[santorio]

i, too, see a logical difficulty here. if all is one any distinction between self and other must be illusory; and, therefore, so is any distinction between service to self and service to others. perhaps in a realm governed by illusion, illusion holds sway over greater truth--the lesser rules the greater locally; perhaps this inversion precipitates paradox, allowing false distinctions to be functionally operative. this would allow service to self and service to others to be meaningfully distinct ideas despite their reliance on an erroneous perception. but, then, the purpose of the exposition of the law of one would seem to be to reveal the underlying falsity of the sts-sto dichotomy. to what end but confusion? this is where things get a little conspiratorial for me.

in chemistry, a catalyst is something introduced into a chemical reaction in order to speed it up, not cause it to happen where, otherwise, it would not. purportedly, negativity is supposed to accelerate the pace of our progress. why does it have to be accelerated? is the evolution of the universe on a tight schedule? what if it's a clever deception to actually sidetrack or subvert our evolution by taking our eyes off the material prize. maybe our evolution is best served by the slow, steady progress achieved in encountering the natural, uncatalyzed negativity inherent in our material reality.

if the so-called "fourth density" is exactly equivalent to the "astral plane", it's game over! evolution is then not the name of this game--death is! 4d is then not something to be sought after or desired in some other time frame, but is rather here and now forming the foundational matrix of our physical bodies. there are "negative" inhabitants of the astral who are not capable of incarnation, but who realize the desirability of it, and who may "taste" it through a psychical "possession" of, and congress with, an incarnate being. my jury is still out on this one...