“The esoteric system is all based upon the ultimate motive. Ultimate motive is the service of truth itself, a complete dedication to the service of the realities of existence.”
Imagine reality as an enormous sphere of energy (absurd, but indulge me). Nothing exists beyond this sphere. Now, divide this sphere into parts by giving them names. Divide those parts into new parts and give them names to. Now continue to divide these parts into smaller parts and if need be put them into groups or categories. Give these categories names. Make up rules for why some parts are connected to others. Continue this process of dividing, categorizing and naming.
When we first had an enormous sphere of reality we now have smaller parts divided through naming and categorizing. We have a universe, a galaxy, a solar system, a planet, a surface, soil, plants, a tree, wood, a plank, a chair, a floor. We have molecules, atoms, quarks etc. All divided and individually named and categorized. Why?
Why do we name and make up categories and systems? We do not discover a new part of reality, we just made one up because it fits the system we are using, which is also made up. We do so because we need names and systems to be able to differentiate in our communication.
Fact is (there are no facts), that there is no difference between a chair and the floor it stands on other than language. There is no difference between a bumblebee and a Thursday, between cancer and strawberry ice cream, between death and a smart suit. Reality exists only through language. What we perceive as reality is a set of constructed attributes that we use in order to communicate more efficiently.
There is no reality set apart from human experience.
In this Integral Mandala we see the four ontoclines or gradations of Reality, as the four arms of the Mandala. Each of these correspond in a generic way to one of the primary parameters of Consciousness and Reality. These four themselves come from a Center, representing the Divine or Supreme or Absolute Reality, and this Center is itself made up of four as well as three levels.The four ontoclines are as follows:
Left – Self and Non-Self from True Self / “I” to Non-Self / “This” / Phenomena (and vice versa) – representing the Monadology (or pluratity and unity) of Selves. This pertains to the Nature of the Knowing Self (especially as elaborated in Eastern Philosophy). With Liberation (moksha, Enlightenment) in one realises one already is the Absolute (Atman-Brahman).
Bottom – The “Vertical” Physical-Spiritual Axis – from Transcendent Spiritual Mind down to Physical Matter (and vice-versa) – representing the Hierarchy (Great Chain of Being) of Octaves of Existence. This “Vertical” Axis or Planes of Existence (in which one ascends to the Absolute) corresponds to the various subtle and gross Universes and ocatves as described through Esotericism and Occultism with their understanding of the Nature of gross and subtle Realities, and to the ascent of Consciousness through levels of Existence.
Right – The “Horizontal” Inner-Outer Axis represents the contrast between the Innermost (Inner Light, Divine Soul) and Outermost (most external) Being – representing the Psychological Polarity of Being. The “Horizontal” Inner-Outer Axis corresponds to Psychology and Mysticism which addresses the depths of the being, and also on a more superficial level to the Arts with its dicotomy of Mythos and Logos, Imagination and Reason, and to depth and transpersonal psychology.
Top – The Universal-Individual-Atomistic Axis – From Universal Whole to “Atomistic” “Point” (and vice versa) constitutes the Holarchic arrangement of Systems. This “Concentric” Universal-Individual Axis corresponds, on the physical level, to Science especially the systems sciences and natural and applied sciences, also the social sciences in part. On the supraphysical it becomes the domain of Esotericism, but the basic principles of interaction, ecology, system dynamics, chaos theory, and so on. The overall Reality is the (esoteric) science of Cosmecology, which includes the experiential approach of Astrognosis.
All the ontoclines together represent the Spiritual Path; not literalist or exoteric religion, but Yoga, Sadhana, and Esoteric (Mystical) Religion; the Essense of Self-Transformation.
Most people don’t understand magic. They think it is about tapping into a natural and perhaps older reality. Magic is not about tapping in to anything, because there isn’t anything to tap into. There is no reality beyond the one we create. To understand magic one needs to understand what creation is. Creation is the power to create the world by force of will. By claiming, by imagination, by faith. You can’t change anything because there isn’t anything there to change. There is only the world you create for yourself. The world is endlessly open. It is only limited to the borders you set for yourself.
I can try to illustrate this by using the concept of probability. If we roll a die an endless amount of times, then probability works as a concept, but only if no one looks at the die and no one starts rolling it. If we, for example want to manipulate probability we need only to start recording and probability it broken. Lets say you decide to roll a die 19 times and the first two sets of rolls turns out to be fives, now the chance of hitting a new five has significantly dropped. If we didn’t set a start or stop on the count the chance would always be one in six that the die turns out a five.
Now, what we do is not manipulating reality, but rather creating it.
In more ancient times people seemed to have a better understanding on how the power of creation worked. Nowadays we have a different view on the concept of creating. What used to be creating has now become discovering. Discovering something gives the illusion of that you find something true because you believe you tapped into something that was there but no one had seen before. By discovering you tap into a reality that exists separate from the concept of consciousness, an objectively true reality.
By creating you make something exist for the first time, and this the realists call make belief.
It is not possible to make a claim about something that exists beyond the concept of consciousness because you need a conscious mind to make such a claim. There can never be an objective reality.
The only reality that is possible is the one you can make a claim about, the one you create.
This is magic, understanding how reality is made, how to make something real.
Occult Aspects 