4/02/01
What if an ant were suddenly made aware of the limitations of its
existance, as known from a higher more advanced level, such as that of a
human? What if it were aware that its life was very small, insignifigant.
Its work and toil, a mountain of food and sand, but a small mound casually
ground under the heel of a careless walking god. Its body, able to lift
many times its weight in pebbles, but a small frail thing to perish in
mere weeks time. Its origin but an extension of the queen's body, not even
really a lifeform of its own at all but an external tool of the one who
started the colony, working only for her survival. It purpose, even as a
part of the queen, merely to continue the existance of others like itself.
To live, to work, and to die, and to not have been but a speck to others
it shares this planet with.
What if an ant were made aware of all of this? How horrible to discover
how ultimately insignifigant one is, how powerless. In not knowing, the
ant only knew its work, and found pleasure and pride in accomplishing it.
Its life was small, but complete. Now, its life is so small that its tasks
are no longer of any joy to it. What a curse this awareness is, the
unbearable knowlege of one's ultimate limitations. One might choose to not
even bother continuing at all. What is the point? It matters not, in the
larger scope made suddenly clear. Death is not so far at all. Might as
well just sit down and waith for it to catch up to you.
But then again it might decide, why not? Sure, the only life possible is
one of pushing pebbles around. But why waste it? This is what I am, this
is what I do. I know of more, but I am but this. I may weep for the
endless possibilities made aware that I cannot have, but I must not forget
that one of these possibilities is my own humble body pushing pebbles up a
hill. I at least have that. If I cannot have what is beyond me, I will
make the most of what I can have. I will push as many pebbles
as I can,
until satisfied that I have done well, better then my brothers. I will
drink the necter of aphids, savor the sweet taste others will never know.
I will enjoy the view from atop the mound I helped to create. I will avoid
the shadow of careless feet, that my short life is not taken before I am
finished with it.
This is mine, and I have it. I will enjoy as much of it as I can. Its all
I can do, really. It would be a waste of my existance, low that it may be,
to do any less. An affront to creation itself, only all the more in being
aware of this. I accept this gift of being, and of knowing that there is
more. I know that I will never run out of new things to see in this world,
and take joy in knowing I am a part of something so much larger. This
world, so frighteningly hugy, is an endless playground in which I must
work and struggle to continue to survive so as to enjoy that survival. I
enjoy my struggle. It is me, it is a part of the glorious gift of my
existance. I would not part with a moment of it.
4/03/01
Magic, the discipline of applying will to cause change of self, is fueled
run and governed by self awareness. As one becomes more aware of ones self
and ones thoughts, one gains understanding of said thoughts and gains the
ability to control them. Perhaps through ritual, invocation, or sigil
concentration. Perhaps more directly with meditation or simply will to be
different or act in a different way. One must first become aware of ones
thoughts and systems before one can change them. Psychology attempts to
find the reason for a neurosis through careful questioning, as when the
patient becomes aware of the reason for their neurosis, they can apply
will to change it and thus their behavior.
Self awareness is knowlege of self. Knowlege is power. Power is control.
Society practices the same formula. As society is aware of itself, it is
able to change and control itself. Uderstanding of the ways in which
people behave in groups allows for control of people in groups.
Individualy, we may not notice. On the social level, we follow trends like
water pooling over uneven ground. Any time more than one of us acts in a
given way, we act on the social level. Any time we interact and react to
each other, we participate in group consciousness. Trancendent entities
already exist. They are Walmart, Colca Cola, and the United States of
America. Those aware of their movements can control the thoughts of these
entities just as a magician controls his own behavior though guided
meditation.
Advertisers know this, they use techniques to control society in order to
desire products. They are an immediate selfish application of self
awareness on the society level. They gather data, demographics. Awareness
of society. when society is aware of itself, it has self awareness and the
same rules apply. We see that people like red cars, so we'll use red cars
in our commercials to encourage people to buy our product.
Govenrment knows this, and writes and enforces laws to maintain the state
of society in a certain way which perpetuates itself. Government is a
conscious entity. It makes us a part of it. We vote, affect the course of
the larger body, which in turn governs and controls us with laws. We are a
part of a larger machine, though we know it or not. Laws direct us,
control us, cause us to behave in certain ways. Government is able to
write them because they are aware of the ways in which society acts.
People is government is self aware is practicing magic on the social
level.
Schools take advantage of this on a more nefarious level. Children are
given pre-chosed sets of programs. They are conditioned to believe things
in a certain way. Socitey is not only aware of itself, it applys what it
knows to make itself a certain way, to grow into what it chosoes to be. It
feeds itself. It follows all the rules of a consciousness: recursive self
awareness in a formula which includes itself as a variable.
Society evolves its own consciousness. Its
magicians are the Board of Education, Universities, Law makers, Policy
makers, Advertising companies, the Senate. What we can do to ourselves, we
as a collective do to ourselves as a collective. As below, so above.
The age of information hastens the process. Information is available more
freely. We can know more of ourselves at ever increasing rates. Privacy is
being invaded in the thirst for more social self awareness. The more we
know about ourselves, the more we will control ourselves, the more we will
be a part of a machine. Whoever uses that information controls the course
of social consciousness.
We've already trancended. We just don't know it yet.