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LIFE IS NOESIS.
Greetings.
What is Noesis?
Noesis is a Greek word, and it means the act of perception, the act of becoming aware,
an act of consciousness. Without consciousness, without perception, human Life is meaningless.
Therefore, Life itself is constant Noesis, and without Noesis, there is no Life.
When our consciousness, our perception, our Noesis is impaired, our Life is impaired as
well. Think of the people who spend most of their lives in a state of impaired perception.
Think of alcoholics, or some unfortunate, mentally ill people. Their Noesis is very
weak indeed. Some strong willed individuals among them manage to recover their lost Noetic
faculties, and their lives regain meaning.
By recovering the lost Noesis, people can reestablish a meaningful and healthy relationship
with their surroundings and themselves. Healthy perception implies a successful Life.
Let us now think of all the people, who are officially mentally healthy, but still their
lives exhibit traits we may call disastrous. Let us remember all the people, who perceive
their surroundings as a constant threat, the ones who have the urge to quarrel and go to
war. Some others perceive their whole Life as a race, and become career addicts. Some
others will hug trees. Again, others may see the world through a different lens, and find
the raping of helpless women a desirable course of action. Then we have gamblers, priests,
lecturers and students... each one of us carries a different lens, different dramas, a different
Noesis. Our perception is functioning, and it does so differently in each individual.
All the differences and traits that define us, our whole personality can be described
by the quality of our perception.
But being aware of those, whom we perceive as having a catastrophically degenerate consciousness...
and also as having a slim chance of recovery... we may try to extrapolate this line of thought
and apply it to ourselves... Maybe we are already at the very top of our own personal
ladder, and we already do possess perfect consciousness. But maybe not. How can we answer
this question? This course will teach you the direct and practical methods to analyze
your own conscious abilities, and to decide for yourself.
Let us state emphatically, that the act of directing our attention to our own perception,
that is, OUR PERCEPTION TRYING TO PERCEIVE ITSELF, is a completely human trait that no
other animals possess. The great ancient cultures of the past seem to have been cultivating
this human trait as something important and sacred. Today however, mainstream thought
rejects the discipline of active self-observation, as our attention is forcefully and even hypnotically
directed outwards by the media and the rush of life.
Let us examine a common misconception that most people who are living in modern societies
apply to our topic. Each time active self-observation is mentioned, it is most miserably misunderstood
and confused with self-opinion. We shall not make this grave mistake, as self-opinion is
nothing but directing our perception at a set of subjective mental images and ideas.
Many people have an over-beautified self-opinion, and many people have a negative, pessimistic
self-opinion. These are obviously subjective fairy tales, which people tend to identify
themselves with. Active self-observation, however, is an enormous conscious effort in
the present moment, right here & now. Active self-observation is the pinnacle of human
noetic achievement, a form of extraordinary lucid awareness and presence. During self-observation,
we do not identify with our own thought-process, but we observe the thinker.
Let us summarize what we have said: The life of the whole human being is defined
by its particular Noetic quality. Our individual way of perception actually mirrors our inner
psychological qualities. For this reason, the study of perception is fundamental for
self-discovery, and self-discovery is fundamental for life. Modern life does not favor self-discovery,
therefore some efforts have to be made. The study and the development of perception can
only proceed by means of active self-observation. This disciplined practice is the purest form
of Noesis. Noesis is the process of becoming aware of ourselves; the awakening of our consciousness.
There are two consecutive educational courses offered by the Noesis Research Institute.
The two courses consist of several lessons each. These courses will guide you step by
step through the process of self-discovery by giving you practical methods for direct
and personal experience, and preparing you for independent research.
The first and current course is called Oneironautics, and it's main goal is the personal acquisition
of the scientific faculty of Lucid Dreaming, as described and proven by leading Stanford
researchers.
The second course is called Oneironoetics, and is concerned with the state of our consciousness
during the awake hours.
It may seem contraintuitive to start with the exploration of the sleeping state, but
experience has shown, that there are several great advantages to it:
That during dreams there are very obvious and easily discernable signs of the correct
application of active Noesis. Thus the development of conscious faculties can be measured and
monitored in an entirely objective way. During the awake hours, however, there is no such
easily discernable standard. That during dreams, the defense-mechanisms
of our subconscious contents are not as active, thus enabling direct access to such contents
and facilitating much easier self-discovery. That learning the technique of Lucid Dreaming
is very appealing to our Western mindset, as the elements of competition and success
are strong motivational factors.
Let us finish this lesson with a Zen riddle, tailored to our case.
A student once asked his master: - Master, how can I acquire Lucid Dreaming?
The old master replied: - Chop wood, carry water.
The solution to this riddle, if not apparent right now, will be crystal clear by the end
of the course.