The Illusory World
That what the senses perceive is not actual reality is beyond doubt for anyone who has looked around seriously and objectively.
Nevertheless, attitudes toward this fact can vary greatly, and, accordingly, the practical conclusions drawn from it vary as well.
Eastern thought calls the world an “illusion” and treats it as something to be discarded. This view prescribes withdrawal from worldly activity and immersion in contemplation with the ultimate aim of dissolving the mind into the world’s infinity.
The Western Way calls the perceived world a “picture“, a “description”, which also points to its, broadly speaking, unreality, but without the negative connotation that the idea of “illusion” carries. Therefore, on this Way the emphasis is on active awareness, and the goal is transforming that awareness into the actively creative fullness of the Pleroma.
But in any case, both views agree that the falseness of the world must be resisted, since it is inherently destructive to the mind and aimed at enslaving it and causing suffering.
Unlike religion, which regards the world as “God’s creation” and often tends toward theodicy, Magic approaches the surrounding reality with considerable wariness, seeing in its manifestations not only a drive for development but also an irresistible tendency to consume.
Therefore for the Magus the falsity of the world lies not so much in its ontological unreality (which, of course, is not denied), but above all in the destructive nature of its drives. Magic holds that, left to itself, the world has no stable direction of development, and its improvement (and thus the improvement of its inhabitants) occurs only when considerable effort is expended and will is applied to it.
Accordingly, for the Magus, overcoming illusion means striving to break free from universal consumerism, or at least to minimize it.
The main illusion is the belief that such consumption does not exist. More precisely, it is not even an illusion but a distortion of perception — a destroyer of the mind — since, on sober appraisal, this fact is undeniable. Therefore the Magus does not seek to “leave” reality; he simply seeks to change his view of it. He does not seek to “destroy” the illusion but to look behind it.
The Magus understands that for the mind to develop it must use descriptions, and therefore does not seek to enter an undifferentiated state, but strives that his descriptions are not destructive.
Therefore for the Magus “liberation from illusion” does not mean the placid calm of the mind sought by Eastern ascetics; it means, first and foremost, the mind’s emergence from the shadow, from that state of narrowed vision into which predators have cast it.
But what to do after that “emergence into the light” is another question entirely.
But in any case, it turns out that describing the world, a magician is constrained by their current incarnation. They describe the world they exist in the most fully; other worlds remain distant for them. Is it possible to include other worlds in their description with the same fullness as this one, to become an active force in their arena? Or are there other projections of the monad for this?
Hello. I am also very interested in this topic. When awake, a shift in perception occurs due to the absence of description… if I notice this process in myself, I was traveling on a long-distance train, I can’t sit in a compartment nor sleep. I feel an overwhelming happiness that the train is rushing me into the unknown, far from familiar streets, people, conversations, smells… and as I taste this freedom, I look into the night outside the window, and there is neither land nor sky, and the train is not just a train, and my movement occurs in all directions, and it feels like I have many condensed flexible limbs… please tell me, how is the description of the unmanifest reality useful? I warn myself, saying, be careful with other worlds; there is a different world, but let its interpretation not obscure it. This continues widely to this day.
Any description is already a manifestation 🙂 It is well known that ‘when you start to stare into the darkness, the darkness starts to stare back at you.’ So, by touching what is separated by a barrier of perception, you interact with it, and you need to think carefully – are you ready for such a contact.
I’m really interested in discussing conscious active force. I understand it’s the same as will, not effort of will, but its archetype, intention. What precautions or advice can you give?
Yes, I know some things, and I don’t understand what the description is for. Perhaps this understanding awaits me ahead; I am afraid, anxious, and carefully keep this artifact. It seems one can put all their energy into description. Does description create energy? Is there perhaps an alternative? What do I not understand?
Enmerkar, could you provide a precise definition of the concept of consumption and what its negativity is? I understand the general idea, but there are several details that raise doubts.
“Eastern thinking names the world an ‘illusion’ and treats it as something to get rid of. Such a view dictates a retreat from activity and immersion in self-concentration with the ultimate goal of dissolving consciousness in the infinity of the world.” Here it mentions “Eastern thinking,” but thinking in both the East and the West varies among different people. And there are no few fools in the East capable only of profaning Buddhist concepts. One should not judge the East on books by fake swamis or rinpoches. In particular, I note that if Enmerkar believes that his current consciousness or “sufficiently improved version of consciousness” has any value, he should discover that his personality thinks so. And the personality is not right for anyone. No Great Spirit needs the merging in unity of perfect or not-so-perfect consciousnesses. For Him, all our consciousnesses are temporary “expendable material” and to be disposed of after use. Only the one who stops relying on the mind on everything created will cease to exist as consciousness and return to the original “state” – awakening as the Great Spirit in all fullness and boundlessness. Moreover, remaining in the same physical body and remembering everything.
For example, the cells of a living organism are also “expendable material” for that very organism. No one can count how many new cells the organism produces every second, and how many are disposed of after fulfilling their purpose………….In the same way, in my opinion, it is with the Great Spirit. If we take into account the Myth presented on this resource, then human beings, as projections of spirit into matter, are similar to the cells of his organism (whatever he represents)….Human cells have no self-awareness but contain genetic information about the entire organism (from one cell, a full clone can be produced)…..and the same is possible with the Great Spirit – a person as a “cell of his organism” contains the entirety and boundlessness of the One but does not realize it……perhaps the goal of increasing awareness is for the separate “cell” to realize itself in the fullness of the entire “organism”, thereby freeing itself from the confines of the cell………I do not believe in “that unknown which no one has ever perceived,” but I do believe that “above” is the same as “below”…………………………..And regarding “in the same physical body” – this is not necessary; the physical body is not as immutable as it seems…
For something to be projected somewhere, it must represent something. Can nothing be projected? As above, so below works where there is an above and below, regardless of what it is called. The awareness of a cell is the boundaries of the cell. If a separate cell is aware of itself as a cell in a part of something whole and boundless, does it cease to be a cell because of that? Where is the boundlessness for a cell and liberation? Just your case – you are aware. But where has this boundlessness hid? I am the Great Spirit – that’s what enlightenment ‘looks’ like. In this state, the ‘I’ disappears, and the omnipresence in all living beings returns. What’s the body there, not the same, it doesn’t hinder that.
Nothing represents Everything 🙂 ‘Above’ – the Creator, ‘below’ – the Creations. The created carries the imprint of the Creator. An ‘individual’ cell contains the fullness and boundlessness of the One, but is unaware of this – upon realizing it, it frees itself from the cell’s constraints. Sorry, when you sit on the pot, do you also omnipresently exist in all living beings?
The process of defecation is as biological and natural as, for example, eating. No biological process can affect what has gone beyond consciousness. In the rest of your comment, there is nothing from your personal experience apart from the pot. You are summarizing someone else’s models that have limited applications. And unsuitable entirely for explaining how everything comes from nothing.