The alchemical process of interpersonal relationships.

Growth in relationships is an important thing. However, it is not commonly looked at as a process that can be made increasingly efficient. I am of the opinion this is because people lack a frame work to hang the ideas off of in an orderly fashion. They lack a loom to weave their threads of thought to a tapestry as it were. Situations like this are where the alchemical process can become beneficial to anyone's life with a very cursory understanding of its 7 fundamental steps. This process, given a nuanced enough understanding of it, can be applied to virtually any process of intricacy to expedite the resolution of the situation. Located here you shall see this process applied to the metaphor of interpersonal relations. From this one can extrapolate the process, should they be willing, to virtually any situation requiring a solution in their life.

THE 7 STAGES OF ALCHEMY

-CALCINATION-

We live our lives in the heat of the moment. While this heat can provide us with the warmth and comfort we appreciate in life it also causes things to move. Through this heating process inadequacies in the material rise to the surface of the situation. When one such issue has risen to the surface in such great prominence that it becomes the primary facade of the interaction the Calcination stage has been completed. The object has hardened and solidified to an object that can be perceived as a mixture of both good and bad. While commonly seen as a bad position to the common man, this is perhaps the most exciting time for the alchemist eager to hone their skill as this is tangible proof that the process is underway and there is work to be done.

-DISSOLUTION-

Upon obtaining awareness of our calcified object to be worked with, the next step is to break this object down to its constituent parts objectively. This can be looked at as submerging the object in a solvent. Through this process we find ourselves bringing the good and bad in to a solution rendering them once again free to move. This can be seen in interpersonal relationships as time spent with the self or your partner viewing the situation truthfully and objectively and taking inventory of what is there. You are bringing the good and bad to a common ground (solution) within which they are freed from the bondage of subjectivity. Once all the facets of the object (relationship) have been brought to this common space we can view the object as successfully dissolved and the dissolution phase has been completed.

-SEPARATION-

Through dissolution we have provided ourselves with an object that is now fairly easy to work with as it is not locked in to a hardened Aesthetic form. Through its loss of identity we have granted it freedom. The state of freedom will allow us to engage the object in an objectively subjective manner to drawn differentiation between this and that. What is benefitting the mutual relationship and what is not benefitting it. Through honest inspection by all involved all the particular pieces of the situation can be identified and catalogued accordingly. Once this has been successfully completed we can view the situation as having completed the separation step.

-CONJUNCTION-

With the object successfully separated, catalogued, and logically organized we can now begun to weigh the parts of the whole against their contribution to the efficiency of the engagement. This coming together of modus operandi (mode of operation and the broader objectives of the engage can be seen as bringing what the situation is and what the situation should be in to conjunction to allow us to see what is and what is not in the best interest of the engagement. Through this conjuction of objects and subjects we are able to see where we are trying to fit square pegs in round holes. Showing us what does and does not fit. This will give us some semblance of truth but to believe it would be a critical error.

-FERMENTATION-

While our best intentions are nearly always in place when approaching things that directly interface with self, every process is subject to possible oversight. It is the modality of the classical experimenter to only believe direct observation and experience. As such once we have separated this from that we must allow them to sit together for some time to ensure that 'this' is in fact 'this' and that 'that' is in fact 'that'. This process of subjecting each separated nugget of potential truth to the bacteria of temporality (time) will allow the nuggets of truth worth considering as potential samples that could reach complete purity to expose themselves more clearly.

-DISTILLATION-

With our object successfully fermented we can now see which constituent parts are functioning at what level of effectiveness. Through this observational quantification we can begin to distill the remaining nuggets of truth down to those of acceptable and unacceptable levels of purity. In some situations only the highest purity nuggets of truth can be retained in order to maintain functionality. However, in other situations lower purity samples may be perfectly acceptable. It is the job of the alchemist during distillation to fraction apart that which is acceptable levels of purity from that which is not. As distillation is the last filtering step of the process this step, as should all steps but additional emphasis on this final step, should be approached with the utmost scrutiny and care. It should also be noted that it is the practice of the accomplished alchemist to always maintain a healthy detachment to the work that has already been done. Said more simply, do not be afraid to take the process back to a previous step or even start over completely should you have reason to believe that an impurity has made its way through the filtering process. Success in this process is denoted by the purity of the final object not by the speed with which it was obtained. Patience is your greatest asset.

-COAGULATION-

While seeming like the finish line of the process the coagulation could be equally seen as the end of the process as it can be seen as the beginning of a new process of a higher dimensionality. Once all filtering processes have been completed and the nuggets of truth of acceptable purity have all been collected all that is left to do is to bring all of the pieces back together in to one object that is indiscernable from its constituent parts. In this moment of coagulation you will both simultaneously complete this process as well as usher your engagement in to a new paradigm of existence. Potentially generating a fresh start to a new iteration of the alchemical process... Should you be so lucky.

Depending on the complexity of the object that the alchemist is working with and the ability level of the alchemists involved this process can operate at a very vast array of rates. Patience, tolerance, awareness, determination, intuition, and logic are just some of the tools that the alchemist can use to great effect to enhance the efficiency of this process. As with chemistry as we more commonly know it in the modern paradigm knowledge from passed down information is only of minimal assistance. To truly learn the trade you must indulge yourself in it. Spend the hours in the laboratory filtering the problematic and non problematic objects of your life in an attempt to further enhance your alchemical ability. Through this determination and continued work, you will inevitably find your ability increasing and the application range of the process increasing with it.

We are all alchemists and our experience is our laboratory. This is the great work, and regardless of what you think you are in this experience for with any direct experience with the alchemical process you will quickly come to see that it is entirely central to your existence in this experience.