Dare i say...Maynard Contradicts himself!

[IrisoftheShadow]

I'm not one to disagree with most of what Maynard states, but I have to question what his intentions are for "Reflection." I won't explain my entire analysis but I basically believe that "Reflection" is about the ethical reason that seeking comfort is selfish. First, Maynard mentions that striving for relief is self-indulgent and he should endure emptiness and strife. He uses the constant repeition of the word "light", which seems to refer to a sense of removal from burden. Since Maynard believes that relief is narcisstic, then in a sense, this "light" is "bad." But as the song concludes, Maynard advises that one should embrace the light; to "let the light touch you." So what is this "light" then? A light that feeds his ego VS. a light that frees you from emptiness.? Embrace it? Or Fight it? Which is it?!

Maynard also contradicts himself in the song "Parabola". He states, "This body holding me reminds me of my own mortality...we are eternal." Now, I haven't finished analyzing this song, so I could be wrong, but I have to question if the narrator has "mortality" then he isn't "eternal."

hmm....

Further discussing this song, I'm bold enough to say that
Maynard falls victim to a cliche phrase! In the second stanza of Reflection, Maynard speaks of a moon who is so aptly his confidant. WHAT THE HELL IS THAT?! The moon has no revelence to the song.

I apologize if i angered anyone. Remember, I'm entitled to my own opinion.

[ShackledEidolon]

Ill focus on Reflection since thats where this is posted at but...

i took the song as follows...there is an overarching energy/spirituality/divinity/whathaveyou that permeates all things. What he is saying is that this energy is part of everyone.

The first portion of lyrics is looking at how he was sad, depressed, empty spiritually and so he was about to give up...about to end it all maybe. And then a voice spoke telling him its secret.

The moon which you say is cliche is actually a very powerful metaphor...actually almost literal. Im sure you have seen the moon at some point and noticed that it is easier to see at night when under a full moon...this is because the moon is bright. But this light originates from the Sun and not the moon...the moon only reflects the suns light. So we look at the moon and give it credit for being bright when in reality it is the sun which is bright and endless. This originater of the light is what gives our lives meaning without the light the Moon is simply a lifeless hunk of rock.

Its saying that the Ego is what we give credit for being bright and intelligent and meaningful when in reality it is simply another reflector. The light is within it is our spirit our shard of that eternal light. Hes saying that we hold a part of that total collective unconciousness and that we should see that light in ourselves and others get beyond the ego get beyond what we hold against each other...we cant be angry at another they are as pure as we are when we get beyond the ego...let this light that he is shedding touch you...understand what he is saying let it sink in beyond the ego and realize what you are and your place. Otherwise we will die in our own desire for things or control or individuality.

as for parabol(a) he is stating that his soul/spirit is eternal our energy that light we spoke of is eternal and that our bodies our physical form is mortal...he shares this body this form with part of everyone else everything else as his light is part of everything...so he is not alone in this body.

Hopefully that will help you a little bit. Of course I may be wrong but thats how i always looked at it and I hope it gives you something beautiful to think about

[Well Known]

Well, we have mortal qualities as weall as transcendent "eternal" qualities. That's what Bhuddism is all about.

[Wu_jian]

Originally posted by ShackledEidolon


The moon which you say is cliche is actually a very powerful metaphor...actually almost literal. Im sure you have seen the moon at some point and noticed that it is easier to see at night when under a full moon...this is because the moon is bright. But this light originates from the Sun and not the moon...the moon only reflects the suns light. So we look at the moon and give it credit for being bright when in reality it is the sun which is bright and endless. This originater of the light is what gives our lives meaning without the light the Moon is simply a lifeless hunk of rock.



Knowing that Tool make liberal use of Alchemical and Gnostic imagery, could the relationship between the sun, the moon and the 'observer' (ie presumably Maynard in this case) be a metaphorical rendition of the relationship between a Deity, it's Demiurge, and 'humanity', or an individual?

And as you quite rightly pointed out, the ego within the Freudian/Jungian psyche plays a similar role; we attribute our sense of 'self' to it when our actual self is a more fundamental part of being. People with mental ilnesses often fear losing thier 'self' but it's the ego thay are protecting; one is one's self, mutable as it is, and in reality Jung believed that the ego must be sacrified, of at least quashed and brought into balance, in order to fully understand the 'self'.

In fact what Tool are calling 'the light'; is that what Jung spoke of as the 'Universal Subconcious'?

The subject of taking up the acceptance of our divinity is a regularly referred to subject throughout Lateralus, as within gnosticism, and in some ways Jungian parapsychology is a modern attempt at expressing gnostic principles.

[paraflux]

It's not that seeking comfort is selfish. It's that seeking comfort in emptiness is both selfish and stupid. The vocals in the first verse are kinda whiney, pitiful. And the moon thing? a cliche'? I don't think Ive ever heard it used like this. The moon tells me her secret...a confidant. Just as light is reflected off the moon and thus shines down on Earth at night, we can have this sort of reflection. We SHOULD have this sort of reflection, making the moon the keeper of a secret for a long long time.

[dan]

from an interview with mjk:

10. In "Reflection" you talk a good deal about losing or getting rid of the ego in order to attain some further end. An end of enlightenment perhaps? What is it about the ego that prevents or in some way, blocks one from attaining some greater end? Or does it even make sense to speak in terms of lesser and greater ends?

MK: "If you look at the cycles of the moon, it starts as a thin crescent and then gradually waxes until it becomes full; then it gradually wanes back into another crescent and then it is gone. The moon reflects sunlight like humans reflect information. We wax and wane and when we become full moons, our egos are full. We think we have this knowledge when in fact, the information we have is pure. And how it reflects or shines off of us, is something we take credit for as though the moon could take credit for its brightness when, in fact, it is only reflecting light from the sun. We have to understand that we are ego-less just as the moon is without light. It and we are simply reflectors. The ego is not responsible for the information. It can reflect the information in creative ways, but the information itself is pure".

hope this helps!

[dork]

I think that is part of the reflective process, realization that relief is not necessarily bad, i dunno yeah.