Regarding the concealed meaning of esoteric writings .....

[H2O Man]

"...these teachings mean exactly what they say, but that is only on one level, because there is another psychological meaning to these same words that opens up another whole range of knowledge that belongs on a much higher level than the literal words contain. For the idea behind these writings is to convey that higher meaning, but the truth must be seen by a man internally. These higher, concealed, inner, or esoteric meanings, cast into the words and sense-images of ordinary useage, can only be grasped by this higher understanding, and it is exactly here that the first difficulty lies .... A person's literal level of understanding is not often equal to the ability to grasp the higher psychological meaning ....the literal meaning of the commandment "thou shall not steal" is obvious, but it's psychological meaning is much deeper! To steal psychologically means to think that you do everything from yourself, by your own powers, and not realizing that you do not even know who you are, or how you think and feel, or even how you move! It is taking everything for granted, and ascribing everything to yourself! So it refers to an attitude. But the meaning is veiled, because if it were expressed in its literal form, no one would believe it. The idea would not be understood, and even worse, people would think it is nonsense. ...Higher knowledge, if it falls on the ordinary level of understanding, cannot help but be misunderstood. It becomes useless or worse. Higher meaning can only be given to those who are close to grasping it...."
-letter from Rubin Carter to H2O Man, written from solitay conefinement, 4-10-79

[Racenut20]

1. Hogwash

[KittyWampus]

2. Learning Kabbalah Is Like Learning Chemistry

You have to learn stuff like the Elements' Names, their method of Notation, how they are organized (Periodic Table of Elements), how they interact (laws) etc.

Then after you learn the basics, you begin experimentation to verify what you've read about.

Some are philosophically minded and some are not.

Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.


Matthew 13
1 The same day went Jesus out of the house, and sat by the sea side.
2 And great multitudes were gathered together unto him, so that he went into a ship,
and sat; and the whole multitude stood on the shore.
3 And he spake many things unto them in parables, saying, Behold, a sower went
forth to sow;
4 And when he sowed, some seeds fell by the way side, and the fowls came and
devoured them up:
5 Some fell upon stony places, where they had not much earth: and forthwith they
sprung up, because they had no deepness of earth:
6 And when the sun was up, they were scorched; and because they had no root,
they withered away.
7 And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprung up, and choked them:
8 But other fell into good ground, and brought forth fruit, some an hundredfold, some
sixtyfold, some thirtyfold.
9 Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.
10 And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in
parables?
11 He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the
mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given.
12 For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but
whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath.
13 Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing
they hear not, neither do they understand.
14 And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias, which saith, By hearing ye shall
hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive:
15 For this people's heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their
eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes and hear with
their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I
should heal them.
16 But blessed are your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear.
17 For verily I say unto you, That many prophets and righteous men have desired to
see those things which ye see, and have not seen them; and to hear those things
which ye hear, and have not heard them.
18 Hear ye therefore the parable of the sower.
19 When any one heareth the word of the kingdom, and understandeth it not, then
cometh the wicked one, and catcheth away that which was sown in his heart. This is
he which received seed by the way side.
20 But he that received the seed into stony places, the same is he that heareth the
word, and anon with joy receiveth it;
21 Yet hath he not root in himself, but dureth for a while: for when tribulation or
persecution ariseth because of the word, by and by he is offended.
22 He also that received seed among the thorns is he that heareth the word; and the
care of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the word, and he becometh
unfruitful.
23 But he that received seed into the good ground is he that heareth the word, and
understandeth it; which also beareth fruit, and bringeth forth, some an hundredfold,
some sixty, some thirty.
24 Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is likened
unto a man which sowed good seed in his field:
25 But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and
went his way.
26 But when the blade was sprung up, and brought forth fruit, then appeared the
tares also.
27 So the servants of the householder came and said unto him, Sir, didst not thou
sow good seed in thy field? from whence then hath it tares?
28 He said unto them, An enemy hath done this. The servants said unto him, Wilt
thou then that we go and gather them up?
29 But he said, Nay; lest while ye gather up the tares, ye root up also the wheat
with them.
30 Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to
the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them:
but gather the wheat into my barn.
31 Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is like to a
grain of mustard seed, which a man took, and sowed in his field:
32 Which indeed is the least of all seeds: but when it is grown, it is the greatest
among herbs, and becometh a tree, so that the birds of the air come and lodge in the
branches thereof.
33 Another parable spake he unto them; The kingdom of heaven is like unto leaven,
which a woman took, and hid in three measures of meal, till the whole was leavened.
34 All these things spake Jesus unto the multitude in parables; and without a parable
spake he not unto them:
35 That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying, I will open my
mouth in parables; I will utter things which have been kept secret from the foundation
of the world.

[Noon_Blue_Apples]

4. ah yes, the tree of life n/t

.

[H2O Man]

5. These two posts....

... offer proof of what I was trying to say. I can honestly say that neither person was part of a plan to offer such wonderful evidence! Thank you both.

[Noon_Blue_Apples]

3. Similar to Jung and symbolism

or understanding the Tarot is based upon a subconscious awakening that is triggered by the contemplation of ancient symbols/images.

Similar as well to the resonance of the sound created by certain words.

interesting

[KittyWampus]

7. Here's The Glyph Representing Intuition

and hearing on the Interior level.

The letter Vau means hook or nail and implies the joining. It is used as the word "and".
In Sanskrit the word is "yoga".

Edit: Intuition (Interior Hearing) should be distinguished from Psychism.

[Enraged_Ape]

6. This is why I have been a long-time student of the Tarot

Although I don't believe that reading the Tarot predicts the future (it doesn't; nor was it ever designed to do that), an extraordinary amount of dream-like imagery that applies to all human experience, desires, and motivations--new and old--is contained within its images. There is a lot of old and established religious symbolism in it as well.

The Tarot speaks to all of us in some way, but what exactly IS IT SAYING? That is something that only those who have become well-familiar with it in actually applying its imagery to their own lives can impart to the rest of us. There truly are higher concepts of life and existence that are impossible to express in any written or spoken human language. There truly is a "cosmic" story that exceeds our experience and can never be written about in any words invented on Earth.

I don't mean to sound like one of those patchoulli-wearing hippie-dippies in paisley skirts you might find at the natural-food co-op, but I really believe this.

[H2O Man]

8. Actually, these are concepts

that human beings such as Gandhi, King, Mother Teresa, and human beings concerned with the meaning of life think about. So your post puts you more in their company, than the other less-serious image you wrote about. I used the example of my friend Rubin, in prison for 19 years for a crime he did not commit, spending large amounts of those years in solitary confinement. Great minds such as Joseph Campbell confirm for us that throughout time, human beings who have suffered have found a higher meaning, hidden to others, in that suffering. Thus Rubin looked for that meaning.
Now, of course some people will say "hogwash" and be content that there is no higher meaning to life. That is fine. It's also an investment in meaningless-ness.(smile) But they are not a valid reason for others to be content to not seek the truth. They are like a blind person, demanding there is no such thing as sight, and that the beauty of the world is "hogwash." Better to commune with Jesus, Gandhi, and King.

[homelandpunk]

11. "those patchoulli-wearing hippie-dippies in paisley skirts

you find at the natural food co-op" are very much examples of those who think interior truth can be manifested outwardly. It is a defective understanding. Most outward forms of "prayer" are just as aberrational. As well as most who play with the tarot and magick.
Two dictums:
"A priest of my own becoming" and "know thyself"
As matters of curiosity, the interior meaning of some written words of any scripture from any religion (cult), are just that - curiosities...neither helpful nor hurtful. Their outward literalism is so destructive, on the other hand, that any benefit from an interior understanding does not justify their their stature as helpmeets to spiritual progress. All scripture should be read with the same disinterest as looking up a number in the yellow pages.
That includes all the relatively new crap from theosophy, thelema, anthroposophy, etc. ad nauseum.

[Beam Me Up]

9. Carter is quoting Maruice Nicoll's "The New Man". . .

. . .almost verbatim. (Nicoll would never use exclamation points.)

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/087773268X/qid=1081099996/sr=1-2/ref=sr_1_2/103-9814556-2429418?v=glance&s=books

or http://tinyurl.com/23mac

I loaned out my copy and never got it back so I can't look up the exact page number, but I've read the book several times and am CERTAIN this an almost exact quote from it.

[H2O Man]

10. Yes.

Also from similar thoughts in Viktor Frankl's "Man's Search for Meaning;" Hermann Hesse's "Siddhartha;" and Piotr Demianovich Ouspensky's "In Search of the Miraculous," "A New model for the Universe," and "The Fourth Way." These are among the books that were used to help him recognize the process that he was taking part in.