THE ABYSS

Jonathan Metcalfe

The quotation above is one example of how some of Fredericke Neitchze's ideas lent themselves to the collective pressure of forces that were relentlessly building toward the start of the 20th Century. Perhaps more than most of his contempories his brand of philosophy proved to be one of the many inspirations for Nazism, where Wille zur Macht, the "Will to Power" and Übermensch "through man" or "Superman" became an excuse for a warped version of gnosticism, where Neitchze was happily thrown into the mix of ecology, occultism and folklore or the "Volk." H.P. Blavatsky and the Theosophists also added elements of his philosophy to the heady brew of the emerging "New Age" leaving Alice A. Bailey and her overshadowing "Tibetan" to complete the task of what amounted to a spiritual COINTELPRO of cosmic proportions. There were enough layers of truth to capture and "inspire" a movement of seekers that continues to this day, under a whole range of imaginative maneuvers, from Alien Rapture to Enochian Magick. Only problem is, these twists are designed, by default, to divert those who are attempting to question and to develop their awareness towards the very thing that ostensibly repels them: The Abyss itself - The General Law. The primary workings of entropy must be understood in order to bypass its deceptions. We now live in an age where that challenge could be reaching its apotheosis.

Authenticity and purity in all their various impressions are instantly corrupted by the act of manifestation. We are no different. The cosmic irony is that the very Earth itself represents a material abyss that we are irrevocably born into by dint of our chosen descent into matter. In effect, we are here to learn why we are here and how not to return. Birthed into a pungent hospital room, slapped on the back, breathing only to scream, we are shocked into existence via trauma. It is only when we are older (if at all) that we have the chance to realise the full magnitude of this shock and to relate it to our all too short lives. To utilise the gift of our mechanical natures and to make them work for us, the Real "I" that calls to us to finally rein in the Horse and to speak firmly to the spoilt child of our personality: this is the path toward an Alchemical Way, the way of liberation.

The Abyss must be be understood but not embodied. Knowing how effectively we can dupe ourselves through our many "I"s warring for centre stage, it is imperative that we gain as much knowledge regarding our connections to the Abyss and how we may "disconnect" in favour of a more authentic life, where a strong desire to respond to the higher impulses of the soul becomes an overiding imperative. It is vital that we know the Abyss is a natural part of our internal and external worlds. It challenges us, tempts us, tickles the dark half of ourselves in order to confront the choices we can make to either fight and defend who we are and what we see, or to free fall into its very depths. This is humanity today, wrapped in those same shadows and falling deeper into a repeating cycle. The winds of sensation are roaring so loud that we are almost powerless to halt the descent. Or so it seems.

To develop a defensive maneuver begins as a battle that requires endurance and resistance against our bio-chemical addictions and the come-down of melancholy; one of acknowledging just how dark those shadows can be and how weak we are when faced with their wily ways. And slip we can, allowing ourselves to be tricked until there is nothing but the dirty waters of the Abyss to drink from. It can be a seductive choice, to give in and play the game, to act out its wishes and to further distort our destiny. Rage, fear, grief, hatred and a refusal to see objectively can cause this free-fall where signposts are ignored due to our hysterical fears and limpet strong beliefs. We take it all so personally by unduly identifying with the Film of our lives. We become attached to the situation and our habits of self-protection. What is more, if we draw back from the fire, those sensations of alchemical "burning," we do so according to the wishes of The Predator's Mind and our consequent self-importance. In my own experience, It is an astonishing event to witness and to observe, what is essentially oneself, The Predator, feeder extraordinaire, asserting its territory over ones intellect, emotions and body reactions. Seeing this formidable opponent tightens the hold on our emerging potential that may be too weak to resist its jaws. Or, we can make a dash for this window of opportunity by meeting the pain and immersing ourselves in it. Theory can take you only so far. And when theory threatens to become practice, as it surely will, the test of our learning requires that we "think with a hammer" to keep us on the straight and narrow path.

However, we all too often end up "thinking with a banana" (as one QFS student mentioned) allowing the wild energy of the instincts and emotions to take over. The Predator then has us and we don't even know it - until, that is, the chemical rush has subsided and we are able to view the damage of our conditioned addictions. Depending on the severity of the shocks, we may then proceed to beat ourselves to a bloody, self-pitying pulp, erecting our elaborate personal crosses where self-loathing gently gives way to self-calming. Without a rigorous, cold-blooded examination of our state, supported by a process of networking, we will be back in the Predators cage once again, locked in by our own hand. If we throw in the towel at this stage we do indeed then become a little more of the Monster we intended to fight. It becomes harder the next time an opportunity presents itself to see ourselves as we are, should we be so lucky. It is often only the suffering of the Predator which has lost its food supply that will use every trick in the book to continue feeding.

Our notion of Love is one example. It is a dangerous assumption that to send love to The Abyss and it's agents is to change their polarity through the "sheer power of love and light". We are forcing our assumptions and wishes onto those who have not asked. If of the negative polarity, they will gladly use it as "food". Regardless of the orientation, we are abridging their free will. Our relationships are frequently built on such a "dance" usually choreographed under a complex set of programs vying to fill an energy deficit that is ever increasing, requiring more and more energy to fill an essential emptiness which can never be filled through lies to the Self. More suffering ensues, which persists as long as we continue to hold onto the state of subjectivity and denial. The Predator is not going to go away, but it's influence can be eroded by a slow process of attrition.

So often, the Abyss, like Medusa the Gorgon, turns potentially heroic Knights to stone, and is merely a reflection of our own incapacity to relinquish those programs and the "hurts" that scar the ecology of our being. It is no easy task. Fear and denial ensures our docility in the face of uncertainty and the shock of the new, and it is an instinct that is being engineered - en masse. Fred was right. There are demons in those depths, hidden in the shadows of our primal consciousness, laughing delightedly at our feeble attempts to stop the free-fall and to go against our programs and thus the General Law. Our shadow lands are perfectly etched on the realities before us. They are magnificent signposts writ in large red neon letters speaking to the potential of the soul's impulse, to "boot strap" us up and out of the very Abyss itself. Yet as fragments of ancient esoteric teachings attest, it is the bloodiest battle one can imagine, taking place within us every second, every hour, every week and through the short years of our lives, should we choose to take up the waiting sword... And always the Abyss is there with the full force of its presence in a multitude of forms, across several densities; accomplished negativity doing what it does best: consuming, feeding and assimilating all to Itself. Yet at the same time, while we begin to grasp the nature of our existence, we must keep a tight hold of our sense of humour when we fail and fall flat on our faces for the umpteenth time. Perhaps humour partners humility in this way. We will not get far if we are not able to laugh at ourselves, even if that laughter is sometimes on the cusp of tears...

When we shed our beliefs and our comforting illusions and and cultivate a "response-ability" for our own destiny, we are initially floating free in a dead-zone - neither one thing or another. When we have done all we can to handle a situation with integrity, fortitude and objectivity (usually while when we have reached a form of bankruptcy) and make the leap into that void, we can be assured that the Universe will respond. It may not be what we like, but it will be what we need according to the soul perpsective. We are striving to birth something new and as such, highly vulnerable to the predators lying in wait for food. The Abyss is there in the tear-filled eyes of an Iraqi child full of shrapnel. It is there in the coffers of corporate America who rape Africa's resources on a daily basis. It is present in the governments of nations that place the profits of narcotics, arms and human trafficking as the arbiter of international "values." It is there in the stark reality of purposeful neglect and contempt for the citizens of New Orleans by an administration that has a hot-link to the Abyss. Our very preconceptions, our needs, desires and ubiquitous manipulations and masks that allow them to perpertrate such crimes.

Shielding ourselves from nastiness and the horror, praying that they will be overcome by the God of technotopia or the dead ideals of left/right democracy are just buffers on the tracks to the Abyss. It's all down to us, every action, every choice, every measured response and subjective reaction. The knowledge of who we are by what we SEE will define the quality of our actions.

The world we live in is an exact mirror of our own lies, inaction, collective denials and addiction to mediocrity. The paradox seems to be while we are insignificant slaves without free-will to speak of, our lives do have meaning should we stand for Truth in the little time allotted to us. The urgency of this realisation cannot be overstated, yet it cannot be induced. Only a natural process can allow the recognition of the richness of possibilities that face us. The shock(s) from seeing reality objectively, as it is, without any buffers of any kind can also speed a possible "remembrance" of what is truly important in one's life, even to a clear mind/body comprehension of what it is that may separate us from those that are naturally configured to manipulate, deceive, maim and kill by proxy. How far do we contribute to the extreme manifestation of entropy as opposed to the creative principles so lacking in our own environment? Who ARE we exactly? A Ghost in our own machine, or something beyond a product from the shelves of a spiritually bankrupted society? How can we know ourselves if we refuse to see what is going on in the world? And equally, how can we see what is going on in the world if we refuse to know ourselves?

What are we to do with the empathy that rises up and which so often turns to sadness, anger and hopelessness? How are new generations of children able to function with the legacy of severe woundings to the soul which take lifetimes to heal, if at all? How are we to handle the sense of powerlessness and futility arising from such criminal acts sanctioned by global governments and inflicted on the defenseless and the innocent? How would you or I react if our new born, our own precious child, was literally blown to bits in front of us?

Climb inside this man's skin and feel it.

Of course, we cannot come close to the pain, grief and rage he felt. But it is this that the hierarchy of entropic puppets represent: death and destruction of innocents - in our name. They are lessons no doubt, a form of karma, some would say. But this is so often used to abdicate responsibility for our fellow man. Iraq is but one nation under the jackboot of U.S. evil firmly residing in the Abyss. An economic system and the arms industry create such microcosms of strife on a daily basis. The above report is a daily occurrence to one degree or another, both in Iraq and in countless conflicts of the past and present, most of which are engineered for the weapons industry's enormous profits. This is the reality.

What of the "War on Terror"?