It is intriguing to think that the three S's Shadow,
Subterfuge and Sacrifice, the three most difficult and confusing things
in life, are related. In delving into the perplexing subject of shadow
and neurosis, we find that they are coincident with stress and
depression as well. Since kundalini seems to expand the range of levels
in the mind and greatly amplify ones energy field, while the normal
body-armor/defenses that we unconsciously embody are somehow blown away
during kundalini, this leaves us vulnerable and attractive to needy,
subversive and aggressive members of a population. Whatever "work" we
have left to do regarding our childhood will arise and show up areas in
which we are inadequately developed. Archetypes that might be attracted
to us during kundalini include: The Wicked Witch, The Lost Child, The
Wolf: Feral Men, The Mad Woman, The Woman in Distress, The Philistine,
Religious Dogmatists, The Spiritually Correct and The Mythic Angel.
The law of attraction doesn't mean solely that "like attracts like." It
also means that opposites attract...the lost child is attracted to the
wicked witch or sage woman; the wolf is attracted to the lambs
vulnerability; the mad woman and the mythic angel are attracted to the
rational dogmatist. This is so because they sense there is something to
be worked out to bring them to greater wholeness by incorporating the
consciousness of the opposite. Both sympathetic resonance and
dissonance are attractive and ecstatic opening can be very unsettling
to those that are repressing and holding back part of their
consciousness from full integration. The movie ‘The Secret” clarifies
why the law of attraction also includes the apparent attraction of
polar opposites...say in the example of rapist and victim. This is due
to the weak-feminine (fear) that “attracting” the weak-masculine
(anger).
The problem with owning the traits of consciousness of the Other is
that you may become like them if you identify with that trait. For many
years now it has been the popular new age thing to "own" whatever is
coming at you from another person. But the true nondual realization is
not that you are just like them, but that the entire template for the
panoply of human archetypes resides in us as "potential"--as finite
beings however we normally stay within a limited range of thought and
behavior which constitutes our personality. We may see a murderer and
we all have the potential to be one, but that doesn't necessarily mean
we will go on a killing spree.
The main point of recognizing the Nottwo in our relations with all
beings, is that we can only see Other through the interpretive lens of
our own being. It is not "them" we see, but "our" feeling, sensing,
imagination, belief, judgment and grokking of them. At the Absolute
level there is only one Spirit animating all things in the universe and
that is good to remember as we enact our existence, but in the relative
domain we are not 6.5 billion people and we are not billions of species
of bacteria.
In the Mystical Mind: Probing the Biology of Religious Experience d'Aquili and Newberg say that there are 7 operations of the mind/brain...
1. The holistic operator
2. The reductionist operator
3. The causal operator
4. The abstractive operator
5. The binary operator
6. The quantitative operator
7. The emotional-value operator
In concert these provide us with "meaning." We all create a "virtual
reality" according to the "way" our mind/brain operates in its
holistic, reductionist, causal, abstractive, quantitative, binary and
emotional-value operations. Mythic level thinkers have little "space"
between the operations and the content of their mind, so they tend to
take their virtual reality as real. To do so they have to expend energy
to block other operations and contents which would give them more of an
objective, universal and transpersonal perspective.
This enacting of the superego (prefrontals) to inhibit and limit the
range and depth of perception is key to the moral erudite didactic
nature of both myth and mythic-religions. We can readily conceive of
post-conventional spirituality in which the mind is no longer an
obstacle to the totality of Spirit (unity consciousness), but can we
being to conceive what post-conventional myth would be like. It would
be a story created by a mind in perfect dissolution/restructure
equilibrium--kind of like something that would come out of Terrence
McKenna's brain.
THE SHADOW
Transcending Mythic Spirituality
"The tendency is to build acceptable traits into the persona and
to keep unacceptable traits hidden or repressed. These socially
undesirable aspects of the maturing personality are usually relegated
to the personal unconscious, where they coalesce to form another
complex, or part of the personality that Jung called the shadow. Jung
felt "shadow" to be an appropriate term for this disowned
subpersonality for there is inevitably something "shady" about it,
hidden away as it is in the dark lumber-room of the Freudian
unconscious...Much of the time we manage to ignore it, but it has the
uncomfortable way of reminding us of its presence particularly in our
dreams." 64, Jung: A Very Short Introduction by Anthony Stevens
I found that one cannot deal effectively with the shadow on its own
level, and one cannot deal with it rationally...it is like archetypal
work needs to be carried out in a different kind of fashion, and I
haven't figured out how it is done yet. Engaging with ones archetypal
shadow elements with other people, what I call "complexing," is
especially observable during the peak of kundalini when everything
archetypal is greatly amplified.
I caution against unskillful indulgence in and prolonged infatuation
with ones demons and dragons, because of the depleting and damaging
effect such fear stimuli has on the bodymind through years of perpetual
stress response. Demons and dragons are only allies to the extent that
we find ways to conquer them. Dragons and demons are great nutrition
because we can directly see what is blocking us and rise far through
opposition. But it is best to process them fast and move-through...do
not recklessly play with dragons and demons too long on your plate or
you will die of distraction and on your death bed, wonder where your
life has gone. Taking Care of Our Opposition, an essay by Robert Augustus Masters on his website is well worth the read. www.robermasters.com
Instead of endless battle with your own or other people's shadows, I
find you just have to plow ahead with your greatest contribution and
expand your talents and let people have their own mind without trying
to change things. If one tries to do shadow work in a lower order
(unconscious) social environment then all one will ever get ad
infinitum is more and more shadow...more defense, usury and
competition. For people can only operate at the level they are
operating on. To do real shadow work one can probably only do it with
peers or superiors, otherwise it's like doing some highly
self-destructive drug, and committing spiritual suicide. The bottom
line is that one cannot penetrate and evolve the mythic-neomedieval
superstitious mind...that mind must penetrate and evolve out of its own
condition, because if you try to raise it, it will fight back and
complex on itself and drown in shadow demons of its own making. Thus
one gently leaves these people to their own devices for they get their
adrenal kicks out of their magic interpretation of the world. We can
readily see that we can only work on our own shadow, but we
still have to become skillful at dealing with the shadow of others so
that it doesn't undermine our well being and hold us back from our
highest contribution.
Rick Jarow in his audiotapes Your Life's Work said that we don't know how to deal with shadow yet,
and it might be centuries before we do. Perhaps this dealing with
shadow is at the very heart of the whole suffering (non-enlightenment)
issue. Of course dealing with shadow is suffering also, but there
should be a skillful way to work with shadow that doesn't just
automatically generate more. We could give a gross generalization and
say that the say that the way to deal with shadow is through
unconditional love...but do we actually personally see unconditional
love in action around us, or felt the pure expression of it much? In
the absence of enlightened love (which is the goal we are striving for
in our shadow work), we must build an effective technology for
incorporating shadow--and thus raise our consciousness in doing so.
If we come from the vantage point that God is All--both dark and
light we have to accept that what we interpret as darkness is just as
wholesome and useful as the that we consider to be raspberries and
cream...because both can be used in the service of greater
consciousness, love and achievement. Both show us what needs to be done
and which way to go. If we can accept the wholeness of Life, we do not
have to expend huge amounts of energy repressing and avoiding one half
of all phenomena. With a modicum of nonduality we can stop reacting to,
running from and doing wasteful battle with the darker side of the
light.
A favorite science writer of mine, Robert Sapolsky, humorously
equates the prefrontal cortex as the neuroanatomical equivalent of the
"Superego." The Superego is the regulating supervisor in us that makes
us do the right thing, even if it's harder. The prefrontal cortex is
the part of the brain that most defines us as "human" and it is one of
the last parts of the brain to fully myelinate; around age 30. Robert
suspects that there is a direct correlation between the number of fully
myelinated prefrontal neurons and impulse control, empathy,
gratification postponement, Kohlberg's stages of moral development,
integration of shadow (i.e.: nonprojection), and "knowing oneself."
That is spiritual maturity, emotional intelligence and integration of
the triune brain arises with prolific neuron development in the
prefrontal lobes and their interconnectedness to other brain areas. The prefrontal cortex is thus the pilot or chief organizer of the phylogenetic and ontogenetic evolution within us.
The key to mental and spiritual health is to have the prefrontals
operating as a compassionate, beneficent guardian, instead of a
belligerent, narcissistic or nihilistic parent. Does our inner King
divide and conquer, or does he unite in benevolent grace? It is our
relationship to the dominion of the prefrontal patriarch, which
determines our spiritual development.
Prolonged stress is associated with depression through the
distruption of serotonin, norephinphrine and dopamine signaling and the
sensitivity of glucocorticoid feedback regulation. Negative emotions
are associated with monoamine oxydase (MAO), cortisol and adenosine
GMP. Depressives often have elevated stress hormone levels in their
blood and since endorphins are released along with ACTH, they likely
have "elevated" endorphin levels as well. Robert Sapolsky, in his book The Trouble with Testosterone says that..."People with anxiety disorders can be thought as of persistently mobilizing coping responses that are disproportionately large."
139. Repressives have chronically elevated levels of stress hormones
that are as elevated as highly anxious individuals. It is fascinating
that repressors have enhanced activity in the prefrontal cortex
involved in inhibiting impulsive emotion and cognition; therefore they
have stronger or more rigid Superegos.
"Apparently, it takes a whole lot of energy to think and plan and avoid and deny all the time like a repressor." 144
"A lesson of repressive personality types and their invisible
burdens is that, sometimes, it can be enormously stressful to construct
a world without stressors." 145
This may be a direct confirmation of the spiritual potential of
meditation. Meditation lowers stress hormones, and it also serves to
"deprepress" the psyche. It probably does this by lowering the stress
hormones which in turn would reduce the hyperactivity of the prefrontal
lobes...with the re-pressure released the psyche would open itself like
a flower and denial would be penetrated. Also with prefrontal energy
freed up from its repressive function this would allow more liable,
integrated and creative consciousness to flow.
The four main negative coping mechanisms or resistance strategies to our perceived reality are to deny, dissipate energy, block energy or distract attention.
However these problem-solving methods just create more problems and
turn into the "habits that become our lives." That which comes between
us and Big Fun is FEAR--or the repressive, stressful dictatorship of a
delinquent or tyrannical parent residing in our prefrontal lobes.
Through the strenuous suppression of part of the full-content of our
consciousness the unconscious shadow is incubated and proliferated.
Shadow is the partial, cut off, unincorporated and unconscious part
of our psyche...that which we are ignorant of, or choose to be ignorant
of. So this capacity of the prefrontal lobes to repress and deny our
emotion and cognition probably plays a big part in shadow, and that meditation
might be a direct way that we can act to depress our own shadow and
recover healthy stress response chemistry--and integrate (enlighten)
our consciousness.
"An increase in meditative ability results in a simultaneous
advance in all other abilities--it closes the gap between your present
level of performance and the hoped for level. It bridges the chasm
between the mind and the consciousness which uses it." Christopher Hills, Into Meditation Now: A Course on Direct Enlightenment, 1979
We have established that Real Spirituality is non-repressive.
That is a huge start. I notice that when that which is
dark/uncomfortable/terrible is embraced "spiritually" with the heart,
mind and soul in sublimation to the Reality of the situation, then even
that which is difficult such as illness, death etc...can be life giving
and illuminating.
Our brains have a remarkable capacity to dream up fully fledged
"people" in dreams, visions and visitations. We also sense our Self as
a Presence...and when we are in Grace we feel like we are in the
Presence of God--which is our soul.
How our brain deals with the energies/entities/impulses is
determined by a zillion things including our time and place in history.
If we grew up in a house of depressives/repressives and we have a
slightly more liable integrated consciousness than they, chances are we
will be demonized, ie: made into the black sheep and scape
goat...because our Presence and consciousness will organicly plunge
those around us into a "wider and deeper" worldview, and their
repressive-ego will be threatened by the greater depth of feeling and
thought. Once the rigid prison of their minds is breeched they will
start to see other "perspectives" and this will challenge their
narcissistic viewpoint. However, we must see that if we grew up in a
house of depressives/repressives, chances are that we too have that
primary patterning in our brain and must do what we can to break out of
it. Not just for our own sake, but for the progressive development of
man as a whole.
The repression of integrated consciousness is the mechanism by which we tend to make martyrs out of our saints.
This repressive mechanism is the origins of mythic religions as well
as the neomedievalism of the New Age with its walk-ins, visitations,
aliens, channeled star people, ghosts, angel guides etc...That which we
do not accept and incorporate as our "own being," we project out onto
some disincarnate entity...because we are relational creatures...and
the mind does this until the repressive mechanism is lifted and the
IMPACT of the energy-packet and illumination of the impulse of
consciousness rising up from the unconscious is RECEIVED IN FULL.
At this point we could make the jump that enlightenment or the
spiritualization process is one and the same as INTEGRATION of
consciousness...(and this of course has tangible neuroanatomical
correlates). We can see that as a society begins to derepress its
consciousness, the novel increase in impulse-charge and feeling
capacity coupled with the perturbation of the rigid-closed-worldview
will propel the individual (or the collective) into projecting the
often negative imagery out there onto the world of others, or onto
imaginal disincarnate beings. At the lower neophyte levels the first
reaction to the "New" is to fear it, and even the emergence of one's
Self is experienced as a foreign alien invasion of a strange and
unearthly being. Thus we have a frenzy of scapegoat finding resulting
in episodes of persecution like the Salem witch hunt, Nazism and
genocide in general.
Paraphrasing the great Ken Wilber who said, "separation is a brutal
lie in the face of a gentle infinity." I say that "silence is a cruel
and brutal lie in the face of a gentle infinity." Repression does not
simply "make things go away" but condemns them to the shadow realms,
where they incubate and infect the entirety of our lives with poison.
It is silence and the lack of truth communion that is the great slayer
of humanity. It is worse than death, because it is a LIVING DEATH. For
silence is separation... a brutal lie in the face of a gentle infinity.
Conversely spiritual Silence is "truth communion."
"...the shadow, although by definition a negative figure,
sometimes has certain clearly discernible traits and associations which
point to a quite different background. It is as though he were hiding
meaningful contents under an unprepossessing exterior. Experience
confirms this; and what is more important, the things that are hidden
usually consist of increasingly numinous figures...
In the case of the individual, the problem constellated by the
shadow is answered on the plane of the anima, that is, through
relatedness. In the history of the collective as in the history of the
individual, everything depends on the development of consciousness.
This gradually brings liberation from imprisonment in agnoia,
unconsciousness, and is therefore a bringer of light as well as of
healing. As in its collective, mythological form, so also the
individual shadow contains within it the seed of an enantiodromia, or a
conversion into its opposite." Jung, "On the Psychology of the Trickster Figure"
"You must never use pressure from your will to overcome the "no"
of this wall. Such forcing will remove you further from your real self
within and hence from the reality of the life where all good is
available. Instead, you have to interpret the meaning of the wall.
Translate it into clear words...This reservation within yourself must
be linked with a character defect you have not really faced, nor do you
wish to, because you do not want to abandon it." 87, Surrender to God Within, Eva Pierrakos.
"Instead, you have to interpret the meaning of the wall. Translate it into clear words."
I think this is the key, understanding allows change. Even if it is
just an impermanent, ongoing flow of meaning-making and verbalizing, it
could be that this processing by the linguistic left brain is tied more
closely into the prefrontal lobes than the right brain is. Bringing
subterranean material and issues to the surface of consciousness and
verbalizing them, would then allow the prefrontal lobes (Superego) to
"get a handle" on the emotional content and act to stabilize or grok
the activity going on in the limbic brain and brain stem. Thus the
triune brain becomes "integrated" and "knows itself." Once a brain is
in sync and knows itself then growth, progress and maturity are
possible; as well as increasing integration and self-knowledge.
It is well known that it is the left linguistic brain that is the
meaning-maker, which constructs a narrative of the story of our
reality. You could say that this function operates as a diplomatic
interpreter that when healthy serves as a go-between the body, mind and
soul. In its unhealthy forms it could serve as a misinformant, a
repressor of information or a torturer--thwarting the integration of
our animal, human and spiritual lives and preventing self-knowing.
Anger
is very useful, at least it shows you something is up. Then you can use
the energy boost to inquire into the situation and come up with win/win
solutions. Fear you can use in the same way but it is often harder to
realize that one is in a fear state because it is so pervasive in our
society. Anger is easy to spot because it is socially unacceptable, and
so you can use anger as training ground to look into your fears.
“Every moment of fear block our awareness of love’s presence. Yet if
we do not deny fear (by repressing or projecting it), it melts away.
Fear is the beginning of separation. If we deny our fear we separate
further, creating an enemy outside and an unnecessary, schism between
the heart and the mind within. But if we dwell in that moment without
resistance, we will see that our fear is entirely subjective. It has no
reality apart from us…Only when we stand our ground do we invite the
darkness in and bring it to the light.” Paul Ferrini, Bridge to Reality.
“When a person can celebrate life in its totality, all that is wrong
disappears; but if you try first to make arrangements for the wrong to
disappear, it never disappears. It is like fighting with darkness. Your
house is filled with darkness and you ask, “How can I light a candle?
Before I light a candle this darkness has to be thrown out.” Osho, When the Shoe Fits, 57.
Presence-awareness is not a denial of any part of our being, but a sensitization to the whole of it.
King, Warrior, Magician, Lover: Rediscovering the Archetypes of the Mature Masculine by Robert Moore and Douglas Gillette
The Anatomy & Evolution of Anger: An Integral Exploration — Robert Augustus Masters new book!!
A certain percentage of minds wherever they are on the spiral are
subversive antagonists. It's in the wiring, perhaps from birth, to not
exhibit native traits of being anally, benefactor, friend and
supporter to people in general. I would say probably about 5% of any
population are subversives, though that would depend hugely on the
culture of the country and times. I notice too that these are the
neurotics, and their brains have messed their bodies up so they suffer
arthritis and structural problems and body-armor to the degree that
they are mentally ill in this way.
I noticed once again the difference in the way we build ourselves
through two men I massaged one after the other. The first was a guy in
his 50s who was a subversive neurotic (saboteur) with arthritis and hip
replacements and stiff joints, second nature and injuries. The second
was an exquisite, non-neurotic, pro-versive guy in his seventies with
total flexibility in his joints and just some arthritis in his neck.
The fact is being a saboteur is bad for the health. The type of
neurosis that leads to inflammation, degenerative disease conditions
and rigid body armor are saboteurs that are "Thanatos based"...this is
the key to understanding the biochemistry. Note the term
ad-versery--and associate it with the term Uni-verse. Universe means
the "one song" and saboteurs are against the one song of the
Universe--that is they have departed from the Grain of the Kosmos--have
separated themselves. Having left the grace of Eros they become a dried
up living bag of deformed bones.
Cortisol the stress hormone is produced along with norephinephrine
when the adrenals kick in. Saboteurs inflict psychological poison onto
others in order to get the adrenal rush...but along with this they get
a good dose of cortisol. The presence of corticosteriods in the blood
increases the damage done by any degenerative disease condition be it
arthritis, cancer, stroke, heart attack, diabetes. At the very
foundations of these conditions are two causes...stress and cellular
inflammation.
Saboteurs are in a terrible bind literally and figuratively because
they cannot get away from themselves and they cannot be healed, because
they will attempt to sabotage their healer. So they in essence poison
themselves in the process of trying to heal. And very few healers would
stick around for the depth and duration it would take to make a
difference. There probably is a very effective way to try to help these
people...the core of their problem is that they demonize the unknown
and fight against it. Anything that does not fit into their tight
little conventional worldview is a target for their attack. In a
biopsychological sense they define themselves through opposition and
they are addicted to having their adrenals firing in order to feel
worthy and alive.
In bioanalysis of their character structure the development of the
saboteur was probably compromised very early on in fetal development.
Hence they have an adversarial adaptation mechanism and probably have
little genuine biological or psychological faith...thus their bodies
pay the price in chronic muscular contraction, arthritis and bone
deformities. They are also usually ectomorphic (skinny) because
cortisol works against cellular uptake of fat and glucose and promotes
the catabolism of tissue used as an energy source.
"We fear earthly death because we believe it will extinguish the
ego and because we over-emphasize the importance of the ego. We fear
pleasure, the awareness of free and flowing energy, because we see
movement as threatening to the control we exercise with our ego. We
fear living because it floods us with invitations to merge with it, to
run with it, and to expand with it. Our limited ego is baffled by the
multitude of choices. Thus we trap ourselves in fear when we identify
with the ego, which is our only instrument of self-awareness. But the
real Self is not the ego; it is the core...The myriad forms of
dysfunction all derive from the separation between self-awareness and
awareness of the whole...a separation that the negative aspect of the
ego battles to maintain...The aim of core energetics, is to guide the
fearful and isolated ego to its vital source, the core." John Pierrakos, Core Energetics
In order to help the saboteur personality to free themselves, the
field of Positive Psychology might be the answer, because if you
address the shadow of the adversarial character upfront, then more
defensive aggression will be generated. Pierrakos says that the mask of
fear is largely unconscious. That is, if oppositionists were truly
conscious of what they were doing and why, and aware of the harm they
are causing to themselves and others, then they wouldn't be that way.
Thus positive psychology provides a means by which the attacker types
can learn new ways of being and widen their worldview without simply
building higher walls.
The saboteur character is drowning in self-pity, frustration, anger
and blame...while the proactive agentic character is originating from
confidence, optimism, self-responsibility and positive action. If the
new learned positive personality becomes strong enough it will heal the
inner-adversary in its own time by learning positive adaptation skills
and new ways of being. We've just got to accentuate the positive!
You can set prior intention and energy state before engaging in a
social situation and this will change the chemistry of the interaction.
The saboteur % are stimulated by increased coherence, magnitude and
self-assurance, which activates them to try and tear it down. The
secret to dealing with the saboteur is knowing how to fall with the
punches and to get right back up. To be nonattached to external
opinion. Thus the wolf sector of the population offer the gift of
keeping us awake. This waking process involves gaining a sense of
mastery, however not the mastery of the counterpunch. The key to Emotional Aikido
is to absorb the punch, breathe into the epicenter, circulate the
energy around the body and give deep thanks for the extra stimulation
and lessons learnt. This can be done with any emotional response, fear,
anger, shame, guilt, hate, jealousy, intimidation, exclusion etc...
This we could call training in direct emotional nonduality.
Malcompetition
Compulsive competition implies a lack of self esteem and an adversarial
perspective...it arises when the self has not be adequately reassured
and affirmed or has been openly abused. It can also occur from
brain damage due to threatening childhood origins, say constant
parental fighting and such. Compulsive competition is a symptom of
borderline personality disorder, showing that the self-system has not
been adequately defined and nurtured. Mostly I think it happens because
siblings are not taught inclusiveness, sovereignty and
respect/reverence of the individual. Then people go on using everyone
else they encounter in their subconscious sibling rivalry. Compulsive
competition arises in an enmeshed and usury family system and combine
enough of this family type and the culture at large is malcompetitive.
In power-over authoritarian systems spirit is denied and those in
authority use malcompetition in their subjects to keep them weak so
they can maintain their power.
Malcompetition is aggressive; it means that "I do no want you to
succeed or be happy and that I am only here for my own ends." It is the
tactic of a weed, predator, pathogen or parasite and you will see any
competitor use these various tactics. Compulsive competition arises
from the mentality that there is not enough to go around so I have to
fight to get your piece of the pie also.
So much for negative competition...now as for healthy competition in
the various areas like art, writing, science, sports etc...these are
good. Healthy competition provides structure and opportunity for growth
and excellence. I think the issue is in defining the difference between
healthy and malignant competition...one bids goodwill to all, the other
is egocentric, arises from low self-esteem, damage and deficiency and
bids badwill and power-over others. "Love knows no comparison." Osho
Basically we have to agree that we are all mad, but if we can see that we are mad, we are not quite as mad.
Shadow Reading:
Because of the clandestine, avoidant nature of shadow, this might be one area in which tarot is useful: Light and Shadow Tarot and the book Tarot Shadow Work by Christine Jette.
Ralph Blum's outstanding Book of Runes and Healing Runes might be useful shadow tools.
Owning Your Own Shadow: Understanding the Dark Side of the Psyche, Robert A. Johnson; HarperSanFrancisco, 1993
Shadow Work: A New Guide to Spiritual and Psychological Growth, Michael Ruth; Growth Solutions, 1999
Jung and Reich: The Body as Shadow, John Conger; North Atlantic Books, 2005
Shadow Dance, David Richo; Shambhala, 1999
Soul Without Shame, Byron Brown; Shambhala, 1998
Facets of Unity: The Enneagram of Holy Ideas, A. H. Almaas; Shambhala, 2000
Embracing Your Inner Critic: Turning Self-Criticism into a Creative Asset, Hal Stone, Sidra Stone; HarperSanFrancisco, 1993
Transforming Your Dragons: How to Turn Fear Patterns into Personal Power, José Stevens; Bear & Company, 1994
For projection and transference one of the most precise books is Jung On Alchemy by Nathan Schwarz-Salant; Princeton University Press, 1995
Martin Lowenthal, Embrace Yes: The Power of Spiritual Affirmation; Red Wheel, 2003
Martin Lowenthal, Alchemy of the Soul: The Eros and Psyche Myth As a Guide to Transformation; Nicolas-Hays, 2004
Here are excellent audio lectures on positive psychology by Harvard professor Tal-Ben Shacher. His class became the biggest in Harvard history due to its popularity.
(See Archetypal Validation in the Schizophrenia section.)
SACRIFICE
Self, Selfishness and Selflessness
In attempting to clarify the various stages of self, selfishness and
selflessness, I have a natural intuition that this represents a
progression from immature to mature forms of being and energy
exchange...through which we grow. That is from preconventional, to
conventional and then postconventional service. Service here means
simply developing, living and expressing the innate gifts of w ho we
ARE. Another word for it is magnanimity, or largeness of soul.
The transactional exchange of "generosity" evolves from: Submissive
(danger), Servile, Addictive codependency, Conciliatory, Bargaining
unconsciously, Trading consciously, Non-competitive truce, Intellectual
concourse, Creative synthesis, Merger of souls (mature monogamy).
I have correlated the stages of consciousness from page 633 of Integral Psychology, by Ken Wilber with the various types of giving or service:
9. Autonomous (differentiated from ego)----Intellectual concourse
10. Integrated (authentic)----Creative synthesis
11.Transcendent (active genius)--Merger of souls
12. Unitary (Saint, Sage)----Pouring forth of Divine Grace
13. Nondual (Noetic-Self, Avatar)--One Being, no separation,
How do we know if our giving is codependent or of a lower-order of
service? If we expect or need the recipient to actually "change" in
response to our offering, then we are co-dependent on them. The
fundamental principle involved in all relational transaction is that
each individual is the sole determiner of their own will. Our
giving must therefore be void of "control and manipulation," even
toward what we "think" is best for someone else. Respect for the Divine
Spark, the individual monad or perfect seed in each person or lifeform
is the only way to assist them to find greater wholeness or healing.
One has to be a self before becoming self-less. If our
attempts at service are compromising our self-system's base of
operations so that the power of our "highest" service is undermined,
then we are failing in the primary directive. And we have fallen down
the scale of being to lower more unconscious forms of self and service.
Higher service flows lightly from the heart on a bubbling river of joy.
The main point to guide the whole process of the development of service
is that we must keep our sails trimmed toward the primary directive: to promote the greatest depth of love-consciousness for the greatest span.
To heal the world, heal yourself. To evolve the world, evolve
yourself. To save the world, save yourself. The Janus symbol of the two
faces looking in opposite directions represents the realization that
there is only One--that the inner and outer journey are the same and so
is the inner and outer man. It also hints at the enlightenment
realization that there is only one Spirit animating all things in the
Universe. Thus it symbolizes enlightened awareness where both the inner
and outer phenomena are witnessed objectively as being the same, no
different, no separation, the Nottwo. What dies in spiritual emergence
is the mask of pretense and denial that there is any difference.
Through the prescience of Divine Nostalgia each of us are either
on a slow or accelerated path to recognition of the One Spirit that
animates the holozoic Universe.
Prescience, (apprehension, foresight, intuition, preconception,
premonition, prevision) of Divine Nostalgia (of the memory of our
Always Already wholeness and unity with the Source). This is the
realization of the inflowing breath of consciousness moving into
matter--involution...a rememberance of the knowledge of Truth...it is
the "part" having an epiphany of the "One." This sense of unity prior
to differentiation into the many drives us passionately forth on our
spiritual journey via the transcendental homing beam of Self's love.
The prescience of Divine Nostalgia is "gnosis" or the inborn knowledge
concerning the "secret of becoming." It cannot be formulated with the
mind, it must be realized as a spontaneous Eureka experience, by which
the heart is called home in the great dance of cosmic unfolding.
Kything
The art of spiritual presence
As above so below
When the inner and outer are One
The alchemical marriage
Of masculine and feminine
Spirit without fear
The ultimate healing
To offer your highest priorities in service of the community you
have to have transcended people pleasing. Since as a society we are
already in such stress, pain, lostness and addiction...we have to look
very hard at what we are doing and why. Are we trying to appease, buy,
shut up, push away, dominate or intimidate others with our service? Are
we really serving their highest good, or are we placating and
flattering their egos and pain-bodies and manipulating their mythic
minds. Just how do we serve others "at their level" and in a way that
is true for us. Without intimidating them, or riling their competition
through our superior intellectual and spiritual stance or intrusive
generosity. Generosity can suspend peoples' growth by keeping them in
child-mode and it can invoke jealousy because they themselves cannot
yet be so generous. The greatest danger of careless generosity lies in
the perpetuation of learned helplessness through giving people the idea
that things will come to them without effort on their part. Plus we
must also avoid the trap of giving to them simply out of the impulse to
reward positive behaviors and effort.
Spirituality and relationship is synonymous to the "energy" of
consciousness and its "exchange." And "virtue" is a value measurement
determining whether there is a "buildup" of energy-love-consciousness,
or a draining and depletion of these. All thought, action and
relationships that are life enhancing are syntropic or Eros generating and obeying. While all thought, action and relationships that are life depleting are entropic
and Thanatos generating, thus obey the laws of death (self-sabotage).
Figuring out which is which is the Art of Life! Usually we flip around
between the syntropic and entropic energy systems, until we gain enough
self-discipleship (Will) and awareness to make more of a beeline for God (or the Universal)
We might think that we are living in service, but it might be a
lower order of service because our self-system is unsustainable.
However true service is when we get our self-system in operational
order to facilitating us to live our larger purpose properly instead of
self-sacrificially. Self-sacrifice is a lower stage pathology because
it collapses the whole chain of the emergence of consciousness. So one
has to reorientate towards the Individualistic, Integrated and
Transcendent levels of consciousness in order to align to the correct
self-system vs. contribution balance...so the incoming and outgoing
energy flows are not working "against" each other, but "for" each
other. To comply with universal principles self-development and service
should be a creative synthesis not a war.
Self-development is a higher responsibility than self-sacrifice.
Self-transcendence or true sacrifice is to let go of that which
interferes with our "highest" contribution. Whereas it is immature
sacrifice or self-sabotage to forfeit that which leads to the
realization of our self-development and creative gifts. In
true-sacrifice only our limitations and that which is lower and no
longer needed is transcended. There are three ways that the egoic
separate-self-sense can die to itself: through regression, repression or by transcendence. Self-transcendence is the skillful means by which the Enlightened Self draws us inextricably toward self-realization.
Once Will or self-discipleship is developed we can attain
true-sacrifice...through a "blooming out" of satisfaction leading to
the satiation of desire. Such satiation is both the cause and effect of
self-transcendence. True sacrifice demands clarity, boldness and power
and thus must always be an act of the well developed "Will," i.e.:
deterministic rather than reactionary.
The difference between prepersonal and transpersonal giving is that,
prepersonal service is undertaken in order to find happiness through
giving, while transpersonal generosity is enacted because we are
already happy. The first is entropic or dissipatory and the second is
syntropic and regenerative.
The answers to the question of how to integrate a healthy growing
self system with active service can be found in Yasuhiko Kimura's
article The Virtues of Enlightened Selfishness.
"The human being has two wings-the wing of universality and the
wing of individuality-with which to fly above the earth and to soar
into the heavens. The wing of universality grows in the awareness of
selflessness, while the wing of individuality grows through the
creation of selfhood. In this seeming paradox lies the secret of human
evolution-and of human happiness. To be universal is to be indivisibly
one, in the oneness of which there is no separate self. In being
universal, you come to know what Emerson calls the Over-Soul, and in
being indivisibly whole, you come to realize your singular individual
soul. With both wings spread freely, to soar into the whole sphere of
the Universe and to fly in the entire realm of Reality is to live a
Life Immortal. And that is the ecstasy of Enlightened Selfishness." Yasuhiko Kimura, The Virtues of Enlightened Selfishness
“In
order to grow we must obtain what is necessary for our growth. This is
brought about through the law of attraction. This principle is the sole
means by which the individual is differentiated from the Universal.” 93 The Master Key System, Charles Haanel.
The essence of the Law of Attraction, according to Charles
Haanel is that we impress on the subconscious mind what we want by
mentally stating what is wanted and IF the desire is in harmony with
the forward movement of the great Whole, forces will be set in motion
that will bring about the result we desire. Sandra Anne Taylor is a
contemporary author who writes very clearly on the law of attraction
also. www.sandraannetaylor.com/
Reading For the Self:
The Virtue of Selfishness, Ayn Rand; Signet,1964
Healthy Selfishness: Getting the Life You Deserve Without the Guilt, Rachael F. Heller and Richard F. Heller; Meredith Books, 2006 Sacred Selfishness: A Guide to Living a Life of Substance, Bud Harris; Inner Ocean Publishing, 2005
Positive Selfishness, The Virtue and Power of Self Interest, Evan Porter; Syncreny Society, 1996 The Wisdom of the Self: Authentic Experience and the Journey to Wholeness, Paul Ferrini; Heartways Press, 1993
Kything: The Art of Spiritual Presence, Louis M. Savary and Patricia H. Berne; Paulist Press, 1989 The Road To Power: Taking Control Of Your Life, Barbara Berger; Hampton Roads, 2005
Authentic Happiness: Using the New Positive Psychology to Realize Your Potential for Lasting Fulfillment, Martin Seligman; Free Press, 2004. www.reflectivehappiness.com/
Learned Optimism: How to Change Your Mind and Your Life, Martin Seligman; Vintage, 2006
What You Can Change and What You Can't: The Complete Guide to Successful Self-Improvement Learning to Accept Who You Are, Martin E. Seligman; Ballantine Books, 1995
Manifestation: Card Deck and Manual, David Spangler; The Lorian Association, 2004
The Master Key Workbook, Anthony R. Michalski; Kallisti, 2004
The Master Key System, Charles F. Haanel; Kallisti, 2000
Future Visions: The Unpublished Papers of Abraham Maslow, Ed Hoffman; Sage Publications, 1996
Transformation: How to Change EVERYTHING, Bill Phillips; Hay House, 2006
These books cover beautifully how the many fits into the One and the One fits into the many: Porphyry’s Launching Points To the Realm of Mind: An Introduction to The Neoplatonic Philosophy of Plotinus, Tr. by Kenneth Guthrie; Phanes Press, 1988 Iamblichus on the Mysteries of the Egyptians, Chaldeans, and Assyrians, Tr. by Thomas Taylor; Wizards Bookshelf, 1997
©2006
Biology of Kundalini by Jana Dixon