These are the results of my first experiments in remembering. Behind the temporal succession of the events of life, there is an eternal principle that gives them meaning and an intemporal I that is unchanged throughout.<\/p>\n
The common view is that memory has something to do with the past, as when friends or family get together to relive their common nostalgic moments. Phenomenologically memory is bringing the past into the present. Or to put it another way, the seemingly disparate and unrelated events of life cannot be understood as merely temporal succession. As Rene Guenon expressed the goal in Oriental Metaphysics<\/em>:<\/p>\n The person who attains this \u201cprimordial state\u201d is still only a human individual and is without effective possession of any supra-individual states; he is nevertheless freed from time and the apparent succession of things is transformed for him into simultaneity. He consciously possesses a faculty which is unknown to the ordinary man and which one might call the \u201csense of eternity.\u201d This is of extreme importance, for whoever is unable to leave the viewpoint of temporal succession and see everything in simultaneity is incapable of the least conception of the metaphysical order.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n The exercise in remembering should lead to seeing one\u2019s life in its simultaneity. The events in their totality suddenly reveal a hidden meaning to life. This meaning is constant, eternal, and above time. What follows are some notes from this exercise. Keep in mind that there are four levels of memory of increasing depth:<\/p>\n Forgetting is analogous to death so remembering is life giving. Some memories arise spontaneously. Others take some effort. One should not stop at intellectual memory. It may take more effort to expand that memory to deeper levels. This essay has been some time in planning. The events mean nothing to you, but each time I\u2019ve relived them, there is more intensity. Humor may be used to hide it. Nevertheless, over time, a common thread has been revealing itself to me.<\/p>\n You can avoid remembering now, but your entire life will be exposed at death. There is no point in evading the inevitable.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Forgetting is analogous to death so remembering is life giving. Some memories arise spontaneously. Others take some effort. One should not stop at intellectual memory. It may take more effort to expand that memory to deeper levels. This essay has been some time in planning. The events mean nothing to you, but each time I\u2019ve relived them, there is more intensity. Humor may be used to hide it. Nevertheless, over time, a common thread has been revealing itself to me. Continue reading \n