzZuZag8HtUiq0Mx_3Pg&index=14&feature=plpp_video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U4tmPmM_YxE&list=UUnYjzZuZag8HtUiq0Mx_3Pg&index=13&feature=plpp_video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9wBwWLHao4U&list=UUnYjzZuZag8HtUiq0Mx_3Pg&index=12&feature=plpp_video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FwUlZVF-WJo&list=UUnYjzZuZag8HtUiq0Mx_3Pg&index=11&feature=plpp_video RE: The Experience of the Mind - Aaron - 12-01-2012 (11-14-2012, 08:30 PM)Ankh Wrote:Ra, 94:20 Wrote:The nature of experience is such that the attention shall be constantly given varieties of experience. Those that are presumed to be negative, or interpreted as negative, may seem in abundance. It is a great challenge to take catalyst and devise the magical, positive experience. That which is magical in the negative experience is much longer coming, shall we say, in the third density. Analyzing Ra's words and sentence structure may provide a key towards understanding that quote. Ra Wrote:The nature of experience is such that the attention shall be constantly given varieties of experience. Those that are presumed to be negative, or interpreted as negative, may seem in abundance. It is a great challenge to take catalyst and devise the magical, positive experience. That which is magical in the negative experience is much longer coming, shall we say, in the third density. Catalyst is constantly instreaming. It appears, before discrimination, to be abundantly negative. Ra says it is a great challenge to take catalyst, this constantly instreaming catalyst, and devise the magical, positive experience from it. The phrase "magical, positive experience" means that the positive experience is being described as magical in nature, i.e. the positive experience is "automatically" magical. But when being buffeted by the continual stream of seemingly negative catalyst, it is not magical. I interpret the last sentence to mean that it takes tremendous will, focus, dedication, and patience, when polarizing upon the negative path and choosing further negative interpretations of catalyst, in order to experience that which is magical in the negative catalyst. RE: The Experience of the Mind - Ankh - 12-01-2012 (12-01-2012, 02:50 AM)Bring4th_Aaron Wrote:Ra Wrote:The nature of experience is such that the attention shall be constantly given varieties of experience. Those that are presumed to be negative, or interpreted as negative, may seem in abundance. It is a great challenge to take catalyst and devise the magical, positive experience. That which is magical in the negative experience is much longer coming, shall we say, in the third density. That was the bull's eye explanation, gorgeous!! Thank you. It makes perfect sense to me now! RE: The Experience of the Mind - chaospanda - 11-15-2015 In regards to interpreting seemingly negative catalyst as a magical positive experience, I have a few comments. First, I enjoy Jesus' idea in his Course that any time a brother is angry, hateful, or attacks you, to perceive it as a call for help. Thus, the most common seeming negative catalyst, being attacked by someone, can be perceived as a positive event, in that you have an opportunity to serve the other self through love. Also, in what is largely covered by Q'uo, the opportunities to open the heart may be experienced in a manner that invokes sadness. Simply accepting the experience of sadness and choosing to undo the thoughts of guilt that cause sadness is a method for taking a poignant catalyst and achieving positive results. |