il lato attivo del Tao - II

L'ultima parte dell'ultimo libro di Carlos Castaneda riprende, per la terza volta, il momento culminate del primo ciclo di insegnamenti, il salto nell'abisso e la contemporanea dissoluzione nell'infinito del gruppo del suo maestro.

Il salto nell'abisso



C'era una sola pista che portava alla mesa. Una volta lì, mi accorsi che non era cosi ampia come mi era apparsa quando la guardavo da lontano. La vegetazione non era diversa da quella che cresceva ai piedi della montagna: legnosi cespugli di un verde smorto, con un'ambigua somiglianza con gli alberi.
Non vidi subito I'abisso; solo quando don Juan mi condusse, scoprii che la mesa terminava in un precipizio. La montagna, di forma tondeggiante, era profondamente erosa sui versanti est e sud; a nord e a ovest, invece, sembrava tagliata con un coltello. In piedi sull'orlo, vedevo il fondo del burrone, forse tremila metri più in basso. Era coperto dagli stessi cespugli che crescevano dappertutto li intorno.
Facendo il giro della mesa, scoprii che si trattava in realtà della cima piatta di una montagna di discrete dimensioni. La fila di rilievi che si allungava a nord e a sud doveva essere stata parte di un canyon gigantesco e antichissimo, scavato da un fiume scomparso da tempo.
Un'erosione aveva profondamente intaccato i bordi del canyon, in certi punti spianandoli all'altezza del terreno. L'unica area intatta era quella su cui ci trovavamo noi.
"E' roccia solida" osservò don Juan, come se avesse letto nei miei pensieri. Con il mento indicò il baratro.
"Se qualcosa dovesse cadere laggiù, si fracasserebbe sulle rocce."
Fu questo l'inizio della conversazione che avemmo quel giorno, sulla vetta della montagna. In precedenza, don Juan mi aveva spiegato che il suo tempo sulla Terra era giunto al termine. Era pronto per il viaggio supremo. Io ne ero rimasto sconvolto. Avevo perso ogni controllo sulla realtà per sprofondare in un misericordioso stato di frammentazione, simile forse a quello che segue un esaurimento nervoso. Ma un frammento centrale era intatto: me stesso bambino. Tutto il resto era incertezza, imprecisione. Ero rimasto in quello stato di frammentarietà cosi a lungo che tornarci rappresentò per me l'unica via di uscita.
Successivamente, si verificò una stranissima interazione tra livelli diversi della mia consapevolezza. Con don Juan, il suo discepolo don Genaro e i due apprendisti Pablito e Nestor, ci arrampicammo sulla cima della montagna. Pablito, Nestor e io eravamo lì per adempiere al nostro ultimo compito di apprendisti: saltare in un abisso; una faccenda quanto mai misteriosa che don Juan mi aveva illustrato su piani diversi di consapevolezza, rna che fino a quel giorno era rimasta un enigma per me.
Don Juan disse scherzando che avrei dovuto tirar fuori il mio taccuino e prendere appunti su quel nostro ultimo incontro. Mi diede una leggera gomitata alle costole e, soffocando una risata, mi assicurò che sarebbe stato del tutto adeguato, dato che proprio prendendo appunti avevo cominciato la via del guerriero-viaggiatore.
Don Genaro intervenne dicendo che prima di noi, altri guerrieri-viaggiatori erano saliti su quella montagna per affrontare il viaggio nell'ignoto. Don Juan si rivolse a me e a bassa voce disse che presto sarei entrato con le mie sole forze nell'infinito, e che lui e don Genaro erano lì solo per dirmi addio. Di nuovo don Genaro si intromise dicendo che io avrei dovuto fare lo stesso con loro.
"Una volta che sarai entrato nell'infinito" riprese don Juan, "non potrai contare su di noi per il tuo eventuale ritorno. Sarà necessaria una tua decisione. Solo tu potrai decidere se tornare o meno. Devo inoltre avvertirti che solo pochi guerrieri-viaggiatori sopravvivono a questo incontro con l'infinito. L'infinito esercita un'attrazione smisurata. Per un guerriero-viaggiatore tornare nel mondo del disordine, della compulsione, del rumore e della sofferenza, è quanto mai sgradevole. Non devi pensare all'alternativa tra il tornare o il restare come a una scelta ragionevole, bensì come a una questione di intento."
"Se sceglierai di non tornare" continuò, scomparirai come inghiottito dalla terra. Se invece deciderai di tornare, dovrai aspettare come un vero guerriero-viaggiatore finché il tuo compito, qualunque esso sia, non si sarà concluso con una vittoria o una sconfitta."

...

Con molta pazienza, don Juan mi spiegò che la solitudine non è ammissibile per un guerriero. I guerrieri-viaggiatori, disse, possono contare su un'entità su cui concentrare tutto il loro amore e le loro cure: questa terra meravigliosa, la madre, la matrice, l'epicentro di tutto quello che siamo e che f'acciamo; l'essere a cui tutti
facciamo ritorno e che permette ai guerrieri-viaggiatori di intraprendere il viaggio supremo.
Don Genaro procedette quindi a un atto di magico intento a mio beneficio. Sdraiato bocconi, eseguì una serie di movimenti, trasformandosi in un grumo di luminosità che sembrava nuotare, quasi che il terreno fosse una piscina. Don Juan disse che quello era il modo in cui don Genaro abbracciava l'immensità, della Terra e che, a dispetto delle diversità di dimensioni, la Terra prendeva atto di quel gesto. I movimenti di don Genaro e la spiegazione di don Juan bastarono a mutare la mia
tristezza in una gioia infinita.
"Non sopporto l'idea che te ne vada, don Juan" mi sentii dire, ma il suono della mia voce e le parole che avevo formulato mi precipitarono nell'imbarazzo. E quando ricominciai a piangere, pieno di autocommiserazionei, il mio sgomento aumentò. "Che cosa mi sta succedendo, don Juan?" mormorai. "Di solito non sono così."
"Quello che ti succede è che la tua consapevolezza è tornata al livello delle dita dei piedi" mi rispose ridendo.
Allora anche le ultime tracce di controllo mi abbandonarono e mi arresi alla disperazione e all'abbattimento.
"Resterò solo" dissi con voce stridula. "Cosa mi succederà? Che cosa ne sarà di me?"
"Mettiamola cosi" don Juan era calmissimo. "Per lasciare questo mondo e affrontare l'ignoto, ho bisogno di tutta la mia forza, di tutta la mia capacità di sopportazione, di tutta la mia fortuna; ma soprattutto, ho bisogno di tutto il coraggio di un gueriero-viaggiatore. E per restare e agire come un guerriero-viaggiatore, tu hai bisogno delle stesse cose. Avventurarsi là fuori, così come ci apprestiamo a fare, non è certo un gioco, ma non lo è neppure il restare."
Travolto dall'emozione, gli baciai la mano.
"Ehi, ehi, ehi!" rise lui. "II tuo prossimo passo sarà erigere un tabernacolo per i miei guaraches!"
L'autocommiserazione che mi aveva invaso si tramutò in un senso altrettanto acuto di perdita. "Te ne vai" ansimai. "Mio dio! Te ne vai per sempre!"
Allora don Juan fece quello che mi aveva fatto più volte dal giorno del nostro incontro. Il suo viso si gonfiò come dilatato da un'inspirazione profonda, mi premette con forza il palmo della mano sinistra sulla schiena e disse: "Sollevati dal livello dei tuoi piedi! Alzati!".
Un istante dopo ero di nuovo perfettamente coerente, con il pieno controllo di me. Sapevo che cosa dovevo fare e non avevo più alcuna esitazione, né timore. Non mi importava che cosa sarebbe stato di me una volta che don Juan se ne fosse andato. Sapevo che la sua partenza era imminente. Lui mi guardò, e quell'occhiata disse ogni cosa.
"Non ci incontreremo mai più" disse con dolcezza. "Non hai più bisogno del mio aiuto, né io desidero offrirtelo, perché ora sei un vero guerriero-viaggiatore e mi disprezzeresti se ci provassi. Oltre un determinato punto, la sola gioia del guerriero-viaggiatore è la sua solitudine. Né vorrei che tu tentassi di aiutare me. Una volta che me ne sarò andato, sarà per sempre. Non pensare a me, perché io non penserò a te. Se sei un guerriero-viaggiatore degno, sii perfetto! Prenditi cura del tuo mondo. Onoralo, proteggilo con la vita!"
Si allontanò. Non era più il momento per l'autocommiserazione o per le lacrime e neppure per la felicità. Scosse la testa in un gesto di congedo, o forse era un muto riconoscimento di quello che io provavo.
"Dimentica il sé e non temerai nulla, qualunque sia il livello di consapevolezza in cui ti troverai" disse ancora.
Ebbe un momento di giocosità, quasi fosse deciso a prendersi gioco di me fino all'ultimo. Alzò la mano e piegò le dita come fanno i bambini.
"Ciao" disse.
Sapevo che sarebbe stato futile provare dolore o rimpianto e che per don Juan andarsene era difficile come per me era difficile restare. Eravamo entrambi intrappolati in un'irreversibile operazione energetica che mai avremmo potuto arrestare. Eppure, avei voluto unirmi a lui, seguirlo ovunque andasse. Mi balenò alla mente il pensiero che, se fossi morto, avrebbe accettato la mia compagnia.
E allora vidi come don Juan Matus, il nagual, guidò i quindici veggenti che erano i suoi compagni, la sua corte, la sua gioia, a sparire uno a uno nella foschia che sovrastava la mesa, in direzione nord. Li vidi mutarsi in un grumo di luminosità e insieme ascendere e fluttuare al di sopra della mesa, simili a luci spettrali. Sorvolarono una volta la montagna, proprio come don Juan aveva predetto: l'ultima ricognizione, quella destinata ai loro occhi soltanto; l'ultimo sguardo a questa terra meravigliosa. Poi svanirono.
Sapevo che cosa dovevo fare. Non restava più tempo. Corsi verso l'abisso e saltai nel baratro. Per un momento sentii il vento sul mio viso, poi l'oscurità misericordiosa mi accolse come un placido fiume sotterraneo

il Tao in alto è come il Tao in basso

Nella seconda parte di Stati di Coscienza Charles T. Tart discute tre argomenti speculativi sulla coscienza che derivano dalla descrizione sistemica dei suoi stati:

Speculation

As Above, So Below: Five Basic Principles Underlying Physics and Psychology

I consider the material in this chapter speculative and thus appropriate for introducing this section on speculation about consciousness. The ideas presented are not basic to the applications of the systems approach to the investigation of states of consciousness but are extensions of the approach that intrigue me. They are speculative also in that I am by no means a physicist and do not really understand mathematics, the language in which so much of physics is expressed. I intend this chapter primarily as a stimulus to prompt both physicists and psychologists to think further about some of the ideas expressed here.
Most psychologists accept the idea that reality is ultimately material, composed basically of matter and energy operating within the physical framework of space and time. This is a useful set of intellectual constructs for dealing with experiences, but most psychologists think of it as an understanding of reality rather than a philosophy. Psychologists who implicitly or explicitly accept this position (which means most psychologists) thus in effect define psychology as a derivative science, one dealing with phenomena much removed from the ultimate bases of reality. A corollary is that to be really "scientific" (to be fashionable in terms of the prevailing physicalistic philosophy), psychology must ultimately reduce psychological data to physical data.

Figure 18-1 depicts the world-view of philosophical physicalism. The ultimate structures or components of reality (top) are subatomic particles. When I was a high school student, only a few such particles were known and many scientists thought that electrons, protons, and neutrons were the basics whose arrangement in patterns accounted for the way the world was. Now literally hundreds of subatomic particles have been "discovered." The word is enclosed in quotation marks because, of course, no one has actually ever seen a subatomic particle. They are assumed to exist because their presence enables sensible interpretation of various kinds of instrumental readings. Thus modern physicists picture the universe as composed of hundreds of subatomic particles being influenced by three basic types of forces: (1) the nuclear binding forces, which operate only at the extremely tiny distances inside atomic nuclei; (2) the so-called weak forces, which determine particle interaction at extremely close distances; and (3) electromagnetic forces. These forces act on the subatomic particles within a matrix of space and time, which is still largely taken for granted as simply being "space" and "time." Physics, then, is the study of this most basic level of reality.
From this most basic level this world-view builds toward life and consciousness. From subatomic particles, it moves to atoms, primarily influenced by electromagnetic forces and studied by physics and chemistry. From atoms it moves to molecules, primarily governed by chemical forces (which are electromagnetic forces) and studied most appropriately by chemistry. Next come large molecules, which to some extent are self-sustaining, hold their molecular configuration in spite of fairly large changes in their environment. Some of these cross the mysterious dividing line into the simplest forms of life, complex molecular assemblies capable of sustaining themselves and reproducing themselves in spite of environmental changes. Chemical, electromagnetic, and now gravitational forces affect things at this level, and chemistry and biology are the sciences for studying them.
Next comes the evolutionary chain of increasingly complex organisms, which soon develop specialized nervous systems, which themselves increase greatly in complexity. Chemical, electromagnetic, and gravitational forces are active here, and chemistry, biology, and physiology are the important sciences for studying them.
The human brain is considered the epitome of development of nervous systems. I suspect that this is an unduly egocentric view, for animals such as dolphins and whales certainly have larger brains than man. But, perhaps because they do not build weapons to attack each other or us, practically no one seriously considers the idea that they may be as intelligent as we — the notable exception is John Lilly. The human brain is also affected by chemical, electromagnetic, and gravitational forces. Physiology and probably information theory are appropriate sciences for dealing with the human brain.
Finally, there is consciousness, thought of as a by-product or property of the human brain, and psychology is the science for studying it. The forces affecting consciousness are not shown because, in terms of the physicalistic philosophy, social or psychological forces are derivative, not the "real" forces that actually control the universe.
This is the conservative or orthodox view of the mind discussed briefly at the beginning of this book. It does not really explain what consciousness is, but, citing good evidence that physically affecting the brain alters consciousness, asks not further questions and simply believes that consciousness itself is a product of brain functioning. The consequence of this view is that for an ultimate explanation of consciousness, the phenomena of consciousness must be reduced to those of brain functioning; brain functioning must be reduced to basic properties of nervous systems, which must be reduced to basic properties of live molecules, which in turn must be reduced to basic properties of molecules per se, which must be reduced to properties of atoms, which must finally be reduced to properties of subatomic particles.
In practice, of course, this would be extremely tedious. Certain relatively simple phenomena can be reduced one or two levels, but if I want to predict what you are next going to do, the amount of information I must deal with, starting with the knowledge of subatomic particles and various forces and building all the way up to consciousness, is simply impossible to handle.
There is no doubt that reductionism to more basic physical levels has been extremely useful in the physical sciences; and, to a certain extent, reductionism to simpler psychological events has been useful in psychology. Finding the physiological bases of psychological events or perhaps more accurately, the physiological parallels or interactions with psychological events, has also been useful. But, by and large, the attempt to reduce psychological events to physiological events is neither the only nor the best activity for psychology.
In the radical view of the mind, discussed earlier, a person's belief about the nature of reality may actually alter the reality, not just his interpretation of it. A fundamental part of the radical view is that basic awareness may have an independently real status itself, rather than being just a derivative of physical processes.

Figure 18-2 shows the scheme I propose for understanding human consciousness. Human consciousness is shown as the result of the interaction of six dimensions, each one just as real in some ultimate sense as any of the others. The dimensions are matter, energy, space, time, awareness, and an unknown factor that may be life itself. Science, guided by a physicalistic, reductionistic philosophy, investigates finer and finer levels of the matter and energy dimensions, within a certain space-time framework; but these dimensions constitute only two of the six or more dimensions that must be examined for full understanding of human consciousness.
I have added space and time as two independent dimensions more on intuition than on a basis I can cogently argue. We tend to assume that space is some uniform thing that is just there and that time is some uniform thing that is just passing. But experiences in d-ASCs (see discussion of the Space/Time subsystem, in Chapter 8) indicate that there may be other kinds of spaces and other kinds of times. I predict that some day our procedure of simply taking space and time for granted as unitary phenomena will seem quite crude.
In the systems approach, awareness is given a real and separate status. Recall the distinction between awareness and consciousness. Awareness is that basic, obviously there but hard-to-define property that makes us cognizant of things; consciousness is awareness as it is modified by and embedded in the structure of the mind. Consciousness is awareness transformed by the brain-body machine so that awareness loses some of its own innate properties, gains certain properties from the structure (probably largely brain structure) it merges with (or arises from in the conservative view), and leads to certain gestalt properties that cannot be predicted from a knowledge of either. The unknown factor dimension is added to remind us of our ignorance and because I feel intuitively that symmetry is called for in this diagram.
The first phrase of this chapter's title, "As Above, So Below," expresses my hypotheses that there is a uniform set of basic laws running the universe. I speculate that whatever fundamental principles or laws run the universe manifest themselves similarly in one area we call psychology and in another we call physics. The idea can be extended to other areas also, but I am not expert enough to do so. Thus the laws of physics, as we currently understand them, are manifestations (of an unknown degree of directness) of the basic principles running the universe; laws and principles affecting consciousness are manifestations (of an unknown degree of directness) of these same principles. Neither manifestation may be any more basic than the other. If this hypothesis is correct, parallels to the five basic principles that seem to underlie physics should be clearly discernible in the psychological area.

First Principle: Duality

Physics distinguishes between a pure energy state and a matter state, with both energy and matter operating within the framework of space and time. A convenient abbreviation for this quaternity is MEST (matter, energy, space, time). The first principle is that whenever pure energy is converted into matter, it generally (universally?) creates a pair of particles whose properties are, in some important way, opposite. An electron and a positron may be created, for example, with opposite electrical charges, or a pair of particles may be created that spin in opposite directions. Conversely, the proper interaction of a pair of such opposite particles results in their annihilation as particles and their transformation back into pure energy. Thus the transformation of energy into matter is generally done in a dualistic manner. The principle seems so general that whenever a new particle is discovered, its exact opposite is looked for as a matter of course.
Assuming that a resulting duality in a transition from an energy state to a matter state is a general universal principle, a parallel manifestation at the psychological level is seen in a phenomenon encountered in some d-ASCs, the mystical experience of unity. This is a direct experience of a condition of consciousness in which all duality is transcended. In contrast to ordinary existence in a world dominated by opposites, there is to up and down, good and evil, creator and created, I and thou; everything is oneness. Our language, of course, cannot express the experience adequately. The experience of what may have been consciousness of the Void in William's ultradeep hypnotic state may be an example of this kind. In Buddhist literature, the highest kind of samadhi, reached by successive refinements of concentration, is described as a state in which there is neither perception nor nonperception. This state of consciousness seems analogous to the condition of pure, undifferentiated energy.
But we do not live in such a state of consciousness. Few people ever attain it, and even to them it is a transient experience, though of supreme importance. All the spiritual systems that have this realization of a transcendence of duality as an experiential basis teach that in the ordinary d-SoC (and in many d-ASCs) duality is a basic principle governing the manifestation of consciousness. Thus pleasure cannot exist without pain, hope cannot exist without despair, courage cannot exist without fear, up cannot exist without down. The state of mystical unity, of Void consciousness, seems to be the experience of pure awareness, transcending all opposites, like the pure energy state, while consciousness, the condition of awareness deeply intermeshed with and modified by the structures of the mind and brain, is a realm of duality, the analog of the matter state. This seems to be a manifestation of the principle of duality in he psychological realm.
It is an exotic example, as most of us lack an experiential basis for understanding it. When we deal with human consciousness we do not deal with undifferentiated energy manifesting as two opposite particles, the simple, primary phenomena with which physics deals, but with complex, interacting systems made up of untold numbers of more elementary systems constituting the structures of the mind and brain, activated by awareness and construction, consciousness (as opposed to pure awareness), is the experiential area with which we are most familiar. As we shall see in considering the other basic principles, the fact that our ordinary psychological experience is almost always with the complex, ongoing structure of human consciousness makes it difficult to see how these basic principles, derived for ideally simplified situations, can be applied precisely.

Second Principle: Quantum Law, the Law of Discreteness

The quantum principle in physics states that because of the nature of certain physical systems, most obviously that of the atom, certain transitions from one energy configuration to another can occur only in a complete, all-or-none jump. In an atom, for example, an electron can be in one or another precise energy state, but cannot occupy an energy level intermediate between these two. It must go from one to the other, given the requisite energy to bring this about, in an all-or-none fashion. Thus there is one state, a forbidden zone, and then a second state. There may be a third state, a fourth state, and so on, but the transition is always all-or-none. When dealing macroscopic objects or systems that are made up of large numbers of the more elementary components governed by quantum laws, the aggregate, the macroscopic system, may seem to show continuity over wide ranges of intermediate values, but this is statistical illusion from a gross level of observation. For example, an aggregate made up of units, many of which are in a quantum state that we can call two, and many of which are in a quantum state that we can call three, can have an average value anywhere between two and three, depending on the relative distribution of the quantum units.
I see the quantum principle, as stated in physics, as particular manifestation of a more general principle that various components of the universe have a "shape" or "structure" or "energy configuration." On a familiar, macroscopic level, for example, water can be in three distinct states, a solid (ice), a liquid (ordinary water), or a gas (steam). There can be mechanical mixtures of the three states, as of water droplets falling or floating in the air, but the solid, liquid, and gas states are quite distinct.
The application to consciousness of this general principle, that various components of reality have properties that therefore determine the way they can interact with other units, is outlined in Chapter 2. To recapitulate briefly, a d-SoC is a system or a pattern or an overall configuration of many psychological subsystems or structures. Each subsystem shows variation within itself within certain limits, but maintains its overall identity as a subsystem. Since identity means properties, this limits the number of possible ways a stable system can be built up from the subsystems and thus limits the number of d-SoCs possible for a human being.
The induction of a d-ASC involves the application of disrupting forces to the b-SoC to push one or more subsystems beyond their stable limits and/or to disrupt the feedback loops between subsystems that stabilize the b-SoC. When enough feedback loops have been disrupted and/or enough subsystems pushed beyond their stable, ordinary ranges of functioning, the overall organization of the b-SoC breaks down, and a transitional period of varying duration occurs, with the subsystems having only transient, unstable relationships to each other. then, with the application of appropriate patterning forces, the subsystems are reassembled in a new configuration that is stable and that we call the d-ASC.
This process constitutes a kind of quantum jump, albeit not the neat quantum jump of an electron from one discrete energy state to another in an atom. We are dealing with highly composite, complex structures, and even when such structures are made up of units that operate on quantum principles, the aggregate may show various degrees of continuity. Recall the earlier discussion of individual differences. For certain individuals, the transition from a b-SoC to a d-ASC definitely shows a quantum jump, with no consciousness during the transition period. The system properties of the d-ASC are quite different from those of the b-SoC.
The quantum jump from one d-SoC to a d-ASC may be a leap along what we conceive of as a continuum or it may be the emergence of a totally new function or pattern of functioning.
The d-ASCs of which we now have some scientific knowledge occur in human beings who have been thoroughly conditioned by enculturation processes, so the quantum jumps we have seen in investigating various d-ASCs may largely represent the results of semiarbitrary cultural conditioning. That is, in a particular culture you might have to be either straight or stoned, but in another culture you may be able to be a little of each simultaneously. However, we can postulate as a general principle that the various subsystems and structures that make up the human mind cannot be put together in just any arbitrary way: each structure has properties of its own that restrict its possible interaction with other structures into a larger structure or system. Insofar as we can learn to study the mind beyond the semiarbitrary cultural conditionings of consciousness, the study of d-ASCs may eventually tell us something about the fundamental properties of the human mind and the way in which the overall system of consciousness can thus be structured, what its basic states and forbidden zones are.

Third Principle: Relativity

In nonmathematical terms the relativity principle in physics is that there is not such thing as a neutral observer. Rather, any observer exists within a particular MST framework, and this framework affects his observations.
This is more profound than saying that an observer's sense organs affect his observations. We realize, for example, that we do not naturally know how the world looks in the ultraviolet spectrum of light, but we can build instruments to make a translation for us. What is here being said is that the observer is an inherent part of the MEST framework, and this gives the observer himself characteristics, over and above what can be compensated for by special instruments, which affect his observations of thins outside himself.
The principle of relativity applies in a variety of ways in psychological work, even though most psychologists have not seriously accepted it. Indeed, it applies to you and me in our everyday lives, even though we do not always accept it. At one level, each human being, functioning in his ordinary d-SoC (or in a d-ASC), shows selective perception, selective thinking, selective action that in turn controls his perceptions. Because of his particular culture and the consensus reality to which his ordinary d-SoC has adapted him, plus his personal idiosyncrasies, he (1) is more prone to observe certain things; (2) is unlikely to observe other kinds of things at all; and (3) may have a great many transformations and distortions of what he does sense before it reaches his consciousness. This all happens unconsciously, automatically, and smoothly in the normally functioning adult. For example, the Christian missionary of the 1800s "saw" sin in the form of public display of "lust" in a native village, when the natives would have said that they were only giving polite approval to the dancers.
This kind of relativity is becoming recognized in psychology under the topics of experimenter bias and the implicit demand characteristics of experiments. An experimenter's desire to prove the hypothesis he believes in not only can influence how he perceives his data, but also can subtly influence his subjects to cooperate in ways that will erroneously "prove" his hypothesis. Your beliefs about the nature of things around you can influence the way you see things and subtly influence others to uphold your view of reality.
In addition to this culturally and individually conditioned relativity, the fact that each person is human and therefore born with certain basic properties in his nervous system, sensory receptors, and perhaps in the nature of the awareness that enters into or comes from the operation of his nervous system, equips him with built-in biases for seeing the universe in certain kinds of ways and not other ways. This applies not only to the external universe perceived through his senses or with instrumental aids, but to his observations of his own internal experiences.
It is amazing how little recognized this idea is. The old concept of the "neutral observer," common in nineteenth century physics but now long abandoned by physicists, is alive and well within the ranks of psychologists, implicitly guiding almost all experiments. A wiser course is always to assume that an observer or experimenter has biases and selectivities in the way he perceives, evaluates, and acts, even when these are not obvious.
D-ASCs are of particular interest here. The ordinary d-SoC is a complex system incorporating various selectivities for perceiving the outside world and our own internal experiences, and functioning as a tool for coping with our external and internal worlds. Transiting to a d-ASC constitutes a qualitative as well as a quantitative restructuring of the systems, which may be looked at as a new set of filters, biases, and tools for the observer/theorizer. By observing both the external and internal worlds from a variety of d-SoCs, rather than only one, we can develop a number of state-specific sciences within various d-ASCs. This enables a complementary series of views of the external and internal universes, which may partially compensate for the limits of the view found in any one d-SoC. I emphasize partially compensate, because no matter how many different d-SoCs we observe from, we are still human, and that probably implies ultimate limits on what we can do. We have not begun to approach these ultimate limits.
Note again that the idea that we must obtain complementary (I use this term in the sense it is used in physics) views of the universe from various d-SoCs, in order to get as full as view of it as possible, collides with an implicit and pervasive assumption that the ordinary d-SoC is the optimal, most logical state of consciousness and thus the one in which ultimate understandings will occur. This powerful and implicit bias, a product of enculturation, seriously hinders our thinking. We should always be open to the possibility that there is some "higher" d-SoC of which all other d-SoCs can be seen as fully comprehensible subsets: perhaps this is what enlightenment means in some ultimate sense. The ordinary d-SoC, with all its culturally conditioned limitations, is an unlikely candidate for this high degree.
The last two basic principles of physics do not have obvious parallels in known psychological functioning because the complexity of the human mind precludes such simple analogies. It is interesting, however, to consider them and assume that they ought to be manifest in the psychological realm if they are true. In this way, we can alert ourselves to look for parallels.

Fourth Principle: Conversation

The basic expression of the principle of conservation in physics is that in any reaction nothing is lost. The sum total of what goes in is the sum total of what goes out, even if there are transformations in form. This was originally thought of as the conservation of mass: the amount of matter that went into a chemical reaction was exactly equal to the amount of matter that came out of it. Because of various theoretical prospective changes, as well as the development of extremely precise measurement techniques, this definition was seen to be too simple and the principle was rephrased in terms of the conservation of the sum of mass and energy. Thus mass can be traded for energy, for example, but the sum is still the same. Modifications of the exact quantities are put into this equivalence equation in various physical situations, but the basic principle that what goes in equals what comes out holds generally through physics.
I do not see the obvious application of this to conscious experiences that we know of, because we almost never have simple, straightforward actions of consciousness that allow this kind of input-output comparison. Even apparently simple psychological reactions may consist of many separate steps that are perceived dimly or not at all due to automatization. Also, experience at almost all times involves several things going on in rapid succession or even apparently simultaneously, and we know that important unconscious reactions can occur simultaneously with conscious ones. Thus we may have conscious experiences that seem to deplete or use up psychological energy or create psychological experience (the equivalent of mass?), and other kinds of experiences that seem to increase energy, but we do not know how to assess or measure these in a clear enough way to begin to measure what goes in and what goes out and see whether they are equivalent. We may be able to develop indirect indicators of unconscious reactions or make unconscious reactions more conscious by means of therapeutic or self-observational techniques.

Fifth Principle: Law of Least Action

The physical expression of this principle is that nature is economical: when a process can occur in several alternate ways, the one requiring the least expenditure of energy is the one used. Apparent exceptions generally turn out to conform to the principle and to have seemed exceptional because they were viewed in isolation: when considered as a part of a larger system, the principle of least action is, in fact, followed.
An initial glance at psychological experience seems to show many contradictions to this. We do all sorts of things every day in ways that, even to our own perception, are certainly not the most economical ways. An observer may detect even more wasted energy. Suppose I carry a book from here into the next room. If I observe the action carefully, I will probably find that I have not used my body in a way that requires a minimal expenditure of energy to move the book from here to there. The complicating factor in trying to apply the fifth principle to psychology is the human propensity for doing several things simultaneously, many of them not in consciousness or even available to consciousness. So while carrying the book from this room to the next I may also be thinking about what to write in this chapter an using "body English" as part of my thinking process. I may also be semiconsciously trying to improve my posture, semiconsciously rebelling against the need to try and improve myself so much of the time, and so deliberately wasting some energy, either bodily or psychological energy, in order to express my "freedom."
A claim made in many spiritual writings, supported by some experiential data from various d-ASCs, is that, with effort, we can become more and more conscious of exactly what we are doing. Whether we can become conscious of everything we are doing psychologically at a given moment is unknown. Thus it is unclear whether we can ever be in a position adequately to assess whether the law of least action applies to psychological phenomena. But it may be profitable to postulate that the fifth principle does apply and then proceed to look for manifestations.
In the history of science it has often been fruitful to postulate some principle as true before there is good evidence for it, and then to examine the subject matter of the particular science with the postulate in mind. It may be profitable to follow this plan for the fourth and fifth principles. They may be true; if they are not, the need to develop more precise ways of measuring many psychological phenomena simultaneously in order to test the truth of the principles will be a major advance in itself.
As above, so below?

17th century depiction of the Emerald Tablet from the work of Heinrich Khunrath, 1606.

difesa del Tao - I

Defenses of Faith

A second group of examples of noncommunication or unknowing will move us somewhat closer to the more clearly biological. These examples are necessarily very different from those I have already offered, but I believe the issues to be formally comparable.
It is seemingly a general truth in biology that the body that is adjusting itself to the stresses and vicissitudes of experience shall not communicate with the DNA, the carrier of genetic instructions for the next generation. No news of the body‘s adjustments shall be registered in the DNA to affect the offspring. In the old phrase, there shall be no inheritance of acquired characteristics.
Similarly, it is apparently necessary that we have no knowledge of the processes by which in our perception images are formed.
Can these two very different prohibitions on the transmission of information be compared to each other? And can they be compared to the kinds of necessary noncommunication discussed in the previous chapter?
I maintain that if there were communications across the so-called Weismannian barrier, the whole process of evolution would break down. Similarly, if we were aware of the processes whereby we form mental images, we would no longer be able to trust them as a basis for action. They say the centipede always knew how to walk until somebody asked it which leg it would move first.
In chapter 7 I showed that there are messages in human affairs (descriptions, news, injunctions, premises, and propositions of many sorts) that had better not be communicated to certain parts of certain systems. But this has been indicated in only the most general way. I have not stopped to define the formal characteristics of such messages nor under what circumstances these messages become pathogenic; nor have I explored the application of this notion to other kinds of systems, such as organisms or populations.
If we think of information as travelling in a network of trains of cause and effect, does it then become possible for us to describe in some formal way how any given message is located in the network and thence to identify which (even ―true‖) messages should not - for the sake of the whole system – be located where?
I will focus on cases where the pathogenic process – the blockage or confusion – is not due to a local effect of the message alone, but is a result of relationship between the message and the total system that is its overall context. Thus, I exclude as trivial those cases in which the disaster or pathology induced by successful communication falls only in a part of the system. Often A will not tell B a given truth because telling will hurt either A or B. We protect our own and each other‘s feelings, and we may sometimes be wise to do so. There are, of course, people who see it as almost a duty to communicate information that will give pain; and sometimes such people have wisdom on their side. I am not concerned here to judge these cases, except to note that these people form a subspecies of those who rush in where angels fear to tread. I am here concerned only with the formal characteristics of sequences in which damage to the system (A plus B) results from the message and/or its communication.
The asking of this question generates a maze of complex considerations. First come the tangles of the relationship between prior state, new information, and outcome within (B), the part of the system that receives the new information, but those tangles are only the beginning of the matter. After that come the complexities of the relationship between the recipient part (B) and the communicator (A). For instance, one might ask of a personal relationship, what was the context of a communication, what was the message conveyed, and what sidelights did the message and its communication throw upon the relationship between the persons? If we ignore the relatively simple problems of tact and protection of the pride or self-image of either person individually, we still face the problems of integration in the relationship.
Suppose that someone had advised the Ancient Mariner to take a voyage to the South Seas, there to search for sea snakes that he might bless them (but not ― unaware!), surely no Albatross would have fallen from his neck! The possibility of change from his disintegrate state of self-reproach to a state of integration would have been precluded by the conscious knowledge of the injunction to follow a recipe.

il Tao dei morti - sesto stadio

LIBRO II

Il Sidpa Bardo

PARTE II

Il Procedimento Della Rinascita

La Chiusura della Porta della Utero (o del Ventre)

(Istruzioni per l'Officiante): Di nuovo, se a causa della grande debolezza nelle devozioni e per la carenza di familiarità con queste non si riesce a capire, si può venire sommersi dalle illusioni, e si può trovarsi a vagare verso le porte delle matrici. Le istruzioni per la chiusura delle porte delle matrici diventano allora molto importanti; chiamate il defunto e per nome e dite questo:
Oh, nobile essere, se non hai capito quanto avvenuto prima di questo momento, a causa dell'influenza del karma, tu avrai la sensazione di salire, o di muoverti in orizzontale, o di scendere. Perciò medita sul Compassionevole. Ricorda ciò. Poi, come detto sopra, si abbatteranno su di te raffiche di vento, bufere di ghiaccio, grandine, e tenebre, e avrai l'impressione di venire perseguitato da molte persone. Per sfuggire da queste, quelli che sono privi di karma meritorio avranno l'impressione di fuggire verso luoghi di sofferenza; quelli che hanno acquisito buon karma avranno l'impressione di giungere in luoghi felici. Quindi, oh, nobile essere, in qualunque continente o luogo tu stia per nascere, i segni di questo luogo brilleranno su di te.
In questo momento ci sono parecchi profondi insegnamenti vitali. Ascolta senza distrarti. Anche se non hai compreso i precedenti confronti faccia a faccia, qui anche coloro che sono molto deboli nelle devozioni riconosceranno i segni. Perciò ascolta.
(Istruzioni per l'Officiante): Ora è molto importante servirsi dei metodi per chiudere la porta del ventre. È perciò necessario mettervi la massima attenzione. Ci sono due modi di chiudere: impedire a chi vuole entrare di entrare, e chiudere la porta della utero che potrebbe essere attraversata.

Metodo per Prevenire l‟Entrata in un Ventre

Le istruzioni per impedire all'essere di entrare sono queste:
Oh, nobile essere (il suo nome), qualunque sia la tua divinità tutelare, medita tranquillamente su di essa, come sul riflesso della luna nell'acqua, apparente ma non esistente, come una illusione prodotta per magia. Se tu non hai una particolare divinità protettrice, medita sul Compassionevole o su di me; e, con questo nella mente, medita tranquillamente.
Poi, lascia che la divinità tutelare svanisca dai bordi, medita, senza forme-pensiero, sulla vuota Chiara Luce. Questa è una magia molto profonda; in virtù della quale non si entra nel ventre.

Primo Metodo per Chiudere la Porta della Utero

Medita in questo modo; ma se anche ciò si dimostrasse insufficiente ad evitarti di entrare in una utero, o se ti scoprissi pronto per entrare in una di queste, ecco allora l'insegnamento profondo per chiudere le porte dei ventri. Ascoltalo:
“Quando, in questo momento, ahimè! il Sidpa Bardo sorge, tenendo in mente una sola determinazione, persevera nell‟unirti alla catena del karma buono; chiudi la porta del ventre, e ricorda l'alternativa. È questo il momento in cui sono necessari ardore e puro amore. Abbandona l'invidia e medita sul Guru Padre-Madre.”
Ripeti ciò, con le tue labbra, distintamente, e ricorda il suo significato vividamente, e medita su di esso. È essenziale mettere questo in pratica.
Il significato dell'insegnamento: “Quando, in questo momento, il Sidpa Bardo sorge su di me” è che ora ti stai aggirando per il Sidpa Bardo. Come segni di questo, se guardi nell'acqua, o dentro uno specchio, non vedrai il riflesso del tuo volto o del tuo corpo; ed inoltre il tuo corpo non proietterà nessuna ombra. Tu hai gettato via il tuo corpo fatto di materia grossolana, fatto di carne e di sangue. Questi indicatori ti confermano che ti stai aggirando nel Sidpa Bardo.
In questo momento, tu devi concepire nella tua mente, senza distrarti, una sola risoluzione. Concentrarsi su una sola risoluzione è molto importante adesso. Equivale a dirigere la corsa di un cavallo usando le redini.
Qualsiasi cosa tu desideri ti verrà davanti. Non pensare alle cattive azioni di cui vorresti mutare il corso. Ricorda le tue relazioni spirituali con il Lettore di questo Bardo Thodol, o con qualcuno da cui hai ricevuto insegnamenti, iniziazioni o l'autorizzazione spirituale a leggere i testi religiosi mentre eri nel mondo degli uomini; e insisti nel portare avanti le buone azioni: questo è l'essenziale. Non lasciarti distrarre. La linea di confine tra l‟ascesa o la discesa si trova qui. Se darai spazio all'indecisione anche per un solo secondo, dovrai sopportare tormenti per un tempo lunghissimo. Questo è il momento. Il momento è questo. Tieni forte il singolo proponimento. Unisciti ostinatamente alla catena delle buone azioni.
Adesso è il momento di chiudere la porta del ventre. “Questo è il momento in cui sono necessari ardore e puro amore”, che significa che è giunto il momento, prima di tutto, di chiudere la porta dell'utero, poiché ci sono cinque metodi per chiuderla. Impara bene questo a memoria.

Il Secondo Metodo per Chiudere la Porta del Ventre

Oh, nobile essere, in questo momento avrai la visione di maschi e di femmine in accoppiamento. Quando li vedrai, ricordati di trattenerti dall‟andare in mezzo loro. Considera come padre e madre il Guru e la Madre Divina, medita su di loro ed inginocchiati; sii umile ed abbi fede; innalza con grande fervore preghiere con la tua mente, e chiedi la loro protezione.
Grazie a questa sola decisione, il ventre si chiuderà sicuramente; ma se non si fosse chiuso nemmeno in questo modo, e ti ritrovassi pronto ad entrarvi, medita sul Guru Padre-Madre Divino, su qualche divinità protettrice, o sul Compassionevole Protettore e su Shakti; e meditando su loro, offri loro devozioni mentali. Prendi con ardore la decisione di chiedere un dono. Attraverso questo, la porta del ventre verrà chiusa.

Il Terzo Metodo per Chiudere la Porta della Utero

Ancora, se non si fosse chiusa tramite ciò, e ti trovassi pronto a entrare nell'utero, ti viene mostrato qui il terzo metodo per sottrarti all'attaccamento-avversione:
Ci sono quattro tipi di nascita: quella attraverso l'uovo, quella attraverso l'utero, quella per trasferimento, e quella attraverso il calore e l'umidità. Tra queste quattro, quelle attraverso l'uovo e attraverso l'utero hanno caratteri comuni.
Come detto sopra, appaiono visioni di maschi e femmine in accoppiamento. Se, in quel momento, si entra nell‟utero attraverso i sentimenti di attrazione-repulsione, si può nascere come cavallo, gallina, cane, o essere umano.
Se si nasce maschi, sorge nel Conoscitore la percezione di essere un maschio, e compare un intenso sentimento di odio verso il padre e di gelosia ed attrazione verso la madre. Se si nasce femmine, sorge nel Conoscitore la percezione di essere una femmina, e compare un sentimento di intenso odio verso la madre e di intensa attrazione ed affetto verso il padre. Per questa causa secondaria – entrando nel sentiero dell'etere, proprio nel momento in cui lo sperma e l'ovulo stanno per unirsi – il Conoscitore sperimenta la felicità della nascita simulatena, e sviene. Egli si ritrova chiuso nella forma di un uovo, nello stato embrionale, ed emergendo dall‟utero ed aprendo i suoi occhi può trovarsi trasformato in un giovane cane. Precedentemente era stato un uomo, ma ora è diventato un cane, costretto a sopportare le sofferenze del canile. O un giovane maiale in un porcile, o una formica nel formicaio, o un insetto, o un verme in un buco, o un vitello, o un capretto, o un agnello, stati dai quali non vi è ritorno. Sperimentando così il mutismo, l'ignoranza, e la miserabile oscurità intellettuale, e una varietà di tormenti. In modo simile, si può scendere all‟inferno, o nel mondo degli spiriti infelici, o da un capo all'altro dei Sei Loka, e sopportare inimmaginabili tormenti.
Coloro che sono voracemente inclini verso l‟esistenza samsarica, o quelli il cui cuore non ne ha paura – Fatto terribile! Terribile! Ahimè! – e coloro che non hanno ricevuto gli insegnamenti di un guru, cadranno così nelle ripide profondità del Samshara, e proveranno sofferenze intollerabili e senza fine. Se vuoi evitare tale destino, ascolta le mie parole ed impara a memoria i miei insegnamenti.
Rifiuta i sentimenti di attrazione o di repulsione, e ricorda il metodo di chiusura della porta della utero che ti sto mostrando. Chiudi la porta del ventre. Questo è il momento in cui sono necessari ardore e puro amore. Come ti è già stato detto: “Abbandona la gelosia e medita sul Guru Padre-Madre.”
Come spiegato sopra, se dovrai rinascere maschio, sorgerà in te attrazione verso la madre e repulsione verso il padre, e se dovrai rinascere femmina sorgerà in te attrazione verso il padre e repulsione verso la madre, insieme ad un sentimento di gelosia per l‟uno o per l'altro che ti pervade.
Poiché in questo momento vi è un insegnamento profondo. Oh, nobile essere, quando sorgono attrazione e repulsione, medità così:
“Ahimè! Che essere dal cattivo karma sono! Se ho vagato finora nel Samshara è stato a causa dell'attrazione e della repulsione. Se continuerò a sentire attrazione e repulsione, allora vagherò senza fine nel Samshara e soffrirò nell'Oceano dei Tormenti per un tempo lunghissimo, affondandovi dentro. Adesso non devo più agire attraverso l‟attrazione e la repulsione. Ahimè! d‟ora in poi non agirò più attraverso attrazione e la repulsione!
Meditando così decidi con fermezza di mantenerti in tale risoluzione. È detto nei Tantra: “La porta della rinascita verrà chiusa solo da questo.”
Oh, nobile essere, non lasciarti distrarre. Mantieni la tua mente assolutamente ferma in questa decisione.

Il Quarto Metodo di Chiusura della Porta del Ventre

Di nuovo, se anche quanto è stato fatto non ha chiuso la porta della utero, e ci si trova pronti per rinascere, allora essa deve essere chiusa per mezzo dell‟insegnamento chiamato: “Il Falso e l'Illusorio.” Medita in questo modo:
“Oh, la coppia, il padre e la madre, la pioggia scura, le raffiche di tempesta, i suoni stridenti, le apparizioni terrificanti, e tutti i fenomeni, sono, nella loro vera natura, illusioni. In qualunque modo possano apparire, non c'è nulla di vero; tutte la loro materia è irreale e falsa. Essi sono come sogni o apparizioni; sono impermanenti, non stabili. Quale vantaggio c'è nell'attaccamento? Quale vantaggio c'è nell‟avere paura o terrore di essi? Questo significa vedere come esistente ciò che non esiste. Tutte queste sono allucinazioni della mente. La stessa mente illusoria non esiste dall‟eternità, pertanto come possono questi fenomeni stessi esistere?”
“Poiché non ho ancora compreso ciò, ho ritenuto il non esistente come esistente, l‟irreale come reale, l‟illusorio come vero, ed ho vagato nel Samshara così a lungo, ed anche ora se non li riconoscerò come illusioni, allora, mi aggirerò per il Samshara per lunghe epoche, certo di cadere nella palude dei vari tormenti.
Infatti, tutti questi sono come sogni, come allucinazioni, come echi, come le città dei Mangiatori di Profumi, come miraggi, come immagini nello specchio, come fantasmagoria, come la luna riflessa nell‟acqua. Mai reali, nemmeno per un istante. In verità, essi sono irreali, sono falsi.”
Mantenendoti stabile su questo pensiero, la credenza che essi siano reali svanisce; e poiché questo resta impresso nella memoria profonda, si ritorna indietro: se la consapevolezza dell'irrealtà rimane in questo modo impressa profondamente, la porta dell'utero resterà chiusa.

Il Quinto Metodo per Chiudere la Porta della Rinascita

Di nuovo, anche quando questo è stato fatto, se la convinzione che i fenomeni siano reali resta inalterata, la porta della rinascita non è chiusa; e, se si è pronti per rinascere, bisogna allora chiudere questa porta meditando sulla Chiara Luce, questo è il quinto metodo. La meditazione viene svolta come segue:
“Ecco! Tutte le sostanze sono nel mio principio cosciente; e questo principio cosciente è vacuità, non nato, senza fine.”
Meditando così, lasciate che la mente sia nello stato del non creato – come, per esempio, il versare l'acqua nell'acqua. Lo spirito deve rimanre nella sua posizione mentale più naturale, non modificata, chiara e vibrante. Mantenendo questa rilassata, non creata, le porte della rinascita dei quattro tipi di nascita resteranno certamente chiuse. Si mediti così fino a che la chiusura non è compiuta con successo.
(Istruzioni per l'Officiante): Ti sono stati dati sopra molti insegnamenti profondi per chiudere la porta della utero. È impossibile che essi non riescano a liberare le persone con capacità intellettive elevate, medie o inferiori. Se ci si chiede perché dovrebbe essere così, è perché: primo, la coscienza del Bardo possiede un potere di percezione sopranormale di una qualità limitata, qualunque cosa si dica a qualcuno, viene colta. Secondo, perché, anche se si è sordi o ciechi, qui, in questo momento, tutte le facoltà sono perfette, e si può udire qualsiasi cosa ci venga rivolta. Terzo, essendo continuamente perseguitati dal timore e dal terrore, si pensa: “Cos'è meglio?” ed essendo allertati e consapevoli, si è sempre portati ad ascoltare qualunue cosa possa venir detta. Da quando la coscienza è senza un sostegno, essa va immediatamente in qualunque luogo la mente la conduca. Quarto, è facile attirarla. La memoria è nove volte più lucida di prima. Anche se ignoranti, in questo momento, per azione del karma, l'intelletto diviene eccezionalmente chiaro e capace di meditare su tutto ciò che gli viene insegnato. Dal momento che il Conoscitore possiede queste qualità.
È per tale motivo che i riti funebri sono altrettanto efficaci. Perciò, il perseverare nella lettura del Grande Bardo Thodol per quarantanove giorni è di assoluta importanza. Anche se non si viene liberati con un confronto faccia a faccia, si può venire liberati in uno successivo; è questa la ragione per cui sono necessari così tanti e diversi confronti faccia a faccia.

dalla versione di W.Y. Evans - Wentz

The Wheel of Rebirth, Tangka, by unknown artist, Tibet, 20th century.
Victoria and Albert Museum collection, London

il Tao dei morti - quinto stadio

stati superiori del Tao

Flora Magnoliophyta Fractalica by MANDELWERK

Nel concludere la sezione sugli stati di coscienza Charles T. Tart affronta la descrizione di quelli che, tradizionalmente, sono considerati "stati superiori di coscienza":

Higher States of Consciousness

A common reaction to the proposal for creating state-specific sciences is that the project is not necessary, that there is already a superior d-SoC for understanding things. Orthodox scientists aver that the ordinary, "normal" d-SoC is the best, most rational d-SoC possible, so we need only continue the scientific research already begun in that state to ultimately find answers to all our questions. On the other hand, some people who have experienced d-ASCs believe that there are higher d-SoCs in which Truth can be directly known so we need not develop sciences in these d-SoCs, only experience them: ultimately we can experience states of enlightenment in which all that is worth knowing or attaining is known and attained.
However, the feeling of being in direct contact with the Truth is no guarantee that such contact has actually been achieved. Such feelings are a part of being human, but such "certain truths," when acted upon, often turn out to be false. They do not work. A primary rule of science is that you must test your understandings against the observable area of reality/experience to which they apply: if observed experience does not tally with the prediction of your truth/theor/understanding, then your truth/theory/understanding is false or needs revision. Scientifically, we cannot broadly assume that any particular d-SoC is higher, in the sense of supplying more insight into truth; we must study and test the various aspects of various d-SoCs in detail. Since a principal task of science is reliable, detailed description, it seems preferable to discard the idea of higher states altogether at this stage and concentrate on description.
Yet since experiences of d-ASCs often describe them as higher or lower states, we should, to be adequately descriptive, examine more closely the idea of higher states.
What does a person mean when he says, "I'm high" or "I'm in a higher state of consciousness"?
On its simplest level, the statement "I'm high" simply means that I feel better now that I did under some other condition. If I had a bad toothache a few minutes ago, and now the pain has stopped, I can say that now I'm high. I feel much better than before. If I am neurotic in my ordinary d-SoC and suffer constant tensions, fears, and anxieties, and I get drunk and feel good, again I can say I'm high by comparison. To reverse this, if I become frightened or feel sick when I am drunk, I can use the phrase "I'm high" to describe my ordinary d-SoC in which I do not feel frightened or sick.
If, then, we clearly describe the reference states and the way in which the current state differs from it, the statement "I'm high" is a useful relative description. Unfortunately, people usually employ the phrase without any clear description of the reference state or the specific way in which the current condition differ from it. Add to this the great individual differences in ordinary d-SoCs, and the degree to which the common language of consensus reality glosses over these differences, and you can see that "I'm high" is usually an ambiguous phrase indicating only that I feel better than in some other, unknown condition. Perhaps I am in a state of fear and anxiety now and that is better than the terror I experienced a few minutes ago, or perhaps I feel blissfully at one with the whole cosmos.

Higher and Lower d-SoCs

There is a more specific use of the adjectives higher and lower, where the user envisions some absolute ordering of d-SoCs on a value scale. Thus higher and lower become much more specific, less relative, terms. Five such value scales are discussed below. None are scientific scales in the sense of being subjected to prolonged and precise scrutiny by groups of scientists; no such scales exist at this stage of our knowledge.

The first value scale is depicted in Figure 17-1. It is the value-scaling of d-SoCs implicitly held by most Western intellectuals. I stress that it is held implicitly: it is conveyed along with the general value system of our society in the enculturation process, without need for a teacher to say explicitly, "Complete rationality is our goal and anything less than that is an inferior, lower state of consciousness."
The primary value in this scheme is rationality, adherence to logic and values our culture believes are true. The scheme recognizes that the ordinary state is occasionally neurotic, in that rationality is often replaced by rationalization of processes based on unconscious drives and emotions. If only we could be cured of these occasional neurotic flaws, it is reasoned, we could be completely rational (although we do not like "completely rational" to being equated with being computerlike). Dreaming is a lower d-SoC because there are many logical flaws in it and the dreamer is out of touch with (consensus) reality. Psychotic states [I use "state" very loosely in this chapter, for we do not know whether all of these value-ordered "states" arc stable d-SoCs.] are even lower in these ways, and toxic psychoses (states induced by major poisonings) are usually the most irrational and out-of-touch states of all.
Some ambivalent recognition is given to the value of creative states, so they are shown between ordinary rationality and dreaming. Most intellectuals consider such creative states the province of artists or fringe intellectuals, not themselves, and, since these states are associated with emotionality, they are viewed ambivalently. Marijuana intoxication is generally valued about the same as dreaming: it is irrational and out of touch, but probably not too harmful. Psychedelic-drug-induced changes in consciousness are considered more dangerous and out of touch, like psychoses.
This ordering of these conditions and d-SoCs is not scientific for it has never been made explicit and subjected to detailed examination to determine how well it orders reality. Further, its implicitness under ordinary circumstances makes it a barrier to better understanding. When a value system or a set of assumptions is implicit, you do not know you have it, so you do not question its value. You automatically perceive and think in terms of the value/assumption system. For example, anything said by a person labeled "psychotic" must be viewed as a sign of his craziness, not to be taken at face value. Patients are crazy; the doctors are sane.
Many individuals have valuations of d-SoCs somewhat different from the scheme shown in Figure 17-1, of course, but this generally represents the d-SoC valuation system of most intellectuals, doctors, psychiatrists, psychologists, and scientists—the people thought to be authorities in these matters. A quite different valuing of d-SoCs is held by many people we can call hip. As is true of the orthodox ordering, there important individual exceptions, but the scheme fits many people, especially the young. If you are a parent whose valuation system is orthodox you may well have experienced some bitter arguments with your sons or daughters whose valuation system is hip.

In this system (Figure 17-2) the highest states are mystical experiences, often experienced in conjunction with psychedelic-drug-induced states of meditative states. Creative states and marijuana intoxication are next in value, and some of the experiences of the higher states can be achieved in them, albeit at reduced intensity. Then comes an open or loose rationality, an ordinary d-SoC in which, because you do not take too seriously the apparent rationality of your culture's consensus reality. You can function well enough in an ordinary d-SoC, but you do not value that d-SoC as highly as do those who have no other reference experiences of higher states.
Ordinary, neurotically flawed rationality is the next lower state. A state of complete rationality is valued somewhere between open and ordinary rationality, a reflection of existing suspicion of a totally unemotional, computerlike state. Dreaming is generally considered somewhat lower than ordinary rationality, although it is recognized that some dreams can be inspired; psychoses and toxic psychoses are at the bottom of the value continuum. As with dreaming, there is recognition that psychotic states can sometimes be very high, however.
Which of these two value continua is true? Which is more useful?
Neither. In neither have details about each state and the performance potential with respect to specific tasks in each state been clarified.
Can you argue that the orthodox ordering is more workable for surviving in consensus reality? What about those other adherents to the relatively high state of ordinary rationality who order napalm dropped on children to protect them from________ (fill in your favorite-ism)? Can you argue that the hip ordering is better for realizing oneself? What about all the starving children in countries like India, where mystical states have long been considered the highest by cultural norms? Or the near total failure rate of communes of American young people who accept the hip value ordering?
I offer not answers to these questions. Indeed, the questions and examples I have chosen are designed to illustrate how poor our understanding is at present. Higher or lower for what specific thing? That is the question we must keep constantly in mind.

Three Explicit Orderings

Three systems for value-ordering d-SoCs are described below to illustrate that explicit and detail orderings are possible. Two are from the Buddhist tradition and one from the Arica traditions. While none of these is scientific, each is capable of being cast as a scientific theory and tested. Figure 17-3 presents an ordering of nine d-SoCs that are all higher than ordinary consciousness. These are d-SoCs[We do not know enough about these states in scientific terms to be sure whether they represent nine d-SoCs with the quantum jump between each or a smaller number of d-SoCs, some of whose distinctions actually are differences in depth within a d-SoC For purposes of discussion here, however, we will assume these jhana states, and the states described in Figures 17-4 and 17-5, are all d-SoCs.] to be obtained sequentially in seeking enlightenment through a path of concentrative meditation in Buddhism.

Figure 17-3. Higher states of consciousness on the Buddhist Path of Concentration

HIGH               VALUE   DIMENSION                LOW	8th JHANA Neither perception nor nonperception, equanimity and one-pointedness.	FORMLESS  STATES
	7th JHANA Awareness of no-thingness equanimity and one-pointedness.
	6th JHANA Objectless infinite consciousness, equanimity and one-pointedness.
	5th JHANA Consciousness of infinite space, equanimity and one-pointedness.
	4th JHANA Equanimity and one-pointedness, bliss, all feelings of bodily pleasure cease.	MATERIAL  STATES
	3rd JHANA Feelings of bliss, one-pointedness, and equanimity. Rapture ceases.
	2nd JHANA Feelings of rapture, bliss, one-pointedness. No thought of primary object of concentration.
	1st JHANA Hindering thoughts, sensory perception, and awareness of painful bodily states all cease. Initial and unbroken sustained attention to primary object of concentration, feelings of rapture, bliss, and one-pointedness
	ACCESS STATE Hindering thoughts overcome, other thoughts remain. Awareness   of sensory inputs and body states, primary object of concentration  dominates thought. Feelings of rapture, happiness, equanimity. Initial and sustained thoughts of primary object. Flashes of light or bodily lightness.

The underlying value dimension here might be called freedom. The Buddha taught that the ordinary state is one of suffering and entrapment in the forms and delusions of our own minds. The root cause of this suffering is attachment, the (automatized) desire to prolong pleasure and avoid pain. The journey along the Path of Concentration starts when the meditater tries to focus attention on some particular object of concentration. As he progresses, his concentration becomes more subtle and powerful and he eventually moves from formed experiences (all form has the seeds of illusion in it) to a series of formless states, culminating in the eighth jhana, where there is neither perception nor nonperception of anything.

Figure 17-4. Higher states of consciousness on the Buddhist Path of Insight

HIGH               VALUE   DIMENSION                LOW	NIRODH Total cessation of consciousness.
	EFFORTLESS INSIGHT Contemplation is quick, effortless, indefatigable. Instantaneous knowledge of Anatta, Anicca, Dukkha. Cessation of pain, pervasive equanimity
	REALIZATION   Realizations of the dreadful, unsatisfactory, and wearisome nature of physical and  mental phenomena, physical pain, arising of desire to escape these phenomena. Perception of vanishing of mind and objects, perception fast and flawless, disappearance of lights, rapture, etc.
	PSEUDONIRVANA Clear perception of the arising and passing of each successive mind moment, accompanied by various phenomena such as brilliant light, rapturous feelings, tranquility, devotion, energy, happiness, strong mindfulness, equanimity toward objects of contemplation. Quick and clear perception, and attachment to these newly arisen states.
	STAGE OF REFLECTIONS These processes seen as neither pleasant nor reliable. Experience of Dukkha, unsatisfactoriness. These processes are seen to arise and pass away at everymoment of contemplation. Experience of Anicca. Impermanence. These dual processes are seen as devoid of self. Experience of Anatta, not-self, as distinct and separate processes.
	MINDFULNESS Mindfulness of bodily function, physical sensations, mental states, or mind objects.
	ACCESS CONCENTRATION Previous attainment of access. Concentration on path of concentration	BARE INSIGHT  Achievement of ability to notice all phenomena  of mind, to point where interfering thoughts do not seriously disturb practice.

Figure 17-4 illustrates another succession of higher states within the Buddhist framework. Here the technique involves not one-pointed, successively refined concentration, but successively refined states of insight into the ultimate nature of one's own mind. Starting from either the state of Access Concentration (where ability to focus is quite high) or the state of Bare Insight (proficiency in noticing internal experiences), the meditater becomes increasingly able to observe the phenomena of the mind, and to see their inherently unsatisfactorily character. The ultimate goal is a state called nirodh, which is beyond awareness itself. Nirodh is the ultimate accomplishment in this particular version of Buddhism, higher than the eighth jhana on the Path of Concentration.

Figure 17-5. Higher states of consciousness in the Arica system. Some still lower states are not shown.

HIGH               VALUE   DIMENSION                LOW	+3 Classical Satori. Fusion with Universal Mind, union with God, being one of the creators of energy from the void. Functioning in the Ma'h spiritual center above the head.
	+6 Being a point source of consciousness, energy, light, and love. Astral travel and other PSI phenomena. Fusion with other entities in time. Functioning in the path mental center in the head.
	+12 Blissful, Christ-attuned state. Reception of Baraka (Divine Grace), cosmic love, cosmic energy, heightened bodily awareness. Highest function of bodily and planetside consciousness, being in love, being in a positive LSD energy state. Functioning in the Oth emotional center in the chest.
	+24 Professional Satori or basic Satori. All the needed programs are in the unconscious of the biocomputer, operating smoothly: The self is lost in pleasurable activities that one knows best and likes to do. Functioning in the Kath moving center in the lower belly.
	+/-48 The neutral biocomputer state. Absorption and transmission of new ideas,   reception and transmission of new data and new programs, doing, teaching,  and learning with maximum facility. Emotionally neutral. On the earth, excellent reality contact.
	-24 Neurotic states, negative states: Pain, guilt, fear, doing what one has to do but in a state of pain, guilt, fear. Slightly too much alcohol, small amount of opium, or first stages of lack of sleep.

The third ordering (Figure 17-5) is John Lilly's conceptualization of the system taught by Oscar Ichazo in Arica, Chile.
In the Arica ordering the value dimension is one of freedom and of which psychic center dominates consciousness. The numerical designation of each state indicates the number of cosmic laws supposedly governing that state, as expounded by Gurdjieff (see Ouspensky), with a plus sign indicating positive valuation of that state. For example, in the +3 state only three laws govern; a person is less free in the +6 state, where six law govern. A minus sign indicates negative emotions. Thus the ordinary d-SoC, the-24 state, is a neurotic one of pain, guilt, fear, and other negative emotions. The -24 state is also under 96 laws, making it less free, as the number of governing laws doubles at each lower level.
Lilly notes that this ordering of highness does not hold for all possible tasks in this scheme. The +12 state and higher, for instance, involve a progressive loss of contact with external reality and so become lower states if one has to perform some external task like driving a car or eating.
Now, is the +24 state higher or lower than the sixth jhana? Is the state of realization on the Path of Insight higher or lower than the +3 state? Which state in these three orderings is best for coping with the world food shortage? For understanding an artist's message? For dying?
Arguing a particular answer to any one of these or similar questions involves first fully understanding the system that defines one state, and then fully understanding the system that defines the other state. We must grasp the many implicit assumptions that underlie the world-view of each system. If we do not, we waste our time using common words that carry dissimilar implicit assumptions. When we understand the world-views behind these systems, we still must examine how well each system orders the experience/realities of its own practitioners and how well it orders and explains experiences by nonpractitioners.
What, then, is a higher state of consciousness? It is something many of us long for; it is something some of us have put into our value ordering systems; it is a reality that exists under various sets of circumstances. But it is not something we can handle well scientifically, at least not at this stage of our knowledge. But we can begin by making our system of valuing states explicit.

Milky Way galactic center, gamma-ray image, Fermi Gamma-Ray Space Telescope.
Image Credit: NASA Goddard; A. Mellinger, CMU; T. Linden, Univ. of Chicago