Simplicity

Dzogchen mentioned below Ati yoga, the ultimate path and attainment in Tantric Buddhism.

Our Holy texts, especially Liber B vel Magi, describe this exact stage of awareness:
"...the ultimate power of Infinity. Wherein Sorrow is Joy, and Change is Stability, and Selflessness is Self." (Liber B, 16.)

The stage of awareness described below is "...the grade of Ipsissimus the Mystery of Selflessness, which is called also the Mystery of Pan." (Liber B, 15.)


"The everyday practice of Dzogchen is just everyday life itself.

Since the undeveloped state does not exist, there is no need to behave in any special way or attempt to attain anything above and beyond what you actually are. There should be no feeling of striving to reach some "amazing goal" or "advanced state."

To strive for such a state is a neurosis which only conditions us and serves to obstruct the free flow of Mind. We should also avoid thinking of ourselves as worthless persons - we are naturally free and unconditioned. We are intrinsically enlightened and lack nothing."
- Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche, Tantric Master (emphasis mine)

Of course, from the perspective of Thelema, in my opinion, living like it is described above translates to executing the Will at the ultimate level, indeed beautifully expressed by our Ra-Hoor-Khuit in Liber AL (III. 60):

"There is no law beyond Do what thou wilt."

It is not just that 'we are naturally free and unconditioned', as shared above, even more! 

There is NO need to deny anything, no need to renounce pleasures or to cut off love, money, sex, etc, in everyday life. 

Complete openness and acceptance of everything and integrating everything into a spiritual path - that's what Heruraha and His new aeon brought us.

Enochian dance

Visiting Aethyrs has been one of my favorite practices for years. I first started the Enochian magick practice with elemental Kings by incorporating them (with their consent) into banishing and invoking rituals. Having experienced their might, as it were, I moved straight on to Aethyrs.

So far I have done three cycles of this (to me) very, very sacred practice and have visited certain Aethyrs many many times, receiving teachings and thus instigating profound transformation of perception.

I wholeheartedly encourage everyone to practice and visit Aethyrs. The wisdom, power, love, and compassion of spiritual beings who dwell therein are, in my opinion, simply unsurpassed.

Anyway....

......refraining from sharing personal details of the visits, I would like to share a few things I have learned thus far. Of course, the thoughts below are subjective and may be irrelevant to others.

Here we go:

First thing I realized after the first few visits was that there's one thing that matters the most: intention. What do I want to get from visiting these levels of existance? Well, my first intention (at the time I already had a solid connection with my HGA) was to learn something new. All the visits in the first cycle reflected that intention.

Next: a very important thing in the overall Aethyr system, in my opinion, is that you can't enter any given Aethyr if you are not yet ready. So, in a way, the system can represent a rather clear indication of the real initiation level.

I also observed that all teachings and pieces of information needed for moving on to the next Aethyr are received at the previous one. In practice that means it is very wise to record everything that is happening in real-time; things get really deep, especially at the higher Aethyrs, and linear memory simply doesn't work afterward. I used to record everything with my digital MP3 recorder.

OK, next:
One thing I was surprised to notice when reading the V & V was that Master Therion never worked with the governors. Well, my HGA insisted that I evoke all three (in some cases, four) governors at every Aethyr with the intention to learn from them. Well, in short, oftentimes it was a very rough ride.
And yet, after all these years of visiting Aethyrs I still maintain that learning from governors is very very effective.

Next:
when I share the info about the Enochian Aethyrs with my students, I make sure to get one thing across: do the practice, visit the Aethyrs when you are really ready and want to instigate a profound change in your life.
Of course, it goes without saying that one can easily deceive oneself and only imagine stuff, but when true sincerity is on the table, well, you better be ready.

OK, moving on:
I have learned so much from the governors and by just being there in any given Aethyr, I experienced so much support, love (heh, and also downright negative self-generated bullshit), that I simply can't seem to find the right words.

Angelic governors are, in my experience and according to my observation, clearly clairvoyant and claircognizant. In other words, they know everything about me, a visitor, just by looking at me.
Many times, especially at the ZOM, ARN, and LIL, their words turned out to be prophetic. Clearly, precognition is something they excel at. So, I learned to listen to them and to read between the lines.

And maybe one last share:
in my last visits, maybe a few months ago, a new approach was offered at first by Doagnis, the first governor at ARN. He offered me to invoke him and also gave me a mantra or word of power (in Enochian language). All other governors (in both ARN and LIL) followed the same line of support. Using this kind of support it became increasingly easy to open up to these levels of awareness even in everyday life.

My custom made golden-silver Enochian ring

Ok, that's about it. I wish you all the best in your work.
:)

Magister Templi

Magister Templi (8=3) attainment is explained from various standpoints. Re-posting the text from Heruraha.org, Temple of Thelema (link >>). I added a few remarks on the attainment of arhat and eight trances in yellow text. The original text appears in this color.

Here we go:

"The essential Attainment is the perfect annihilation of that personality which limits and oppresses his true self.
"The Magister Templi is pre-eminently the Master of Mysticism, that is, His Understanding is entirely free from internal contradiction or external obscurity… He is the Master of the Law of Sorrow (Dukkha)." [OSIS - One Star in Sight]

"MAGISTER TEMPLI. – (Master of the Temple): whose functions are fully described in Liber 418, as is this whole initiation from Adeptus Exemptus. See also 'Aha!'." [OSIS]

"The Order of the Star called S.S. is, in respect of its existence upon the Earth, an organized body of men and women distinguished among their fellows by the qualities here enumerated. They exist in their own Truth, which is both universal and unique. They move in accordance with their own Wills, which are each unique, yet coherent with the universal will.
"They perceive (that is, understand, know, and feel) in love, which is both unique and universal." [OSIS]

"The Order of the S.S. is composed of those who have crossed the Abyss; the implications of this expression may be studied in Liber 418, the 14th, 13th, 12th, 11th, 10th and 9th Aethyrs in particular.
"All members of the Order are in full possession of the Formulae of Attainment, both mystical or inwardly-directed and Magical or outwardly-directed. They have full experience of attainment in both these path.” [OSIS]

"Any neophyte of the Order (or, as some say, any person soever) possesses the right to claim the Grade of Master of the Temple by taking the Oath of the Grade. It is hardly necessary to observe that to do so is the most sublime and awful responsibility which it is possible to assume, and an unworthy person who does so incurs the most terrific penalties by the presumption." [OSIS]


TASK

"His principle business is to tend his 'garden' of disciples, and to obtain a perfect understanding of the Universe. He is a Master of Samadhi." [OSIS]

"His word is to comprehend the existing Universe in accordance with His own Mind." [OSIS]

"The function of the Magister Templi is to cause the desert to blossom by transmitting the Logos of the Æon to those that are below the Abyss." [Commentary to Liber LXV, IV:61-63]

"They are all… bound by the original and fundamental Oath of the Order, to devote their energy to assisting the Progress of their Inferiors in the Order. Those who accept the rewards of their emancipation for themselves are no longer within the Order." [OSIS]


THE PATHS: Vav, Heh, Daleth

"TO ATTAIN THE GRADE OF MAGUS he must accomplish Three Tasks; the renunciation of His enjoyment of the Infinite so that he may formulate Himself as the Finite [Heh]; the acquisition of the practical secrets alike of initiating and governing His proposed new Universe [Vav] and the identification of himself with the impersonal idea of Love [Daleth]." [OSIS]

Liber Viarum Viæ assigns to the Path of Vav, "The Forthcoming of the Hierophant," Liber VIII, and to the Path of Daleth, "The Incarnation of the Inmost Light," Liber DLV (Liber Had). To the Path of Heh, it assigns "The Formulation of the Flaming Star," Liber V; most likely this should now be adjusted to read, "The Adoration under the Starry Heaven," Liber XI (Liber Nu).

"…to him who would be a Master of the Temple, the reverse applies. He wishes to remain perpetually in Samadhi, and it is therefore his renunciation to descend further and further into matter. He has volatilized the fixed; now he must fix the volatile. He has ascended from his particular body to the Universal Soul. That Universal Soul must now incarnate itself ever more completely in that body, and in the bodies and minds of all men. He has made his darkness light; that light must illuminate the darkness of all…. The Great Work is accomplished. The new Great Work is proclaimed. He has finished with Solve. He must begin Coagula."
[The Temple of Solomon the King]


VISION OF WONDER

"Only one other [grade besides 5=6] is equally cardinal: the grade of Master of the Temple, which is the Threshold of the Order of the A.'.A.'. I have called the vision corresponding to this the 'Vision of Wonder' which permeates one's daily life in a similar way. The difference [between this and the 'Beatific Vision' of the 5=6] is that penetrating beyond sensory perceptions, one is aware of the mechanism of events, of the subtle chain of causes which connect them. One perceives in detail how each impression necessarily succeeds its forerunner. The effect is that one is lost in wonder at the ingenuity of the universe, to use a very inadequate word, as being the only one available. One feels the intense awed admiration which the greatest masterpieces of Kant, Beethoven, Shakespeare, Rembrandt, Riemann, Kelvin, and such as they inspired, with this difference: that all impressions are equally puissant to produce it." [Confessions, Cap. 78]


NATURAL GRADE

"Every active Member of the Order has destroyed all that He is and all that He has on crossing the Abyss; but a star is cast forth in the Heavens to enlighten the Earth, so that he may possess a vehicle wherein he may communicate with mankind. The quality and position of this star, and its functions, are determined by the nature of the incarnations transcended by him." [OSIS]

"Every person, whatever his grade in the Order, has also a 'natural' grade appropriate to his intrinsic virtue. He may expect to be 'cast out into that grade when he becomes 8=3. Thus one may, throughout his career, may be essentially of the type of Netzach; another, of Hod. In the same way Rembrandt and Raphael retained their respective points of view in all stages of their art."
[MT&P, Cap. VII, Sec. 5.]


MISC.

Magisteri shall be addressed as S.'.H.'. (Supremely Honored) Frater/Soror. (NOTE: This was a later development. The original designation was G.'.R.'. (Greatly Revered) Frater/Soror.)

"10 reflects 3" [NW Ms.]. That is, the Neophyte Grade (1=10) is a reflection, on a lower level, of the Magister Templi Grade (8=3).

"All members of the Order are in possession of the Word of the existing Aeon, and govern themselves thereby." [OSIS]

"They are entitled to communicate directly with any and every member of the Order, as they may deem fitting." [OSIS]

"Members of the Order are each entitled to found Orders dependent on themselves on the lines of the R.C. and G.D. orders, to cover types of emancipation and illumination not contemplated by the original (or main) system. All such orders must, however, be constituted in harmony with the A.'.A.'. as regards the essential principles." [OSIS]


THE OATH

(Oath taken by Him that was to become To Mega Therion on His initiation to the grade of Master of the Temple.)

I. I, ___________, a member of the Body of God, hereby bind myself on behalf of the Whole Universe, even as we are now physically bound unto the cross of suffering:
II. that I will lead a pure life, as a devoted servant of the Order:
III. that I will understand all things:
IV. that I will love all things:
V. that I will perform all things and endure all things:
VI. that I will continue in the Knowledge and Conversation of my Holy Guardian Angel
VII. that I will work without attachment
VIII. that I will work in truth:
IX. that I will rely only upon myself:
X. that I will interpret every phenomenon as a particular dealing of God with my soul.
And if I fail herein, may my pyramid be profaned, and the Eye closed to me.


REMARKS

"And by the power of this transcendent faculty [Sammasati, "constant recollection and keeping in mind of holy things" – grade of Adeptus Exemptus], rising through the Eight High Trances to the very threshold of Nirvana, he at last, in the Trance called Nirodha Samapatti, attains, even in this life, to the Deathless Shore of Nirvana, by the power of Sammasamadhi, Right Concentration. Such a one has finished the path – he has destroyed the cause of all his chain of lives, and has become Arahan, a Saint, a Buddha himself." (Science & Buddhism)

Actually, there is a difference between attainment of Arahan or Arhat (supreme attainment in Small Vehicle or Hinayana - Theravada Buddhism) and Buddhahood (ultimate attainment in Great Vehicle or Mahayana and/or Diamond Vehicle or Vajrayana Buddhism).

In Hinayana, aspirants "only" free themselves and are not willing to give up their attainment for the wellbeing of others so they are called 'solitary practitioners' or 'the hearers' (sravakas in Sanskrit). After quitting the present body, they attain their Pure land (spiritual plane above material ones) but not the highest Pure lands. Those are attained only by the Buddhas, not Arahats.

Theravada or Small Vehicle is also called Sutrayana or Sutra Vehicle because practitioners of this path depend primarily on Sutras or scriptures. It is said that it takes long eons to attain final freedom that way.

Vajrayana or the Diamond vehicle is also called Mantrayana because practitioners on this path depend on the Tantric approach. It is said that the final Buddhahood is attainable in the present body and one life on the path of Tantra, Anuttarayoga Tantra.

Crowley had no access to these advanced and secret teachings (Vajrayana), it seems.

Also, the attainment of nirodha-samapatti is NOT equal to Buddhahood. One does not attain the final emancipation by experiencing this state. Anagamis and Arhats attain it, but that attainment is just a step on the Path, not the end of the Path.

Buddhahood is the dynamic stage, not a trance where everything, including awareness itself, turns off as is the case with nirodha-samapatti. 



"…it's true that as 8=3 one gets a sort of look round at the Supernal Triad, but it can only be a glimpse." [Crowley letter to C.S. Jones, 1916]

[Following a commentary on "The Ordeal of Ida Pendragon":] This story marks a stage in my own understanding of the formula of initiation. I began to see that one might become a Master of the Temple without necessarily knowing any technical Magick or mysticism at all. It is merely a matter of convenience to be able to represent any expression as x + y = 0. The equation may be solved without words. Many people may go through the ordeals and attain the degrees of the A.'.A.'. without ever hearing that such an Order exists. The universe is, in fact, busy with nothing else, for the relation of the Order to it is that of the man of science to his subject. He writes CaCl2 + H2SO4 = CaSO4 + 2HCl for his own convenience and that of others, but the operation was always in progress independently." [Confessions, p. 68]

“In The Vision and the Voice, the attainment of the grade of Master of the Temple was symbolized by the adept pouring every drop of his blood, that is his whole individual life, into the Cup of the Scarlet Woman, who represents Universal Impersonal Life. There remains therefore (to pursue the imagery) of the adept 'nothing but a little pile of dust'. In a subsequent vision the Grade of Magus is foreshadowed; and the figure is that this dust is burnt into 'a white ash', which ash is preserved in an Urn. It is difficult to convey the appropriateness of this symbolism, but the general idea is that the earthly or receptive part of the Master is destroyed. That which remains has passed through fire; and is therefore, in a sense, of the nature of fire. The Urn is engraved with a word or symbol expressive of the nature of the being whose ash is therein. The Magus is thus, of course, not a person in any ordinary sense; he represents a certain nature of idea. To put it otherwise, we may say, the Magus is a word. He is the Logos of the Aeon which he brings to pass." [Confessions, Cap. 81]

From "The Temple of Solomon the King," EQUINOX I:10:

"…There had been a bar to the progress of Frater Perdurabo, a dualism in his conception of the Cosmos. He had not fully understood that the Universe was One, that one might in very truth eat and drink to the glory of God. He knew that by eating and drinking one did not necessarily detract from the glory of God, but had not fully understood the sacramentalism of the simplest actions…. He had still the old illusion that to succeed on one plane you must fail on another; still thought the mind more than the body, the soul more than the mind; did not see that these three must be one in exactly the same sense as the Christian Trinity (as understood by the truest Christians) is One. It was in the course of this illumination that the Truth was ceremonially conveyed to him on the Magical plane, although it was not for three years later that it fully illuminated his mind.

"This illusion, of which it is here spoken, is a most necessary step for the beginner, because to the beginner his ordinary life is not a sacrament. To him things are really common and unclean. He must, therefore, cut them out of his life, and hence to him the name of the Path of Renunciation. But to him who would be a Master of the Temple, the reverse applies. He wishes to remain perpetually in Samadhi, and it is therefore his renunciation to descend further and further into matter. He has volatilized the fixed; now he must fix the volatile. He has ascended from his particular body to the Universal Soul. That Universal Soul must now incarnate itself ever more completely in that body, and in the bodies and minds of all men. He has made his darkness light; that light must illuminate the darkness of all…."

"…it is necessary to emphasize the very peculiar nature of the attainment of this grade. In all previous grades the nature of the Initiation has been light through darkness. In this it is darkness through light. The word of the Adept was L V X, Light. The word of the Master of the Temple is N O X, Night. This is the Night of Pan. The direction of the Path is definitely changed. The Master of the Temple cannot go to the Magus unless bringing the Neophyte himself in his hand, and in this task there is no consolation, as there has always been before. The visions are no more. Silence and stillness and darkness rule the grade. The Adept has throughout his progress been unifying himself. As it is written in Liber CCCXXXIII, Chapter III, the Brothers of A.'.A.'. are women; the Aspirants to A.'.A.'. are men. The Master of the Temple has given birth to a child, which child appears as an Adept among men. But that which was the Adept is but a little pile of dust. Samadhi has been attained once and for all. The process is complete and permanent. The Great Work is accomplished. The new Great Work is proclaimed. He has finished with Solve. He must begin Coagula…."

"…The Master of the Temple is not only the dust in the Pyramid, and the Blood in the Cup, but he is also that which was cast down through the Abyss into the Heaven of Jupiter. The brain reels before such a conception. And the human brain of the Master of the Temple is but little more fitted to understand this in his life as a man than if he had never entered the Path at all. For the Ego has been totally destroyed, and he has nothing wherewith to bind together these things. He is not any of these things, for there is no He. Those things are. And of the results of this, and of how it may bear upon the question of his advancement to the Grade of Magus, who can say? It is not the Master of the Temple even who could answer such a question. For, in relation to his advancement, he is but that little pile of dust which is to burn up, and from which shall be prepared a white ash by Hermes the Invisible. And in relation to his true life, it is mixed with the blood of all his fellows in the Cup of BABALON. And in relation to his body and mind he is but a vehicle of the forces that are beyond the Abyss. He will therefore speak, but as a man among men, of that which he has seen and heard. But he will claim no authority. He will not proclaim dogma. For all that in him from which such things proceed is no more. He will remain in the darkness of the City of Pyramids under the Night of Pan, sitting silent through 106 seasons, the name of every one of which is Death, ever seeking to make his understanding perfect, until the time comes for him to seek that yet more fearful ordeal which must evidently be involved in the attainment of the Grade of Magus…."


THE EIGHT HIGH TRANCES
(NOTE FWIW: The current Praemonstrator of the A.'.A.'., signing himself in his 7=4 identity, wrote that the formal work of the 8=3 includes working the Eight High Trances. - JAE)

Well, the teachings on the Eight trances or Jhanas belong to Small Vehicle or Theravada Buddhism (see my remarks above). 
You can find more info on Eight states here >>
Tedious path, in my experience. It also takes or may take a long time. Tantric path or Anuttarayoga Tantra from Vajrayana Buddhism is quicker and may lead to final emancipation in the present life and this current body.

Of course, the teachings on Dzogchen or Mahamudra or Ati yoga map the path of instant and permanent awakening.

Again, it is obvious that Master Therion had no knowledge of these advanced practices, regretfully.

City of pyramids

Not a physical or mental place, it is outside of space and time, far above the most subtle and sublime barking of well-trained dogs of reason, light years away from personal projections of emotional needs and yet immanent and so very close.

Separated from direct perception (samadhi) only by misplaced attention, intention, and skewed perception.

Never ever attainable (or better yet: realized as already realized) by Knowledge and way beyond the science of futile canine exploration.

Free from mental, emotional, energy, and physical forms - completely transpersonal.

Complete openness and giving, giving, giving.

Pure Understanding of everything as it always was, is, and will be.

Unlimited gentle and compassionate support from Her, who is non-dual with all the Pyramids.

Once realized forever remaining inseparable part of.

Sharing the power, presence, and wisdom with all the Pyramids herein.

The Oath of the Abyss

“ I (motto, titles, etc.), a member of the Body of God,
hereby bind myself on behalf of the whole Universe,
even as we are now physically bound unto the cross of suffering:
- that I will lead a pure life, as a devoted servant of the Order:
- that I will understand all things:
- that I will love all things:
- that I will perform all things and endure all things:
- that I will continue in the Knowledge and Conversation of My Holy Guardian Angel,
- that I will work without attachment:
- that I will work in truth:
- that I will rely only upon myself:
- that I will interpret every phenomenon as a particular dealing of God with my soul.

And if I fail herein, may my pyramid be profaned, and the Eye be closed upon me!”

- published in John St. John



I'd like to share a few thoughts on the subject of the Oath of the Abyss and the crossing itself. Needless to say, these are my subjective thoughts, relative and impermanent. Let us say that this is alive in me at the moment:

I was surprised to learn (from FB of all places) that individuals are taking the above-shared Oath without even attaining the K&C of the HGA.

Ehm, excuse me? Well, on my planet that is like deciding to swim across the Pacific ocean without even knowing how to swim.

On the intellectual level, loving all things, working in truth, leading a pure life, etc., all these things sound rather cool, don't they. There is no way, however, that these elements of the Oath can be put into practice without certain realizations.

One can try and think (or read)  oneself right to death, to no avail. Dogs of reason can bark in any which direction, it will amount to exactly nothing.

There really is a reason why the grades are set up as they are. You really really need to not only attain but to firmly stabilize at the Chesed long before you even think of moving on.
In the A.A. scheme of things, this translates to a 7=4 grade.

In practical terms that means you really ARE a happy individual here on this Earth, healthy, knowing, and easily executing your Will, having no burning issues in everyday life, and certainly not rebelling anymore against Father and/or Mother authority (in all shapes and forms).

You easily deal with your own emotions, face your truth without deceiving yourself.

And these are not some empty words. There is a reason one has to deal with his personal stuff first. And after having dealt with (what is perceived as) the inner limiting tendencies and outer oppressions, the progress has to be actualized here and now, in everyday life. Success is the proof, right?

When we drink up and consume all the fancy philosophy, when the magic and mystic stuff has been all freshed out and when we empty the psychology too, we always come down to one single remaining thing: physical brain and nervous systems.

And there is noooooooooooooo way your (or mine) nervous systems and brain can handle pure transpersonal vibrations and energies of the reality above the Abyss when you (or me) still have personal issues in life and when you (or me) (try to) handle emotions and suffering (your/my own and that of other sentient beings) with intellect or even not at all.

The above-shared Oath of the Abyss is a perfect description of someone who has already crossed the Abyss.

And taking the Oath prematurely amounts to insisting on celibacy while still craving sex. It is gonna be a rough ride indeed.

The real celibate or Brahmachari is not someone who denies or forces himself, but someone who has attained higher taste, and that's why he has no interest in anything else - not with hard work and effort but with ease.

So, following this line of thought right through, the  "...I will interpret every phenomenon as a particular dealing of God with my soul" notion can not be really put into practice by merely taking the Oath, but by crossing the Abyss and breathing the freshness in the air thereof.

Thank you for your time.

:)

She

"...She may be the beauty or the beast
May be the famine or the feast
May turn each day into a Heaven or a Hell
She may be the mirror of my dream
A smile reflected in a stream...

...She, who always seems so happy on her own
Whose eyes can be so private and so proud
No one's allowed to see them when they cry

She may be the love that cannot hope to last
May come to me from shadows of the past
That I'll remember 'till the day I die

She may be the reason I survive
The why and wherefore I'm alive
The one I'll care for through the rough and ready years

Me, I'll take her laughter and her tears
And make them all my souvenirs
For where she goes I've got to be
The meaning of my life is
She...
She..."

After Abyss (III.): total identity collapse

Although inseparable (from a certain point of view), personal and transpersonal or spiritual development is indeed manifested as two distinctive processes:
- growing up (personal growth) and
- waking up (spiritual or transpersonal awakening).

In this blog post, I'd like to elaborate on the latter since the underlying subject in these blogs is states of awareness after crossing the Abyss. I'll present my thoughts on psychological-transpersonal identity development through two attainments: Binah and Chokmah, or Understanding and Wisdom.

Of course, Understanding and Wisdom do not and can not stand alone; they both rely on the Crown, Kether. So, I will submit the concept of "identity collapse" as a very important, if not the most important, experience up here above the Abyss.

Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the law

After crossing the Abyss, the identity of an adept is infused by the light so powerful that it looks like darkness. Our holy texts have labeled that light as NOX.

It is, of course, pure Light; it has nothing to do with the darkness of ignorance or anything else below the Abyss.

It is just so far beyond even the reach of the current state of consciousness of an adept that it appears as dark.

Interestingly enough, in the Vedanta teachings, there is a "cover" that dwells above the highest subtle material worlds, and it is dark or black. Yogis who wish to attain liberation must penetrate that dark cover (again, the Brhad Bhagavatamritam by Sanatan Gosvami comes to mind here; an eager adept ought to look into it.).

To attain this not-light or NOX, one has to choose to surrender all that she thinks or feels she is, along with every single spiritual attainment to the Babalon, our Lady, who resides in Binah.

You can find information on some aspects of that surrender in the blog post on Crossing the Abyss, here >>

After the successful crossing of the Abyss, an adept, now Master (of Samadhi, as per One star in sight, see below) promptly identifies with the Mother. Hmm. Maybe the word "identifies" is not precise enough; I think 'notices' or 'becomes aware of' or 'embraces the evident' is more accurate. It is not a question of attainment but a matter of noting what or Who has always been here.

The point I am making here is that the state of awareness attained in Binah is not new; it is not created anew, and therefore, it only has to be noticed. The Mother is always here; our Lady Babalon is forever present, even if some are not yet aware of Her fully.

And the one process, the only one to really become thoroughly identified with Her  (as far as I can see), is to surrender completely to Her. Surrendering here means to surrender everything not by cutting off or renouncing but by embracing everything. In practice, of course, this means opening up and embracing sorrow, too. And this might take a long time.

Consider this: how much suffering has already been experienced by you that has not yet been fully processed (faced with, felt through and through, and thus transformed)? And how much sorrow is present out there?

Well, all of that has to be embraced. And that is a very good thing! The more one opens up, the more inner support one receives!

When the process of surrender is complete, there is nothing left to embrace. There is not even one iota of sorrow (among other things) left to face, to really experience and to feel, and thus integrate into this state of awareness.

Tantric Master Khyentse Rinpoche has put this beautifully:

"The everyday practice is simply to develop a complete acceptance and openness to all situations and emotions, and to all people, experiencing everything totally without mental reservations and blockages, so that one never withdraws or centralizes into oneself.

This produces a tremendous energy which is usually locked up in the process of mental evasion and a general running away from life experiences.

Clarity of awareness, may, in its initial stages, be unpleasant or fear inspiring; if so, then one should open oneself completely to the pain or the fear and welcome it.

In this way the barriers created by one's own habitual emotional reactions and prejudices are broken down. When performing the meditation practice one should develop the feeling of opening oneself completely to the whole universe with absolute simplicity and nakedness of mind, ridding oneself of all protecting barriers.

One should realize that one does not meditate to go deeply into oneself and withdraw from the world. In buddhist yoga, even when meditating on chakras there is no introspection concentration; complete openness of mind is the essential  point."
(Source >>, emphasis mine. Download PDF here >>)


In fact, complete openness to everything, extreme sorrow included, is the natural state of a Master at the level of existence called Binah. And the Lady Herself is just as open, receiving, and lovingly giving Herself to everyone without exception and reservation.

And the Master is one with Her.

In our 'One star in sight', the Magister Templi is described as "...the Master of the Law of Sorrow (Dukkha)." (VI.) and "Master of samadhi." (II.).

An adept, now a Master, has won the dynamic and all-inclusive dance with sorrow or suffering and has integrated everything (including sorrow or suffering) into her consciousness by seeing through it. And one way to do that (in my experience) is through repeatedly entering and re-entering the Absolute Truth via samadhi, thus seeing it clearly.

Heh, it is all just one elaborate joke, watching the world go by from up here, you see. People are raising stormy waves in perfectly calm seas. My Tantric Master used to say: "You are all just playing out your dramas!".

Or, as our Prophet has so eloquently put it: "...The Masters of Truth are the only happy men, though they constantly observe what men stupidly call Sorrow.". (Liber 73).

It is really liberating to see through suffering, very much so. Kind of lonely, though.
But it sure is fun! :)

And yet, one can not stay forever at this level. When the new Master has acquired enough fluidity and integrated the Understanding of other Masters into his (daily) awareness, it is time to move on.


Identity collapse

Above the Abyss, there is no separation, meaning that the newcomer at the City of Pyramids is already aware of both Wisdom and Illumination. Only the focus differs.

And not before long, the focus from being Her, as it were, will shift on to......Him. And only the Mother can show you your Father, for only She really knows who and what He is.

The words lose their meaning right about here, I think. It is difficult to convey these experiences, to be sure. Initiation is a must; mere speculation will not do.

Let us just say that the more focus Master has on herself, the more Love she intends. And the more Love translates to more openness and surrender.

Liber B vel Magi comes to mind here: "And the Magus is Love..." (Liber B, 0).

What starts to happen (at least that's my experience and adepts from the Theravada Path share similar notions) is that the awareness and the Presence of Him/Love manifests more and more into everyday life awareness. According to the Theravada Path of four stages to Enlightenment, this starts to happen at the Anagami stage (third stage).

And the might of this Presence, the Presence of the One/Crown, sooner or later instigates what has in modern transpersonal psychology been dubbed as 'identity collapse'.

Leaving the usual drama and warnings and threats from our Holy books behind, this "collapse" is, at this level, a most joyous event. It is like finally being able to let go of, well, the Identity. And it 'feels' so good!

Our friends in Buddhist tradition call these experiences anatta and sunyata insights.

And the identity that collapses at this level is not the personal one or the ego. No. That was seen through at the K&C of the HGA attainment. And it is not even the HGA-infused identity. No. That was left behind in the process of crossing the Abyss.

The identity collapse here "collapses" the identity of being Her and/or Him.

Beyond personal identity, beyond the identity of a soul, and even beyond the identity of the One (emanated as Father and Mother, Wisdom and Understanding, Bliss and Emptiness, Light and Dark and manifested as the One Child, Heruraha, Baphomet or any other "entity") - beyond all of that, there is that which is formless. 

Formless here translates to essence-less-ness, emptiness or sunyata, and anatta or anatman (not-self).



One way of putting this:

"The very meaning of the 'Mahamudra - Great Perfection', refers to the true primordial state of every individual and not to any transcendent reality."
— Chogyal Namkhai Norbu

These experiences are so abstract that words convey not nearly enough!

From the practical side of things, the collapse discussed herein contributes to a really deep sense of peace (as no one is here to disturb the peace), clarity of perception, and freedom of expression or activity in a variety of ways.

Of course, even these experiences at this level do not last long, for there is an even deeper and more liberating neutral and natural Reality to be attained.....

......and here we must embark on the path that leads to Illumination through the state of consciousness called nirodha samapatti.

In Liber AL (III-67) this event is described as "the fourth ordeal" (emphasis mine, source >>):

"Through the fourth, ultimate sparks of the intimate fire."

"Beyond the one, how shall he pass on? What is this One, which is in every place the Centre of All? Indeed the logic-girders of our souls need lightening, if we would win to freedom of such Truth as this!

Now in the 'stones of precious water' the Light leapt clear indeed, but they were not themselves that Light. This sphere of the One is indeed Ra-Hoor-Khuit; is not our Crowned and Conquering Child the source of Light? Nay, he is finite form of Unity, child of two married infinities; and in this last ordeal the aspirant must go beyond even his Star, finding therein the core thereof Hadit, and losing it also in the Body of Nuit.

Here is no Path that he may tread, for all is equally everywhere; nor is there any sphere to attain, for measure is now no more.

There are no words to make known the Way; this only is said, that to him that hath passed through this fourth ordeal this Book is as 'ultimate sparks'. No more do they reflect or transmit the Light; they themselves are the original, the not-to-be-analysed Light, of the 'intimate fire' of Hadit! He shall see the Book as it is, as a shower of the Seed of the Stars!"

Love is the law, love under will.

More on this subject in the forthcoming commentary to Liber B vel Magi.

Check out also The Oath of the Abyss here >>

All blogs on the subject of Reality above Abyss, The after Abyss blogs >>