Perception as Essence Series (Part I)
Beyond the Perception of Power (Part I)
The concept of Power is something that is taught in our culture from a young age. We are taught that we must be powerful in this world to survive and to succeed. Beauty is power; Knowledge is power; Art is power; it would seem every aspect of our life is meant to empower us. Even yoga and meditation practitioners offer you empowerment, just as the church offers you the power of the lord. With all of this lingering in our psyche, why do we never question the necessity of this Power? What is Power? Perhaps a better word for power is Dominance. Through Dominance, one conquers other’s around him and ascends to a perceived top, but where is this top that has been ascended? Through Dominance one gains a sense of pride, a sense of strength, a sense of power. Power then, is a perception achieved through Dominance, and this perception defines one’s self-worth, and a supposed value and place in society. Ultimately, this perception of Power becomes the means by which an Individual can be controlled by the Collective, for whether one feels empowered or disempowered there has been created a so called disempowerment, for in either case, the individual has given away his Power. The person who has attained empowerment through Dominance is dependent upon his status to remain empowered. Revoke his status and you break him, for his power was based on how his perception was defined externally. The person who did not rise to Dominance is kept in check by his desire to ascend to Dominance, and often accepts “defeat”. Here again, he remains defined by an external. Thus, power (dominance) is dependent upon an external consensus for its recognition and legitimacy.
What has been given away in all of this is the Individual’s Perception. The Individual’s perception, rather than being defined from within, becomes defined from without. He gives his Essence to an unknown faction and allows it to be defined. In this manner, an aspect of Power could also be said to be one’s ability to attract another person’s perception. Perception is the means by which we express our Essence, and when we give away our Essence (most times unknowingly), we give our “Power”. Our Perception is the means by which we interface with the world around us. When you allow another to direct your Perception, you surrender your “power”. All of this is a play of Perception; nothing has been lost, nothing has been gained. You cannot truly take someone else’s perception, it can only be given, and vice versa, no one can take your perception, you must give it. But what is Perception? Will? Matter? Spirit? Nothingness? A mode of interaction? A thought process?
Power is attained through the perception of Dominance. Dominance is an act of Perception. Perception is the directed use of one’s Essence. An Individual uses their Essence to direct Perception towards Dominance to attain Power. Contemplate this in relation to every aspect of daily life. What is it that underlies our media images? How does this play out in our relationships with co-workers, friends, lovers, or the random person you meet.
“Knowledge is Power”
The intellect has been taught to deceive itself. We are taught to believe that Knowledge is Power, and thus believe there is something to be gained in our expositions of the Mind. We are taught how to use our intellect to have the upper hand and undermine others, whether through our play of sarcasm and wit, or our exposition of our acute understanding of a given subject. This is the antithesis of Knowledge. Knowledge has nothing to do whatsoever with power. Knowledge is of the Essence of Perception and it is only through a learned pre-occupation with Dominance that it becomes power. Knowledge is a continually expanding collective awareness of the workings of creation. There are many things that can be known through meditation that are as accurate and near the truth as one who comes to knowledge through scientific experiment. A Musician’s compositions are as much knowledge as the Physicists theories. There is a thin line between the knowledge of the Musician and the knowledge of the Meditator. That same thin line exists with the Scientist who is on the cutting edge of research. Each is increasing a living process that is evolving and growing in the same manner that a human grows from childhood to adulthood, and to direct that new growth as a means of dominance is to misrepresent its Essence. What is to be gained from a piece of music? What is to be gained from a Scientist’s invention? Or a Meditator’s depths? Did the Buddha leave you anything to gain from? Or Jesus? Knowledge is power? Knowledge is Surrender would perhaps be a more adequate description in these cases, for to create and become creative is to step in to a pool that is beyond the scope of the Individual. Where does the Musician’s music come from? Where does the Scientist’s theory originate? What is the Meditator meditating? Essence imbuing Essence, Formlessness becoming Form to express the ineffable, and expand the Continuum of Knowledge which exists of its own accord and of its own design.
copyright schurgermusic 2017