Saros Philosophy

Philosophy means love of wisdom. In Saros, we think it is an approach to understanding our world and ourselves.

The basis of Saros Philosophy is that underlying all the complexities of life there is a fundamental simplicity. We can use this simplicity to organize our experience.

Organization of experience is necessary because only then can we begin to appreciate its meaning and to act appropriately. We have already organized our everyday experience - when we sense heat we take our fingers off the stove - but as we begin to explore a bigger world, we need guidelines.

One example of such a guideline that is commonly used in Saros is a threefold paradigm for understanding events and situations. Another is the `octave of man', which is a model of the faculties inherent in all people. In this model our usual awareness is centred in the sense of `I', and extends only to associations and conditioning, our habitual modes of thinking and acting. Sometimes when we experience a moment of joy or clear perception, our awareness extends out to meaning and interaction. To go further is rare except by accident or by conscious work, and so a large proportion of our faculties is unknown to us.

The value of this model is that, like a map, it gives us an idea of the terrain that lies beyond our normal range of experience, and helps us to recognize it when we get there.

Mind organises. In everyday life, mind shapes our sense impressions to give meaning to what we perceive. Mind also enables us to organise impressions into rational systems of association and emotional meaning.

Mind strives for simplicity. It transforms our complex experience into simpler but perhaps less tangible mental images, thoughts and feelings.

At its deeper levels, beyond the rational and verbal levels, mind works with symbols and archetypes. Rich with meaning and significance, these archetypes are in some sense the pillars of mind, the building blocks of meaning.

Beyond even this, the mind works with the pure abstract - number and pattern.

We study the abstract in order to comprehend mind, to develop levels of simplicity in ourselves, to find a high point within from which we can survey complexity.

If you want to explore Saros Philosophy, a good starting point is the Book of Jubilee.