The Master Game
by Robert S. de Ropp
BK033
$24.95
Trade Paperback
Master Game, The
Instant (PDF) download $(19.95)
The ground-breaking 70's study of the varieties of yoga and meditation available in the West. De Ropp's eye-opening book still holds up well as the report of a scientist exploring the possibilities of consciousness.
"Robert de Ropp describes in this book most everything spiritual practitioners in Western cultures should know. I am just amazed that his expositions have not been acknowledged by further printings of his books, particularly this one, which could serve as a guide and reminder to one's spiritual endeavours for the rest of one's life.
"I am so glad that you advertise it as potentially still obtainable. It's a book I would keep for the rest of my life, reading it again and again should I feel that I've strayed from the road less travelled."
Briefing Notes:
Main Themes:
The Multi-Roomed Psyche: The text utilizes a powerful metaphor: the human psyche as a house with five distinct rooms, each representing a level of consciousness. These range from dreamless sleep to heightened awareness and self-transcendence.
The Drug Experience: The author explores various drugs, particularly psychedelics like hashish and LSD, and their potential to unlock the "locked rooms" of the psyche. While acknowledging their ability to induce temporary glimpses of higher consciousness, the text cautions against their misuse.
The Importance of Inner Work: True and lasting self-realization, according to the author, requires dedicated "inner work". This involves understanding one's essence, managing energies, and cultivating awareness and attention.
The Theater of Selves: The text introduces the concept of "Inner Theater", where multiple "selves" with competing wills vie for control. Recognizing these selves and their limitations is crucial for genuine self-development.
Important Ideas and Facts:
Five Levels of Consciousness:Dreamless Sleep: Complete unawareness.
Dreaming: A confused and contradictory self-sense.
Waking Sleep (Identification): Narrow, limited, and fluctuating self-sense.
Self-Awareness: Increased awareness of thoughts, feelings, and sensations.
Self-Transcendence: Experiencing unity and connection beyond the personal self.
The Lure and Danger of Drugs:"[Psychedelics] bring into action a capacity present in the human psyche but not ordinarily used. This capacity can be defined as the power to transcend temporal limitations, verbal definitions, the limitations of name and form."
"He who misuses psychedelics sacrifices his capacity to develop by persistently squandering those inner resources on which growth depends."
Cultivating Awareness:Simple Awareness: Paying attention to the present moment, to sights, sounds, and sensations without judgment.
Managing Impressions: Choosing to accept or reject incoming impressions rather than reacting mechanically.
The Five Wills:Will to Pleasure (Eros)
Will to Death (Thanatos/Inaction)
Will to Power
Will to Meaning
Will to Self-Transcendence
Understanding Essence:Physical Type: Recognizing the influence of somatotype (endomorph, mesomorph, ectomorph) on personality and behavior.
Temperament: Understanding the three components - viscerotonia, somatotonia, cerebrotonia - and their associated traits.
The Instinctive Brain:Operates largely outside of conscious awareness, governing vital functions and influencing moods and energy levels.
Its wisdom should generally be respected, but certain aspects, like the appestat (hunger regulator), can be consciously observed and utilized.
Mental Illness and Inner Work:The text acknowledges the challenges of inner work for individuals with mental illness.
Guidance from a qualified teacher is crucial to navigate potential pitfalls and avoid exacerbating existing issues.
Quotes:
On the taste for the infinite: "Alas! Man's vices, horrible as they are supposed to be, contain the positive proof of his taste for the infinite." - Baudelaire
On the power of psychedelics: "Think in other categories." - Ouspensky
On the misuse of drugs: "He who misuses psychedelics sacrifices his capacity to develop by persistently squandering those inner resources on which growth depends."
On simple awareness: "Moreover, brethren, a brother whether he departs or returns, whether he looks at or away from, whether he has drawn in or stretched out his limbs... is aware of what he is about."
On managing impressions: "Accept or reject-this is the basis of the inner work that leads to the genesis of a truly free being."
On the instinctive brain: "Generally speaking, the instinctive brain is best left to itself to perform its functions by the light of its own wisdom, which is wordless, primeval and quite extraordinary."
Further Points:
The text draws heavily on Eastern philosophies and practices, particularly Buddhism, Zen, and yoga.
It emphasizes the importance of a qualified teacher in guiding the inner work.
The author's perspective critiques modern society's focus on externals and its neglect of inner development.