Reflection: Guide to enlightenment

[Quinten]

Okay Ive been reading these for far too long wihtout posting my thoughts...the concept of this somg is rather simple to me, of course I know my interpretation will limiti its appeal to some ppl seeing as it will discuss religion..but o well...be open minded. Okay I actually have written one quote from this song every where Ive gone and it has sparked amazing conversations etc.
"And in my darkest moment, fetal and weeping, the moon tells me a secret 'As full and bright as I am, this light is not my own'" Now I take this as ana amazing religious analogy Where as God= the Sun and humanity=The moon. No matter what we achieve, no matter how great we are...we derive all our power, all our energy, all our brilliance from a greater source, a higher power! The whole message of this song is to teach humility and he only thing crippiling society and keeping us from advancing is ourselves, our own egos and unwillingness to see ourselves as equal with all those us around us, much less lower than them. Crucify the ego! Come to find that we are all ONE mind! I am much as you as you are of me...One beam of light just refracted and reflected in a billion different ways...thank you

[EuphoricBlue]

Wow. I knew there would be someone who would also have to say that this song is more than it seems. Great post, brother!! The sun is also in the song Gravity of APC's. That song hits the heart.

Chad

[Cylith]

Keep in mind that pretty much everything in these forums is just an opinion...every song can have a different meaning for every person. Even when a writer of a song explains their own song to the world, you can interpret it differently for yourself if you so choose (or if you can't help but see it a different way!)

I personally, being a Christian, really like your interpretation of the song...I find many religious values in many of the songs on the album Lateralus.

[corps d'allumen]

this song is a personal reflection of an imaginary character, the entity created by the music, of its trials and tribulations that started way back with/in 'opiate'. this entity, with its strong message of opening the minds of others, how it saw fit & by whatever means necessary, sought to be a messiah, melchizadek, whatever label you want to put on it; a divine destiny. the downward spiral of delusion eventually reached an end; it found out that it was wrong, and the thing that showed its face/light changed everything the character thought it was/had above others. it realized that after all this perceived purification through pain, it was still the same as everyone else; its own mind's eye was not open. what was this thing? the gun (its ego) aimed at the target -the fundamental flaw of being human through ignorance, that it thought it had trancended and had to point out in others- was now pointed at itself. self-destruction ensued; it was introspection to a critical level. the phoenix must die to rise from its own ashes... 'ænima' is the documentary/instructions of/to the crucifixion and death of this character's, and your own, ego. considering 'stinkfist' as a summary of the whole transition, the album begins with a eulogy. this concept is reinforced by the directions in the liner notes for properly using ketamine, which induces near-death-experiences and introspective mind-states, as well as acting as a solvent of the ego and the concept of time. this character is digging deep into itself to discover why it is the way it is, and how to change it; what is has, what is missing, and what needs to be shed or gained. at the end of all this, it dis(re)covers what stunned it before, the vision through the third eye. all the digging lead to the final layer contained within us all; a layer that cannot be opened or resolved permanently by finding it in texts or pleading with it to share its 'secrets'. i say 'permanently' because we can all have glimpses while traveling the path; for example, drugs. certain drugs pry the eye open, wether you're ready or not, but it is not a permanent expansion; they are a TOOL, a catalyst for something. wether the catalyst produces enlightenment or addiction or insanity is all up to you. i believe Ken Kesey said something to the effect of the point of doing drugs is to not have to do them. through all this character's explorations and discoveries, it finds the power of meditation/breathing (in... out... in... out...) and prys the eye open one last time. this time it has enough SELF-knowledge to embrace itself in its entirety; the 1 had and the 1 lost finally united to form one entity, an 11. from a numerological standpoint, 11 is the master number; the name 'jesus' reduces to the number 11. i am not purposely insinuating anything on a religious level of comparison or correlation, just as a facinating coincidence. the song 'third eye' ends with a cacophony of noises that wash away, like dissapating into the whole (no)thing; the god, the light, the collective unconscious-whatever label helps you understand. the individual is gone with the end of the cd. a melchizadek is an ascended master (46&2 or even higher) that chooses to stay in this dimension to assist others with their awakenings. the concept character is intended to represent an enlightened entity; it has evolved. upon its return, it can now, truly honest to itself, understand the place it made for itself with its past actions and can, or at least learn to, deal with it. all the people it enticed into thinking its way while warning them not to, when some weren't ready to think at all, let alone for themselves, now depend on it like parasites for what it has to give/tell them. the grudge between friends and lovers estranged by steadfast opinions and stubbornness and disillusionment, especially the ones who started the journey with it, the scarlett letter(men), became a weight holding it down simply because it wouldn't let go of them and forgive. it realized that if you don't fear death, on any level, you are free to appreciate life on every level; it is short and precious and should be lived to the fullest. it also now knows the perils of being unable to feel and understand its emotions; not everything can be thought of or analysed, some things must be felt. left brain=logic, right brain=emotion; the goal is no division. the reflection is it looking back at all of this and hoping that we will finally see the whole picture by summing up its entire journey. instead of focusing on the letters and notes and nuances, take a giant step back then look and see it all. of course, this is just my opinion. i could be wrong...

[corps d'allumen]

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".

http://www.cdicarlo.com/paper_04maynard.htm