Post by Tehiru.Chalal on Nov 9, 2008 22:30:15 GMT -6
*** This is provided in it's entirety, addressed to someone whom many will not recognize and is irrelevant to this discussion. . It is not meant to be a challenge, but rather as something to be considered for intelligent comment and (if necessary) rebuttal.
Sir;
I am contacting you for two reasons, one being a request for comment or clarification and the other being a request for potentially referring me to someone who shares a particular interest.
Some time ago, a friend sent me a portion of a document written by you for me to review and comment upon. While the document covered a variety of topics, the topic that he wished me to comment upon was your assertion that there was no right-hand path to the grade of Master of the Temple. After reviewing your thoughts on the matter as well as referencing the various documents that you cited, I have a parallel opinion on the matter that I thought I would send to you for comment. This is not meant to be in any way to be considered as a prelude to an argument, but rather as a sign of respect for the body of literature you have contributed.
In your letter, you asserted that for those who follow the right hand path, the Ordeal leading to the grade in question would be suicide, resulting in a zombie moving unconsciously to universal laws. I agree, but I noticed that your explanation of why was incomplete. Whether this omission was deliberate to allow the addressee to consider the reason for himself or you did not consider it pertinent at the time, upon consideration of the matter I feel that I have arrived at the reason.
As you asserted, the principle of the right hand path is identification with a god, pantheon, entity or higher principle which the aspirant seeks to align with. It may be said that the goal of the right hand path is to identify so strongly with this entity that the adept effectively subjugates his personality or indeed replaces his personality with the associations or principles embodied by his higher power.
In some ways, this mirrors the approach of the left hand path adept, who identifies perceived weaknesses within him or herself and confronts them, overcoming them in the pursuit of perfection. However, the right hand path and its focus on external identification and unification renders this approach largely passive in nature as compared to the active approach of the left hand path. Similarly, the active acquisition of new abilities and characteristics which is pursued by the left hand path is only partially successful by the right hand path adept because they consciously or unconsciously may only select desirable traits from among those embodied by their selected higher power. These limitations render personal apotheosis more difficult, but not impossible directly.
I feel the crux of the matter is the nature of the Ordeal itself which contrasts with the essential nature of the right hand path. The experience leading to the Master of the Temple (or the IVο in the Temple of Set) leaves one alone. This separation from others conflicts with the core principle of the right hand path, being unification with something else. While the state of consciousness commonly referred to as the Christ Consciousness and other appellations is indeed a step on the path of development (and a necessary one), it is the ultimate goal of the right hand path. The aloneness of the Ordeal leading to the state of the Master of the Temple is fundamentally incompatible with the right hand path perspective and to proceed further an adept of that tradition would either have to develop an alternative next state in development which I cannot speculate on, or would have to leave their path in favor of the left hand path.
As you have noted, I share your opinion on the incompatibility of the right hand path in this matter. However, I wished to share my thoughts on the nature of the essential incompatibilities with you in order to elicit comment. I am unaware at what time you wrote the document although I suspect it was several years ago, and I was hoping that you have had time to reflect on the matter further and this might be a productive conversation for us.
The second portion of my missive centers on hopefully soliciting your help in reaching various Setian thinkers who have a strong background in symbols, or lean toward a slightly more mystical mentality toward development than the traditionally rigorously practical approach evidenced in the Setian literature I have been exposed to. In recent months, I have been devoting my energies to exploring the nature of what the Temple refers to as the Subjective universe. My personal development has always utilized the model of the OU and SU, and my recent work has recently engendered a significant expansion in my understanding.
The integration of concepts into the psyche is often achieved through the use of symbols which represent the ideas in question, and this is a process that I follow when expanding my understanding and awareness. As mentioned, I have been attempting to enhance my understanding of the subjective universe by following this method. Previously, I had considered the objective and subjective universes by a series of slightly overlapping circles, similar to a conventional Venn diagram. In this instance, the adept at varying levels of proficiency would inhabit the interface between these two circles or in the circle representing the subjective universe. However, my understanding of the subjective changed and indeed the symbol representing this concept has changed dramatically.
In a series of workings culminating a few days ago, I came to the realization that subjective universe was not best represented by a circle, which for me always represented both the universe as a whole as well as possibility. Now, I understand that the subjective universe is best represented as a womb, continually birthing new creations. The resident of the subjective partakes of both male and female attributes, continual creation of and the imposition of form onto the energies therein. My symbol has changed to reflect the new understanding of the subjective, with the adept within as the role of pangenetor; for me, the new symbol reflects the symbology of male and female, wild creation and the creation of Law from that order. This bears certain parallels with the Veils of Negative Existence in another tradition.
This brings me to my second request. I am in contact with various other adepts and am sharing my thoughts with them, but I wish to obtain other perspectives. I do not know if analysis of symbols or the concepts behind them are in your sphere of interest. If this topic is of interest to you I would value your thoughts. However, if your interests lie elsewhere I was wondering if you were aware of others who might share my interests in this matter and would be interested in discussing them.
Cordially;
Michael A. Eckhard
P.S. In May, you advised me to consider joining the Temple of Set and provided me with the essentials of how to do so. Unfortunately, I am well outside the practical range for reaching the nearest Temple and therefore would be deprived of the benefits of directly interacting with various Temple members. This is unfortunate as I treasure the relationships I have cultivated with those Setian thinkers I know, but the realities of my location preclude this.
Sir;
I am contacting you for two reasons, one being a request for comment or clarification and the other being a request for potentially referring me to someone who shares a particular interest.
Some time ago, a friend sent me a portion of a document written by you for me to review and comment upon. While the document covered a variety of topics, the topic that he wished me to comment upon was your assertion that there was no right-hand path to the grade of Master of the Temple. After reviewing your thoughts on the matter as well as referencing the various documents that you cited, I have a parallel opinion on the matter that I thought I would send to you for comment. This is not meant to be in any way to be considered as a prelude to an argument, but rather as a sign of respect for the body of literature you have contributed.
In your letter, you asserted that for those who follow the right hand path, the Ordeal leading to the grade in question would be suicide, resulting in a zombie moving unconsciously to universal laws. I agree, but I noticed that your explanation of why was incomplete. Whether this omission was deliberate to allow the addressee to consider the reason for himself or you did not consider it pertinent at the time, upon consideration of the matter I feel that I have arrived at the reason.
As you asserted, the principle of the right hand path is identification with a god, pantheon, entity or higher principle which the aspirant seeks to align with. It may be said that the goal of the right hand path is to identify so strongly with this entity that the adept effectively subjugates his personality or indeed replaces his personality with the associations or principles embodied by his higher power.
In some ways, this mirrors the approach of the left hand path adept, who identifies perceived weaknesses within him or herself and confronts them, overcoming them in the pursuit of perfection. However, the right hand path and its focus on external identification and unification renders this approach largely passive in nature as compared to the active approach of the left hand path. Similarly, the active acquisition of new abilities and characteristics which is pursued by the left hand path is only partially successful by the right hand path adept because they consciously or unconsciously may only select desirable traits from among those embodied by their selected higher power. These limitations render personal apotheosis more difficult, but not impossible directly.
I feel the crux of the matter is the nature of the Ordeal itself which contrasts with the essential nature of the right hand path. The experience leading to the Master of the Temple (or the IVο in the Temple of Set) leaves one alone. This separation from others conflicts with the core principle of the right hand path, being unification with something else. While the state of consciousness commonly referred to as the Christ Consciousness and other appellations is indeed a step on the path of development (and a necessary one), it is the ultimate goal of the right hand path. The aloneness of the Ordeal leading to the state of the Master of the Temple is fundamentally incompatible with the right hand path perspective and to proceed further an adept of that tradition would either have to develop an alternative next state in development which I cannot speculate on, or would have to leave their path in favor of the left hand path.
As you have noted, I share your opinion on the incompatibility of the right hand path in this matter. However, I wished to share my thoughts on the nature of the essential incompatibilities with you in order to elicit comment. I am unaware at what time you wrote the document although I suspect it was several years ago, and I was hoping that you have had time to reflect on the matter further and this might be a productive conversation for us.
The second portion of my missive centers on hopefully soliciting your help in reaching various Setian thinkers who have a strong background in symbols, or lean toward a slightly more mystical mentality toward development than the traditionally rigorously practical approach evidenced in the Setian literature I have been exposed to. In recent months, I have been devoting my energies to exploring the nature of what the Temple refers to as the Subjective universe. My personal development has always utilized the model of the OU and SU, and my recent work has recently engendered a significant expansion in my understanding.
The integration of concepts into the psyche is often achieved through the use of symbols which represent the ideas in question, and this is a process that I follow when expanding my understanding and awareness. As mentioned, I have been attempting to enhance my understanding of the subjective universe by following this method. Previously, I had considered the objective and subjective universes by a series of slightly overlapping circles, similar to a conventional Venn diagram. In this instance, the adept at varying levels of proficiency would inhabit the interface between these two circles or in the circle representing the subjective universe. However, my understanding of the subjective changed and indeed the symbol representing this concept has changed dramatically.
In a series of workings culminating a few days ago, I came to the realization that subjective universe was not best represented by a circle, which for me always represented both the universe as a whole as well as possibility. Now, I understand that the subjective universe is best represented as a womb, continually birthing new creations. The resident of the subjective partakes of both male and female attributes, continual creation of and the imposition of form onto the energies therein. My symbol has changed to reflect the new understanding of the subjective, with the adept within as the role of pangenetor; for me, the new symbol reflects the symbology of male and female, wild creation and the creation of Law from that order. This bears certain parallels with the Veils of Negative Existence in another tradition.
This brings me to my second request. I am in contact with various other adepts and am sharing my thoughts with them, but I wish to obtain other perspectives. I do not know if analysis of symbols or the concepts behind them are in your sphere of interest. If this topic is of interest to you I would value your thoughts. However, if your interests lie elsewhere I was wondering if you were aware of others who might share my interests in this matter and would be interested in discussing them.
Cordially;
Michael A. Eckhard
P.S. In May, you advised me to consider joining the Temple of Set and provided me with the essentials of how to do so. Unfortunately, I am well outside the practical range for reaching the nearest Temple and therefore would be deprived of the benefits of directly interacting with various Temple members. This is unfortunate as I treasure the relationships I have cultivated with those Setian thinkers I know, but the realities of my location preclude this.
I have a simple mind. Yes, this is true.
