Integral Spiritual Mythology: The Divine Song (Part II)

[Cleric K]

That was great, Ashvin! Sorry for taking so long to read it, didn't have much time for the forum lately.

There are many places you've written that hold keys.

Owen Barfield clarified that "images" must be distinguished from mere "things" if we are to begin recalling this Primary Imagination - "things" are representations which only relate to us outer surfaces and quantitative properties of 'things' in the world, while the "images" convey the fullness and richness of interiority - a wide range of inner qualities of meaning. The person who perceives a tree as a picture will only see roots, branches, leaves, color, sizes, etc., and then only a chance cross-section of those 'things' in time. The person who perceives the tree as an image will also see its flowing transformations across time; its growth and decay; its relation to other living trees nearby; its relation to our shared meaning of the word "tree"; the meaning of its trunk leading to branches, twigs, and leaves; the function of the tree in its environment; the uses of the tree for humans; and many other richly meaningful qualities. The imaginative thinker will eventually perceive the entire World from the tree, as William Blake perceived in a grain of sand, but without losing the resolution born of thinking its essence through carefully.

Beautiful. Here I would just want to say that although the imaginative thinking of the tree begins with mere intellect exploring linearly the connections, with practice this becomes a habit that leads to quite surprising results. The 'Imaginative' in imaginative thinking already suggests that there's a contemplative element to it. It's not at all about exercising some complete authority of fantasy. Thinking becomes active feeler organ, it expands outwards but is also receptive for the resistance it encounters. This resistance is actual thinking perception. This thinking perception can only be developed if we honestly seek truth in everything. The very fact that we speak of 'truth' means that we envision something larger that the intellect, within which the latter lives and moves. The intellect yearns to know this higher spiritual fabric within which it is embedded. Without a healthy sense of truth, one becomes a fantast - we care only about what we produce without any concern whether it embeds harmoniously within the whole. It must become second nature not just to spit out words but feel how the environment receives our thinking, how it fits, becomes embedded into it or is being rejected, as a note played out of place.

Continuing with the tree example, when we have practiced active and living thinking sufficiently, we get in the habit to be open for a whole spectrum of possible concepts and ideas that can be brought in relation to a sensory perception. Through the intellect we must tediously work by matching the concepts one by one. When we have done that for long enough, we develop certain openness and receptivity for the ideal element (in other words - the inflow of the spiritual world). At that stage we really approach true Imaginations, when just by looking at a perception, a living mobile image packed with ideas extending in time, pierces through it, not unlike the way memories unfold like a simultaneous panoramic life review in NDEs and the actual moment of death. It goes without saying how immeasurably enriched Earthly life becomes at that stage. Even the most trivial perceptions or self-produced thoughts become portals for spiritual content. Everything we perceive pulsates with life and meaning and it is our greatest joy and duty to unfold this hidden reality, in order to make it a firm compass for moral life.

Usually at this stage, boredom gradually becomes a thing of the past. Boredom results only when our "I" activity is unfree and is locked into the perceptual element, being carried by it. When the perceptual element flows into repetitive loops the "I" becomes bored, yet it hasn't yet developed in itself the spiritual force to extricate itself from the perceptual carrier wave. When sense-free thinking is practiced we find the inner degrees of freedom of spiritual activity, which are nothing else but ways the Spirit can flow into the perceptual and organize it. Now boredom can only come as a result of laziness. If laziness is overcome there's always work to be done, even if we are in a sensory deprivation chamber. Even if we are waiting in line because of a crappy bureaucratic system, we can always work with our thought and produce beneficial Light waves, shower everyone around us, and pray for humanity getting on the upwards path.

Returning once more to our theme of mythic inversion, let us recall from Part I how our rhythmic thinking is born, dies, and is reborn. It may seem odd that our thoughts are born in our sleep and dreams at night, that they die during the day, and that they are reborn during the next night.

I really enjoyed this paragraph. So nicely put. Makes one wonder how can humans be so reluctant to know anything about the kind of consciousness where thoughts are actually being born and not only about the intellectual life where thoughts die (or resort to mysticism where one removes the death process of thoughts but remains with nothing at all, remaining completely oblivious of the higher worlds).

Keep up the good work, Ashvin!

[AshvinP]

That was great, Ashvin! Sorry for taking so long to read it, didn't have much time for the forum lately.

There are many places you've written that hold keys.

Owen Barfield clarified that "images" must be distinguished from mere "things" if we are to begin recalling this Primary Imagination - "things" are representations which only relate to us outer surfaces and quantitative properties of 'things' in the world, while the "images" convey the fullness and richness of interiority - a wide range of inner qualities of meaning. The person who perceives a tree as a picture will only see roots, branches, leaves, color, sizes, etc., and then only a chance cross-section of those 'things' in time. The person who perceives the tree as an image will also see its flowing transformations across time; its growth and decay; its relation to other living trees nearby; its relation to our shared meaning of the word "tree"; the meaning of its trunk leading to branches, twigs, and leaves; the function of the tree in its environment; the uses of the tree for humans; and many other richly meaningful qualities. The imaginative thinker will eventually perceive the entire World from the tree, as William Blake perceived in a grain of sand, but without losing the resolution born of thinking its essence through carefully.

Beautiful. Here I would just want to say that although the imaginative thinking of the tree begins with mere intellect exploring linearly the connections, with practice this becomes a habit that leads to quite surprising results. The 'Imaginative' in imaginative thinking already suggests that there's a contemplative element to it. It's not at all about exercising some complete authority of fantasy. Thinking becomes active feeler organ, it expands outwards but is also receptive for the resistance it encounters. This resistance is actual thinking perception. This thinking perception can only be developed if we honestly seek truth in everything. The very fact that we speak of 'truth' means that we envision something larger that the intellect, within which the latter lives and moves. The intellect yearns to know this higher spiritual fabric within which it is embedded. Without a healthy sense of truth, one becomes a fantast - we care only about what we produce without any concern whether it embeds harmoniously within the whole. It must become second nature not just to spit out words but feel how the environment receives our thinking, how it fits, becomes embedded into it or is being rejected, as a note played out of place.

Continuing with the tree example, when we have practiced active and living thinking sufficiently, we get in the habit to be open for a whole spectrum of possible concepts and ideas that can be brought in relation to a sensory perception. Through the intellect we must tediously work by matching the concepts one by one. When we have done that for long enough, we develop certain openness and receptivity for the ideal element (in other words - the inflow of the spiritual world). At that stage we really approach true Imaginations, when just by looking at a perception, a living mobile image packed with ideas extending in time, pierces through it, not unlike the way memories unfold like a simultaneous panoramic life review in NDEs and the actual moment of death. It goes without saying how immeasurably enriched Earthly life becomes at that stage. Even the most trivial perceptions or self-produced thoughts become portals for spiritual content. Everything we perceive pulsates with life and meaning and it is our greatest joy and duty to unfold this hidden reality, in order to make it a firm compass for moral life.

Usually at this stage, boredom gradually becomes a thing of the past. Boredom results only when our "I" activity is unfree and is locked into the perceptual element, being carried by it. When the perceptual element flows into repetitive loops the "I" becomes bored, yet it hasn't yet developed in itself the spiritual force to extricate itself from the perceptual carrier wave. When sense-free thinking is practiced we find the inner degrees of freedom of spiritual activity, which are nothing else but ways the Spirit can flow into the perceptual and organize it. Now boredom can only come as a result of laziness. If laziness is overcome there's always work to be done, even if we are in a sensory deprivation chamber. Even if we are waiting in line because of a crappy bureaucratic system, we can always work with our thought and produce beneficial Light waves, shower everyone around us, and pray for humanity getting on the upwards path.

Returning once more to our theme of mythic inversion, let us recall from Part I how our rhythmic thinking is born, dies, and is reborn. It may seem odd that our thoughts are born in our sleep and dreams at night, that they die during the day, and that they are reborn during the next night.

I really enjoyed this paragraph. So nicely put. Makes one wonder how can humans be so reluctant to know anything about the kind of consciousness where thoughts are actually being born and not only about the intellectual life where thoughts die (or resort to mysticism where one removes the death process of thoughts but remains with nothing at all, remaining completely oblivious of the higher worlds).

Keep up the good work, Ashvin!

Thanks for the feedback and elaboration Cleric! Your comment on "boredom" makes so much sense and goes to show the deeply practical aspect of spiritual thinking. People frequently treat all these spiritual views as mere ponderings which are infinite in number and equal in accuracy. Or at least that is done within a certain spiritual framework like Christianity. But then these people cannot account for why one should lead to only sporadic emotional benefits for the individual person while another should nearly eliminate boredom when it is pursued diligently. Of course that is just one such quality of life that can be vastly improved, but a major one in modern societies. The infinite "interpretations" get narrowed down drastically when the criteria of pragmatic truth is applied.