Agreements with Predators

Many mythological systems, including the myth we are examining, concur in the belief that the system of relations between objects in the Psychocosm arises through a series of agreements between the stream of personalities formed by awareness and the stream of Parasites that feed on its energy.

We have already said that, in principle, consciousness is the rightful master of the Psychocosm, and any change in the personal universe is possible only with the consent of that master. Obviously no personality will willingly surrender part of its resources to a parasite, so the Parasite’s task is to seize power in the Psychocosm quietly and unnoticed, and to persuade the personality of a false sense of security, and to impose deliberately ineffective patterns of behavior that cause large amounts of energy to dissipate.

The Parasite begins this work from the being’s birth, training it to be a victim, step by step making agreements with it that contradict the being’s interests while being presented as beneficial.

Because Parasites have captured the public mind long ago, this strategy is widespread and pervasive, and a being is taught to be a victim not only under the influence of its own Parasite but also by seeing the example of others around it. Each person becomes a demon to those around them, keeping them in a victim state.

In doing so the Parasite employs two strategies to subjugate the Psychocosm:

on the one hand, it distorts perception by introducing false concepts — destructors,

and on the other — it causes the mind to voluntarily choose ineffective models of behavior. It is precisely this latter strategy of the Parasite that is described as the “agreements” between it and its host consciousness.

The mind limits itself, drives itself into dead ends, and the Parasite needs only to skillfully prod it, much as an elephant handler compels a great animal to submit to his will.

Consciousness agrees to be a victim, and it does so step by step, layer by layer. At the core of these agreements lies the Law of the Victim, perversely twisted by the Parasite: the mind is instilled with a sense of weakness. Each time consciousness gives up the struggle, it surrenders part of itself to the Parasite. The Parasite, however, exaggerates its own strength and convinces consciousness that “it is useless to fight,” and that it is better to give in voluntarily.

It is precisely the Parasite’s internal contradiction and disharmony that leads to a loss of energy. The Parasite generates fear. By not fearing to feel — both pain and joy — consciousness attains harmony and power.

Because the Parasite is inherently self-contradictory, it is forced to be a dictator; it must suppress the mind so that consciousness does not notice its presence, does not notice its contradictions, because by removing them — by striving for harmony — the mind forces the Parasite to starve. The Parasite can exist and manifest itself only in resistance, so one can oppose the Parasite without denying it.

A personality is merely a conglomerate of energies and therefore illusory. Yet it is possible to bind that conglomerate into a stable system around a single axis of meaning — the Way. Then a chance arises to generate energy, that is, to attain authenticity. Usually consciousness only skims energy blocks, without penetrating them, creating illusions. But by penetrating into its own depths it gains access to Power, since Power is the result of awareness. Illusions are also born through agreements.

With every agreement the mind makes, it invests a certain amount of energy, and annulling those agreements requires exactly the same amount of energy. By allowing no concessions to itself, one can accumulate enough energy to cancel previously concluded agreements.

It is clear that the greater part of being consists of void, threaded through with energies that have received actual existence.

Illusion achieves authenticity through the naming and classification of objects, and it is precisely at this stage that agreements arise — the Parasite invites us to treat as real what is not, and we agree. It is also obvious that the more people agree to uphold a given description, the harder it is to overcome it.

The Magi learn to identify real (that is, energy-generating) blocks of energy and attempt to create from them a continuous picture without resorting to artificially manufactured blocks. This is how the Magical Myth is born.

The Magus calls his entire value system into question. He undertakes a revision of his belief system, scrutinizing everything he has been taught to believe. The Magus understands that his beliefs were instilled in him, not chosen by him. At the same time he strives for freedom of will — the freedom to choose. The difficulty before him is that the old belief system permeates the entire consciousness. And, taking up a review of old agreements for the first time, consciousness finds no room for new ones; but with each transformation of existing values, space for its own myth opens up.

Therefore the principal effort of Magic consists in raising consciousness above old fear-based agreements grounded in fear.