Aeon418
LOL, poor besieged Neophyte. His burdens are so many.
But the real burden is within him in the shape of an undisciplined Nephesh.
Liber LXV III:3-14 said:
3 Cups - Persephone / Demeter
But the real burden is within him in the shape of an undisciplined Nephesh.
ravenest
Interesting enough to read to the end. I don’t think the problem is just there for the 'Neophyte' or even the 'initiate'... or just the male (or maybe that is just the style? … a bit like Liber Aleph / A.A. style …”Oh my Son … be weary of wicked women who may tempt thee and actually not be real women at all but demons” … yeah, right!
)Maybe it was ‘Sir Cornelius’ who rescued the ‘neophyte’ in that film clip linked above?
To me it seems to be a basic human dynamic in some form or other.
If she is a ‘Kundrie’ and he 'knows a bit about life' it is no matter, for ALL are a reflection of that higher aspect and should be seen as such. Male and female … it’s a basic principle in Wicca even.
Those that have no understanding of this ‘higher aspect’ can be enraged by this outlook (sorry girls
) yet others seek this very relationship and adoration ( you're welcome! ).There are many ways it can ‘distract us’ extra attachment comes if these ‘ways’ or needs are linked in with deep psychological aspects, needs and/or drives.
There is a whole range of THAT …
For men; the Princess who needs rescuing ( subservient, fainting, light complexion, non-threatening), the dark Princess (mysterious, eldritch and perhaps dangerous), the Queen / Mother (dark and light)
For women; The rescuing Prince, the dark Prince, the bad potential Prince (if I just give him enough love he will change).
There's heaps more.
I have never felt it led me ‘off the path' , it has been part of the path. But I have observed others ‘trapped’ in oppressive situations and relationships... but that might be part of their path?
Liz Green (the astropsychologist) puts it a novel way. She talks about how we look for this 'dream person'. When we think we find them we 'go off' (not that Liz puts it this way
). The interesting thing with Liz's approach (generally) is that we can see the specific dynamics at work through the natal macrocosmic connections. Twidge it here and there (the astrological schema) and we have ToL dynamics to see their interactions with the specifics.
Just about all of us realise eventually, after the chemicals wear off the reality is revealed. Liz says we need to have that aspiration (to this amazing person we imagine exists - or as they say nowadays, my 'soul mate') but it’s better if we never meet them
... or if we do, hold our 'admiration' secret and undeclared. “But running away from life isn't the Thelemic response”. - No it isn’t. For me the solution lies not in avoidance, but in realisation and acknowledgment. We are all vehicles for thin little streams of ‘God’ that flow through us. We are also all human and pretty ….ed up. (Well … look at the world and how we treat each other).
If we want to follow and join that thin little stream, we have to separate that world or plane from the human ... by accepting the human for what it is, an imperfect vehicle, regardless of how much we are entranced ... but understanding it ... and its need to think it has priority
As they say … Namaste.
Always Wondering
So is Liber LXV III:3-14 saying roughly the same things as this that I read elsewhere today?
Because this makes sense but how can one be boiling water all day?
AW
ravenest
Therein lies the problem.
Even if you 'know what to do'. Its remembering to do it.
Constant mindfulness. My problem is not that I don't know what to do, its that 'in the heat of the moment' I 'forget'.
Ever realised you are loosing your temper but let it happen anyway? Then afterwards whish you hadn't.
Here is where remembering and practices come together ... breath and various regulations of it can help controll this 'deliberate forgetfullness'. (Or even counting to 10 )
Constant watchfullness.
That kettle you mentioned seems to be a better boiled by a fire, make the fire but keep tending it, not with little twigs constantly but by significant amounts at various intervals ... then the 'inertia' will carry through.
I found that if one 'tends' to the fire (to keep the kettle boiling) it is sufficient (unless you want to give up everything else to become an advance Yogi or 'Master'). Crowley reccommended 4 x Liber Resh a day (at the 4 stations of the Sun ; dawn, noon. sunset and midnight) and LBRP x 2. Really .... that should be sufficient for most of us.
After a while it sinks in and will pervade each moment (I mean; our obsessions do, why not our 'practices'?)
Even if you 'know what to do'. Its remembering to do it.
Constant mindfulness. My problem is not that I don't know what to do, its that 'in the heat of the moment' I 'forget'.
Ever realised you are loosing your temper but let it happen anyway? Then afterwards whish you hadn't.
Here is where remembering and practices come together ... breath and various regulations of it can help controll this 'deliberate forgetfullness'. (Or even counting to 10 )
Constant watchfullness.
That kettle you mentioned seems to be a better boiled by a fire, make the fire but keep tending it, not with little twigs constantly but by significant amounts at various intervals ... then the 'inertia' will carry through.
I found that if one 'tends' to the fire (to keep the kettle boiling) it is sufficient (unless you want to give up everything else to become an advance Yogi or 'Master'). Crowley reccommended 4 x Liber Resh a day (at the 4 stations of the Sun ; dawn, noon. sunset and midnight) and LBRP x 2. Really .... that should be sufficient for most of us.
After a while it sinks in and will pervade each moment (I mean; our obsessions do, why not our 'practices'?)
Aeon418
I agree. But there are what we might call differences in pressure or scale. I think there is a bit of Cornelius' essay that is generally applicable. (which is why I posted the link) But I also think you have to take into account that it is discussing a specific stage of training in a very concentrated and highly intense system.
The A.'.A.'. Neophyte 1=10 grade is supposed to last 8 months. That's practically a crash course that takes the aspirant through the equivalent Golden Dawn grades of 1=10 to 5=6. You could quite easily spend several years on that journey alone! But going slower also means that the 'pressure' is a bit more managable and won't necessarily require "Sir Cornelius" moments.
Again I agree. But a lot depends on your approach. What are you doing? How fast are going? Etc... The A.'.A.'. approach that Cornelius is talking about it very direct and therefore may require extreme measures. Going through stages of Amfortas to Klingsor to Parzival in a mere 8 months is no easy task and is probably unsuitable for the vast majority of people.
Aeon418
Rave has already beat me too it, so I will quote (with emphasis added):
ravenest said:
This kind of ties in with what I said in my last post. Intense and concentrated efforts are probably the most effective and will yeild the most immediate results for some. But for the vast majority of people, especially those living a western lifestyle, it is quite impractical. If you happen to be in a position where you can be a hermit and withdraw from normal daily life for weeks or months at a time, then stoking that fire 24/7 is an option. But most of us have to be more sensible and take to heart Aesop's fable, The Tortoise and the Hare. Slower but persistant and regular practice can build up momentum provided you stick with it. Also the risk of suffering a 'burn out' is greatly reduced.
Calvin Coolidge said:
Zephyros
Is this why Crowley connects the Hermit to Persephone as well?
Always Wondering
Thanks Ravenest. I have a fairly mutiable nature, so I know exactly what you mean. And the remembering...
I've been resistant to this, but now it makes perfect sense.
Never thought of it that way. This is encouraging.
AW
Always Wondering
Re-reading Liber Resh I see it's the sign of the grade that hangs me up. I suppose I could do a pentagram or something?
I am very close to getting my books out of storage, I bet my Golden Dawn book would help about this minute.
AW
ravenest
Sure you can. If you want to do Resh dont let that stop you.
Do:
a pentagram,
the sign of the first grade / earth,
a sign that represents the stage that you are at, or
a sign that represents your identity.
One idea here is to start with a sign that relates to you and then assume a 'sign' that relates to the Godform being focused on.
Many people that do Resh do not have an A.A. grade or membership.
