The aspect of self-knowledge represented here is what is called internal observer or witness. The insight about the reality of this inner observer, that this is our true identity and the core of our consciousness, is what I call "Timeless Man" and which has also been called "universal man." This is, so to speak, the religious or spiritual dimension of Timeless Education – to "reconnect to the source."
What ancient religious texts meant by spiritual death, or getting stuck in the samsara wheel, was to become unaware of the core of our soul – the inner pure consciousness. Such a person has no real substance, nothing stable to stand on, no healthy self-concept. Such a person is constantly changing, assuming new unstable forms and temporary false identifications; what ancient texts referred to as "transmigration of the soul" and "reincarnation" – which was psychological reincarnation: re-identification.
Such a person avoids self-experience, distract themselves from their own inner depth since this interior feels like an emptiness. Such a person chases substitutes in the form of recognition and acknowledgement based on the expectations of the culture, or wants to shape themselves after something or someone who attracts and hypnotises them – regardless of whether it is appropriate to themselves or not – and as a rule makes them take themselves too seriously. An identity that sometimes sacrifices and suppresses other aspects of their own nature that also needs to be given attention.
It makes man rigid and prevents her from acting in a natural, flexible, and spontaneous manner. It makes our interests and desires narrow and limited, so that we lose out on big parts and opportunities in life. We can no longer appreciate reality or ourselves, only our personal or borrowed ideals. We get fixated on what has been in the past or what may be in the future, i.e., on fantasies, and reject the moment which is connected with real substance.
In other words, the absence of unity with our inner pure and witnessing awareness is self-deception and the basis of pathology. It turns us into "temporary, unstable man" instead of stable, well-founded, timeless man. A person does not need to be religious to confirm that something in us is capable of self-awareness so that we experience an inner observer that not only witnesses external occurences but also internal occurences such as feelings and thoughts.
It is important to keep reminding that neither "Biological man" (our organic body that consists of other organisms) nor "Natural man" (our human type, configuration or energy-patterns studied in Bias psychology) is our true identity. Our true identity is the inner pure awareness.
A solid foundation to stand on
It is important to build one's self-concept on a solid foundation. If the self-concept is not built on a solid foundation, if it is built on an identification, then it exists in a vulnerable position at risk. Everything that threatens this identification or self-concept will elicit fear, feelings of hate, depression, and so on. In addition, your identification or self-concept may not remain for long. Over time, it can change, and all the worries you felt about defending your identity were unnecessary suffering with perhaps unnecessary (or not beneficial) actions and words.
Some common, unstable, false, and temporary identifications people build their self-concept on are the physical body, age generation, occupation (activity), religious affiliation, political ideology, subculture, family (blood ties), race, nation, gender, sexual orientation, and various physical or psychological disorders and diagnoses. If any of these concepts are criticized, mocked, ridiculed, gets a bad reputation, is despised by others, becomes the target of prejudices or risk dying out, you will suffer a lot of psychological anxiety, worry and suffering.
Why, then, are these identifications "false" and "temporary"? Because they are only small pieces of a larger whole that often undergoes change and limits our view of ourselves. Even aspects such as sex, race, and sexuality easily become misleading identifications through stereotypes. If you are a biological man or woman, which nobody denies, what does that mean? What does it mean to belong to a race when individuals within races are still different? If you identify with it, what exactly is it you are identifying with? To what benefit is it? Besides, it has been psychologically somewhat established, for example, that all people have both an inner masculine and an inner feminine aspect in the psyche, and the identification with these can shift when you least expect it.
But do not misunderstand me when I say that the identifications are false. The one who has achieved non-attachment and non-identification ("Timeless Man") does not fight circumstances by, for example, insisting that he or she does not belong to any race or biological gender at all or by refusing to write down his cultural identity and age on a formal paper. A non-attached and impartial person view circumstances and innate characteristics with openness and curiosity for the unique experiences it generates. Even if the individual fights for the rights of a group, which circumstances may very well require and arouse in the nature of individuals, he or she is not attached to either the act nor the result.
A person's nature and circumstances consist of several layers or levels. These layers or levels are in themselves not false or imagined. But they can be unstable and temporary, and are something our deeper or higher existence must relate to. And just like other things we must relate to, such as vehicles or tools, it is not worthy of our identity or self-concept. We might act on it. We use it. Allow it to happen. But it is not what we are. We don't take it too seriously. And this attitude is also related to non-attachment (impartiality).
The primary layers or levels of our nature and psychology can be divided into the following parts, with our innermost nature as the starting point:
1. Pure awareness (non-definable observer)
2. Memory (knowledge and experiences)
3. Thoughts (intellect and ideas)
4. Emotions (mood, love and aversion)
5. Biological drives (sensations, vitality and body)
6. External acquisitions and circumstances (imitation and social mask)
7. Secret self-image or self-ideal (false self, the "ego")
Of these layers, the pure awareness (inner observer) is the most identical, permanent and universal for all people. Hence, reconnecting with this higher identity also entails an acknowledgement that all other people too, ultimately, are merely their inner observer. And this is the real foundation for true respect and equality. The lower parts need not respect one another if this is not in their nature (with the exception of the social mask and the self-ideal, which are more made up than natural and thus needs to be dissolved). But if individuals have achieved Timeless Man, even though their lower nature may be wrestling with someone or have disagreements and differences of opinion, they are not attached to these conflicts and actions. It is merely seen as a stimulating experience.
The inner observer is also the aspect of our nature that is bound to the least amount of laws, and thus is more free than the lower parts. This freedom expresses itself primarily through the possibility of radical choices of attitude towards what is happening, and thus can affect the lower aspects to act differently. If any aspect of ourselves is also immortal, it can only be this core.
The "Wandering Shapes" of consciousness
People do not understand that they are the inner pure consciousness, even though they can not be anything else. It is the most permanent, timeless, and stable ground you can reach in search of an identity or credible self-concept. But few people reach this insight or conclusion. The result is that they through life end up in a repetitive "psychological cycle" that goes through timeless states (or stages) of attitude. These states can be divided into twelve general psychological incarnations or shapes in order to retain this process in memory. We can also dress up these shapes into different characters, creatures or symbols in order to use them in stories and various artistic expressions to both transmit this knowledge and at the same time connect it with our emotions and ethical appreciation. The essence of the process, and thus of the story, is how we lose and find ourselves back to our true soul. This has always been a universal and powerful story.
Our inner soul assumes the following psychological incarnations (forms or shape) depending on the degree of delusion through causality:
Naive
Stricken
Accuser
Demon
Ruin
Remorseful
Worker
Prostitute
Academic
Seeker
Self-sacrificing
Timeless
The names are merely vague definitions or metaphors for these psychological incarnations and can be modified in the future, so they should not be taken too literally or dogmatically. Each form or shape also has special qualities that correspond to both the levels in the Evaluation Compass and the spheres of "Natural man" (Sapientiam, Gratum, Morem, and the exterior body). A brief description of these shapes and their qualities follow below:
Naive
Corresponds to Awareness Level 3 ("Receptive nature").
Quality and energy: Active imagination.
Naive ignorance. Can be called the original basic state, especially as a child. We do not have much experience to remember and learn from, our actions have not yet become routine, and we feel no need to shape or strive for any ideals. We begin life at a relatively high and healthy state (Level 3), but we are vulnerable, and our imagination and receptiveness to fantasies and dreams divorced from reality is very active.
Stricken
Corresponds to Awareness Level 4 ("Idea nature").
Quality and energy: Inactive recollection.
In the face of unexpected events and discomfort, we end up in sudden pain and confusion, and being so smitten represents the end of the innocent "childhood." This will start the process of thinking more and questioning. A person can also be stricken or lose his or her optimism in the same way several times during life unless they have trained their memory to remember what can happen or how we can feel if we do not pay attention and learn from our experiences.
Accuser
Corresponds to Awareness Level 5 ("Reactive nature").
Quality and energy: Moderate routine.
Seduced into dualistic thinking ("the devil's temptation"). In the face of what offends us or awakens our emotional dislike, we begin to react with accusations and separate things and phenomena into categories of "good and evil" (good and bad) along our moods and preferences. This process is partly automatic, emotional and reactive and thus does not pass through the intellect. Since this attitude primarily establishes itself in the emotions, it corresponds to consciousness level 5.
Demon
Corresponds to Awareness Level 6 ("Locked nature").
Quality and energy: Active conceptualization-of-ideals.
Battle against the opposite. At this stage, the individual forms his partial ideal and risks becoming a monster in his or her struggle against that which they personally find undesirable. Conceptualization of ideals and desires regarding what the world should be like is intense but based on rationalizations that are anything but impartial or objective even if the individual imagines the opposite. A ruthlessness and desire that is locked and stifles reason and conscience. Can also be called the immature hero or legislator.
Ruin
Corresponds to Awareness Level 7 ("Blind nature").
Quality and energy: Inactive imagination.
Devoured by darkness with a ruined nature. This can be said to be contact with rock bottom. The state where the individual is defeated or brutally struck down by reality after his or her excessively partial and unrealistic striving. Ruthless indifference while the hope is lost. A form of suffering in one's own psychological hell and denial of meaning or joy. An often necessary "descent" in order to later appreciate the higher for real.
Remorseful
Corresponds to Awareness Level 7 ("Blind nature").
Quality and energy: Moderate recollection.
This state is the beginning of a new hope that can only go upwards in development from where we currently are. This new hope or beginning of light in the dark is a certain recollection and attention towards our experiences and missed opportunities that can now become a guide to get us out of our situation. We realize that we have been unrealistic fools, if not straight up evil, and are urged by our conscience to try to remedy whatever we caused by striving for more realistic improvements based in reality.
Worker
Corresponds to Awareness Level 6 ("Locked nature").
Quality and energy: Active routine.
Worldliness. Focus on work and materialistic wealth or other adaptation to society's culture and patterns. External pedanticity and rigidity. A common condition people end up in and often called "the sleeping masses." This, however, risks becoming a materialistic trap that can collapse at any time if the individual is unlucky, for example, by several fatalities in the family, theft or financial difficulties. An individual who does not seek wisdom and self-knowledge has no protection or weapon against others' exploitation in the professional world, nor is it something stable to stand on when frustration or personal tragedies occur.
Prostitute
Corresponds to Awareness Level 5 ("Reactive nature").
Quality and energy: Inactive conceptualization-of-ideals.
The state where we sell our soul for recognition. Focus on how others view us and the pursuit of merit and admiration along borrowed ideals and norms, without questioning or challenging these ideas. Passive or devoted acceptance of ideals. Fixation on appearances and strong identification. Individuals who become the darlings of the powerful or false ideals without caring about what is right. Yet another temporary mental state that sooner or later collapses due to the lack of real substance.
Academic
Corresponds to Awareness Level 4 ("Idea nature").
Quality and energy: Moderate imagination.
Scientific or intellectual study of the world. Focus on knowledge and research. This state is often more questioning and less deluded than the lower states, but still contains a measure of delusion and bad ideas that become an obstacle to real clarity. Here we risk learning too much about various subjects so that we can not see the essentials. Excessive complex thinking and collection of ideas that can neither be conveyed in a practical nor relevant way. The intellectual world as an escape from reality.
Seeker
Corresponds to Awareness Level 3 ("Receptive nature").
Quality and energy: Active recollection.
The return to our original state, but this time with less naivety and more essential experience that supports our memory. We have been cleansed from the culture and our own excessive wishes that turned out to be the wrong direction for a satisfying and healthy life. A form of poverty with a sense of thirst for something more essential, but at the same time a peace and an acceptance as vain fantasies and worldly striving have ceased. Often associated with wisdom that comes with old age. We admit our ignorance and become receptive "spiritual" seekers who, with increased ripeness and experience, begin to develop an inner wisdom compass. This compass leads us to forgotten, ignored, or hidden wisdom of varying quality. We begin to collect this "honey."
Self-sacrificing
Corresponds to Awareness Level 2 ("Attentive nature").
Quality and energy: Inactive routine.
Self-training, process of discipline, attitudinal practices, authenticity practice, and contemplation of timeless, essential wisdom. This is one of two difficult-to-reach states that can lead the individual out of the wandering-in-shapes in the unstable psychological cycle and reach stable ground. To successfully undergo the necessary transformation or "rebirth" that this state represents requires both courage, trust, perseverance, and the right teaching. Even at this level, no one is free from causality. Because of bias and other limits, almost no-one can reach wisdom through his or her own process of thinking without some kind of guiding influence as a help. However, many influences, even if on the right track, may contain errors or holes that make the transformation incomplete and the individual remains at Level 2 or falls back into the psychological cycle. The most difficult things to get past (or to "sacrifice") is attachment, identifications, linear goal-logic, and dualistic judgments along emotional wounds.
Timeless
Corresponds to Awareness Level 1 ("Timeless nature").
Quality and energy: Moderate conceptualization-of-ideals.
The master. The self-realized model and guide for others. The one who knows how to spread light (understanding). Regardless of the symbol or archetype we use here, it is only a shape or temporary form for something that can not be described or defined in form. A medium for the deeper identity. The real meaning behind an "incarnated god" or timeless prophet. True righteousness and morality through the transcendence of thinking in opposites (non-dualistic awareness). The ideal is neither pushy nor has it become a fixation, but what awakens this beneficial and healthy view of the world – which is the basis for a true sense of love, peace and gratitude – is naturally valued to keep us away from the furthering of psychological hells.
Fruits of Timeless Man are an enlargement of experiences through the reduction of egoism. Self-acceptance through self-experience and a profound sense of belonging to nature. Self-control and ability to take responsibility. Steady ground. Inner independence (freedom). Own style along individual experience. Authenticity and integration of the various "parts" of your nature. Sense of substance. Dealing with the powers of the world through spiritual judo. A manifestation of the power of the small. Both an increased sensitivity towards the subtleties and increased desensitization towards what is unpleasant. Non-action in action, and action in non-action. Focus on approaches to things rather than on goals. Sense of abundance instead of a sense of lack. Subtle openness and omni-interest (interest in everything) instead of loudmouthed preferences and indifference. Presence and contact with experience (experience of experiencing). The only goal that has any logic in a temporary existence or goalless eternity.
Since the trick is to accept your drives without taking them seriously, and be able to control them when it is beneficial, it can be difficult to judge whether someone has achieved Timeless man or not, since the enlightened and impartial mental state may be invisible. Only an enlightened person can see that another person is enlightened, through special clues. A truly impartial person is not even interested in being considered as enlightened, but he or she still values it more than anything else, and hence the transmission of timeless wisdom is an important feature. The more we reduce our self-concept, the bigger and richer will be everything else.
The problem is that all this is difficult to explain, which is why religions failed through their choice of words like "self-sacrifice," "ego-death," "self-annihilation," "taking up one's cross," nirvanic "void," etc. Most spiritual teachings also focus more on becoming one with the inner observer (if they have not deteriorated due to incompetence or conscious distortion), but in Timeless Education this is done in combination with the realization and liberation of the lower energies to increase the feeling of substance, and even expressions of hate are allowed here, since it can be purifying, especially at an early stage, in order to actually end it. This is an often forgotten or ignored aspect of true spirituality but has survived in some forms of psychotherapy.
The difference between using our energies for the purpose of ambition or self-ideals, and using them with an impartial attitude, is that the latter is more spontaneous, creative, and thus more efficient, healthy, fun and comfortable since it is less serious and does not take things as seriously with lots of unnecessary imaginations and fears.
In evaluating the phenomena of individuals and cultures, we compare them with how close they are to Timeless Man. That is, how close they are to non-identification and "interest-in-everything" or "interest in one's experience."
Welcome to the official website for Timeless Education – a new method for understanding social problems more clearly so that we can deal with our problems better, faster, easier, and with more precision.
