Transitions

Transitions

In order to move your soul from your everyday world to heightened states of awareness your soul goes through transitions.  In order to see what I mean we need to take a trip through transitions in order to move from our everyday world to waking into heightened states of awareness.

So let’s start with Plato’s, Meno 81c: “For since all nature is akin, and the soul has learnt everything, there is nothing to hinder a man, remembering one thing only-which men call learning-from himself finding out all else, if he is brave and does not weary in seeking; for seeking and learning is all remembrance.” Interesting point that everything can be found within ourselves. You need to look nowhere but within. Given seeking and learning are all remembrance. No need to go anywhere, simply look within for the answers. So this is where we start within.

So how do we start and where do we look for our guide? For this one let us take a look at Plato’s, Phaedo 108e: “I am persuaded, therefore in the first place, that if the earth is in the middle of the heavens, and is of a spherical figure, it has no occasion of air, nor of any other such-like necessity, to prevent it from falling: but that the perfect similitude of the heavens to themselves, and the equilibrity of the earth, are sufficient causes of its support.  For that which is equally inclined, when placed in the middle of a similar nature, cannot tend more or less to one part than another; but subsisting on all sides similarly affected, it will remain free from all inclination. This is the first thing of which I am persuaded.”  Plato starts and ends with the same word persuaded, I don’t know of anywhere else Plato speaks that way so it must be important. So let’s unlock this quote and see what it has to say. Have you ever experienced a state of mind where everything is at rest? A time when your body was at rest and all was quiet.  Your thoughts too are still and at a place of rest.  All is quiet, not being pulled in one direction or another. One-pointedness resting quietly reflecting back upon itself to see what it has within. This is the perfect resting place for every soul, everything is held within, all is quiet.  As the soul rests, what does it see?  In order to see this clearly we need one more quote.

For this let’s turn to Plotinus, The Post Primals V,2,1: “This, then, it may be said, is the primal begetting; perfect-seeking nothing, having nothing, needing nothing-The One “overflows” and its excess begets an other an other than itself; begotten turns back towards begetter and is filled and becomes its contemplator, The Intelligence;” Let us now reflect back upon this quote to see how it applies here. Let’s reflect back upon ourselves and see this as a state of mind. Reflect upon yourselves, have you ever experienced a time when you were perfect-seeking nothing, having nothing, needing nothing everything was at rest all is quiet. Plotinus calls this the primal begetting The One as a consequence of this state produces an other than itself The Intellect. The begotten then turns back towards begetter and is filled and becomes its contemplator.

So let’s pull this all together now we have all the pieces. Given that seeking and learning is all remembrance, everything comes from within; we are not looking outside ourselves now. We are remembering what we have within. So this is where to look.

Bring back the state of mind you have experienced in the past where: All is quiet, not being pulled in one direction or another. One-pointedness resting quietly reflecting back upon itself to see what it has within. So this is how to look, this is the state of mind you need to be in while seeking.

Once again let us reflect back to The One; and consider the state of mind here. The One perfect-seeking nothing, having nothing, needing nothing. This is what your eye turns to, much like the eye of The Intellect turns its gaze to the one, is filled and becomes its contemplator. So this is where to look, the circle is complete.

So looking within at a state of rest, all is quiet, not being pulled in one direction or another just being in a state of rest.  Looking to The One perfect-seeking nothing, having nothing, needing nothing-The One “overflows” and its excess begets an other an other than itself; begotten turns back towards begetter and is filled and becomes its contemplator, The Intelligence.

By Debra Shiin Coffey