Esoterica > The Work
Position of the Sage and Interior Constation
JP:
Hi all,
if this has been brought up before please someone send me to the right thread as I couldn't find anything on the position of the sage in the search.
For the last few weeks after having read Gnosis I, I have been practicing the position of the sage with the goal of practicing the interior constation exercises.
For those of you who have not read Gnosis or for just a refresher I'll put the passage here:
--- Quote ---Interior constation is to be practices daily in its passive form, preferably in the morning, and as far as possible at the same time. The exercise consists of the following: after having remained in the posture of the Sage for the time necessary to feel the muscles relax and the rhythm of the body become normal and regular, we must constate passively everything that unfolds itself in front of the mental eye. This exercise requires training. It is possible that, at the start, we shall see nothing, or very little. By perservering, little by little we will discover a whole world rich in life and colours. Later on, this world will become the object of a work whose aim is to bring order to it and, finally, to master it or, in esoteric language, to overcome it. But before that we have to make it emerge totally from the wings of waking consciousness. This is achieved by calm and impartial passive constation. Impartiality is required above all, as man is generally surprised to discover certain emotional and instinctive movements within him, certain ideas which, during the normal state of waking sleep, will appear totally foreign to him. The seeker will progressively learn to explore his own moral content. He will constate that only a small part of this content is usually visible on the scene of his waking consciousness, the principal part being shut out somewhere in the wings of his soul. It is with stupefaction, and sometimes with fright, that he will discover coexistences within him that will appear to him impossible and absurd - a poet and a cynic, a hero and a coward. He will perceive that he is essentially an egoist, ready to justify himself, if necessary by the most fallacious processes of rationalization, any state of soul that he would judge contemptible or criminal in others.
Gnosis I - Mouravieff
--- End quote ---
Practicals of the Posture of the Sage:
I have been able to find equilibrium with the posture of the Sage only in part and not my whole body. I find it best with my legs tucked just under the seat. This seems to balance my upper body. If I sit further back in the seat and lift my head slightly my upper back and head is balanced but my legs are tense. If I sit forward my legs can relax but my mid back wants to push out. I either tense up or become off balance.
I can find a spot that feels pretty good but I realize I am not 100% relaxed and interior constation just brings a blank. Seeing as there is no teacher available to observe me doing these exercises does anyone have some practical advice on finding the correct posture.
Practicals of Interior Constation:
Drawing a blank while interior constation in the Sage position I tried to do it while lying down and palming. After a few minutes of nothing, a little voice said (I said to myself?) 'just look inside yourself', so I focused on myself and the centres.
Quite suddenly three faces jumped into my mind. The first was youthful, ageless, without blemish and seemed completely pure. His eyes were shut as if in sleep. The sight of someone so pure brought me to tears.
Next a middle aged African American with a wide smile and lastly and aged, half crazed almost blind man.
Is this what Mouravieff means when he says "It is with stupefaction, and sometimes with fright, that he will discover coexistences within him that will appear to him impossible and absurd - a poet and a cynic, a hero and a coward."?
I guess what i'm asking is, is this interior constating? Do the pictures represent me or some part of me or am I missing the point and interior constating is something else?
Thanks for any input.
Jeff.
Endymion:
--- Quote from: JP ---I have been able to find equilibrium with the posture of the Sage only in part and not my whole body. I find it best with my legs tucked just under the seat.
--- End quote ---
My understanding is that the most important aspect of the posture of the sage is keeping the spine straight and the head upright. I have found a meditation stool to be very helpful for this purpose, as you can sit in what amounts to a kneeling posture, but the stool takes all the weight off the feet and lower legs.
Have a look here: _http://www.bluebanyan.co.uk/jsp/main.jsp?lnk=130 to see the sort of thing I mean.
JP:
Hi mada,
I am now just focusing on the back and neck and find the legs will just relax by themselves given time. I do have a small stool I use which is the right height according to Mouravieff and seems to do the job for the moment.
Thanks,
Jeff.
Jeremy F Kreuz:
I am currently reading Gnosis 1 and early on in the book, Mouravieff stresses the importance of the Posture of the Sage and exercises - practice it every day.
--- Quote ---The personality depends on the physical body much more than we generally admit. A localized and somewhat severe pain is sufficient to relegate all our generous ideas and all our refined feelings to the background of consciousness. On the other hand, when some person is capable of mastering his pain and continues to carry out his work in cold blood, such an attitude is considered heroic, for such behaviour reveals an exceptional character.
The intimate dependence of the Personality on the physical body, in which it resides and functions, leads logically to the conclusion that one must act through the latter to discover it, study it, and finally act on it. That is why all mental6 exercises require physical training. The principle is general; its application nevertheless varies and depends on the method of the esoteric teaching. In the present essentially psychological method, physical training is reduced to the absolute minimum, but we cannot altogether do without it. We shall limit ourselves now to giving sufficient information — if followed — to enable us to resolve the first problem of physical training: to find the most suitable body posture for these mental exercises. Millennia of experience show that only a single posture meets this need. Leaving details aside, the posture must place the head, the neck and the spinal column in one single straight line—and this line must be
vertical. Except in certain special cases which will each require other precise instructions, this rule must be strictly observed whether we are standing or sitting. Before we begin the mental or psychological exercises, we must discover this posture and familiarize ourselves with it. For Westerners who exercise at home, the most practical way is to sit on a hard seat 25 to 35 centimetres high, legs crossed, preferably right over left, palms flat and facing downward on the knees. This is one of many variants of that posture traditionally called the posture of the sage. Here are some complementary indications: the muscles must be completely relaxed, the head high and the shoulders naturally pushed back, the waist curved in such a way that, viewed in profile, the spinal column would present a slight convexity directed forwards. The eyes can either be opened or closed; at the start it is preferable to leave them closed, because if they
are left open without special training, they tire very quickly and interfere with the exercise. We must strive to reach this posture daily and regularly. Regularity of training, and the choice of a fixed time to practise, are the necessary conditions. Tendencies accentuate themselves, says an esoteric law; and again: a rhythm increases results tenfold. Yet one must not proceed too quickly. That is why another traditional maxim says: 'make haste slowly'.
--- End quote ---
It has been discussed in the EE thread that the posture in which in EE is done is not of major importance - one can do it lying down or sitting as long as one is comfortable. My question around the posture of the Sage is that this exercises of the posture should be considered as something not related with the EE, and therefore can be done separately.Or does EE replaces the Posture of the Sage exercises. As later on in the exercises recommended by Mouravieff also breathing is added, I am a bit confused too which extent EE and Gnosis Work reinforce or interfere with each other.
Jones:
--- Quote from: JP on February 08, 2008, 09:54:19 AM ---I have been able to find equilibrium with the posture of the Sage only in part and not my whole body. I find it best with my legs tucked just under the seat. This seems to balance my upper body. If I sit further back in the seat and lift my head slightly my upper back and head is balanced but my legs are tense. If I sit forward my legs can relax but my mid back wants to push out. I either tense up or become off balance.
I can find a spot that feels pretty good but I realize I am not 100% relaxed and interior constation just brings a blank. Seeing as there is no teacher available to observe me doing these exercises does anyone have some practical advice on finding the correct posture.
Jeff.
--- End quote ---
Hi Jeff,
In regards to the bolded part above, I guess you will 'know it by it's fruit'.
Mouravieff says about the Posture of the Sage:
--- Quote ---"The essential condition is that the head, neck and the vertebral column are kept in a straight vertical line." And "When, after repeated trials the correct posture is finally found and can be easily re-assumed, we will recognise this by the following sign: a sensation of relaxation and of rest which even sleep itself does not give"
--- End quote ---
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