Training the Mind Towards Openness

 

“It is the mark of the mind untrained to take its own processes as valid for all men, and its own judgements for absolute truth”
— Aleister Crowley

 

There is something comforting in believing that one has found the answer to ourselves and how we fit into the universe in which we liveWhen I was younger and just starting out on the voyage of spiritual (and self assuming they are two different things) discovery, I thought I had found the answers many times. At first, rejecting the religion in which I was raised, I became an atheist. I found all kinds of convincing arguments that there was nothing outside the realm of science and that anyone who believed otherwise was delusional. Then I started learning a bit about extrasensory perception and also meeting people who had faith in various things and I found it beautiful. I started questioning my lack of belief. This led directly to a series of experiences first with the Unification Church, then to Chrismatic Christianity then into various other schools of belief. Each time I found an answer, convinced myself that it was THE ONE AND ONLY ANSWER and that all others were mistaken. Eventually tho I would find some inconsistency, some flaw in the belief and I would if not reject it when the next ONE AND ONLY ANSWER came along, would bury it in the junk room of my subconscious along with the books I would someday write and old dreams I had about what I would do when I grew up (I am still waiting for this to happen).
Each time I had the conviction that I had found the answer, I had an equal need to tell everyone else they were mistaken and would shoot down any arguments to the contrary. It was much later on during the time that I all but gave up on finding answers, convinced that there was one but it could never be found that I stepped down from being the personification of certainty.
When I once again started an awakening of awareness, so different from being a truth seeker but sharing certain of the same intellectual quest aspects, I came to realize that the best anyone can have is approximations. As Ken Wilber says, everyone is right but partial. If everyone is right to some degree, you can question their assertions but you cannot tell them outright that they are wrong or mistaken. These days I become greatly puzzled when I find people whom I respect, unwilling to challenge their beliefs. They become quite offended when someone suggests something outside their truth and when challenged, they tend to devolve from reason to intractability. They so identify with their beliefs that they see every question as a personal attack and react accordingly. I welcome challenges to my process as each question brings me greater understanding. I doubt that I will ever have more than rare glances into absolute truth (and those during peak experiences) and so any that I put into words will have some degree of inaccuracy. That’s Ok though. I have learned to enjoy the lack of certainty as much as I enjoy the quest.
Blessings, G

 

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Star Man's DreamStar Man’s Dream by G A Rosenberg

 

Radial CallRadial Call by G A Rosenberg

 

I Course My Corse Course

 

“Every man and every woman has a course, depending partly upon the self, and partly upon the environment which is natural and necessary for each. Anyone who is forced from his own course, either through not understanding himself, or through external opposition, comes into conflict with the order of the Universe, and suffers accordingly.”
— Aleister Crowley, Magick Without Tears

 

I course my corse course of course
through effort of strengthening will
I find my way
tho oft go astray
I find the path in distance or underfoot
conflicting shadow selves abound
tho their voices help me to be found
I careen in mad orbits about my sun
merely to find I’ve only begun
insights, slights
even a touch of delight
guide me through dark night
for in darkness I may gain
that seed of self
thought hidden on some dusty shelf
and so I find my way
distraction won’t hold sway
I seek to find my one true will
holding still, holding still
— G A Rosenberg

 

Blessings, G

 

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Will To ChooseWill To Choose by G A Rosenberg

 

Fuchsia ShockFuchsia Shock by G A Rosenberg

Breaking the Past

 

“Man is ignorant of the nature of his own being and powers. Even his idea of his limitations is based on experience of the past, and every step in his progress extends his empire. There is, therefore, no reason to assign theoretical limits to what he may be, or to what he may do.”
— Aleister Crowley

 

Are we our past mistakes or our past limits? Because in the past we were unable to accomplish something does that mean we are unable to do it now or is it possible that we can use past defeats and learn from them and accomplish more than we ever dreamed possible? Each day we recreate ourselves anew and that means another chance to do something that we have never done before. Oh I don’t mean that we repeat past attempts in the same way. It is a truism that doing the same thing in exactly the same way and expecting different results is the definition of insanity. Using the past as a teacher, looking within to see where things went wrong even if it was with our resolve can spur us on to achieving new heights and ever expand our awareness. I can’t imagine anything more hopeful than that.
Blessings, G

 

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Guardian ExplorerGuardian Explorer by G A Rosenberg

 

Flame FlowerFlame Flower by G A Rosenberg

Best of 2013 (Part 2)

 

“May the New Year bring you courage to break your resolutions early! My own plan is to swear off every kind of virtue, so that I triumph even when I fall!”
― Aleister Crowley

 

My wish for all here– I have not found anyone or anything who has stated it better:

 

Neil Gaiman on New Year’s:

 

“A decade ago, I wrote:

May your coming year be filled with magic and dreams and good madness. I hope you read some fine books and kiss someone who thinks you’re wonderful, and don’t forget to make some art — write or draw or build or sing or live as only you can. And I hope, somewhere in the next year, you surprise yourself.

And almost half a decade ago I said,

…I hope you will have a wonderful year, that you’ll dream dangerously and outrageously, that you’ll make something that didn’t exist before you made it, that you will be loved and that you will be liked, and that you will have people to love and to like in return. And, most importantly (because I think there should be more kindness and more wisdom in the world right now), that you will, when you need to be, be wise, and that you will always be kind.

And for this year, my wish for each of us is small and very simple.

And it’s this.

I hope that in this year to come, you make mistakes.

Because if you are making mistakes, then you are making new things, trying new things, learning, living, pushing yourself, changing yourself, changing your world. You’re doing things you’ve never done before, and more importantly, you’re Doing Something.

So that’s my wish for you, and all of us, and my wish for myself. Make New Mistakes. Make glorious, amazing mistakes. Make mistakes nobody’s ever made before. Don’t freeze, don’t stop, don’t worry that it isn’t good enough, or it isn’t perfect, whatever it is: art, or love, or work or family or life.

Whatever it is you’re scared of doing, Do it.

Make your mistakes, next year and forever.”
— Neil Gaiman
Blessings and Wishes for a year that delights and challenges, G

 

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Night ShadingNight Shading by G A Rosenberg

 

Auric ShadowAuric Shadow by G A Rosenberg

 

Biting ThroughBiting Through by G A Rosenberg

 

Manifesting the Rainbow MomentManifesting the Rainbow Moment by G A Rosenberg

Know the Rules

 

“The Way of Mastery is to break all the rules—but you have to know them perfectly before you can do this; otherwise you are not in a position to transcend them.”
― Aleister Crowley

 

In my junior year of high school I learned that once I understood how a system worked then I could get away with a lot more. The prep school I attended had scheduling rules for everything and everyone knew where they had to be at any given time. Because I showed myself to be skilled mathematically they wanted to ease me into the more advanced class so they gave me a choice. I could go to the easier class third period and have a study period right after or I could go to the advanced class fourth period and have a study period first. I chose to tell the third period Math teacher I was going to the fourth period Math and the fourth period teacher I was going to third and gave myself two study halls. That worked well for three months. I hadn’t come up with a contingency plan for what happened when the time came to turn in my grades and they talked with each other. After my suspension I still ended up with an A in Math for the year.
In any system the better we know the rules and more importantly their reason for existing in the first place, the easier it is to shape them for our benefit. In the tarot, once you learn the meanings of the cards and how they balance each other out, you can break away from the established meanings and see the complete reading as a gestalt of forces balancing each other out. This doesn’t work quite as well until you learn meanings and placements of the cards.
When dealing with people you have to learn the niceties of manners and social protocols of whatever social group you find yourself in before you can play fast and loose. Then if you do it in the right way, you are a hero. If you do it awkwardly you end up the buffoon. In my life I have done both.
Within ourselves, we have our own set of rules and occasionally we come across one we didn’t know we had, usually when someone we know and trusted inadvertently breaks it. The better we know ourselves, the better we can learn how to handle it when our rules get stepped on and the better able we are to edit the rule book.
Blessings, G

 

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Staring at the Ceiling MandalaStaring at the Ceiling by G A Rosenberg

 

CrowlymasCrowleymas by G A Rosenberg

Random Thoughts, Images and a Bit of Card Play

“People think that talking is a sign of thinking. It isn’t, for the most part’ on the contrary, it’s a mechanical dodge of the body to relieve oneself of the strain of thinking, just as exercising the muscles helps the body to become temporarily unconscious of its weight, its pain, its weariness, and the foreknowledge of its doom.”
― Aleister Crowley

 

When strangeness beckons
I continue on my way
My purpose is strong.

 

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IntentIntent by G A Rosenberg

 

I was asked by a friend tonight about the difference between the Chariot trump and the Temperance trump in the tarot.

The Chariot in the Tarot refers to control of the externals among other things where Temperance is more of a matter of Balance
so if you want it in nice simple terms Control vs Balance
THo if you place the cards in the manner of contemplation suggested by both Pollack and DuQuette of 3 rows of Seven underneath the Fool then what you end up with is that Temperance is a higher octave of The Chariot

if you think of the first row as conscious
the second as subconscious
the third as superconscious (just one of many different ways to contemplate the cards) then the Chariot reflects external conscious balance and control while Temperance would mean that balance on an internal level (the qualities of oneself vs the qualities of one’s life) if you would
To put it in simple terms… what is the chariot driver doing on the card? What is the Temperance Angel doing? There is a vital difference there
The next octave up would be the World or the Universe
so Control, Balance, Integration
Taking the three cards right before those three, The Lovers Death and Judgement yield further insight.
Consider for short hand meanings in this context,Love, Death and Resurrection
or if you will, Recognition, Transformation, Resurrection
ok
if you want more of an explanation… then Lovers is the first recognition of one’s shadow or other… Death is the ego death when we realize that we can’t exist without our shadow and Judgement is the call to integration that is realized in the World
if you want to storyline it a bit because its rather cool… then in the Lovers we recognize the other, our first instinct is to control it The Chariot
after we’ve gone through the stages of the second row… we realize that we need to transform which leads to us starting to experience different parts of our shadow… (Temperance)
after we’ve gone through Chapel Perlious then we are called (Judgement) tp integrate fully The World.

 

I realize that this blog entry is a bit more chaotic then most. Chalk it down to a combination of dancing with the flu,computer problems, a tarot conversation that helped me expand my own insight that I wanted to share and just because. As always, I hope some enjoyment was found in it.
Blessings, G

Porthole View onto A New UniversePortal View onto A New Universe by G A Rosenberg

We Are All Magical Stars

“The faerie represent the beauty we don’t see, or even choose to ignore. That’s why I’ll paint them in junkyards, or fluttering around a sleeping wino. No place or person is immune to spirit. Look hard enough, and everything has a story. Everybody is important.”

― Charles de Lint

 

“Every Man and Every Woman is a Star”

— Aleister Crowley

 

Touched at sunrise
your hand in mine
as we gaze at new day’s promise
reflected in water.
At noon, the homeless man
helps a young woman
carry a burden.
The burden shared
along with something sacred.
In the evening
Shooting stars
Everyone looks up
the driver stays aware enough
so the puppy can cross the street safely
At night we make love
another piece of magic
that completes the day as it began..

— G A Rosenberg

 

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Alien DreamsAlien Dreams by G A Rosenberg

 

CentredCentred by G A Rosenberg

Path or Direction?

“A path is only a path, and there is no affront, to oneself or to others, in dropping it if that is what your heart tells you . . . Look at every path closely and deliberately. Try it as many times as you think necessary. Then ask yourself alone, one question . . . Does this path have a heart? If it does, the path is good; if it doesn’t it is of no use.”
― Carlos Castaneda

 

I have reread this passage many times and put a lot of thought into it. Tonight it struck me in a new way. If as I’ve talked about before, our path is not one that we follow as much as one we choose each step of the way then maybe it is not so much about choosing a path with heart as choosing to have heart in every part of our path. That is choosing each step we take with commitment and yes with love. The distinction may be a fine one but of late I have been investigating the concept of responsibility. Maybe I’m just paraphrasing the line from Sondheim that it is not so much do what you like as like what you do. To me that also ties in with the Thelemic law of ‘Do what Thou Wilt’. If we are making choices according to our true will than those choices will by their very nature be ones that are heart-filled.
Blessings, G

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Buffeted by Cosmic WindsBuffeted by Cosmic Winds by G A Rosenberg

 

Answer His Question2Answer His Question by G A Rosenberg

Don’t Shoot the Ego Messenger

“How to get rid of ego as dictator and turn it into messenger and servant and scout, to be in your service, is the trick.”
― Joseph Campbell

 

Aleister Crowley in his Liber III vel Jugorum wrote of a whole regiment designed to control the thoughts and train the ego. It involved razor blades and self-flagellation and while it may be effective may be considered a bit much for some people. Still the ego tends to be tricky. Even when we don’t believe that it controls us it can be the most manipulative and passive aggressive of servants. Also, the more we worry and obsess about whether our egos are controlling us or not, the more we can be sure that they are.
Perhaps it is better to just have awareness. Witness our thoughts and witness our actions and emotions and then try to have awareness of who it is that is doing the witnessing. This does not mean that to stop doing things volitionally. It does mean that we can be mindful of our actions and see where that leads us.
Blessings, G

 

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Unexpected Roadside AppearanceUnexpected Roadside Appearance by G A Rosenberg

 

Love's Strange MirrorLove’s Strange Mirror by G A Rosenberg

Attack of the Living – Dead Faith

“Believe those who are seeking the truth. Doubt those who find it.”
~Andre Gide

 

“I Slept With Faith And Found A Corpse In My Arms Upon Awakening; I Drank And Danced All Night With Doubt And Found Her A Virgin In The Morning”
–Aleister Crowley

 

Is it easier to doubt or to believe? It seems that many people have a fear of doubting that manifests in them adopting either an early choice of belief that of their ancestors. Once they decide they believe something they will fight for it against any comers, doubters or those who hold different beliefs, they will honour their beliefs, raise statues and hold feasts to it and do everything but examine it. In my experience an unexamined belief or faith all too quickly becomes like Aleister Crowley says a corpse or worst yet, a zombie like thing that apes life while missing some vital spark.
Only by constantly examining our beliefs and trying them against new ideas in a cage match no holds barred vigorous debate can our concept of truth grow, change, evolve and remain alive, not through blind belief but through a hunger to seek what’s true, no matter how shaky our footing may be.
Blessings, G

 

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Tunnel Vision Compassionate EyesCompassionate eyes by G A Rosenberg

 

Tunnel VisionTunnel Vision by G A Rosenberg