from http://blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendID=87835225&blogID=142188307&Mytoken=A2524E87-E613-4FE3-86DF60C1FA102AEB1070271953 access 4/29/07 Nine Truths of Mastery written by the Priesthood of Satan The Nine Truths of Mastery serve to illustrate the attributes of Ophidian Suitheism (Satanism) as defined by the Priesthood of Satan of The Satanic Empire. Rather than encouraging total acceptance of this document, the Priesthood of Satan merely urges people to ponder the reality of what is stated. 1. For the individual, living ceases to exist upon the death of the Self. Therefore if the individual enjoys living, the most important thing for the individual is its own life--thus the god of the individual is the Self. 2. All actions are either productive or counterproductive according to the perception of the individual. Therefore good and evil do not exist but only in the mind of the individual. 3. A thing only has meaning if it is given meaning by the individual. Therefore the only meaning to life is what the individual bestows upon it. 4. The individual is free to decide whether to act or not to act. Therefore the destiny of the individual depends solely upon the individual. 5. Pain and strife are not necessary in order to teach or understand a truth or principle. Therefore there is no great purpose for human suffering. 6. All beliefs are the construction of fallible creatures. Therefore all beliefs must be questioned. 7. Faith is to believe that which has not been verified. Therefore no truth can be found through faith but only through reason. 8. The Self is partially the sum of all its experiences, its ego and identity--the body is merely a tool of the Self. Therefore immortality cannot be solely achieved through immortalizing the body but only through sustaining the Self till time indefinite. 9. The Self is the Center Point of Consciousness. Therefore all are paradoxically the creators of reality.* *Evidence of the truth of the ninth statement is found within the writings of David Bohm, Michael Talbot, Amit Goswami, Stanislav Grof, Karl Pribram and others. ======= from accessed 4/29/07 Matrix of Consciousness Category: Dreams and the Supernatural As was stated in The Nine Truths of Mastery Blog, there are several books that explain this concept in great detail. For now the following essay will shed more light on the Eight and Ninth Statements: --------- Being a religion of Suitheism, Satanists do not attempt to entreat spirits to perform their bidding. Neither does Satanism promote a belief in a singular external deity that would be beckoned, worshiped or petitioned, as is the case with some of the more primitive and humiliating religions. Instead, Satanists define God as the force of creation and destruction, which is found within the mind of every conscious being - existing as the intangible energy of consciousness itself. Employing the idea that reality both exists outside of the Self (objectively), as well as because of the Self (subjectively), the perceiver becomes the most important entity in existence. Since You are always the perceiver, You are the cornerstone of this reality. Therefore the Self is rightly erected to the status of the God of this experience. If Satan is merely a symbol of the Self, He becomes synonymous with what is referred to as the Center Point of Consciousness. Which is the most accurate definition of our Truest Self. As consciousness itself, Satan's role as Lucifer the bringer of light acquires all new meaning. Only through recognizing other levels of consciousness can the human being ever hope to bypass the false laws of nature imposed upon her by the concepts of time, space and fixed and immutable matter. The Matrix of Consciousness is not new a idea, yet it has been hidden from view by the domination of mainstream religions. It is clarified in the descriptions provided below. Center Point of Consciousness This is the highest level of the Self. Completely beyond ego, personality and identity. It is both consciousness and the source of it. Accessing this level is moving beyond all identity and reaching a state of non-ego. Acknowledging the existence of this layer is necessary to the degree that an awareness of it grants the Satanic magician further control of his reality. Unlike the Right-Hand Path mystics, we do not support the idea that one must merge with it in order to attain enlightenment. Doing so would require the destruction of one's ego and identity; the Apparent Self. Once a person has erased all that would be necessary to become pure consciousness they will have only succeeded in destroying themselves; no longer able to operate within this reality, as they would have no Will to do so. Thus the purpose for which living exists is lost (as only a conscious individual can give it meaning). Collective Unconscious This is the proverbial database for all human thought. Herein lies man's history, archetypes, symbols and demons. Tapping into this level of consciousness would be to access that vast reservoir of gods, goddesses, angels and devils which man has created in his own imagination. These entities - merely existing because of mankind's belief in them, can be invoked by the magician to work his will upon the world. Individual Subconscious This is the level of the individual, not wholly apart from the abstract nature of the Center Point of Consciousness itself but tied somewhere between the collective minds of humanity and the individual's own identity. Most manipulations upon reality are achieved by the force of Will and ego transmitted to that part of the brain, which recognizes the liquid or mutable state of existence -- the subconscious. Individual Consciousness This is the level of awareness, identity and sense of Self. It is that part of the Self which creates the definition of You. So it is You which is separating yourself from all other levels of thought and consciousness but can potentially be made a slave to Identity. It is You that identifies yourself with your hands, and your flesh, your brain and your personal thoughts - everything which You are not.