We the Choir Gather and We Learn to Sing Together

[rva_jeremy]

Yes, so it is possible to achieve harmony without central direction. I leave it to you and other readers to ponder whether centralized direction is the fourth density ideal or not.

And if it's not, and that feels like a lot of responsibility, look around you. It's not all on your shoulders to approach the ideal.

[Ymarsakar]

"The only thing I'll say about the choral metaphor is that choirs almost always have conductors leading them."

Hehe, the anchor.

[Patrick]

"The only thing I'll say about the choral metaphor is that choirs almost always have conductors leading them."

Hehe, the anchor.

The One Infinite Creator...

[Ymarsakar]

"The only thing I'll say about the choral metaphor is that choirs almost always have conductors leading them."

Hehe, the anchor.

The One Infinite Creator...

In this context, it would be a few steps down. More like a secret agent that cleans things up. The Creator enjoys the entertainment and production when it is at the end, but does not participate directly unless something seriously malfunctions.

[Ohr Ein Sof]

ugh converging perspectives

[Sacred Fool]

I leave it to you and other readers to ponder whether centralized direction is the fourth density ideal or not.

On the other hand, this could be a false dichotomy.  4D is about love, right?  So, the ideal, then, would be whichever was most loving in its own context.  QED
 

[rva_jeremy]

I leave it to you and other readers to ponder whether centralized direction is the fourth density ideal or not.

On the other hand, this could be a false dichotomy.  4D is about love, right?  So, the ideal, then, would be whichever was most loving in its own context.  QED
 

True, my friend. It's a false dichotomy from certain points of view. The point is to stop paying attention to the limitations of third density and to aspire for greater freedom and curiosity. I'm placing an overly heavy emphasis on it to make a point: that LLR is not essential to seeking. If I had realized this earlier, I might have saved friendships and relationships I regret losing.

[Sacred Fool]

True, my friend. It's a false dichotomy from certain points of view. The point is to stop paying attention to the limitations of third density and to aspire for greater freedom and curiosity. I'm placing an overly heavy emphasis on it to make a point: that LLR is not essential to seeking. If I had realized this earlier, I might have saved friendships and relationships I regret losing.

Bumptious though it may be, you know you're doing things right, amigo, when you're using your catalyst to see more deeply into self.  Just give it another incarnation or two and all that other stuff will heal.

This is a very cool quote from Hatonn, and it's on point with the choir theme.

It is not a cruel creation. The harmonies are sometimes difficult to understand.

https://llresearch.org/transcripts/issue..._1121.aspx
 

[Louisabell]

I wonder if there eventually comes a point where (in keeping with the analogy) we all must learn to sing with the choir. And perhaps both fate and the inner felt Logoic call towards our evolution will lead us there, whether we are consciously aware of it or not.

I can't deny that the potential for shared reality in a polarized group is enticing.

This below quote always makes me feel like the kid in class that is falling behind and can no longer keep up.

42.18 Questioner: Then in attempting to reproduce this experience would I then best follow practices for the Order of the Golden Dawn in reproducing this?

Ra: I am Ra. To attempt to reproduce an initiatory experience is to move, shall we say, backwards. However, the practice of this form of service to others is appropriate in your case working with your associates. It is not well for positively polarized entities to work singly. The reasons for this are obvious.

Well, these reasons are not so obvious to me. Why is it not well for STO selves to work singly? Ideas?

[Patrick]

Without your mirrors you can't see what you're doing. You also cannot work with the self in others without working with others.

[Louisabell]

Without your mirrors you can't see what you're doing. You also cannot work with the self in others without working with others.

Thanks! To have mirrors on which to reflect back on is most important in the process of realising the self, I think. I suppose I see a distinction there between what it is to work with others versus to serve others or to attempt cohabitation/coexistence with others. To work with others appears to me to convey a more disciplined and focused undertaking, especially in the quote's context and the lead-in questions where Ra speaks to the ceremonial magical stance.

Also, the use of the words 'not well' is most striking to me. Ra does not state that it is 'inefficient' or 'fruitless' to work singly, but that it is not well, as though there is some harm in it.

And then why does Ra specify that this is the case for the positive polarised entity? Does this mean that it does not apply to the negative polarised entity, and if so, then what is the missing qualifier?

[Ohr Ein Sof]

I wonder if there eventually comes a point where (in keeping with the analogy) we all must learn to sing with the choir. And perhaps both fate and the inner felt Logoic call towards our evolution will lead us there, whether we are consciously aware of it or not.

I can't deny that the potential for shared reality in a polarized group is enticing.

This below quote always makes me feel like the kid in class that is falling behind and can no longer keep up.

42.18 Questioner: Then in attempting to reproduce this experience would I then best follow practices for the Order of the Golden Dawn in reproducing this?

Ra: I am Ra. To attempt to reproduce an initiatory experience is to move, shall we say, backwards. However, the practice of this form of service to others is appropriate in your case working with your associates. It is not well for positively polarized entities to work singly. The reasons for this are obvious.

Well, these reasons are not so obvious to me. Why is it not well for STO selves to work singly? Ideas?

Protection

[Louisabell]

Well, these reasons are not so obvious to me. Why is it not well for STO selves to work singly? Ideas?

Protection

Yes, that fits... seems kinda obvious to me now, haha. Thank you

[Ymarsakar]

More hands, less sweat at the work.

[Ohr Ein Sof]

Well, these reasons are not so obvious to me. Why is it not well for STO selves to work singly? Ideas?

Protection

Yes, that fits... seems kinda obvious to me now, haha. Thank you

Well, you have helped me, now it was my turn to reciprocate.

[Sacred Fool]

I wonder if there eventually comes a point where (in keeping with the analogy) we all must learn to sing with the choir.

42.18 Questioner: Then in attempting to reproduce this experience would I then best follow practices for the Order of the Golden Dawn in reproducing this?

Ra: I am Ra. To attempt to reproduce an initiatory experience is to move, shall we say, backwards. However, the practice of this form of service to others is appropriate in your case working with your associates. It is not well for positively polarized entities to work singly. The reasons for this are obvious.

Well, these reasons are not so obvious to me. Why is it not well for STO selves to work singly? Ideas?

Hi there.

Well, you may be conflating two different lines of thought here.  One is a general convergence of positive beings and the other is suggestions when performing "ritual magic."  The quote above pertains to the latter.  I expect that, because the questioner was wholly new to swimming in this discipline, Ra was suggesting that he not just jump into the deep end of pool without helpful resources standing by.

As to the former, mirrors are helpful, to be sure.  Here's a different take on the matter, one pertaining to a more advanced level of spiritual maturity, to use Hatonn's term.

Q'uo  https://llresearch.org/transcripts/issue..._0414.aspx

However, to one who has indeed cast aside arrogance, the voice of spirit becomes quite audible and there is a liveness of interchange that is not possible while the egoic structure of the personality shell retains its knowledge of its self-sufficiency.

We speak as if there is a “we” and a “they,” a “you” and an “I.” And this is not precisely correct. For there is an ever-flowing movement of energy along lines of force which are created by your thoughts and feelings rather than there being a dynamic of two.

You are experiencing ways of structuring the self so that it may be known to the self. We do not wish to take away every structure of your thoughts in an instant. Rather, we would that you would conceive of this journey as a dance. It is a dance in which your movements express a gradual increase in your ability to be naked and without personality.

In the privacy and the intimacy of your silent meditation, allow all to fall away as it will and sit with that which is left until it, too, falls away. And then sit with that which is left until it, too, falls away. Repeat this process until when you sit, you simply sit.

 
Perhaps this part of the question comes down to efficient use of catalyst?  Sometimes one can hear the messages when faintly whispered, while at other times one requires screaming and yelling for the ears to open, as Jeremy was alluding to above. 

This quote immediately above suggests to me that, in meditation, although one appears to be alone within, in another sense, in singing the song of one's deepest vibration, one's consciousness is, indeed, singing with all. 

This is not meant to be an advancement of an anti-Eisenstinian thesis.  I toss it out here for the sake of balance.
  

[Diana]

I wonder if there eventually comes a point where (in keeping with the analogy) we all must learn to sing with the choir. And perhaps both fate and the inner felt Logoic call towards our evolution will lead us there, whether we are consciously aware of it or not.

I can't deny that the potential for shared reality in a polarized group is enticing.

This below quote always makes me feel like the kid in class that is falling behind and can no longer keep up.

42.18 Questioner: Then in attempting to reproduce this experience would I then best follow practices for the Order of the Golden Dawn in reproducing this?

Ra: I am Ra. To attempt to reproduce an initiatory experience is to move, shall we say, backwards. However, the practice of this form of service to others is appropriate in your case working with your associates. It is not well for positively polarized entities to work singly. The reasons for this are obvious.

Well, these reasons are not so obvious to me. Why is it not well for STO selves to work singly? Ideas?

Regarding the above quote, and the specific instance they are referring to, I agree that protection is either a factor or the reason.

In addition, the path of STO and STS have very different foundations of approach to experience. The STS individual is focused on self, and then there are others to whom the self sees as different and in need of the service they can provide from the point of view of their focus. STO individuals seek unity and no separation between self and others. That's what may be obvious here. If an STO-polarizing person works, lives, plays alone, then there is an actual physical/mental barrier set up that may affect the overview. A lot of focus goes into the experience of self accomplishing something alone, which is closer to the STS focus, so can possibly have a depolarizing effect. That is, if the individual isn't already polarized enough to maintain a unifying overview.

Let's say you are an Amazon seller of some product. This can be done successfully with no consideration for the buyer, other than maintaining the good seller standing Amazon assesses. So you have to make sure the shipping is done right, follow-ups are done, and all the work that goes into the back end is correct, and this can be done with no actual love for the buyers who are giving you their money. But another person could be doing the same business exactly, selling even the same product, but this person genuinely cares about the customer, and has compassion and unity with others, so this person follows up and ships correctly, etc. not just because they may lose standing with Amazon if they don't, but because they really care about others. So even when one is physically alone working, even when there is no actual in-person contact, one can still have the embracing energy of unity with others.

[rva_jeremy]

Well, these reasons are not so obvious to me. Why is it not well for STO selves to work singly? Ideas?

I think this Hatonn excerpt provides a possible alternative perspective:

At one point in your evolution, my friends, you were at the farthest point from the central source, which we call Creator for want of another word. There was nothing behind and nothing in front of you, when you began your travel. As you moved toward that great light, that great central sun, light is before you and darkness behind you. Wisdom before you and ignorance behind you. Those who wish to gain power may gain it in one of two ways—by aiding and abetting that journey towards the light which is called good, or by, shall we say, applying the brakes [in] progress and attempting to reenter that portion of the cycle [which has already been] which is called evil.

If you can understand that at the end of your journey, when you are without [motion,] there will be no good or evil. It may help you (inaudible) [combat ]that which you see as evil at this point. The principle which drives those who are vibrating in what you would call the evil range is that of separation. They are attempting to separate themselves from the great central source. They are attempting to become more and more individualized, thereby shutting themselves off from power and love of the creation. The type of power that this generates is similar to that which is generated by the applying of brakes in one of your automobiles. It is a friction which generates a good deal of heat. Because this power is so obvious in being seen and felt, and because power in and of itself is admired on planet Earth, many vibrate in the direction of evil, for they can see that they are powerful. Those who attempt to accelerate towards the good are deliberately giving up more and more of their individuality and taking on more and more of the love and power of that central sun source. (my emphasis)

https://llresearch.org/transcripts/issue..._0809.aspx

I'd reason that this giving up of individuality on the positive path is what creates the level of power we need to be harvested. It might be possible to give up your individuality as a lone individual working on the self. But I imagine it's easier to dial it in when others are not only reflecting your progress back to you but also filling in the blanks of what the alternative identity might be which displaces individual identity. That would make letting go of the ego less scary, I'd think, but I could be mistaken.

[Patrick]

Giving yourself up to the One Infinite Creator is indeed the easiest and fastest way to progress. It's not like you're giving up who you are, because you are the One. So you are letting yourself be guided by the you that has the highest vantage point possible to see the best way up.

[Spaced]

I think that people get caught up on the idea of giving up individuality as it sounds like you are being asked to repress elements of the self. Repression is actually counterproductive to that goal. A better way to go about it is to indulge in one's desires and balance the experience within in order to see if they are in alignment with one's true being.

18.5 Questioner: Thank you. I have a question here from Jim that I will read verbatim: “Much of the mystic tradition of seeking on Earth holds that belief that the individual self must be erased or obliterated and the material world ignored for an entity to reach ‘nirvana,’ as it’s called, or enlightenment. What is the proper role of the individual self and its worldly activities in aiding an entity to grow more into the Law of One?”

Ra: I am Ra. 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. Nothing shall be overcome. That which is not needed falls away.

The orientation develops due to analysis of desire. These desires become more and more distorted towards conscious application of love/light as the entity furnishes itself with distilled experience. We have found it to be inappropriate in the extreme to encourage the overcoming of any desires, except to suggest the imagination rather than the carrying out in the physical plane, as you call it, of those desires not consonant with the Law of One; this preserving the primal distortion of free will.

The reason it is unwise to overcome is that overcoming is an unbalanced action creating difficulties in balancing in the time/space continuum. Overcoming thus creates the further environment for holding onto that which apparently has been overcome.

All things are acceptable in the proper time for each entity, and in experiencing, in understanding, in accepting, in then sharing with other-selves, the appropriate description shall be moving away from distortions of one kind to distortions of another which may be more consonant with the Law of One.

It is, shall we say, a shortcut to simply ignore or overcome any desire. It must instead be understood and accepted. This takes patience and experience which can be analyzed with care, with compassion for self and for other-self.

As the mind complex is distilled through the athanor of the body over many lifetimes it becomes purified and sheds distortion. 

As for the central discussion of this thread, I think that there is a natural rhythm to creation and by doing the internal work and shedding distortion one becomes more in synch with that rhythm. If one is in synch with the rhythm of creation then they would naturally be in synch with others who are similarly synchronized. As fourth density approaches and social memory becomes accessible, it would be simple for the members of that complex to be in harmony with each other. Perhaps here in third density there is a need for conductors and preaching to choirs, if only to serve as mirrors and signposts pointing back to the self and the work to be done there.

Or something like that.

[flofrog]

This is probably why when you get to find yourself in natural synch it appears suddenly so simple and easy.

[rva_jeremy]

I think that people get caught up on the idea of giving up individuality as it sounds like you are being asked to repress elements of the self. Repression is actually counterproductive to that goal. A better way to go about it is to indulge in one's desires and balance the experience within in order to see if they are in alignment with one's true being.

…

As the mind complex is distilled through the athanor of the body over many lifetimes it becomes purified and sheds distortion. 

I don't see what you're saying as in any way conflicting with a release of the emphasis on our cultural concept of individuality, for what it's worth (and that cultural concept is not shared by all on this planet or throughout history). I wasn't suggesting that people repress their individuality in order to be positive -- I was suggesting that, as one polarizes, "that which is not needed falls away". What falls away is not our uniqueness, but the contrived aspects of our yellow ray complex. The less contrived our identity is, the less being a self becomes a push against the masses and the more it becomes a dance of give and take with the Creator. The goal is not to always win for the self and never lose anything for the self, but to toss the tally sheet aside entirely as the true goal becomes one's place in the Creation and not something for and by oneself. As Patrick said, you don't stop being you, but you do open up to the fullness of you instead of the "socially useful you" that we are so invested in protecting.

[Spaced]

Yeah, I'm not arguing your point. I just felt compelled to butt into the conversation with some of my own thoughts

[Diana]

I was suggesting that, as one polarizes, "that which is not needed falls away".  What falls away is not our uniqueness, but the contrived aspects of our yellow ray complex. The less contrived our identity is, the less being a self becomes a push against the masses and the more it becomes a dance of give and take with the Creator. The goal is not to always win for the self and never lose anything for the self, but to toss the tally sheet aside entirely as the true goal becomes one's place in the Creation and not something for and by oneself. As Patrick said, you don't stop being you, but you do open up to the fullness of you instead of the "socially useful you" that we are so invested in protecting.

Well said.

This Ra quote comes to mind:

Ra: I am Ra. . . . Speaking to the intention of your question, the best way for each seeker in third density to be of service to others is unique to that mind/body/spirit complex. This means that the mind/body/spirit complex must then seek within itself the intelligence of its own discernment as to the way it may best serve other-selves. This will be different for each. There is no best. There is no generalization. Nothing is known.

[Louisabell]

I expect that, because the questioner was wholly new to swimming in this discipline, Ra was suggesting that he not just jump into the deep end of pool without helpful resources standing by.

Perhaps, but I would think that Ra, in their propensity towards precision, would have specified as much. They instead gave a very general statement which encompassed all those whom are "positively polarised".

I may indeed be conflating, but ritualistic magic is not so unrelated to those who may wish to serve for there to be no use of drawing parallels. I find it interesting that attempts at self-protection may be insufficient in such a circumstance. And indeed, it was the harmony of the group which acted as great support and protector for the original trio.

This quote immediately above suggests to me that, in meditation, although one appears to be alone within, in another sense, in singing the song of one's deepest vibration, one's consciousness is, indeed, singing with all. 

A most beautiful and, no-doubt, advanced form of seeking. Yet isn't that which is new, that which seeks to emerge, at rest when we are? Doesn't it seek expression in the momentary exchanges of its component parts. Isn't it in its most active form in the dynamic interplay of self to self? Playing the notes that "frame the silence", creating the music that can serve as inspiration to others?

[Louisabell]

So even when one is physically alone working, even when there is no actual in-person contact, one can still have the embracing energy of unity with others.

Good point. However an Amazon seller isn't really an island unto themselves.  They are surrounded by a network of people who greatly enrich their mental social landscape, and so while the people in the seller's orbit do not appear in the flesh, they still effectuate catalytic action for the seller. I wonder how your analogy would apply, if possible, on the person stranded alone on an island?

.... Those who attempt to accelerate towards the good are deliberately giving up more and more of their individuality and taking on more and more of the love and power of that central sun source. (my emphasis)

https://llresearch.org/transcripts/issue..._0809.aspx

I'd reason that this giving up of individuality on the positive path is what creates the level of power we need to be harvested. It might be possible to give up your individuality as a lone individual working on the self. But I imagine it's easier to dial it in when others are not only reflecting your progress back to you but also filling in the blanks of what the alternative identity might be which displaces individual identity. That would make letting go of the ego less scary, I'd think, but I could be mistaken.

Interesting that Hatonn uses the term individuality. SF also quoted channeled material which used different terms to explain a similar thing, I think...

Q'uo  https://llresearch.org/transcripts/issue..._0414.aspx

However, to one who has indeed cast aside arrogance, the voice of spirit becomes quite audible and there is a liveness of interchange that is not possible while the egoic structure of the personality shell retains its knowledge of its self-sufficiency.

 

And yet none of these things can be said to be accurate in the absolute sense, when taken into account the definition of the unmanifested being as that being which exists and does its work without reference to or aid from other-selves.(71.5). So egoic structures are not truly self-sufficient in that they are referential by nature, and a "cultural concept of individuality" by its definition relies on culture. So, I don't see it so much as being a "leaving-behind" of self-sufficiency or individuality, but the lies we tell ourselves about these concepts.

How is there true individuality in the Law of One where all is the One Infinite Creator, and the pinnacle of seeking is to become the most humble servant of all (74.11)? And yet, each unmanifested self is unique (66.20). And so, to truly merge with one's other-selves while also retaining one's uniqueness, would require a large amount of light-strength and integrity, I would imagine. It could even be said that the difference of third density to fourth is that in third we are merged while not retaining our uniqueness or full awareness or full glory, and that this is the cause for much of the suffering we experience here. Maybe part of transitioning to fourth is the conscious realisation that we were unified all along, much more so than we could ever imagine, through the mass mind.

[Ohr Ein Sof]

So even when one is physically alone working, even when there is no actual in-person contact, one can still have the embracing energy of unity with others.

Good point. However an Amazon seller isn't really an island unto themselves.  They are surrounded by a network of people who greatly enrich their mental social landscape, and so while the people in the seller's orbit do not appear in the flesh, they still effectuate catalytic action for the seller. I wonder how your analogy would apply, if possible, on the person stranded alone on an island?

.... Those who attempt to accelerate towards the good are deliberately giving up more and more of their individuality and taking on more and more of the love and power of that central sun source. (my emphasis)

https://llresearch.org/transcripts/issue..._0809.aspx

I'd reason that this giving up of individuality on the positive path is what creates the level of power we need to be harvested. It might be possible to give up your individuality as a lone individual working on the self. But I imagine it's easier to dial it in when others are not only reflecting your progress back to you but also filling in the blanks of what the alternative identity might be which displaces individual identity. That would make letting go of the ego less scary, I'd think, but I could be mistaken.

Interesting that Hatonn uses the term individuality. SF also quoted channeled material which used different terms to explain a similar thing, I think...

Q'uo  https://llresearch.org/transcripts/issue..._0414.aspx

However, to one who has indeed cast aside arrogance, the voice of spirit becomes quite audible and there is a liveness of interchange that is not possible while the egoic structure of the personality shell retains its knowledge of its self-sufficiency.

 

And yet none of these things can be said to be accurate in the absolute sense, when taken into account the definition of the unmanifested being as that being which exists and does its work without reference to or aid from other-selves.(71.5). So egoic structures are not truly self-sufficient in that they are referential by nature, and a "cultural concept of individuality" by its definition relies on culture. So, I don't see it so much as being a "leaving-behind" of self-sufficiency or individuality, but the lies we tell ourselves about these concepts.

How is there true individuality in the Law of One where all is the One Infinite Creator, and the pinnacle of seeking is to become the most humble servant of all (74.11)? And yet, each unmanifested self is unique (66.20). And so, to truly merge with one's other-selves while also retaining one's uniqueness, would require a large amount of light-strength and integrity, I would imagine. It could even be said that the difference of third density to fourth is that in third we are merged while not retaining our uniqueness or full awareness or full glory, and that this is the cause for much of the suffering we experience here. Maybe part of transitioning to fourth is the conscious realisation that we were unified all along, much more so than we could ever imagine, through the mass mind.

I believe in 4th density we can retain our unique qualities because we still have all of our unique experiences found in one's soul stream still with us the only difference being, is that we are not subject to linear time any longer and therefore our past and future is now the present moment. I do not think that we surrender our unique qualities until 7th density.

The latter part of your comment reminded me of how unique we truly are and the MBS truly being a Complex.

Being alone in meditation contains differences than trying to perform ritual magic (not to be confused with "ritual").
Even the Bible states that the Power is found when two or more are gathered and of course like you have said regarding the trio; Don, Carla and Jim providing protection through harmony and love while each bringing with them their unique talents that blended well in the work they were taking part in. It was truly a unique balance and one not readily found as Ra had looked for many years trying to locate this unique mixture which obviously sang a special chord of harmony when these three were together. (for the particular work they would be doing)

I am noted for my laziness when adding a comment and I simply stated "protection" when later I thought, "self, it is also power along with protection and a blending of frequencies that produce a certian harmony for this type of work. You should have added that!"

Again, meditation certainly can be done alone or with many and both being quite effective.
The man on an island alone, is he alone really? It may appear so but as we all have come to understand, appearances do not mean much when learning the truth. This human that sits on an island alone is always accompanied by his guides from cradle to death, The Creator and a collection of infinite sources.

[rva_jeremy]

And yet none of these things can be said to be accurate in the absolute sense, when taken into account the definition of the unmanifested being as that being which exists and does its work without reference to or aid from other-selves.(71.5). So egoic structures are not truly self-sufficient in that they are referential by nature, and a "cultural concept of individuality" by its definition relies on culture. So, I don't see it so much as being a "leaving-behind" of self-sufficiency or individuality, but the lies we tell ourselves about these concepts.

I think this is precisely correct and exquisitely well said! Indeed, one could argue that third density is expressly not a density in which we are meant to be truly self-sufficient, and that exploring what it means to be a self in that sense is the great lesson leading to social memory. When I spoke of a "cultural concept of individuality" I was referring to scholarship I've read in the past that looked at identity through a historical and cultural lens. It's arguable that folks in earlier times did not have the same egoic concept that we do; indeed, the anthropology I've read suggests that before the humanist/rationalist advent of the Renaissance and Enlightenment, most people most of the time thought of themselves as members of a group or tribe first, and their individual agency flowed from this rather than the group flowing from personal commitment. Gradually a sense of reflectiveness grows in each node of the yellow ray society, and I surmise that social memory is born of a tribe of fully activated individuals all lending their full, unique agency to the collective. But we have to have an awareness of that individual uniqueness in order to pledge it of free will.

This vaguely implies that in third density we have been teasing out finer and finer gradations of awareness of our own individuality and how the social yellow-ray matrix acts upon us to create different possibilities of selfhood. I think concrete liberal (capitalist) ideas of the dignity and autonomy of the individual that we take for granted these days often elide the social bucket that creates the shape, the container for this individual to be an individual; how our individuality and our collective identity are two sides of the same coin that perhaps our awareness oscillates around. The yellow-ray vehicle we call our personality or ego, by this reckoning, is just as much a product of society as it is of ourselves.  It seems there might be progressive levels of individual awareness growing out of orange-ray-style tribalism. The goal, if I'm not completely off the mark, is not to subsume the self in the collective so much as to understand one's uniqueness as a perfect fit with the collective, and therefore there is no need for conflict. We express our full, true individuality through our participation in the collective, and the more the Creator is moving through that increasingly transparent personality of ours, the more we discover our authentic selves and our authentic place in things.

How is there true individuality in the Law of One where all is the One Infinite Creator, and the pinnacle of seeking is to become the most humble servant of all (74.11)? And yet, each unmanifested self is unique (66.20). And so, to truly merge with one's other-selves while also retaining one's uniqueness, would require a large amount of light-strength and integrity, I would imagine. It could even be said that the difference of third density to fourth is that in third we are merged while not retaining our uniqueness or full awareness or full glory, and that this is the cause for much of the suffering we experience here. Maybe part of transitioning to fourth is the conscious realisation that we were unified all along, much more so than we could ever imagine, through the mass mind.

Hatonn once spoke of their experience of individuality within fourth density social memory, and it's worth noting how they draw a distinction between our complex and theirs, that it's a matter of transparency of self to the collective that makes disputes soluble, not a matter of all entities always being of the same mind:

We do not promise heaven in the sense that meditation offers an easy street. For we have in our brotherhood worked upon the spiritual path for yet many more eons than you, yet within our ranks, because there always lies more than one path from one point to another, we have dissension and disagreement. We have discussion and argument. We are not without imperfections. We often do not see the total picture. It is simply that at least we are being honest in a way that we have gained by virtue of continued seeking. We are a little more in touch [with] who we are than your peoples. We have begun to see that we are all truly one in the Creator. Meditate, my friends. (Jeremy's emphasis)

I believe you are correct that it takes a great deal of light energy to maintain this vulnerability to others, and that that is the light energy we are building through processing catalyst, subtracting from our identities more and more of that which is not essential, and polarizing our ability to prosecute our heart's true desire as the biases reveal themselves. 

Great topic!

[Louisabell]

I believe in 4th density we can retain our unique qualities because we still have all of our unique experiences found in one's soul stream still with us the only difference being, is that we are not subject to linear time any longer and therefore our past and future is now the present moment. I do not think that we surrender our unique qualities until 7th density.

Such a good point. The big quantum leap of moving from a social complex to a social memory complex is that the group memory that we now cannot access from the deep mind becomes available; “all experience of each entity is available to the whole of the complex (47.2)”. This leading to the “relative lack of distortion in understanding the social beingness (11.17)”. We move from the third-density which is not of understanding(16.39) into fourth-density where understanding is made available to us by being able to see the entire life-path that another self has experienced up to the point that we meet them. I would imagine that this would greatly assist in us becoming more compassionate beings. It is also this group memory that is examined in fifth density in order to obtain wisdom. “The fifth positive uses social memory [more rapping] in attaining wisdom, though this is done individually. (45.11)”

I can’t imagine the richness and potency that a group memory of Earth’s humanity would gift in terms of learning the ways of compassion and wisdom. From mosh-pits to art museums. From the great tragedies to the great triumphs of this world. What a most vivid creation, and a great honor to have been part of it.

I am noted for my laziness when adding a comment and I simply stated "protection" when later I thought, "self, it is also power along with protection and a blending of frequencies that produce a certian harmony for this type of work. You should have added that!"

Never too late to add to the discussion!

The man on an island alone, is he alone really? It may appear so but as we all have come to understand, appearances do not mean much when learning the truth. This human that sits on an island alone is always accompanied by his guides from cradle to death, The Creator and a collection of infinite sources.

A great reminder and comfort that we are never truly alone.

[Louisabell]

Jeremy, you’ve interwoven so many rich concepts that I have taken some time to consider what you have written. I add just a few of my own reflections.

When I spoke of a "cultural concept of individuality" I was referring to scholarship I've read in the past that looked at identity through a historical and cultural lens. It's arguable that folks in earlier times did not have the same egoic concept that we do; indeed, the anthropology I've read suggests that before the humanist/rationalist advent of the Renaissance and Enlightenment, most people most of the time thought of themselves as members of a group or tribe first, and their individual agency flowed from this rather than the group flowing from personal commitment.

Surely a large contributor to this change in culture was the improvement in survival without needing allegiance to any group, as the necessity for familiar bonds were replaced by free movement and free trade? Reliance on other individuals never truly went away, but our ability to operate in the world anonymously has only grown. When a group or collective is relied upon for one’s survival, then it would be a completely rational choice to prioritise the collective’s will over the individual’s, as the individual can not perceive itself as an independent and separate entity (thereby making “banishment” a most severe punishment).

But at this stage, is there any difference in having a personality structure based on the material needs and desires of the individual versus those of the “survival” group? The modern “social yellow-ray matrix [which] acts upon us to create different possibilities of selfhood (quoting you)” offered here on Earth gives us more to choose from, more to navigate, more to balance. However, there is the hope that the diversity of choice could lead people to develop a flexibility of being, while partaking in the buffet of shifting personal identities. This flexibility then gives further potential of envisioning the self without a social yellow-ray matrix overlay, whatever that may look like.

It is my theory that the disciplines of the personality which lead to a transparency of self, creates a condition where our personality structures are replaced with service (or in other words, our best attempts to express the Creator’s will in whatever context of livingness that we inhabit). This focus towards service gives our lives meaning once explorations of personal and group power for their own sake no longer interest us. Ergo, we find ourselves needing once more the allegiance of the group in order to reach our potential for self-actualisation and to fulfill our function as we become more transparent beings focused on service.

I think the growing feeling of needing the group once again may cause feelings of resistance, feeling ourselves to be liberated from the more “primitive” condition of tribal group-mind, apprehension could be felt about regressing back to a condition which is an affront to our civilised selves. However in my opinion, this is trying to perceive a green-ray phenomena with yellow-ray consciousness.

The goal, if I'm not completely off the mark, is not to subsume the self in the collective so much as to understand one's uniqueness as a perfect fit with the collective, and therefore there is no need for conflict. We express our full, true individuality through our participation in the collective, and the more the Creator is moving through that increasingly transparent personality of ours, the more we discover our authentic selves and our authentic place in things.

I would think that a cohesive collective, based on fourth-density ideals, needs a collective goal or “orientation" (11.17) that is not (or minimally so) at odds with any individual goals (both conscious and subconscious). This then greatly reducing any need for conflict, but not removing the potential for disagreement. And so, I do not see the entry price into social memory as just the personal desire to connect with others (even though there may be aspects of this), but the pure desire to serve, and seeing quite clearly that to join forces with others of like-mind is most efficacious in this undertaking. Therefore all elements of group-work dynamics, such as leadership, work delegation, decision making, etc., can be viewed in terms of competency which best achieves the overarching goal of service to others. It would then only make sense that the uniqueness of each individual is emphasised in an effort to better utilise the best that every person has to offer. I believe that it is this genuine and fully embodied collective goal of service that acts as great harmoniser and protector which can allow such a group to succeed in moving forward together towards the gateway (8.2).

*This has been something playing on my mind a lot lately, so any reflections on the above from anyone would be most welcome.

I believe you are correct that it takes a great deal of light energy to maintain this vulnerability to others, and that that is the light energy we are building through processing catalyst, subtracting from our identities more and more of that which is not essential, and polarizing our ability to prosecute our heart's true desire as the biases reveal themselves. 

I am amazed at your ability to say so much in such concise elegance! Vulnerability is such an interesting term to use in this context, and it motivated me to do a bit of reading on the concept of vulnerability. I find it so interesting how in allowing ourselves to be vulnerable in a group, that we are doing something quite brave. So there is paradoxically great strength in vulnerability. I love this quote on the subject, “vulnerability is the willingness to show up and be seen in our lives.” Brene Brown.