Predators of Life and Death

We have already discussed that from the Hermetic perspective, life is a process of making the world definite, involves transforming energy: the potential, undifferentiated life force (“pneuma”) becomes the actual, operative, describable Force of awareness (“nous”). In other words, any living being is a process by which reality shifts from a potential state into an actual one.

A being is ‘alive’ only while it is capable of carrying out such a transformation; when either its access to pneuma is depleted or the possibilities of converting it into nous are exhausted, this “life” comes to an end, and the mind seeks new forms of manifestation. Such possibilities and resources depend on the state of the flow of mind, its preceding actions and experiences; that is, in modern terms, they are determined by its “karma.”

When the process of “observation,” that is, the mind’s search for and reflection on the properties of the “surrounding” reality, leads to the formation of a more or less coherent and internally consistent “picture,” we say the mind is in a “world,” whereas when such a “picture” is unstable or has “gaps” the mind perceives the “Interval.”

We also said that the main characteristic of any “world” is the stability of the energy flows in it, which arises in the course of this “stable” description and, as a consequence, the possibility of reproducible, predictable interactions.

Thus, as long as the mind of a being is stable, and the reality it perceives is stable and predictable, it is alive and is in one of the worlds; but when the stream of consciousness destabilizes and reality becomes unstable, the being perceives the Interworld.

At the same time, the perception of the Interval is possible in two situations: 1) when the mind “implicitly” retains support in the body, uses its resources and memory stores — in out-of-body experiences or dreaming, and 2) when the mind fully immerses itself in the Interworld, “destroying” its connections with the carriers and their resources — in the afterlife.

In other words, the mind not only translates the “surrounding” reality from a potential state into an actual one; it also moves between those two modes of reality. While it “works,” that is, transforms energy, it is “alive”; but when it changes its functional level, switching between transformed flows, it passes through a state of instability, which is called the “intermediate afterlife state” (“bardo”).

In addition to the fact that the mind changes its mode of perception, how it describes itself and surroundings, it also changes its energetic status: in the “living” state its main product is “red” light — toned pneuma (and in the case of a highly developed mind, also significant amounts of nous), whereas in the intermediate, “dead,” state the mind does not act, produces no energy, and its only “energetic trace” is the remnants of pneuma preserved in its disintegrating channels.

Accordingly, the surroundings of the flow of mind also change: in the “living” state the being generates energy “for itself and the other guy,” always acting as an energy resource for higher-level predators, whereas in the “dead” state all bodies and conductors of the mind become attractive only to “scavengers” of the worlds and the Interworld. And if in the “living” state a being participates in “the ‘big games’ of powerful beings,” then in the afterlife it only flees and hides from packs of mad inhabitants of the interval, forever tormented by hunger.

Note that if a “sleeping” being still “interests” large consumers of energy, it is still a resource for archons and kidemons; then a “dead” being no longer interests these predators; it remains “appetizing” only for elementers and elementaries. Properly speaking, one of the strategies of “avoiding” large energy outflows during life, adopted by some religions and schools, is built on this: their followers withdraw from energy flows of transformation; it is in this sense, for example, Christian monks call themselves “dead while alive.” And on the contrary, the strategy of “virtualization” and “lulling,” widely used recently, benefits predators: in such a state the energy flows conducted by beings are quite perceptible, while their abilities for control and self-defense are greatly reduced, which makes them an easy food source. 

Accordingly, if the strategies of “energetic integrity” of the manifest state include primarily internal efficiency, harmony, and fullness of existence, then in the afterlife the key factors of success become knowledge and the “internal structure” of the carriers of the mind. In both states it is important for a being to see its enemies, to know their strategies and habits; however, the paths of defense are somewhat different, and only inner integrity, composure, and self-identity are equally important.