The Tarot and Archetypes -- A Primer with an Example

Introduction

A substantial part of the Ra Material touched on the Tarot cards designed by Ra for teaching adepts the blueprint of the evolution of the mind, body, and spirit. This is a difficult part of the Material to grasp, also may not be very important information for general seekers. Ra designed each of the Tarot card in the major Arcana to represent an archetype of the mind, body, or spirit cycle as planned by the Logos. Each development cycle contains seven archetypes: Matrix, Potentiator, Catalyst, Experience, Significator, Transformation, and the Great Way. This was specifically designed for this Logos, that is, the blueprint of development applies to the entire solar system.

When we process our life experiences through each archetype in the order planned for a cycle, we make progress in the corresponding cycle of mind, body, or spiritual development. Each tarot image gives hints to the characteristics of the archetype and its relationship to other archetypes. This article contains my understanding of the archetypes so far. It doesn't mean these understandings are correct nor they are complete. I write this as a helpful starter for anyone who is interested in the topic, and as an exercise to streamline my views so far. Please take what resonate and leave the rest if they are not helpful.

In my view, the cycles depicted through the Tarot cards is like a blueprint or map for our development. Each card contains the key elements of the archetype, but not how the archetype is experienced or used. Different people may utilized each archetype differently. It may be like a location on a map, everyone arrived at the same place may tell you completely different views and feelings about it. Each location provides an unique set of features but what one will experience at the location may vary. 

Ra also pointed out that the Tarot was a tool designed for the adepts. Who are the adepts? that's a question may require another essay to discuss. I am not very clear on this overloaded term. According to "The Children of Law of One" by Jon Peniel, an adept is someone who has experienced the Universal Consciousness, also know as enlightenment or samadhi. By this definition, I think most of the readers of this article, me included, have not reached adepthood. However, it seems to me that Ra defined adepts as someone who's no longer a "seeker" or beginner -- those who are interested in information beyond the veil but may not be clear how it relates to their higher goal in life --  adepts are those who has consciously chosen to live their lives in service, either on the STO (Service to Others) or STS (Service to Self) path. In this sense some of us are already adepts. Still, many may pursuit spirituality out of curiosity, out of a deep seeded yearning without knowing what it will lead to. In that case this document may not be very helpful to them. 

The Tools versus the Process

In Ra76.9, Ra talked about "arrive at the position of being able to become and experience archetypes at will". Many people, myself included, inferred from how the term "archetype" is used in psychology or how the cards represent in divination, tend to think that the archetypes represents some type of the personality that we need to assume, that we need to act certain way to be like the archetype. Ra has corrected Don multiple times (Ra92) when Don stated one archetype would do this or that. Ra pointed out the it's our mind/body/spirit complex that moves between the archetypes, not the archetype itself. 

The archetypes mark the toolset we utilize in our progress, but is not an actor in the progress (Ra92.17). Since Ra used the word "distill" a lot when describing archetypes, the archetypes may be seen as a set of filters we can use to turn the muddy waters that's the life experience into golden nectars that nurtures our mind, body and spirit. These filters need to be used in certain order to produce the desired outcome. The filter has basic features but is also customized by us with each use. Matrix is the basic filter that we all have to start, yet we are not consciously aware of it, initially only use/apply the filters instinctually or accidently. When we become aware what we want to accomplish in life, we can properly use these filter to accelerate the process. The cycle of filters is applied again and again through out our 3D incarnation to produce ever refined essence. Without the awareness of these filters, we can become stagnated. The Tarot describe the feature of each filter so we may properly apply them. 

The Symbols

The major Arcana of the Tarot deck are pictures illustrating the concepts Ra wish to pass on to us. Symbolic images are everywhere. Here I will summary a few frequently used feature.

Male/Female

Male figure represents the masculine principle, and female the feminine principle. Masculine principle represents the manifested, out-reaching, or conscious in terms of mind; Feminine principle represents the unmanifested, awaiting, or subconscious in terms of mind. They are heavily used especially in the archetypes of the Mind. 

Square/T-Square

Ra indicated that the square shape, or T-shape, such as a 90-degree bent leg, represents the 3D illusion, the environment of our incarnative experience.

Wings

Wings often represent the spirit. The location of the wings, upper or lower, may represent the current state of the spirit.

Left/Right, Dark/Light

The left side of the figure represents the negative nature or path (STS), and the right side represent the positive nature or path (STO). The same applies to the dark and light coloring.

Zodiac Symbols

Certain animal figures has their own symbolic meanings associated with Zodiac. "The signs of the zodiac run in this sequence: Ram, Bull, Twins, Crab, Lion, Virgin, Balance, Scorpion-Eagle, Centaur, Goat, Water-bearer, Fishes. Everything that condenses into matter is manifested on the material plane and runs its own lifetime through the full circle of the zodiac." They may be relevant to some Tarot images. 

Scorpion-Eagle: "The sign of the Scorpion-Eagle represents the great turning point when the crawling worm is transformed into a high-flying eagle, redeemed, a being that has awakened and become conscious in the divine self. The worm -- Scorpion -- must kill itself in order to become an eagle." (source of quoted sentences : "Initiation" by Elizabeth Haich, mentioned in Ra41.23).

The Mind Cycle - An Example

The Ra Material was only able to cover one cycle of the development in detail, the mind cycle. The seven archetypes in the Mind cycle also has a name associated with the image: Matrix - Magician, Potentiator - High Priestess, Catalyst - Empress, Experience - Emperor, Significator - Hierophant, Transformation - Lovers, and the Great Way - Chariot. 

I will attempt to use information from the Ra Material to explain meaning contained in the images. Hopefully, this will be helpful for continuing deciphering of the body and spirit cycle.  Keep in mind that this is an examination of power-ups, not how and when they are best used.

Card #1. Matrix of the Mind, the Magician

Matrix is the basic filter we are all equipped with. The Magician is the nature of the basic unfed mind. It is a male figure, indicating our conscious mind. The Magician has the power to manifest in reality. This is the nature of the Mind that creates and transmutes. On the Magician's right hand, he holds the symbol of the magical ability of transformation: a globe. 

His left hand points to a square cage with a bird inside, symbolizing the spirit trapped in the 3D illusion. The Magician is within reach of free the bird from its cage, but how? He could break the cage with brute force or his magic ability -- maybe this is the choice hidden within the Matrix. Knowing the Magician is knowing that we can create our own reality.

Card #2. Potentiator of the Mind, the High Priestess

The Potentiator generate the potential for future opportunities of learning.  It brings further Catalysts and Experiences into our existence. The High Priestess is female, indicating the potentiating carries out in our subconscious. I think a good example of Potentiator in action is in Ra53.8 where Ra explained that an UFO encounter Morris experienced as a child was the result of his "inner voice" altering him to see a thought form therefore "awakening in it the desire to seek the truth of this occurrence and of the experiences of its incarnation in general." In this case, the Potentiator worked by planting the seed for Morris' inner desire for further seeking.

Ra said that the dark and light pillars indicate polarity inherently exists in the Potentiator. Matrix and Potentiator forms a paired group with an inherent tension between and male and female principles. The Matrix is intended to reach for the treasure that the Potentiator can reveal. The Priestess's left shoulder is exposed, her right shoulder is veiled. I interpret it as the left hand path will appear more alluring and easy to reach while the right-hand path requires deeper contemplation to unveil. 

Card #3. Catalyst of the Mind, the Empress

The Catalyst is any events that alert our senses, in this case, alert our minds. It is also female, which means it works in the subconscious. Ra said Empress indicates the nobility (thus importance -- my interpretation) of the archetype (Ra78.36). The Empress sit on the square box that's our 3D illusion, perhaps indicating that Catalysts are always within our reach but "does not enter manifestation"(Ra92.27). On her right hand, she holds the globe signifying the magical nature of the mind. On her left hand, a bird with wing out stretching. Ra explained the significance of the bird in 93.10. I take it as spirit directing the mind in processing of the Catalyst. The Empress' feet are on the left side, indicating a bias towards a left-handed (negative) interpretation of the catalyst (Ra93.8). Ra agreed with Don that the unstable platform beneath the Empress' feet indicating the processing of Catalyst can be easily swayed between the left-hand or right-hand path (Ra93.9). 

Card #4. Experience of the Mind, the Emperor

The Experience is how an event is experienced by us, in this case, by the Mind. The Emperor is male, thus indicating the Experience is a conscious process. Like the Matrix and the Potentiator, the Catalyst and the Experience are a pair that informs each other. The Emperor also indicates nobility and that "through the catalyst which has been processed by the potentiated consciousness that experience may ensue."(Ra78.37) 

The Experience also sits atop the 3D illusion that's the box. The bird that was on the left side of the Empress (the Matrix) is now on the chest of the Emperor, indicating the spirit shown to the Catalyst needs to be internalized to result in Experience. Facing left, the attention is more easily drawn to the negative side of the experience (Ra94.15). Ra also indicates that the white cat sitting in the right side of the box indicating protection offered for the right hand path in the 3D illusion (Ra95.22). The emperor's right and left side signifies difference of the right and left-hand path approach in processing the experience. The stretching left hand and T-shape of the leg indicating the left-hand path carries out the experience through manipulation (Ra95.27), while the right hand retain the tool of transformation by the Magician -- the globe. 

Card #5. Significator of the Mind, the Hierophant

The Significator distills the essence processed from Matrix to Experience to aid in further polarization.  The wings above the picture indicating the Significator is guided by the spirit. The male figure is within the square frame instead of above it, indicating the Significator becomes conscious part of the 3D experience. Unlike in the Potentiator card where two pillars are of dark and light color, the pillars in the Significator are identical, possibly indicating no inherent polarity within the Significator. There is a small figure on each side of the Hierophant, dark on the right side and light on the left side, Ra said it indicates that negative experiences often produce positive (right hand path) progress and vice versa (Ra97.16). The difference in placement of left and right hand of the Hierophant could be an indication of actions of the left and right-hand path. The right hand is placed in the center of the body, indicating the importance of an open heart in the interpretation of the right-handed path. The left-hand holding a sward, indicating possible protective action resulted from fear based interpretation of the left-handed path. 

Card #6. Transformation of the Mind, the Lovers (or Two Paths)

The Transformation is a conscious choice of the Mind done from information distilled from Catalysts to Significator. The picture is pretty clear, the male in the middle is faced with the choice of the left and right-hand path. There is a genie with a bow aiming towards the left-hand path. Ra said it means the left-hand path being the path of separation, needs protection; while the right-hand path seeing others as self, does not feel threatened. (Ra99.8)

Card #7. The Great Way  of the Mind, the Chariot

After a conscious choice is made in Transformation, the Great Way results. The Great Way has many similar elements of the Experience and the Significator. Readers can build their interpretation from the interpretation hof previous archetypes. The wings below the Chariot indicating spirit's role in supporting the Great Way. The wing-like veil extending from the left top corner of the chariot probably has some meanings, but I'm not quite sure what. The lions that pulls the chariot are light on the left side and dark on the right. I assume again it indicates some type of balancing. 

The Emperor

 May we present the Archetype of the Experience of the Mind: the Emperor.

Currently, we are given a great opportunity to manifest this Archetype, through the collective catalyst that is the Covid pandemic (regardless if you believe the pandemic is real or not). You may think for all the spiritually awaken people, such as people in the Law of One community, there would be a general consensus on how to process this catalyst. However, from my observations, this is so far from the fact. From the people in my real-life and online circles, I have observed the following variety of reactions:

1. Covid is a hoax, it's just a bad flu: not going to change my behavior.

2. Covid is a catalyst, but I'm safe from it: no vaccine or mask for me. 

    2.1. Vaccine is harmful and dangerous, a tool for the negative to control.

    2.2  Any mandate on mask, vaccine, or social distancing is a free will infringement, therefore I will not use mask, or take vaccine, or social distance for principal. 

3. Covid is dangerous, but I don't trust or want vaccines. Everyone need boost their health and protest themselves, including through social distance and mask. 

4. Covid is dangerous, everyone need to get vaccine if they can so we can be free of social distancing and masking measures. 

What's more concerning is that people holding these different views all express anger and frustration at those who have an different view. Those who don't agree or act differently are either sheep/slaves, anti-vaxxers, conspiracy theorist, STSs, selfish, ignorant... basically stumbling blocks for the collective spiritual evolution.

Depicted as a male figure, the Experience of the Mind is an archetype that we consciously manifest. What is the Experience of the Mind of those with these feeling of anger and frustration? Is this the right-hand path depicted with the hand holding the orb? The mind recognizing itself as the Magician who has the ability to transform? Or the left-hand path signified with the foot, garment, and the hand, pointed and stretched, guarding and keeping itself at a distance from the other selves? 

May I offer another view of the pandemic. Its existence indicates a collective catalyst that we all need, recognized or not. I do feel a majority of people in the Law of One community are pretty safe from it. By that I mean we would not experience something serve enough to cause the end of our incarnational experience: death. The logic part of assumption is from the "great cat"(Ra95.23) that guards depicted in the box upon which the Emperor sits. The box signifies our 3d illusion, and my interpretation is that the "great cat" guards the positive from "the gusts, flurries, and blizzards of quick and cruel catalyst."(Ra95.24) This doesn't mean those along the positive path are protected the same way. There will be variations in our experiences. As Ra said, "the great cat guards in direct proportion to the purity of the manifestations of intention and the purity of inner work done along this path."(Ra95.18) So we will experience different degree of protection. Some may get Covid but recover, some have more severe symptoms than others, some may not get it at all.

Now, what about those who have not polarized positively sufficiently? We probably all agree that's the majority of people here on Earth today. How can they be protected? Masks, vaccines, and social distancing, these are the measures that can offer protection in the material illusion. Yes, the negative could and would use policies with regard to these measures to control. But if we come from the place of Love, do we ignore their suffering because it's the result of their own shortcomings, do we let them be what they need to be? Or do we do something that may be unnecessary for us but would help the less fortunate? This is the Choice, there is no right or wrong answer, but the choice we are here to make in 3rd density. If your choice is not aligned with the choice your Higher Self would make, it will be made known to you somehow.

What is the left-hand path signified in the Emperor with the out stretched arm, leg, and garment? I think humanity has been far too familiar with this path, which is the struggle against something. May it be anti-fa, anti-vaxx, anti-abortion, war on drugs... Let's look at the example of Ten Commandments discussed by Ra. Ra said the commandments "copy or ape positivity while retaining negative characteristics."(Ra16.15) Ra later confirmed the negative characteristics was exhibited in the "Thou shalt not"(Ra16.20) commands. To me, this is a good example to see that the positive path is not about against something that seen as negative, but about operating in a totally different way that's rooted in the positive perspective. Something we've probably not been taught before. 

Now let's look deeper. What are the positivity Ra mentioned in the commandments? I see "not kill" for one. We know that the thou-shalt-not's were for "conquest and enslavement"(Ra16.17), does it mean that we should be against "not killing" and kill as we please? Consider another example. Spiritual information transmitted ages ago have long been distorted through negative influences, especially in many organized religions. Religions have been used to manipulate, control and commit atrocities throughout history. Does it mean we should abandon all the spiritual teaching that's been used negatively? Ra said old and new testaments had the equal amount of Law of One information even though the old testament was more negatively influenced (Ra26.7). 

With an open heart and operate without fear: not fearing Covid, not fearing the vaccine, not the masks, not any mandate, not any attempt to manipulate or control. Do what you consider best to express love on your own accord, not doing it to show that you are "against" something. I think this is what Ra meant with the allegory of the poker game: the positive path is not follow the rule of the game, but to show your hands and say "I love you" to all (Ra50.7).

Q'uo have called vaccine a "healing modality"(2011/03/05). Masks and social distancing have been shown to be effective protection at least for some by science. If you have the trust and view this material illusion from the highest perspective, then you know everything is well and as it needs to be. Then you may see everything is there for a reason. You may not need these protection in the material world, but others do. What do you do then? Force them into the path that they are not well equipped to handle? 

Knowing all is well and allowing can reduce the anger and frustrations of the negativity we see. Here's my choice:

5. I don't fear Covid nor think it will harm me. But being inflected by Covid will cause great suffering and stress to my loved ones. I know getting the vaccine will provide a sense of safety to them. I let the universe direct me, I do not go seek out vaccines, but accept when offered. I got vaccinated when it's offered to me. I know the great white cat protects me from both Covid and any negative manipulation of the vaccines. I follow preventive pandemic measures with flexibility, not with fear but with desire to protect others. I do not let fear override love: if someone are in distress, I would be happy to give them hugs and console without fear even if it violates any mandate in place. 

Basically, operate from love and an open heart instead of fear. It's not about the action. Q'uo spoke at length about "being" and "doing", with "being" as "all that there is" (1991/02/22,1987/08/16). When you try to get someone to see your point of view, you could see that someone as egotistic, stupid, controlling, etc, etc, or you could see someone whose perspective is different because they had not the resources, environment, "the advantages that you had" (The Great Gatsby). These different being-ness while doing the same actions will generated different effect (maybe unseen effect). The difference in the being-ness can sometimes be subtle, and requires inner works to recognize. 

Now you ask, but what about these attempts to manipulate, control, and violate free will that I can see? Do I just not do anything about it? If I don't protest against it, how can it change? Good question. The answer is probably different for everyone. Spiritual teachings tell us that changes come from within and will be reflected in the outward manifestation. Gaze at the Emperor, his work (for the STO path) is learn to better use the orb. To be free of control and manipulation is not to do exactly the opposite what the controlling power direct you to do. Your action is still the result of their manipulation -- this is a trap of their clever control tactics, and it has been repeated through out history. To make a long lasting change, do what Love direct you to do. Do not what your judgement tell you to do. This can feel a bit scary. Consider the question Jesus asks in A Course in Miracles: "do you want to be right or do you want to be happy?" If you think choosing "happy" is easy, consider this hypothetical scenario that can make someone change their answers: travel without the fear of a contagious disease would make me happy. I want that. Getting the vaccine would give me that. But negative entities also force a vaccine mandate on everyone, violating people's free will. Thus I think getting the vaccine means submission to the negative force, thus not a right thing to do. So I cannot choose happy, I need to do the right thing...(then I may start to argue: that's not true, vaccine cannot be good and make me happy, it's probably a negative plot as well... so I am not choosing being right over happy. I'm choosing being right and happy...)

Choose only Love. Be the magician, the Creator. Be the Emperor who learn to master that orb in your hand, and let the magic of transformation happen.

Even as I write this, I also have a small lingering doubt in the back of my head. Does it really work like that? Maybe I'm not advanced enough for it to works me. I decided just to go with it as an experiment that is life. Start with small steps, do what you can. Don't be hard on yourself. Let go that fear. 

The Third Eye -- Science and the Law of One

My path to the Law of One maybe a bit unique. It didn't start with some spiritual pursuit, but with my search for deeper understandings in science. My path has its advantages: "as above, so below", this principle of correspondence allowed me to see more clearly of some of Ra's teachings that others find a bit confusing. This is my attempt to illustrate some of those confusing concepts. 

Dimensions verses Densities

Many are confused about these two terms that Ra uses. Are they the same thing or different? Here's my understanding. 

Ra mostly use "dimension" when referring to qualities associated with locality, such as a place or region in physical manifestation. This is similar to how the term "dimension" is used in physics. I believe Ra used this term as they knew that Don was a physics professor thus would grasp its meaning. "Density", on the other hand, was used to refer to the quality or level of consciousness. Density describes the quality of a state that's not limited to space/time. Interestingly, "density" is also a term in physics that measures the amount of content within a certain volume. In terms of mind/body/spirit complexes, dimension is a feature associated with of the space that the body occupies, density measures the overall state of the m/b/s complex. 

However, there is a correspondence between dimensions and densities. Currently we have 3rd density consciousness and we perceive space to be of 3 dimensions. We think space is 3D because we naturally have 3 degrees of freedom in movement: we can move left/right, front/back, and up/down. However, most of what we perceive in 3D are contained in 4 dimensional space. Namely, the electromagnetic and chemical interactions take place in 4D space. Four dimensional space is not currently recognized by mainstream science but it will be. Furthermore, I also deduced that space that's x dimensional can contain bodies of up to (x-1)th density beings. For example, earth exists in a 4 dimensional space thus can host beings of the first, second, and third density. I suspect that when we reach the 4th density, we can naturally access 4 dimensions of space while learning to recognize the 5D space that hosts the 4th density bodies. 

Because of the correspondence between dimension and density, these two terms seems to be used interchangeably. But knowing how Ra talked, that they spoke words in a very precise manner, they used this two terms very carefully as well. 

For example, in 6.8, Ra was asked about the location of the Council of Nine. Because the question was about a place, the term "dimension" was used in the answer, not "density". So when Ra said "the Council was located in the eight dimension", not the eight[h] dimension as the transcript corrected, they meant the council was located in a region of eight dimensional space, which implied that beings from all densities 1-7 could sit on the council. It doesn't mean that only beings of the 8th density sit on the council.  

Another example, Ra called the 4th density as being "in the dimension of love or understanding" (16.32). In this case it seems dimension and density could be used interchangeably. However, I think Ra used "dimension" because it referred to a region that contains both 4th density positive and negative entities, as Ra later explained (20.36).

Perceiving Dimensions

Part of my scientific endeavor caused me to look into why we believe the space around us is 3 dimensional (3D). Yes, we have three degrees of freedom in movement, but how do we perceive 3D? When we look at something, we see a flat image, how do we tell the 3D depth of the objects in this image? We know this, of course, it is because we have stereo vision. Each of our eyes receives a slightly different 2D image. Through the evolution process, our brains learned to correspond the two images from our eyes with our other senses and eventually were able to process the two 2D images into one 3D stereo vision. 3D movie theaters uses this knowledge to create stereo images from a flat screen, and we know if someone lost the sight in one eye, they will have difficulty determining 3D depth, for they have lost their stereo vision. 

Knowing that third density humans can recognize 3 dimensional space with 2 eyes, I wondered if second density animals can only recognize 2 dimensions. Knowing that stereo vision requires two images that are slightly different, we can deduce that two imagines with nothing in common will not produce stereo vision. Consider animals such as fish and birds, their eyes are located on the opposite side of the body, thus produces none-overlapping images. It is easy to conclude that these second density beings do not recognize 3d space, even though they live in it. However, animal such as mammals have front facing eyes like us, they possess the necessary information to produce stereo vision. This make sense too, for Ra indicated that as second density evolving to the point of ready to graduate to the third density, they will start to develop third density characteristics. Thus 2nd density animals further along the evolution path, such as mammals, have the opportunity to develop stereo vision.

By the same token, we are third density beings ready to move on to the fourth density, thus we start to acquire some fourth density abilities as well. Science will soon recognize that space is 4 dimensional. But will we be able to perceive 4D space? Well, if we need two eyes to produce 3D stereo vision, then to produce 4D vision, we need... a third eye! Now I understand why the indigo ray chakra is called the third eye! Could it be because it gives us the ability to perceive 4D space? I believe so. I think the visions acquired through the third eye give us the experience of 4D space. Since it's not something we normally experience on earth, we often describe it as trippy, weird, and out of this world. 

Well, that's my very geeky understanding of the third eye. I believe it is not just descriptive term about the far seeing ability. It is closely connected with the concepts of dimensions, densities, and their correlation in our evolution. As many of us are aware that many words in our language are packed with deeper meanings and correspondences, now I believe "the third eye" is also one of them.

Cycle Graphs

As my old cycle graph post stopped working, I found this one that's even more informative:

http://bring4th.org/biorhythms/

I did find bug as of now: if you try to generate graphs for more than one birth dates, the graph will only show the one of the first birth date you entered (unless you close the browser and restart). 

What is the 18-day (adept) cycle?

"There is a fourth cycle which we may call the cycle of gateway of magic of the adept or of the spirit. This is a cycle which is completed in approximately eighteen of your diurnal cycles."

" The spiritual or adept’s cycle is an eighteen-day cycle and operates with the qualities of the sine wave. Thus there are a few excellent days on the positive side of the curve, that being the first nine days of the cycle — precisely the fourth, the fifth, and the sixth — when workings are most appropriately undertaken, given that the entity is still without total conscious control of its mind/body/spirit distortion/reality. The most interesting portion of this information, like that of each cycle, is the noting of the critical point wherein passing from the ninth to the tenth and from the eighteenth to the first days the adept will experience some difficulty especially when there is a transition occurring in another cycle at the same time. At the nadir of each cycle the adept will be at its least powerful but will not be open to difficulties in nearly the degree that it experiences at critical times. "

Are We Ready?

It's been a while since I've gained the scientific understanding on why the speed of light does not limit how fast we can travel, how we have misunderstood gravity, why the expansion of the universe appears to be accelerating, and how the particle and wave property of matter are integrated with each other. But how come I have not able to let others to understand what I can? I assume it's because I have not understood it clearly enough to explain it others. But as But as my understandings grow deeper, I also wonder, "maybe we are just not ready?"

Just look at the last great leap in human's understanding of the physical world, Einstein's theory of relativity -- what concrete application did it bring to us? It brought us a limitation: the idea that nothing travels faster than the speed of light - making other intelligence unreachable to us; and it brought out the nuclear age, the world got to witness the terror of nuclear weapons. Knowledge is power, with great power comes great responsibility -- so if we have not learned to act responsibly, we will be deprived of the knowledge?

If it's understood that Earth is not only easily reachable by other interstellar beings, that they've been with us throughout our history, will it really cause mass hysteria and panic? If anti-gravity technology is easily achieved, will we just use it to create more deadly and efficient weapons of mass destruction? 

As far as myself is concerned, do the answers to these questions really matter? If I'm here to gain knowledge for myself and the world, should I do what Krishna told Arjuna, carry out my duties without attachment to the outcome? 

Any ways, I feel the knowledge I have will be ready for the world when the world is ready to receive it. Otherwise it will just be limited to a small group of people who are ready. 

Are you ready? Is the world ready? How long will it take to be ready?

When the world is ready, the transformation will be fast.

Matrix of the Body and Potentiator of the Mind

Archetypes with regard to men and women:

87.28 Questioner: Why is the male and the female nature different?

Ra: I am Ra. When the veiling process was accomplished, to the male polarity was attracted the Matrix of the Mind and to the female, the Potentiator of the Mind; to the male the Potentiator of the Body, to the female the Matrix of the Body. May we ask if there are any brief queries before we close this working?

92.20 Questioner: The Matrix of the Mind is depicted seemingly as male on the card and the Potentiator as female. Could Ra state why this is and how this affects these two archetypes?

Ra: I am Ra. Firstly, as we have said, the Matrix of the Mind is attracted to the biological male and the Potentiator of the Mind to the biological female. Thusly in energy transfer the female is able to potentiate that which may be within the conscious mind of the male so that it may feel enspirited.

In a more general sense, that which reaches may be seen as a male principle. That which awaits the reaching may be seen as a female principle. The richness of the male and female system of polarity is interesting and we would not comment further but suggest consideration by the student.

My Interpretation:

Biological Female: naturally fits in the archetypical role of the Matrix of the Body and the Potentiator of the Mind.

Biological Male: naturally fits in the archetypical role of the Potentiator of the Body and the Matrix of the Mind.

By examining the biological interaction of males and females we can gain understanding of the functions of the Matrix and the Potentiator.

When we speak of the body, we tend to think of the female physique. How female bodies are viewed as beautiful, fertile, capable of giving life. Yet, without a male seeding the female, the female body would be considered barren, incapable of producing new life. Thus male is the Potentiator of the Body, female the Matrix. Matrix -- the female body -- is the fertile land in which new lives can sprout, Potentiator -- the male body -- is indispensable in initiating the new life.

Now we can apply the corresponding property to the Matrix and Potentiator of the Mind. Historically, human society has been patriarchal. Male mind was considered more powerful than female's, capable of abstract thinking, creating new ideas. The creative roles in society has largely been taken by men: craftsmen, scientists, philosophers, mathematicians, politicians, businessmen. But what remain unseen, just like all the lives spun from female bodies, is that these ideas and ideals oozing from men have to be seeded by the Potentiator, which is female.

I assume the ways of potentiating the Mind is many fold, and does not have to happen between a mated pair. Facilitating the generation of new thoughts and ideas is only one aspect of potentiating. Males probably don't become receptive to some type of seeding/potentiation of the mind until they reach adulthood, just as the female body cannot produce off spring until it's matured into adulthood.  However, another aspect of potentiating, which maybe called energizing, may happen through simple social interactions. Young humans is nurtured through this type of energizing. Both mother and father nurture their children, maybe mother is the key in nurturing the mind while father is the key to energizing the body. This maybe the reason why caretakers/teachers are mostly female until the youths reach college age.

As an adult, a male's mind needs to be seeded in order to bear fruit, while females can do the seeding. This is probably a fact that we generally are not aware of. Evidence of this can be seen in mostly the artistic types. Many creative artists such as painters and writers are known to need a muse, supposedly a female who is the source of inspiration to the creative artist. A muse exemplifies the role of the Potentiator of the Mind. The saying "behind every great man stands a great woman" also can be seen as the evidence of the role of female as the Potentiator of the Mind.

Male and Female Attractions

What causes a male and a female to feel attracted to each other and fall in love? The reason is probably many fold. I will just examine the aspects pertinent to the Matrix and Potentiator of the Body and Mind. Most are aware of the physical side of the attraction: scientists would say that males are attracted to female with physical features that are conducive in producing off-springs, and females are attractive to males with physical features that's indicative of healthy sperm production -- such attraction has an evolutionary advantage. Therefore those fertile features of female become "sexy" to males, and vice versa.

But any adult knows that physical features are not the only part of the attraction, sometimes it seems a mystery why one would feel strong attraction to someone while not the other. Now let's consider the aspect that's mostly ignored, the mental aspect of it.

78.11 Questioner: Could you elaborate please on the nature and quality of the matrix and the potentiator?

Ra: I am Ra. In the mind complex the matrix may be described as consciousness. It has been called the Magician. It is to be noted that of itself consciousness is unmoved. The potentiator of consciousness is the unconscious. This encompasses a vast realm of potential in the mind.

It could be that the attraction stemming from the Mind is not easily seen because the "potentiator ... is the unconscious". If analogous to the physical attraction, a male would feel attracted to a female if she is able to potentiate his mind. Since the Potentiator of the Mind is the "unconscious", maybe in some cases a female's potential to potentiate is felt without any outward interaction/communications, but at the soul/spirit level we can naturally know it and therefore physically manifested the feeling as sexual attraction.

A female, likewise, would feel attracted to a male if his mind needs the potentiating that she is most capapble of or is desirable to do. This maybe the reason why it is believed that "good girls" often seems to be attracted to the "bad boys". It could be that the mind that is farthest away from its potential is more attractive to the Potentiator who would consider it the best target for its work. This type of attraction may also be the reason many women seem to want to change the man they feel attracted to -- it is but a distorted manifestation of the desire to potentiate.

Infatuations probably stem from attraction of the Matrix and Potentiator in the Body and/or Mind. And if this attraction is mutual, a love affair is sure to start. Sometimes these initial magnetic attraction do not last, as one is no longer able to fulfill the need of the other for potentiating/energizing for some reason, then the feverish attraction will fade. However, if out of the experience of the initial attraction, a deeper feeling of care and respect, a.k.a. Love, is developed during the relationship, the pair can continue to be a loving companion for each other, fulfilling each other's needs.

Potentiator and the Feminine Power

The lady interviewed in this article has a lot good insight about the feminine power in view of the Potentiator of the Mind, even though she probably have never heard of such a term. The current the feminist movement in the US is quite a bit distorted/misguided. Men and women are equal, but not the same. In addition, I think the Matrix and Potentiator of the Mind and Body are not each exclusively possessed by men or women. Everyone can have some aspects of these archtypes, while some have a natural preference to one or the other. Therefore, only when we become fully aware of and acknowledge each gender's strengths and weaknesses, we can work together to the best of our interests.

batgap.com Interview with David Hoffmeister

The Buddha at the Gas Pump interview of David Hoffmeister.

0:20 - 3:50: Introduction to David Hoffmeister

3:38 - 16:20: "What is the Course in Miracles?"

16:20 - 40:44: "What does ACIM teach?"

• 22:22: Confusion of levels
• 32:40: the mechanics of miracles
• 39:48: Telling of the Raising of the Dead story

44:30 - 56:50: What are Miracles?

56:10 - 1:08:40: What percentage of people are transformed by the teaching in their experience?

• 1:01:10: To what degree do you feel you have achieved self realization?

1:08:40 - 1:12:10: What is it like when you receive guidance from Jesus?

1:12:10 - 1:36:26: What is the daily routine like for a ACIM student?

• 1:21:20 -1:27:30: Is individual striving counter indicated by ACIM?
• 1:27:30 - 1:36:26:  Commenting on the effect a ACIM teacher can have, and on information packed in movies

Questions from a viewer who recommended David for interview:

1. 1:36:26 - : people pleasing
2. 1:41:05 - : what is creation?
3. 1:52:30 - : Beyond consciousness?
4. 1:55:30 - : does God enjoy his creation?
5. 2:09:00 - : after enlightenment, then what?

2:15:00 - ; Lucid dream, the acid test.

2:18:30 - : Last question: if creation is a mistake, shouldn't we just kill ourselves?

"That" which we seek

Enlightenment, awakening, oneness... what is all that? It seems to be something difficult to describe in words, unexplainable but to be experienced. Is it possible to describe the experience? From what I read, it seems to be different for everyone, it's something indescribable, but when it happens, you just know it. 

The interview with Harri Aalto - Buddha at the Gas Pump Interview is really interesting to me. I came to view Harri Aalto is a someone with a dual activated body, using Ra's lingo, someone that simultaneously possesses the third and forth density bodies in this incarnation. At the age of four, he came to what he called "self realization".

In the interview, he talked about an experience (watch the link from 7:10 for about 2 min) that got me thinking. It is an experience that made him realize that the thing that all spiritual seekers seem to search for is with him all the time, but only by experiencing not having it, he realized its persistent presence with him/us.  

I do not have any experience like he did, yet I understand him. He also used the example of the space in a room, how it's acknowledged via the surrounding walls . It reminds me of something I noticed recently. Next to where we live, a couple of high-rise apartments were build. The building themselves were not so impressive, as they have the environmental friendly design of bare concrete. But connecting the buildings and the low-rise office nearby, they built a long and straight corridor with 3-story high ceilings. It really lightens up the place and looked magnificent/grand.  

I wondered about the feeling this corridor could induce when you first see it. Just a few steps away, there is a grassy ground the size of football field where you can see straight out the same distance as you can in the corridor, and you can look up the sky as far as you can see, much further than the corridor's ceiling, then why walking into that open field does not induce the same sense of awe as walking into a man-made corridor?

I think this can be viewed in the same light as Harri's example. This "thing", this unboundedness -- it is with us all the time, but we don't noticed it. Some of our experience of limitations, such as the walls that made up a room and the construction of a corridor enclosing a space, make us become aware of "it", then we call that experience enlightenment, awakening, self realization, or whatever...

This unboundedness is called by many names: silence, God, nothingness, divine, enlightenment, oneness, infinity, the now... It is the waterThere are these two young fish swimming along, and happen to meet an older fish swimming the other way, who nods at them and says: "Morning boys, how's the water?" The two young fish swim on for a bit, and eventually one of them looks over at the other and goes: "What the hell is water?" in This is Water; it is the present in Present; it is what induced the feeling when we see the grand canyon for the first time; it is what Jill was able to experience when she suffered a stroke. 

It is ever present, but it is not always felt. Many people seek to experience it, but we seem especially seek to experience it through some grand, awe-inducing ways.  Or maybe only when it is grandiose and awe-inducing, then we noticed it? People try meditations, psychedelic drugs, maybe even sky diving... I seem to be content just knowing it's there, and being consistently aware that it's there through ordinary experiences.

Drama Queen

This discussion caught me eye because it's written by a game developer/programmer (well, someone who wrote one game).

What I find interesting is how easy this guy's "awakening" came about. Gees, maybe we are (I'm) just a bunch of drama queens. Let's figure out how to quit all these drama...

Seven Steps to Manifestation -- A Case Study

Learn to Unleash the Power of Your Mind

It's been more than 6 months since an incident of manifested desire happened to me. But it's still on my mind for I want to know how and why it happened, what did I do right? Then just the other day I came across Bashar's video on 7 steps to manifestation, which can be found here (video and transcript). Finally, I may have found the answer I'm looking for. I will recount the incident first, then analyse it via Bashar's 7 steps.

Here's what happened. Since I became aware of how fear is widely used for control in our society, I paid attention to such manipulations of fear. For example, I began to see the introduction of TSA and the more intrusive airport screening after 9/11 as an application of fear to exert control. 9/11 is used by those who want control for many purposes. The fear it introduced is used to justify the existence of TSA and the ridiculous searches we have to go through (and if one understands the true nature of 9/11, then it's more clear that the fear it introduced is truly groundless). But I fully bought into that fear before I became more aware. What outraged me even more is the intrusive full body scanner they introduced -- Initially I thought they would only randomly pick people to scan this way, but now it seems to be a standard procedure for everyone. How could anyone tolerate such an intrusion? Well, with fear we do.

So I've decided that to signify my objection and recognition of this fear, I would decline this scan and opt for the manual pad down if I could not just go through a regular metal detector at the airport. And that's just what I did. Luckily I travel mostly with my kids, so usually they will let me through the metal detector as the kids do. But when I traveled by myself, my opted for the pad down. I don't mind being padded down -- the female officers were courteous and I felt like I was going through some massage therapy. It's just tedious having to ask for it, and sometimes have to wait a bit for an officer to be available, especially at larger airports. I didn't feel embarrassed or nervous, for I felt I was doing something for a higher purpose, I was standing up for something.

Then one weekend after a half marathon race in the west coast, I was to catch a red-eye flight back east. I was quite exhausted and I did't feel like going through the trouble of asking for a pad down, knowing that there would be long lines at the large airport. So I thought to myself: I don't want to ask for a pad down and I don't want go through the scanner, and from what I learned, this is my wish, my desire, and I should be able to make it manifest. I know it's possible, for I noticed that sometimes the TSA would stop the scanner and let people go through the metal detector for a while for no obvious reasons. Now, supposedly I can make it happen to me by just desiring it -- somehow when it's time for me to go through security, they will use the metal detector in stead of the scanner -- and it can happen without me doing anything particular other than desiring it. So I thought I'd give it a try and see what happens. It'd be a good learning opportunity.

That's just what I did. I made up my mind that I would not ask for a pad down, but I also would not intend/expect/want to go through the scanner. At the airport, the line was long, and I waited without making any request. Just as I hoped, before I reached the scanner, for no apparent reason, they stopped the scanner that was fed by two lines, and let passengers go through metal detectors instead. I was pleased, "yeah! it worked!" As the person before me went through the metal detector, I was still piling things on the conveyor belt. I had quite few stuff with me, I had to take off my shoes, my jacket, laptops, ipads, and phone/changes. As I stepped up to the metal detector, the TSA lady stopped me. She motioned me to go to another line, which lead to the scanner. She's closing the metal detector line. I obliged. Hmmm, interesting... I decided not to make any judgement of the situation, instead telling myself, "let's see what we can learn from this..." I did do a mental check to make sure I haven't change the desire/belief of not wanting to go through the scanner.

Since the scanner was fed by two lines, there were two people in front of me. A guy went through first, then the lady before me went inside. They didn't scan her right away, so she was just standing there waiting. It seemed there were something going on with the guy who just went through that's causing the hold up. I couldn't really see from this side of the scanner. I put my arms on top of the glass partition and leaned to watch my stuff going through the conveyor belt. I wanted to keep an eye on them for I have quite few things spread through several trays. The TSA lady tapped on my arm, I thought she was going to give me a stern warning about not leaning on the glass, instead she motioned me to come back through the metal detector. Wow, how interesting. I have to say I was quite happy seeing finally my wish indeed come true!

But I wasn't sure what to make all of this. I thanked the universe for the support. I wanted to see what I can learn from the incident. One thing I recognized was that you will experience a seemingly ever-greater resistance when you try to learn something. I wanted to believe that if I can let go fear and strengthen my mind, I can make things happen; then just when it seemed this belief was about to be verified, an obstacle appeared screaming at me to let go my belief. But what did I do to let the obstacle come to naught? I wasn't sure.

Through Bashar's 7 steps I think I may have the answer. Let's go through each step and see if I indeed took them in this incident.

The Setup Steps:

1. "THE VISION of what you want. A dream, a wish, a reality of what you prefer."

I clearly had that.

2. "DESIRE / EXCITEMENT the thing that you see that you say you want must be accompanied by strong ENERGY / EMOTION — desire. It energies the vision."

The desire was strong, but I wouldn't say I was emotional about it, not in the common way we refer to emotions.

3. "BELIEVE THAT IT IS POSSIBLE, that you DESERVE what you want. If you don’t believe it is possible, it cannot manifest."

I didn't just believe it's possible, I knew it's possible. I wasn't making giant leaps for I took small steps in learning.

4. "ACCEPTANCE. You must totally accept yourself and the new belief as true. Without a shadow of a doubt."

If I have totally and completely accepted my belief is true, then I wouldn't consider my actions as a test to see if my believe was true, would I? I think I hold a paradox here. I accept my belief yet I also accept that I need more experience to strengthen my acceptance.

The Manifestation Steps:

5. "INTEND with your WILL and FOCUS to manifest it. Not an effort, but a conscious command of your reality."

I'm not sure the difference between intent and effort that Bashar talked about here. To me, I put in the effort of reminding myself what I intended to do and what I wanted the outcome to be. Maybe that is all "intend with your will and focus to manifest it" needs.

6. "BEHAVE AND ACT AS IF IT IS ALREADY HERE. You must act and behave as if the reality already exists in the present. You must GROUND the first 5 steps in the actions that you do."

As far as I can tell, the action I need to take in this case is simply not to ask for a pad down, for that's all I need to do for me to act as if what I wish is true.

7. "DETACH and ALLOW. Detach from any expectations of outcome. Use the power of paradox. Absolute intensity of what you want and absolutely NO expectation that it has to manifest at all. That is the balanced state that you have to be in in order for the manifestation to be effortless. You have to let it go. Know that everything is already perfect as it is. When you accept that the way it is is perfect, then the way it is can become more in alignment with how you have set your vibration to be."

I think this is the most important and difficult step that finally nailed it for me in this incidence. When I decided to avoid the scanner without asking for a pad down, I also decided to use this opportunity to learn, therefore I wasn't so attached to the outcome (not going through the scanner) but more interested to see how things going to play out, especially if my wish did come true. When the lady closed the metal detector line and redirected me to the scanner, I did two things right. 1) I did not make a judgement to conclude that it's impossible for me to avoid scanner, i.e., I didn't change the step 3 condition. 2) I did not feel dejected by the prospect that I may need to go through the scanner, thus step 7 remained true to me. I was able to do this -- detached from the outcome -- because I was treating the experience as a lesson. 

I think step 7 is the most difficult step, especially when it come to achieving my larger goals in life. Why? because now I know there is a reason I'm here, I have a purpose in life, how can I become detached from that purpose? Maybe this is where achieving Zen-like mind and meditation comes in, those practices will help us reach acceptance. Even though rationally I accept this paradox, in practice it maybe hard to do, and it may take a few trial and error for me to get it. My determination is strong, I will get it. 

Step 6 is also quite tricky. How to act as if it's already here? It is different for each unique situation. In this case it was simple, in other cases it may require more consideration. But I think letting go fear (and worry) is a common thing we can do. For step 6, letting go fear is the result of acting as if what we want is already here, then we wouldn't be fearful or worrisome about whether it would come true. For step 7, letting go fear signifies the acceptance of what you don't want, for if you can accept what you don't want as a possible outcome, then you won't have any fear.

More to learn...

Ac Tah on the Power of Thoughts and Energy

Below is the transcript of the video above (well, the video seems to have been removed). My comments are in []

I'm going to explain to you and to conclude how energies function from our point of view. Imagine all of you want a world of peace, but the two of us, we want a world that's aggressive. So you all think that because you are many, you are going to create this world of peace, but without realizing it, that you are actually supporting our way of thinking, the one that's aggressive.

Why? Very simple, every 25,000 years, in the sun there appears a crown, for us it means the time when we synchronize our bodies. This crown increases the power of our thought. So every time our way of thinking accelerates. People get sicker faster, and those who want to get healthy, they cure themselves faster. So we become very powerful in our mind. In the last few years, we have achieved this power, but we haven't yet arrived at the highest level of this power. This is coming in next year because this energy is increasing. All of us are receptors of this energy. So the more sun energy that come through solar winds. The energy of the earth that is surrounded by the electromagnetic field, the solar winds and the energy from the sun are actually bombarding earth from all sides. Only a few years ago it would only enter the earth from the north and south poles. But that's not the way it is anymore, now it's coming from every parts of the earth. And this has increased the neurological energy of our brain. People are developing more abilities. Now people talk about energy, they can heal with their hands, they heal with quartz, they can heal across distance, they call down the angles. We become very powerful, now we just think, things happen.

[Above confirms with Ra's teaching about the 25k-year cycle: that every 25k years those who are ready can ascend to the next density. Ac Tah tells how part of this process is facilitated on our 3D earth -- very interesting.]

Now in this world that's aggressive, the two of us are going to plan together. And (you realize that) we are going to plan, I'm going to sit down and think how to convert the world into a world of aggression. And we are going start trial and error, so every day we are going to be thinking and thinking how to be aggressive. So we are all an antenna, there are so many of you are thinking about peaceful and two of us are thinking about aggression, and then the energy from the sun arrives at the earth, and it rolls all around and it concentrates itself between two of us. And you say “how come?” “why?” “we are more who want peace.” But it has to do with thinking. Aggressive people think a lot. People who wants peace are not always thinking about peace. The majority of people who think about peace only begin to think more about peace only when they are forced to leave their level of comfort, when they are force to leave, when they lose their work, so definitely this world is just chaos. When their partners leave them, or when they realize that their kids are not what they wanted. This is how the it is successively. That's when they began to think about peace. It's when there begin to be scarcity, that's when they begin to think about peace.

[Our thoughts/minds are powerful -- this is the teaching from many sources. But what he said here seems to contradict what he said in the previous video in the sequence, that we think too much. I guess what he meant was we think a lot, but not about peace, or thinking about peace really means expressing desire for peace.]

However, if two of us continue to think about how to create this world of aggression, even if you want the world of peace, you are contributing to us. How? We are going to imagine that we are divided in three groups. We are the groups of morning, afternoon and evening. Those in the morning want peace. But at some point in the morning they get angry. So they get angry, and this also creates an expansive wave, and it supports two of us. And we become more powerful. So they stop being angry, then we are at the group at the middle of the day, and these still get angry, and they also support us. Then they calm down and stop being angry, then people at night get angry. And this is also helping in increase our power. So you realize that every time you get angry, you are helping us more and more. And so it has to do with the way you think. If you want a world of peace, you have to think about it.

[Ac Tah is saying because majority of those who want peace only think about peace when they are out of their comfort zones, they tend to think about peace in anger and frustration, and this in term is actually contributing energy to those who think aggression. In another word, desiring peace in anger and frustration does not bring more energy to peace.

And this piece of information can also be taken as non-helpful by those who desire peace yet is angry and frustrated.  They would feel they are being accused of doing something wrong when trying to do something right. But this information is not to be taken judgmentally, it's meant to guide us to our goals, to know that the next step in the process is to let go the anger and frustration. I find this information resonate because it reflects my personal experience. I remember when I start to become aware of our true nature and how far we have strayed from it, fear came first, then along came anger. But without the experience of being fearful and angry, I may not have learned the need for the the balanced middle. 

I feel weary of any movement that seem to have the intention of peace but are (sometimes overtly) driven by anger and hatred, such as the Anonymous. I knew good intentions have been used to repeat the history of aggression, now Ac Tah explained how and why. No wonder those who favor aggression always encourages extremism, on even on the opposite side, because extremism at either side promotes aggression. To most powerful weapon we have against aggression is non-aggression (simple yet hard to do ;)]

For example, if you were to stop thinking and say I don't want to do anything. You have to do something. Because you can't just leave this disperse of energy, because then the energy is just going to us two. Because this energy that you are not using, we are going to start using it. So you have to think. And for this reason it is very important to move energy, and it's only going to be just one minute. If each person just thought one minute a day, then the energy wouldn't be concentrate on just two of us, the energy will began to raise, then we will have to begin to enter the game of peace. It doesn't have to do with protesting, it doesn't have to do with self discipline, or doing something extraordinary, or many hours, just one minute. Everybody in the world can do one minute. And there's no way to say no, at minimum is when you going to the bathroom. Whatever you do in the bathroom, you just say “this is for peace”, and you are extending this energy. You just have to be creative, that's it.

[It only needs a minute, is it because there are literally so many of us (peaceful) than them (aggressive), as Ra have explained; or is it because we only need to strengthen a desire, without over-thinking it, i.e. without deciding how peace should come about?]