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This Essay examines certain psychological foundations relative to

Liber AL vel Legis, The Book of the Law
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The Second Matrix

The second matrix, BPM II, or "Cosmic Engulfment and No Exit," pertains to experiences when contractions begin but before the cervix opens.

BPM II starts when the birth contractions begin and there is pressure on the fetus, yet no chance of release.

The beginning phase is similar to a negative BPM I – a disruption of the intrauterine paradise with a perception of mechanical entrapment and claustrophobia. Secondarily, complete BPM II is a feeling of no escape, of hell, of a hopeless world full of meaningless suffering. As an adult, one may feel deeply guilty and identify with the role of the helpless victim.

(Grof's Definition) BPM II: "This experiential pattern is related to the very onset of biological delivery . . . the original equilibrium of the intrauterine existence is disturbed … Very characteristic for this stage is the experience of a three-dimensional spiral, funnel, or whirlpool, sucking the subject relentlessly towards its center."

The whirlpool is a symbol of The Matrix, the holographic, external reality that we know as "the world."

"The corresponding mythological theme seems to be the beginning of the hero's journey … Agonizing feelings of metaphysical loneliness, helplessness, inferiority, existential despair, and guilt are standard constituents of this matrix."

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The second chapter of Liber AL describes this experience:

"I am Life, and the giver of Life, yet therefore is the knowledge of me the knowledge of death." – Chapter 2, Line 6.

"I am alone: there is no God where I am." – Chapter 2, Line 23.

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Analysis – BPM II

Memories of the threat of the beginning of birth represents visions of cosmic engulfment. This creates feelings of increasing anxiety and the awareness of an imminent vital danger. The source of this danger cannot be clearly identified and the subject has a tendency to interpret the world in paranoid terms. This can result in a sense of being poisoned, influenced by hypnosis or by a diabolic machine, possessed by a demonic force, or attacked by extraterrestrial entities.

A related equivalent to this annihilating maelstrom is the experience of being swallowed by a terrifying monster, such as a giant dragon, leviathan, python, crocodile, or whale. Equally frequent in this context are experiences of attack by a monstrous octopus or tarantula. A less dramatic version of the same experience is the theme of descent into a dangerous underworld *, the realm of the dead **, a system of dark grottoes, or a mystifying labyrinth. Corresponding mythological themes are the beginning of the hero's journey, the fall of the angels, and paradise lost.
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* See the 2° initiation ritual, Passing through the Tuat .(Tuat = The Ancient Aegyptian Underworld), as portrayed in The Egyptian Book of the Dead.

** Refer to The Tibetan Book of the Dead.

Some of these images might appear strange to the analytical mind; however, they show deep experiential logic. Thus the whirlpool represents a serious danger to an organism enjoying free-floating in a watery environment and imposes on it a dangerous unidirectional motion.

Similarly, the situation of being swallowed changes freedom into a life-threatening confinement comparable to the situation of a fetus wedged into the pelvic opening. An octopus entangles, confines, and threatens organisms living in the oceanic milieu. A spider traps and restricts insects who previously flew freely in an unobstructed world and seriously endangers their life.

These visions are often associated with identification with prisoners in dungeons or concentration camps, inmates of insane asylums, sinners in hell, or archetypal figures, such as the Wandering Jew, the Flying Dutchman, Sisyphus, or Prometheus. Frequent images and experiences include people and animals dying lonely deaths of starvation or in hostile natural settings, such as deserts or the freezing cold of Siberia.

The logic of these themes reflects the fact that the contractions of the uterus cut off the placenta blood supply for the fetus, which represents not only meaningful connection with the world and human contact, but also the source of nourishment and warmth.

Under the influence of this matrix, one is blinded to anything positive in the world and in his or her life. Agonizing feelings of metaphysical loneliness, helplessness, hopelessness, inferiority, inadequacy, despair, and guilt are common. Human life appears as absolutely meaningless.

BPM II attracts and is connected with COEX systems involving a passive and helpless victim subjected to an overwhelming destructive force without a chance of escaping.

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< CLICK ON THE DOC to Enter BPM III

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