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Post by LorrB on Sept 9, 2011 12:33:30 GMT 9.5
Thought we might discuss The Mystery of Numbers, from The Sacred Magic of the Qabbalah, by Manly P Hall. Numbers being some of the keys to the mysteries of Freemasonry, we might learn something. ............................................... According to the Ancient Wisdom, all numbers came forth out of Ain Soph – the unknown, the dot, the Absolute. The One is the primary manifestation, and as such we are going to consider its power, first in its descent out of the dot and then in its ascent back again into the nature of the dot.
Manifesting out of the formless dot, the beginning of all things is a state of one-ness which man calls unity. All things in the world today have one natural origin. All things in the world today have one natural origin. All things began as one, which came forth out of No-thing, the Unmanifest, by the “elongation of the dot.” To the ancients, one indicated the unity of source, and a unified source meant equal opportunities for all. If all things had one source there can be no superiority among them, except that superiority resulting from the victory of action over inaction. In short, we may say that difference is the result of the diligence of some and indolence of others
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Post by paul on Sept 9, 2011 13:14:35 GMT 9.5
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Post by LorrB on Sept 12, 2011 10:18:11 GMT 9.5
Since the family tree of all people can be traced back to the dot – the form of No-thing and the One, its first out breathing – there is no place in Nature for persons or things which are superior to or holier than others. All things in unity have equal opportunity and equal possibility. No thing and no one can honestly say that he never had a chance. Wither the opportunity was never recognized or, if recognized, the individual did not profit by it or accept the lessons which it sought to teach. Difference in the desire to accomplish and the intelligence of procedure are solely responsible for the inequalities which we see in the world.
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Post by LorrB on Sept 13, 2011 9:08:42 GMT 9.5
Within his own soul everyone has the possibility of ultimate perfection and the daily opportunity of relative perfection. These possibilities and opportunities remain dormant, however, until man himself awakens them by aspiration and activity. Perfection – at least, relative perfection – is the undeniable goal of all things, and the length of time we are forced to struggle for it depends largely upon the abilities which we unfold and the application we make of our newborn faculties.
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Post by LorrB on Sept 14, 2011 15:21:08 GMT 9.5
Science teaches that all forms are various combinations of one primitive essence. This essence, or primum hyle, is the substance of the dot, and manifests through its personification and extension in the One. A stone, a flower, a man, and a god are all in the differentiation of one life. A vegetable is in the process of becoming an animal; and animal is a stage in the unfoldment of a planet; while an electron is a god in the process of becoming. All things are stages in the expression of one connected life, which at the present time is engaged in the task of liberating itself from the dense crystals of physical substance.
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Post by LorrB on Sept 14, 2011 15:22:30 GMT 9.5
So here we have the essence of the dot extending itself. Becoming.
The point within the circle?
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Post by LorrB on Sept 15, 2011 15:29:02 GMT 9.5
All thought is a unity; all natural forces which man uses in his various manifestations are one in their causation. A person’s ability to think does not depend upon chance but upon the attuning of his consciousness to the plane of thought, so that his mental powers may be energized. Those who attune themselves to the various planes of Nature governing the major divisions of life will receive the influx of thought, life or power that dwells in and manifests through that particular plane. The number one also governs the reason for man's labour here. There is but one motive in all his works; there is but one end to all his labours. He must seek to unite his intelligence with that of his Creator, the Ancient of Days. This he does by adjusting his organisms to the body centres of the Macrocosmic Man. This sequential adjustment of internal centres of consciousness with eternal qualities we call evolution.
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Post by LorrB on Sept 22, 2011 13:02:33 GMT 9.5
The one Source of life and the first principle thereof manifests itself in the world as a multiplicity. The one cause, the eternal unit, is diversified into the millions of existing forms, all of which bear witness to the infinite diversity of powers concealed with the structure of the primitive One. Since this unified causation expresses itself as a multiplicity, we recognize it as a stream of ever evolving individualities pouring out of the abyss of Space through the One and into the Many-ness. This One is like a ray of light which spreads out, to be finally swallowed up in darkness as the spirit is enmeshed in form.
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Post by LorrB on Sept 22, 2011 13:06:43 GMT 9.5
I once came across an interactive fractal image of the Mandelbrot Set. It demonstrated beautifully how One can be so Many and so Different. I am hoping some reader here might be able to post the link to it.
I lost my link and can't relocate it.
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Post by paul on Sept 22, 2011 13:10:12 GMT 9.5
[.... Those who attune themselves to the various planes of Nature governing the major divisions of life will receive the influx of thought, life or power that dwells in and manifests through that particular plane.. Quite so, but it takes some effort before the human thinker can even distinguish internal from external thoughts ... He must seek to unite his intelligence with that of his Creator, the Ancient of Days. .... In Masonry, however, we look higher still to the GAOTU.
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Post by LorrB on Sept 28, 2011 10:49:09 GMT 9.5
All differentiation must be unified without the loss of rational individuality before even a relative state of perfection is attainable. Consciousness in man is always growing. (We use the word growing to express the idea of spreading out over the area of its bodies.) Its path is from unconscious One-ness to semiconscious Many-ness, and then back again to super conscious unity. When he returns to his source again, however, man has the circle of a completed cycle to add to the extended point of first expression. This is symbolized by the number ten, which stands for the completion of the first round, for it is the one and the round, or cipher. It means that the One has returned to itself after circumscribing the circle of Many-ness.
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Post by LorrB on Sept 30, 2011 14:39:48 GMT 9.5
The young soul is a unity of unconscious possibilities; it is One, and yet has in potentiality endless differentiation, for it has not as yet split up its rays through individualisation. It is asleep. The old soul, after its wanderings is again One-ness, containing within itself the possibilities that it has awakened into dynamic powers; for, having split up its rays to gain experience, it has again united them to a single end. The young soul is the expression of One pouring itself into Many-ness in search of experience. The old soul has increased its One-ness to contain all diversity and all Many-ness and still remains a unit. This reminds me of the white apron at the beginning of our Masonic journey and the white sash and golden eagle at its completion. www.victoriaregalia.com/cgi-bin/web_store.cgi?product=Scotland_Regalia-N%2033rd%20Degree
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Post by paul on Oct 4, 2011 15:22:13 GMT 9.5
I am not sure that individualisation occurs at such a low level as the soul (higher mental plane).
Further the higher intelligence provided in the soul is perhaps transient - waiting until the persona can express spirit directly
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Post by LorrB on Oct 12, 2011 8:25:29 GMT 9.5
If all things are phases in the unfoldment of one thing and we are seeking to understand that one thing, what is the logical course to pursue? Obviously there is but one answer. If its manifestations are reflections of itself, the only way to understand its nature is to master the gamut of its moods. Those who are masters of the complete expression of divine manifestation are master of the divine will. As long as a single link is missing, man cannot know his Maker. As all things combined in proper proportions form the body of the Grand Man, so all these things combined in the same proportions on a smaller scale produce the transmuted terrestrial Adam, or the symbol of species.
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Post by LorrB on Oct 31, 2011 8:43:10 GMT 9.5
All things move and evolve as diversity in unity. Let us take, for example, a man with a bag of seed to plant. He scatters the seed all over the field. Each minute particle grows and bears fruit tenfold. He gathers the fruit and, after removing the seed, returns it to the bag, and now he has ten times as much as he had before. The simile is applicable to the unfoldment of man, who, by passing through diversity, multiplies his acquirements and, finally, as the old soul, gathers the fruitage of his works and returns with them to unity. In place of the one latent possibility he originally brought with him, he carries back ten dynamic powers.
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Post by paul on Oct 31, 2011 8:57:39 GMT 9.5
...finally, as the old soul, gathers the fruitage of his works and returns with them to unity. I.... This seems to me a rather isolationist view of the soul. What if the soul were not a sole trader but rather part of a group entity?
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Post by LorrB on Oct 31, 2011 9:18:46 GMT 9.5
The young (original spark) soul expands in 'descent' to become diverse, and contracts as it ascends back to to becoming a singular 'old' soul ?
We think of ourselves as singular, whilst acknowledging that every part of our body is composed of living parts. Perhaps we are considered in this manner by something we are part of, but which is greater than we ?
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Post by LorrB on Oct 31, 2011 9:42:08 GMT 9.5
I am now imagining a cone - pointy end being 'Home'.
Consciousness contracts as it is split into 'the many' (moves towards towards the widest part of the cone) and then expands as it contracts back to the Centre. Although from any point within the cone the conscious would seem to be whole and complete. The Point within the Circle.
We are discussing whether our thoughts are our own on another thread. It seem that from our standpoint it is hard to judge even something simple like that.
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Post by LorrB on Oct 31, 2011 9:44:24 GMT 9.5
AFTER THE GREAT BEYOND
by Sy Schechtman
Two important bits of minutia I have carried with me down thru the ages are the literary gem of Shakespeare’s, where Hamlet says to his loyal aide Horatio, “There are more things in heaven and hell then are dream’t of in your philosophy”, and the hard physical fact that water starts to expand below 32 degrees fahrenheit. www.spectacle.org/0610/sy.html
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Post by paul on Oct 31, 2011 15:07:19 GMT 9.5
We are discussing whether our thoughts are our own on another thread. It seem that from our standpoint it is hard to judge even something simple like that. The meaning of the word "own" is not at all obvious
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