That some folks are animals rather than human beings does not mean that they
are any less a manifestation of the One, it is just the kind of manifestation
they are.
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I think there is a fundamental difference between human beings (including
Homo sapiens) and all other earth bound physical life forms.
All forms of life below the human are still in the garden of Eden. Us humans,
by virtue of our developed sense of separation (Self-Consciousness) have the
opportunity to co-operate with God's evolutionary plan, instead of just being
acted upon.
Where people become bestialized is when they mis-create by using their
Self-Conscious in a superficial way, which holds their subconsciousness in
bondage to error. As I've read elsewhere: "Superficial observation (K1)
followed by hasty generalization (K8) leads to bondage (K15)."
This is in fact where most folks are, as in the first column in the tarot
tableau. Keys 1-8-15.
Now, my opinion about so called primitive cultures is that these cultures
often seem more utopian to us because by and large, the members of that culture
have a less developed sense of conscious separation from the One. In other
words, they have a less developed sense of Self-Consciousness and it's oft-times
resulting corollary, egotism.
The problem with romanticizing these past Eden like cultures
is that the path back to the Garden leads not backwards, but forward. This means
using our highly developed ability to "separate" (Self-Consciousness)
in a new way.
We must "separate the subtle from the gross, suavely and with great
ingenuity." In the course on the Great Work, the alchemical process of
separation is described thus:
Separation is the distillation of feculent water via
meditation to separate form (the gross) from spirit (the simple) until one has
established in himself the consciousness that what is below (form / matter) is
truly identical with what is above (spirit). Concrete realization that form and
spirit are identical.
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Another observation. When I read or hear of an indigenous culture calling the
occidental a "devil", I have to nod in partial agreement. why? In the
past, the occidental was the first to reach the bottom of the wheel in K10, and
thus the greatest "awareness" of separation (and sense of having a
separate will, leading to egotism).
In actuality, this separation is an illusion, but on the
awareness level, this limitation is what fosters evolution of consciousness.
We grow in consciousness by learning how to overcome our
limitations, which are limitations in conscious awareness having to do with the
"appearances" of things. Truly, the tempter and the redeemer are One.
But now, like the red Annibus, there are those who have rounded the bottom of
the arc (most separation) and who are now coming back into awareness of unity,
bringing with them a developed consciousness.. . . . . . and not a moment too
soon.
