Philosophical Analysis: "Schism" - Tool

In my opinion, the rock band 'Tool' has very wisely described the metaphysics of existence in their famous song "Schism."

As a picture is worth a thousand words, so to does every song have a different meaning to different people. Although I do not know the motives or intentions of the artist's work, I will give my personal interpretation to the lyrics.

I hope you enjoy this analysis, and please share your thoughts also.

Peace.

"Schism"
- Tool

I know the pieces fit, cuz I watched them fall away.
Mildewed and smoldering. Fundamental differing.
Pure intention juxtaposed, will set two lovers souls in motion.
Disintegrating as it goes, testing our communication.
The light that fueled our fire then has burned a hole between us so,
We cannot see to reach an end, crippling our communication.

I know the pieces fit cuz I watched them tumble down.
No fault, none to blame. It doesn't mean I don't desire,
To point the finger, blame the other, watch the temple topple over.
To bring the pieces back together, rediscover communication.

The poetry that comes from the squaring off between,
And the circling is worth it.
Finding beauty in the dissonance.

There was a time that the pieces fit, but I watched them fall away.
Mildewed and smoldering, strangled by our coveting
I've done the math enough to know the dangers of our second guessing
Doomed to crumble unless we grow, and strengthen our communication.

Cold silence has a tendency to atrophy any
Sense of compassion
Between supposed lovers/brothers

• "I know the pieces fit cuz I watched them fall away"
In the Beginning there was One.
One divided Self into superficially fragmented parts.


• "Mildewed and smoldering"
The illusion of separation is a corrupted form of the formless and timeless All-One.


• "Fundamental differing. Pure intention juxtaposed will set two lovers souls in motion"
The illusion of Duality and polar opposites further enables the All-One to fragment into two, and the two into the many.


• "Disintegrating as it goes testing our communication"
Furthering away from the wholeness of All-One into further fragmentation, Self begins to lose knowledge of its Oneness.


• "The light that fueled our fire then has burned a hole between us so we cannot see to reach an end, crippling our communication"
As sentient beings are further disillusioned by Ego, Duality, and separation... the understanding of All-One and Self becomes lost to the point of compartmentalization and isolation.


• "I know the pieces fit cuz I watched them tumble down"
One observed Self fragment into the many.


• "No fault, none to blame"
Everything is what it is. There is no truth in finding fault, for All is exactly as it is supposed to be.


• "It doesn't mean I don't desire, to point the finger, blame the other, watch the temple topple over"
The easiest thing to do is to bypass understanding and responsibility in order to place blame elsewhere away from one's own self. By doing so, one forfeits their wisdom, freedom, and self-empowerment.


• "To bring the pieces back together, rediscover communication"
By gaining the gnosis of Oneness, the individual returns to Source and is able to better understand Self.


• "The poetry that comes from the squaring off between, and the circling is worth it. Finding beauty in the dissonance"
The square sharply and equally divides One (Duality, Ego, Relativity, Subjectivity). From the perspective of one side of the square, the opposite side of the square "appears" to be separate and different, although it is one unified shape. The "circling" refers to the cycles of birth, rebirth, and the transmutation of Energy-Matter into different forms of Enery-Matter. The illusionary separation, cycles, and antipodal differences are beautiful and wondrous mechanisms that are worth any amount of suffering, for they allow All-One to experience Self subjectively.


• "strangled by our coveting"
Wanting, yearning, and desiring something different than what is, to the point of ungratefulness and a lack of appreciation for what is, is a cause of suffering.


• "I've done the math enough to know the dangers of our second guessing"
There is great danger is the plotting and scheming of Man. The best of intentions can lead to dangerous situations.


• "Doomed to crumble unless we grow, and strengthen our communication"
We grow by being a 'separate' individual with the knowledge of Oneness. We are doomed for self-destruction if we do not learn to live in balance and harmony with All, for All is Self.


• "Cold silence has a tendency to atrophy any sense of compassion between supposed lovers. Between supposed brothers"
By remaining separate, isolated, and compartmentalized... our sense of compassion for others and Self begins to fade and decay.


• "I know the pieces fit"
All is One.

reply to post by Sahabi


I like this explanation. i've always liked Tool because of this song and then later developed into a full fan by listening to ther stuff. What I've come to realise about this band is that those who don't like them don't understand them. But anyone who does how can you not. One of the best bands since the 80's.

One of my favorite bands that i really listen to. Love all of the albums that they released, still cant narrow it down to which is my favorite.

Anyways, this explanation is pretty good. I've always liked their music videos and this one happened to be one of my favorite ones. Thanks for sharing your thoughts.

A sublime masterpiece, imo. The lyrics, musicianship, vocals, video, costume, art....man, it's an avant garde piece if ya ask me. You are right in that this work does sum up quite a lot. Even without the music, the vid speaks volumes.
This is why Tool is my favorite band
I honestly cannot think of any better lyricist over the past decade than MJK, in all of his projects. Deep, thorough, titillating, honest and forthright,, downright brilliant me thinks!

Nice analyse, I rather always thought it's about long-time relationship between two people which is slowly dying, but they are still together because of the momentum...

Ahh, Tool, one of greatest bands ever
Brought me first to Bill Hicks and dropped-D tonation

In my opinion all their albums are ... their journey (and ours, hopefully) to 'become themselves.'

They've been my favorite band since I heard Undertow in the early 90's- I went and both that album and their first one (Opiate) as well. Hooked since then.

PS: My sig link

Originally posted by Sahabi

• "To bring the pieces back together, rediscover communication"
By gaining the gnosis of Oneness, the individual returns to Source and is able to better understand Self.

I have this belief (probably unique) that as evolution progresses, so too does the inter-communication skills and abilities of all life forms of an ecosystem. I believe that ultimately this will entail the development of all beings' telepathic abilities. This kind of communication would not be outwardly expressing what you know, but inwardly allowing yourself to be known. Opening the self to the self to allow information to freely flow versus directing information from the self to the self in an intrusive manner.

reply to post by Manunnaki
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reply to post by MzMorbid



Tool is indeed an awesome band. Their off-beat style is amazing, their bass-lines are badass, the rifts and melodies are insane, and their lyrics are genius! Thanks for replying

reply to post by stainlesssteelrat


The song does also make sense regarding a long distance relationship. That's the wonderful thing about music; it touches each heart differently.

Peace.

reply to post by smithjustinb


Hey there smithjustinb.

I feel and understand what you're saying. However, can we be certain that inter-communication is an advancement in evolution? Or is the lack of inter-communication actually an obvious example of degradation and corruption of being "individual"?

I am under the impression that raw, fundamental awareness/consciousness is universally shared. From the very beginning, communication with All is possible. But as we progress down the road of Ego, Duality, and compartmentalization... this communication is diminished.

Blood cells... organs...
Stars... planets...
Atomic and subatomic structures...

Do these not illustrate macro and micro communication between "individual bodies" in order to function as One cohesive structure or unit?

Originally posted by Sahabi
reply to post by smithjustinb

 

Hey there smithjustinb.

I feel and understand what you're saying. However, can we be certain that inter-communication is an advancement in evolution?

I'm not sure of anything. I was just guessing, but it makes sense to me. For the most effective communication to take place, certain qualities, such as openness, acceptance, love, understanding, etc. have to be polished. So I think progression, as in any intelligent species, happens as the polishing of communication abilities. Hence the invention of the cell-phone marking one of the greatest technological advancements of modern times.

What I was really proposing, though, is the development of inter-species communication. Once a high enough level of openness has been achieved, one can directly and non-verbally receive knowledge of the self from others, even from other species. This is possible even today, if one is open enough and the right conditions are present within the self. So I predict that as time goes on, we will polish our ability to be open and peaceful enough to receive information in this way.

All beings share a common essence. Telepathy happens when two beings become aware of their common essence. Then, information is shared about the self from the other self. The kind of information that can be communicated during a telepathic experience is a deeper understanding of such concepts you are likely to find on this philosophy forum.

I am under the impression that raw, fundamental awareness/consciousness is universally shared. From the very beginning, communication with All is possible. But as we progress down the road of Ego, Duality, and compartmentalization... this communication is diminished.

Yep. Exactly. Truthfully, I'm pretty sure animals are already telepathic. I think we will be re-discovering this. Or maybe not. Maybe we are too far gone to come back. Maybe we aren't supposed to come back. I imagine our dualistic and egotistical perceptions serve some purpose. I just wonder if the purpose will ever be fulfilled, and if so, what next?

reply to post by Sahabi


Do one of these for parabol/parabola. that song coupled with the video clip is an amazing message. took me a long time to realise but one day i watched the clip and everything made sense.

I agree with your interpretation and I also am a big Tool fan. Listening to them for me is a personal journey of self-discovery.

The great thing about their songs is they are relevant on a lot of different levels at once (like holographic or fractal reality - as above, so below). It will mean different things to different people depending on where they are in their own personal development.

For example 4 Degrees is literally about anal sex. If you choose to only hear the physical words then that's all it is. But if you understand the words its about a lot more than that.

In terms of Schism I think the overall idea of the song is as you said - Duality. One whole splitting into multiple parts, then trying to put those parts back together to become whole again. The ILLUSION that things are seperate, when they are not.

The beauty is that concept can be applied to any schism:

Interpersonal relationships, male/female.
Intrapersonal relationships, masculine/feminine.
Yin/Yang, Black/White, Good/Bad, Right/Wrong.
Left/Right, Republican/Democratic, Labour/Liberal.
Healing on all levels - putting the pieces back together and re-establishing communication.
Smashing the illusion of duality and dichotomies.
Reconnecting to the divine source - communication with The All/God/The Universe.

And of course the realisation that all matter is merely energy condensed to a slow vibration, that we are all one consciousness experiencing itself subjectively and that there's no such thing as death - life is only a dream and we are the imagination of ourselves.

Here's Tom with the weather