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Post by egodiabolus on Mar 27, 2010 15:07:51 GMT -6
I want to begin by stating how exciting it is to see so many new members and prior members becoming more active in their efforts with the Cult of Cthulhu. The Cult of Cthulhu is easily the most dynamic organization I have ever participated in, and its evolution has definitely accelerated during the last six months in ways that the cosmetic changes to the website are just a reflection of. It is everyone's participation that continues to be the driving force behind the Cult of Cthulhu, its engine powered by the energies volunteered by its individual members.
As a Priest of R'lyeh, I feel my office greatly involves serving as an example of what it is to be a member of the Cult of Cthulhu. Other than that, it is an administrative and advisory role. As such, I am like any other member of the Cult of Cthulhu, striving toward my own Awakening and exploring the routes toward achieving this state in a consistent and more continuous manner. As a part of this process, I have spoken locally at a small gathering of Occult students on what is becoming a regular basis. This has forced me to evaluate my progress more keenly than I otherwise might and encouraged consideration of my efforts from different perspectives.
One of the questions I was recently asked is what changes have I experienced through the process thus far and what I expect to happen if and when I Awaken. This turned into a lengthy conversation about the process of the Work and raised other questions in my mind.
To begin with what I have achieved so far, the simple answer is that I have definitely seen an increase in my powers. I know that "powers" may seem like a strange term to use. By it, I do not mean abilities of a comic-book variety, but rather mental, emotional, and physical aptitudes. Consider a person who is inebriated when compared to a sober man. The sober man has powers which provide an advantage over the inebriated man. The same applies when comparing a child to an adult, or a sleeping individual to one who is awake. The abilities are not in and of themselves extraordinary, but would appear as such from a "lesser" perspective. The capabilities of an adult are truly fantastic in the eyes of a child; "mother" and "father" are words often synonymous with "god" in a child's mind.
This also means that these powers, as they are discovered by the individual through the Work, will initially not appear as anything phenomenal. They are just gradual improvements. This is why the Work takes time. A week's worth of effort will produce results, but results so slight that they are barely noticeable. A year's efforts produce results far greater by comparison in an incremental manner, so as when compared to the week prior they seem not that substantial, but when compared to a year past are significant. The relative manner of perspective can hide its significance. For example, just this idea is to me a major break-through, while I am certain the High Priest Satanis will read these words see no great personal revelation because he has "been there" and "done that".
So, through the Work, I have noticed an increase in my powers. A great deal of this involves time-management. Relatively speaking, before I started this process, I was a great waster of time. I was, and still am, a very busy person, but much more of my time was spent pursuing activities which I now recognize as frivolous. Time is easily are most precious commodity we have as individuals. The mark of a "sleeper" is their oblivious attitude toward time and their ease of distraction by the frivolous.
This leads me to another power, the ability to let that which truly does not matter slide. Another mark of a sleep is their often fixation on the unimportant. This is especially true in our personal relationships, but can apply to nearly any aspect of social behavior or thought. It is why some will stress about the brand of clothes they wear and be ignorant of a sunset. The ability to let things slide has greatly improved my relationship and has lead to another power.
I am less stressed. You might not even recognize how stressed you are until that stress is relieved. It sounds like a weird thing to say, like a Scientology warning about Thetans or whatever, but if your "normal" state is confusion, lack of deliberate action, and being pressured by forces around you, you will not know the difference I am talking about until you experience it. This is a reason why the Work is so difficult to explain, because discussing it often requires that the parties involved share some common point of reference.
This has lead to greater personal efficiency, and taking more pleasure in what I pursue. Again, this may seem slight, but keep in mind the analogy of a child vs. and adult, or a sleeping person vs. one who is awake. In the kingdom of the blind, the one-eyed man is King. I am discovering that power over others is a much lesser pursuit than power over myself. I have greater exuberance, greater productivity, and greater confidence. I still see myself as just beginning this process, but just these things when compared to my state before I engaged in the Work suggest to me the potential rewards of my continued efforts.
The second part of the question was a little more difficult to answer. Part of the confusion I recognized was in considering being Awakened as a destination, rather than a state of being. We all have moments of true lucidity, where our faculties are operating at their maximum potential. For most people, these rare instances are considered epiphanies, sudden flashes of insight or leaps of awareness. The Work is based on the possibility that what a sleeper experiences as an epiphany could be a normal state of being for an Awakened person, who themselves may experience "epiphanies" of greater magnitude and with greater frequency than we experience in our current states.
The result would be a more productive, more fulfilled, and more creative being. Although the terminology is incorrect, we could discuss this as a being who operates at a higher frequency than the rest of us. Our life is a wave of high and low points, often moving erratically. Some individuals operate at a higher frequency for longer periods of time than the rest of us; people like Einstein, Di Vinci, and others who have made significant contributions to history (although there would be many more who are like this who go unknown by the majority of us, their activity being in fields that society does not observe as readily). An Awakened being would operate at a higher, more consistent frequency, actively pushing themselves when they recognized a lull in their operation in order to maintain that state.
A being in an Awakened state would not necessarily exhibit any abilities that would be considered extraordinary, but instead would perform at peak efficiency in a consistent manner. The pursuits of an Awakened being would be pursued more doggedly, with more gusto, and naturally produce more often better results than as displayed by a person in a "sleeping" state who would pursue those same goals half-heartedly by comparison (though the sleeper will believe they are giving it their all, observation would demonstrate otherwise). From the perspective of the sleeping mind, it would appear that the Awakened being always has everything falling into place for them, that the very universe seems to flow in their direction, not recognizing that generally constant effort is the Awakened beings "normal" state which results in greater rewards than the active/lull state of the sleeper.
In other words, an Awakened being gets more done, and more out of life, than a sleeper.
Awake!
Ego Diabolus Priest of R'lyeh Cult of Cthulhu
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Post by Sarak G'hash on Mar 27, 2010 18:31:48 GMT -6
I want to begin by stating how exciting it is to see so many new members and prior members becoming more active in their efforts with the Cult of Cthulhu. The Cult of Cthulhu is easily the most dynamic organization I have ever participated in, and its evolution has definitely accelerated during the last six months in ways that the cosmetic changes to the website are just a reflection of. It is everyone's participation that continues to be the driving force behind the Cult of Cthulhu, its engine powered by the energies volunteered by its individual members.
As a Priest of R'lyeh, I feel my office greatly involves serving as an example of what it is to be a member of the Cult of Cthulhu. Other than that, it is an administrative and advisory role. As such, I am like any other member of the Cult of Cthulhu, striving toward my own Awakening and exploring the routes toward achieving this state in a consistent and more continuous manner. As a part of this process, I have spoken locally at a small gathering of Occult students on what is becoming a regular basis. This has forced me to evaluate my progress more keenly than I otherwise might and encouraged consideration of my efforts from different perspectives.
One of the questions I was recently asked is what changes have I experienced through the process thus far and what I expect to happen if and when I Awaken. This turned into a lengthy conversation about the process of the Work and raised other questions in my mind.
To begin with what I have achieved so far, the simple answer is that I have definitely seen an increase in my powers. I know that "powers" may seem like a strange term to use. By it, I do not mean abilities of a comic-book variety, but rather mental, emotional, and physical aptitudes. Consider a person who is inebriated when compared to a sober man. The sober man has powers which provide an advantage over the inebriated man. The same applies when comparing a child to an adult, or a sleeping individual to one who is awake. The abilities are not in and of themselves extraordinary, but would appear as such from a "lesser" perspective. The capabilities of an adult are truly fantastic in the eyes of a child; "mother" and "father" are words often synonymous with "god" in a child's mind.
This also means that these powers, as they are discovered by the individual through the Work, will initially not appear as anything phenomenal. They are just gradual improvements. This is why the Work takes time. A week's worth of effort will produce results, but results so slight that they are barely noticeable. A year's efforts produce results far greater by comparison in an incremental manner, so as when compared to the week prior they seem not that substantial, but when compared to a year past are significant. The relative manner of perspective can hide its significance. For example, just this idea is to me a major break-through, while I am certain the High Priest Satanis will read these words see no great personal revelation because he has "been there" and "done that".
So, through the Work, I have noticed an increase in my powers. A great deal of this involves time-management. Relatively speaking, before I started this process, I was a great waster of time. I was, and still am, a very busy person, but much more of my time was spent pursuing activities which I now recognize as frivolous. Time is easily are most precious commodity we have as individuals. The mark of a "sleeper" is their oblivious attitude toward time and their ease of distraction by the frivolous.
This leads me to another power, the ability to let that which truly does not matter slide. Another mark of a sleep is their often fixation on the unimportant. This is especially true in our personal relationships, but can apply to nearly any aspect of social behavior or thought. It is why some will stress about the brand of clothes they wear and be ignorant of a sunset. The ability to let things slide has greatly improved my relationship and has lead to another power.
I am less stressed. You might not even recognize how stressed you are until that stress is relieved. It sounds like a weird thing to say, like a Scientology warning about Thetans or whatever, but if your "normal" state is confusion, lack of deliberate action, and being pressured by forces around you, you will not know the difference I am talking about until you experience it. This is a reason why the Work is so difficult to explain, because discussing it often requires that the parties involved share some common point of reference.
This has lead to greater personal efficiency, and taking more pleasure in what I pursue. Again, this may seem slight, but keep in mind the analogy of a child vs. and adult, or a sleeping person vs. one who is awake. In the kingdom of the blind, the one-eyed man is King. I am discovering that power over others is a much lesser pursuit than power over myself. I have greater exuberance, greater productivity, and greater confidence. I still see myself as just beginning this process, but just these things when compared to my state before I engaged in the Work suggest to me the potential rewards of my continued efforts.
The second part of the question was a little more difficult to answer. Part of the confusion I recognized was in considering being Awakened as a destination, rather than a state of being. We all have moments of true lucidity, where our faculties are operating at their maximum potential. For most people, these rare instances are considered epiphanies, sudden flashes of insight or leaps of awareness. The Work is based on the possibility that what a sleeper experiences as an epiphany could be a normal state of being for an Awakened person, who themselves may experience "epiphanies" of greater magnitude and with greater frequency than we experience in our current states.
The result would be a more productive, more fulfilled, and more creative being. Although the terminology is incorrect, we could discuss this as a being who operates at a higher frequency than the rest of us. Our life is a wave of high and low points, often moving erratically. Some individuals operate at a higher frequency for longer periods of time than the rest of us; people like Einstein, Di Vinci, and others who have made significant contributions to history (although there would be many more who are like this who go unknown by the majority of us, their activity being in fields that society does not observe as readily). An Awakened being would operate at a higher, more consistent frequency, actively pushing themselves when they recognized a lull in their operation in order to maintain that state.
A being in an Awakened state would not necessarily exhibit any abilities that would be considered extraordinary, but instead would perform at peak efficiency in a consistent manner. The pursuits of an Awakened being would be pursued more doggedly, with more gusto, and naturally produce more often better results than as displayed by a person in a "sleeping" state who would pursue those same goals half-heartedly by comparison (though the sleeper will believe they are giving it their all, observation would demonstrate otherwise). From the perspective of the sleeping mind, it would appear that the Awakened being always has everything falling into place for them, that the very universe seems to flow in their direction, not recognizing that generally constant effort is the Awakened beings "normal" state which results in greater rewards than the active/lull state of the sleeper.
In other words, an Awakened being gets more done, and more out of life, than a sleeper.
Awake!
Ego Diabolus Priest of R'lyeh Cult of Cthulhu
I understand completely what you are talking about. I have noticed a definite improvement in my driving skills myself. I have to admit, though, I never thought of "powers" the way you describe it, not in that term. But it is a wonderful way to describe the improvement in personal skills! I am able to observe more now that I have almost complete control over my negative emotions (which I also scrutinize very closely when they do happen). Awake!
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Post by lucofthelight on Apr 8, 2010 3:18:16 GMT -6
I very much enjoyed reading your post Ego Diabolus. Encouraging and enlightening. I can certainly relate to your experiences with The Work albeit to a lesser extent but still enough in the short time I've been pursuing it. I'm feeling your experience of being able to let things slide a lot more, which is one of the things I've noticed in myself. Things that don't really matter need not eat into productive time and energy put to good use. The powers you talk of in terms of time management and productive ability do make a person of less wakefulness regard you in a higher light, usually with comments like, "I don't know how you do it", etc. I'm quite new to the Cult of Cthulhu forum but even in the last few days just reading the posts and exchanging some experiences with members such as yourself has led to periods of more prolonged wakefulness for me.
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Post by nixx on Apr 8, 2010 6:33:40 GMT -6
Excellent post, Ego Diabolus! You put voice to a great deal of the things I've been experiencing while involved in the Work coupled with Gate Walking. The victories haven't come without a great deal of struggle & facing issues that I've put off for a long time, but its all been worth it.
I will disagree on the point of time. Time is a created thing & therefore its importance is only what you put into it. That being said, one must still satisfy one's commitments as personal responsibility is of great importance to the Work. I feel if one understands the reality of time, then one can put it to use for their advantage. Instead of being a slave to it, one becomes its master. I do this by figuring out exactly how long it takes to do something & then matching it with related tasks so each flows into the other organically. Once those things I have to do are done, then I can focus on those things that I want to do, to which I forget the existence of time for that period. If I wish to accomplish multiple non-committed tasks, then I apply the same logic & create set blocks of time to accomplish them; the difference being is I don't become personally invested if I spend extra time in this area.
I think what I am trying to say is that it is a matter of perception as opposed to a matter immediacy. We choose what we perceive, not the other way around & by perceiving time as a tool rather than a taskmaster, we end up accomplishing the seemingly impossible without undue stress or investment.
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Post by Sarak G'hash on Apr 8, 2010 7:15:56 GMT -6
I very much enjoyed reading your post Ego Diabolus. Encouraging and enlightening. I can certainly relate to your experiences with The Work albeit to a lesser extent but still enough in the short time I've been pursuing it. I'm feeling your experience of being able to let things slide a lot more, which is one of the things I've noticed in myself. Things that don't really matter need not eat into productive time and energy put to good use. The powers you talk of in terms of time management and productive ability do make a person of less wakefulness regard you in a higher light, usually with comments like, "I don't know how you do it", etc. I'm quite new to the Cult of Cthulhu forum but even in the last few days just reading the posts and exchanging some experiences with members such as yourself has led to periods of more prolonged wakefulness for me. People have always made the "I don't know how you do it!" comment to me. Practicing The Work had increased my productivity immensely! Now that I have gotten rid of negative thinking, it seems like I have been accomplishing so much in a lot quicker time. Awake!
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