»The Merovingian and the connection between mind and spirit«

I’ve been thinking a lot about the connections between body, mind and spirit lately, especially since I listened to the philosophers’ commentary on M3. There was an emphasis on integrating these three worlds—the Matrix, Machine City and Zion—and despite Ken Wilber’s opinion that this occurred more or less at the end of the third movie, I merely believe that it is now more POSSIBLE than it was before. After playing MxO for a year now, I hardly believe that the three worlds are integrated on a whole and complete level. There might be more interaction, but that does not equate with integration.

So on that note, I began to wonder what it would take for the three worlds to be integrated. And as I thought about that, I focused on the existing connections between them. The connection between spirit and mind is controlled by the Merovingian. The connection between mind and body is controlled by Zion rebels. Truly it would seem that those who would be viewed by the masses as enemies of the system are in positions of power when it comes to integrating the three worlds.

Leaving Zion behind for just a moment, I want to focus on the Merovingian. I had a bit of a breakthrough when I stopped thinking of him in terms of how he relates to humans. We’re so used to thinking of things in terms of how it affects us that sometimes we miss important points. I thought for a while about what he means to programs—specifically sentient programs that are scheduled for deletion. While rebellious humans seek to LEAVE the Matrix, rebellious programs seek to ENTER the Matrix.

The Trainman and Mobil Ave are the means by which sentient programs enter the Matrix to escape deletion. But this safe passage comes at a price, and programs must offer the Merovingian their services in exchange for being allowed into the Matrix. This is all analogous to the mythology of the river Styx.

According to Greek mythology, Styx is the river that marks the boundary between earth and Hades. A boatman by the name of Phlegyas both guards Styx as well as transports souls across the river from earth to Hades. When a person dies, they will place coins on the eyes of the dead body before burying it. These coins are to serve as payment for Phlegyas.

This all blends in very nicely with the whole theme of the Merovingian as Hades presiding over the underworld with his wife Persephone in Club Hel. And even though this is all old hat for most of us on this forum, the part that had never occurred to me before was how this all relates to Exiles. Programs who choose exile over deletion are essentially being sent to hell. Even though the Matrix provides a way in which these programs can continue to exist, it is symbolically hell for them. They are in servitude to Hades for the remainder of their existence. They have forsaken the paradise/nirvana of the Source for this hellish existence.

What I’m still trying to figure out is how this all fits in with the integration of mind, body and spirit. If the connection between spirit and mind is essentially a gateway to hell, how can that be a good thing? Does that need to change, or is it another one of those “accepting your dark Smith side” sort of things? I’m delving into territory that strays pretty far from my Christian knowledge and background (which doesn’t really cover these sorts of integral concepts), so I’m more or less at a loss to see the meaning of it. But knowing the Wachowski Brothers, this was all very intentional.

* Moved to Matrix Theories *

More experienced posters than me will give you the answers that you seek, but now in my mind I have the two Rave - party scenes. One in Zion and one in the Matrix club Hel.

P.S Greek mythology, yeah!

Feral Boy wrote:

The connection between spirit and mind is controlled by the Merovingian. The connection between mind and body is controlled by Zion rebels.

Hm, I don't play MxO and thus I may not know things you do know; but from the movies it seems to me that the Merovingian does control an underground connection between the Matrix and the machine city, but not the only connection.
Also, we know from the siege, that Zion doesn't truly control Zion, and thus Zion's control over the Zion-Matrix connection is not truly total control.

Feral Boy wrote:

Truly it would seem that those who would be viewed by the masses as enemies of the system are in positions of power when it comes to integrating the three worlds.

It seems to me that on Merv's side it is not Merv himself who will play an important part, but Persephone. In greek mythology, she is the innocent maiden, abducted by Hades and made the queen of the underworld, but never quite giving up her connection with the above world...
I believe she may have been to the original Merv (A long time ago, when we first came here (...) he was like you) similar to what Trinity is to Neo, before Merv got corrupted by worldly power and dragged her along. As opposed to Merv, she still longs for past feelings (I envy you, but such a thing is not meant to last)...

From the beginning of MxO (when I was still trying to keep informed...), Neo fragments:

10.1 But this won't be the end!
10.2 Their struggle will continue...
10.3 ...even if I am gone.
10.4 (A confusing and impenetrable blend of effort and imagery)
10.5 I think... I think that's enough.
10.6 But how will they know? They don't know where to look.
10.7: No, they have faith in me.
10.8 I must have faith in them
10.9 All must cooperate
10.10 They succeed or fail together
10.11 Each side plays a part
10.12 First from my mentor
10.13 The second from the Creator
10.14 Third from the seductress
10.15 And the last from myself
10.16 TEM

Feral Boy wrote:

This all blends in very nicely with the whole theme of the Merovingian as Hades presiding over the underworld with his wife Persephone in Club Hel. And even though this is all old hat for most of us on this forum, the part that had never occurred to me before was how this all relates to Exiles. Programs who choose exile over deletion are essentially being sent to hell. Even though the Matrix provides a way in which these programs can continue to exist, it is symbolically hell for them. They are in servitude to Hades for the remainder of their existence. They have forsaken the paradise/nirvana of the Source for this hellish existence.

I agree!

Feral Boy wrote:

What I’m still trying to figure out is how this all fits in with the integration of mind, body and spirit. If the connection between spirit and mind is essentially a gateway to hell, how can that be a good thing? Does that need to change, or is it another one of those “accepting your dark Smith side” sort of things?

We shouldn't forget about Sati. She, who will play an important part in integration, made it through Mobil Ave without ending up bound to Merv.
Also, we shouldn't forget that the Architect and the Oracle obviously have other ways of exiting and entering the Matrix. So did Neo in the end (and THIS connection, I believe, is the most relevant to integration...)

As for Merv and his exiles (from our essay):
_________________________________

According to Hinduism, man is essentially a soul that walks the path of return from the many to the One in a sequence of lives (death -> rebirth).
As we’ve learned above, the ultimate goal of this path, The One, is what we truly are, but unaware of... and yet striving to grow aware of.

This striving expresses itself as restlessness in mankind:
We philosophize, we walk religious paths, we try to understand our world and our place in it scientifically, we search for a purpose in life...we try to grow...by all means....
Our spirit reality – our soul - is our driving force and our silent partner in our search for our true nature. It depends on material life, on the growth of the consciousness of its body/mind-entity in each particular life, to get there. Throughout evolution, throughout growth, material life and soul walk side by side towards Self-realization:

In the beginning there was man, and for a time it was good...

But what happens when, in our essential striving for growth, we turn the wrong way? When we seek self-realization in wealth, power, luxury etc? When we grow our lower self (ego), trying to find comfort in the realms of the material, rather than trying to unveil our divine Self?

“...But humanity’s so called ‘civil societies’ soon fell victim to vanity and corruption...”

Our striving for growth is essential to us, but in growing through our lower self (satisfaction of ego, possession, power...) we will eventually hit a dead end.
_______________________________

The exiles - to me - are an expression of a striving for growth being caught in the dead end path worldy power.
The world of delusion, and thus "hell" for a striving for the ONE -> the human mind in its current condition (-> Maya), becomes their realm, ruled by Merv, who represents worldy power:

tozy wrote:

Hm, I don't play MxO and thus I may not know things you do know; but from the movies it seems to me that the Merovingian does control an underground connection between the Matrix and the machine city, but not the only connection.

Other than the three power lines we see in M3, what other connections would there be?

tozy wrote:

Also, we know from the siege, that Zion doesn't truly control Zion, and thus Zion's control over the Zion-Matrix connection is not truly total control.

That's true in the movies, but I was looking at it from a post-trilogy standpoint. Zion more or less is its own entity now and in control of its destiny. There are no longer any control measures in place to deal with it.

tozy wrote:

It seems to me that on Merv's side it is not Merv himself who will play an important part, but Persephone.

I hadn't thought about that, but I agree with you. I still believe that there is a redemption in store for the Merovingian--especially now that I see him as symbolic of the connection between spirit and mind. And since the Matrix mythology has never been about destroying your foe but about coming to terms with him, I highly doubt that the integration will occur because he is defeated and taken out of the way. But your point about Persephone is a good one, and just as he coerced her, perhaps she will be the one to coerce him back to becoming who he used to be.

tozy wrote:

But what happens when, in our essential striving for growth, we turn the wrong way? When we seek self-realization in wealth, power, luxury etc? When we grow our lower self (ego), trying to find comfort in the realms of the material, rather than trying to unveil our divine Self?

Just out of curiosity, what's the difference between the Merovingian and Smith in this regard? Your description seems to apply to both of them, but philosophically I get the impression that the Wachowski Brothers were trying to portray different aspects of this same idea. Perhaps they do in fact resemble the same idea, but Smith is there to illustrate the need to merge with it rather than to fight it. If so, then I guess the same would need to happen with Merv. Not necessarily the same way it happened with Smith, but similar somehow. Or maybe it goes back to my theory about Merv's redemption.

tozy wrote:

The exiles - to me - are an expression of a striving for growth being caught in the dead end path worldy power. The world of delusion, and thus "hell" for a striving for the ONE -> the human mind in its current condition (-> Maya), becomes their realm, ruled by Merv, who represents worldy power

That makes sense to me.

tozy wrote:

Merv and the exiles, as an element of (power over) the Matrix, are a description of the condition of the mind.

Would you say that they represent the current condition of the Matrix--the alienated mind? A mind that is unbalanced because it is not integrated with spirit? Rather than integrate with spirit, the mind takes aspects of it (the Exiles) and twists them for its own purposes. That is not integration by any stretch of the imagination.

Quote:

Other than the three power lines we see in M3, what other connections would there be?

Uh the one's the agents use and the hallway of backdoors. I didn't know the power lines were a connection.

Quote:

That's true in the movies, but I was looking at it from a post-trilogy standpoint. Zion more or less is its own entity now and in control of its destiny. There are no longer any control measures in place to deal with it.

Zion still doesn't control the connection. Neo jacked in from Machine City, so there's some over there, too.

Quote:

I hadn't thought about that, but I agree with you. I still believe that there is a redemption in store for the Merovingian--especially now that I see him as symbolic of the connection between spirit and mind.

Redemption? Redemption? What is this madness? There is no...redemption? The only one who Merv is seen to be a foe of is the Oracle and she didn't take it personally, just a symptom of the desire for power.

Now let's see where zis goes. Feral and Tozy, you have the floor.

tozy wrote:

We shouldn't forget about Sati. She, who will play an important part in integration, made it through Mobil Ave without ending up bound to Merv.

I totally forgot to respond to this part, which I believe was one of the most important points you brought up. As the Oracle states in EtM, Sati is important because she will change both the Matrix and the Real. That means that a representative from the Spirit world is coming to change Mind and Body. Whoa! And I had never thought about Sati being the first Exile to be in the Matrix but free from the Merovingian's control. Boy, when the Oracle thinks something is important (Sati being in the Matrix and Neo achieving Satori), she'll make whatever sacrifices she needs to in order to make sure it happens. I like that, because it shows she's not just a chessmaster who moves pawns around on the board but never gets her hands dirty. She's right there with the rest of us and being put in harm's way.

It is stated that Sati is the Last Exile and that she has no purpose. Obviously, when a program's purpose is mentioned, it is in reference to the maintaining of the status quo. Sati may not have a purpose as a cog in the machinery of the Matrix, but she most definitely has a Purpose (capital "P"). However, the title of being the "last" Exile has always confused me. What is that supposed to signify?

tozy wrote:

Also, we shouldn't forget that the Architect and the Oracle obviously have other ways of exiting and entering the Matrix.

I don't recall ever seeing that. Not that I doubt it, I'm just not sure what you're talking about.

tozy wrote:

So did Neo in the end (and THIS connection, I believe, is the most relevant to integration...)

I think you're onto something very powerful in this regard. Neo is the FIRST human to ever arrive at the Machine City--the heart of Spirit--and plug directly into the Matrix. He was the bridge between body and spirit, and in doing so not only closed the circle for how the three realms were connected to each other but also became the focal point for all of them. We see this when he merges with Smith and becomes pure light and all three became bathed with it--body, mind and spirit. I suspect that the ramifications for this are way beyond a superficial Truce, but that we will not see the full fruition of it for a while.

intell wrote:

I didn't know the power lines were a connection.

The power lines connect Machine City to the Power Plant. The Power Plant is where people are plugged into the Matrix. Ergo, "power lines" is just a phrase. What is important is the connection it implies.

intell wrote:

Zion still doesn't control the connection.

At the beginning of M2 when the hovercraft captains have their meeting, it is mentioned that many of the hardlines are being guarded by sentinels. This implies that hardlines are controlled in the Real, not from inside the Matrix. Take away the squiddies, and you have free access to the Matrix. So basically, humans now have control over the hardlines. I suppose it could be argued that Zion doesn't have exclusive control over them, since there are also humans who work for the Machines and for Merv. But I would still say that the connection is in the hands of humans now.

Quote:

The power lines connect Machine City to the Power Plant.

Spirit to body then. The towers have bodies in them. Not minds. The matrix doesn't occupy a physical area. It is a signal that is picked up even within machine city as we have seen. There is not entrance seen in connection with the power lines.

Quote:

But I would still say that the connection is in the hands of humans now.

Like I said, obviously not counting the connection(s) in Machine City, right?

Intell, I think I see what you're getting at. I guess I was stuck on Ken Wilber's mentioning of the three representations of spirit, mind and body being Machine City, the Matrix and Zion. But I believe that it is more multi-layered than that, so I thought about it for a while before responding again. And here's what I was able to come up with.

The city which represents the mind is Mega City
The city which represents the body is Zion
The city which represents the spirit is Machine City

The residents of the mind are both man and machine--but only their digital representations
The residents of the body are man
The residents of the spirit are machine

The world of the mind is the Matrix
The world of the body is the Real--the visible "blue" aspects
The world of the spirit is the Real--the invisible "gold" aspects

Some of the difficulty is in separating body and spirit, because they more or less inhabit the same space--the Desert of the Real. The problem is that body does not recognize spirit for what it really is. So spirit is seen as an alien enemy that must be defeated. But Neo saw the machines for what they really are, and so must the rest of us.

The way for programs to leave the realm of the spirit and enter the realm of the mind is via Mobil Ave.
The way for humans to leave the realm of the mind and enter the realm of the body is via the red pill.

There is a flow being illustrated here, that goes from spirit to mind to body. The way to enter this flow is to rebel against the status quo and choose the difficult path rather than the easy one. Choosing the nirvana of the Source is easier than being the Merovingian's slave. Choosing to stay in the Matrix is easier than living in the war-torn world of the Real. Neo makes the final jump from body to spirit and completes the circle. The flow is complete. He also had the choice to maintain the status quo, but because of love he chose a more difficult path. He has made the way, now others must follow.

True. Good point.

Feral Boy wrote:

I still believe that there is a redemption in store for the Merovingian--especially now that I see him as symbolic of the connection between spirit and mind. And since the Matrix mythology has never been about destroying your foe but about coming to terms with him, I highly doubt that the integration will occur because he is defeated and taken out of the way.

As you may know, I don't understand the characters in the movies as individuals, but as aspects of the nature of man.
The Mervovingian - to me - personifies the very Mayan (striving for) worldy power, quite prominent in man.

The path towards enlightenment, is a path towards your own centre, towards what you essentially are -> the One (no preaching, just trying to explaining the concept!... ).
Along the way you have to face all the aspects of your Mayan nature, the aspects of your individuality and personality, because they keep you grounded in Maya.
But you don't fight and destroy them. They cease to exist in you -> you transcend them, as we can see in Merv and Neo/Trinity:
Fighting Merv didn't end their "relationship"; but love did -> Trinity's readiness to sacrifice her life for Neo. This act lost Merv control over the situation, and over Neo/Trinity.
They left him behind...

Feral Boy wrote:

Just out of curiosity, what's the difference between the Merovingian and Smith in this regard? Your description seems to apply to both of them, but philosophically I get the impression that the Wachowski Brothers were trying to portray different aspects of this same idea. Perhaps they do in fact resemble the same idea, but Smith is there to illustrate the need to merge with it rather than to fight it. If so, then I guess the same would need to happen with Merv. Not necessarily the same way it happened with Smith, but similar somehow. Or maybe it goes back to my theory about Merv's redemption.

Merv (worldly power) is an aspect of the Mayan human nature, Smith is the Mayan human nature -> the ego, the self.
Even if you abjure worldy power and any other attachments, if you give away everything and live a life in poverty and devoted to the spiritual path,... the more you are alone with yourself, the more prominent your self becomes; because there is nothing else to distract you from it.

This, I believe, is what we see in the Neo-Smith relationship: The more Neo lets go off the world, the more powerful Smith becomes, and the more of the Matrix he consumes. Until finally Neo stand's - all alone - in the machine city, his very own centre, I believe, and has to face Smith in the Matrix, who has taken over all of the Matrix/mind:

"At least the yogi is alone with his mind (...) But the battle is not yet won; at close quarters it is just beginning. For the mind's fiercest antagonist is itself. Alone with itself it still shows not the slightest inclination to settle down or obey.” - Huston Smith: "The World's Religions"

And why does Neo surrender to Smith?
Because the self cannot be fought (as Neodämmerung shows), it must be stilled,... so that individuality can give way to Oneness:

tozy wrote:

As you may know, I don't understand the characters in the movies as individuals, but as aspects of the nature of man.

I need to keep reminding myself about that. I've only just begun to learn to see things from your point of view, so it's very new to me.

tozy wrote:

The Mervovingian - to me - personifies the very Mayan (striving for) worldy power, quite prominent in man.

I wasn't sure what Maya was, so I had to look it up. I had to laugh when I read the definition, which said: Maya is the illusion that the phenomenal world of separate objects and people is the only reality. The goal of enlightenment is to understand this—more precisely, to experience this: to see intuitively that the distinction between the self and the universe is a false dichotomy. The distinction between consciousness and physical matter, between mind and body, is the result of an unenlightened perspective.

After reading that, I realized I fell under the category of unenlightened!

But it's very interesting, because as I've changed some of my beliefs over the years, I move a little bit closer to some of the ideas you talk about. For instance, I no longer believe in the idea that there we are comprised of a body, soul and spirit that are all basically separate from one another. Traditional Christianity says that when your physical body dies, your soul continues on. But I now believe that a soul is who you ARE, not something you HAVE. A body infused with life (spirit) is a living soul. It includes all the things that make you who are. And I know I'm still probably a long ways away from having the same worldview as you, but I love to see similarities rather than differences.

tozy wrote:

The path towards enlightenment, is a path towards your own centre, towards what you essentially are -> the One (no preaching, just trying to explaining the concept!... ).

No worries about preaching. And I like your description of enlightenment. It makes me think of that "Matrix Universe" essay you have, where everything started as One, but when the "big bang" happened, the One was separated into the Many.

tozy wrote:

Along the way you have to face all the aspects of your Mayan nature, the aspects of your individuality and personality, because they keep you grounded in Maya. But you don't fight and destroy them. They cease to exist in you -> you transcend them, as we can see in Merv and Neo/Trinity: Fighting Merv didn't end their "relationship"; but love did -> Trinity's readiness to sacrifice her life for Neo. This act lost Merv control over the situation, and over Neo/Trinity. They left him behind...

This part was a little hard for me to understand. Are you saying that it is possible to transcend certain negative aspects of your personality, yet they remain intact? I don't quite understand that. I only understand transcending negative traits in terms of no longer having them anymore. I guess that's why I keep thinking the Merv's gonna have a redemption--because aside from him being destroyed, that's the only logical ending I can see based on my own personal worldview.

tozy wrote:

Even if you abjure worldy power and any other attachments, if you give away everything and live a life in poverty and devoted to the spiritual path,... the more you are alone with yourself, the more prominent your self becomes; because there is nothing else to distract you from it. This, I believe, is what we see in the Neo-Smith relationship: The more Neo lets go off the world, the more powerful Smith becomes, and the more of the Matrix he consumes. Until finally Neo stand's - all alone - in the machine city, his very own centre, I believe, and has to face Smith in the Matrix, who has taken over all of the Matrix/mind: "At least the yogi is alone with his mind (...) But the battle is not yet won; at close quarters it is just beginning. For the mind's fiercest antagonist is itself. Alone with itself it still shows not the slightest inclination to settle down or obey.” - Huston Smith: "The World's Religions" And why does Neo surrender to Smith? Because the self cannot be fought (as Neodämmerung shows), it must be stilled,... so that individuality can give way to Oneness

Very interesting. I'll need to chew on that for a while. Coming from a Christian background, I have a different view of the preferred way to approach self and enlightenment. I understand enlightenment as coming from an external deity, and that all of our negative character traits exist because we live in an imperfect dying body, which is from the earth (or "carnal"). When we are given a perfect and immortal body (which is from the heavens), all the things associated with the old body will be completely swallowed up and never seen again. I've heard it said that we will die because we've sinned. But I believe that the opposite is true: we sin (or more technically "miss the bullseye") because we are dying. We are imperfect, and we cannot transcend ourselves without help from our Creator. And I'm not preaching either, just wanted to share my worldview so you might see my shortcomings in attempting to understand yours.

Good points from both of you.

Well I, for one, would like to hear some of what you have to say about all this, Intell. As much as I like a pat on the back for another poster thinking I made a good point, I would much rather hear their thoughts. Iron sharpening iron, you know.

You will, soon enough.

Okey dokey.

tozy wrote:

Hey.. no one said anything about the picture I made..

I used images from tozy's matrix essay.

Here's something.

Add that sunrise that Sati made and you will see what it has in common.

intell wrote:

Here's something. Add that sunrise that Sati made and you will see what it has in common.

Can you please help me? I don't understand!


EDIT

Yeah. That's it.