Post by egodiabolus on Apr 3, 2010 8:06:09 GMT -6
Greetings fellow travelers and Cultists,
Many of us are engaged in what we refer to as "The Work", a process of self-development leading to greater levels of consciousness, being, knowledge, and the acquisition of qualities we do not possess in our current state but recognize as within our potential. The greater part of initiating this process involves a focus and evaluation of the self; we have been told to observe ourselves and our behaviors, to strive to reduce the expression of negative emotions, to seek honesty and truth, to act purposefully instead of accidentally. We have been given certain ideas to test and explore; that we have a greater potential, that we are each actually a cast of uncoordinated "I"s in one being, that we must work to understand and manage these "I"s for our benefit, that much of our personality is artifice and within is an essence that is undeveloped. These ideas come from a higher source; individuals who have achieved what we strive for who received this information from even further developed individuals we can scarcely imagine who further received/developed this information over centuries of observing man and his condition. This is what we have been given to work with, and while individual study is absolutely necessary, it can only take us so far.
Beyond the individual aspects of the Work is the development of schools. It is important to understand that the Work incorporates what is almost another language, so the term "school" must be defined more clearly for our purposes. The general meaning of "school" is a place of learning, but what passes for a school in modern times is more akin to a linear apprenticeship; individuals are trained to perform certain tasks for the purposes of society; one is encouraged to learn to read but not necessarily to create their own works of literature, or to use mathematics but not necessarily to develop new processes or applications for mathematics (this kind of study typically is reserved for graduate level students or pursued independently, and even then often follows the same linear pattern of absorbing then regurgitating the information).
This is not what we mean in the Work by "school".
In Ancient Greece, there were philosophical schools, which were simply a gathering of people who together discussed certain ideas with an aim of developing those ideas for personal application. The "Master" was simply the most experienced member of the group in the discussion. The word "professor" is far more accurate, one who professes a certain understanding of a topic. Each discussion was initiated by the presentation of an idea, and then the class discussed the idea until it was fully explored and understood, which would lead to new ideas and further discussion. Each student was as much a professor as the Master, professing their own view-points and understanding of a particular idea either through posing questions for the Master and class to consider or by presenting their own ideas on the topic for discussion by the class. If, at some point, a student demonstrated a greater grasp of the idea than the Master, the Master would leave the floor of the discussion to them, taking on the role of the student to such time that the limits of the student's understanding of the idea was reached and the Master needed to assume his proper role.
This is the kind of school the Work requires. Individual study will always reach a limit, and that limit cannot be overcome without participation in a school. It is apparent that many of us participating in this forum have reached a point where such a school would be beneficial. What I am proposing is simple enough, a weekly meeting, on-line, of interested individuals for the purpose of discussion. There would be a loose schedule of ideas which would be adjusted based on the progress of the class. For example, if during week one we planned on discussing observation, week two the understanding of our multiple "I"s, and week three how to limit the expression of negative emotions, but week one's discussion proved to need further exploration, then the schedule would shift to accommodate.
We would use a chat-room style forum with a preset 2-3 hour block of time each week. Because of the nature of this effort, interested individuals would need to register to participate; this could not be a public forum. I have a platform I am considering for this purpose, if enough people demonstrate an interest. Due to my schedule, I would be aiming for a late-night class, more than likely during the week instead of on the weekend.
Thoughts?
Awake!
Ego Diabolus
Priest of R'lyeh
Cult of Cthulhu
Many of us are engaged in what we refer to as "The Work", a process of self-development leading to greater levels of consciousness, being, knowledge, and the acquisition of qualities we do not possess in our current state but recognize as within our potential. The greater part of initiating this process involves a focus and evaluation of the self; we have been told to observe ourselves and our behaviors, to strive to reduce the expression of negative emotions, to seek honesty and truth, to act purposefully instead of accidentally. We have been given certain ideas to test and explore; that we have a greater potential, that we are each actually a cast of uncoordinated "I"s in one being, that we must work to understand and manage these "I"s for our benefit, that much of our personality is artifice and within is an essence that is undeveloped. These ideas come from a higher source; individuals who have achieved what we strive for who received this information from even further developed individuals we can scarcely imagine who further received/developed this information over centuries of observing man and his condition. This is what we have been given to work with, and while individual study is absolutely necessary, it can only take us so far.
Beyond the individual aspects of the Work is the development of schools. It is important to understand that the Work incorporates what is almost another language, so the term "school" must be defined more clearly for our purposes. The general meaning of "school" is a place of learning, but what passes for a school in modern times is more akin to a linear apprenticeship; individuals are trained to perform certain tasks for the purposes of society; one is encouraged to learn to read but not necessarily to create their own works of literature, or to use mathematics but not necessarily to develop new processes or applications for mathematics (this kind of study typically is reserved for graduate level students or pursued independently, and even then often follows the same linear pattern of absorbing then regurgitating the information).
This is not what we mean in the Work by "school".
In Ancient Greece, there were philosophical schools, which were simply a gathering of people who together discussed certain ideas with an aim of developing those ideas for personal application. The "Master" was simply the most experienced member of the group in the discussion. The word "professor" is far more accurate, one who professes a certain understanding of a topic. Each discussion was initiated by the presentation of an idea, and then the class discussed the idea until it was fully explored and understood, which would lead to new ideas and further discussion. Each student was as much a professor as the Master, professing their own view-points and understanding of a particular idea either through posing questions for the Master and class to consider or by presenting their own ideas on the topic for discussion by the class. If, at some point, a student demonstrated a greater grasp of the idea than the Master, the Master would leave the floor of the discussion to them, taking on the role of the student to such time that the limits of the student's understanding of the idea was reached and the Master needed to assume his proper role.
This is the kind of school the Work requires. Individual study will always reach a limit, and that limit cannot be overcome without participation in a school. It is apparent that many of us participating in this forum have reached a point where such a school would be beneficial. What I am proposing is simple enough, a weekly meeting, on-line, of interested individuals for the purpose of discussion. There would be a loose schedule of ideas which would be adjusted based on the progress of the class. For example, if during week one we planned on discussing observation, week two the understanding of our multiple "I"s, and week three how to limit the expression of negative emotions, but week one's discussion proved to need further exploration, then the schedule would shift to accommodate.
We would use a chat-room style forum with a preset 2-3 hour block of time each week. Because of the nature of this effort, interested individuals would need to register to participate; this could not be a public forum. I have a platform I am considering for this purpose, if enough people demonstrate an interest. Due to my schedule, I would be aiming for a late-night class, more than likely during the week instead of on the weekend.
Thoughts?
Awake!
Ego Diabolus
Priest of R'lyeh
Cult of Cthulhu