Actualizations and Realizations

Since the meaning and content of manifested existence, according to the myth under consideration, is the self-actualization of the mind by recording and analyzing its interactions with “external” and “internal” objects, the key is the interaction process itself, whereas its result is valuable only insofar as it opens up possibilities for new achievements and new interactions, and thus for the further development of the mind.

Accordingly, both the aim and the result of an action can be more or less evolutionarily beneficial. And although, in terms of the process, any interaction, if it is carried out with awareness, serves as a basis for growth of awareness, from the standpoint of its evolutionary prospects not only the action itself matters, but also its source (the impulse that gives it energy), and its result.

It is precisely this notion that underpins the division of impulses, as we have discussed arising in the mind into desires, needs and whims.

Accordingly, the outcomes of these impulses’ manifestation at the “material” level also differ.

The simplest case is the fulfillment of needs — their result is the maintenance of the mind’s manifested existence. At the same time, of course, there is the danger that, if the energy of the mind is excessively invested in sustaining the body, the entanglement of the mind in matter will deepen, and its self-identification will shift toward identifying with the body, which will delay its development indefinitely.

The fulfillment of whims and caprices, directing the mind’s energy into a channel unnatural to it, not only leads to deeper entanglement in the gilgul, but also, by reducing the mind’s energetic fullness, leads to a lowering of the evolutionary level of its manifestations (or, as is said, to an increase of the “karmic burden”).

In contrast, the realization of desires lays the foundation for the mind’s further steps toward self-reflection, self-study and self-actualization.

At the same time, both indulging whims and the realization of desires can have an outwardly attractive, visible, measurable result that misleads and complicates assessing an action’s evolutionary effectiveness. Likewise, both kinds of activity can lead to subjectively unpleasant consequences, and therefore strategic evaluation of an action’s value should use deeper criteria.

Thus, not only does each action by itself lead either to the evolution or to the degradation of the flow of the mind, but any product, the result of that action, can (and should) also be evaluated from this point of view. And while it is comparatively easy to assess an action, the mere fact of an embodied result, the materialization of an intention, is a priori perceived as valuable, and therefore it is often difficult to admit that a highly productive action may turn out to be evolutionarily unfavorable.

Nevertheless, without such analysis the risk of dissipating energy through the fulfillment of whims is too great, and the danger of falling into the trap of false “success” is more than real.

Accordingly, the questions a Magus must ask himself should not be limited to “am I doing what I want now” (since it is quite possible to confuse a desire with a whim), but also “can I use this result as a foundation for the further development of the mind”, “does this action make me more free, self-aligned, aware and effective”. And only if this action is the direct expression of a desire that arose as a lawful link in its development in the chain of development, and the result of this action is another step in its development, can the current strategy be considered correct and effective.