The Merry-Go-Round

What has been gained in living a more conscious life is retained within the purity of space of an individual’s psyche. Until purified of emotional force, the subconscious realm resembles a junkyard of scraps of information, concepts and floating debris from memorable impressions from the past. These energetic forms knit up and form layers of hardened matter which surround the psychic centres within the body. The body of self cunningly utilises the experience of the person’s life in such a way to prolong the suffering in existence through disguising its true nature.

The nature of self is fear. Fear arises from the identification with the mortal physical body as the reality of who I am in existence. To compensate from facing the awful truth that everybody dies, the self steps in to provide an emotional way of living that ensures the majority of the human race need never seriously examine the true purpose of being on earth. Unless a man or woman continually dies while alive to the demands of their self they will fear death as it approaches and be unable to remain at peace for long. They will unavoidably become attached to those they love, their beliefs and to what they defend as their way of life. They will go on at physical death to survive in another sort of dream as a finer version of the experience of life on the earth, but will soon hanker for life in the flesh. 

The thread to the mortal merry-go-round is severed through annihilating effort. The psychic self must capitulate to the power of will which is invoked through a deepening love of the unknown. But having tasted the controlling element over the human race, the self does not want to die. The person is the face of self in the world – complacent and cocksure while winning and comfortable in their way of life. But remove the continuity of daily living such as a sudden loss of a loved one, health or reputation and the world of self collapses. How easy it is for life to derail the direction of the man or woman in an endeavour to bring some reality into people lives.

There are two fundamental actions which keep the merry-go-round active in existence: expansion and contraction. In the pure psyche the creative idea of life expands and contracts to establish a space of purity and stillness. Closer to the surface of the world, the unresolved energies of past human experience expand and contract in a way that agitate and create ripples within the psyche. The effect distorts the field of mind which when stoked through emotional energy makes the merry-go-round go increasingly faster.

The task for the spiritual practitioner is to apply the braking mechanism to slow the structure of the mind. This can be done effectively through eliminating the contrast of opposites between excitement and the depths of depression. Heat as excitement expands, whereas cold as the absence of experience contracts. At a certain threshold, heat and cold establish a point of perfect balance which allows the idea of life to fructify and radiate the good news that all is well in the world. The merry-go-around still exists and can be enjoyed whenever there’s a movement to be entertained or be engaged in the world. The difference for someone no longer attached to the ride is that it can be stopped at any moment. This is self-mastery – being in the world but not of it.