The Unconscious Mind Behind The Unconscious Machine

The Unconscious Mind Behind The Unconscious Machine

Each center and part of a center has its own job. When it performs it’s function correctly, the system calls this right work of centers. Right work for the intellectual part of the instinctive center, the king of clubs, is keeping the physical organism alive - at all costs. The king of clubs monitors the energy available for the machine’s functioning and modifies or moderates it as it deems necessary. In that sense it’s ‘the master mechanic’.

There is no emotional energy in this part of the lower self. Look closely at Rembrandt’s painting. Would you want to owe this man money? Is there any trace of compassion in his countenance? Does the bank or mortgage company or loan company forgive our debt as we forgive them who trespass against us? Of course not, and we’d be more than a little naive to expect anything different. And so it is with this card. By its nature, it’s calculating, cold, and unforgiving - unless there’s an instinctive advantage to be gained.

But before we paint him as the villain of the piece, one question to consider is, why spend extraneous amounts of emotional energy, just to make sure the physical organism functions correctly? Do we invite friends for cocktails or prepare a dinner party when we take the car in for service or repairs?

Again, studying the face of the man in Rembrandt’s painting, how many people do we know or have encountered with a similar gaze? Chances are these individuals’ center of gravity is in the intellectual part of the instinctive center. And they’re probably caring individuals. Some of the finest doctors are centered in this part. George Gurdjieff’s center of gravity was, more than likely, centered in the king of clubs. In one of his many professions, he hypnotized patients suffering with addictions.

The king of clubs senses it’s environment. It perceives danger or things that are not ‘normal’. That ‘vibe’ we feel about certain people or circumstances is right work of the king of clubs. Often just a little more effort of verification is needed for the king of clubs to accept its environment. Sometimes though, just like a cat that senses it’s environment, he perceives a negative energy and is on the alert.

All the above is what operates during our lives, from birth to death. So now we come to the question of the king of clubs' role in conscious evolution. The reality is, this is the part of the lower self that actively opposes conscious evolution. There will be moments when one must relinquish more than a little physical discomfort or give up an attitude that supports the well-being of the machine. When such circumstances appear, where the choice between self-remembering or the preservation of the machine, or part of the machine occurs, this is where understanding, verification and valuation for introducing and sustaining presence must come to the forefront of one’s efforts. There is no other way to evolve. There is no other way to create an immortal astral body.

I had to pay much for what I got, but what I got made what I paid for it, much as it was, seem cheap. I had to give up health for it—my body—the vitality of my physical self: oh! much had to go—much that was inestimable, that no man should give up until there is no longer any help for it: had to give that up: all that: and what did I get for it? I never weighed what I gave for what I got but I am satisfied with what I got. ~ Walt Whitman

If what you just read makes you think twice about entering a school, or pursuing conscious evolution, making efforts, and so on, you just experienced the king of clubs.

Post by Charles R

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Image: Rembrandt, Man With a Falcon on his Wrist

Netherlands Institute for Art History