The Kingdom of the Blind E-Book

D. L. Lamperd

• Herausgeber: WS
• Kategorie: Ratgeber
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 689

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2024

Beschreibung

"The Kingdom of the Blind" is a profound exploration into the depths of spiritual awakening and the transformative journey toward enlightenment. Presented as a compelling Discourse, this non-fiction book serves as an essential guide for those embarking on the sacred path of inner discovery. The author delves into the intricate process of spiritual transformation, shedding light on the inevitable suffering that accompanies the shedding of the ego and the embrace of a higher state of consciousness.
As humanity enters the new astrological Age of Aquarius since 2012, the veil over ancient, secret wisdom is being lifted, making what was once accessible to only a select few, available to all. This book is a beacon for initiates, offering them a gateway to the teachings of spiritual masters and the hidden mysteries that underpin the true essence of life. Readers are invited to journey beyond the limitations of ego-based thought systems, toward the realm of superconsciousness—a state of being that promises a profound connection with the universe and an unparalleled understanding of existence.
Throughout this Discourse the reader is offered the tools to navigate the path to enlightenment, armed with the knowledge to understand the cause of their suffering and the means to transcend it. This book is not merely a guide; it is a companion for anyone seeking to elevate their consciousness and discover the spiritual significance of their journey through life. Whether you are a seasoned seeker or new to the path, this book holds the potential to illuminate your way toward spiritual fulfillment and the realization of your highest self.

Leseprobe

The Kingdom of the Blind

A Discourse in Spiritual Awakening and the Cause of Suffering

D. L. Lamperd

Copyright © 2024 D.L. Lamperd

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the publisher and copyright holder; except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. The right of D.L. Lamperd to be identified as the author of the work has been asserted by her in accordance with the Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1988.

Contents

The Kingdom of the Blind

Copyright © 2024 D.L. Lamperd

INTRODUCTION

DISCOURSE ONE: THE EGO PERSONALITY:

DISCOURSE TWO: YOU CREATE YOUR REALITY: The Manifestation of Thought

DISCOURSE THREE PART 1: THE GREAT WORK: MAGNUS OPUS: The Journey of Return

DISCOURSE THREE PART 2: THE GREAT WORK: MAGNUS OPUS: The Biology of Ascension

DISCOURSE FOUR: THE UNDERWORLD: The Integration of Polarities

DISCOURSE FIVE: THE SPECIAL RELATIONSHIP: The Game of Separation

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

INTRODUCTION

“The search for reality is the most dangerous of all undertakings for it will destroy the world in which you live. But if your motive is love of truth and life, you need not be afraid.”“I am That,” Nisargadatta Maharaj

There is a deep, aching pain that haunts humanity. It bears all of the symptoms of a broken heart. A pilgrim wandering aimlessly in a foreign desert of despair and sorrow. At times it so overcomes us, arising from deep within and seeping out to seek physical expression as despair, torment, depression and anxiety. The best we can do at times is find relief in our addictions and distractions. Avoidance is our chief weapon against it. The world obliges our deception by providing adequate and plentiful means to suppress and displace our torment; rather than let it surface to engulf and consume us in an abyss of pain and suffering.

The First Noble Truth of Buddhism confirms our human experience that “life is suffering.” The Sanskrit term “Dukkha” is the Buddhist term used to elicit this deeper understanding. In Hinduism a similar sentiment of suffering is found in the term “Kleshas,” from “Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras,” where humanity is inflicted with 5 “poisons”, or “hinderances” of the mind which are the causes of life’s inherent tendency to suffering. The philosophies of the Eastern spiritual teachings contained within such notable scripts as the “Bhagavad Gita” and “The Tao”, have traversed the annals of time to still be highly relevant to this day. Such scripts were written as spiritual revelations to enlighten the weary traveller on life’s journey as to the causes of human suffering and the wisdom and spiritual practices which could remedy the darkness within.

It is not necessary to delve deeply into such texts to affirm the truth of their declarations; as your own independent experience will testify to their validity. To be a self-conscious human being with an awareness of your own mortality carries within it the inherent propensity for tragedy, suffering and despair. This seems to be the human condition which we all actively strive to ignore, suppress or run from. The question then remains; is there a point to life? Is there a valid reason and meaning that lies behind your existence? Is there something you are missing? The answer to each of these questions is “YES.” Your experience of suffering is the force that has propelled such questions into existence; and in doing so, it has served the highest purpose of existence itself – to reveal the Truth. Suffering is the effect and a symptom of the state of “not knowing.” To be capable of uttering such questions as to the meaning and point of life is the turning point where the human experience begins the journey home, back to its origins of remembrance and knowingness of your true identity as a spiritual being.

Suffering has a significant attribute in that it will induce within you an urge to seek relief. Depression itself causes an inner retreat, a withdrawal from the outer world to protect oneself from a relentless influx of emotional pain and mental anguish. Suffering causes you to “turn within” in search of relief and remedy; the seeking of inner peace becomes the new primary focus in one’s life.

Inscribed upon the ancient Greek temple of Apollo, known as the Oracle of Delphi, are the words:

“In you is hidden the treasure of treasures. Know thyself and you will know the Universe and the Gods”

The wisdom hidden in these words has been repeated throughout the centuries by philosophers, religious icons and scholars alike;

“Knowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom” Aristotle

“Know Thyself” Socrates

“The body is the house of God. Man, know thyself, and thou shalt know the gods.” Ancient Egyptian Proverb

“Knowing others is intelligence; Knowing yourself is true wisdom” Tao Te Ching

“But if you will not know yourselves, you dwell in poverty and it is you who are that poverty” Gospel of St Thomas

“The goal of the curriculum, regardless of the teacher you choose, is know thyself. There is nothing else to learn” A Course in Miracles

Life holds within it a great mystery; a secret so profound that it has been hidden deep within allegory, myth and symbolism. The Ancient Mystery schools and philosophical societies carried the only torch of remembrance with the motto of the Alchemist being: “To Know, To Dare, To Will, To Keep Silent.” Knowledge as to your real identity as a spiritual being was purposefully kept secret and hidden. Revelation was granted only to those select few who were chosen to be students and neophytes of what was known as “The Great Work.” The rest of humanity were kept in ignorance and veiled from knowing the light of Truth. When such a veil is in place that keeps you unaware as to the underlying spiritual purpose of life; the result is a world of darkness that blinds you to a false reality and false personal identification with the ego. This is the source of your suffering.

Spiritual revelation and transformation remove the “veil of forgetfulness.” The seeker is directed and lead within the axiom of those words, “Know Thyself;” as the Truth lies within you. Evolution is not one of the human being, but one of consciousness. In spiritual terminology this transformation and restoration of the knowledge of your true identity is known by various names such as enlightenment, awakening, salvation, at-one-ment, transcendence and self-actualisation.

At the moment of birth, any remembrance as to your true spiritual identity is extinguished, as the Soul entombs itself in an earthly envelope, limiting its lofty wisdom, but seeded within the desire and journey of return. The “earthly envelope” is the ego; a synthetic entity which resides in a world of duality. Its role is to perpetuate the lie that you are an individuated, autonomous and separate identity that experiences a subjective reality. This is the version of self that is self-serving and carries the labels of “I,” “me” and “mine.” The Higher Self, your spiritual identity, is the awareness of Being that is impersonal, immortal, infinite and in harmony with the unity of the universe. This essence is formless and beyond the ego constructs of time and space; it is the symbol of heaven and Christ consciousness that expresses and serves in the highest ideal as “thy will be done.”

In 2012 a significant turning point in the evolutionary journey of human consciousness began and was called the “Great Cycle”. This change was prophesised within the Mayan calendar and foretold of the passing of the Piscean Age into the Aquarian Age. Consciousness was evolving into a new level of Being; a change from the Piscean energy dominated by authority and beliefs, to a new paradigm of the Aquarian Age where direct knowledge as intuition and individual understanding are evolved and expressed. Availability of information that was previously suppressed and kept hidden is now being made available to assist in this transition and elevation of consciousness. This book is made available as one of the ways this revelation is being provided to all. For your spiritual essence it is a time of liberation. For your ego, it will be experienced as a time of great turmoil with loss of many of the expressions that represented your false identity.

In her book, “The Human Journey: Quest for Self-Transformation,” by Spiritual author, Joy Mills, the spiritual awakening is described with clarity:

“Ultimately, we must take the human journey for ourselves. And here in the “underworld” of dense, physical matter, we must find the box of beauty—the box that contains the life-giving ointment of the Spirit. Here in physical incarnation lies buried the supreme secret that must be uncovered in order that the soul may be transformed into a new life of Love, Beauty, and Truth. The soul has fallen into a slumber and needs to be awakened into that new existence in which all egoity has disappeared and one knows oneself as truly one with all life. The human soul is to be transformed into the spiritual soul. Âtman and physical are known as one. This is the profound mystical experience. Love, Beauty, and Truth are here in this very world of illusion. Unless they are found here and revealed here through our lives, they will not be found anywhere. In the final metempsychosis, the self or soul that was must die if the Immortal Self is to be born.”

Curiosity will be your greatest asset on your own “human journey,” for Truth lies beyond belief. Much of what you have learnt and have been indoctrinated to believe will need to be laid aside and suspended for a while to allow for new possibilities to enter your personal reality. For Truth, in the spiritual sense, is directly opposite to what the ego’s version of reality proclaims to be. The ego carries a heavy veil of perceptual filters that “blinds” it to the Truth and distorts reality into darkness and limitations. Spiritual awakening brings the Light of Truth and lifts the veil of ignorance to align you with the Universal Intelligence and your highest potential seeded within you at birth. It is a bold journey into liberty and ascension; transformation from ego body- mind consciousness to Christ consciousness, from limited to unlimited, from force to power, from ignorance to knowledge, from chaos to order, from darkness to light, from mortal to immortal.

This book is written to assist in providing insight and understanding into the spiritual journey of transformation. It is written by a fellow human traveller who has experienced the trials and tribulations of that journey and found enormous comfort in the knowledge and wisdom that was shared in the spiritual literature by other authors. If this book provides the reader with even the smallest amount of comfort and relief through more knowledge and understanding of the path home, then my own deep suffering will have served the highest purpose.

As philosopher and scholar of the 15th Century, Desiderius Erasmus wrote: “in regione caecorum rex est luscus” – “in the Kingdom of the blind, the one-eyed man is King”.

Let the journey begin.

DISCOURSE ONE:THE EGO PERSONALITY:

The One Who Miscreates

Know Thyself

As you begin your journey through the Discourses that follow, the wisdom of the axiom “Know Thyself” will provide the light of guidance that will direct your understanding. This journey will take you back to the pearls of wisdom that are contained within you; as yet hidden and unknown, but ready to be returned to their rightful Kingdom.

There are two significant criteria required in the journey of spiritual transformation; that of psychological knowledge accompanied by traditional spiritual knowledge. One without the other will leave you deficient in understanding and lacking the necessary skills and knowledge to cultivate the resilience called upon for this arduous journey of return home.

This Discourse into the ego personality is therefore a necessary pre-requisite to be able to expand your knowledge of the ego as a psychological mechanism responsible for creating your personal experience of reality. However, prior to doing so there are two extremely important Principles of Natural Law that require integration and acceptance in order for the psychological awareness to have any impact. The knowledge of these two Principles of Natural Law (traditional spiritual knowledge) align within this field of dependency as declared.

Spiritual Truth can always be discerned from man-made declarations of what is true by its primary nature to be simplistic, self-evident and unchanging. No matter where it is placed within mankind’s experience of chronological time and space the Truth remains immutable. Unlike man made laws which can change and morph depending on what century or country they are declared within; spiritual Truth does no such thing. Truth is absolute and impersonal; it is simply, “That which is.” Your personal belief and ideology are irrelevant and disbelief does not impact principles of Truth at all. The ignorance of such Truth and her Natural Laws, likewise, does not excuse you from its operation.

The full 7 Principles of Natural Law will be discussed in much more depth in the Discourse: You Create Your Reality, which follows; but for now it is relevant to introduce two of them:

1. Principle of Mentalism: “The All is Mind; the universe is mental.”The universe as defined within Natural Law is declared a mental or mind phenomenon. Contrary to Western scientific declarations, the physical or material appearance of what is deemed reality, is not the Primal Reality; but instead, a manifestation or mental creation emanating from the mind of “All That Is.” Within this principle, thought creates as it is an attribute of the mind.

2. Principle of Vibration: “Nothing rests, everything moves, everything vibrates.”The universe is energy. Light, heat, magnetism and electricity are only varying forms of waves of vibrational energy emanating from the aether or void. Within this principle, thoughts are energy and therefore have a vibrational reality. All mental states are accompanied by vibrations.

With these two Principles of Natural Law now in your awareness, you will come to understand that the ego personality is constructed to “think” in a very particular way. This expresses as a particular level of consciousness; one which can now be referred to as “ego body-mind consciousness.” The ego is a conditioned pattern of “thought.”

Throughout this Discourse and the others that follow the etymology dictionary is frequently referred to define significant words that are used to understand this knowledge. Etymology reveals the original meaning of words and is representative of what is therefore held in your unconscious mind. Modern day dictionary definitions and usage have often changed the original meaning and therefore have added a layer of confusion as opposed to clarity. Hence, clearly understanding words as etymological definitions is of paramount importance.

Two Thought Systems

The Eastern philosophers and gurus were guided through the process of spiritual enlightenment by the disciplined study of sacred scripts such as “The Upanishads”, the “Bhagavad Gita” and “Patanjali’s Yoga Sutra”. For Western based students on the spiritual path the teachings contained within “ACourse in Miracles” have also provided the same degree of profound insight and guidance. It is to this text that we shall frequently turn to further enhance your understanding of the purpose and meaning behind suffering as experienced during spiritual awakening.

In alignment with the Principle of Natural Law as stated previously, whereby the “All is Mind, theuniverse is mental,” “ACourse in Miracles” states:

“This is a course in mind training. All learning involves attention and study at some level.”T-1.VII.4

The Buddhist philosophy contained within “The Noble Eightfold Path,” which acts as a guide to liberation from the causes of suffering as declared within “The Four Noble Truths,” also acknowledges the same concept of mental discipline as a primary attribute to be cultivated by the student. Right thought (Samma sankappa) and Right mindfulness (Samma sati) are two of the disciplines instructed on the Eightfold Path.

The practices and disciplines of yoga and meditation as instructed by “Patanjali’s Yoga Sutra” are also focused on disciplines of the mind. The very first instruction contained within the Sutra states:

“1. Now concentration is explained.

2. Yoga is restraining the mind-stuff (Chitta) from taking various forms (Vrttis)”

p.9, Chapter 1, Patanjali Yoga Sutras, commentary by Swami Vivekananda

If spiritual Truth reveals that Primal Reality is a mental phenomenon and “All is Mind,” then this “Mind” of Infinite Intelligence must also be capable of “thought.” This stream of thought emanating from the mind of Infinite Intelligence or “All that Is” can be referred to as Christ consciousness. Now you can clearly understand that the ego body-mind consciousness is a “thought” system that is NOT the same as Christ consciousness, but the opposite. The mental disciplines found within the Buddhist instructions, the Yoga Sutras and the workbook attached to “A Course in Miracles” is for the purposes of healing the human condition of the “split mind” (duality) which contains the ego thought patterns inducing mental states of suffering. In the Course’s terminology this correction is called At-One-Ment, in Buddhist philosophy it is considered Right Mindedness, for the Eastern philosophies, it is Samadhi or enlightenment.

“A Course in Miracles” acknowledges this concept of two opposing thought systems that are at play in the human experience which make inner peace impossible:

“Either God or the ego is insane. If you will examine the evidence on both sides fairly, you will realize this must be true. Neither God nor the ego proposes a partial thought system. Each is internally consistent, but they are diametrically opposed in all respects so that partial allegiance is impossible. Remember, too, that their results are as different as their foundations, and their fundamentally irreconcilable natures cannot be reconciled by vacillations between them.” T-11.in.1.

To “identify” is to make one, or regard as the same. The ego thought system of identification as an individual, autonomous, separate entity is in complete opposition to the Christ consciousness thought stream that declares “I am One.” As you think, so will you act. Hence, your internal answer to that question: “Who am I?” will be dependent upon “who you think you are.”

“A Course in Miracles” makes this clear:

“This is because everyone identifies himself with his thought system, and every thought system centers on what you believe you are. If the center of the thought system is true, only truth extends from it. But if a lie is at its center, only deception proceeds from it.” T- 6:71

The ego body-mind consciousness does NOT KNOW who it is in Truth. It is a misidentification or in error as to its true identity. The ego consciousness is designed to veil or hide the Truth and instead be the opposite and inverted experience of the Christ consciousness Mind. This forgetfulness as to your true identity is commonly referred to in spiritual literature as the “veil of ignorance” or “veil of forgetfulness”.

The ancient occult symbol of the pentagram can be used effectively to visually represent this declaration:

When the top of the star is pointed upwards it symbolises the unity of man with spirit; which is the state of all knowingness and knowledge (wisdom). When this is inverted there are now two points facing upwards, which symbolises man as binary or in duality; a state of “not knowing.” The binary or split mind of the ego consciousness that is ignorant of Truth is now a divided entity that includes experiences of labels such as “good” and “evil.” Hence, this symbol of the inverted pentagram has been associated with concepts such as Satan, Devil worship and black magic.

Man, with knowledge, or integrated with their spiritual essence or soul, in Western spiritual terminology is termed a Christ or the Son of God; the inverted dual being is anti-Christ, as this state of Being includes a shadow complex of evil tendencies which encompasses darkness. Light is knowledge. Darkness is ignorance or not knowing.

The symbolism of an anti-Christ is also used in “A Course of Miracles” as forms that oppose the Christ consciousness mind:

“All forms of anti-Christ oppose the Christ. And fall before His face like a dark veil that seems to shut you off from Him, alone in darkness. Yet the light is there. A cloud does not put out the sun. No more a veil can banish what it seems to separate, nor darken by one whit the light itself.” T-29.VIII.3.5

Acknowledgement of shadow complexes or evil tendencies which are suppressed within the unconscious is a crucial aspect of the spiritual journey. Much of the spiritual literature in Western culture fails to acknowledge this understanding as it can be confronting and disturbing. The integral works of 20th Century psychologist, Carl Jung, who researched and documented the buried Archetypes of the human psyche, which included shadow complexes, has been a leader in this endeavour towards understanding.

“The Shadow is a moral problem that challenges the whole ego-personality, for no one can become conscious of the shadow without considerable moral effort. To become conscious of it involves recognizing the dark aspects of the personality as present and real. This act is the essential condition for any kind of self-knowledge, and it therefore, as a rule, meets with considerable resistance. Indeed, self-knowledge as a psychotherapeutic measure frequently requires much painstaking work extending over a long period of time.” Aion: Researches into the Phenomenology of the Self, C.G. Jung, p.14

Psychological work as well as spiritual knowledge, as stated earlier, are both necessary in the spiritual transformation that is inherent in the process of self-actualisation. The suppressed dual aspects of the ego thought system are exposed and unified in this process of integration; hence, initiating a return to wholeness and right mindedness.

Symbology of The Garden of Eden

The story relating to the “Garden of Eden” as stated within the Book of Genesis (2:4-3:24) is an allegory and symbol as to the emergence of the ego dualistic thought system. The “Tree of Life” is symbolic of Truth as a unified, whole and complete Christ conscious Mind of Pure Being. Nothing is lacking, abundance is the natural state. Life is in order and balanced. This is paradise and symbolic of Heaven.

“A Course in Miracles” refers to this origin of beginnings prior to the ego duality as the “pre-separation condition”: “The Garden of Eden, or the pre-separation condition, was a state of mind in which nothing was needed. When Adam listened to the “lies of the serpent”, all he heard was untruth.” T-2.I.3.

The “Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil” is represented as the symbol of duality and the origin of the ego body-mind consciousness. Polarity is born as the Light of unity is divided into two aspects that are electricity and magnetism expressing as electromagnetism. The gender of Adam as male and Eve as female are polarities of electromagnetism which seek and crave to reunite through the Law of Attraction and Repulsion. This is the origin of the body with a Central Nervous System that houses the ego’s propensity for judgement. Experiences can now be judged as “good or bad,” “right or wrong” and all of the relative labels that the ego defines and divides reality. The serpent is symbolic of the Kundalini energy that traverses the Central Nervous System and channels the Life Force to the body as a symbol of separation. This is the birth of “desire” in the human entity. Magnetism moves through the nerve paths and hence the body is an expression of a vibrational frequency.

The concept of electromagnetism is fundamental to understanding the journey of spiritual awakening as it lies as the basis for polarising thought as a judgement. Thoughts polarise and carry an electromagnetic charge which are deemed temptations. Hence, the ego body-mind consciousness judges or polarises thought which animates its experiences into manifestations that may appear and be labelled as good or evil.

Ego consciousness is seeded with judgement and polarised thoughts that express as relative thinking and a limit to its experience. Life becomes “this” or “that” as opposed to “this” and “that.” Christ consciousness is balanced and just; as the concept of forgiveness releases the polarised versions or temptations of the ego. Balance is restored with justice and integrity through the practices of concentration and focus of the mind as instructed by the spiritual texts mentioned; this becomes a Being of Christ consciousness or right mindedness.

This accepted spiritual philosophy that there is a “right way of thinking” is a Truth that appears repeatedly in multiple Spiritual texts and throughout the centuries; including the teachings of Jesus:

“But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.” Matthew 6:33, King James Bible

The ego body-mind consciousness thought stream is dualistic and polarised. It is a thought of separation and in error; the false misidentification of its true Being as a separate and autonomous identity. This is the thought that miscreates and is then experienced as suffering.

“A Course in Miracles” offers further insight:

“I cannot let you leave your mind unguarded, or you will not be able to help me. Miracle working entails a full realization of the power of thought in order to avoid miscreation.” T-2.VII.2.

“The fearful must miscreate, because they misperceive creation. When you miscreate you are in pain.”T-2.VII.3.8

“The fundamental conflict in this world, then, is between creation and miscreation. All fear is implicit in the second, and all love in the first. The conflict is therefore one between love and fear.” T-2.VII.3.13

As the symbolism of the Garden of Eden story continues there is the significant event where Adam and Eve eat the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, which was forbidden. This event is considered the “original sin” or “fall” in religious theosophy.

“Sin (as a verb),” is defined in the etymology dictionary, as meaning: "to commit sin, transgress, err." It means to be in error. “Sin (as a noun), is defined as: “moral wrongdoing, guilt, crime, offense against God.” Therefore, the capacity for humanity to experience the condition of “guilt” is seeded within the allegory of this event.

As the story progresses, the Lord God returns to the garden in search of man:

“Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden.

But the Lord God called to the man, “Where are you?”

He answered, “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.” Genesis 2:4-3:24

The division of man into two aspects as the male and female gender symbolise the beginning of the ego as a “split mind” with the capacity for self-awareness. The ego becomes a symbol of separation as the divided mind, where unwanted feelings and emotions, such as guilt and shame, can be hidden outside of conscious awareness. Now what is “not known (consciously)” becomes fearful and suppressed; and what is suppressed must be projected out. This is how the ego creates its own limited version of personal reality – by projection.

“A Course in Miracles” again provides insight into this understanding:

“If the ego is the symbol of the separation, it is also the symbol of guilt.” T-5.V.2.8

“If you identify with the ego, you must perceive yourself as guilty. Whenever you respond to your ego you will experience guilt, and you will fear punishment. The ego is quite literally a fearful thought. However ridiculous the idea of attacking God may be to the sane mind, never forget that the ego is not sane. It represents a delusional system, and speaks for it. Listening to the ego's voice means that you believe it is possible to attack God, and that a part of Him has been torn away by you. Fear of retaliation from without follows, because the severity of the guilt is so acute that it must be projected.”T-5. V.3.5

This concept of projection is so crucial in the psychological understanding of spiritual awakening that “A Course in Miracles,” which contains the teachings of Jesus, was channelled and scribed by Helen Schucman in the 1960’s who was a Professor of Medical Psychology at Columbia University. She was assisted in this process by another Columbia University colleague, William Thetford, who was also a Professor of Medical Psychology. Even the most significant and well-known teacher of ACIM, Dr Ken Wapnick Ph.D. was a Psychologist. Hence, we shall return to more discussions on this important concept of projection further on in this Discourse.

Transcendence: From Ego Consciousness to Christ Consciousness

Now that it has been established that there are two thought streams, one being the ego body-mind consciousness and the other Christ consciousness, then it can be helpful to be able to clearly identify the concepts and definitions that each voice speaks of. One voice speaks of Truth or Primal Reality and the other is the error, or delusional reality.

Ego Body Mind Consciousness Delusional thought of separation

• Fear

• Chaos

• Perception

• Darkness

• Ignorance

• Separate

• Conflict

• Unbalanced

• Unknowing

• Limited

• Mortal

• Finite

• Form/body

Christ Consciousness Knowledge of Truth

• Love

• Order

• Knowledge

• Light

• Truth

• Whole

• Peace

• Balance

• Knowing

• Limitless

• Immortal

• Infinite

• Formless

As stated in the introduction, evolution is not one of the human being, but one of consciousness. The transcendence of the limited ego body-mind consciousness is seeded with the journey of return to full awareness and awakening to its true identity as an unlimited spiritual being. This Pure Being, known as Christ consciousness, is in resonance with Infinite Intelligence and shares the attributes of the mind of “All that Is.” This is At-One-Ment.

“The Gnosis of Kala Yuga,” written by Spiritual author,Aaron G. L. Adoni, provides succinct explanation that can assist in this understanding:

“The ego is the “self,” but this self is based upon something fundamentally harmful and violent to the rhythm and harmony to the universe as a whole. This is why the ego suffers, and, because the consciousness is trapped in the ego, we feel that suffering. The ego is an aberration, an error of the mind that perpetuates itself. It is like a cancer of the mind because it destroys its host. The liberated consciousness, with no ego, receives and transmits energy, thoughts, ideas, sentiments, will etc., but the ego takes that perfect harmony and disrupts it: it elaborates itself at the expense of the world around it. So, in this way we have to understand that the ego is what blocks the correct flow of energy.” p.71

The ego body-mind consciousness is a limitation of the Infinite Intelligence Mind or, “All That Is.” It transduces the all-powerful omniscient Mind and minimises it into a limited, self-centered entity or “self,” that “knows not,” and hence miscreates and suffers.

Once again, “The Gnosis of Kala Yuga,” expands on this understanding:

“When man becomes a perfect transformer of the intelligence of God, then he has become an incarnation of that intelligence called God. That intelligence or energy that can be called God has no form itself, but it can incarnate within anyone who knows how to do it. However, the ego prevents the correct transformation and transmission of energy because the ego only uses that energy to edify itself. It is like a single wave thinking it is more than the ocean itself. Thus, the ego prevents the reception of God.” p.71

The ego body-mind consciousness can therefore be considered a distorted way of “thinking” that blocks the ability to receive the impulses of Infinite Intelligence thought stream into conscious awareness. Much like electrical circuits can be limited by the insertion of resistors to reduce current flow from high voltage to low voltage, so too is the ego body-mind consciousness designed to limit the receivership of information emanating from the Divine Mind.

Clinical professor of psychiatry at the UCLA School of Medicine, Dr Daniel Siegel, in his book, “The Developing Mind,” provides an excellent definition of what “mind” may be conceptualised as:

“The mind is an embodied and rational process that regulates the flow of energy and information.” p.2

Infinite Intelligence as “All That Is”, is omniscient, meaning “all knowledge”; so what you are able to receive and know consciously as information is dependent upon the state of mind that you are attuned to. To be “inspired (in-spirit)” by a new idea or thought is the domain of Infinite Intelligence, not the limited ego.

The idea that the ego body-mind consciousness is limited in its ability to process information or impulses from Infinite Intelligence can be further clarified by another passage from Siegal’s book:

“We inherit the genetically preprogramed capacity for information processing of a particular sort. This means that the brain cannot process all types of information: a given module of the mind is only able to handle certain kinds of information in specific kinds of ways.” p.222

This sentiment of the ego personality being only able to process information in a limited way is also acknowledged in the Eastern Philosophical teachings. Indian guru, Sri Aurobindo (1870) who was one of India’s most acknowledged spiritual teachers wrote many books dealing with the diverse forces that influence our thoughts and impact the ability to receive vital energy from “The One”:

“It isn’t the forces that are limited. It is our receptivity. Each person has a different receptivity. No two receptivity’s are the same in quality and quantity.” p.96, “The Hidden Forces of Life”

Finally, we turn again to “A Course in Miracles” for further clarification:

“A major source of the ego's off-balanced state is its lack of discrimination between the body and the Thoughts of God. Thoughts of God are unacceptable to the ego, because they clearly point to the nonexistence of the ego itself. The ego therefore either distorts them or refuses to accept them. It cannot, however, make them cease to be. It therefore tries to conceal not only "unacceptable" body impulses, but also the Thoughts of God, because both are threatening to it.” T-4. V.2

The fundamental characteristic of the ego body-mind consciousness is that it is a limited expression of consciousness that is restricted in the capacity to receive higher level of consciousness impulses emanating from the higher Mind that is Infinite Intelligence. This base ego body-mind consciousness begins its journey from a descent into “not knowing,” which expresses as fear, and ascends to the Mind of “knowing,” which expresses as Truth and Love. As the Hindu philosophies taught: “In order to Know, one must first Not Know.”

Psychiatrist and Consciousness researcher, Dr David R. Hawkins MD. Ph.D., wrote numerous books detailing the levels of consciousness that are transcended on the path of spiritual enlightenment. In specific, “Transcending Levels of Consciousness: The Stairway to Enlightenment” (p.32), he provides a road map as to the states of Being associated with each level:

• Enlightenment

• Peace

• Joy

• Unconditional Love

• Love

• Reason

• Acceptance

• Willingness

• Neutrality

• Courage

• Pride

• Anger

• Desire

• Fear

• Grief

• Apathy/hatred

• Guilt

• Shame

The ego level of consciousness acts like a computer virus which distorts the source code of Primal Reality (Love) and instead inserts perceptions of false data that appear real and become fearful. When knowledge is absent in the software program then perceptions replace it. Fear overrides Love.

“Darkness is lack of light as sin is lack of love” T-1.IV.3

“If a mind perceives without love, it perceives an empty shell and is unaware of the spirit within. But the Atonement restores spirit to its proper place. The mind that serves spirit is invulnerable.”T-1.IV.2.

In reference to the above chart mapping the levels of consciousness, the distinction between the fear-based thoughts of the ego which are lacking in Truth, and the higher impulsed Christ conscious thoughts of Love become more obvious. The higher one ascends the ladder of consciousness the more one comes into balance and harmony with the Mind of Infinite Intelligence and fear is transformed into its original Pure Being, which is Love. This journey of ascension or transcendence has often been referred to a “Jacob’s Ladder” and “Stairway to Heaven.” The ego body-mind consciousness is symbolic of states of Being that are “Hell” and the Christ consciousness is Pure Being that is “Heaven.”

As the ego is created to be the opposite or inverted consciousness of the Christ conscious Mind it enables Truth to be revealed by knowing and experiencing what is NOT Truth:

Christ Consciousness

• Love

• Knowing

• Aware (conscious)

• True

• Forgiveness

• Certain

• Satisfied (Fulfilled)

• Connected

• Just

• Peace

• Real

Ego Body-Mind Consciousness

• UN-loved

• UN-knowing

• UN-aware (unconscious)

• UN- true

• UN-forgiving

• UN-certain

• UN-satisfied (unfulfilled)

• UN-connected

• UN-just

• UN-peaceful

• UN-real

The Divine Paradox: “The One Is All and the All Is One”

In Primal Reality where “All That Is” is known as Truth, then the Ego is created as the paradoxical opposite where Truth is “veiled” or “ignored.” The Law of Unity (Light) interacts with the Law of Division and Separation (Darkness); this is the paradox of the creative universe. Diversity contained within Unity.

“For this world is the opposite of Heaven, being made to be its opposite, and everything here takes a direction exactly opposite of what is true. In Heaven, where the meaning of love is known, love is the same as union. Here, where the illusion of love is accepted in love's place, love is perceived as separation and exclusion.” T-16. V.3.6

Your Christ Consciousness carries the remembrance of your True identity and essential nature as a spiritual Being or Awareness. This is your natural, organic state of Being. The ego body-mind consciousness is a synthetic or artificial construct that is created as an “idea” that it is possible to be separate and apart from the One, Absolute, Omniscient and Omnipotent Mind of God.

English Philosopher, Rupert Spira, provides an enlightened perspective in one of his lectures, “The True Goal of Life”:

“The purpose of Life is to find happiness. God is just a religious name for happiness. Happiness is the knowingness of our own Being as it is. When we overlook the knowingness of our own Being, we obscure the true nature of “I.” That is why the separate self is always UN-happy, always seeking happiness, because the separate self is a limitation on our essential nature.

With this veiling of our consciousness the Truth of our true nature is lost – so there is this longing to return.”

This concept that the ego body-mind consciousness is an “idea” expressed in the mind of Infinite Intelligence, or “All That Is,” is crucial to understanding the journey of enlightenment. If the ego is a synthetic or artificially created entity that is not your natural state of Being, then it must have been created to have an experience in opposition to Primal Reality. To experience separation, you must have a “thought” that thinks “I am separate.” This is the role that the ego body-mind consciousness thought stream serves. It pretends, like an actor, that it is someone else, or a character in a play, that is playing a role and experiencing something other than who it really is. The ego thought takes the impersonal Infinite Intelligence thought of the “All” and makes it personal. What is “All” (whole-unified) now becomes “me” (separate-disunity).

A key passage in Chapter 27 of “ACourse in Miracles” states:

“Into eternity, where all is one, there crept a tiny, mad idea, at which the Son of God remembered not to laugh. In his forgetting did the thought become a serious idea, possible of both accomplishment and real effects.” T-27.VIII.6:2-3

The Etymology Dictionary defines “idea” as: “archetype, concept of a thing in the mind of God." From this definition of idea, you now have a link to the spiritual concept of Archetypes which appears frequently in spiritual literature. The ego is an Archetype.

The definition of “Archetype” in the Etymology Dictionary states: "model, first form, original pattern from which copies are made.” If we combine these two definitions then the ego can be described as an idea, which is an Archetype or pattern of information. If Primal Reality is the realm of Infinite Intelligence and “All That Is,” which is invisible to our senses, then the ego archetype is the “pattern” of thought that creates perception – or something to “see” or to be perceivable (other). The original error or sin of guilt is suppressed into the unconscious (the unseen) which is then projected. It is projection that creates perception. This is how you have made the invisible visible; as an illusion, hallucination or dream.

Without the ego’s limited consciousness there would be no perception or nothing to see and experience. All is Light. The ego is the shadow or darkness that blinds you to the light and ignores the Primal Reality that exists behind everything.

“When you have been caught in a world of perception, you have been caught in a dream. You cannot escape without help, because everything your senses show merely witnesses to the reality of the dream.” ACIM: “What It Says,” Preface: p. xi

Spiritual author, Neale Donald Walsch, provides an excellent commentary of this concept of the ego being an “idea of separation” in the mind of Infinite Intelligence (God):

“The experience of your life beginning and ending is really nothing more than the onset and dissolution of your idea of yourself as “separate”. At a conscious level you may not know this. At a higher level this is always clear. It is at this higher level that you seek to end the experience of separation, to remind yourself that this is an illusion you have created.”“Communion with God,” p.49

A question may naturally arise at this time if you have understood this concept being introduced; that Infinite Intelligence, or “All That Is,” creates the idea of separation that your ego body-mind consciousness experiences as an illusion. That question is “Why?.” Again, Neale Donald Walsch provides valuable insight:

“If everything is experienced as unified, then nothing can be experienced as unified, because “unity” does not exist as a discrete experience. It is not something that can be known. It may exist as a concept, but it is not a concept that you can directly experience. It can only be an idea, never your experienced reality.Yet it is our wish to know ourselves as Who We Really Are. Thus, we must first create the experience of Who We Are Not. Since we cannot create this experience in Ultimate Reality, we must do so through illusion. We are The Collective. The Single Reality in Multiple Form – having taken Multiple Form that we might notice and experience the glory of our Single Reality.”“Communion with God,” p.50

This sentiment of the whole dividing itself to experience the idea of “disunity” is also a primary concept behind the Eastern Philosophical teachings:

“The ancient Vedic scriptures declare that the physical world operates under one fundamental law of maya, the principle of relativity and duality. God, the Sole Life, is an Absolute Unity; He cannot appear as the separate and diverse manifestations of a creation except under a false or unreal veil. That cosmic illusion is maya. Every great scientific discovery of modern times has served as a confirmation of this simple pronouncement of the rishis.” “Autobiography of a Yogi: The Law of Miracles,” Chapter 30, by Paramhansa Yogananda

The Ego Archetype: The Deception of Separation

If you accept that the ego body-mind consciousness is an artificially constructed mind that limits or veils the Truth of Primal Reality; then the ego’s personal reality that creates through projection and perception must also be artificially created, or “unreal.” This is the maya, dream, illusion, Cosmic Dream or Lila, that is so often referred to in spiritual literature.

To further understand the role of the ego archetype as the “actor” in this Cosmic Dream, then you must first be familiar with the concept of polarity which is also one of the Natural Laws along with the previous two mentioned earlier in this Discourse. This is because the ego archetype is an electromagnetic construct that determines the patterns of vibrations that become the signature of your personal, subjective identity known as “I” or the “me” in the play of your life.

The Principle of Polarity: All manifested things have “two sides,” “two aspects,” “two poles,” a “pair of opposites” which manifold degrees between two extremes. All is degree, a matter of higher or lower vibrations.

If we return to our former analogy of computers that was mentioned earlier; where the body is like the hardware of a computer, the brain is the software and the mind is the interface between the two, then the computer language used in this process is binary. So too does the ego archetype use the same language of binary which is energy polarised as two (electromagnetic). This is the basis of the ego’s personal reality of duality, where the “One” (unity) experiences “Duality” (two). The symbols mentioned earlier as the Tree of Life (unity) and the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil (duality) represent this idea.

Christ consciousness is not divided or dual, it is One; this is light. Binary code allows for the One to appear to be divided into Two; light and darkness – energy on, energy limited. The processing unit of mind is consciousness measuring or observing this expression of light and dark and displaying that judgement upon the illusionary screen that you experience as personal reality. Now there is the capacity for “opposites,” or “other” to be experienced instead of only Unity or Oneness. The “Absolute” reality of “All That Is” can experience “Relativity,” or “this or that,” not just “that.”

The Eastern philosophies shared this same insight and understanding and used the symbol of the “yin” and “yang” to express this concept of “opposites.”

Every aspect of the ego’s reality is created from this binary code that allows the experience of “opposites.” What is “in balance” now has a capacity to be “out of balance.” All change occurs from this place. Neither of the poles are superior to the other and an increase in one brings a corresponding decrease in the other. A correct balance between the two poles (opposites) must be reached in order to achieve harmony; which is whole.

Fritjof Capra, an American physicist, researched the similarities between the Eastern philosophical teachings and the science of Quantum Physics that explored the deep nature of reality. In his book, “The Tao of Physics,” he writes:

“Opposites are abstract concepts belonging to the realm of thought, and as such they are relative. By the very act of focusing our attention on any one concept we create its opposite. As Lao Tzu says,” When all in the world understand beauty to be beautiful, then ugliness exists; when all understand goodness to be good; then evil exists.” Mystics transcend this realm of intellectual concepts; and in transcending it become aware of the relativity and polar relationship of all opposites. They realise that good and bad, pleasure and pain, life and death, are not absolute experiences belonging to different categories, but are merely two sides of the same reality; extreme parts of a single whole.” p.145

With this expanded understanding of polarities and duality we can now return to the concept of the ego as an archetype that overlays the absolute Primal Reality and limits awareness into patterns of specific fixations of focus and attention. The archetype will determine what you “pay attention to” by applying filters and biases that allow information to be made conscious, or be suppressed in the unconscious. The archetype becomes the “veil of ignorance” mentioned previously; a paradox of opposites where Truth is overlaid with a lie or deception, an UnTruth.

The word, ignorance, derives from the Latin term “ignorare"; meaning “not to know, be unacquainted; take no notice of, disregard". What is known, now can become unknown, by ignoring or not paying attention to its ever-present existence. This state of not knowing, or ignoring Truth, causes fear within the human entity that is seeded with the archetypical veil that filters Truth out of its awareness.

The Christ consciousness is the whole Mind at One with life. It is in balance, harmony and equilibrium. The ego body-mind consciousness is seeded with the archetype that is polarised and hence experiences duality that expresses as imbalance; out of harmony and in resistance to life, but always seeking to regain it; as that is the Law of One that compels the universe into existence. The ego, then, is a personality disorder that experiences fear, neurosis, psychosis, multiple personalities and fantasies; an insane thought system that now has conditions placed on its experience to relieve the cognitive dissonance experienced in its “split mind”.

“The ego is quite literally a fearful thought. However ridiculous the idea of attacking God may be to the sane mind, never forget that the ego is not sane. It represents a delusional system, and speaks for it.” T-5.V.3.7

Previously in this Discourse the symbology of the biblical story of the Garden of Eden was referred to in explaining the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil as the beginning of the existence of duality. With this arising of duality into experience, the ego body-mind consciousness becomes polarised with temptations where thoughts are judgements. Concepts such as “good” and “bad,” “right” and “wrong,” “pain” and “pleasure” can be entertained by the limited mind and each degree is polarised with either a positive or negative electromagnetic charge. This is significant as this “relative” mode of thinking in opposites, or being binary, only allows one expression of judgement into conscious awareness; the opposite is suppressed. This mode of judgmental or polarised thought is expressed as your individuated personal identity that divides reality and then behaves in a very particular way to express that judgement. These become the levels of consciousness, or states of Being, that was explained earlier in David R. Hawkins chart detailing the hierarchical levels of consciousness being transcended.

Author, Ken Wilber, in his book, “The Spectrum of Consciousness,” assists in further explaining how this suppression of the opposite, fundamental to the ego’s thought processes based on separation and division, continually arise in the levels of consciousness that Hawkins charted:

“Thus each dualism is accompanied by a repression and a projection: a dualism “severs” a process, represses its non-dual or “unitary” character, and projects that process as two apparently antagonistic opposites.This general process of dualism-repression-projection is an important one, for it repeats itself numerous times throughout all subsequent levels of consciousness, each time generating a new band of the spectrum and increasing man’s ignorance of his Supreme Identity.” p.107

The levels or spectrums of consciousness that both Hawkins and Wilber discuss in their books are essentially describing the nature of personality types expressed by the ego archetypes. In Western psychology ego archetypes can be identified within such reports as the Myers-Briggs personality types index; in spiritual studies they are identified as enneagrams. Essentially, there are identifiable and repeatable patterns of thoughts exhibiting behavioural characteristics that can be associated with the binary, dualistic nature of the ego body-mind consciousness spectrum: thus, creating the subjective experience of “I” or “me and other.”

In Eastern philosophies, the Chinese also had a symbolic representation of archetypical patterns that were detailed in the “I Ching” or “Book of Changes.” Much like the binary code mentioned earlier, the I Ching uses the principle of the yin and yang, and their interplay of the polar opposites, as the ordering principle behind the Cosmic Drama or Dream. The solid line represented the yang energy (+) and broken lines represented the yin energy (-).

When the yin and yang energy is combined into 8 configurations known as “trigrams”, they were considered to represent all possible cosmic and human scenarios or situations. This was the fundamental pattern underlying the transformation and change that was implicit in the universe or cosmos.

The I Ching virtually maps the various binary configurations where the whole can be divided in various proportions to experience imbalance. The ego archetype distortion of the whole expresses opposites as a personality disorder and miscreates its experiences as a reflection of that imbalanced relationship. This is the script underlying all the human dramas. Ken Wilber further explains:

“Thus, in the ultimate act of severance and fragmentation, man imposes a dualism or split upon his own ego, represses the underlying unity of all his egoic tendencies, and projects them as the persona vs, the shadow.

It is the nature of every dualism-repression-projection that it presents an apparent or illusory reality, that it reveals things as they seem to be and not as they are.

Although the individual represses and projects certain facets of himself, those facets nevertheless remain his and only appear to exist in the environment. So, when man tries to disown facets of himself, since they remain his they only boomerang and return to plague him in the form of “neurotic” symptoms.” p.130

The state of suffering experienced by the ego is an expression of this underlying imbalance that is seeded within the ego archetype. As the underlying principle of Primal Reality and Truth is balance and equilibrium, there is an urge contained within Life itself to always compel a return to this Pure Being. This is known as peace. As long as the ego body-mind consciousness remains a split identity, or imbalanced, with an unintegrated shadow complex repressed in the unconscious, then peace becomes impossible. Internal conflict will prevail and be experienced as suffering.

“A Course in Miracles” affirms this claim that the illusion of separation is created by the ego’s psychological repression and projection;

“The separated mind cannot maintain the separation except by dissociating. Having done this, it utilizes repression against all truly natural impulses, not because the ego is a separate thing, but because you want to believe that you are. The ego is a device for maintaining this belief, but it is still only your willingness to use the device that enables it to endure.” T- 4.V11.88.

As you cultivate a deeper level of understanding by delving further into this concept that the ego body-mind consciousness projects the shadow complex out into its environment; then such terms as evil become clearer. Much confusion has surrounded the human entity when contemplating why God seems to allow atrocities and acts of cruelty to be inflicted in human affairs. When you are able to reconcile the Truth that the ego, by the act of repression and projection, perceives an illusionary, unreal world created by a split mind; you will then understand that “evil” is not an act of God, but an action of an imbalanced, insane ego thought system that is at war within itself. God is not a perception, as this is an “unreal,” “illusory state of Being.” Only the ego perceives because perception is a veil to Truth. Again, “A Course in Miracles” makes this clear:

“The ego is a contradiction. Man's self and God's Self are in opposition. They are opposed in creation, in will, and in outcome. They are fundamentally irreconcilable because the Soul cannot perceive and the ego cannot know. They are therefore not in communication and can never be in communication.” T-4.V11.8

Concepts such as “good and evil,” “right and wrong,” “love and hate,” are only judgements of an ego body-mind consciousness that is out of balance; they are not intrinsic to Truth or Primal Reality. Acts of evil are therefore possible experiences capable of expression by all ego archetypes when placed in the circumstances that allow for it to surface out of the depths of the unconscious.

Earlier in this Discourse the ego body-mind consciousness was defined as an inverted or opposite consciousness to Christ consciousness, referred to as anti-Christ. This label may appear to be confronting as it implies some form of representation of satanic or devil associations. This is not the case in Truth, as it is only a term used to define the imbalanced state of the ego that is the opposite to Christ consciousness, and hence capable of experiencing conditioned behaviours that can be labelled “good and evil.”

The “Book of Revelation” also provides clarification of this position:

“Here is wisdom: Let him that has understanding count the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man, and his number is six hundred and sixty-six.” Rev. 13:18

In the Kabbalistic traditions the use of Gematria was used as a tool to interpret biblical texts. It forms the basis of numerology and assigns letters of Hebrew alphabet with numbers. The word Chai (חי) in Hebrew means “life,” "alive,"or "living" and is assigned the number 18. The number 18 when added again becomes the number 9, which is the unity of that expression. It is an established Law that every Unity contains within itself this trinity of Spirit as the number 3; hence, it is written 333 (9). The physical human in duality, and therefore a divided entity, consists of one and “another,” each, according to the Law is 666; which is deemed the “number of the Beast”. Spiritual author, Thomas Troward (1847) provides further explanation provided within his book, “The Hidden Powers”:

“Why of the Beast? Because separateness from God, or the duality of opposition, which is also a duality of polarity, which is Dual-Unity, recognises something as having essential being, which is not the One Spirit; and such a conception can be verbally rendered only by some word that in common acceptance represents something, not only lower than the divine, but lower than the human also.” p.133

The purpose of life is to be Whole. To be Whole is to be integrated; where body, soul and spirit are harmonised and in equilibrium. This is where the spiritual essence is aligned with the human entity and “All That Is” can be expressed and experienced more fully as your highest potential. Where, “Thy Will Be Done” replaces “My Will Be Done.”

Evil when spelled backwards (or inverted) is live. So evil is a state in opposition to life. The word Devil, which is often associated with evil, derives from the Latin word “diabolus,” meaning “a powerful spirit of evil otherwise known as Satan.” “Satan,” in Hebrew means, "adversary, one who plots against another.” Every ego archetype must therefore have an adversary or beast built into the psyche that must be integrated before wholeness can to be experienced. Ignoring or denying your own dark side will not be an option for you when undertaking the path of spiritual enlightenment.

“To be obliged to admit that one is infantile and maladjusted, miserable and ugly, a human animal related to the monkeys, a sexual beast and a creature of the herd is in itself a shattering experience for any ego that has identified itself with the collective values [i.e., identified with the persona]. But the roots of the shadow problem go deeper still, and it becomes a matter of deadly earnest when the probe reaches right down to the sources of evil itself, where the personality experiences its relationship with the enemy of mankind, the drive to aggression and destruction, in the structure of its own being.” p.79, Depth Psychology and a New Ethic, Erich Neumann

Julius Caesar once said, “the greatest enemy will hide in the last place you ever look.” This concept of integrating the evil or beast within our own psyche is such a crucial understanding that it will be further examined in depth in the Discourse entitled, “The Underworld.”

The Ego Trance

The term, “spiritual awakening