![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
The following text is not my own words. This is copied from a Hermetic Temple FB page:
Past lives; The Path to Transcendence
This essay will be dealing with the concept of directly preserved memories and the like, via reincarnation.
As we know, the toll of time deteriorates our experiences and memory. Something we experienced 10 years ago quickly becomes less pronounced and we slowly start succumbing to forgetfulness.
Unlike our bodies, our nous (intellect) is immortal and is harbored by the spirit (divine in origin), whose vehicle we call the Body of Light. These past experiences remain within us, we just have to access them.
Have you ever been in a situation that, (though you’ve never personally experienced), found yourself having an eerie amount of knowledge towards it? Or found yourself having natural knowledge to a subject that should be zero by all means? Turns out, you already access these memories on a very subconscious level!
To get a better understanding about the link, take a peak at some Socratic dialogue.
Plátohn (Plato; Gr. Πλάτων) on consciousness, memory, and recollection:
Sohkrátis: "And the union or communion of soul and body in one feeling and motion would be properly called consciousness?
Próhtarkhos: (Protarchus; Gr. Πρώταρχος): Most. true.
Sohkrátis: Then now we know the meaning of the word?
Próhtarkhos: Yes.
Sohkrátis: And memory may, I think, be rightly described as the preservation of consciousness?
Próhtarkhos: Right.
Sohkrátis: But do we not distinguish memory from recollection?
Próhtarkhos: I think so.
Sohkrátis: And do we not mean by recollection the power which the soul has of recovering, when by herself, some feeling which she experienced when in company with the body?
Próhtarkhos: Certainly.
Sohkrátis: And when she recovers of herself the lost recollection of some consciousness or knowledge, the recovery is termed recollection and reminiscence?
Próhtarkhos: Very true."
(Plátohn [Plato; Gr. Πλάτων] Phílivos [Philebus; Gr. Φίληβος] 34a-c, trans. Benjamin Jowett 1892; found here in The Dialogues of Plato Vol. 2, 1937, Random House [New York], on p. 367)
What does this have to do with transcendence?
As we know, the cycle of reincarnation is a method of perfection and purification. Our virtues and knowledge raise our being, while the physical body is simply an anchor that may fail before we achieve this divine work. This is where the past comes in. A true master can pick up where they left off on a previous life, quickly.
The cornerstone of this entire lesson is that we need to KINDLE our memory and make great effort to ensure it’s preservation.
Now, let us speak of the ways to “kindle”.
First, let us look to the Golden Verses of Pythagoras. Take heed of his advice.
“Never let sleep close your eyes, before evaluating your entire day”.
By evaluating our day in its entirety, we can be sure to learn from it. Even the most minor of errs may be mended because the memory is still very fresh.
Practically, I recommend keeping two journals; one for dreams, and one for day-to-day life.
By becoming more mindful and reflecting on ourselves, we correct our wrongs and find ourselves able to recall these instances with more clarity and meaning.
Secondly, I highly recommend the Orphic Hymn to Mnimosyni (The goddess of memory).
Memorize, and say before bed;
“The consort I invoke of Jove divine,
Source of the holy, sweetly-speaking Nine;
Free from th' oblivion of the fallen mind,
By whom the soul with intellect is join'd:
Reason's increase, and thought to thee belong,
All-powerful, pleasant, vigilant, and strong:
'Tis thine, to waken from lethargic rest
All thoughts deposited within the breast;
And nought neglecting, vigorous to excite
The mental eye from dark oblivion's night.
Come, blessed power, thy Mystic's mem'ry wake
To holy rites, and Lethe's fetters break.”
We can thank Orpheus for this one, and further dialogue by Plotinus stating that the Goddess of Memory is very properly called upon by Orpheus to conjoin the soul and intellect.
Summary: Memory is paramount in the quest of transcendence. We must preserve it and keep it healthy. Self-reflect often, do the hymn before bed, practice mindfulness (including meditation), and do not let the passage of time take this away from you.
All in one, one within all.
Priest of TOTHO
Past lives; The Path to Transcendence
This essay will be dealing with the concept of directly preserved memories and the like, via reincarnation.
As we know, the toll of time deteriorates our experiences and memory. Something we experienced 10 years ago quickly becomes less pronounced and we slowly start succumbing to forgetfulness.
Unlike our bodies, our nous (intellect) is immortal and is harbored by the spirit (divine in origin), whose vehicle we call the Body of Light. These past experiences remain within us, we just have to access them.
Have you ever been in a situation that, (though you’ve never personally experienced), found yourself having an eerie amount of knowledge towards it? Or found yourself having natural knowledge to a subject that should be zero by all means? Turns out, you already access these memories on a very subconscious level!
To get a better understanding about the link, take a peak at some Socratic dialogue.
Plátohn (Plato; Gr. Πλάτων) on consciousness, memory, and recollection:
Sohkrátis: "And the union or communion of soul and body in one feeling and motion would be properly called consciousness?
Próhtarkhos: (Protarchus; Gr. Πρώταρχος): Most. true.
Sohkrátis: Then now we know the meaning of the word?
Próhtarkhos: Yes.
Sohkrátis: And memory may, I think, be rightly described as the preservation of consciousness?
Próhtarkhos: Right.
Sohkrátis: But do we not distinguish memory from recollection?
Próhtarkhos: I think so.
Sohkrátis: And do we not mean by recollection the power which the soul has of recovering, when by herself, some feeling which she experienced when in company with the body?
Próhtarkhos: Certainly.
Sohkrátis: And when she recovers of herself the lost recollection of some consciousness or knowledge, the recovery is termed recollection and reminiscence?
Próhtarkhos: Very true."
(Plátohn [Plato; Gr. Πλάτων] Phílivos [Philebus; Gr. Φίληβος] 34a-c, trans. Benjamin Jowett 1892; found here in The Dialogues of Plato Vol. 2, 1937, Random House [New York], on p. 367)
What does this have to do with transcendence?
As we know, the cycle of reincarnation is a method of perfection and purification. Our virtues and knowledge raise our being, while the physical body is simply an anchor that may fail before we achieve this divine work. This is where the past comes in. A true master can pick up where they left off on a previous life, quickly.
The cornerstone of this entire lesson is that we need to KINDLE our memory and make great effort to ensure it’s preservation.
Now, let us speak of the ways to “kindle”.
First, let us look to the Golden Verses of Pythagoras. Take heed of his advice.
“Never let sleep close your eyes, before evaluating your entire day”.
By evaluating our day in its entirety, we can be sure to learn from it. Even the most minor of errs may be mended because the memory is still very fresh.
Practically, I recommend keeping two journals; one for dreams, and one for day-to-day life.
By becoming more mindful and reflecting on ourselves, we correct our wrongs and find ourselves able to recall these instances with more clarity and meaning.
Secondly, I highly recommend the Orphic Hymn to Mnimosyni (The goddess of memory).
Memorize, and say before bed;
“The consort I invoke of Jove divine,
Source of the holy, sweetly-speaking Nine;
Free from th' oblivion of the fallen mind,
By whom the soul with intellect is join'd:
Reason's increase, and thought to thee belong,
All-powerful, pleasant, vigilant, and strong:
'Tis thine, to waken from lethargic rest
All thoughts deposited within the breast;
And nought neglecting, vigorous to excite
The mental eye from dark oblivion's night.
Come, blessed power, thy Mystic's mem'ry wake
To holy rites, and Lethe's fetters break.”
We can thank Orpheus for this one, and further dialogue by Plotinus stating that the Goddess of Memory is very properly called upon by Orpheus to conjoin the soul and intellect.
Summary: Memory is paramount in the quest of transcendence. We must preserve it and keep it healthy. Self-reflect often, do the hymn before bed, practice mindfulness (including meditation), and do not let the passage of time take this away from you.
All in one, one within all.
Priest of TOTHO
