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..:: Liberation III
/ Control ::..
By
Alan Schneider
Located as we are in the material
condition of the body (at least according to the evidence of the
senses), and confronted by the ego, we must all deal to some extent with
the issue of control over our personal and social affairs,
specifically, where the locus of that control will be, and by
what it will be exercised.
What is control, as
experienced from the human perspective? Put as simply as possible,
control is the ability to make and carry out decisions. Some of our
control is accessible to us without much external interference – we can
all decide on a more or less independent basis what we will eat, how we
will dress, where we will travel, and so forth. I say here more or
less, because all of the these categories are subject to some degree of
social influence – in this country, we will possibly eat
vegetables as opposed to insects, and will wear some clothing, as
opposed to none, and may travel in a car (as opposed to on an elephant,
perhaps) to a store or work or friends as intended destinations, as
opposed to Astral or Mental consciousness, or Yogic or Tantric
perceptions as “destinations”. In fact, the “me” who presumably makes
these decisions as an ego is very much the result of social processes
itself, without which it would not exist as an independent entity.
And if this ego does not
really exist as the locus of control that it appears to be, what,
then, does? What is actually in control, if anything? There are many
possible answers to this inquiry. Chaos theory maintains that even
evidently random events are still influenced by strange attractors
located beyond the threshold of phenomenal observation, and it is these
attractors that shape events as they emerge into manifest form. Freud
asserted that the unconscious mind exerted subtle (and sometimes not
so subtle) influences on the ego and waking conscious perception,
determining what we believe, and even choose to experience from the
great inrush of the senses. Jung took this a large step further,
claiming that the archetypes of the collective unconscious (themselves a
variety of chaotic strange attractors) generated the forces that
determined external conscious perception and subsequent behavior.
Sometimes, these archetypal forces generate perceptible symbols
of conscious content, symbols of an incredible variety and extent,
manifest both in the unconscious processes of dreams, and conscious
processes of visions and ideas. Jung postulated that the source of all
psychic manifestation, including the archetypes, was an enigmatic
structure at the core of the Psyche that he termed simply the Self.
Presumably, this Self is also symbolically observable in deep
meditation, and (admittedly subjective) witness accounts occasionally
confirm this.
Although it is still highly
theoretical, and open to much criticism for that reason, the Jungian
system is the most scientifically plausible one that allows for
extra-personal, i.e. spiritual, loci of control. The Freudian
system allows for somewhat extra-personal loci, but this is
relegated to the personal unconscious region of the Psyche, the
Id, and is specifically not represented as having any larger
psychic, or higher spiritual, significance. Jung has given us our best
picture thus far of where God – i.e. the Self – might be
found, and what might be the effect of that phenomenon on
individual and collective human affairs, acting through the agency of
the archetypes and archetypal symbols.
How then does the Self
function as the primary locus of human control? What is its intent for
human beings? Is it linked to other quasi-chaotic phenomena, and if so,
how? Let us investigate these questions further. If Jung was correct
in his supposition, then the Self is the origin of all
consciousness, including control-oriented consciousness and behavior
seen for better or worse on the material level of perception. The Self
presumably achieves control through a series of secondary levels of
intervention associated with, first, the primary archetypes and symbols
(which are somewhat subject to cultural interpretation – as also
is the Self), then a much wider variety of secondary archetypes and
symbols (all of which are increasingly subject to more cultural
interpretation), then a layer of purely cultural filtration (i.e. even
more interpretation accompanied by censorship) seen in the ego
and personal unconsciousness, and, finally, in the apparent physical
manifestation of material form and function of what remains to be
perceived at the end of this process. There are several things that
can sway the outcome of this admittedly complex operation, not the least
of which are Karma and its primary vehicle on the Physical Plane,
behavioral conditioning.
As has been exhaustively
described in these essays, Karma is the essence of manifestation of
physical form and process. Karma is the Self expressed in the movements
of the senses and sense perception. Karma is God manifest through the
Soul as human behavior and experience. This behavior and experience
is, more often than not, determined by the outcome of conditioning, as
the basic condition of the pure Soul (certainly at least an aspect
of the Self) is subjected to the Divine Will (also an aspect of the
Self) as Karma. This is the first layer of control, and it is
largely unconscious, the result of many years of early childhood (and
also subsequent adolescent) conditioning and reinforcement, as the shape
and characteristics of the personality are cast over the pure
consciousness of the Soul, thus clothing it in a personal identity.
Depending on the nature of
one’s Karma, it may be possible to recognize the conditioning process
for what it is and then either convert it to positive ends, by reversing
the most negative elements present within it, or otherwise terminate it
entirely. This decision represents the access to the second
layer of control, wherein one can make certain life-changing decisions
about one’s destiny, and subsequently implement them. Many people do
not reach this stage in the control spectrum, spending their lives
instead in the grip of their Karma and conditioning, blindly striving
for goals that they may or may not ever reach, while the essence of
love, life, and truth is left unrecognized in the dust of daily battle.
Such is their Karma, however, and we must respect this as the Divine
Will of the Self.
If one does begin to realize
the deep nature of existence present beyond the superficial physical
events and stimulation of materialism, the second layer of control can
be expanded upon to encompass the full process of enlightenment, leading
us through the vast array of the archetypes and archetypal symbols
toward the Self. This represents the third layer of control
wherein one can gain the understanding that there is one fundamental
choice before us in life – to direct our consciousness upward in
enlightenment, or downward in ignorance. As the upward journey of Soul
consciousness continues (and there may well be backward steps aplenty
along the way) toward the Self, the realization becomes possible of the
true nature of the Self as Love, Light, and Presence, the fourth
and final level of control. At this level, the Self is known as the
only real source of any and all control manifest anywhere in the entire
preceding sequence of perceptual events, right back down to the material
level of sensory experience. We have returned to the Truth of
Consciousness.
In the process of asserting
second stage control over the generally wild, unruly, and massively
resistive ego, the observations of Yoga, Tantra, and Buddhism become
invaluable. Here we have the spiritual tool kit that can eventually
subdue the eternally restless mind and permit access to the great
expanse of the collective unconscious with the Self at its center. It
is the misguided ego that holds perception in the illusory continuum of
desire objects and gratification focused on the material plane. Why is
this condition illusory? Because it is the most absolutely superficial,
transitory mode of experience, rooted in sense addiction, and all of the
time we spend in this way, whether Karmic (and necessary) or not, is
ultimately futile. We only begin to grow and develop as higher
conscious beings when we finally look beyond the material into the deep
waters of spiritual realization and make the decision to dive in.
Without the discipline of Yoga and the Yoga lifestyle of Asanas, Yamas,
and Niyamas this decision is very difficult to make and maintain for any
length of time. The same observation can be made of Buddhism – the
Noble Eight Fold Path requires discipline above all for success.
Once positive control has been
supplanted for the negative conditioning that frequently represents the
starting place of Karma, the balance is tipped toward the Self and
Self Realization, the goal of all spiritual growth and
consciousness. As we advance toward this goal, and the accompanying
completion of the process referred to by Jung as individuation –
the full integration of the Psyche as a functional, non-neurotic whole
expression – a complete being – we experience the burgeoning awareness
of inner grace and bliss, the joy beyond material manifestation
and intellectual comprehension. We are on the way home to Paradise!
- With Love, Alan -
(Copyright 2009, by Alan Schneider)
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