Discerning truth from distortion

It is a desire for and commitment to truth that motivates many a seeker. Yet rather than the direct seeking of truth, Ra advocates an indirect approach: studying the patterns of the illusions. 1.0 In his very first statement and twice more in the first session alone, Ra encourages the seeker to discern and remove distortion.

This indirect approach is reflected in Ra’s use the term truth a mere 17 times, compared to 520 answers that mention distortion. Ra does suggest the most stringent honesty 85.16 towards oneself and others, but when it comes to seeking truth, Ra speaks almost exclusively of disentangling ourselves from distortion.

Why does Ra emphasize distortion rather than truth? Is untruth the path to truth? Can what is not reveal what is?

A foundation of lies

This paradoxical idea of seeking truth through untruth began with the Creator’s own hypothesis that self-knowledge could be discerned through illusion. 82.10–12 82.17 Thus the One experiences the One Self through the illusion of many selves.

This is the first distortion. In the first Law (or distortion) of Creation, as Hidden Hand explains it, the Creator receives the Free Will to know and experience Itself as an individuated though (paradoxically) unified aspect of The One. 08 Distortion is simply movement from unity. 1987 A distortion is a twisting of the truth.

Each time the logos is stepped down, a new layer of distortions is stacked atop the cosmic illusion. Earth’s surface-level distortions were laid out by our planetary logos, Yahweh, in a sub-sub-logoic temper tantrum.

As described in Genesis, Yahweh lied to his own individuated selves, he falsely accused the Light Bringer of lying, and he cursed both self and spirit. These actions created the foundational Yahwehan distortions of false authority and the demonization of the spirit, as illustrated on the Matrix of the Mind tarot card (originally called the Mountebank or Trickster, a sleight of hand charlatan) and the Matrix of the Spirit tarot card, the Devil.

Because Yahweh lied to himself, this creation was built on lies. The fallout of these lies is described in The Cosmology of Distortion.

Distorted beliefs

The type of distortion that most affects our daily lives is false belief — belief in ideas that are not true. Untruth is the source of all fear and all judgment:

Even apparently helpful actions can be rooted in falsehood. As Ra states, good works for the wrong reasons cause confusion and distortion. 103.8

Fear (which is the opposite of love) is the usual mechanism for manipulation:

Distorted information

Since even channeled material comes through humans, there is no such thing as a completely reliable source. That includes the Ra material, of course.

Ra’s goal was the possibility of communication through distortion acceptable for meaning. 2.1 Distortion is a given; 1.10 the goal was meaning that survived the distortion. Language adds another layer of distortion. 71.20 Careful study sheds light on the material’s many issues and contradictions. While describing the Ra material as the most accurate information in your mainstream circulation at this point in time, Hidden Hand estimates it to be approximately 85-90% accurate 15 — suggesting distortion in at least one out of every 10 statements. We believe this is a reliable assessment, if not an understatement of the distortion in the material.

Further, all interpretation of the Ra material (and everything else) is distorted. There are few who will grasp, without significant distortion, that which we communicate…. 2.1 As Ra states, our interpretation is imperfect; our intellectual integrity and ability to discern determine the extent of that distortion. Each person is his own authority 94.15 and must discern for himself. Others’ interpretations are merely ideas that may be considered.

Recognizing distortion

By examining our beliefs and the resulting actions, we can work to discover our distortions. This gives us the ability to challenge and change those beliefs.

Since we are truth, distortions separate us from our true being: spirit does not conform to rules, does not obey false authority. Spirit acts from joy, not fear. Whenever an action seeks to prevent something, a distortion is at play. Distorted beliefs feel bad because not-self feels bad. This is not a punishment; it is a communication from spirit to guide us toward self.

As difficult as it is to discover our own distortions, it is even more so regarding the distortions of others. We can have a good idea, but can never know exactly what another person is choosing to believe. We can notice selfish actions, puzzling behavior, or explanations that don’t make sense, and we can know that a distortion is the source of those actions.

We can know that something is not true, but we cannot know truth: Understanding is not of this density, 16.39 Ra states. Further, we must know that we don’t know, 84.7 as only then is learning possible.

Removing distortion

To evolve is to peel away distortion. 80.12 Our evolution requires that we see through the foundational distortions by trusting the only true authority, spirit. 15.14 We are no victims: as the individuations of Yahweh, are experiencing our own choices, and no one is stopping us other than ourselves, as Eracidni Murev Te writes. There is no trap other than those to which we have conceded and agreed. We can change this at anytime, both personally and collectively. 070 We simply must undo what we created by no longer believing the lies.

We must see through the distortions. Since truth cannot be known, we start with what we can know: untruth, distortion, falsity, illusion, lies, that which is not. This is what we must discern. Recognizing these distortions and removing them from our belief structures brings us closer to the truth.