Re: [BardonPraxis] Beauty ?

["Rawn Clark" <rawnclark@...>]

Dear Hervé,

>> I just want to know :
- What is beauty ?( Is it equilibrium plus harmony ?) <<

:) I recommend that question as a good meditation or series of
meditations. To aid your meditations, here are my thoughts. :)

I'm sure you're familiar with the saying, "Beauty is in the eye of the
beholder." This saying holds a lot of wisdom. There are two distinct
levels of truth to it.

On the surface it means that Beauty is an *interaction* between the
perceiver and the perceived. In other words, Beauty is slightly
different for each person. What I find Beautiful, you might not and
vise versa. This level of Beauty is emotional and has to do with
personal preference and experience. A shape, for example strikes *you*
as Beautiful because its form pleases you at an emotional level. Thus
the Beautiful form *affects* you, touches you at an emotional level,
lifts your spirits and incites an emotional response of appreciation,
happiness, etc., all of which trigger physiological changes This is
what I mean by an interaction between perceiver and perceived.

At this level, Beauty depends more upon the perceiver's likes and
dislikes than upon the perceived thing itself, in so far as universal
qualities like equilibrium or harmony are concerned.

The deeper level of meaning in the statement, "Beauty is in the eye of
the beholder", is revealed through consideration of Paul Case's
Trestleboard statement for #6 (Tiphareth, which means 'Beauty' in
Hebrew): "In all things, great and small, I see the Beauty of the
divine expression."

Here, Beauty is described as a divine *expression*. This is the
*essential meaning* which each thing *expresses* through its form (its
thing-ness). When directly perceived *through* a form, essential
meaning has the same affect upon the perceiver as does the mundane
perception of Beauty. The direct perception of essential meaning
touches you at *every* level -- it uplifts your thoughts and emotions
and stimulates the response of appreciation, happiness, etc. Even
though it requires emotional detachment, the *direct* perception of
essential meaning is not mere passive observation -- it is an
*experience* and you become at one with that quanta of essential
meaning.

Yet it is up to the perceiver to *directly* perceive essential meaning
and in that sense, the power to perceive the Beauty that is expressed
through *all* things, lies "in the eye of the beholder."

When we perceive something (and this doesn't have to be a concrete,
physical thing -- it can also be an idea, an emotion, sensation, etc.)
which we feel *at an emotional level* is Beautiful, we feel that way
because the essential meaning that the form expresses, comes in a form
through which we *personally* can more readily perceive it. The reason
is because the *personal* filters of perception that we see things
through at the mundane level, are in greater harmony with *that
particular* form and we can therefore harmonize with the essential
meaning that form expresses. To *our* eyes, the form harmonizes with
its essential meaning and we can therefore perceive that essential
meaning more clearly. [Sorry if that's unclear -- it's hard for me to
put in words at the moment.]

Ordinarily, we do *not* see the Beauty of the divine expression (i.e.,
its essential meaning) in *all* things, great and small. But when we do
*directly* perceive essential meaning in *all* things, we discover that
the forms of *all* things harmonize with their essential meaning. In
other words, Beauty is, quite literally, all around us and all within
us. All we need do is see it. :)

>> - In what is it useful to eat, inhale, drink, breath, beauty ? How
it is manifested / concretised within us, and outside of us in everyday
life, when we work whit it ? ( In your "Rawn's pore breathing beauty"
exercise, you wrote : You can, in fact, continuously inhale and exhale
the Beautified universe and create a resonant relationship between
yourself and your surroundings. It is also possible, using this
technique, to effect the temporal bubble that surrounds your
consciousness. In essence, this Beautifies the immediate future and
disperses any "resistance" in your path.) <<

At the mundane level, when we perceive something that we *feel* is
Beautiful, it means that we are perceiving *more* of its essential
meaning (its divine expression) than we would perceive in a thing we
*feel* to be ugly. Essential meaning nourishes us (this is the Divine
Water principle of All-Love) and one way in which we receive that
nourishment is through mental, astral and emotional *perception*. In
most of our perceptions, the essential meaning is minimized by our
*personal* filters of perception, but when we perceive Beauty, we
perceive a greater quantity of this nourishing essential meaning or
divine expression. We are affected by this perception to a greater
degree than we are by the perception of an "ugly" thing. Thus the
mundane perception of Beauty is especially nourishing.

When we *intentionally* imbibe essential meaning from the cup of Beauty,
this effect is magnified still further because it is an intentional and
conscious action. We focus upon it and upon the *feelings* its
perception generates within us and therefore extend its effect upon us
and increase our nourishment. And just like in Bardon's magical
breathing, we can consciously *inhale* that Beautiful essential meaning.
This is what I mean by "breathing it in".

*All* perception of essential meaning nourishes us mentally, astrally
and physically. Which is to say that *all* perception nourishes us --
each use of our mental, astral and physical senses nourishes us. By
'well nourished', I mean that we are in harmony with life and with self.
In other words, we more clearly express our *own* essential meaning.
The question then becomes one of how *well* nourished are we? ;-)

If all we do is perceive *unintentionally* and *without focus* then we
have an essential meaning diet equivalent to eating at MacDonald's for
every meal. If we surround ourselves in Beauty and perceive it all the
time then we are reasonably well nourished. If we add to that the
factor of intentional and prolonged inhalation of the Beauty we
perceive, then we are very well nourished indeed! :)

We can quantify it thus:

1) Mundane, un-intentional perception. Barely sustains body, soul and
spirit.
2) Mundane, un-intentional perception of Beauty. Briefly stimulates
body, soul and spirit.
3) Mundane, *intentional* perception of Beauty. Briefly nourishes body,
soul and spirit and has a temporary harmonizing effect.
4) Intentional inhalation of Beauty. Nourishes body, soul and spirit
and has a prolonged harmonizing effect.
5) Direct perception of essential meaning through external things.
Deeply nourishes body, soul and spirit and briefly transforms them.
6) Direct perception of one's own essential meaning (and that of *all*
things, great and small). Permanently transforms body, soul and spirit.

>> - Does magical equilibrium can be done more easily ? - Is it good for
health ? Personality transformation ? <<

Yes. Any perception of essential meaning changes the perceiver to some
degree. It makes them more or different than what they were before the
perception. The greater the clarity (i.e., directness) of that
perception, the greater the perceiver will be affected by the essential
meaning and consequently, the change within them will be greater. The
*direct* perception of essential meaning, immediately and strongly
transforms the perceiver. Since essential meaning is the *divine
expression*, the transformation that the perceiver undergoes directly
benefits their own evolution and growth.

This is most especially true when one is able to perceive their *own*
essential meaning. Which is to say, the moment in which one
*experiences* their own essential meaning in all its Beauty. I say that
because to directly perceive essential meaning is to *experience* it and
to *be* it.

One thing that I think I only hinted at in my "Inhalation of Beauty" is
that Beauty (and any essential meaning, for that matter) can be
accumulated, just like the Vital Energy, the Elements, Fluids, Lights,
etc.. For example, through magical inhalation of Beauty, you can
retain the Beauty during each exhale and in that way build up an
accumulation of Beauty. You can cause it to become radiant and thus
affect your surroundings. Furthermore, you can project such an
accumulation and fill an external object with it. In short, you can
work with essential meaning in exactly the same way as Bardon instructed
regarding Vital Energy, Elements, Fluids, Lights and so on.

This, of course is the subject of my next book and the magic pertaining
to the Emperor. :)

At any rate, I hope my rambling has provided you with fruit for your
meditations. :)

My best to you as always,
:) Rawn Clark
21 April 2004
rawnclark@...
rawn@...
http://www.ABardonCompanion.com
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