This is sort of a long analysis, and without an understanding of the concept of the entire Lateralus album, it doesn't make as much sense, but I'll try my best:
First of all, there's a reason it fits so well with Disposition and Triad. They all tell the same story. Disposition is sort of the beginning of the mind or the soul (I guess you could say the childhood), where you don't have as much experience or knowledge about the world, and you go entirely off of what you're taught. Your knowledge of the world depends on your disposition to it, and as such what people "mention [...] to [you]" causes the "weather [to] change". Reflection, then, is sort of the maturing of the soul, the adulthood if you will, where you begin to reflect on your experience. Triad, although being purely instrumental, closes off the trilogy well. I'll likely explain that on Triad's respective page.
Now for a bit of a part-by-part analysis of Reflection:
"I have come curiously close to the end, down
Beneath my self-indulgent pitiful hole, defeated I
Concede and (Concede and) move closer (Move closer), I may find comfort here
I may find peace within the emptiness, how pitiful
It's calling me (Calling me)
etc..."
The narrator lives in a self-indulgent, selfish lifestyle. He focuses his life on his own benefit, not on his moral or spiritual gain. He considers it a pitiful lifestyle, but he refuses to do anything about it, instead feeling defeated by it, and tries to find his happiness in what he has, rather than doing something to create his happiness by improving his life.
"And in my darkest moment, fetal and weepin'
The moon tells me a secret, my confidant
As full and bright as I am, this light is not my own and
A million light reflections pass over me"
As the narrator is slipping down this path and losing himself, the moon (a common symbol of the spirit or spirituality) shares with him the secret of a proper life. It being "full and bright" means that it is pure and whole. And the reflections symbolise the knowledge and the awakening which he is receiving.
"It's source is bright and endless, she resuscitates the hopeless
Without her we are lifeless satellites dreamin' dreams
And as I pull my head out, I am without one doubt, don't want to be down here soothing my narcissism, I
Must crucify the ego before it's far too late, I pray the light lifts me out
Before I pine away
etc."
The moon is full of wisdom because it is truly complete and never-ending. It gives him hope and allows him to change, something he thought himself incapable of her, and now he believes himself indebted to her. And when he starts to truly see things, or "pull his head out" of his pitiful state, he realises that he no longer wants to be a part of such a selfish world, and wants to be a part of something bigger, which requires him to rid himself of his ego (often also referred to as the self) to become a part of something bigger, before it's far too late to change.
"So crucify the ego before it's far too late to leave behind this place, so negative and blind and cynical
And you will come to find that we are all one mind, capable of all that's imagined and all conceivable
Just let the light touch you and let the words spill through, just let them pass right through, bringin' out our hope and reason
Before we pine away
etc."
And now he shares his realisation with the listener. He realises that we all must rid ourselves of our no-longer-necessary egos to become a part of something truly great, where all people are one. We are all the same person in different bodies. And if we see ourselves as that and unite, we're capable of everything, but rather because we remain selfish and refuse to listen to reason, we remain negative and blind and achieve very little. So he says that we must all accept this ("let the light touch you") and then share it with others to get them to see ("let the words spill though, just let them pass right through") until we can awaken the whole world to the true hope in the world, before we all destroy ourselves.
This song very much draws on the concepts explained in Lateralus, Parabol/Parabola, and to some extent, Schism, The Patient, and The Grudge. I'd suggest looking into the whole album.
Also, has anyone noticed that the intro to this song (when split into sections based on the introduction of instruments) is nearly the same when you play it backwards? I haven't yet found any meaning to this, other than the connection to the title.
Also, another comment I have to make. A lot of people on this forum, I've noticed, seem to believe that the "ego death" is a product solely of DMT (which Tool has been known to use). A similar sort of state (or what I assume to be similar, having never used or studied DMT) can be achieved through years of practice with deep meditation. A state of true unification with the world, where the self is truly destroyed and the person becomes one with the universe. I have experienced that myself. Although when the person returns from meditation, they return...
Also, another comment I have to make. A lot of people on this forum, I've noticed, seem to believe that the "ego death" is a product solely of DMT (which Tool has been known to use). A similar sort of state (or what I assume to be similar, having never used or studied DMT) can be achieved through years of practice with deep meditation. A state of true unification with the world, where the self is truly destroyed and the person becomes one with the universe. I have experienced that myself. Although when the person returns from meditation, they return to their normal state, and the ego returns with them, the memory of that form sticks forever.
This is sort of a long analysis, and without an understanding of the concept of the entire Lateralus album, it doesn't make as much sense, but I'll try my best:
First of all, there's a reason it fits so well with Disposition and Triad. They all tell the same story. Disposition is sort of the beginning of the mind or the soul (I guess you could say the childhood), where you don't have as much experience or knowledge about the world, and you go entirely off of what you're taught. Your knowledge of the world depends on your disposition to it, and as such what people "mention [...] to [you]" causes the "weather [to] change". Reflection, then, is sort of the maturing of the soul, the adulthood if you will, where you begin to reflect on your experience. Triad, although being purely instrumental, closes off the trilogy well. I'll likely explain that on Triad's respective page.
Now for a bit of a part-by-part analysis of Reflection:
"I have come curiously close to the end, down Beneath my self-indulgent pitiful hole, defeated I Concede and (Concede and) move closer (Move closer), I may find comfort here I may find peace within the emptiness, how pitiful
It's calling me (Calling me) etc..."
The narrator lives in a self-indulgent, selfish lifestyle. He focuses his life on his own benefit, not on his moral or spiritual gain. He considers it a pitiful lifestyle, but he refuses to do anything about it, instead feeling defeated by it, and tries to find his happiness in what he has, rather than doing something to create his happiness by improving his life.
"And in my darkest moment, fetal and weepin' The moon tells me a secret, my confidant As full and bright as I am, this light is not my own and A million light reflections pass over me"
As the narrator is slipping down this path and losing himself, the moon (a common symbol of the spirit or spirituality) shares with him the secret of a proper life. It being "full and bright" means that it is pure and whole. And the reflections symbolise the knowledge and the awakening which he is receiving.
"It's source is bright and endless, she resuscitates the hopeless Without her we are lifeless satellites dreamin' dreams And as I pull my head out, I am without one doubt, don't want to be down here soothing my narcissism, I Must crucify the ego before it's far too late, I pray the light lifts me out
Before I pine away etc."
The moon is full of wisdom because it is truly complete and never-ending. It gives him hope and allows him to change, something he thought himself incapable of her, and now he believes himself indebted to her. And when he starts to truly see things, or "pull his head out" of his pitiful state, he realises that he no longer wants to be a part of such a selfish world, and wants to be a part of something bigger, which requires him to rid himself of his ego (often also referred to as the self) to become a part of something bigger, before it's far too late to change.
"So crucify the ego before it's far too late to leave behind this place, so negative and blind and cynical And you will come to find that we are all one mind, capable of all that's imagined and all conceivable Just let the light touch you and let the words spill through, just let them pass right through, bringin' out our hope and reason
Before we pine away etc."
And now he shares his realisation with the listener. He realises that we all must rid ourselves of our no-longer-necessary egos to become a part of something truly great, where all people are one. We are all the same person in different bodies. And if we see ourselves as that and unite, we're capable of everything, but rather because we remain selfish and refuse to listen to reason, we remain negative and blind and achieve very little. So he says that we must all accept this ("let the light touch you") and then share it with others to get them to see ("let the words spill though, just let them pass right through") until we can awaken the whole world to the true hope in the world, before we all destroy ourselves.
This song very much draws on the concepts explained in Lateralus, Parabol/Parabola, and to some extent, Schism, The Patient, and The Grudge. I'd suggest looking into the whole album.
Also, has anyone noticed that the intro to this song (when split into sections based on the introduction of instruments) is nearly the same when you play it backwards? I haven't yet found any meaning to this, other than the connection to the title.
Also, another comment I have to make. A lot of people on this forum, I've noticed, seem to believe that the "ego death" is a product solely of DMT (which Tool has been known to use). A similar sort of state (or what I assume to be similar, having never used or studied DMT) can be achieved through years of practice with deep meditation. A state of true unification with the world, where the self is truly destroyed and the person becomes one with the universe. I have experienced that myself. Although when the person returns from meditation, they return...
Also, another comment I have to make. A lot of people on this forum, I've noticed, seem to believe that the "ego death" is a product solely of DMT (which Tool has been known to use). A similar sort of state (or what I assume to be similar, having never used or studied DMT) can be achieved through years of practice with deep meditation. A state of true unification with the world, where the self is truly destroyed and the person becomes one with the universe. I have experienced that myself. Although when the person returns from meditation, they return to their normal state, and the ego returns with them, the memory of that form sticks forever.