Alignment
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Alignment
Alignment is the extent to which one's Bodily Ego is in concordance with the will and perspective of one's Spiritual Ego, family, community, and society. When we are aligned, we think, behave, and created a world that is in concordance with our Spiritual Ego/Highest Self and with reference to the values, norms, and reasonable expectations of others.[1] On the LP, alignment is achieved by establishing the Three Rs of Alignment, Right Thought, Right Action, and Right Environment. [2]
Syncretic Terms
Alignment > Asha, Brahmacharya, Conversion Experience, Divine Perfection, Ethical Perfection, Eudaimonia, Gonennoncwal, Heavenly Marriage, Holiness, Ka'nikonhrÌ:io, Ondinoc, Perfect Connection, Purification, Purity, Rectitude, Renunciation, Repentence, Righteousness, Samyaktva, Sane Living, Self-Actualization, Tahdhīb al-akhlāq, Taubah
Related Terms
Alignment > Dharma, Mahabbah, Plateau Experience, Push-Pull, Shefa, Temptation, The Four Unthinkables, Unwanted Self
LP Connection Framework Focus Points
Notes
Alignment is one of six Connection Requirements listed in the LP Connection Framework.
The Bhagavad Gita contains admonishments to align the spiritual ego (Self) and the bodily ego (self). Passages 6.5 and 6.5 refer to the Self and the self. Sometimes the self can be an enemy of the self (the bodily ego is damaged and unaligned) and sometimes the self can be a friend of the Self (the two work together and are in alignment).
6.5 He should raise the self by the Self; he should not let the self sink; for, [as] the self is indeed the friend of the Self, [so also] is the self indeed Self's enemy.
6.6 The self is the friend of the Self of him whose self is conquered by the Self; but for [him who is] bereft-of-Self, the self is like an enemy in enmity.[3]
Alignment is important as a requirement of Connectoion.
In many cultures, "moral violations," which can be seen as disjunctive action, are seen to cause sickness.[4] The solution is "a sequence of offerings, sacrifices, penance..." [5]
Alignment may refer to individual alignment, as when, as individuals, we are in alignment with and tuned to our own Highest Self. Alignment may also refer to collective reality, as when our institutions, our planet, and even the entirety of creation is "in alignment" with Consciousness.
Alignment is also a practice, in as much as we must practice alignment in order to achieve and strengthen Connection. Alignment is achieved via the Three Rs of Alignment which are Right Thought, Right Action, and Right Environment.[6]
Spontaneous Alignment is possible, particularly in cases of spontaneous or induced Connection.
Reality is "in alignment" with Consciousness when it is a pure and uncorrupted expression of Consciousness (with a capital "C").
Alignment may refer to the general state of physical reality as a reflection of Consciousness, or it may refer to specific instances/examples of alignment, as for example the alignment of Bodily Ego with Spiritual Ego. In this case, alignment refers to the extent to which the Physical Unit is acting as an “appropriate and responsive” physical unit for Resident Monadic Consciousness. The easiest way to think about this is to think about a car. If you get into a car and you hit the gas, but the car slows down, or if you turn the wheel left, but the car turns right, the car is out of alignment (i.e. unresponsive) to the intent of the driver. It is the same with your physical body. If the RMC that "owns" the Physical Unit wants the Physical Unit to do one thing, but it does another, the body is out of alignment with RMC.
To the extent that the Physical Unit is functioning as an appropriate and responsive vehicle for the resident monadic consciousness (RMC) we may say that the physical unit is in alignment with its RMC. A physical unit that is in alignment with its own RMC perceives, thinks and acts in accordance with the perceptions, thoughts, and desires of its own RMC (Sosteric, SA1). A physical unit which, because of (for example) Toxic Socialization and Indoctrination, thinks and acts in ways that are against the nature and/or wishes of its RMC, or a physical unit that is unresponsive to the wishes of its RMC, may be said to be out of alignment.
Alignment is a requirement of Connection (see Connection Framework) of the physical unit. A physical unit that is out of alignment may have difficulty with the process of awakening and activation (for more, see LPWKB3).
Alignment of the physical unit is a key developmental task. Alignment is one of the body's Seven Essential Needs. When not attained in childhood, alignment can be attained in adulthood by encouraging the physical unit with an Alignment Rule Set. The LP ARS encourages Right Thought, Right Action, and Right Environment.
Alignment of the physical unit with Consciousness/God is a common theme in traditional spirituality of the authentic variety, though the expression of it is often overcomplicated, confused, or distorted (for more, see the discussion page.
Sociology: Toxic Socialization undermines alignment and severs connection to Consciousness.
In the Literature
"If you are content with the old world, try to preserve it, it is very sick and cannot hold out much longer. But if you cannot bear to live in everlasting dissonance between your beliefs and your life, thinking one thing and doing another, get out of the mediaeval whited sepulchers, and face your fears.” (Tolstoy 2016, 216)
“...at the bottom of your heart you know yourself that it is not true, that the existing organization has outlived its time, and must inevitably be reconstructed on new principles, and that consequently there is no obligation upon you to sacrifice your sentiments of humanity to support it.” (Tolstoy 2016, 219)
The importance of truth and alignment: “The sole meaning of life is to serve humanity by contributing to the establishment of the kingdom of God, which can only be done by the recognition and profession of the truth by every man.” (Tolstoy 2016, 221)
Ralp Waldo Emerson speaks of alignment and Right Action. in the context of aligning with the will of the "Over-soul"
...that Unity, that Over-Soul, within which every man's particular being is contained and made one with all other; that common heart of which all sincere conversation is the worship, to which all right action is submission; that over- powering reality which confutes our tricks and talents, and constrains every one to pass for what he is, and to speak from his character and not from his tongue, and which evermore tends to pass into our thought and hand and become wisdom and virtue and power and beauty.[7]
William James "Were one asked to characterize the life of religion in the broadest and most general terms possible, one might say that it consists of the belief that there is an unseen order, and that our supreme good lies in harmoniously adjusting ourselves thereto."
George Simmel intimates alignment when he speaks of the "strict demands and ideals" which form the foundation for religiosity."Religiousness thus can be seen in this light: as a form according to which the human soul experiences life and comprehends its existence-a form, incidentally, that is subject to the kind of strict demands and ideals, beyond the subjective, which a more naive " [8]
Joachim Wach points outs that religions of all stripes, ancient and modern, East, Middle East, and West, generally have an idea of cosmic order which usually includes a normative element towards which humans are expected to aspire.
Rules of conduct and morals, though they may appear incoherent to the systematic modern mind, are the expressions of an urge to “realize” the divine order, to adapt reality to it, and thereby to secure the functioning of an order upon which depends the existence and well-being of mankind or of a particular group of men.[9]
Tolstoy discusses the significance of alignment in Chapter XII of The Kingdom of God is Within You." He conceives of alignment as a process of connecting and acting in accordance with one's conscience. He considers alignment to be central aspect of authentic freedom, and the only thing that can save humanity from the System based hell that continues only by virtue of humanity's capacity for Hypocrisy.[10]
St. Avila notes that achieving discipline and alignment is a necessary step on the way to Union with God. "Yet, although the soul which reaches the Third Mansions may still fall back, it has attained a high standard of virtue. Controlled by discipline and penance and disposed to performing acts of charity toward others, it has acquired prudence and discretion and orders its life well." [11]
Alignment is a significant concern for knowledgeable kundalini practitioners. As GM CKS notes, "When the Kundalini is awakened, the positive and negative qualities of the person will be magnified to a very high degree. Kundalini energy is like fertilizer. Whatever seeds are in the ground will be stimulated to grow. So whatever ancient seeds a person possesses, whether good or bad, will be magnified. This is why a person going into the spiritual path experiences intense inner battles. Therefore, it is important to practice inner purification." (Sui, 2016).
In Sufism, alignment is characterized using lover's metaphors. "...when a human becomes a perfect slave of God, then God becomes the eye and ear of that person, who becomes all light and a perfect reflection of God's qualities." [12]
In Islam, perfect alignment is characterized as "total and utter submission to the Will of Allah."
Zoroaster offered "six cardinal virtues of Ahura Mazda" which individuals were supposed to emulate. These were "Good Mind," Righteousness, "Divine Kingdom," "Devotion" "Perfection," and "Immortality." These were the core of Ahura Mazda's being. [13]
Alignment is a primary goal of the Buddha. Speaking of the earliest teachings of the Buddha, "guidance. The initial response the Buddha intends to arouse in us is an ethical one. By calling our attention to our bondage to old age and death, he seeks to inspire in us a firm resolution to turn away from unwholesome ways of living and to embrace instead wholesome alternatives." [14]. Notice the distinction between wholesome (aligned) and unwholesome (disjunctive) ways.
The Beatles make a reference to alignment in their song All you need is love. "There's nothing you can do but you can learn how to be You in time. It's easy."
"Under the teaching of the Koran, nothing is right or wrong in itself. Everything created by God has its own particular use--keep it away from that use and it is sin...[15]
Alignment leads to full-time experience of connection- a life "consummated". "In Canon Moberly's conception, mysticism is not a special, exceptional experience, but, rather, a life consummated in the practice of the Presence of God. It is life in its wholeness as over against a partial life, which is shut up to some narrow compartment of its true being. This meaning of mysticism is well brought out by President Henry Churchill King. He says : " The truly mystical may be summed up as simply a protest in favour of the whole man—the entire personality. It says that men can experience, and live, and feel, and do much more than they can formulate, define, explain, or even fully express. Living is more than thinking."[16]
Teachings of the Golden Dawn emphasize alignment between the Higher Will and the Lower Will. "Then shall it happen that the Higher Will, i.e., the Lower Genius, shall descend into the Royal habitation, so that the Higher Will and the Lower Will shall be as one and the Higher Genius shall descend into the Kether of the Man, bringing with him the tremendous illumination of his Angelic Nature." [17]
Theosophy: A basic precept of theosophy is strict adherence to extremely high ethical guidelines[18]
Maslow
Maslow had a concept of alignment. "The serious thing for each person to recognize vividly and poignantly, each for himself, is that every falling away from species-virtue, every crime against one’s own nature, every evil act, every one without exception records itself in our uncon scious and makes us despise ourselves. Karen Homey had a good word to describe this unconscious perceiving and remembering; she said it “registers.” If we do something we are ashamed of, it “registers” to our discredit, and if we do some thing honest or fine or good, it “registers” to our credit. The net results ultimately are either one or the other—either we re spect and accept ourselves or we despise ourselves and feel contemptible, worthless, and unlovable. Theologians used to use the word "accidie" to describe the sin of failing to do with one’s life all that one knows one could do." [19]
Maslow felt there were psychological costs to disjuncture: "But there is also another element in conscience, or, if you like, another kind of conscience, which we all have either weakly or strongly. And this is the “intrinsic conscience.” This is based upon the un conscious and preconscious perception of our own nature, of our own destiny, or our own capacities, of our own “call” in life. It insists that we be true to our inner nature and that we do not deny it out of weakness or for advantage or for any other reason. He who belies his talent, the born painter who sells stockings instead, the intelligent man who lives a stupid life, the man who sees the truth and keeps his mouth shut, the coward who gives up his manliness, all these people perceive in a deep way that they have done wrong to themselves and despise themselves for it. Out of this self-punishment may come only neurosis, but there may equally well come renewed cour age, righteous indignation, increased self-respect, because of thereafter doing the right thing; in a word, growth and im improvement can come through pain and conflict." [20]
Maslow: "It seems quite clear that personality problems may sometimes be loud protests against the crushing of one’s psycho logical bones, of one’s true inner nature. What is sick then is not to protest while this crime is being committed." [21]
" He who belies his talent, the born painter who sells stockings instead, the intelligent man who lives a stupid life, the man who sees the truth and keeps his mouth shut, the coward who gives up his manliness, all these people perceive in a deep way that they have done wrong to themselves and despise themselves for it. Out of this self-punishment may come only neurosis..." [22]
"Such people become far more self-sufficient and self-contained. The determinants which govern them are now primarily inner ones, rather than social or environmental. They are the laws of their own inner nature, their potentialities and capacities, their talents, their latent resources, their creative impulses, their needs to know themselves and to become more and more integrated and unified, more and more aware of what they really are, of what they really want, of what their call or vocation or fate is to be."[23]
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Footnotes
- ↑ Sosteric, Mike, and Gina Ratkovic. “It Takes a Village: Advancing Attachment Theory and Recovering the Roots of Human Health with the Seven Essential Needs,” 2021.
- ↑ Mike Sosteric Lightning Path Workbook One: The Basics. Lightning Path Press. https://www.patreon.com/posts/lp-workbooks-and-91290808
- ↑ Feuerstein, Georg, and Brenda Feuerstein, trans. The Bhagavad-Gita: A New Translation. Boston: Shambhala, 2011. p. 157.
- ↑ Rogers, Spencer L. The Shaman: His Symbols and His Healing Power. Illinois: Charles Thomas Publishers, 1982.
- ↑ Rogers, Spencer L. The Shaman: His Symbols and His Healing Power. Illinois: Charles Thomas Publishers, 1982. p. 88
- ↑ Sosteric, Lightning Path Workbook Three - Connection. Vol. 3. Lightning Path Workbook Series. St. Albert, Alberta: Lightning Path Press, 2017.
- ↑ Emerson, Ralph Waldo. “The Over-Soul.” In The Complete Essays and Other Writings of Ralp Waldo Emerson. New York: Modern Library, 1950. p. 262. Emphasis added
- ↑ Simmel, George. Essays on Religion. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1997. p. 5.
- ↑ Wach, Joachim. Sociology of Religion. Routledge Library Editions, Volume 16. New York: Routledge, 2019.
- ↑ Tolstoy, Leo. The Kingdom of God Is Within You (Classics To Go) EBook: Leo Tolstoy: Amazon.ca: Gateway. Translated by Constance Garnett. CreateSpace, 2016. https://amzn.to/2Dg2jtj.
- ↑ St. Teresa of Avila. Interior Castle. Kindle. New York: Dover Publications, 2007.p. 5 https://amzn.to/2GpC7NG.
- ↑ Ernst, Carl W. The Shambhala Guide to Sufism. Boston: Shambhala Publications, 1997. https://amzn.to/2SoFmun. p. 155
- ↑ Dhalla, Maneckji Nusservanji. History of Zoroastrianism. New York: Oxford University Press, 1938.
- ↑ Bodhi, Bhikkhu, ed. In the Buddha’s Words: An Anthology of Discourses from the Pali Canon. Wisdom Publications, 2005. p. 17
- ↑ Ali Shah Ikbal, Islamic Sufism (Tractus Books, 2000). p. 44.
- ↑ Canon Moberly quoted in Jones, Rufus Matthew. Studies in mystical religion. Kindle Edition.
- ↑ Zalewski, Patrick, and Christine Zalewski. The Magical Tarot of the Golden Dawn. Aeon Books, 2008. p. 63-4.
- ↑ Blavatsky, H. P. The Key to Theosophy: A Clear Exposition Based on the Wisdom Religion of All Ages. Theosophical University Press, 1889.
- ↑ Maslow, A.H. Towards a Psychology of Being (2nd Edition). New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold Company, 1968. p. 5. Bold added.
- ↑ Maslow, A.H. Towards a Psychology of Being (2nd Edition). New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold Company, 1968. p. 7.
- ↑ Maslow, A.H. Towards a Psychology of Being (2nd Edition). New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold Company, 1968. p. 8.
- ↑ Maslow, A.H. Towards a Psychology of Being (2nd Edition). New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold Company, 1968. p. 7.
- ↑ Maslow, A.H. Towards a Psychology of Being (2nd Edition). New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold Company, 1968. p. 35.