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December 2007 
Trinity and Integral Beauty
Vanessa
Just finished watching the Matrix trilogy for the third time. Wow there is so much richness in those films.
I absolutely love Trinity's character. For me she so represents the archetype of a powerful 21st century female warrior who also still struggles with issues of love, fear, and doubt in its many forms.
She seems to sometimes take a sideline role in relation to the focus on Neo but to me that is part of what makes her presence so strong. She doesn't need to be seen nor does she have an interest in being the focus of attention. She is extremely clear on her purpose and is strong in asserting it, but always in a very skillful and transparent way.
Of course her beauty is something that demands attention, not to mention the tight pants... but she owns her beauty in such a way that it never seems to be a form of distraction either for her or for the men around her...except Cypher but his very character is meant to illuminate the easily distracted and tempted mind.
Trinity's character made me think of how women can truly embody thier beauty in a way that doesn't have to be for the purpose of gaining attention or distracting others. When a woman's own motivation and intention is clear she can pretty much dress any way she wants.
My sense is that if she is truly embodying an integral awareness she will shift her appearance and the energy it carries depending on the situation she finds herself in. Different conditions call for different expressions and she as a woman embodying integral beauty would be aware of this on an intuitive level and adjust appropriately. This flexibility is due to her ability to not identify with any specific appearance.
I find a good practice for this is to take on different roles in my appearance, sometimes dressing gothic, sometimes sexy, sometimes tomboy, sometimes plain jane, and other times traditionally. Its fun to play with different images in appearance for it is truly amazing to see how much we identify with our gross level appearance. Have fun with it and when you get stuck on a certain image that you feel you can't step into, say the goth, check out what is being held onto, what image are you holding of yourself that won't allow you to flex flow in and out of different appearances.
Anyways just something to play and have fun with, I've found it helpful for myself so I thought I'd share it.
I'd like to see Trinity in a dress suit myself...but maybe that's just my own fantasy(-: I'll own that one.
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Yeah, when I saw that woman do a scorpion kick it rekindled the feeling of wanting to have kids :) I have met many embodied women who have never heard of anything remotely associated with the term integral awareness. I have also met a few artists who, when speaking of their work, made no mention of integral but described their process in exactly a fashion that would be considered as such. Anyway, back to Carrie Anne-Moss…what do you think about her curled up on a plush red couch under an ivory chenille throw next to a fire and wearing only a come hither look on her face? OK, that might just be my fantasy.
Those embodied women are such a gift. I've met a few in my days too and boy do they ever leave an imprint on my being, a presence to remember.
Oh and I think your fantasy beats mine. Well thought out details of description, thanks for sharing(-:
The way I saw Trinity in the movie was as representing God, not just in reference to her name, but in that it was her love (God's) that in combination with his supreme confidence in what he knew to be right, or true, ultimately saved him from death.
And I like your fantasy, too.
I agree. We could speak of Eros and Agape, what Plato saw as the two movements of love in the cosmos. Trinity then representing the Love of “God” reaching down (Agape) and Neo representing the Love of the soul (Eros) reaching up to meet it. Ultimately all of life as well as all three movies is a play of these two forces, the self will continually being driven to meet the Divine Will and in a constant process of dying so as to unite its self will with the One Divine Will. Ultimately the ending of the trilogy illuminates this nondual union of self with Self, Eros with Agape.
Love and Death, such a beautiful mix of interplaying forces which ultimately are never divided, this movie is brilliant in how it portrays such complex themes and ineffable experiences.
It is refreshing to get a woman's take on the trilogy. Most people I know, women in particular seemed to get little or nothing out of it. The first time I saw the first matrix I saw only the cartesian philosophy rendered by thought experiment. After watching the whole trilogy I saw a much richer, deeper and very original philosophy seamlessly blending ideas from every dominant school of thought. I went back and saw in my own mind how the Wachowski brothers were playing a game of chess-philosophy with the names of the characters signifiying their particular strengths and weaknesses. Put more casually, it was like a game of rock-paper-scissors. Morpheus defeats Neo. Agent Smith defeats Morpheus. Neo defeats Agent Smith…Trainman defeats Neo…etc… After all, even a pawn can take a queen. The trainstation is named Mobil Ave. and Mobil is an anagram for Limbo. Trinity is associated with many philosophical movements, particularly the Hegelian dialectic (thesis, antithesis and synthesis). I've been criticized for over interpreting the trilogy, but found vindication in the 35 hour box set where Larry Wachowski describes it as a “commentary on the Hegelian Dialectic” and includes a bibliography with some books I read 15 years ago.
How fun, we are reading you paper as part of the JFK MA, looking at the Aesthetic line, so props to you! Would you agree or disagree (or, of course, both!) that being aware of the different awarenesses that people bring to attraction we would need to bear in mind that many men are in “Cypher mode” and many men that are 'politically correct' and don't overtly cat call women (like, say, builders do) are STILL doing so inside their own head, without changing the expression on their face. I believe it takes a truly developed man to recieve beauty as a gift and take the energy component of beauty and not cling to it with thoughts of “fuck baby, your tits are looking so firm in that top your wearing” (or something similar).
Also, as Deida reminds us continually, that habit is extremely strong and we all have our 'moments', development in that sense can be looked at in 'probability waves' (to use Ken's idea) and therefore we can say something like “well, 90% of the time an evolved guy won't be thinking, “oh god, what I'd like to do to her” (as an object, not mutual subject or higher) but they too will have their moments”. OF course, that is an evolved guy and, to put it midly, not many men are there. I think the psychosexual line is a real tough one to develop because it ties in so strongly with attachment patterns (due to their early formation are often pretty unconscious and resistant) and also the pattern of evolution, which is partly the reptilian “fuck or kill” instinct (again, to quote Ken).
What do you think? Could you send me a message when you reply here too.