Trinity Cycle The Triangle "Ultimately every facet of human existence is reflected in the reconciliations of oneness and separateness." (7) The triangle represents transformation, newness, life, creativity, solutions, balance, reconciliation, salvation, joy, victory, and overcoming. The essence of the triangle is resolution of the circle with the cross. Although it does not literally include the circle and the cross, the triangle, having three sides, incorporates all three symbols into itself. In the process of being included, they are transformed so that the new symbol can be whole in itself. It includes what went before, but not without going having gone through a transformation -- in fact the very process we are considering. The Trinity Cycle is both the movement from circle to cross to triangle, and it is also the triangle itself. The triangle, representing a resolution of contradictory forces or qualities, is essentially paradoxical. Within it are both oneness and separateness. The triangle is both part of the process, as well as the process itself. It is three in one. Its nature is one of wholeness. If paradox and transformation had not been part of the picture, we would have had an accumulation, a totality rather than a whole. The triangle is on another level than, but strikingly similar to the circle. Both share the quality of unity, and viewed superficially appear essentially the same. This similarity gives rise to what has been referred to as the "pre-trans fallacy". The circle is the realm of the pre-personal, of bliss and unity, where we are in contact with the spiritual world. But to gain self-consciousness we enter into the painful realm of the personal. The road to the transpersonal goes through the personal. Although we instinctively know this, when faced with the prospect of the agony of the cross, the similarities between the transpersonal and the pre-personal convince many to return to the bliss of the circle or pre-personal. Rather than progressing through independence to interdependence, dependence turns into co-dependence. Many have had the experience, perhaps during an intensely emotional struggle, when we are both present in, and also detached from a situation. We are participating in, and simultaneously aware of ourselves in that situation, yet we do not experience ourselves as being divided. This is an example of being both two and one. When this state is not activated from outside, but is conscious and deliberate, there is also a "third factor". This third has no words and cannot be identified; it is obscured by words. It is like the Tao: The Tao may be unnamable, but we can experience it and make a space for it in our lives. Doing so allows us to cooperate with our own growth; not doing so sabotages it. The Tao reveals itself to everyone at some point in their lives. The decision to embrace or reject it is each of ours to make. To hear what it says to us and to respond is our burden and destiny in life. If we choose not to hear or respond, the burden which is the lightest of all possible burdens becomes the heaviest. We become alienated from ourselves and our life becomes aimless and meaningless. As noted, to avoid one's burden leads to a greater one later on. Part of that burden or challenge is to face the "dragons" that come with the state represented by the cross. But going on that journey brings with it the possibility of new life, as symbolized by the triangle. When the work of the cross has been done, new elements are provided which will form the components of the new synthesis. These elements do not automatically form a whole since they are complementary and can only come together under the rubric of a larger whole, which has not yet been found. Since there is a tension between these elements, one task of the triangle is to provide a vessel that will hold the components in tension while the work of synthesis proceeds. The process we are considering is basically an alchemical one, of which chemistry is the physical counterpart. In chemistry, a catalyst is a substance that enables certain chemical reactions to occur which would not happen otherwise. Mysteriously, the catalyst remains intact while the reaction occurs. Paradoxically, the reaction needs the catalyst while the catalyst appears to remain uninvolved. In a similar way, another task of the triangle is to provide a catalyst that will activate a synthesis of the elements. This is the Tao of which the triangle is a symbol. It reawakens and activates within the heart of the elements a higher wisdom or understanding. As in the chemical reaction, this higher aspect is left untouched and yet its nature, which somehow makes itself present to the components, is essential to the reaction. Without it, the elements would remain separate. The question may arise why the cross phase is necessary if the triangle is able to produce a synthesis. Without the cross, instead of a new creation and a wholeness, we would achieve a totality. No wholeness or synthesis is possible without first discarding those elements that cannot or will not be integrated, which is the work of the cross. A new creation cannot occur with two normal cells, and is only possible with a sperm and an ovum, each of which carries half the genetic material of the parents. We are living in a time of great and rapid change. Much in our world is breaking down and turning to ashes. This is evidence of the work of the cross, and if that work is done well, as discussed in the last section, it becomes possible for the phoenix to emerge if the memory of the Tao or sacred is kept alive. This is already happening, with examples such as holistic forms of healing, greater concern for global issues, agriculture and architecture done with a concern for people and the earth, and the new disciplines of Systems Thinking and Psychosynthesis. The third stage does not last forever. The new creation is soon incorporated into the larger picture and the process starts anew. The butterfly moves on to new cycles and experiences, the artist continues to create, producing works of increasing artistry and skill, and the individual aspires to more encompassing levels of integration. The triangle works out its own agenda and cannot be forced. As we sit with the elements, working, searching, and waiting for the resolution so eagerly sought for, we know not when and how it will come. But with faith we know that it will come, if not at this time, then another. Maintaining our hope, we will have the strength to "live the question," of which Rainer Maria Rilke wrote in his Letter to a Young Poet: "... be patient toward all that is unsolved in your heart and try to love the questions themselves like locked rooms and like books that are written in a very foreign tongue. Do not now seek the answers, which cannot be given you because you would not be able to live them. And the point is, to live everything. Live the questions now. Perhaps you will then gradually, without noticing it, live along some distant day into the answer." (10) We do not know what to expect, but we know that if not this time, eventually a solution will come. If it is truly a new creation, it will be a surprise and not what we expected. For a new solution to emerge we have to let go of our control and trust the process. This is a new consciousness which may provide us with the security we seek, but not in the ways we might have wanted. It returns us to the childlike qualities of trust and awe, with a conviction that in the ultimate scheme of things, "... all shall be well and all shall be well and all manner of thing shall be well." (11) On a more everyday and down to earth level, the process of integration is not automatic or guaranteed. Not all situations move on to a harmonious resolution. In real life, the ending is not always, or even often, a happy one. Conflicts that do not resolve leave bitter feelings and a lingering tension. Hopeful solutions to problems may lead to blind alleys. An artistic creation can be a disappointment. There are many pitfalls to avoid and hurdles to overcome, and this points directly at the benefits of this meditative activity. The regular visualization of these symbols impresses upon the deeper mind the process of creativity, resolution, and integration. The pattern inherent in the symbols of the Trinity Cycle becomes a framework forming or guiding our other activities, be they thoughts, words, feelings or behaviour, into a resolution or integration. The three symbols provide a model for our efforts to come to fruition. They provide the structure and foundation for a practical, effective form of visualization and meditation.
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