Post by Cain Da'arnesh on Sept 26, 2012 22:28:40 GMT -6
The following is my revised ascension essay for your perusal and critique. I dance around many subjects and ideas here so that their precise application in the work be made clear. I realize at this point, that I am most likely my worst critic, but nonetheless, I present it here for you to read and welcome your comments...
Donnie Ray
Ascension Essay
Cthulhu Cult
Starting up, the true nature of the self must be realized. It is important to know precisely what motivates us all and how that can be applied to the work. Suffice it to say that a human being is in reality a cacophony of many illusory selves. Now the question remains, why is that? Why is the self so fragmented in this way? There is a wide range of potential reasons, but in order to truly answer this question, it is necessary to return to the source. That is to say, ask ourselves how we first came to be that way. And the theory that makes the most sense to me is that in its infancy, the mind did not know how to deal with this new world it was experiencing. And so it created barriers or rather masks for the person to wear under certain circumstances. In this way, the essence, or true self gradually got hidden under many fragmentary selves. And this just continues over the course of many years as the personality develops and becomes more complex alongside the intellect. Social expectations coupled with the wants and desires of the person creates more and more false selves which only serves to muddle the true nature of reality. Once it is understood that reality is subjective and therefore malleable can the person begin to deconstruct the self and reality as a whole… As above, so below!
Now that the subjective nature of reality has been established, we must ask ourselves, precisely what is reality? Well that is a very tricky question as there is no clear cut answer. We might suppose that reality is limited to our experiences? But that would be a critical misnomer as that limits reality to just our senses. We could say that reality could not be defined, but then how then could you tell what was real? We may say that reality is the human experience, but that carries the same fault of the first… Or does it? Reality instead may be experienced on many levels. That is to say, instead of tricking oneself for the goals of the false selves, one may instead trick themselves with a specific purpose in mind. That is to say, with the purpose of distorting reality so that it is both more accessible and malleable. This will create a more “user friendly” reality that is literally able to bend to one’s will. I now realize that this is what Cthulhu was trying to tell me all that time ago. Or rather, “use your illusion!” However, this still leaves the problem of what is real? If this false reality created subjectively by the false selves is not real, then what is? Is it perhaps possible that there is no such thing as reality?
(Continued 6 months later)
Now, since we can determine that both, reality and the self are illusory at best, we ask ourselves, then what defines these things? How is it possible to truly know or be aware of anything? Perhaps it is impossible? I don’t think so. More than likely, this is but the “darkest hour before the dawn.” That is to say that the true self emerges only after the false selves have been realized and silenced and only then can reality be truly experienced. Reality is difficult to grasp, but once one understands that each false self has a sort of reality of its own can that be utilized and paradise (or hell) be achieved! But in the meantime, it is by far more productive to recognize these selves and get them to understand that they are a team, each with roles to play in the creation of the new individual. They must each be realized and accepted. However, it is also interesting to note that they often die out or fall to the wayside and so one must ask if they are truly of any value? Maybe a better strategy would be to eliminate certain elements that are found not to be beneficial to the whole? A good way to do this would be to cease acknowledgement of such individuals for without that, they will wither and die!
Now that reality (the macrocosm) and the self (the microcosm) has been acknowledged and understood, the next goal would be to determine how they influence each other and how change for the better can be brought to bear on both fronts. Selves that have no defining purpose must be destroyed so that reality can begin to take shape with better undertones and new understanding be grasped. To this end, it would be important to realize and evaluate what is of true value. For as a wise man (Socrates) once stated, “The unexamined life is not worth living.” That is to say that realization and actualization of each self should be the end goal of the work so that the team can be established. For each self, roles must be defined and established so that they can each do their part. The only problem with this ideal is defining who has value in what situations. The right person needs to have the right job!
On that note; their specialties must be realized and defined so that they may each be assigned their roles. For instance, Donnie the lover would have no place when I am working out in the field. And Donnie the chef would serve no purpose when I am driving. The good news is that these assignments happen automatically, that is to say the right mindset comes into play at the right times. This is most likely due to evolutionary patterns set within the brain some time ago. However, it must be understood who is at the wheel and when in order for any progress to be made at self-remembering. And so a degree of self-observation must come into play here. For that reason, I often ask myself, “Who am I?” while going about my daily life. For instance, I will most likely be very orderly and professional soon when I am registering for classes. But when my wife gives me her birthday spankings soon, I’ll probably be more aloof and frivolous in the enjoyment of myself. This is an example of the fragmentary selves that compose me.
And so, again we ask what is real? Are we in fact dreaming? This is a question that haunts me to this day. I first realized that it may in fact be so when I was in my philosophy course and studying Descartes’s meditations. These were an eye opener in my case as they showed me just how elusive reality can be! And so, with what I realized there in mind, I’ve come to the conclusion at this point that reality is simply what you make of it. And from this, we can truly understand the value of positive thinking. There is no mythical “law of attraction” in my paradigm, but rather just the understanding that it is necessary to always look on the bright side of things. If one is all “gloom and doom” about matters, one tends to get depressed and this has many ill side effects. Instead, focus on goals and do not relent until they are achieved! One thing I’ve come to realize is that you’re never really defeated until you quit…
Donnie Ray
Ascension Essay
Cthulhu Cult
Starting up, the true nature of the self must be realized. It is important to know precisely what motivates us all and how that can be applied to the work. Suffice it to say that a human being is in reality a cacophony of many illusory selves. Now the question remains, why is that? Why is the self so fragmented in this way? There is a wide range of potential reasons, but in order to truly answer this question, it is necessary to return to the source. That is to say, ask ourselves how we first came to be that way. And the theory that makes the most sense to me is that in its infancy, the mind did not know how to deal with this new world it was experiencing. And so it created barriers or rather masks for the person to wear under certain circumstances. In this way, the essence, or true self gradually got hidden under many fragmentary selves. And this just continues over the course of many years as the personality develops and becomes more complex alongside the intellect. Social expectations coupled with the wants and desires of the person creates more and more false selves which only serves to muddle the true nature of reality. Once it is understood that reality is subjective and therefore malleable can the person begin to deconstruct the self and reality as a whole… As above, so below!
Now that the subjective nature of reality has been established, we must ask ourselves, precisely what is reality? Well that is a very tricky question as there is no clear cut answer. We might suppose that reality is limited to our experiences? But that would be a critical misnomer as that limits reality to just our senses. We could say that reality could not be defined, but then how then could you tell what was real? We may say that reality is the human experience, but that carries the same fault of the first… Or does it? Reality instead may be experienced on many levels. That is to say, instead of tricking oneself for the goals of the false selves, one may instead trick themselves with a specific purpose in mind. That is to say, with the purpose of distorting reality so that it is both more accessible and malleable. This will create a more “user friendly” reality that is literally able to bend to one’s will. I now realize that this is what Cthulhu was trying to tell me all that time ago. Or rather, “use your illusion!” However, this still leaves the problem of what is real? If this false reality created subjectively by the false selves is not real, then what is? Is it perhaps possible that there is no such thing as reality?
(Continued 6 months later)
Now, since we can determine that both, reality and the self are illusory at best, we ask ourselves, then what defines these things? How is it possible to truly know or be aware of anything? Perhaps it is impossible? I don’t think so. More than likely, this is but the “darkest hour before the dawn.” That is to say that the true self emerges only after the false selves have been realized and silenced and only then can reality be truly experienced. Reality is difficult to grasp, but once one understands that each false self has a sort of reality of its own can that be utilized and paradise (or hell) be achieved! But in the meantime, it is by far more productive to recognize these selves and get them to understand that they are a team, each with roles to play in the creation of the new individual. They must each be realized and accepted. However, it is also interesting to note that they often die out or fall to the wayside and so one must ask if they are truly of any value? Maybe a better strategy would be to eliminate certain elements that are found not to be beneficial to the whole? A good way to do this would be to cease acknowledgement of such individuals for without that, they will wither and die!
Now that reality (the macrocosm) and the self (the microcosm) has been acknowledged and understood, the next goal would be to determine how they influence each other and how change for the better can be brought to bear on both fronts. Selves that have no defining purpose must be destroyed so that reality can begin to take shape with better undertones and new understanding be grasped. To this end, it would be important to realize and evaluate what is of true value. For as a wise man (Socrates) once stated, “The unexamined life is not worth living.” That is to say that realization and actualization of each self should be the end goal of the work so that the team can be established. For each self, roles must be defined and established so that they can each do their part. The only problem with this ideal is defining who has value in what situations. The right person needs to have the right job!
On that note; their specialties must be realized and defined so that they may each be assigned their roles. For instance, Donnie the lover would have no place when I am working out in the field. And Donnie the chef would serve no purpose when I am driving. The good news is that these assignments happen automatically, that is to say the right mindset comes into play at the right times. This is most likely due to evolutionary patterns set within the brain some time ago. However, it must be understood who is at the wheel and when in order for any progress to be made at self-remembering. And so a degree of self-observation must come into play here. For that reason, I often ask myself, “Who am I?” while going about my daily life. For instance, I will most likely be very orderly and professional soon when I am registering for classes. But when my wife gives me her birthday spankings soon, I’ll probably be more aloof and frivolous in the enjoyment of myself. This is an example of the fragmentary selves that compose me.
And so, again we ask what is real? Are we in fact dreaming? This is a question that haunts me to this day. I first realized that it may in fact be so when I was in my philosophy course and studying Descartes’s meditations. These were an eye opener in my case as they showed me just how elusive reality can be! And so, with what I realized there in mind, I’ve come to the conclusion at this point that reality is simply what you make of it. And from this, we can truly understand the value of positive thinking. There is no mythical “law of attraction” in my paradigm, but rather just the understanding that it is necessary to always look on the bright side of things. If one is all “gloom and doom” about matters, one tends to get depressed and this has many ill side effects. Instead, focus on goals and do not relent until they are achieved! One thing I’ve come to realize is that you’re never really defeated until you quit…