Claridad (Page 1 of 2)

Six Steps of Claridad

Article by Stuart Wilde

I talked last time about the term claridad, the Shaman's joke that describes a student's lack of clarity–his or her stupidity.

Claridad is a dysfunction, an anomaly, that comes about when people on an Aya' journey say, experience the vastness of the Primal Source in all things. At first they are over awed, then they believe themselves to be the Primal Source, or at the very least the embodiment of it, or they see themselves as the Chosen One, the message bringer. He or she that has been especially selected from six billion souls to carry back the energy or the power from its celestial resting place to enlighten and heal humanity. Of course, the shamans fall about laughing at all this but claridad is serious as some people go round the bend on it.

The process is more or less the same for each person depending on the degree of foolishness they need to expose from within themselves.

The first step is the Self-Anointing process:

This is when the fool decides he is the One. It can be triggered by any small thing, not just an Ayahuasca journey. A stain appears on the fridge door that looks like Jesus, and a mental voice tells him that he is special among men, and that all his hopes and dreams of becoming rich and famous are about to be made manifest. He has been chosen by a Higher Authority. The Self-Anointing is the mental process of buying the story–believing in it because the claridad sufferer so desperately wants to believe it. It's a narcissistic psychosis that plays to his arrogance.

The second step involves an appeal for Ratification:

Now he quickly needs the dove to appear and a voice from heaven to say "This is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased." In the absence of that he will seek out his master or a guru or some person he considers spiritually elevated to ratify him. In the same way as the Christian kings of old traveled to Rome to be ratified by the Pope.

There is an inverted power-play in the ratification because what the claridad sufferer actually wants to say to the master is, "You thought I was a nobody, an ordinary student, just a back-seat member of the congregation, but I was in hiding. In fact, I am very special–the Anointed One. And by the way master, you are a fool and a nobody because you didn't see it. I am better than you."

The third step involves Debasing Others:

This step follows naturally from step two. The Anointed One has to trash, and get rid of and make wrong all the other shamans, teachers and masters, in order to establish the reality of his authority. So the claridad sufferer fights with others and causes trouble. It's a combative step. But the shaman knows what's happening and he or she won't play ball. They walk away and leave the fool to his madness.

The fourth step involves Soliciting Observers:

How things become 'real' is for the claridad to be observed as the One. So if you are channeling a message from the Higher Powers you need an audience to observe that. If you become President, people observe you in the pomp and pageantry of the presidency, and that is how you are made real. There is never a time when you are not just an ordinary Joe acting out the presidency, but it is in people observing that that the idea of your elevated status becomes real. That is why people buy red sports cars. Red is the easiest color to see and a sports car makes a lot of noise, who will miss noticing the very special person going past? The one that is so very different to all the others.

Sometimes the solicitation for observers is inverted, so the claridad will say, "Please don't tell anyone who I am, I don't want any followers. I don't want to be treated as special." You see pop stars do this in interviews all the time. They love to say, "I am just ordinary," meaning, I am very far from ordinary. The inversion is a marketing tool for in fact, the claridad wants all the things he says he doesn't want. He wants people to adore him and fall upon him in reverence. He wants to be recognized and admired and worshiped. So by asking people to keep his specialness a secret he promotes the story. If you want an idea to enter the mind of humanity as an established fact, you only have to surround it with a bit of mystery and make it into a hush-hush conspiracy and everyone will believe it.

Going into Jerusalem Jesus said, "Who do they say I am?" That is a classic claridad statement. If any one of his disciples had had his wits about him he could have saved Jesus. He could have replied, "They say you're a work-shy, rather ordinary carpenter from Nazareth, now stop mucking about JC, and pretending, and let's have a beer or two and then go home."

Step Five involves Anger:

This comes about when others don't see the claridad as special or chosen or anything but ordinary. Now the claridad gets furious as his dream and his arrogance has been challenged. He needs to cause a scene and take on the established authority to prove himself. So he throws the money changers out of the temple, because he is so special and they are not special. They have established separateness from others by being rich and handling money; he is probably piss poor but he is above money, better than money. His separateness comes from his divinity. In his mind he is pure gold, for the raiment of the Chosen One must be pure gold, mustn't it?

Step Six is the Crucifixion

If very few or none at all, observe the Chosen One as chosen, and if he has the dysfunction of claridad in its extreme form then the only way to prove his divinity it is to have a self-arranged crucifixion. Here the man's shadow works out a way to sacrifice him. It may not be actual death but a form of simulated death. The guy gets sick or goes bankrupt and/or his whole life falls apart.

It's the idea that says, if I go over the cliff in my red Ferrari will you love me, will you remember me as special and different, will you feel sorry you didn't acknowledge my divinity in time?"

The alternative Step Six:

The alternative step six is when the fool is rescued by someone, his spouse say, and brought back to earth. He hits the ground with a terrible clunk, and for a while he bares the bruises of the fallen angel Icarus, who flew too close to the sun and burnt his wings and fell to earth.

He has the option to go back and make good on the trouble he caused and apologize to all those that he hurt but he is usually either too embarrassed, or too arrogant to do so, and so he doesn't bother. And then there is always a small part of the narcissistic psychosis that stays with him. He can never forget the time when it was almost true–a time when he was God for a short while. It's an infection that never leaves, a wound that is so deep that it cannot ever be completely healed.

© Stuart Wilde 2004

Ayahuacsa, funny you should post these three articles.  I read them about a week ago and recognized myself in parts.

I am feeling very vulnerable as I write this.  (I hope you don't mind me talking about myself, but I don't know where else to turn but to you impartial bunch at Noble Realms!).

I have been questioning my reality for about 6 months - well I'm always questioning it in some way, but I mean really questioning. I feel that if I looked at everything differently, it would all disappear.

Since I started on the 'spiritual/personal growth' path in 1989 my main tools for growth/freedom have been meditation and self-observation.  I have also found that I am very perceptive (some say psychic) and have used this ability with others in tarot consultations.  This ability has included (where necessary - or when I've been clear) bringing messages through from those who have left their bodies, future predictions etc. 

In 1990 after a period of intense meditation I received many - what I call Messages - that seemed to contain (within the poetic wording) information about who we are, what's happening, evolution etc.  And I put them onto my website. 

I also put my own interpretations with them, and now looking at them feel embarrassed as to the 'claridad' feel of them!  But I do feel the messages themselves are pure enough.

Indigo in replying to Atlantis in the member introduction section (24/1/2005 Atlantis goes underwater) said:

I actually erased some of my own site recently!  And am seriously thinking of re-writing much of it.  Some of the articles I feel (in the article section) are still worthy.  But there is much that I have based on assumption and possibly misininterpreting the 'inner information / perceptions' I have received.

Also about a year ago, I stopped 'placing myself in the marketplace' for tarot consultations.  The reason behind this was a realisation that some of my wanting to do the work was for self-aggrandisement to cover a feeling of lack of accomplishment (by not going to university against the will of my family). It seems I had already self-discovered the meaning of 'claridad'! I figure the Universe knows where I am and what I can do and if I can be of service, I trust that It will send people to me - it has occasionally since.   

I truly wish to be free of any possible delusion.  And am hesitant to write anything in case I fall into the 'claridad' basket.  Also, I wish to be free of this Matrix that we are a part of.  I truly believe we can if we connect our higher minds and strive for Truth. 

Also, I'm reminded of the Oracle in the Matrix - I have realized that even she was divulged (?in third film?) to be PART of the matrix.  So the 'psychic ability' I have tended to rely upon more and more ove the past few years is now under question. 
1.  As to its limited ability to actually free me from this matrix-existence and
2.  As to WHERE the information is coming from in the first place.  Okay I might be clear in picking it up - but is it being cunningly whispered by a disincarnate STS?

I have always advised others to feel / discern if the content is valid for them - never mind the presenter of the information.  Do you think this is valid?

My contintuing aim on this earth is to escape illusion and find freedom in Truth.  I have relied upon my little inner voice (the empowering one) for direction.  How can I self-check?  Or do I just remain silent?

I feel my website certainly is in need of editing to only include subjective statements, rather than hypotheticals.  I do however, feel the 'messages' have some verity.

Like I said, I feel very vulnerable at the moment.  I don't know why I'm here any more. Or whether I truly have anything valid to say.  Or whether I should just go about my daily work, look after my son and try and be a decent partner to my husband.  Maybe I've just been deluding myself all these years.  I don't even know what I'm seeing here, there or anywhere, is in fact real.

To quote Stuart Wilde again, "A fog descended on them and they were in limbo for many years". I'm in the fog.

I'd truly value other NR people's input here.

Thanks.

Cipher,
You seem quite self reflective and aware to me.  You say that you wonder why you are here and if you truly have anything valid to say.

I think that both of those can be seen as valuable and profound thoughts!

It seems to me like you may be giving up some (many?) fixed boundaries and while that may end up being liberating, it might seem disorienting for a while.

Thank you for sharing.

All the best to you.

Love and light.

Neil Peart, the lyricist for Rush, had some good lyrics in the refrain of one of their songs back in 1991:

Why are we here?
Because we're here.
Roll the bones.

The album was called 'Roll the Bones' and on the cover was a boy kicking a skull, and a bunch of dice in the background.  The term 'bones' apparently referring to both death, and the dice.  In other words, you're here now, you're alive .. so roll the dice and take your chances.  His views matured over the next few months, for in their concert tourbook later that year appeared a slightly modified version of his philosophy:

Why are we here?
For the beer.
Row the boats...

Apparently he reached enlightenment.

Funny you say that.  I've found that the more I seek and try to learn, the more I find that wisdom lies in simply dropping all on one's false beliefs and realizing that you don't know anything.  And that, as one fellow I know likes to say, "reality is not stranger than you imagine ... it's stranger than you CAN imagine."  So, for what it's worth, keep reading, it's always good, just don't get overwhelmed and frustrated by all this stuff and all that you don't know.  Ironically, relaxing and not worrying about it is one of the requirements to getting any kind of higher knowlege.

Or, I could be totally full of it.

Yes, as in that.  I was thinking of "row row row your boat" as I posted the message.   Very good connection, and I'm sure Samuel Clemens would agree.  Another great song that uses this analogy is "The River" by Garth Brooks.

I looked at your website, cipher, and had some thoughts that relate to your own.

On Christmas day of my 23rd year I experienced what I can only term "Christ".  I was under what many would consider spiritual attack and I finally broke through to this... "thing", whatever you want to call it. 

I had gone through the "death of the ego", where you throw away everything you were taught as truth and begin to look for real truth, years before.  I turned extremely agnostic, and realized that everything was all what you chose it to be, or at least you experience it the way you want to experience it.  I came out of that, very close to annihilation, knowing that the only thing that could ever be considered real was that I existed, whatever that means.  Reality and illusion wouldn't be an issue if I didn't exist.

I came out of being agnostic in my heart, though I still retain my agnosticism in my mind.  I came to the conclusion that if I was the only reality I could count on, and if it was real or not came down to the same conclusion: that it was my reality.  If it was real and I existed, then the point of life was to be me.  If it was all false and "I" was just another illusion, then everything meant nothing, which, in that case, I was free to be me and create my reality any way I chose.  In any sense, I was going to make the reality I thought should exist, at least in my own little life.  That existence included everyone being able to be themselves, as long as it didn't limit someone else or limit themselves harmfully.

I came to rest in hope on the notion that, even if life meant nothing, then at least there was this "I" inside of me that wanted me to be happy, that had the best in mind for me, and wanted to experience everything that was good for me.  Me and this "I" were the same, you see.  We could not be seperated, and that gave me a sense of belonging, a sense of security, a sense of meaning.

There was still something lacking, though.  This "I" was just in me, in this void I had created from my agnosticism.  It was like a seed, waiting for me to "realize it", for lack of a better term.  That "realization" came on that Christmas.  I dreamt I was in a dark amphitheater, like in Greek days.  My stomach was hurting.

"Who's doing that?!" I asked, referring to the pain in my stomach. 

"Me," came the reply.

"Who is that?" I asked.

"The Devil!" it said, in a very boogey-man "BOO!" sort of way, as if that was supposed to knock me off balance.

I panicked, tired of having, throughout the years, battles with anxiety.  I had conquered them years before, when I had integrated my Shadow, or dark side.  I tried to call out to something, but I didn't have anything.  God? I thought.  No, I didn't feel that was right.  I didn't really have a notion of what God was.

Then it came to me.  Me!  I called upon that source of energy, knowing that I wouldn't want this to be happening to me.  Then it blossomed.

I understood it all then.  I realized, through my familiarity with the Bible and things said about Christ, that this is what these people in the Bible were talking about.  I realized that "I" and "Christ" were the same thing.  That it was always with me.  That it loved me.  All this time, I had found Christ, but it hadn't bloomed within me because I didn't have the trigger to realize that this "I" I had come to rely upon was really Christ.

I realized that it is the source of all life.  That this lifeforce, or Godforce, or whatever, is the only real thing, that we all stem from this energy.  There is no seperation between me and you, between anything, because it all relies on this central "I", this Christ.  "I died for your sins." had a new meaning, because I realized that it is like death for this energy to manifest in the flesh, in material.  "This is my body, given unto you," took new meaning also, like the breaking of the bread symbolized this breaking of God into multiple facets to become each living thing.  The blood meant the life of Christ flowed through us all.

It all ended with the voice that identified itself with the Devil laughing, fading away.  It wasn't scared off.  It felt to me that it thought it was funny, which leads me to interesting thoughts.  Was it a game?  The Devil, in my opinion, wouldn't be some impotent, raging being.  It would be doing all this because it really didn't give a wit about anything, that it mocked God.  Or maybe the Devil is a tool for the realization of Christ.  I don't know.

I find it funny that Christ, for me, was born on Christmas, and that I can actually celebrate Christmas with a purity.

Now I consider myself a Gnostic in heart, and agnostic in mind.

I realize that it's all colored in Christianity, and I call myself a Christian because that is what I'm used to.  I feel that Christianity is sufficient as a source of knowledge  for me, because the truth isn't that complicated.  It's very simple, and Christianity contains this truth in it.  I don't advocate the religious structure, just the basic story of Christ and the person that is the embodiment of it in the stories.  I personally don't worry if Jesus was real or not, as I think that is missing the point.  I don't feel I need to accept that some guy walked on the earth and died for us so I can get into heaven.  I feel that it is important to realize this Christ in us to get where we need to be, and I accept that Christ that is in spirit, not in flesh.

I bring all this up to show you, and verify through details, my own experience with this energy, this love called "Christ", to let you know that you aren't the only one that has had a meeting of sorts with this thing.

As to the Claridad feeling, I don't get into that myself.  My views and life are simple, that life is really about experience, and you can experience it all within yourself.  Live your life.  You can be ambitious, or you can do nothing.  It's a personal journey, and it's all there ready for anyone.  Love knowledge, love wisdom.  Love beauty.  These things bring the most joy, once you learn to appreciate them as an ends and not just a means.

As to relying on intuition, on interpreting, what this Christ is saying, is a slippery slope.  I've done this a few times, and there always seems to be this urging to look for the signs, to let go and discern with your heart the reality all around me.  This usually comes in times of crisis, and I sometimes think I push too much enlightenment away, because it feels likes it all there, just waiting to break and rush forward.  It's overwhelming, and it would consume me totally.  As it is, in the little bursts that I allow, it's a big effort, and many times it's a leap of faith.  Most of the time I just live a simple life, day to day, without looking for "the will of God".  It's a lifestyle, and I am selfish so far as in wanting to experience my life without always trying to look where God wants me to look.  My life is spent mainly in personal betterment without straying too far from the "real" world.  It's a struggle to be in-between, but, for now, it is what I choose.

Haven,

Thank you so much for such a candid and sharing reply - and that you don't buy into the claridad thing.  Maybe I worry too much about what others think, instead of just going about experiencing the world (and expressing that experience) in my own way. 

I have also had several meetings with what you term 'devil' - in those reality-type-dreams.  The first three times it got stronger when I fought it.  It only went when I remembered in the dream state that I am Love and that only Love is real, everything else is illusion.  I consciously stopped fighting it and said "I will not fight you."  Each time I did that, it immediately disappeared. 

The only time it was different was the night before an emergency operation.  I had the same fighting dream and remembered to stop fighting it.  But this time it didn't go.  I was petrified and didn't know what to do.  I called to the Universe for help.  Immediately two guys appeared in trench coats - looking like Sean Connery and Ewan McGregor(!)  They looked more shifty than the devil that was fighting me.  I looked at them and mentally asked how I could trust them?  They opened their trench coats and I was almost blinded by the light that was their bodies!  Immediately the devil disappeared.  When I awoke I knew I would survive the operation.

For me I believe that last experience was to remind me that I can't always do everything on my own.  (Since childhood I have been very independent).  And that sometimes I have to call on others.  It is a way of me opening up to love.  And also, I think, a way to allow love to flow to me - to allow others the gift of giving me love. And I tell you, that's a hard one for me to keep practising. 

I understand what you mean.  In my heart, I feel these perceptions (that are a daily part of my experience) are real.  But my mind keeps wanting to rationalise everything and only believes what is 'provable' by today's standards.  It is my mind that doubts.  My heart knows. 

But I am growing to realise that my heartmind's experiences can be expressed - but NOT embellished by the doubting mind that is trying to make them 'acceptable' to other doubting minds that might ridicule my experiences. 

(I tell you this is such a valuable forum.  It would have taken me ages to get to this point in my thinking without you guys).

morningsun76 said

I reckon if a person who was meant to 'find themselves' even in the midst of juggling jobs, kids, family 'duties', paying bills etc etc were to sell off everything and chuff off up a hill to become a monk, that could constitute avoidance - or claridad - if they were under the illusion that it would help them become 'enlightened'. 

I hold the opinion that if you feel an urge to do something, whether it's 'enlightening material' or not, you have to expierence it, otherwise you'll never be able to give up this 'mortal coil' when enlightenment comes knocking at your door.  You'll be trapped somewhere between both worlds. 

But if you feel that the only way to gain enlightenment is that you should go up that hill, then you might find that guilt is preventing you from enjoying your 'selfish' existence - even preventing enlightenment - by not fulfilling what your higher self came to experience.  If you know what I mean.  Only each individual knows (and again, its in their heart) what they need to do.