1.3.3 The Golden Middle Path

“The Middle Path discovered by the Tathāgata avoids both extremes,
giving vision, giving knowledge, and leads to peace, to direct knowledge,
to enlightenment, to Nirvāṇa.”

The Golden Middle Path represents the delicate balance between extremes that the alchemist must navigate to achieve transformation. This chapter explores how consciousness creates our experience of reality through multiple layers, and reveals the path beyond conceptual extremes. We examine the relationship between the Trees of consciousness, the role of duality in spiritual development, and the ultimate transcendence of all conceptual boundaries. Through understanding these principles, we discover how the alchemist moves beyond both attachment and aversion to find true liberation.

Whilst the Trees of Consciousness are fascinating, our work doesn’t take place at the macroscopic level. Remember the Trees are Holographic, which means we need only focus on part of the Tree, and through transforming the right parts, the whole will transform. I suspect only those with prior knowledge of Gnosticism or Kabbalah will have understood much of the prior talk; nevertheless, we will continue for this talk with the Trees.

I will summarise the salient points before we continue, just in case I lost some of you. Our subjective experience is, in the absence of illness, intoxication or mental illness, clean. What I mean by this is we don’t notice the mechanisms of our mind. They are invisible and allow you, the subjective centre of being, to fully concentrate on reality.

Yet, the truth is both disturbing and mind-blowing. All is mind. Both your own physicality AND everything you sense. There are ten subjective viewpoints, but they all stack into what appears as ‘I’. This ‘I’ starts off as a very primitive, but godlike awareness, but it descends, drawn on by objects of its own creation, and forgetting itself. By the time this ‘I’ has descended to normal awareness it has forgotten itself, and fully identifies with the objects of its own creation. This is the sleeping Brahma (creator God) that dreams the life we think we lead.

Each of the ten layers of consciousness is divided into two, an inner empty part that is aware, and a periphery of objects that this consciousness takes as objective reality. Until one is skilled, comprehending the higher layers is impossible, although they are experienced daily, the untrained mind cannot remember them.

The first three layers are very abstract and the topic for a later talk. They make up the ‘Godhead’ or inner mind. The last seven layers make up the character of the individual, as well as creating the mental arena in which the individual lives (The Matrix).

When somebody meditates or takes strong hallucinogenics the cleanness of reality breaks down. One can move from a central position of being, and identify with the awareness that is normally perception, hence objects seem to enliven and open up. Our sense fields are made of resultant consciousnesses. When we see a blue cup, there is initially a layer of blue resultant awareness in the pattern of a cup. Another layer of awareness lies over this, and is aware of cup. So, when we, subjectively look out, we don’t even see the cup, just know of its presence.

The alchemist, one way or another, learns to manipulate consciousness (mercury) through changing how one responds subjectively. Consciousness, we have learned, exists in unwholesome and wholesome states. These are determined by whatever mental factors arise with the citta. The mental factors here are kind of our sulphur, they are intertwined with citta and therefore arise due to karmic habit.

The Biblical story of Genesis warns us not to eat from the third, maternal Tree, the Tree of Duality. This warning however is almost always in vain; in fact, some texts explain that “everybody has to fall” — a reference Matrix fans will understand. We need to create a self that we worry about, otherwise the temptation towards selfishness cannot arise. The mind needs the temptation because in fighting this temptation, it conditions it towards the goal. This temptation is the effort, the fire the disciple must provide in order to process the raw material.

Once our Tree becomes dual we are bound to suffer. We face a constant dilemma between what is right and what we want. If we fail to resist this, we create unwholesome karma and suffer. If we sacrifice our own needs for others, it is initially really difficult, but then as resultant karma arises our lives improve. But they only improve as long as we sacrifice our own needs. So, although suffering is minimal, we still suffer even when we gain the heavens.

The Alchemist ponders this dilemma. Damned if I do, damned if I don’t—that is the conclusion. And this is the paradox, there is nothing you can do, and nothing you cannot do to escape the Matrix. Even the act of doing nothing is a choice. The puzzle of the Matrix requires more than logic to transcend. The truth can only be experienced, it cannot be described. But, the path towards this experience can be described, which is the substance of all mystery religions.

The Alchemist, like all magicians, begins in Hell. We will come to the various realms within the sensual. There are several versions of Hell, and one of them is here on Earth. Individuals all have different experiences of reality, and these experiences are directly related to the quality of their resultant consciousness. Those who are forgiving and manage any unskilled karmic reactions experience life much more pleasantly than those who are troubled by excesses of greed or anger.

The sin of the magician or any thinker is the eating of the fruit. Basically, the more you think you know, the more this creates a rift between sensual experience and mental (subjective) isolation. A child might see some pink ice cream, and these perceptions of firstly pink and then ice-cream are the only thoughts that interrupt the experience of taste. This is why they go crazy! An adult with an eating disorder who is binging on ice cream can hardly taste it, as they are experiencing simultaneous guilt, anger and remorse as they try to get good feelings from it. Those that fill their mind with facts can, if they are not careful, suffer indescribable loneliness and isolation as their subjective self is cut off from bodily feelings by uncontrollable and relentless thoughts. This makes them prone to both depression and addiction.

One way or another the Alchemist finds themselves in Hell. Yet, they are more curious about its torments or tormentors than other poor denizens. They want to know why overthinking leads to torment. Why are innocence and ignorance associated with a happier outlook? So, they decide to study the stuff of the Hellish Subjective Experience and at first they don’t like what they find.

Nigredo is the part of realisation of the true cause of our suffering, ourselves. We might be pretty helpless to do anything about it, but experience changes us, and these changes accumulate and make life tiring. All of the bad parts of experience are relived and not let go of, so we habitually torment ourselves.

If we are treated badly we think it is acceptable to return this or repeat it to others. We don’t realise every act of anger, greed or delusion directly affects how we perceive things in the future. Not recognising nor having any ability to stop it, these mental defilements accumulate until we are tired of this existence and left only to fantasise a new, better life. Life is conditioned until we gain the wisdom and insights to change this. Our direction is inwards and downwards into the mess and tangle of our current ground of being.

One cannot begin the work until one has amassed the ingredients for the retort. One must learn to own one’s own Hellish parts. One must learn to be truthful with oneself and others. At this stage our being is divided, literally Angel and Demon, one geared towards selflessness the other, selfishness. These are also called the two thieves, the good and bad thief that flanked Christ at his crucifixion. Why thieves? Because they steal your time. You waste time trying to be good or trying to be evil. One must learn not to surf karma, one must learn to break it apart.

One needs to learn to sit with one’s faults. And I mean sit. Reacting to guilt and shame with action or deed just turns the wheel. Only when one recognises that the most evil aspect of the universe still has to come from within one’s own mind are you getting close. Contemplating one’s Nigredo without thoughtless reactions develops four mental factors, also called the Brahmaviharas or Divine Abodes. Brahma is the sleeping God that dreams the life we experience. These four qualities will, when developed lift consciousness out of its current hellish experience, and are called the four illimitables. This means they have no upper limit to how much one can develop them.

Note in our previous categorisation of the 52 cetasikas, mental factors, only two are in the group illimitable—muditā (appreciative joy, sharing the joy of another) and karuṇā (compassion). This is because mettā (loving-kindness) is represented as non-hate and upekkhā (equanimity) is already a wholesome factor. Non-hate is kindness, and is a desire not to injure or hurt. Equanimity is fairness and a recognition of the value of all life. Compassion is a desire that others don’t suffer and appreciative joy arises as one masters jealousy.

As one progressively learns to use skilled karmic approaches to life, the concept of self diminishes, and it becomes easier. Although this method cannot eliminate the sense of self, and even though relatively empty it remains and can become infected with what are called Skandha demons which cause mania.

The alchemist ascends the Tree of Duality towards a place called Daʿat. This is a special gate between the two trees that acts as a kind of test for the Magician. In both Trees is an Abyss that separates the second and third consciousness which is contiguous between them.

The Alchemist therefore establishes themselves on the Tree of Duality, and recognising their duality and helplessness gives up on previous understanding. This allows them to relinquish attachment to the known, and when the mental faculty of ‘I will know the unknown’ is mature, through the development of faith, the mind makes the transcendental leap and the first path moment is experienced.

This path moment is the first experience of the transcendental, and creates two or three resultant, fruit consciousnesses. The fruit consciousness now act as the new ground of being, and the individual is called a stream-winner or Sotāpanna.

Now, the relationship to the Tree changes. One no longer identifies fully with any of it. One has managed to find a perspective outside of Conditional Reality, even though it was a single moment of mind. One’s connection to reality is fractured, and now it will never be the same. This is akin to a red pill moment, revealing the true nature of Conditional Reality.

One now fully recognises the prison of conditional experience. At first, one is confused, especially if this break was unplanned or unexpected. One can languish in addiction and mental health thinking one is broken, yet, in truth, one has become unhinged. However, there reaches a second point where realisation occurs and a direction arises. This is the start of Albedo, which appears some time after the Dark Night of the Soul.

With the arising of the second path consciousness, and its subsequent two or three resultant citta, faith is invigorated and one finds commitment easier. It is like the Alchemist is still in Hell, but now it is on the alchemist’s terms. Sensory attachments are lessened, as is ill-will, and as one accepts one’s duality kindness and compassion develop.

There will reach a point where this benevolence peaks in sacrifice of the self. Here one abandons any future goals, dreams and desires as pointless. Once one has fully sacrificed all future desires, they can cross through the Abyss. With the expunging of self from the Tree of Duality, it reverts to the Tree Of Life.

The Subjective Reality of the alchemist at this stage is one of a natural healer. This is Albedo, the white lunar stone. Allegorically, this stone produces silver, which is the metal of the moon. The moon symbolises natural cycles. The Alchemist, either deliberately or through the process is no longer reacting naturally. Their forgiveness, kindness, patience, compassion and detachment has a harmonising and restorative effect. At this stage, they still have an empty residue of self, and the five subtle fetters. Yet, they have no sensory attachments and only reactive anger, and so will appear almost holy in comparison to the norm.

With ongoing work the alchemist starts to work with what is called the Veil of Isis. This veil arises when we are first cut off from our mother after birth and is the last of the veils of consciousness that subtly blanket experience. This is the veil that separates our sense of inner world and outside or normal reality.

Once the veil is lifted the alchemist perceives not only the subjective experience but also the atomic experiences of the consciousnesses that make up objective reality. Their mind now penetrates almost completely into reality, they can see the programming as well as the program.

The Veil of Isis separates the third and fourth consciousnesses. Remember, the first three consciousness layers make up our inner sense of being, the last seven our sense of personality and experience. Daʿat is located at the border of this Veil and it is here that the alchemist works.

This work at Daʿat represents the final stage of the alchemical transformation, where the practitioner begins to perceive reality in its true nature — as both empty and full, both form and formless. The distinction between subject and object dissolves, and the artificial boundaries created by the mind begin to fade.

In this culminating phase, the alchemist realises that the Trees of Life and Duality were never truly separate, but rather different perspectives of the same ultimate reality. The Golden Middle Path is not a compromise between extremes but rather a transcendence of dualistic thinking, leading to the complete liberation of consciousness from self-imposed limitations.

This text is excerpted from the book Nigredo: A Course in Modern Alchemy. The complete book includes additional study guides, resources, and appendices. View the full book here.