Wednesday, December 30, 2015

Timeline


1099 -- The first crusade

1154 - 1191 Suhrawardi, The Man of Light

1191 -- Chretien -- The Story of the Grail 

Thursday, December 17, 2015

Sun and Son

Steiner says the the Round Table of Arthur represents the (external) focus on the Sun and the Zodiac (12 knights) as a means for bringing cosmic intelligence to Earth. The Grail story shows that this intelligence has now become a part of human evolution.

I see the Grail gyroscope as spinning at the very core of humans whose idiosyncratic tilts vary in angle with Awareness. The Grail is the Sun/Son.

how the gyroscope model was born

First, the decision was made to go to Chretien's original story. Second, in contemplating the story, recognition came that in the Enchanted Castle chamber, four parts were played: Perceval, Amfortas, the Grail procession, the Hidden. [Within the Grail procession were four entities: the Lance, the two Candelabra youth (seen as one entity), the Grail and Its Bearer, the Platter and Its Bearer.]

Awareness came that Perceval and Amfortas formed a vertical dimension (stage front and stage rear) between whom the procession passed. Thus the Procession and the Hidden became the horizontal dimension. Next, the understanding deepened that the Perceval-Amfortas energies represented materiality, the material dimension; the Procession-Hidden energies represented the spiritual dimension. Later, the circularity of each of these two energy flows became clear and took on this form (horizontal oval overlapping vertical oval).

It was not long that this form was experienced as a gyroscope with the Procession-Hidden energies forming the spinning stable center and the Perceval-Amfortas energies representing the tilt into various consciousness dimensions. Thus the model was born with which I work. (This process took place over several weeks of periodic contemplation.)

grail castle as temple

Grail Castle as Temple."What, know ye not that ye are the temple of God?" The Castle and its occupants present a state of consciousness. The Castle is a depiction of our soul, the temple of our soul. Within the Castle are the ingredients of our spiritual evolution; the stages and phases of consciousness that we must become, own move through in order to spiritually transform.

Friday, December 11, 2015

From boing boing

Explain your topic to a smart friend unfamiliar with it, record what you say, and transcribe the recording Instead of building your book from an outline, build it from an FAQ, so that you can never stray far from addressing an actual, concrete question Outline the book’s arc and each chapter’s arc not by the logic and organization of your subject but by the journey you want the reader to take, from what (you think) they currently know or believe to what you want them to know or believe. (This means you need to look closely at what your intended readers actually know and actually believe.) Work with an experienced developmental editor who will flag all your false assumptions—I see the heart of the editor's role as playing the part of an intelligent but uninformed reader

Inkblot Test

Studying the original Grail story off and on during the night and seeing that it has no Christian or Celtic or Pagan or other popular point of view allusions. These are all added in later by those with such viewpoints. The original Grail story is like a Rorschach test in which viewers reveal their own psychological frame.

Friday, November 20, 2015

The Core of the Story

http://clark.bengalenglish.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/Perceval_and_the_Holy_Grail_Passage.pdf (translated by Ruth Harwood Cline)

He told this squire to hold the sword and took his seat beside the lord, who honored him as best he might. The candles cast as bright a light
 as could be found in any manor. They chatted in a casual manner.


Out of a room a squire came, clasping 
a lance of purest white: while grasping the center of the lance, the squire walked through the hall between the fire and two men sitting on the bed.
 All saw him bear, with measured tread, the pure white lance. From its white tip a drop of crimson blood would drip and run along the white shaft and drip down upon the squire's hand, and then another drop would flow.

The knight who came not long ago beheld this marvel, but preferred not to inquire why it occurred, for he recalled the admonition
 the lord made part of his tuition, since he had taken pains to stress
 the dangers of loquaciousness. The young man thought his questions might
 make people think him impolite, and that's why he did not inquire.


Two more squires entered, and each squire held candelabra, wrought of fine 
pure gold with niello work design. The squires with candelabra fair
 were an extremely handsome pair.
At least ten lighted candles blazed
 in every holder that they raised.


The squires were followed by a maiden who bore a grail, with both hands laden. The bearer was of noble mien, well dressed, and lovely, and serene, and when she entered with the grail, the candles suddenly grew pale, the grail cast such a brilliant light,
 as stars grow dimmer in the night
 when sun or moonrise makes them fade.

A maiden after her conveyed 
a silver platter past the bed.

The grail, which had been borne ahead, was made of purest, finest gold
 and set with gems; a manifold
display of jewels of every kind, the costliest that one could find in any place on land or sea, the rarest jewels there could be, let not the slightest doubt be cast. The jewels in the grail surpassed all other gems in radiance.

They went the same way as the lance: 
they passed before the lord's bedside 
to another room and went inside.


The young man saw the maids' procession and did not dare to ask a question about the grail or whom they served; the wise lord's warning he observed, for he had taken it to heart.
 I fear he was not very smart; I have heard warnings people give: that one can be too talkative, but also one can be too still.
 But whether it was good or ill,
 I do not know, he did not ask.


The squires who were assigned the task of bringing in the water and
 the cloths obeyed the lord's command.
 The men who usually were assigned performed these tasks before they dined. They washed their hands in water, warmed, and then two squires, so I'm informed, brought in the ivory tabletop,
made of one piece: they had to stop and hold it for a while before the lord and youth, until two more
 squires entered, each one with a trestle.

The trestles had two very special, rare properties, which they contained since they were built, and which remained in them forever: they were wrought of ebony, a wood that's thought 
to have two virtues: it will not 
ignite and burn and will not rot; these dangers cause no harm nor loss. They laid the tabletop across the trestles, and the cloth above. What shall I say? To tell you of the cloth is far beyond my scope. No legate, cardinal, or pope has eaten from a whiter one.

The first course was of venison, a peppered haunch, cooked in its fat, accompanied by a clear wine that
was served in golden cups, a pleasant, delicious drink. While they were present a squire carved up the venison.
 He set the peppered haunch upon a silver platter, carved the meat, and served the slices they would eat by placing them on hunks of bread.

Again the grail passed by the bed, 
and still the youth remained reserved about the grail and whom they served. He did not ask, because he had been told so kindly it was bad
 to talk too much, and he had taken these words to heart. He was mistaken; though he remembered, he was still much longer than was suitable.


At every course, and in plain sight, the grail was carried past the knight,
 who did not ask whom they were serving, although he wished to know, observing in silence that he ought to learn
 about it prior to his return. So he would ask: before he spoke he'd wait until the morning broke, and he would ask a squire to tell, once he had told the lord farewell and all the others in his train. He put the matter off again
 and turned his thoughts toward drink and food.