I think it very likely that the 4 degrees refers to the latter half of the eightfold development of the human psyche. The first four most every tom dick and joe develop through regular life experiences, but the last 4 are usually only attained through a concerted search effort by the seeker. Meditation is usually mandatory, sensory depravation and mind-altering substances can sometimes speed up the process, but some view that as a sort of shortcut, or cheating. I sure as hell don't, haha.
Whether or not any members of Tool believe in the 8 fold model or not is irrelevant, but it is highly likely that their personal beliefs are at least on a similar tangent, as most of their material deals with these sorts of subjects...
Freeing yourself from yourself in my opinion means deprogramming yourself from all the shit you've been force-fed from day 1, and accepted without even giving it a second thought, eg. social institutions, politics, gender/race/class roles, language, the very essences of all cultures, really.
Finding the treasure beneath the castle, where no-ones been, the calm, etc, etc, that's the narrator describing the act of trying to free a friend. He's trying to help him/her along on the journey of discovering self, because it definitely has a huge payoff... there's nothing like getting a glance of yourself for the first time, and maybe even a glimmer of how you fit into this miraculous universe we're all a part of.
It can be a very disconcerting journey.. believe me. A lot of the time you don't like what you begin to see... that the vast majority of people are either monkeys or robots... and that you've been one of them for your whole life up until this very moment when you start seeing things... opening your third eye, so to speak.
Some people are so disturbed they jump back into the banality of things, and don't ever come back... a la Matrix, when Neo first begins to see. They go back into lala land and try to settle themselves by buying a porsche or a prada bag, depending on their budget and their level of idiocy. Material possessions don't bring happiness you douchebags! Wake up!
That's why towards the end of the song the narrator won't let the person he's helping quit... he tries to force the journey. This is where the metaphor loses a bit in my opinion, because you can't really force that step... it's something everyone has to want for themselves.
I'm sure Tool have read Leary, Huxley, Burroughs, etc... their lyrics are along very similar lines.
Just don't get too brainwashed... it's a journey you have to make on your own... you can't let others PREACH it to you. Maynard would fall off his chair laughing (as I'm sure he does quite often) if you start talking the shit without walking the path first. He's got millions of fans lined up trying to act enlightened to impress him, and it's got to make him giggle, if not cry most days.
Remember that no-one can get it all down perfectly.. not leary, not huxley... not Maynard. I sure as hell don't know what's going on. NOBODY really knows what they're doing with their existence, and how big and complicated everything is... you just have to enjoy the ride.
Take all or nothing.
Life's just too short to push it away.
I think it very likely that the 4 degrees refers to the latter half of the eightfold development of the human psyche. The first four most every tom dick and joe develop through regular life experiences, but the last 4 are usually only attained through a concerted search effort by the seeker. Meditation is usually mandatory, sensory depravation and mind-altering substances can sometimes speed up the process, but some view that as a sort of shortcut, or cheating. I sure as hell don't, haha.
Whether or not any members of Tool believe in the 8 fold model or not is irrelevant, but it is highly likely that their personal beliefs are at least on a similar tangent, as most of their material deals with these sorts of subjects...
Freeing yourself from yourself in my opinion means deprogramming yourself from all the shit you've been force-fed from day 1, and accepted without even giving it a second thought, eg. social institutions, politics, gender/race/class roles, language, the very essences of all cultures, really.
Finding the treasure beneath the castle, where no-ones been, the calm, etc, etc, that's the narrator describing the act of trying to free a friend. He's trying to help him/her along on the journey of discovering self, because it definitely has a huge payoff... there's nothing like getting a glance of yourself for the first time, and maybe even a glimmer of how you fit into this miraculous universe we're all a part of.
It can be a very disconcerting journey.. believe me. A lot of the time you don't like what you begin to see... that the vast majority of people are either monkeys or robots... and that you've been one of them for your whole life up until this very moment when you start seeing things... opening your third eye, so to speak.
Some people are so disturbed they jump back into the banality of things, and don't ever come back... a la Matrix, when Neo first begins to see. They go back into lala land and try to settle themselves by buying a porsche or a prada bag, depending on their budget and their level of idiocy. Material possessions don't bring happiness you douchebags! Wake up!
That's why towards the end of the song the narrator won't let the person he's helping quit... he tries to force the journey. This is where the metaphor loses a bit in my opinion, because you can't really force that step... it's something everyone has to want for themselves.
I'm sure Tool have read Leary, Huxley, Burroughs, etc... their lyrics are along very similar lines.
Check this out, and follow some links if you're interested:
http://deoxy.org/cirtable.htm#leary1
Just don't get too brainwashed... it's a journey you have to make on your own... you can't let others PREACH it to you. Maynard would fall off his chair laughing (as I'm sure he does quite often) if you start talking the shit without walking the path first. He's got millions of fans lined up trying to act enlightened to impress him, and it's got to make him giggle, if not cry most days.
Remember that no-one can get it all down perfectly.. not leary, not huxley... not Maynard. I sure as hell don't know what's going on. NOBODY really knows what they're doing with their existence, and how big and complicated everything is... you just have to enjoy the ride.
Take all or nothing. Life's just too short to push it away.