Below is a series of posts I made to the casschat group that I have concatenated together - I thought they might be useful here (my own posts only - no one elses). The core of the subject began with the struggle between concepts of Ego and Altruism and how they are perceived/felt in resolving direction/motivation in life, particularly as one begins to align/tread the path to Truth. The following are these posts:
You describe a big di-lemma that everyone on the path of knowledge and understanding comes to. I'll try to explain in words how I understand it, but I'll acknowledge up front that sometimes words just suck! I think we can agree that an increase in one's knowledge leads to more truth in perception (reality). And action results from perception. The problem here is that what separates actions from perceptions is like a filter bank consisting of motivations/attachments/belief. If there were no filter bank, then there would be no distinction between perception and action (and little use for time). If the size/complexity of the filter bank is in proportion to the degree of ignorance or lack of knowledge, then the elimination of ignorance brings perceptions and actions proportionally closer together. When Understanding manifests you have what the esoteric Buddhists refer to as Right Action - right for everyone and everything present. It has no filter made up of motivations/attachments/belief. And one thing this never is, is non-action. It is action undifferentiated from perception. This is the same thing Gurdjieff referred to when describing the innermost circle/core of humanity. Their actions CANNOT be different from their Understanding (Truth). True masters of the past have described this as ecstatic spontaneity - and ecstasy it is.
An appropriate quote might be:
It is in the beginning, middle, and
The end; yet end and beginning are nowhere else.
All those with minds deluded by interpretive thoughts
Are in two minds, and so discuss openness/nothingness
And compassion as two things.
King Doha, Saraha, found in Ecstatic Spontaneity by Herbert Guenther
I was just reading something Laura wrote:
"But the chief thing that we know by gaining knowledge about these things and about the nature of the 3 D world is this: Our real "I" is perfect. It always was. It is the reality that twists and distorts it. Our job is to undo the twists and distortions that have been programmed into our bodies - our personalities - by the
Matrix/3D world so as to get to the REAL "I" which is perfect and innocent and divine."
The great difficulty is that these programs/beliefs are - at the start of enquiry - invisible. They are invisible because they have become identity - nurtured from childhood (thus the classic: "that's just me, that's who I am" - [the false I]). How do you wrestle with something that is invisible? You make it visible by observing very carefully your actions/reactions in myriad situations. The fact that you accomplish this just once, reveals the first glimpse of discernment between the identities/programs and what lies beneath them.
Laura has written [in Reality Split]:
"After a number of "experiments," I came to realize that the main problem of the human being is how they perceive things. Part of this was due to the revelations of many subjects under hypnosis. When a person had a problem, when it was investigated by using hypnosis to go back to the event and deconstruct it, analyze it, resolve it, and then understand it, it became clear over and over and over again that there is something seriously wrong with human perceptions and understanding. It seemed that nobody EVER really perceived things as they really were, with any depth. Everything was subjective. This bothered me a lot. Well, sure, a lot of psychologists and psychiatrists and other therapists have said this, or something similar, but I noticed that many of them never applied it to themselves, and most people would read about this idea and never, ever think it was active in their own life. And the ones who denied it the most, were the ones who had the most "life issues." So, I realized that there was a connection between pain and suffering and perception on which one's actions are based."
So the filter block I mentioned above acts to distort perceptions from the data bank presented to the senses. This distortion results from the contents of the filter block, motivations/attachments/beliefs/programs - and these are all different for everyone (with underlying commonality/origin). So with perceptions undergoing such distortion, subsequent actions must also be twisted and distorted resulting in much of the pain and suffering noted above by Laura. Every single instance of this is a lesson of sorts. This leads one (who seeks the Truth) to the immediate need to clean the mirror - to rout out the contents of the filter block and bring them to light for what they really are. That light in conscious awareness is the beginning of the death of the contents of the filter block - and the road to "ecstatic spontaneity" (STO). But we can say a little bit more about the etiology of this filter block or dis-ease. In Don Juan's [Castenada] terminology, this filter block is called the predator's mind (STS). This is one way to explain why we are STS-aligned. This is our "natural" state (or unnatural from the standpoint of Truth). But why is the filter block (in the terminology used here) the equivalent of the predator’s mind? Because it is absolutely necessary for the predator. The predator's goal is manipulation/deceit/control/self-interest, and so, the machinations of filter block are necessary to churn out the actions associated with the plan and programs of STS origin. And a little bit of time is required to do this.
Laura wrote [Reality Split] a little further along:
"As our "normal" school interactions continued, there was a rumble in the background, there was a clamor from about three of the members who kept aggressively and repeatedly attempting to draw the group into an argument about the "you create your own reality" idea, supporting it with endless quotations from channeled sources or contactees - new age COINTELPRO all of it. But we didn't know that then. We only knew that we had examined the idea carefully, and we knew that there was a scientific basis for the "observer created reality" in a certain sense, but we also could clearly see that the way it was being taught and promoted was disinfo at best, outright fraud at worst. Dozens of members were drawn into the fray, patiently, over and over explaining to those who - for reasons we could not fathom - kept insisting on forcing the discussion in those lines."
Briefly, the "you create your own reality" idea is that concentration on positive thoughts/feelings/imaginings or expressions of "love and light" in various mental states is all that is required (or the prime ingredient) to manifest the same in your own "reality" - and thus your ability to bring this to others in your "reality", making such positive changes for the "good of all". And of course, the corollary is if everyone would do this, then the entire world will change. [It should be fairly apparent that the above is intended to prevent one from cleaning the mirror or routing the contents of one's own filter box - BY DESIGN]
Leaving aside the "scientific basis" that Laura mentions above (interaction of consciousness with events at the quantum level), we can use the model of the filter block/predator's mind to show that there is a context in which you can say it is true, and another which you can say it is false. Neither of these, however,
correspond at all with the definition of the "idea" given above. Let's assume a thoughtful person with the intentions of doing right and helping others to the greatest degree possible. But this person proceeds through life without the slightest recognition of the existence of his/her own filter block/predator's mind (initial STS alignment that we are all "given"). Perceptions are twisted and distorted leading to the same in the actions and decisions. This results in much pain and suffering [a call for the discernment of the predator's mind from the STO standpoint in Truth - and call to greater alignment with STS from the standpoint of lies]. If the predator's mind is not discerned/discriminated, then lessons upon lessons will be heaped upon this "well meaning" individual. It is from this standpoint/context that you do create your own reality - one of much suffering and pain and certainly not under control. This context of "creating your own reality" is more like karmic machination - but, in a real sense, you do create it by refusal to SEE. It's just not what you intended.
So, in what sense can we create our reality? As an initial condition, we all start with the predator's mind/filter block which is aligned with STS [we manifest that initial condition]. The filter block is composed of beliefs/programs/motivations and so on. Beliefs and programs CANNOT create. They are designed to "fire off" the external world of input sensations - as in mechanization. In this condition, true creative force (STO) cannot enter and operate. So, in this context, with initial condition in place, we
cannot "create our own reality". True creative flow of manifestation out of the infinite potential is STO, so to truly create, the filter block/predator's mind must be seen/exposed/annihilated in conscious awareness. Then you could say that you create reality - but you wouldn't call it "your".
Ecstatic spontaneity (not spontaneous ecstasy) is completely compatible with any external situation or circumstance (even the most infernal) because it is an inner state in Being/Truth that is not dependent on anything external. The descriptions that I posted in response to your original post were not meant to be pragmatic suggestions on how to “get along better with the world” – and I think you know this. Rather, I was trying to give some description of what lies down that road to Truth, and why it is so important for someone that is attracted to and aligned with the truth in things. What I was shooting for (and may have missed the mark) was motivation and enthusiasm through understanding the initial condition and a glimpse of what may be possible down the road. For someone who is attracted/aligned/predisposed to the truth in things (and is not lying to themselves), the work of “cleaning the mirror” and “routing the filter box” is very pragmatic and actually works directly with the most intricate elements of one’s life situation. And it will indirectly benefit those around one (assuming that they are similarly predisposed), although much pain may be experienced along the path. Pain/anguish/suffering of all kinds can be expected - due to an honest assessment of the initial condition. That is just the way it Is. The beautiful thing is that it is actually possible to turn this ship around.
Many years ago I wrote a poem and a description of it in response to a friend’s request (it follows unchanged):
How Do I Say This
If I were to say I Love you
Would you truly Understand
Would you Be there when I say it
Or would you take some other stand
Would you recognize the place
Where our Heart does truly stand
Or is this just the feeling
Where death can only plan
At one time I was asked to explain several lines of this poem to a friend and the following is what I wrote at that time.
In the first line the word love is capitalized to indicate a Love that extends across all and everything. This is a Love that is not specialized for a particular “thing” or “being” and cannot discriminate. Special or discriminating love especially as it applies “from one to another” is a pale reflection of the real thing and is usually born of sentiment and guilt. True Love only recognizes itself. All this is implied in that capital letter “L”.
The third line expresses the question of the second in the form of Being (which is actually formless). The implication in the fourth line is that if not received in Being, which has no “stand”, then its perception is something wholly other than what it really is. This perception then depends on the particulars of the “stand” or what cloak of identity one has on at the time.
The question in the fifth and sixth line is the same but in different words in which our Heart is truly our only stand. Being in any other form is a stand based on something that isn’t real. And so the perception must also be unreal.
The last lines are the hardest to describe, although they have the clearest meaning to me. The best I can do is to try to describe it in a story. Jack and Jill were just like us. As they grew up through childhood into early adulthood they found themselves increasingly torn between an inner intuition that spoke of something wrong, and a social and family pressure to “succeed” and “win” in the “dog-eat-dog” world. Each knew deep in their heart that this something could be found. One day Jack met Jill and they each thought that they had found the answer. But before long each realized that this was not the answer that they had known deep in their Being. Funny thing is they never talked to each other about these deep inner arisings, as they were rather “busy” keeping up a good front for family, friends, work, and the community at large, and finally, that same front extended to each other. Still, without communicating this to one another, each decided to “sacrifice” the search for this answer in order to give their children the chance to find it. What they both discovered far too late was that this “sacrifice” was the same one their parents made, and their parent’s parents made … And finally they realized that they may have doomed their children and their children’s children … to the same.
[End Quote]
The intent of this poem was to point to Truth and the possibility of turning that ship around.
On a final note I meant to add a most pragmatic suggestion for anyone contemplating serious travel on the road to Truth. And that is to come to the deepest possible understanding of the Initial Condition in the context of the big panorama that is this world we find ourselves in. There are numerous good sources but all of Laura’s materials are excellent in this regard and well-matched to today’s conditions. Seeing the BIG picture and the nature of the Initial Condition in yourself is invaluable down that difficult road to Truth. It will also help greatly with the motivation/enthusiasm mentioned above in the last post.
Q: (L) What about Love?
A: What about it?
Q: (L) There are many teachings that are promulgated that Love is the key, the answer. They say that illumination and knowledge and what-not can all be achieved through love.
A: The problem is not the term "love," the problem is the interpretation of the term. Those on third density have a tendency to confuse the issue horribly. After all, they confuse many things as love. When the actual definition of love as you know it is not correct either. It is not necessarily a feeling that one has that can also be interpreted as an emotion, but rather, as we have told you before, the essence of light which is knowledge is love, and this has been corrupted when it is said that love leads to illumination. Love is Light is Knowledge. Love makes no sense when common definitions are used as they are in your environment. To love you must know. And to know is to have light. And to have light is to love. And to have knowledge is to love.
You describe a big di-lemma that everyone on the path of knowledge and understanding comes to. I'll try to explain in words how I understand it, but I'll acknowledge up front that sometimes words just suck! I think we can agree that an increase in one's knowledge leads to more truth in perception (reality). And action results from perception. The problem here is that what separates actions from perceptions is like a filter bank consisting of motivations/attachments/belief. If there were no filter bank, then there would be no distinction between perception and action (and little use for time). If the size/complexity of the filter bank is in proportion to the degree of ignorance or lack of knowledge, then the elimination of ignorance brings perceptions and actions proportionally closer together. When Understanding manifests you have what the esoteric Buddhists refer to as Right Action - right for everyone and everything present. It has no filter made up of motivations/attachments/belief. And one thing this never is, is non-action. It is action undifferentiated from perception. This is the same thing Gurdjieff referred to when describing the innermost circle/core of humanity. Their actions CANNOT be different from their Understanding (Truth). True masters of the past have described this as ecstatic spontaneity - and ecstasy it is.
An appropriate quote might be:
It is in the beginning, middle, and
The end; yet end and beginning are nowhere else.
All those with minds deluded by interpretive thoughts
Are in two minds, and so discuss openness/nothingness
And compassion as two things.
King Doha, Saraha, found in Ecstatic Spontaneity by Herbert Guenther
I was just reading something Laura wrote:
"But the chief thing that we know by gaining knowledge about these things and about the nature of the 3 D world is this: Our real "I" is perfect. It always was. It is the reality that twists and distorts it. Our job is to undo the twists and distortions that have been programmed into our bodies - our personalities - by the
Matrix/3D world so as to get to the REAL "I" which is perfect and innocent and divine."
The great difficulty is that these programs/beliefs are - at the start of enquiry - invisible. They are invisible because they have become identity - nurtured from childhood (thus the classic: "that's just me, that's who I am" - [the false I]). How do you wrestle with something that is invisible? You make it visible by observing very carefully your actions/reactions in myriad situations. The fact that you accomplish this just once, reveals the first glimpse of discernment between the identities/programs and what lies beneath them.
Laura has written [in Reality Split]:
"After a number of "experiments," I came to realize that the main problem of the human being is how they perceive things. Part of this was due to the revelations of many subjects under hypnosis. When a person had a problem, when it was investigated by using hypnosis to go back to the event and deconstruct it, analyze it, resolve it, and then understand it, it became clear over and over and over again that there is something seriously wrong with human perceptions and understanding. It seemed that nobody EVER really perceived things as they really were, with any depth. Everything was subjective. This bothered me a lot. Well, sure, a lot of psychologists and psychiatrists and other therapists have said this, or something similar, but I noticed that many of them never applied it to themselves, and most people would read about this idea and never, ever think it was active in their own life. And the ones who denied it the most, were the ones who had the most "life issues." So, I realized that there was a connection between pain and suffering and perception on which one's actions are based."
So the filter block I mentioned above acts to distort perceptions from the data bank presented to the senses. This distortion results from the contents of the filter block, motivations/attachments/beliefs/programs - and these are all different for everyone (with underlying commonality/origin). So with perceptions undergoing such distortion, subsequent actions must also be twisted and distorted resulting in much of the pain and suffering noted above by Laura. Every single instance of this is a lesson of sorts. This leads one (who seeks the Truth) to the immediate need to clean the mirror - to rout out the contents of the filter block and bring them to light for what they really are. That light in conscious awareness is the beginning of the death of the contents of the filter block - and the road to "ecstatic spontaneity" (STO). But we can say a little bit more about the etiology of this filter block or dis-ease. In Don Juan's [Castenada] terminology, this filter block is called the predator's mind (STS). This is one way to explain why we are STS-aligned. This is our "natural" state (or unnatural from the standpoint of Truth). But why is the filter block (in the terminology used here) the equivalent of the predator’s mind? Because it is absolutely necessary for the predator. The predator's goal is manipulation/deceit/control/self-interest, and so, the machinations of filter block are necessary to churn out the actions associated with the plan and programs of STS origin. And a little bit of time is required to do this.
Laura wrote [Reality Split] a little further along:
"As our "normal" school interactions continued, there was a rumble in the background, there was a clamor from about three of the members who kept aggressively and repeatedly attempting to draw the group into an argument about the "you create your own reality" idea, supporting it with endless quotations from channeled sources or contactees - new age COINTELPRO all of it. But we didn't know that then. We only knew that we had examined the idea carefully, and we knew that there was a scientific basis for the "observer created reality" in a certain sense, but we also could clearly see that the way it was being taught and promoted was disinfo at best, outright fraud at worst. Dozens of members were drawn into the fray, patiently, over and over explaining to those who - for reasons we could not fathom - kept insisting on forcing the discussion in those lines."
Briefly, the "you create your own reality" idea is that concentration on positive thoughts/feelings/imaginings or expressions of "love and light" in various mental states is all that is required (or the prime ingredient) to manifest the same in your own "reality" - and thus your ability to bring this to others in your "reality", making such positive changes for the "good of all". And of course, the corollary is if everyone would do this, then the entire world will change. [It should be fairly apparent that the above is intended to prevent one from cleaning the mirror or routing the contents of one's own filter box - BY DESIGN]
Leaving aside the "scientific basis" that Laura mentions above (interaction of consciousness with events at the quantum level), we can use the model of the filter block/predator's mind to show that there is a context in which you can say it is true, and another which you can say it is false. Neither of these, however,
correspond at all with the definition of the "idea" given above. Let's assume a thoughtful person with the intentions of doing right and helping others to the greatest degree possible. But this person proceeds through life without the slightest recognition of the existence of his/her own filter block/predator's mind (initial STS alignment that we are all "given"). Perceptions are twisted and distorted leading to the same in the actions and decisions. This results in much pain and suffering [a call for the discernment of the predator's mind from the STO standpoint in Truth - and call to greater alignment with STS from the standpoint of lies]. If the predator's mind is not discerned/discriminated, then lessons upon lessons will be heaped upon this "well meaning" individual. It is from this standpoint/context that you do create your own reality - one of much suffering and pain and certainly not under control. This context of "creating your own reality" is more like karmic machination - but, in a real sense, you do create it by refusal to SEE. It's just not what you intended.
So, in what sense can we create our reality? As an initial condition, we all start with the predator's mind/filter block which is aligned with STS [we manifest that initial condition]. The filter block is composed of beliefs/programs/motivations and so on. Beliefs and programs CANNOT create. They are designed to "fire off" the external world of input sensations - as in mechanization. In this condition, true creative force (STO) cannot enter and operate. So, in this context, with initial condition in place, we
cannot "create our own reality". True creative flow of manifestation out of the infinite potential is STO, so to truly create, the filter block/predator's mind must be seen/exposed/annihilated in conscious awareness. Then you could say that you create reality - but you wouldn't call it "your".
Ecstatic spontaneity (not spontaneous ecstasy) is completely compatible with any external situation or circumstance (even the most infernal) because it is an inner state in Being/Truth that is not dependent on anything external. The descriptions that I posted in response to your original post were not meant to be pragmatic suggestions on how to “get along better with the world” – and I think you know this. Rather, I was trying to give some description of what lies down that road to Truth, and why it is so important for someone that is attracted to and aligned with the truth in things. What I was shooting for (and may have missed the mark) was motivation and enthusiasm through understanding the initial condition and a glimpse of what may be possible down the road. For someone who is attracted/aligned/predisposed to the truth in things (and is not lying to themselves), the work of “cleaning the mirror” and “routing the filter box” is very pragmatic and actually works directly with the most intricate elements of one’s life situation. And it will indirectly benefit those around one (assuming that they are similarly predisposed), although much pain may be experienced along the path. Pain/anguish/suffering of all kinds can be expected - due to an honest assessment of the initial condition. That is just the way it Is. The beautiful thing is that it is actually possible to turn this ship around.
Many years ago I wrote a poem and a description of it in response to a friend’s request (it follows unchanged):
How Do I Say This
If I were to say I Love you
Would you truly Understand
Would you Be there when I say it
Or would you take some other stand
Would you recognize the place
Where our Heart does truly stand
Or is this just the feeling
Where death can only plan
At one time I was asked to explain several lines of this poem to a friend and the following is what I wrote at that time.
In the first line the word love is capitalized to indicate a Love that extends across all and everything. This is a Love that is not specialized for a particular “thing” or “being” and cannot discriminate. Special or discriminating love especially as it applies “from one to another” is a pale reflection of the real thing and is usually born of sentiment and guilt. True Love only recognizes itself. All this is implied in that capital letter “L”.
The third line expresses the question of the second in the form of Being (which is actually formless). The implication in the fourth line is that if not received in Being, which has no “stand”, then its perception is something wholly other than what it really is. This perception then depends on the particulars of the “stand” or what cloak of identity one has on at the time.
The question in the fifth and sixth line is the same but in different words in which our Heart is truly our only stand. Being in any other form is a stand based on something that isn’t real. And so the perception must also be unreal.
The last lines are the hardest to describe, although they have the clearest meaning to me. The best I can do is to try to describe it in a story. Jack and Jill were just like us. As they grew up through childhood into early adulthood they found themselves increasingly torn between an inner intuition that spoke of something wrong, and a social and family pressure to “succeed” and “win” in the “dog-eat-dog” world. Each knew deep in their heart that this something could be found. One day Jack met Jill and they each thought that they had found the answer. But before long each realized that this was not the answer that they had known deep in their Being. Funny thing is they never talked to each other about these deep inner arisings, as they were rather “busy” keeping up a good front for family, friends, work, and the community at large, and finally, that same front extended to each other. Still, without communicating this to one another, each decided to “sacrifice” the search for this answer in order to give their children the chance to find it. What they both discovered far too late was that this “sacrifice” was the same one their parents made, and their parent’s parents made … And finally they realized that they may have doomed their children and their children’s children … to the same.
[End Quote]
The intent of this poem was to point to Truth and the possibility of turning that ship around.
On a final note I meant to add a most pragmatic suggestion for anyone contemplating serious travel on the road to Truth. And that is to come to the deepest possible understanding of the Initial Condition in the context of the big panorama that is this world we find ourselves in. There are numerous good sources but all of Laura’s materials are excellent in this regard and well-matched to today’s conditions. Seeing the BIG picture and the nature of the Initial Condition in yourself is invaluable down that difficult road to Truth. It will also help greatly with the motivation/enthusiasm mentioned above in the last post.
Q: (L) What about Love?
A: What about it?
Q: (L) There are many teachings that are promulgated that Love is the key, the answer. They say that illumination and knowledge and what-not can all be achieved through love.
A: The problem is not the term "love," the problem is the interpretation of the term. Those on third density have a tendency to confuse the issue horribly. After all, they confuse many things as love. When the actual definition of love as you know it is not correct either. It is not necessarily a feeling that one has that can also be interpreted as an emotion, but rather, as we have told you before, the essence of light which is knowledge is love, and this has been corrupted when it is said that love leads to illumination. Love is Light is Knowledge. Love makes no sense when common definitions are used as they are in your environment. To love you must know. And to know is to have light. And to have light is to love. And to have knowledge is to love.