In the essay The Three Unities, a sequence of universal development was suggested that might have upset the minds of those devoted to traditional points of view that tend to be more patriarchal, paternal and male-centric. Instead of the Christian notion of Adam being birthed from "Him" - a Father-ly Godforce of creation, Eve is birthed from God, and Adam birthed from Eve. Instead of the Hindu God Vishnu coming second in a sequence of creation that involves the sustaining and destroying of a universe, Vishnu comes last, as the end product of a creation sequence... making it first in a reverse process of exiting said universe through the destruction of Shiva. This particular arrangement might be particularly offensive, because of how it alters the sequence of sounds found within the sacred Hindu mantra of AUM. In the AUM mantra, A=Brahma, Creating, U=Vishnu, Sustaining and M=Shiva, Destroying. Such a sequence serves a legitimate purpose in Hindu philosophy. But the same sequence does not serve as well in the philosophy being put forth everywhere on this site. So... seeing how it is never the purpose of this study of tarot and numerology to assimilate my incomplete understanding of foreign beliefs, but to instead invent from scratch, I decided to think about how I might craft a sacred mantra that reflects the sequence of universal development being presented elsewhere around this site.
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The Cosmic Waltz, Creation Mantra - UMPAPA
In the book All Things Are Numbers, we break into a universal cycle of infinite creation and destruction with the use of paradox (see Birth elsewhere on this site). It is theorized that the only way to begin or end an infinite cycle is through the use of paradox, as paradox stands as the logical opposite to any universe comprised of opposites in perpetual life and death interaction with each other. Here is an excerpt from the All Things Are Numbers text:
This assumption of paradox as a beginning, is my second grand assumption of logic after that of opposites and cycles. And so, to formalize this idea I have decided to propose another observable law of nature that we can call the law of the predictable paradox. The law of the predictable paradox simply states that:
Law of Predictable Paradox: The only way to enter or begin a cycle of infinity is through paradox, or perhaps more accurately... Cycles of infinity are born from paradox because paradox represents that which is not possible, the natural opposite to a universe of possibilities drawn with infinite cycles.
In other words, I believe that if there is to be a beginning to our tarot universe it should be one that is predictably paradoxical. It should be that point on a cycle that ends before it starts. It should purposefully contradict itself, prove its own non-existence and politely exclude itself from the resulting universe or cycle of infinity. In short, it should be a beginning that faithfully represents, ‘that which is not possible’, the only possible origin for any 'possible' universe, and the only place a universe can go when it dies! In this way, we can see how the ‘ultimate pair’ of ‘non-universe’ and ‘universe’ become representations of a yin & yang - life & death cycle of ultimate magnitude.
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This idea then leads to a theoretical sequence of creation, wherein paradox births a binary universe in much the same way a human female births a human baby. When a woman births a baby, the baby exits from the womb, never to return. The womb is still there, but has been left behind by the exiting baby. The baby immediately grows. The more growth, the less likely for a return to the womb (see Verse 82 elsewhere on this site). Our tarot universe is theorized to be birthed in much the same way, only with paradox as the "womb," and the opposites of Nothing and Something being the "baby" that results. Like the baby, Nothing and Something are a complete entity - an infinite cycle unto itself. As identity takes over, the idea of a sequence that includes a component outside that of Everything and Nothing seems inconceivable... which is exactly what paradox is! Thus we establish a sequence that doesn't really exist in the minds of those birthed from it! In other words, unlike the human analogy, where we remain acquainted with the womb that birthed us by virtue of knowing our mothers, in this universal sequence, we are all orphans who have lost all knowledge of the womb that birthed us. Also unlike the human analogy, where we are able to know our mothers, our attempts to know this ultimate source are confound with paradox.
One more aspect of the human analogy to our universal sequence that is not exactly perfect is the idea that our paradox/Godforce is a female force, like a female womb. In at least one way of looking at it, it is... as this "non-universe" would be considered passively female, in a binary way, to the active, male "universe" that results. But, in fact, the paradox/Godforce that this study calls The Absentia is to be considered both male and female, as well as neither male nor female - i.e. androgynous. But the analogy is still good, as it helps to visualize an impossible sequence that births a universe.
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| The Absentia births Nothing... which begat Something. |
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The universe that results from this universal sequence is binary. The binary nature of this universe creates cycles, where one opposite is perpetually at odds with the other. This idea of cycles then leads us to the life and death trip we all experience as humans. The idea of cycles also explains the spinning nature of planets and atoms (see Angular Momentum elsewhere on this site). At a later point within the book All Things Are Numbers, this idea of a Godforce being associated with paradox and its "polite excluding of itself" from a universe that results, in womb-to-baby-like fashion, is also compared to a string leaving a top, after putting it into cyclic, binary motion (see Angular Momentum elsewhere on this site). All of these analogies point to the idea of the resulting universe being unable to ever know the Godforce that "birthed the baby," or "pulled the string from the spinning top." Thus, the nature of this sequence finds one more analogy in the apparent rhythm of the three steps of initial creation, by associating the excluded, never-to-be-known Godforce with the "Um" of an "Um, Pa, Pa" waltz-like sequence of sound. In examining these theories further, one might speculate that this universal sequence only happened once, at the birth of this one universe. But... others believe in infinite universes being birthed and destroyed endlessly and perpetually. While others believe that whatever universe we are talking about isn't birthed just once, but is endlessly and perpetually "becoming" and as such is continously being birthed, over and over. Thus, chanting an UMPAPA mantra gives us a connection to this concept of universal birth happening endlessly and perpetually, to the rhythm of a Cosmic Waltz!
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The Cosmic Engine, Existence Mantra - OMA
The UMPAPA mantra describes the birth of a universe. After its birth, the universe becomes an entity unto itself. It exists, and other entities, like humans, exist with it. There are numerous models, throughout this study of tarot and numerology, devoted to describing a theoretical model of existence birthed from the womb of The Absentia. Many of them use a sequence of numbers, or a number line, to label the various parts of this theoretical model (see the essay Simplicity Equals Truth elsewhere on this site). The number line is a convenient tool to use in conveying important ideas that require elaborate diagrams to understand. In converting a theoretical model of existence into a sequence of ideas along a line, we find that there are many ways to conceive of that line of numbers in order to elude to various types of models and what they represent. In one instance, we are asked to think of the numbers of a number line like keys on a piano... because of how the number line sequence of numbers describes both a stationary entity, as well as events that happen over time (see The Endless Piano elsewhere on this site) . Events that happen over time are analogous to scales along the keys of a piano, because of the sequential nature of time. While our stationary model of existence reveals a kind of symmetry to its form that reminds us of chords being struck along multiple keys simultaneously, rather than sequentially. Two of the most important models used in this study of tarot and numerology utilize this linear vs. symmetrical design.
Seen and described in detail elsewhere on this site, The Apart-Together model employs an elegant symmetry to its design, showing a series of opposites coming together and then separating. Also seen and described in detail elsewhere on this site, The Geometric Progression employs a linear path to its design, showing the evolution of a series of geometric shapes. In The Geometric Progression, we move from an infinitesimally small point to an infinitely large sphere in nine steps. In the Apart-Together model, we move from the isolation of being apart, to the integration of being together, and then back to being apart... in nine steps. The Geometric Progression is good for illustrating the path of events over time. The Apart-Together is good for illustrating the Solve et Coagula of manifest existence emerging from Nothingness and eventually returning. From these basic, fundamental, elemental patterns, an important mantra can be created that, when chanted, will remind us of both of these nine step models, and the important concepts of existence they describe.
In converting these two important models into sounds made by a human, the Apart-Together model presents obvious choices. By illustrating the Solve et Coagula of existence with binary opposites that come together and then separate, we can easily duplicate that notion by creating a mantra that will bring our lips together, and then have them separate. With lips apart, we are prone to vowel sounds. With lips together we are prone to consonant sounds. By combining this "lips apart, then together, then apart" design with the "point to sphere" nature of The Geometric Progression, we can make appropriate choices as to which vowels to sound at the beginning and end. To me... the nature of a tiny point is best sounded with the letter "O" or the sound "Oh." While at the other end, the expansive nature of a sphere would be best sounded with the letter "A" or the sound "Ah." In between, the "together" part would be best sounded with the letter "M" or the sound "Mm." The resulting mantra being "OMA" or "Oh, Mm, Ah." Here is a diagram to illustrate the conditions that are creating this mantra:
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| The "Mm" of "OMA" and the "Um" of "UMPAPA" are very similar sounds, and both correlate with the idea of infinite between and a cosmic Godforce. Another model we have, that does a good job of combining both these models into one, is The Cosmic Engine, seen elsewhere on this site. |
True, one might argue that the letter "U" or the sound "Oooo" as in the word "Tool" might be more descriptive of a point, because of how much more pursed the lips are in creating the sound "Oooo" than the sound "Oh" and how a smaller opening would be more like a point than the "Oh" opening... but that would have changed the mantra to UMA... and I don't want people to be thinking of the famous movie actress when chanting this mantra, I want them to be thinking of number lines. True, I could have gone with UMO, to avoid the UMA problem, but I wanted a more open mouthed sound at the end, to really represent the idea of an ever expansive sphere. Thus, the correct way to pronounce the "Ah" sound is the way we do when the doctor says open wide and say "Ah." Well, maybe not quite that wide open, but wider than the "Oh" sound. So I've settled on OMA as a most sacred and holy mantra. I even drew up an insignia/talisman we can meditate on while chanting:
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Here's an insignia for OMA.
That's OMA... not UMA... and not O-ba-MA!
Below is another insignia for the OMA mantra, using the three basic shapes of Circle, Square and Triangle used in the essay A Trinity of Triangles.
One could argue that, when reading left to right, the triangle should come first, because it's the first shape, and the circle should come last because it's the all encompasing shape. I thought of that. I decided that this inverted symmetry, and the way the shapes relate to the letters was more attractive. So just think of it as inverted symmetry creating dynamic tension between sides. |
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The OMA mantra provides an excellent opportunity to contemplate the infinite inbetween that points to the Godforce that this study of consciousness calls The Absentia. The point at which the ending "M" sound of the "OM" becomes the beginning "M" sound of the "MA" is important to take note of when passing by.
It takes breath passing through to chant this mantra aloud. But when changing it silently, internally, try saying the "OM" part while inhaling and the "MA" part while exhaling and feel the transition of the "M" sound as it goes from one state to the other. Try to acknowledge that place. |
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The Apart-Together model and the Geometric progression describe two different ways to "read" a number line - symmetrically, with numbers that have equidistant similarities, and linearly where each number progresses to the next across time. In the essay The Cosmic Engine both these ways of "reading" a number line are combined into one. Because we inevitably encounter paradox at the micro as well as macro level, all progress is an illusion, thus allowing progressive models and stationary models to coexist as one. Progress is an illusion because we have no where to go. Or to be more precise, we don't really go anywhere, we just consume time and energy like a Cosmic Engine... in one end and out the other. In the book All Things Are Numbers, a chapter on Time compares this consumption of time and energy to a fish passing water over its gills as it propels itself through the ocean. In another analogy, it compares consumption of time and energy to beads on a string, asking whether the string of time is moving through the beads, or if the beads or moving across the string of time. This relativistic view of time causes us to consider time not as a dimension we traverse, but as a commodity we consume in our "Cosmic Engines" of life. Our manifest existence drinks in Nothingness, changes it into Something, and then exhausts it back out as Nothingness... to be consumed again, or by another, in a perpetual act of becoming and sustaining a manifest form. The OMA mantra should remind us of this passage or flow of time, energy through our manifest form, over and over again.
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The Grand Cosmic Eye, Consciousness Mantra - MEWEQI
In the essay Dreams and Dreaming there is a chart that attempts to map out a pathway between our unconscious minds and our conscious minds. It suggests four basic levels of consciousness at work: Conscious, PreConscious, SubConscious and UnConscious. But more importantly than that, it also suggests that the extremes of Conscious and UnConscious are not where we experience consciousness to it fullest. In addition to the four basic levels, this map of consciousness also includes a level called MidConscious. The MidConscious is where we are when we are exactly half way between wake and sleep, or Conscious and UnConscious. Many have observed how this half awake, half asleep state leads to many potently creative insights and spiritual revelations. Our UnConscious minds are illogical and irrational. Our Conscious minds are logical and rational. By themselves, each one is limited in how it perceives the world. But together as one, they see all.
In the Dreams and Dreaming essay, the UnConscious mind was compared to our peripheral vision, and the Conscious mind to our focused vision. Here is an excerpt:
In my world, dreams and imagination are very similar. To me, dreams and imagination are like peripheral vision. In other words... while our literal minds are focused upon the tangible, Conscious reality that is directly in front of us, our dreams and imagination are subliminally taking in what is visible in the intangible, UnConscious periphery. This analogy is yet another example of how our "vision" of Life, Death and The Universe is best - or most complete, when the straightforward and the subtle work TOGETHER!
The idealism of the UnConscious, and the empiricism of the Conscious... working together, like the focused and peripheral vision of a Grand Cosmic Eye, leads to the most transformative experience possible. |
There are many who would disagree with these ideas, claiming instead that the most transformative experience we can possibly have comes from our explorations into the SubConscious and UnConscious of our minds. In the essay Stuck in the Mudaphor, it is suggested that this might be true... for people who are dominantly Conscious, and dominantly focused with their conscious mind and Left Brain... but that, by itself - completely unchecked and untempered by our PreConscious and Conscious minds - our SubConscious and UnConscious minds are no better at perceiving the world than an uncheck and untempered PreConscious or Conscious mind. The theory being... again... that the two working together are the most transformative. Dominantly, the majority of humans seem locked into Conscious thinking, and find the mysterious depths of the UnConscious to be a realm not worth exploring. A person who is so totally locked into their Conscious, Left Brained mind might be amazed at how their perspective is transformed when they immerse themselves in ways outside their normal "comfort zone" by exploring their SubConscious and UnConscious mind and Right Brain. That amazement might then lead to conclusions that our SubConscious and UnConscious minds are the most transformative. But, I would argue that such conclusions are misguided, and that the most transformative state is when both sides of our consciousness work together like the focused and peripheral vision of a Grand Cosmic Eye.
In translating this concept of a Grand Cosmic Eye into sounds for a mantra, I decided to pull three words from the Consciousness Chart on the Dreams and Dreaming page: Me, We and Qi. In exploring our UnConscious minds, many have theorized connections to universal forces that we all have in common - what Carl Jung called The Collective Unconscious, or that this study of consciousness calls a Universal Consciousness. This makes sense as this realm approaches closest to the negative realm of Nothingness, where we encounter the concept of Uniformity (see The Three Unities elsewhere on this site). Likewise, on the other end of our consciousness spectrum, our Conscious minds are equivalent to the manifest existence that emerges from the nothingness, where we encounter the concept of Identity. Each manifest form is unique and individual. Thus our Conscious minds represent our individual state, and our UnConscious minds represent a collective state. Like The Grand Cosmic Eye, Conscious minds focus on individual things, while UnConscious minds take in the whole picture. Thus, the Conscious mind develops a tendency to be more about "Me" while the UnConscious mind develops a tendency to be more about "We." Between the two lies a perfect balance that our mantra should remind us of over and over again. At the beginning of this essay, I declared that it is never the goal of this study to assimilate foreign ideas into its form, but I decided to make an exception here, and utilize the Chinese concept of Chi, or Qi, to represent that point of perfect balance.
Chi, or Qi, has many interpretations. The one I am borrowing deals with Qi as a LifeForce of energy flowing through us, that must be balanced to maintain perfect health. Some may envision Qi more as a physical force, like magnetism or something. But I choose to adapt it to also mean consciousness as a whole... and specifically, as a perfect state of equilibrium between our focused and peripheral states of consciousness... as I see any form of lopsided thinking - whether it be to the UnConscious of our dreams and imagination or the Conscious of empiricism and logic - as unhealthy. Thus, we have a third sacred holy mantra to chant: MEWEQI... which can be pronounced as "Me' "We" "Chee" or "Me" "We" Kee". Together they represent The Grand Cosmic Eye of Consciousness. Here is an insignia/talisman we can meditate on while chanting the MEWEQI mantra.
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Here's an insignia for the MEWEQI mantra. |
As an alternative, we could substitute the idea of Yay, Nay and Gray mentioned in the essay Be Gray Every Day. Both accomplish the same end result. The important thing is to meditate on the idea of consciousness and where we are along the light/dark/gray spectrum of possibilities.
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The Grand Cosmic Eye Mandala
Now we have a mantra for creation, existence and consciousness. The rationale for their creation is of course a brief summary of complex ideas presented elsewhere in this study of tarot and numerology. Hopefully, these mantras will direct attention to the important concepts they represent, to be studied in detail. In the mean time... here is a mandala you can meditate on while contemplating the idea of a Grand Cosmic Eye that unites straightforward, focused vision with subtle, peripheral "vision."
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| In this mandala, the Grand Cosmic Eye appears when the LIGHT of awareness is cast upon the DARK of ignorance, to reveal the GRAY of God (see Be Gray Every Day elsewhere on this site). Think of the "W" in We and the "M" in Me as lashes on the Grand Cosmic Eye, and the outer stroke of the "Q" of Qi as the tear ducts of that same eye. Think of the veins in the eyeball as crossing ripples in a pool of water. For another variation on this idea, see the Cosmic Wheel Mandala elsewhere on this site. For another illustrative version of this Grand Cosmic Eye idea, consult the essay on Dreams and Dreaming. |
STORE! SHOP! BUY! For a talismanic amulet, medallion or pendant based on the ideas presented on this page go HERE! |
