--- title: "Exploring the Path: An Interview with Ethan Indigo Smith" url: https://staging13.perseusarcaneacademy.com/post/exploring-the-path-an-interview-with-ethan-indigo-smith/ date: 2025-09-18 modified: 2026-07-03 lang: en author: "Perseus Arcane Academy" description: "Introduction Welcome to this interview with Ethan Indigo Smith, author, teacher and practitioner. You can read all about him here. He has generously answered some questions for us. View his..." categories: - "Interviews" - "Uncategorized" tags: - "Meditation" image: https://staging13.perseusarcaneacademy.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/ChatGPT-Image-Sep-18-2025-04_21_41-PM-1024x683.png word_count: 2355 --- # Exploring the Path: An Interview with Ethan Indigo Smith ## Introduction Welcome to this interview with Ethan Indigo Smith, author, teacher and practitioner. You can read all about him [here](https://ethanindigosmith.weebly.com/about.html). He has generously answered some questions for us. View his website [here](https://ethanindigosmith.weebly.com/). His extended bio is [here](https://ethanindigosmith.weebly.com/ethan-indigo-smith-bio.html). You can see a playlist here of answers to our questions, and below we have transcribed these answers. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F2eiDOvC_u0&list=PLLgNlSYKx-ud9eGLOFpeyj9HY47uezqqR --- **PAA: In “The Matrix of Four: The Philosophy of the Duality of Polarity,” you explore individual consciousness. What do you mean by the “duality of polarity,” and how does this concept influence your understanding of spiritual growth?** It's a great question. And he sent me a series of great questions. What do I mean by the philosophy by the duality of polarity? Everything is based on the duality of polarity in its very formation. In in terms of subject matter. Not every object, not every thing necessarily. But it's a fantastic way to approach conceptualization, thus philosophy and certainly the philosophy if you will of spiritual growth. I think the most basic way to understand the duality of polarity may be arithmetic. There is there is addition and subtraction and that is one polarity and there is multiplication and division and that is the secondary polarity. Hence duality of polarity. I break down actually four basic acts as aspects of reality in terms of this duality of polarity. Beginning with arithmetic to kind of set up a foundational way to see that there's validity in the idea and it's not merely subjective. Beginning with arithmetic which is very formulaic to of course mathematics and it's really a primary example of how when we lay a foundation of a duality of polarity it actually enables an exceptional development for all of mathematics is based on arithmetic. And what we are capable of doing with mathematical comprehension is you know kind of almost unc incomparable to arithmetic which is very simple. And yet mathematics leads to engineering leads to invention leads to comprehension of navigation and all sorts of subject matter that and it all begins with arithmetic at its basis. And how does this influence my understanding of spiritual growth? Well, if I were to box myself in, I would say that Ethan is a universalist. I like to find syncric synthesis and ideas that are even if changed by a shade or two over time and place that are shared by different peoples in different times and places. And really four represents this across time and space. I really get into this in the fourth initiation a whole other book about this this concept. But within the matrix of four whether it is the adage of the wise monkeys there are four of them not three. Three is often presented in this adage, but also three is very often presented with an unsaid fourth part as in the adage of the wise monkeys. Each of these monkeys can signify a way to pursue development and signifies a way that hinders our development. We can also see this same exoteric and esoteric ideiation of development of the individual from within and in a kind of externalized way as well as an internal consciousness way. Within the allegory of the cave, there are two main types of prisoners. A a very stark polarity. In fact, there are the chained and the unchained prisoners within the allegory of the cave. And of course, the polarity being chained and unchained. The chained are not yet transfixed by the ideas that are put on the wall. The unchained are completely taken over. They don't even need chains to make them stay in place. The images on the wall are portrayed by the captors. And the fourth most rare component there of this of of within the of the characters within the cave is the freed prisoner and the freed prisoner is of course the most developed. So, of course, Native American conceptuality too is, as equally obsessive with four aspects as I and pertaining to the development of of human consciousness. And so thank you. That was that was a great little discussion. I'll leave some links below if YouTube allows. **PAA: You bring together sacred geometry, meditation, and metaphysics. What is the underlying principle that ties together concepts like points/lines/planes/solids with states of consciousness in your framework?** It's a wonderful question again and the point represents concentration. The line represents connection. The plane represents circulation and the volume or solid represents what I term as unity expansion. If we practice meditation and actually if we pursue different meditation instructions from different origins, you will find that these concepts are taking place either overtly as in terminology of concentration for instance or subtly. There is a process to meditation that can be related to concentration, connection, circulation, unity, expansion. And there are different ways to look at it, different means of it in different types of practices. But you will find this four-fold meditation order of operations in many different systems. In fact, it is sacred geometry without the shapes. It's esoteric sacred geometry internal. I mean more broadly as I began exploring this idea it becomes a means to measure energy and to understand subtle energy. I explore this in my recent article about gamatria and what I call gem energia gamatria of energy. So it's it really is almost an intuitive tool as well as a way to better understand what is unfolding in different meditation practices and in your own meditation practice. Of course, I share practice Taichi and one of the things about Taichi is that it is very important in the learning process and of course practice that we practice on our own. Same thing with meditation. Practice on your own. Learn meditation comprehension so that you can take that with you. But don't depend on external features, processes, noise, instruction at all. The idea with meditation is to go within. So I don't mean to refute the additives and things that you might bring along with you in meditation, but really all you need is your knowledge to go within. Thank you. **PAA: In your essay on the Divine Masculine you used the four dimensions of geometry to illustrate gendered energies (points/lines vs. planes/solids). How does this symbolic mapping help someone understand the interplay of masculine and feminine principles within themselves?** Another another great question. I'm not exactly sure that I've written a article specifically on the divine divine masculine. I definitely recall writing on the divine feminine and a little bit on the divine masculine and on both. In my book, Marijuana and the Prohibition of the Divine Feminine, I explore this gender contrast energies quite a bit as I do within the geometry of energy, how to meditate. So the idea that masculine energy is related to the dimensions geometry dimensions of the point and the line is not necessarily only limited to males of course but the masculine energy it most often is depicted and is the fall back of males and it is therefore masculine energy but women can do these operations as well just like men might encompass the feminine energies as well. Men are very direct. They get right to the point. And it's confounding to women that we will not explain ourselves but just explain the summation. Men are very concentrated. So that's why the point is related to them as well. But when men are going to do a thing they go right at it in a line. And you don't need to get into the anatomical relationships, but of course the circle and the sphere or the volume and solid are very much related to the feminine. The point in the line are very much related to the masculine. Women in in terms of Chinese cosmology, men are much more rigid and less womb or circular like than the than women than the feminine energy. The de the the feminine energies through geometry dimensions are the circle and the sphere or the plane and the solid. Most elegantly typified by the circle and the sphere. And women are really efficient at when they want to do a thing, they don't go right at it. They'll come around and it'll make everything make sense and then the circle's complete and that's how they present things. They are also the tendency is is to be inclusive and and more energetic inclusion. Another circular trait and women are very much intuitive, right? Men can be too but the fallback for women is intuition. Women, hence the term women's intuition. And and this is very much like the idea of unity, consciousness, expansion, this this v the volume of a circular globe type of encompassment of everything all at once. So I hope I hope that makes sense and and this this idea you can see unfold in different you know primary philosophies and constructs. So thanks. **PAA: You write that being emotionally present leads to peaceful stability and that distractions from past and future can destabilize us. What practical advice do you have for someone who finds their mind drifting to worries when they try to meditate?** Well, Buddha puts forth a wonderful analogy that's quite useful. Thoughts are passing by on the stream and it is wonderful to take note of these and let them pass. Another thing Buddha said is the mind is the destroyer of the real. So a lot of our mental stresses, our projections, our pursuits are not necessarily viable. And it's important in meditation or in a quiet mindful setting even if there's not a meditation necessarily but you're just contemplating it is important to let go of assumptions and ideas that are not our own. I would also advise people to align themselves with a powerful idea. And a powerful idea does not pursue things. A powerful idea is things. Just like a God or God does not pursue things, God is or the Dao is. It is not in pursuit. So let let go of pursuits and stresses within your meditation practice. Allow them to come up because the very goal of meditation is to smooth over the mind. So these things that might come up offer opportunity for us to shine our mind from this little grease spot or bump or defection on our shiny perfect sphere. Right? So these you know these concepts that come up that might be not in line with meditation are part of the meditation process. For me a wonderful little thing that helps me focus is the idea of 108. 108 is again in Buddhism a sacred number. It is also quite a mathematical distinct number. And there's there's a lot of interesting concepts that can be revealed through the tool of 108. And it in itself has oneness, nothingness, and the infinite, which this is a powerful trinity. But in terms of meditation concept that can be helpful to stabilize us. I like to have my own little thought process from 108. Be one with the breath. Let zero thoughts coalesce and tap into the infinite. Be one with the breath. Let zero thoughts coalesce. Tap into the infinite. That's a wonderful thought and it really is an effective smoother tool of our perfect sphere that we're con might conceptualize in developing our meditation process. For in Taichi, right, there's all these spherical movements where we're working with an energy ball. Well, in meditation, too. I can't exactly do this in front of the screen right now properly. But we're we're creating a a perfect little little ball here, right? In in terms of imagination there, just threw it at you. So peace. **PAA: You once said, “if you’re not training [in mindfulness], you’re being trained” for mindlessness. What daily habits or “training” would you recommend to help people stay mindful and avoid that passive mindset? ** I don't think it's even passive. It's actually negative, right? Passive is not necessarily actively destructive. People can be very actively destructive. And so I think we can really make a positive change in our life by undertaking different practices depending on where we find there are lacking fruitbearing wisdom. In other words, we can break down our system of being into four parts. I know, forgive me. I love the four. Physical, mental, spiritual, and universal. Let's let's see where we can develop these traits physically. Let's exercise, right? Let's see where we can develop a better mental quality, reading and learning. And let's see how we can develop a a different spiritual practice, breath work, taichi, meditation, and let's find a way to express this in the universe, in the world to not only help ourselves, but help others. There's many different ways to look at how we operate and how we do things. But when we we have to understand that we are either training or being trained. We're either working on ourselves or we're falling into patterns that are not necessarily even passive but detrimental. And we might form a pattern that turns into a trench that we can't even get out of. So if we're not training, we're being trained. If we're not moving forward and up, we're likely moving backwards and down. So we can find a certain m a certain mannerism of steadfastness and steadiness within completing practices of our own or practices that you learn from others. It doesn't matter. But doing our own thing really is provocative to training ourselves rather than being trained by negative influences from outside of ourselves and our own self. Right? We're not necessarily only passive. Sometimes we can be negative. So the more we are steadfast and steady, the more we can be steadfast and not be blown in the wind by other outside influences that might like to steer our mentality and our physicality and so forth into negative terms too. Right? So if you're not training, you're being trained is really an inspirational terminology for holding down our own self despite all the external influences. Peace. Thanks. **PAA: Thank you for your time and generous sharing.** ---