Lateralus Revisited
by Logan
“Psychologically you develop in a spiral, you always come over the same point where you have been before, but it is never exactly the same, it is either above or below. A patient will say, ‘I am just at the place where I was three years ago,’ but I say, ‘At least you have traveled three years.’…”
-Carl Jung
While listening to Lateralus by Tool last week, a new chord was struck, something about the song was different, and that was enough of a catalyst to inspire me to take a second look at the song in greater detail. As my spiritual journey continues, the song Lateralus has taken on new meaning since the first time I heard it and wrote my initial interpretation. The track now resonates deeper, it is not only Maynard's journey toward self actualization and awakening that is captured in this masterpiece but it is my journey as well.
"Black then white are all I see in my infancy." The spirtual symbology of white is associated with terms such as good, purity and truth whereas black conveys ignorance, evil and darkness. When I was younger I saw the world as very black and white, right and wrong, good and evil and nothing in-between but just like the song conveys, my journey led me to understand that things are much more complex. "Red and yellow then came to be, reaching out to me...Lets me see." Red can denote a variety of emotional states, passion, love, strength and yellow represents happiness or intellectual development both in regards to material and spiritual ends. The analogy is this, when we are young and full of ego, the world is 2D and simple but as we grow so does the ambiguity and complexity. As the ego dissolves, as our conciousness becomes elevated we gain the ability to see the full visible light spectrum and beyond for that matter (our awakening).
"As below so above and beyond..." This lyric is a direct reference to the Hermetic text from the Emerald Tablets that was attributed to Hermes Trismegistus. The tablets were a major influence on Alchemist, more on Alchemy later and its ties to Lateralus and Tool. Also, noteworthy, Maynards winery is named Caduceus, which means 'Hearld' and refers to the staff of Herald - God of Hermes. The winery also bears the insignia of the Staff of Hermes. The full text from the tablet reads, "That which is above is like to that which is below, and that which is below is like to that which is above" and was shortened to "As above, so below."
The significance of the phrase is that we are one with the universe, composed of the same matter that makes up the stars. As it is above so it is below, what happens in the higher realm also happens in the lower. This very epiphany was reflected in one of my meditations as I saw my own being composed of the contents of the universe.
Maynard adds the words, “and beyond.." to the original phrase. This addition I feel is expressive of current quantum mechanics and the associated theories of what lies beyond our reality and beyond our universe i.e. the multiverse, parallel dimensions, string theory, the quantum field etc. What lies beyond what is above and below is yet to be fully discovered but one thing is for certain there exist phenomena that shatters the old way of thinking.
The verse continues with, "Drawn beyond the lines of reason, push the envelope watch it bend." Modern science posits that everything in the universe is based on reason, however science has failed to fully integrate, explain or really explore consciousness for that matter. Science has also become as dogmatic as religion in some regards and fails to push the envelope. What the ancients may have known and what we are beginning to rediscover pushes that envelope, transcending the limits of what is believed to be possible. “Watch the envelope bend” is analogous to our psychokinetic abilities that enable us to move or influence matter with our minds. Maynard I believe is alluding to the greater abilities we possess and gain access to when we raise our consciousness and begin drawing outside the lines or thinking in new and unconventional ways.
"Over thinking, over analyzing separates the body from the mind...Withering my intuition, missing opportunities and I must
Feed my will to feel my moment, drawing way outside the lines"
After contemplating this verse for several days, I believe what is conveyed in this verse is that when we overthink and over analyze we miss opportunities in life, as we begin to create doubt in our minds instead of "embracing the random." Maynard is not saying don't think and analyze but to take it to the extreme causes the spirit harm, as we cannot substitute knowledge alone without recognizing the vital importance of our emotions and experiences. As Carl Jung once remarked, “Emotion is the chief source of all becoming-conscious. There can be no transforming of darkness into light and of apathy into movement without emotion.” The trinity is composed of our mind, body and spirit and all three must be in harmony with one another. When we become so paralyzed in thought, we miss out on life, and make descions or fail to make decisions based on fear of a future that will most likely never manifest. Withering is the act of shrinking or drying up, "to lose vitality, force or freshness." Our intuition is our ability to understand something without the need for conscious reasoning, our gut instinct, the subconscious if you will. In other words, missing out on life by way of overthinking and over analyzing equates to depleting our intuition, our nature, our essence.
During meditation you cannot be bound by deep analytical thought, you need to follow your intuition and open your mind to be present in the moment, only then can you allow your third eye to open. The mind and body work together in unison to achieve this highter state, if the two are separated there is disharmony. Further, if we seperate the body from the mind, our chakras are not aligned and prevents the free flow of energy within us. Cellular psychobiology tells us that the two entities are interconnected and responsible for our overall well being. This is evident in the fact that the mind has the power to heal the body and our physical well being contributes to mental well being, the two are interdependent, it is a symbiotic relationship. Integration of the two is also illustrated by the fact that the mind interprets data from the body and thus allows our consciousness to experience life through its five senses.
This stoic theme of living in the present carries into the rest of the verse, "Feed my will to feel my moment, drawing way outside the lines." Enlightenment is living in the eternal now, this is where we really live and experience life. Reliving the past or worrying about the future both detract from this premise. Whereas being introspective and having a vision of the future (goals) are important, we need to be present in the moment as much as possible or life will pass us by, thus negating our very purpose in life. “Drawing way outside the lines,” is our call to step outside of any constraints that limit us such as ego, comfort etc.
The next verse repeats
"Black then white are all I see in my infancy..Red and yellow then came to be, reaching...out to me..Lets me see" but adds the following lyrics, "There is so much more..And beckons me to look through to these infinite possibilities."
When we open up our world view and elevate our conciouness we awaken to an infinite amount of possibilities, our horizons are bordened and our understanding increased. This is the heart of what Maynard is espousing, that is our awakening. When we awaken our consciousness the words can't and need are eliminated from our vocabulary and all things become possible, this is our destiny.
The chorus repeats, followed by the verse, "Feed my will to feel this moment…Urging me to cross the line…Reaching out to embrace the random…Reaching out to embrace whatever may come."
Crossing the line means crossing the societal restraints and dogma, be it of contemporary science or religion. It is also analogous for our personal evolution and crossing any self imposed boundaries, conquering thine self. It's about stepping outside that metaphorical box if you will, going further than we ever have gone before. When we have the will and live in the moment we open ourselves up to new experiences, new relationships, new revelations and new ideas. Embracing life, becoming whole and approaching life with this positive attitude of "whatever may come" frees us from the prison-like mindset, from the illusion of our former reality that we created in our own heads, and opens us up to those infinite possibilities inferred earlier in the song.
"I embrace my desire to...I embrace my desire to...Feel the rhythm, to feel connected...Enough to step aside and weep like a widow...To feel inspired...To fathom the power....To witness the beauty
To bathe in the fountain...To swing on the spiral...To swing on the spiral to"
The above verse is a powerful mantra, one of manifestation and great spiritual wealth. It is a promise to oneself to feel the vibrational state, the connectedness of all things in the universe, our oneness. To experience and feel our deep human emotions by letting out our tears. To be inspired and curious. To ponder the power, our power and the power of the divine, to see the beauty, to feel the elements both from within and externally! To swing on the spiral is to open yourself up and take the hero's journey.
The spiral is the all encompassing theme of the song. The heart of Lateralus. With the syllables in many of the verses following the Fibonacci sequence via an ascending and then descending order, this sequence creates what is known as the golden ratio, which creates an infinite spiral when drawn on a logarithmic graph. There are other signatures of the song that reflect various Fibonacci numbers but I won't dive further into the mathematics here as its been examined by numerous others. The spiral is also found in dozens of examples in nature and other pneumonia such as a galaxy itself and even our very DNA. The spiral is a very symbolic symbol as well, representing consciousness, the divine, the cycle of birth, death and rebirth, the infinite resonance of energy, creation, evolution, and even life itself! The spiral can also represent "Movements between the inner (intuitive, intangible) world and the outer (matter, manifested) world" This symbology also ties back to the earlier verse, "Over thinking, overanyalizng…withering my intuition." Further, both Maynard and Danny Carey have explored Alchemy (a medieval chemical science, a precursor to modern chemistry). Alchemist believed the spiral represented a path toward perfection and enlightenment, and the spiral was a representation of the soul's journey and quest for spiritual ascension which I believe is the true essence of the song.
"Swing on the spiral...Of our divinity
And still be a human...
To swing on the spiral is to experience the divine, paradoxically we are the divine absolute, the divine absolute is us. Here I believe Maynard is conveying the truth that we are God and God is us, yet as we can experience a portion of the divine, we are still human and in our current manifestation here on earth. Which means we also get to experience what it means to be mortal as well, this is a crucial and beautiful part of the bigger picture as the universe is experiencing itself in every infinite and possible way.
"With my feet upon the ground I lose myself…Between the sounds and open wide to suck it in...I feel it move across my skin…I'm reaching up and reaching out…I'm reaching for the random or whatever will bewilder me."
I believe Maynard is describing a state of meditation, being planted on the earth, opening up and losing oneself and feeling the vibratory state. Between the sounds (vibrations), or waves of energy. This is where our reality comes from according to quantum mechanics and between the waves is where we connect with the divine. Opening up (our chakras) wide to suck it in, is to feel the connection between our being and the universe and experience our essence. Feeling it "move across my skin" also resonates with my experience in deep meditation where you can literally feel the energy crawling over your skin. Reaching up and reaching out could also describe meditation as we look for higher answers not only within ourselves but also up to the universe and out across our own plane of existence and even into the collective. "I'm reaching for the random or whatever will bewilder me." The random being the moment of experiance in meditation. Answers and revelations often appear in random flashes and often you are left in a bewildered state of amazement and a state of perplexity.
Additional circumstantial evidence for this interpretation is found in Alex Grey's artwork for the album cover that reflects the meditative state of man reaching up to expand his consciousness and open the doors of perception. The artwork shows an energy field around the man (feel it move across my skin) and also various chakras are represented including his third eye. The man's heart Chakra is opened up and a beam of light ascends upward to the universe (open wide to suck it in). Also of note, the vibrant white light is encompassed by a rainbow spiral pattern, reflecting the “Red and yellow” and spiral themes already discussed herein.
For the sake of duality, Maynard could also be referring to reaching out to discover the random in life, the awe inspiring nature that it is and the many forms that it manifests itself in. Random can also mean without concious thought, in other words intuition. This verse could also symbolically represent our desire to expand our consciousness and knowledge to answer the four big questions mankind had asked for eons as those core questions have bewildered us for centuries. To take life in fully and reach out and explore all it has to offer and to follow whatever path that mystifs us.
"And following our will and wind we may just go where no one's been
We'll ride the spiral to the end and may just go where no one's been"
This verse resonates deep within my own journey, with hindsight being 20/20 my path over the last few years appears to be completely random, but it has lead to order and transformation. It is a journey that keeps unfolding each day, and a beautiful one at that, especially when you begin to learn how to shift your own reality (perspective).
Following our purpose, our determination (will) and going with the random/intuition (wind) at the same time, that is the journey, and if we keep going, keeping elevating our consciousness through meditation, self-reflection, through experience, through service, through relationships, through love then we might just elevate ourselves to new heights on an unprecedented level.
"Spiral out, keep going" x4
The journey never ends, live and breath the mantra. Keep going, keep growing, keep progressing. We are eternal and this life is just the beginning. With that, there is no official meaning of the word lateralus, but the root of the word lateral means, "side part of something, especially a shoot or branch growing out from the side of a stem." Further evidence the song is about growth and the evolution of the conscious to a higher state.
One final note a clockwise spiral moves out and as one source notes, "it is said that a single clockwise spiral represents the concept of growth, expansion and cosmic energy." This really does encompass what Lateralus is all about, our journey and growth.
"A circle is the reflection of eternity. It has no beginning and it has no end – and if you put several circles over each other, then you get a spiral.” -Maynard James Keenan
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