Saturday, September 24, 2011

Ignoring the Self

Sorry Nutty, but I am about to get philosophical or introspective.

In the book, The Magus of Strovolos*, Daskolos, the main character, tells of a student that was using astral projection to look at naked girls. Daskolos removed that person from his circle because, "a mistake like that can set you back lifetimes."

It isn't the mistake that matters. It is knowing you are making one. The mistakes we make that we are unaware of contemporaneously to our actions are merely indicators of our state of being. They can be overcome as we purify. In that purification process, we usually face some measure of their karma, for lack of a better word.

When we know we are making a mistake and think we can get away with it or talk ourselves into doing it "just one more time" we are impacting the Work quite negatively. The 'karma' faced is much harsher. Sure, a certain amount of social spin or b.s. or even magic can delay those ramifications but they will not be stopped. I would wager that such efforts vibrate at such a level that they delay one's progress years if not lifetimes.

I can couch this in my own idiosyncratic qabalistic terms.

Binah is the part of the Greater Neschemah, the immortal soul. The English translation is Understanding but I prefer the term Comprehension.

Comprehension is a perfect way to describe to describe this issue. We comprehend that we are making a mistake but we turn our backs on our own knowledge. When we do that we are turning out backs on the messages from our own soul. This is one-hundred percent in contradiction to the oaths taken or at least the attitude taken as we embark on the Work. This forces our own higher soul to make a correction that we have no choice but to hear. We must respond. Unfortunately, that correction is usually harsh.

Binah is restrictive. Our knowledge of our own soul limits (restriction) is required for us to live within the virtues of our own soul.

This should not be mistaken for a moral issue. Morals have nothing to do with it. My mistake may be perfectly acceptable within your own soul limits but way outside of mine. This isn't about even the behavior. The specific act likely means nothing in the deep well of time (also Binah). It is specifically about failing to heed our own insights our own comprehension of our own basic natures.

By basic, I do not mean base. I mean the fundamental self, the core, exactly who we are. This is beyond the transient personality. This is our reflection of the divine. Go against it at your own peril.

*Highly Recommended Reading. If I was an AA style teacher, I would require that book.

2 comments:

Yvonne said...

I don't mind the philosophy. I dunno. For Daskalos it might have been moral, and it might have had to do with the guy's behavior, the prurient interest. Sins like that are the easy ones, easily acknowledged f@ck-ups that one can see them for what they are. On the other hand, the unintentional mistakes, the ones that purify, are to be expected in order to achieve progress. But what you are talking about is a kind of dishonesty. It cuts against the gains of self-knowledge, and yeah, the correction can be harsh. But this is what I was asking the other day: how does one KNOW? how? how?

Robert said...

@Nutty, please use the email button and send me a note that further defines what you are getting at during that bit at the end. :O)