Re: How Many 'Alters' Per 'Organism'?
Posted: Thu Mar 04, 2021 12:19 pm
BK's point and what everyone here expressed, is confirmed in higher stages of cognition. I'll just restate here the same using the language of the metaphor. We can approach these things only by looking them from many different angles and not just one. This is part of the process of training the intellect to live comfortably with the fact that there could be many different maps of the same territory (topographic, political, geological, etc.) When we can switch easily between different maps we also develop the intuition of what these maps are of.
Every state of being that we experience can be thought of as the interference, the impingement of all other states of being. In our ordinary state we have consciousness only of our state and to certain extent we can recognize how other human beings impinge and shape ours (and of course we, theirs). At this point, the idea that our state is the 'negative' picture of the 'sum total' of all other states, is just an intellectual conjecture, which in fact can never (and shouldn't!) be experienced as satisfactory in isolation. This view moves one step closer to reality when we shift our state of consciousness through concentration of our spiritual activity (as described in the essay). Through this we differentiate our activity (which is our only true possession) from the metamorphoses of the contents of consciousness (world content). Now our spiritual activity becomes something akin to a sense organ. We experience how the will of all other states of being imprints into and restricts our activity (i.e. the palette of states which can be experienced as our 'next'). In the ordinary state of consciousness we identify with the total contents of consciousness and say 'all mine'. Through concentration of activity we can distinguish what comes from us and what from other beings that imprint their will into our state.
In esoteric science this first stage of higher cognition is called Imaginative consciousness. At this stage it can be said that we experience only the 'physiognomy', the 'gestures' of the beings. That's why it's called Imaginative - not because we fantasize things but because we are still experiencing the contents of consciousness as a vast panorama within something that is made of the 'substance' of imagination. The difference is that, as we have differentiated from the contents of this panorama, we experience the willing impulses coming from different 'directions' which shape the environment of our inner states. The key in Imaginative consciousness is to never forget that in certain sense we are still dealing with Maya. In the ordinary state the contents of the senses are Maya because we can only speculate intellectually about the true causes behind them. In Imaginative consciousness the substance of imagination is still Maya but now it has been brought one step closer to the true causes because now we perceive the willing activity of beings which is reflected in living pictures within the imaginative 'substance'. This is the key - the pictures are not yet the reality of the beings - they are only 'external' reflection of their activity within imaginative substance or allegorically speaking - as the waves are the reflection of the wind's activity. If we are to know anything more about the inner experiences of the beings themselves, and not only of how their activity imprints in our soul substance, we also need the higher stages - Inspirative and Intuitive consciousness.
The states of being that project into and shape our own, are not only of human-like character. Actually only the states of our peer incarnated human beings are of such character. Everything else correspond to beings from the full spectrum of integration of consciousness - from deep sleep (unconsciousness) to Cosmic-scale integration of states. Portion of these beings are called elemental beings, whose experiences are instinctive without clear self awareness (these are BK's "somewhat" conscious agencies). Such beings constitute for example our biological life.
As we can see, in this metaphor the recombination problem that Eugene mentions also doesn't exist. We always experience a particular state of being. We never experience the different states as some 'things' spread out in front of us, although it is extremely tempting for the intellect to imagine these states as points in phase space for example. We should put a lot of effort to unlearn this habit. The word 'state' should always bring the picture of first-person spiritual experience with unique world content. There's no 'outer' view of such a state. Such an 'outer' view is just a particular abstract idea experienced within a real state of being. When we experience the imprint of beings in Imaginative consciousness we are not perceiving the 'outer' form of their states but their willed effects in our. The higher stages of consciousness don't bring 'outer' view of the beings either but simply allow us to experience more and more their inner perspectives within ours, as if by attunement through resonance.
Every state of being that we experience can be thought of as the interference, the impingement of all other states of being. In our ordinary state we have consciousness only of our state and to certain extent we can recognize how other human beings impinge and shape ours (and of course we, theirs). At this point, the idea that our state is the 'negative' picture of the 'sum total' of all other states, is just an intellectual conjecture, which in fact can never (and shouldn't!) be experienced as satisfactory in isolation. This view moves one step closer to reality when we shift our state of consciousness through concentration of our spiritual activity (as described in the essay). Through this we differentiate our activity (which is our only true possession) from the metamorphoses of the contents of consciousness (world content). Now our spiritual activity becomes something akin to a sense organ. We experience how the will of all other states of being imprints into and restricts our activity (i.e. the palette of states which can be experienced as our 'next'). In the ordinary state of consciousness we identify with the total contents of consciousness and say 'all mine'. Through concentration of activity we can distinguish what comes from us and what from other beings that imprint their will into our state.
In esoteric science this first stage of higher cognition is called Imaginative consciousness. At this stage it can be said that we experience only the 'physiognomy', the 'gestures' of the beings. That's why it's called Imaginative - not because we fantasize things but because we are still experiencing the contents of consciousness as a vast panorama within something that is made of the 'substance' of imagination. The difference is that, as we have differentiated from the contents of this panorama, we experience the willing impulses coming from different 'directions' which shape the environment of our inner states. The key in Imaginative consciousness is to never forget that in certain sense we are still dealing with Maya. In the ordinary state the contents of the senses are Maya because we can only speculate intellectually about the true causes behind them. In Imaginative consciousness the substance of imagination is still Maya but now it has been brought one step closer to the true causes because now we perceive the willing activity of beings which is reflected in living pictures within the imaginative 'substance'. This is the key - the pictures are not yet the reality of the beings - they are only 'external' reflection of their activity within imaginative substance or allegorically speaking - as the waves are the reflection of the wind's activity. If we are to know anything more about the inner experiences of the beings themselves, and not only of how their activity imprints in our soul substance, we also need the higher stages - Inspirative and Intuitive consciousness.
The states of being that project into and shape our own, are not only of human-like character. Actually only the states of our peer incarnated human beings are of such character. Everything else correspond to beings from the full spectrum of integration of consciousness - from deep sleep (unconsciousness) to Cosmic-scale integration of states. Portion of these beings are called elemental beings, whose experiences are instinctive without clear self awareness (these are BK's "somewhat" conscious agencies). Such beings constitute for example our biological life.
As we can see, in this metaphor the recombination problem that Eugene mentions also doesn't exist. We always experience a particular state of being. We never experience the different states as some 'things' spread out in front of us, although it is extremely tempting for the intellect to imagine these states as points in phase space for example. We should put a lot of effort to unlearn this habit. The word 'state' should always bring the picture of first-person spiritual experience with unique world content. There's no 'outer' view of such a state. Such an 'outer' view is just a particular abstract idea experienced within a real state of being. When we experience the imprint of beings in Imaginative consciousness we are not perceiving the 'outer' form of their states but their willed effects in our. The higher stages of consciousness don't bring 'outer' view of the beings either but simply allow us to experience more and more their inner perspectives within ours, as if by attunement through resonance.