Monday, September 8, 2008
Trans Abyssal Work - PART 2
Picking up where I left off: Western Ceremonial Magick is actually pretty bad at generating trans-abyssal experience.
Western Ceremonial magick is very good at generating experiences of higher realities. We can get a feel for our astral bodies, energy that moves through it, and the subtle realities of the universe. We have visions of spirits. We see and commune with angels, even our own HGA which is connected to us, but is still experienced as a separate entity. In short it genetates lots of spiritual things for us to interact with and be effected by on one level or another.
Eastern yoga, meditation, and magick on the other hand is more focused on the experiencer than the experience. Just as Buddha recommended "if you see a Buddha on the road, kill him". we must be willing to tell the HGA to be quiet and forsake visions of dieties and angels if we are to cross the abyss.
Now, before people start thinking I am just being biased towards the eastern paths, let me state that I said western ceremonial magick was bad at trans-abyssal work, not all western spiritual tech in general. Western Mystecism handles this work pretty well, but is sadly mostly restricted to Jewish Khabblists, Catholic Monks, Muslim Sufis and so on. Thankfully these contemplative traditions are starting to branch out into the mainstream a bit. People like Molinos, Ekhart, John of the Cross, Theresa of Avila are becomming more well known in Christian mystic circles, and of course folks like Ibn Arabi, Rumi, and even Al-Hallaj are also gaining ground in the west. Still though, eastern traditions offer an easier access and more varied and complete methods of training - though the culture gap can be a bit rough.
Just as Crowey noted that anyone at any level of progression could take the oath of the abyss, one need not have done the whole HGA thing to cross the abyss. In factbecause of the increasing availability of these mystical and contemplative paths, as well as certain pharmaceutical sacraments that have been known to point the way for some, people are having the trans-abyssal experience. In fact, I would argue that its pretty easy to have the experience - just not easy to stabalize it and integrate it into your living levels of consciousness. Its not enough to day trip accross the abyss with either drugs or meditation. You need to move there permenantly. Thats were the real work of a magus is and in my mind what it really means to "delare ones word".
Now than, while I do quite a bit of outer work for people as a sorcerer, the work that I engage in overall is this stabalization of trans-abyssal or non-dual awareness. I do this primarily through Dzogchen, but also incorporate some other techniques I have learned along the way. A lot of of the practices that I use to this end I am oath-bound not to discuss, but Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche left a nice little public document that gives a simple public teaching called "Advice for Carrying the View".
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4 comments:
Interesting. Since you're active in the general sphere, I was wondering if you could recommend a good source of information for what the various traditions of Tibetan Buddhism are and what the similarities / differences are between them. Thanks in advance =)
Great posts today, Jay.
P
Hey Jason, excellent post as usual.
I have found Western Ceremonial Magic(k) to be extremely useful in attaining, developing, and applying the open-minded spontaneous acceptance of the universe. Working with the spirits of the spheres within the body of light, I have worked through what the GD calls the Visions of the Spheres. The mind described at the link you post to is found after the Tiphareth/Solar initiations. It is glimpsed in Yesod/the Moon with the Machinery of the Universe, it is developed in the Vision of Splendor in Hod/Mercury, and further clarified in Netzach/Venus when you see the Triumph of Beauty.
When you start doing the Solar Work, you find the illusion of "identity" fails and falls to the ground, and then you are able to begin to comprehend wrath and mercy/grace.
Maybe magi/mystics do need to visit Saturn and Jupiter to attain confidence in the visions from the lower spheres, and experience the joy and sorrow of birth and the illusion of separation. But it only serves to "prove" the vision first seen in the sphere of the Moon, that the universe is a finely tune machine operating within the realm of Natural Law, a never ending intricate transfer of information through channels, switches, gears, chutes, ladders, and at every juncture and transfer point there's an intelligence monitoring the flow.
Like a huge Steampunk machine, with whistles and boilers and ...
Anyway, you get into the meat of the Work, the results in your life, and they should be leading you towards that point you're talking about. I personally suspect that the negative view of the Judeo-Christian traditions amongst occultists blinds many to the Visions. Tell a Pagan ceremonialist that the Sun teaches the Mysteries of the Crucifixion, and you can expect a rigorous debate.
Frater R.O. I agree with most of what you have said but what I am talking about is a different experience. The difference is even reflected in your choice of words the "visions" of lower spheres.
In the abyss and beyond, there is no subject and object, thus no vision, only an exprience. Thats what the abyss experience and the union spoken of in various mystical traditions are about.
In hermetic terms, we are going beyong Saturn. What Trismegistus decribed in his "treatise on the 8th and 9th.
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