A study and critique of mysticism

[Saman]

So, my thoughts - it's difficult for me to comprehend exactly what the 'mold of man' is in easily-explainable terms.

FWIW, and I could be off and wrong in some interpretations of notions, I think of the the "mold of man" as explained by don Juan as a duality--the STS mold and STO mold of man. These two "molds" are two different coagulations of All the names/faces/archetypes of "God", but the pull of these two mold's unstable gravity waves, or say "Eagles Emanations" as don Juan calls it, are balanced in their instability towards two different ways/paths through creation. The STO mold of man is expanding to be of the Prime Creator, 'to become one, creator of worlds', hence a co-creator with the Prime Creator that is manifested within due to choosing to be of active/creative/expansive side of existence in the quest through all density levels towards the 7th, meaning in simplistic terms, that it includes the one point in the center of the ever expanding circle of consciousness that is also relatively and naturally progressing to "rise"/"fit"/"include more and more higher "slides" of awareness of the All, or say towards a way that does not limit any "points" in existence in the what the C's called the "expanded present." At some point in the process, the key to unlock the doors of our "vehicles" to our soul's quest seems to be through first learning to see the unseen and then choosing to fill up the soul's 3D vehicle's "tank" with the higher ontological Love of "God", but it doesn't stop here, because then utilizing this fuel to again knowledge and awareness of the All as objectively as probable so as to not miss any of those essential "points" along the journey is why all there is is lessons, and some mystics get lost in this ontological love of "God" and stop there, and some even fall further and end up in love with only themselves; that is, these are "points" of One that is All and vice versa, and not just only seen as the One, which is the perceptual path that most Mystics in our 3D STS Realm fall into by default, the STS mold of man.

Utilizing Kenlee's most excellent example from eight years ago of the flashlight being held to the ground at one point and then moving it up upwards, I will add that it might be true that due to one having at some point in their lessons profile learned through long research, observational experiences, and experiments a more balanced timing and way of the applying a forced oscillated "push/pause" both within and without due to aligning their 3D Beings thoughts, emotions, and will to the chosen STO Thought Center mode of existence/Being, they are then able to weaken their own "predator mind's" pull on their soul's 3D STS vehicle through the practice of self remembering their chosen alignment in the "expanded present." If this choice and self remembrance is continually repeated through the 3D STS vehicle, then it could gradually, step by step, and sometimes it is two steps forward, 3 steps back, and then 2 steps forward again, and so on and so on no matter how long it takes depending on the current lesson(s) and its context, remove the vehicles perceptual limiters to the receivership/"seating" of the soul. And greater receivership capability or greater "seating" of soul results in expanded awareness in present only if it is due to process of the forced oscillation of one's vehicle's FRV towards their soul's own natural frequency, and in this example the NF is of STO inclination. I am thinking that most failed mystics, or whathaveyou, don't even know about this process or the importance of it when choosing a way as it was explained much more clearly in the Wave Series by Laura,

Getting back to the mold of man notion by don Juan and my current perspective of it, in contrast, the STS mold of man is constricting ever closer and closer to the one "point" in the center--moving the flashlight closer and closer to the ground until it touches the solid ground and then "lights" go out to "eternal" sleep, or say non-existence due to no light; but that is of course "until" the the "next" Cycle of Maya or AKA the next Grand Cycle. I am going to change the one headed flashlight to a two headed flashlight in this modified analogy and think of it sort of like a "transient passenger" passing through the "ground/border"; So when the flashlight completes one Grand Cycle, so to speak, and passes through the "border", it is shinning light through its "heads" both towards the next 'gravitational realm border/wave' (the 'beginnings' of next eternal STS cycle or "fall"), while at the same time its other "head" is 'rising' and gradually shinning light away from the "border" that it just transited through (next eternal STO cycle or "rise"), and so on and on ad infinitum. So in this seemingly still very lacking and linear analogy, we have both simultaneous STS and STO movements of the light the two headed flashlight, and it doesn't matter which way the two headed flashlight moves because the "realm borders" are seven simultaneously expanding and shrinking and alternating circles within circles that change position and shape every time the two-headed flashlight passes a realm border in order to keep the shape of the sphere made out of theses seven borders..... Yeah you can ignore this last part; I definitely lost my visualization and too tired at this point.

Oh boy. Anyways, I hope it made some sense and not too abstract. Back to reading my current romance novel, well not now but later in the morning, for more practical 3D lessons. Thanks for bumping up this old thread though It caught my eye and it is very interesting.

 

[Persephone]

Yeah you can ignore this last part; I definitely lost my visualization and too tired at this point.

Hi Saman I am not sure if what Castaneda meant with "mold of man" is what you described but I find it quite pertinent. As for the last part it's not clear for me but I feel that you are on something... which I will try to ponder over. Thank you

 

[LongCloud]

This might fit in here. I have eschewed TED talks (they got corrupted long ago), presenter might be an actor or not, however, as abstract as it is, it's pretty good.

 

[iamthatis]

This might fit in here. I have eschewed TED talks (they got corrupted long ago), presenter might be an actor or not, however, as abstract as it is, it's pretty good.

Generally when posting a video on the forum it's good to give the audience (us) an indication of its content, and also some reflections from yourself about why you think it is worthy to post.

So, what is it about, and why do you think it is 'pretty good'?

 

[iamthatis]

So in this thread so far we have seen the critique of a certain kind of flighty mysticism wherein people throughout history have had an 'Experience', and turned away from the 3D lessons of this life, and gotten lost in 'drooling at the wonders of the universe'. Gurdjieff calls these people 'Stupid Saints'.

I have been reading Taoism and Confucianism: The Way of Heaven and the Way of Man by Joseph Politella. It has been a very encouraging read, in the sense that it provides a different way of accessing the Spirit, a way that is grounded, humble, quotidian, and practical.

Confucius and Confucian Mysticism

The deep and lasting impression left in the minds of students by the ethical and moral precepts of Confucius, makes it anomalous to speak of him as a "mystic" - that is, one who strives to transcend his human limitations and to enter into a condition of communion with the "Spiritual Intelligences." Most writers seem to notice only the teacher of morality and high-minded thought. Dr. Reichelt, following in the spirit of Chuang-tze, is one of the very few sees in Confucius the Sage, as his immediate disciples saw him, a man of larger than human stature, and one who points to possibilities of growth higher than the ordinary human aspirations. Though he taught the Way of Man, Confucius himself had his thoughts planted deeper. Like John, The Baptizer, he was teaching a way which was preparatory of the Way; Confucius could have taught more for he seemed to know more, but such was not his mission, and he knew himself to be "under the condemning sentence of Heaven" - another way of saying he was following instructions.

It was the keen-sighted Chuang-tze, the Taoist, who suggested that Confucius himself preferred the Way taught by Lao-tze, but he was forced by destiny to teach a lower way to men. Of course, there are many indications in the words of the Master himself that even the Way of Man is grounded in mystical roots. Hence there are those who see the system of Confucius as they see the system of Ralph Waldo Emerson - as a type of pragmatic mysticism. Neither regarded external things as real in themselves; each looked through them and within them, seeking their essence. Sufficient material has been quoted to show that for Confucius forms and rituals and human morality are the reflections of the state of the heart; "as a man thinketh in his heart, so is he." In the Confucian philosophy the Unmanifested is ever present as the basis and the cause of the manifested, and the sole reason of the manifested, Platonically enough, is that it may make visible the Unmanifested in the perfect beauty of its "harmonious proportion."

In the Chung Yung,
The power of the spiritual forces in the Universe - how active it is everywhere! Invisible to the eyes and impalpable to the senses, it is inherent in all things, and nothing escapes its operation. In all countries and among all people it is this invisible inspiration which makes people fast and purify themselves, and with solemnity of dress institute sacrifices and religious worship. Like the rush of mighty waters the presence of the Unseen Powers is felt; sometimes above us, sometimes around us. Such is the evidence of this Invisible, that it is impossible to doubt the spiritual nature of man... The workings of Almighty God are boundless. There is nothing higher than that.

In the Way taught by Confucius, mysticism is not contemplative and not speculative. Mysticism is the root of which the devotional life is the fruit - hence pragmatic mysticism. As a system, it is founded upon the idea that though the life of God be our end and aim, yet that perfection is a remote goal. In the appointed course of things, "before one can become divine, he must first become completely human." The mountain top is reached not by the valley-dweller who dreams himself already there, but by the man who begins the steep and painful ascent, step by step. Ethics and the commandments first, then the guiding power of Spirit within the purified heart. We read in the Chung Yung:

I know why there is no moral life. The wise men mistake moral law for something higher than it really is; and the foolish do not know enough what moral law really is. I know why the moral law is not understood. The noble natures want to live too high, high above the ordinary self; and ignoble natures do not want to live high enough.

So we can see here that there is an emphasis on the Work, and a warning against the self-importance of dreaming oneself on the mountain top, and of wanting to live 'too high'. This can be seen in the current so-called 'Psychedelic Renaissance', which is not, Confucius would say, a truly moral path.

His conception morals is worth exploring. Morals are not the codes of a purely human system of social relationship, featuring virtue and sin, or crime and punishment, though the latter is present in his system. To be moral is to be a 'pattern for the world', or to become open to receiving Objective information from the Field, (or, as he would say, perhaps, listening to the edict of Heaven) and to become a transducer of order in chaos. This is a choice, and it is inescapable. The practice of right living, emphasized by Confucius as the highest art above all arts, is to willingly choose to become a fractal, or a microcosm, a healthy cell in the cosmic body of All and Everything. From the Chung Yung:

What is Go-implanted is what we call our human nature. To fulfill the law o our human nature, is what we call the moral law. The cultivation of the moral law is what we call culture.

The moral law is a law from whose operation we cannot for one instant escape... Where it is that the sagely man watches diligently over what his eyes cannot see and also what his ears cannot hear...

Our central self or moral being, is the great basis for existence, and harmony or moral order, is the universal law of the world.

When our true self and this harmony are realized, the universe then becomes a cosmos, and all things attain their full growth and development.

Being moral is not expressed in joining a movement or trying to save the world. Although Confucius was known for his involvement in politics, the Work on the Self came first and foremost. Morality for Confucius is best expressed in the 'As Above, So Below' maxim, understanding that what we do to cultivate an internal harmony will 'scale up'. From Ta Hsueh:

The ancients who wished to further the cause of enlightenment and virtue in the world, first put their own states in order. To put their states in order, they first began by regulating their families. To regulate their families, they first ordered aright their own personality. To order aright their own personality, they first prepared their own hearts. To prepare their own hearts, they first became serious in thought, they increased their knowledge to the uttermost... From the Son of Heaven to the masses of men, cultivation of the inner nature must be regarded as basic to all other virtues.

It was good to find various correlations to the C's - in particular seeing the unseen, Life-is-religion, and growing in Knowledge as the primary Work. The whole book is full of similar points of contact, though I've only added what I thought was most german to this topic. The author Joseph Politella approaches these topics with a clear writing style, and it's obvious he's spent a lot of time with the material.

I would highly recommend the book for anyone looking into mysticism.