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Xeper: Mindful Evolution

By James Fitzsimmons V°

Released on the 6th Anniversarty of its Reception

 The Æon Inaugurating Utterance of Dr. Michael A. Aquino of Xeper as the Magus Ra-En-Set, recorded in the Book of Coming Forth by Night, is

It is the root from which all Words in the Æon of Set arise. Each is a means of the individual Magus/Maga of Remanifesting what they gained from this Primary Utterance, or modifying it, in a manner which constitutes an entire Xeper-derived philosophy in a single Word.

 I am an Æon Enhancing Magus of the Word

 While in English Xeper has only one way of being spoken or written, Egyptian allows for something more nuanced. The core meaning of this Word is "Evolution," with the specific implication of "Evolution by Force of Mind" or “Mindful Evolution.” It implies that Xeper is not a one-time event, but something requiring repeated engagement with the biological and psychological orderings as an active designer so that your Isolate Consciousness might come to its full unfolding. It is the active redesigning of the Self and the World via the Gift of Set.

 My Utterance, as all Æon Enhancing Utterances, finds its empowerment through the Primary Utterance of Ra-En-Set. Without that, it could not exist in any meaningful manner. This is reflected in the hieroglyphics of my Word. Remove the XPR-root, and it is nothing but a gapping maw and a meaningless scroll. Where Ra-En-Set's Utterance is the Omnidirectional empowerment of the Æon of Set, mine is a more specific, focused, lens by which his Utterance can be explored and Understood.

 Don Webb’s Utterance of Xeper as the Magus informs and holds some similarities to mine. His Utterance came from an alternate reading of Ra-En-Set's Utterance emphasizing the root’s stative-tense aspects, "I have come into Being." This was implicit in the Primary Utterance, but had gone unexplored. It was his Word that showed me my way, and it was from working for years to Understand his Word and its relationship to Ra-En-Set's Word that my own Utterance took shape. I had been a close student of the tale of how he came to his Word, and knew of the importance of integrating hunches with seeking out linguistic and cultural information about Egypt

 Ra-En-Set’s Utterance gave me access to the Fire. Setnakt’s Utterance showed me the process by which I could be transformed by what I had Seen, and provided me with the clues in order to unravel my Word’s implications.

 My own Utterance shares an implicate element with Setnakt's Utterance. It can be seen as the Verbal Noun form of the Root Xeper, or Evolution as an abstract process. It was this sense, articulated by Dr. Aquino in the August, 1990 issue of the Scroll of Set:

 What distinguishes Xeper from preceding Magus- Words is the principle that the telos of humanity - at least initiated humanity - lies beyond the capacities of humanity as it presently defines itself. Xeper presupposes the evolution of consciousness into what humanity now holds to be divine levels of being. The telos of Xeper, therefore, is unique in that it is dynamic. It holds up no fixed ideal, as do its predecessors; rather it identifies the evolutionary process itself as telos.

 It was this sense of Xeper that had early on empowered me as a Setian. At the time I was pursuing a B.A. in Anthropology focusing on Human Origins and Uniqueness. This work involved learning in detail the science behind the evolutionary synthesis, biological evolution, and cultural evolution. Ra-En-Set’s Utterance and Setnakt’s Utterance entered my life at the same time, providing a way that I could pursue this Work not simply as a secular anthropologist but as an Initiate. It would be during a period of still deeper study of these same topics that I would recognize my Word, having been prepared across 12 years as a Setian to finally See what had always been there waiting for me. In this sense, my Utterance is embedded in the Primary Utterance, but has only found its full articulation in my own. It was always there, but it needed someone to modify and focus upon it.

 The wave of Utterances of Xeper have been tied to the Working Years of the Temple of Set, and form a hierarchy of explaining what to do as an Initiate. On the fundamental, and most important, level we have Xeper as "Become!" Do not worry about the specifics, do not worry that you are going into unknown territories. Become and you will find what you need. Setnakt's Utterance as "I have come into Being" marks the initial response to having Become. Now that it has happened the individual can look upon the past patterns that transformed them so that they might be able to see the next set of patterns that will transform them still more. My Utterance is what to do when you have come to see those patterns, to actively reiterate and select from them in order to re-design the total of your life and being by the application of the Gift of Set to this process.

 What was Seen could not be unseen, but it could and will be Uttered. It will be through this Task that I will be transformed, and which will transform others in turn. I could not find a better, more challenging, insightful people with which to engage in this Work than those I have found within the Temple of Set.

 One of the common translations that I have used is the term "Mindful Evolution." in the course of my usage, however, I have not revealed why it is I have used this construction. It brings together two of the great turning points in human understanding of itself, namely the core insight of the Axial Age, and the core insight of the Modern Age.  To better understand this, let us look at Mindfulness and Evolution.

 Mindfulness

 A recognition of the Force of Mind as a unique power in human existence have been known since at least 500 BCE in the Hindu concept of smrti “that which is remembered.” It would be in the Work of the first Buddha, who used the Pali word sati to describe it, that the concept would find its most important early articulation. Since the Buddha’s recognition of this capacity, Mindfulness has been a central topic in World Religions though the goal of its practice has been towards the denigration of that which makes humanity unique and in the seeking out of the extinguishing of independent existence.

 With the development of minimally invasive and non-invasive technologies for studying the brain and its relation to the mind, the field of Mindfulness has expanded greatly. Beginning with the work of Jon Kabat-Zinn in the late 1970s, the scientific study of Mindfulness practices demonstrated the ways in which these practices could effect the objective aspects of an individual.  The most startling breakthrough in this field came with the discovery of Neuroplasticity, the brain’s ability to re-wire itself as a result of activities, including purely mental activities.

 This capacity for Mindfulness is something unique to humanity. This capacity must be cultivated by willed action, though the methods of cultivation are many. Key to Mindfulness is a heightened awareness of the present moment and its relation to all that is unfolding in that moment. It acts as a meta-cognitive skill towards controlled concentration and cognition with awareness. It is the transformation of the Gift of Set from being a latent capacity into a primary tool for focusing and directing consciousness.

 Evolution

 Philosopher of Consciousness and Evolution, Daniel Dennett, has offered an approach towards modeling evolution that can be applied across any medium of evolution.  He refers to this as the Evolutionary Algorithm.  The Evolutionary Algorithm posits that any system that has a code, which is replicated, and whose replication can occur with variation on the original code, which is subject to a field of differential fitness (some things work in the selection environment, some don't) will experience evolution.

 The first ordering in the cosmos that features a medium capable of this algorithmic process was that of Life through genetics.  First through some form of proto-RNA and then through DNA Life began a process of evolution where the core code of nucleic acid was subject to replication with the possibility of variation and the fields of selections in the natural environment, which it found itself in. This process would lead to the development of proto-organisms, single-celled organisms, multi-celled organisms and eventually the entire panoply of organisms across the Plant, Fungus and Animal Kingdoms upon the earth.

 The second ordering in which this process took place was in a smaller subset of Life through Epigenetics.  As means of Genetic evolution tend to take prolonged periods of time for beneficial adaptations to the selection space to occur, a somewhat more rapid means of adaptation evolved.  By altering the functioning of cells to determine which parts of the DNA code would, and which parts would not, be used in the function of life organisms created a secondary means of adaptation, more rapid than genetic level evolution. Those cellular setting which proved adaptive within the selection space would be passed to the next generation, providing them with established advantages over those organisms which had not tailored their DNA usage.

 The third ordering in which this evolutionary algorithm takes place occurred within a smaller subset of Life. Those organisms capable of more complex behavior aimed at adapting to their environment show a third ordering evolutionary process.  Those behaviors which benefit the organism within their selection space, such as beavers building of dams or the pack organization of wolfs, become part of a system of inheritance.  The success of these behavioral adaptations in the selection space drives their inheritance to the next generation through a process of imprinting and conditioned learning.

 The fourth ordering in which this evolutionary algorithm takes place occurs within an even smaller subset of Life. In fact, to the best of our knowledge, this fourth evolutionary ordering has only occurred in members of genus Homo, and the extent to which it was a common feature to all of genus Homo is uncertain. This fourth ordering of evolution relies upon the relative ease of which humans are capable of imitative behavior, allowing new innovations in behavior, whether beneficial, detrimental or neutral, to pass almost instantaneously from one human to another. This level of evolutionary activity, known as Memetic inheritance, allows for rapid replication, and thus rapid movement through the selection space. With the appearance of this unique fourth ordering in genus Homo we see a sudden exponential growth of brain-size and behavioral variability at odds with purely genetic level evolutionary processes.  In fact, this fourth ordering has powerful enough adaptive advantages due to the speed of replication that it arguably hijacked genus Homo's lower ordering evolution towards its own end. If is from this Memetic system of inheritance that all of those unique human behaviors which we consider to be emblematic of being human, art, culture, language, evolved and it is through this ordering that humanity has come to dominate the earth.

 It is the direction of Mindfulness towards Evolution that defines Xeper.

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The Origins of the Paths: A Parable

Long ago, one of the fundamental experiences of humanity was that of living around a central fire with relatives and trusted associates. This is no longer the case but we still hold the mark of this formative experience. Around the fire was warmth, light, and community. Beyond it was a great unknown, a vast darkness filled with implied dangers.  For most who grew within these environments, this was enough. By day they could pursue game, find sustenance, interact in the light of the sun, and work to improve and enrich their community. At night they would huddle together to stave off the darkness and its dangers. This was a necessary pattern, and too much deviation from it might lead not only to death of those who deviated, but to the whole community.  As human social units became larger and more complex, specializations became increasingly necessary. In order for the community to survive certain roles were needed. If these specializations were lost there was a good chance that the entire community would collapse. So roles within the community would become fixed as a means of transmitting them across generations. Like masks they could be passed form one generation to the next, increasing stability and insuring continued propagation. While the individuals of each generation would vary, they would still be given a set mask and the expectation would be that they would grow into it where they were lacking and would forget about the aspects of themselves which were more than that mask.  As the fire fixed the center of these community, the darkness beyond its edge fixed the community's borders. While real danger existed beyond that border, a greater danger existed in the minds of the community. These dangers would often coalesce around one or several mythic figures through to embody the dangers beyond that border, within the darkness. These bogeymen would be used to scare children from wandering off, and would help to drive individuals towards one of the appropriate masks, or personae, of their community, in order to stay safe and keep them at bay. Sometimes this border would be marked with dread signs, horrific warning and images suggestive of these "Powers of Darkness" to help keep people from venturing beyond.  Most people sleep at night, but not all. Most people will accept the fears of their community, but not all. These night-dwellers see things that others do not, because they are asleep. They see the beauty of the night's sky, and the ways that patterns in its movements predict patterns in their world.  But to fully see these patterns of movement, one needs a more complete darkness than the community fire can provide. Its light obscures the world in the same ways that its masks obscures and limits the individual. Sometimes these night-dwellers get brave enough to venture out beyond border and into the darkness in order to see more clearly.  They move beyond edge of warning, learning to manage their fears. Often they discover that the great monsters they thought they saw as children were nothing more than puppets and scary masks left by the elders to scare children into behaving. In doing so their frame of reference gets bigger, and their connection with their community shifts towards being able to see how it is shaped and towards what ends. But more importantly they begin to see the night and darkness as its is, in its glory and terror. They see more of its splendor, and learn to navigate its dangers.  And if they should be able to shake themselves loose of the aesthetic arrest of this splendor, they might begin to notice that out there, beyond the borders of their community's world, they are not alone. Others who have ventured beyond are there as well. Some will be allies, teaching ways to survive. Others will be enemies, looking to secure the darkness strictly for themselves. All will provide challenges which can be brought to bare upon the process of becoming more of themselves.  Those who venture beyond need not separate themselves completely from their community, but their difference will be seen. They have been touched by the Powers of Darkness and must do more than others to prove that they are not a threat. Some will learn to earn a place of honor, which in many contexts is simply the right be be "weird" without harassment. Others will choose to interact with their old community only through the one mask they have left, the mask of the monsters designed to frighten children. In both cases, should the new ways that these individuals develop prove to be beneficial to the continuance and growth of the community, in time they too will become masks, passed from generation to generation. 

After all the first to bring fire into a community had been seen as a dangerous madman, bringing threat of ruin. Now the community could not think of existing without it. So too in time might the new patterns drawn from Darkness become so established. And each generation will bring forth new brave souls willing to push further still, and become who they are beyond established patterns which once were seen as dangerous.

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Sparks: Introduction

The process of Initiation begins with the Inner Work of disconnecting and decolonizing your subjective universe from non-beneficial forces. It is a matter of taking what you have acquired by happenstance and re-designing your inner landscape as your own. It then moves towards the application of your self-designed being to the transformation of your outer world. 

The series of writings I am calling "Sparks" is about the first steps towards accomplishing this Inner Work. It will provide some insights about the conditions of the mind and external issues that factor into the challenges to Initiation.

Some have wondered why I am simply giving this material away. What I will be posting constitutes a roadmap of the hazards you face by simply being a human. I recognize that there are those who will benefit who are not of the disposition to become Setians or for whom an Initiatroy environment like the Temple would be a poor match. While I feel the best peer group that exists to pursuing these ideas is the one found within the Temple of Set one need not be a Setian to benefit from this material.

Focus on your breathing for a moment. Feel how the breath flows in through your mouth and into your lungs. Then feel the lungs begin to contract, squeezing the air back out the pathway, until you need to take another breath.

What you just did is something presently thought to be unique to humans. You focused the mind upon an unconscious process in order to turn it into a conscious one. You turned off your default operating settings temporarily in order to move it in a specific direction.

In the same way that your lungs breath without your conscious awareness or attention, much of what you consider to be your thoughts are the result of a similar automatic system. Your mind "thinks" because that is simply what it is designed to do, and much of what its "thinking" is of little consequence. It is on autopilot without calibrated instruments or any set direction.

Your mind is among the most adaptable and plastic things known to exist. It is also the key to the highest leverage transformations possible. A simple spark in the brain can be the start of tremendous success that impact the world, or towards cataclysmic horrors that effect millions. The default settings of the mind created by happenstance are not terribly empowering. They tend towards a grey average, with some good in one area, and some bad in others. In no sense does this happenstance situation create a proper fit between what is in the mind and what external circumstances are require to create Victory.

When we expose ourselves to new situations and start to engage in new behaviors, we begin to create new connections in the brain in a process called neurogenesis. In order to get the most out of this series you should not wait before putting the ideas you find into practice. You will gain more by applying an idea half understood than you ever will waiting for complete understanding before action. The feedback from application will inform your future application and allow for better integration of ideas by given them something to connect with in your experience. Use what seems most interesting or scariest to you and start trying new behaviors to create tangible results.

For those of you who are interested in taking full part in this series, feel free to message or email me at [email protected] the most important insight that you had or thing you learned in reading these pieces. Include what you are planning to do with it in your life right away.

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The Aeon Enhancing Magus

If you are willing to take serious my idea that the Primary Utterance of Xeper is best understood as the Utterance of the Verb-Root itself you very quickly run into a challenge.  Because of its purity, and because of its infinite ways of conjugation, the Primary Utterance can be tremendously overwhelming. It stands as a unique fire within the Amethyst Realm, drawing all that was before into its light and shining forth in all directions. This is what one would expect of an Aeon Initiating Word. 

Humans aren't good with infinities. Having unlimited options leads to paralysis from overwhelm, or a reversion to previous more limited ways simply because they are known. On an Aeonic scale one of the functions of an Aeon Enhancing Magus is to provide a specific conjugation of the Primary Word of that Aeon which passes its Infinite Light through a specific lens. The Aeon Enhancing Magus' Work is more focused than that of an Aeon Initiating Magus, but in most cases it is less expansive.

The Temple of Set's model for what it terms an Aeon Enhancing Magi comes from Bennett, Crowley, and Jones's Remanifestation of the Golden Dawn System's Degrees within the A.'.A.'. In ”One Star In Sight” Crowley writes of the Aeon Enhancing Magus:

This does not mean that only one man can attain this Grade in any one Aeon, so far as the Order is concerned. A man can make personal progress equivalent to that of a "Word of an Aeon"; but he will identify himself with the current word, and exert his will to establish it, lest he conflict with the work of the Magus who uttered the Word of the Aeon in which He is living.

The functions of an Aeon Enhancing Magus is to provide a means of modulating, focusing, and filtering Xeper's infinite capacities. To use the linguistic metaphors we have been working with thus far the Work of an Aeon Enhancing Magus can be seen as presenting a specific conjugation of the Primary Word of the Aeon, or providing an Object for its actions. 

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In NYC on the 30th?  You might find this a great way to learn a bit more about yourself and to find the others.

I swear one of those guys looks familiar...

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“I am often concerned to see how little knowledge many aspiring Initiates have of exoteric human history. Unless you have a reasonably solid grounding in this subject, anything you derive from the Temple of Set [and most other sensory-inputs] is going to be distorted in your mind."

Dr. Michael A. Aquino