The Little Purple Notebook On How To Escape From This Universe
Copyleft � 1998 by Maximilian J. Sandor, Ph.D.
Subscription Information: Maria Loren
[email protected]
Website:
http://transmillennium.net/pnohteftu/
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Dr. Alan M. Bain <
[email protected]> wrote the "Keys To The Kabbalah"
and gave it into the public domain (see
http://www.euronet.nl/users/euser/keyskab.htm)
to stimulate research and progress on this subject. gems. He is the founder of Theosophy
International
http://www.nellie2.demon.co.uk/ . Two chapters from the book
are presented here. The full text is also part of the PNOHTEFTU CD-ROM.
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Stage Ten - The Wheel
by Alan M. Bain
Prior to discovering Self, or to be more accurate, unveiling Self, this
stage is the most
important of the first ten. Here is the opportunity to transcend
personality and to begin to realise Self. We find that this is not so easy,
for the gate into Self is narrow, and we have to pass through the veil that
shrouds the light of Self, shown symbolically behind the High Priestess in
stage two, and by the wings of the angel in stage six. To make the
transition from personality awareness to Self awareness requires sacrifice.
The word sacrifice is used in the spiritual sense of transmutation or
change, and not in the sense of "giving something up." We may need to
change our attitudes to some most dearly held ideas, ideals and illusions.
The personality experiences the cleansing light of Self examination, so
that it may be a worthy tool for the use of Self.
Habits die hard, and this truth is demonstrated here. We may find that we
have to follow the path of the wheel around the instincts, intellect and
feeling many times again, discovering and integrating parts of personality
that we previously overlooked before we are in a condition to enter into
the heart, where Self resides. In a sense we are back at Path 25 on the
scale of the Ladder, "The Intelligence of Temptation or Trial, by which God
tests the devout."
Attitude attracts environment. Think about this.
Many remain at this stage for a long time - sometimes for years - without
much ambition to go further, being satisfied with a firm foundation and a
rounded and integrated personality which brings them true independence -
the virtue of Yesod.
There is no "fault" in this. They have achieved more than some of us who
are still buffeted by the winds of circumstance.
To enter the next stage, and to take the next Step of the Way requires
simple devotion. The ties which bind awareness to personality must be
loosened and let go, personality left behind (but by no means forgotten or
lost) so that we may discover Self as unadorned as a new born child. It is
a Step, and a devotion, that demands the firmest of foundations and a great
deal of courage.
If we choose to go on, we shall need to adjust our attitudes, desires and
ambitions in terms of Self awareness, terms which we do not, cannot fully
understand, for we see "As in a mirror, darkly," and we must take Self on
trust. Given the courage, we can do this, for the Self that we seek is no
stranger; it is the Self which we are, and the personality which we are
not.
Personality is simply the means through which Self finds expression, which
it has in fact been promoting all along, except that we have not been aware
as Self, being identified with various aspects of personality.
Stage Eleven, Strength
The Tarot card "Strength" is the most subtly representative of balance in
the whole of the Tarot. It shows a simply dressed woman bending over a lion
and holding its jaws. There is no coercion or exertion; no domination. The
lion appears quite calm; the woman is in command.
This card symbolises Self-control - i.e., control by the Soul, or Self;
control, in fact, of the lower levels governed by Yesod and personality.
Nowhere is seen the fierce determination of the fanatic. The woman [soul]
is serene; the lion [personality] is obedient.
This is precisely the relationship we shall find with personality when we
discover Self. We become aware of freedom and clarity. Someone once
described this condition as being like a day in the country after it had
been raining. Everything is sharper and clearer. Here we can no longer fool
ourselves about what we want or what we are. We may ignore what we see, but
we can never ignore the fact that we have seen it.
Some approaches end with the discovery of Self, for when Self is
discovered, we have found the expression of Heaven within. Some, however,
will want to explore the new-found condition.
Those who go on seek to take the journey three major Steps further. In
order to truly know Self, we first discover Self, and then learn to be
Self. We investigate and integrate the parts of Self much as we did with
personality. There are problems of Self to be resolved, and we shall need
to resolve them. After this comes the realisation of Self, in the way that
one "realises" assets by putting them to practical use. Before we continue
- if we so choose - we pause here and consolidate what we have learned.
The next journey is a quest for Spirit, both human and divine. If we are
determined to
persevere, we may learn to converse with angels, to come to know and
recognise the spiritual presence in the Creation.
On the scale of the Ladder, this stage is represented by Path 22, the text
of which states:
"The Faithful Intelligence. Spiritual virtues are deposited and augment
therein, until they pass to those who dwell under the shadow thereof."
