immutable nature

notanothermonday

Padawan Learner
From The Secret History of the World:
The Shaykh tells us that whatever property, or trait, any human being ultimately “chooses” is what it originally possessed in its state of immutability. The task of the Seeker is to discover what is immutable within, and to purify and amplify it.
So if I understand this correctly including what follows this passage there is a choice between being and non-being. People are born with a state of immutability that compels them to one state or the other, that of being or non-being. Are people born with an immutable state of non-being unable to make a choice between being and non-being?
It would seem unlikely since later this is stated:
The light of perspicacity seems to be a gift that not everyone has, and those who do have it, may not have developed it to the same degree. What is evident is that those who have it possess an immutable nature of Being which is able to “see” good and evil - they do not see “only good.” Thus, they are able to discern between the “calls” of Nonbeing and Being, and therefore, are able to strengthen their Will along the path of intrinsic Being.
Are people who are of the state of non-being the ones that are referred to as the lizzies or are who the psychopaths are?
This would also mean that those of non-being never have a choice of seeing being or doing anything other than being destructive. Which is all a part of the big picture, at least to my degree of understanding.

I will ask one final question right now:
How does one find out what his/her state of immutability is?
For me right now that is the big question.
I have been reading and re-reading this passage before I proceed. It seems that this is a crucial concept.
 
notanothermonday said:
Are people born with an immutable state of non-being unable to make a choice between being and non-being?
Perhaps they've already made their choice, and it manifests in their state of being or non-being? I think that, in this world, the state of non-being is epitomized (on the human level) in psychopaths. Psychopaths have rigid, unchangeable personality structures. They have no capacity for self-awareness, insight, real creativity, or choice. Their actions are wholly dictated by biological instincts and drives, divorced from any higher emotion. Their intellect, which can be fairly highly developed, is an instrument in service to their drives. So it appears that, at this level, a psychopath cannot choose a state of being. "Normal" humans are born with varying degrees of 'mutability' of their psychic structure, on the other hand. For those with a more integrated, rigid structure, the 'choice' will be difficult and will only come from great suffering; from 'dying' and possibly being born.

How does one find out what his/her state of immutability is?
I think the only way is through self-knowledge and self-development, that is, by the "work" as Gurdjieff called it. As we exist now, we are not immutable, we are not whole. Instead, we are a mix of contradictory impulses and energies, parts which are more "ourselves" and less "ourselves". We constantly confuse the two: lower for the higher, lies for the truth.

So how do we come to discern the difference? New ways of being only come from the destruction from old ways. If we are not yet dissatisfied with the 'old' ways, nothing can be changed; the two qualities are too intermingled and can't be separated unless with a great shock. The dissatisfaction we feel with old and 'primitive' ways is perhaps the first indication that the process of 'finding one's true nature' has begun. This dissatisfaction can serve as an impetus to discover what is higher and "more human" and less "animalistic" and mechanical in ourselves.

It's like seeing a mountain in the distance. At first it is hazy, we cannot exactly see the terrain that separates us from the summit, and we may not even be able to see the mountain to which we are heading. But has the journey progresses, the goal becomes clearer. Once we have an idea of our destination, even the periods of hardship, like descending into a necessary pit from which the goal is occluded from vision, have purpose.

The process is somewhat paradoxical. As we are, we cannot always tell truth from lies in our external or internal environments, and yet we cannot put our faith solely in an external authority to tell us what is true. We can only be shown a 'way'. The work is an inner process, not an external one. No one can tell us, "this is more you and this less you" but that part of ourselves that is greater than the others. This is the slow process of discerning in oneself the high amongst the low, separating wheat from tares, extracting gold from base metal, developing an internal and self-created hierarchy of values. In such a way, our "ideal" or "wish" (our true self) becomes clearer just as the mountain which was barely visible through the haze and distance.
 
hkoehli said:
"Normal" humans are born with varying degrees of 'mutability' of their psychic structure
This state of immutability is not a black and white issue and that makes sense nothing is ever black and white. This helps me understand the the following:

The task of the Seeker is to discover what is immutable within, and to purify and amplify it.
It is not a simple case of being and non-being but varying degrees in which it is important to delve within ones own self to gain better understanding of ones self. This leads to the opportunity to purify and amplify the "positive" aspects of ones immutable nature, if one chooses to do so. As you put it, if one chooses to get closer to the mountain and see the peaks and valleys then one can choose which path to take accordingly, a process of refinement. This includes trips into the valley, sometimes by accident but always with the peak as the objective.
 
Back
Top Bottom