Poetry and states and structures of consciousness

How can we make clear and rigorous the idea that consciousness is characterize by being in certain 'states' or having a certain structure and dynamics ? And very importantly what is means for consciousness to change state and structure, either voluntarily or involuntarily. 

How does or can the state and structure of consciousness change with ageing and education and habit ?  

Parallel to this question of how differences in state and structure determine how consciousnesses interact with each other and their environment. 

Can certain states and structures of consciousness be more cognitively competent or possess a greater and more powerful array of cognitive faculties than other states and structures of the same consciousness ?

How does the perception of time and place and identity change ? 

What does intimacy and union means for consciousness (specially the experience of beauty and love) ? To what extent can consciousnesses communicate and merge ? 

And how are we to understand the relationship between consciousness and the individual body and how is identity determined or defined ? And can there be a consciousness which is not limited by its association to a single living body but rather to a plurality of living bodies or other entities or perhaps even existing in a state independent from any physical body (non-locality) ?  

And how are different states and structures of consciousness related to language, to the use of language and its correlative cognition and experience ?

This brings us to poetry.  We propose the following. In its highest and truest form and potential poetry (and its mode of linguistic-cognitive deployment)  is simply the spontaneous expression of the possession of a higher state and structure of consciousness which at the same time has the virtue of assisting such a transformation in other consciousnesses and most specially leading other consciousnesses to dedicating themselves to composing poetry as a form of cultivation leading to higher states and structures of consciousness, or in particular, regaining such states and structures of consciousness which may have been possessed long ago but have subsequently been lost.

As Hans Sachs sings in Wagner's Meistersinger:

Mein Freund, in holder Jugendzeit,
wenn uns von mächt'gen Trieben
zum sel'gen ersten Lieben
die Brust sich schwellet hoch und weit,
ein schönes Lied zu singen
mocht vielen da gelingen:
der Lenz, der sang für sie.
Kam Sommer, Herbst und Winterszeit
viel Not und Sorg im Leben,
manch ehlich Glück daneben:
Kindtauf, Geschäfte, Zwist und Streit: -
denen's dann noch will gelingen
ein schönes Lied zu singen,
seht: Meister nennt man die!

Now there is great and harmful error involving such higher states and structures of consciousness. This involves its erroneous association with 'religion' (a extremely vague, ambiguous and context-dependent term, to be sure) or more vaguely with 'spirituality' and 'the sacred'.  In itself the attaining of higher states and structures of consciousness not only has absolutely nothing to do with religion but is in most cases radically antagonistic and opposed to it.  We will only point out two aspects here. First of all higher states and structures of consciousness have nothing to do with collectivism or integration into a group - the latter may well lead to an inferior state and structure of consciousness which has nothing to do with super-individuality and non-locality.  Secondly the term 'god' (Greek theos) can only be meaningful as referring to a consciousness in a higher state and structure (local or non-local, associated to a body or not). Communion with a god (either in waking life, in dreams or in other modes) means essentially a profound experience of love, intimacy and beauty (which transfigures the whole of experience and perception of the world) - and this is the only true 'divine revelation', 'sacrament' or 'mystical prayer'. Lucid dreams are particularly important and have a special relationship to poetical creativity. 

Love is a secret seed that only germinates, grows and blossoms in garden of innermost peace and silence. 

However the above considerations need to be reconciled and integrated with the theory and practice of the nimittas and jhanas.  Indeed, not everything out of the ordinary in consciousness is necessarily good or beneficial. Great discernment is needed.

Poetry shows forth the correct relationship of humanity with nature, one based on kindness, compassion, openness to artistic vision and inspiration, theoretical and philosophical contemplation - and we can include also an obviously practical aspect, but one that does not involve harming animals (as in the ancient tradition of Pythagoras, Plutarch and Porphyry, and those of Buddhism, Jainism and the ancient Epics).  This purest most marvelous relationship with nature - one in which nature is transfigured and united to a higher state of consciousness (and this is the original significance of 'gods' being involved in nature - manifestations of truth, more like the concept of 'angel', sp. in ancient Iranian traditions) - has again nothing to do with 'religion' : with fear, priestcraft, collectivism, immoral and false doctrines about gender and eros,  blind obedience, self-torment,  submission to authority, exclusivity, supremacy, pseudo-historical dogma,  rites, propitiation, or with the heinous doctrine and practice of blood sacrifice (i.e. sacrificing the innocent).

The above considerations have immense consequences for the philosophy of language and philosophy of mind. Poetry is to be seen as the queen of linguistic competence and language is to be seen as belonging to a feedback loop for the transformation and elevation of consciousness. Furthermore poetry must reveal its profoundly scientific and philosophical dimension, for instance semantic categories and associations, the theories of irony and metaphor which figures so prominently in Shakespeare and profound psychological aspects. Finally we must address the question of developing a correct theory surrounding the terms 'subconscious' and 'unconscious'.  Poetry is a higher form of logic and deduction and analysis just as much as a form of unfolding intuition and creativity.

In the transfiguration of the state and structure of consciousness the shift of perspective regarding nature and the entire spatial-temporal-historical framework as well as regarding personal identity is so drastic and far-reaching that it is all but impossible to reconcile the two in any simplistic scheme. A fatal flaw of religion is that it cannot admit this and hence betrays its incompatibility both with authentic philosophy and with the  gnosis. Also the deep psychological and spiritual aspects of love and eros is a  complex matter: but we can say from the point of view of 'depth psychology', of the deeper states and structures of consciousness.

The original higher meaning of 'virtue' has been lost. Originally a virtue was a certain fundamental practice, habit, orientation, dynamic quality of consciousness - whose effects operate at radically deep levels - which had its essence and goal precisely in  the achieving of higher states and structures of consciousness (inseparable with its moral consequences relating to how other people and animals are treated).  The common metaphor is that consciousness is entangled, chained and corrupted and that virtues correspond to cutting the chains and fetters, to cleansing and purifying corruptions - also the fetters can be seen as certain forces and intentions which need to be radically inverted. So in this sense the practice of poetry is also one of the greatest virtue which nourishes consciousness and opened its eye to its lost higher primordial state, helps develop the 'wings' of Plato's Phaedrus.  Virtues are a series of secret keys which unlock secret gates.  Virtues that are commonly associated to Christianity,  like faith, hope,  humility, forgiveness, charity, compassion, surrender, spiritual poverty, etc. have in fact an original very deep esoteric meaning and value.

If we take the text of the New Testament, despite all its inconsistencies, serious errors,  interpolations and corruptions, then it is quite possible to read it as a purely neoplatonic (or even Mâhayana buddhist) text (curiously enough Augustine makes a similar claim) in which the theory and practice of anagogic virtues is expounded not through the elaboration of a philosophical system but through the fables and myths of the Gospels and the more poetical utterances attributed to Paul and other epistolary writers:  we are in presence of a kind of prosopopoeia of sophia or divine wisdom (a very important part, for instance, of ancient Hellenic, Egyptian and Iranian traditions, but also found in middle eastern traditions and in several passages of the Old Testament). In the myths and fables of the Christian gnostics we often find more developed and varied feminine embodiments of divine wisdom.

Another aspect of love and eros is that it can be seen (let us say we are taking a semi-non-local view here) as involving 'channels' which link different consciousness together so that one consciousness can be tethered to another or be in a kind of 'circuit' or feed-back loop (thus participating of the same divine energies and illuminations). Thinking of this in topological terms or even in terms of physics can be illuminating. And so-called 'sacred art' might be interpreted as having as its principal goal the creation of a kind of 'portal' or 'channel' whereby one is brought into communion with beings from a higher world.

The attainment of higher states and structures of consciousness has the following paradoxical aspect. There is a part which involves active striving, it is the part that is done 'manually' or 'on foot'. But the real process only starts once the right 'vehicle' has been 'caught' or 'boarded' (discernment is required for this). One has to be 'embraced' and 'carried upwards'.  And what is the Latin root of the word 'rapture'  ?  Then it is proper to say that 'spiritual attainment is realized in me' or 'I am being realized' rather than 'I am attaining' or 'I am realizing'. 

However it needs to be said that contemporary society is in general ill suited for certain ideals relating to spiritual practices (those involving spiritual communion with living persons). It is better to concentrate and focus on persons from other places, times and states of being.

Or better, understand that  there is a fundamental distinction regarding spiritual paths. There are pure solitary paths (full of philosophical insight, dedicated to overcoming the fundamental illusions and energies of consciousness) and those paths which depend crucially on the communion with others (we might call these paths of  mystical 'eros' and divine union).  On another occasion we will show that it is this last type can be perverted and used as a instrument of power and harm (such as for what happens with the 'mystics' of organized religions).