Mind, Meditation

and

Magick

 A Structured Methodology

in Developing Your Psychic Potential

by

Gregory J. de Montfort

"All learning has an emotional base" - Plato

"The sign of intelligent people is the ability to control their emotions by the application of reason" - Mary Mannes

 Introduction: ....About This Work

Please bear with me as I update the graphics to this work - my faithful Mac died and I made the mistake of switching to a Windows machine - as a result, some of the graphics generated by the Mac have been corrupted.
I hope to have this rectified soon ..............

This work is written with the express purpose of benefiting all. But specifically so that you as a sentient entity in this Universe can learn to experience more than just the physical plane of five sense existence. In experiencing the subtler energies of the Universal Web of Life, and as your being becomes more attuned to the Natural Order of Nature and humanity's place within it, you will gain new and appreciable perceptive abilities; a deeper comprehension of your responsibilities and potentialities upon this planet. Man's evolution physiologically, is complete. Evolution now lies with that of Mind.

What is written here, is drawn from many sources, from the ancient Hermetic philosopher and alchemist to the modern Theosophist and psychologist {who could benefit greatly, I believe, from a study of the Ancient Wisdom} and of course, from personal experience. The benefits of the practice of Eastern meditation, especially in the hectic face of life and society's expectations today is undeniable. Many of you will say "Oh, ....I've heard all that before", and some of what you read will be, as all of the Great Truths have a habit of repeating themselves, arising as and when needed.

You will find this work different from any other simply because it is. It is a structured methodology to the attainment of Higher Meditative Practice; Heightened Powers of Perception of the physical as well as the Higher Realms.

In Meditation is the key to Mind; in Mind is the Key to Magick; and the key to All is the Trinity of Wisdom, Will and Love.

Magick is not and never can be a substitute for technology, nor can it ever be considered technology's equal, for it deals in terms of consciousness rather than the 'stuff' of the material world. This is not to say that magick does not affect the physical, but rather, that these effects are secondary. No more will the true 'magician' study it only for personal gain, for occultism knows no compromise of 'right' and 'wrong' - the Hidden Laws of the One Light and Nature prevail.

Magick is the art of producing changes in consciousness at will, and of using these changes to aid and expand the consciousness of all humanity. The art of ‘magick’ is in knowing how to channel specific energies into and through the physical body by the power of the Mind's Will in harmony with the patterns and correspondences of the threads of interacting energies that exist between Man, Nature, and the Cosmos, and of directing these energies to the benefit or some good. This is an important introduction to how practical magick is actually done. Fundamental to the old beliefs is the idea that the world in which we reside is a grand design, a totality in which the parts are all interrelated, interresponsive, and interdependant, so that whatever happens to the part affects the whole and vice versa. Many of the ills of the modern world can be traced to a neglect of this fundamental principle. {Some of you will have heard of Gaia}.

In our Western society, two thousand years of suppression through the dogma of deemed 'heretical practices' and ensuing persecution by and through the inquisitions of the various 'Orthodox' Churches, and the subsequent practice of 'magick' in secret, has resulted in what should by rights have been an organised body of philosophical thought and spiritual practice becoming maimed and garbled. Conflated in the popular mind with superstition and devil worship.

This work then, is an attempt at gathering that ancient lore and organising it into some perspective for future {re}growth.

It is by no means the definitive or only work of its kind, and I am sure that you will, through discussion with others and your own research, add to it as you progress.

By the time you conclude this work, you will have been provided new meaning to who you really are, and where your {humanity's} potential and destiny lies.

May others continue what should have been.

"As above; So below"

"All of creation and that which we experience is vibration"

The above statement serves to say that given that all is woven of the one thread; that there are higher {and lower} planes of consciousness; and that we, in our day to day lives, usually experience only one, and on occasion, the dream state; - and we accept that to experience other planes of consciousness, we need to attune our bodies and Minds in order to explore these realms; and that each of these realms has a corresponding part in the realm above and below it. Understand this and you will understand the cover axiom of: "As above; So below" - The same "laws" apply within each succeeding sphere or plane, only at a higher or corresponding level.

The ancients believed that this was the "Music of the Spheres" - in octaves of seven measurable sets of harmonics, and that certain names or mnemonics held certain power.

The first steps in attainment of conscious altered states are demanding for their simplicity only. Do not give in to the temptation of skipping any of the steps outlined, as if you do, you will undoubtedly not have developed the discipline required for this journey. Follow the guidelines set out in the exercises implicitly to the work's conclusion. Remember, these structured exercises are a method for developing your latent powers to perceive and understand other planes of existence as well as heightening perception of the physical, and the paths that these powers will open are a pathway to power and absolute power corrupts. Vigilance is the key word in this respect, as the Mind can deceive, so you must analyse what you perceive with due diligence and discrimination.

"The Mind makes a good servant but a poor master"

Throughout the work, various quotations of the old Masters and discussions of various precepts and philosophies will appear. The reader is encouraged to seek further illumination on these through their local libraries and/or discussion groups as they progress.

As previously stated the true 'magician' does not seek power only for himself, but for the benefit of all humanity. Always remember the one Light that shines behind all - judgement is within. The Light that we speak of - an emanation of the Divine Being, the Creator, {however you wish to express this}; the fact remains that we as sentient beings have a 'Soul' which has descended from the higher realms of that Light for the purpose of learning and perfection, and will ascend again at physical death, only to descend again if that 'perfection' is not attained. - The Karmic Laws of Eastern philosophical and Spiritual belief do hold true.

The three qualifications that will assist you on your journey are:

Wisdom, which enables you to help others; Will, which directs and discriminates the wisdom; and Love, which inspires the will. These are the three aspects of Trinity, and you who wish to serve the Light must show these aspects to the world.

You need not at this stage accept reincarnation and have absolute belief in Karmic Law to derive benefit from this work; and the proof of the soul's existence in previous lives, however logical, to the writer, has never been scientifically established, {Some very convincing circumstantial evidence is available, including documented cases and of course the Bible itself} -a search of your local library on the subject of reincarnation should provide you with enough material to make your own decisions.

Because of its very nature, reincarnation may forever elude absolute tangible proof in terms of scientific definition. The ancients taught that the evolved soul must reach the point of seeking the truth of Karma, in order to end the cycle of re-birth. Therefore, faith in reincarnation is a gift - a reward for the soul advanced enough to search for the meaning of its existence in the Universe and its Karmic obligations in the present life. Intelligent study of what other minds have found to be both false and true should be your goal - never be swayed until seeking and finding the truth in your own heart -

"Seek and ye shall find"

This is the only way to approach such a personal matter as life and death - make up your own mind after a thorough examination of the pros and cons of the opinions and arguments put before you.

The object of this work is to set you on the path of that seeking, and, through an ordered set of exercises and some insights into the beliefs of the ancients, is designed to improve your personal being in the physical - of 'breathing properly' and in harmony; and through meditation and concentrated effort, develop the potential that lies within your Mind.

After all it is a very short span in the definition of time from the cradle to the grave, why not improve your chances now?

 

The Cycle of Rebirth

You will note that some Eastern terms have been used in this work.

This has been done as in the instances that they have been used, the writer can find no Western words to adequately describe these concepts.

Meditation and Visualisation

"Thou canst not travel on the path before thou hast become that path itself"

Helena Petrovna Blavatsky

All individuals have the power within to expand consciousness and therefore themselves. Like everything else this must be learned through practice, patience and exercise. There is no short cut -the path must be taken step by step on a daily and consistent basis.

Privacy for your periods of work are essential - set aside an area, ideally a small room, where you may work in quiet and seclusion without interruption. Have in that room a straight backed chair, a mirror on the wall with a small table before it and a clean blanket on which to lie supine on the floor. Other items we will add as required. This then will be your private Sanctum.

These exercises may be said to be your initiatory period into the realms of magickal awakening. They are structured in order to prepare your Mind for the realms of the supernatural which at times can be profoundly disturbing to the untrained Mind of the 'dabbler'.

Take each exercise individually, examine it, perfect it, then when you truly feel you are ready, proceed to the next. Time is your ally - don't attempt to rush things - as The Path simply can not be.

EXERCISE ONE: Breathing. The "Yogic" Breath.

Set aside 5 minutes every morning - preferably at sunrise.

1-Lie supine on the blanket and relax- study a cat and how it relaxes.

2-Place your hand on your diaphragm, so that you may feel the transit of your breathing in.

3-Through the nose, breathe in slowly and deeply.

4-Whilst breathing in, press upon your diaphragm so that all three regions {the low, middle and high} are filled.

5-Without strain, hold for four seconds.

6-Exhale slowly through the nose, and when exhalation is nearly complete, draw in your abdomen.

Repeat this standing near an open window.

At the end of every exercise, draw in one quick breath and exhale quickly.

EXERCISE TWO: The Complete Breath.

1-Stand erect {with spine as straight as possible without strain}.

2-Breathe in through the nostrils and fill the low, middle and high in one continuous inhalation. First inflate the lower part of the lungs, by using your diaphragm and then forcing the air upwards into the rib cage. Still inhaling, fill the higher part of the lungs whilst drawing in the abdomen.

3-Hold the breath for four seconds and exhale slowly.

4-Finish the exercise as in 1.

EXERCISE THREE. Complete breath with Mantra.

1-Enter your sanctum and observe the usual preliminaries.

2-Make three complete breaths.

3-Stand with arms at the side, feet slightly apart and turned slightly outwards.

4-Slowly inhale whilst raising your arms to the side to shoulder height with palms facing downwards.

5-While holding your breath slowly turn the palms face upwards.

6-Slowly exhale and lower arms with palms still facing out.

7-Turn the palms to the original position whilst loudly reciting "Aum" {draw out the syllables as in: Hooooooooo-Mmmmmmm}

EXERCISE FOUR. Combining Breathing and Colour

1-Observe the usual preliminaries.

2-Perform three complete breaths with mantra.

3-Perform again and whilst doing so visualise a flood of azure-blue light, rising around your body at the same level and rate as your arms.

4-Hold the breath and whilst doing so, let the colour change to purple {like a ruff around your neck} it must be a gentle, embracing pastel purple. {This is vitally important as you will discover later}.

5-As you start to exhale, visualise a primrose yellow keeping time with your breath and the downward movement of your arms.

6-After you have accomplished this unified movement of breath, movement and colour for seven days {as many times as possible each day} reverse the entire process, ie. inhale to yellow, hold to white, exhale to blue, and clothe abdomen in purple. This exercise must be done for seven days.

7-When this is completed, alternate the colours daily for eight days.

EXERCISE FIVE: The Cleansing Breath.

1-Usual preliminaries.

2-Inhale a complete breath.

3-Retain as long as possible without strain.

4-With force expel a little of the retained air in a soundless whistle, then stop.

5-Repeat "whistle", exhaling until breath is gone.

This breath is to be used at the end of all further exercises.

The following diagram represents the difraction of light through a prism and the axiom of "As above; So below" is translated to the analogy of the planes of manifestation of the creative consciousness and Man/Mind as the 'prism'.

In scientific analysis, the spectrum of light is composed on the left as a wide band of Hertzian or infra-red waves; in the centre a narrow band of visible light; and on the right an infinite band ranging from ultra-violet, "X", and Gamma rays to the unknown.

Similarly, Man's consciousness can be so defined: on the left, the subconscious; in the middle, the narrow band of consciousness and on the right, the infinite band of 'ultra'-consciousness.

To act or cognise on each plane, Man needs a 'vehicle' suitable to that plane and a response system in the earthly instrument suitable for reception of that plane's frequencies. The vehicles are formed by involution, the outpouring of the Divine impluse and the gradation into various octave groups. This 'descent' is the province of advanced occultism and will be dealt with later in this work.

EXERCISE SIX: Discovering Prana

1-Observe the usual preliminaries

2-Lying down, start breathing in rhythm. Use a mental count

of four for inhaling, eight for holding, and four for exhaling. Make a circuit and your unconscious will readily adopt it. {You will ‘feel’ the tranquillity which comes when the circuit is working easily}.

2-Now make a ‘tent’ of your hands with the finger tips 2mm apart, fingers separated and stretching toward the ceiling.

3-Whilst continuing this rhythmic circuit of breathing, will that the pranic power be localised in your tented hands.{You may feel the resultant heat}.

4-Place the ‘tent’ on your solar plexus {nerve centre}. Perceive the heat rushing from the tent; rushing into the solar plexus and thence all over your body. {Sincere effort is required}.

PERFORM THIS PROCEDURE FOR SEVEN NIGHTS

5-When this automatic circuit has been achieved, move the locale to your heart; again mentally spread the pranic heat all over the body, though as you now have a different point of entry you are vitalising new forces.

ALTERNATE THE POINTS OF ‘ENTRY’ FOR TEN DAYS

6-When the unconscious has accepted this "instruction" {habit track}, place your tented hands over your throat. This time, however, feel the pranic force from the throat linking with the heart and solar plexus , and the whole acting as a circuit of power

7-After each effort utilise the cleansing breath.

Do the exercises each morning on waking and at night before sleep with as many in between as time allows.

READ THESE INSTRUCTIONS CAREFULLY AND PRACTISE REGULARLY AND PRECISELY.

EXERCISE SEVEN: Discovering ASANA {Posture}.

All work must be preceded by the breathing exercises in the seclusion of your Sanctum. There are two permissible postures for the purposes of meditation, that of India {Yoga} and that of Egypt.

YOGIC POSTURE: Sit with the right leg tucked under the left thigh and the left leg tucked under the right thigh, spine erect, head poised and very slightly tilted backwards. The kneecaps should be level, hands on knees, palms downwards, and eyes closed.

EGYPTIAN POSTURE: Sit on a hard straight backed chair, preferably without arms. Spine erect, head very slightly tilted backwards, arms resting on knees with palms upwards. Feet should be slightly apart with the whole body relaxed and eyes closed.

Practice both postures until they can be adopted with ease.

Now try an exercise in symbolism:-

1- Cut a triangle with equilateral sides of 300mm. Draw a 50mm diameter circle and colour it black.

2- Sit in the adopted Asana and gaze at the centre of the black spot.

3- Now consider the lines with the following comments:

BASE LINE: Pythagoras called this ‘mathematics’, because ‘all is number’ and the base of all material creation was number {this has been confirmed by modern physics}.

Hermetic teaching calls this reality; in the sense that it is what is known in the octave of vibration in which you are operating {usually the physical, but later when you can move into the Astral that will be the reality and the physical and other planes will be ‘shadowy’}.

Alchemy was the search for the philosophers stone, the universal ‘transmuting agent’. Underlying all things the alchemist believed in one Universal substance, a fundamental as everyone knows in these days of psychic speculation. The alchemist was the mathematician and used inductive logic.

LINE ON LEFT SIDE: Pythagoras called this ‘Music’, because it was an ascent from the fundamentals of mathematics to a higher perception. It spelt out the great Law of Harmony, the division into thirds, fourths and fifths, until it culminated at the peak of the triangle in the octave.

Hermetic teaching called this communication: the ascent of the reality to a higher and culminating peak.

SCIENTIFIC RELIGION: The ascent to ‘The Peak’- the "Oversoul", the shedding of each life’s personality.

LINE ON RIGHT SIDE: Pythagoras called this ‘Metaphysics’, the inspiration from higher to earth level. It is the hidden or occult wisdom possessed by all ‘Sons of God’.

Hermetic philosophy calls this affinity; believing in purpose it is the pathway whereby deductive logic allows man to perceive the greater truths at lower levels-"As above so below".

Scientific Religion, also called Occultism, believes that by discipline, practice and pursuit of wisdom, latent powers are available on earth and that their acquisition expresses continuity; there is no death. Men are mortal Gods.

4- Gaze at each line and try to make your own concept of what it symbolises. As you finish with each line, return your gaze to the centre spot and wait- you may feel an intimation about the line you have considered that you have missed. Treat each line in order and at least once a day. This exercise cannot be effectively done in less than thirty minutes.

Background and Brief Description of the Above Philosophies

Pythagoras was a Greek philosopher and mathemetician born in Samos around 580BC. He was schooled in the Ionian teachings and philosophies and in his subsequent travels was initiated into the mysteries of the Egyptian Priesthood.

The religious and philosophical school that Pythagoras founded was expiated by the 'authorities' of the time by burning participants alive in their meeting places. The school was based upon the Orphic mysteries. They believed in the transmigration of the soul and abstinence in all extravagance. Fasting was a predominant feature of their beliefs. Frequent self examination and mathematics, geometry {with emphasis on celestial or divine geometry} and astronomy were delved into in great detail.

The Pythagorean school of thought was one of the first to recognise that the Sun was in fact the centre of our solar system.

The Hermetic Books are a collection of metaphysical treatises and dialogues dating from the middle of the 1st century BC to the 4th century AD, purporting to be revelations of Thoth, the Egyptian god of wisdom. Much of the collection, written in Greek and Latin, concerns alchemy, astrology, and magick, representing beliefs and ideas prevalent in the early Roman Empire. The 17 tracts of the Corpus Hermeticum deal with theological and philosophical questions; their central theme is the regeneration and deification of humankind through knowledge of the one transcendent God. Although the setting of the collection is Egyptian, its philosophical orientation is Greek (Platonic).

Metaphysics is a branch of philosophy concerned with the nature of ultimate reality. Metaphysics is customarily divided into ontology, which deals with the question of how many fundamentally distinct sorts of entities compose the universe, and metaphysics proper, which is concerned with describing the most general traits of reality. These general traits together define reality and would presumably characterize any universe whatever. Because these traits are not peculiar to this universe, but are common to all possible universes, metaphysics may be conducted at the highest level of abstraction. Ontology, by contrast, because it investigates the ultimate divisions within this universe, is more closely related to the physical world of human experience.

The term metaphysics is believed to have originated in Rome about 70 BC, with the Greek Peripatetic philosopher Andronicus of Rhodes (flourished 1st century BC) in his edition of the works of Aristotle. In the arrangement of Aristotle's works by Andronicus, the treatise originally called First Philosophy, orTheology, followed the treatise Physics. Hence, theFirst Philosophy came to be known as meta (ta) physica, or "following (the) Physics," later shortened to Metaphysics. The word took on the connotation, in popular usage, of matters transcending material reality. In the philosophic sense, however, particularly as opposed to the use of the word by occultists, metaphysics applies to all reality and is distinguished from other forms of inquiry by its generality.

The subjects treated in Aristotle's Metaphysics {substance, causality, the nature of being, and the existence of God} fixed the content of metaphysical speculation for centuries. Among the medieval Scholastic philosophers, metaphysics was known as the "transphysical science" on the assumption that, by means of it, the scholar philosophically could make the transition from the physical world to a world beyond sense perception. The 13th-century Scholastic philosopher and theologian St. Thomas Aquinas declared that the cognition of God, through a causal study of finite sensible beings, was the aim of metaphysics. With the rise of scientific study in the 16th century the reconciliation of science and faith in God became an increasingly important problem.

Metaphysics Before Kant

Before the time of the German philosopher Immanuel Kant metaphysics was characterized by a tendency to construct theories on the basis of a priori knowledge, that is, knowledge derived from reason alone, in contradistinction to a posteriori knowledge, which is gained by reference to the facts of experience. From a priori knowledge were deduced general propositions that were held to be true of all things. The method of inquiry based on a priori principles is known as rationalistic. This method may be subdivided into monism, which holds that the universe is made up of a single fundamental substance; dualism, the belief in two such substances; and pluralism, which proposes the existence of many fundamental substances. The monists, agreeing that only one basic substance exists, differ in their descriptions of its principal characteristics. Thus, in idealistic monism the substance is believed to be purely mental; in materialistic monism it is held to be purely physical, and in neutral monism it is considered neither exclusively mental nor solely physical. The idealistic position was held by the Irish philosopher George Berkeley, the materialistic by the English philosopher Thomas Hobbes, and the neutral by the Dutch philosopher Baruch Spinoza. The latter expounded a pantheistic view of reality in which the universe is identical with God and everything contains God's substance. See Idealism; Materialism; Pantheism.

The most famous exponent of dualism was the French philosopher René Descartes, who maintained that body and mind are radically different entities and that they are the only fundamental substances in the universe. Dualism, however, does not show how these basic entities are connected. In the work of the German philosopher Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz, the universe is held to consist of an infinite number of distinct substances, or monads. This view is pluralistic in the sense that it proposes the existence of many separate entities, and it is monistic in its assertion that each monad reflects within itself the entire universe. Other philosophers have held that knowledge of reality is not derived from a priori principles, but is obtained only from experience. This type of metaphysics is called empiricism. Still another school of philosophy has maintained that, although an ultimate reality does exist, it is altogether inaccessible to human knowledge, which is necessarily subjective because it is confined to states of mind. Knowledge is therefore not a representation of external reality, but merely a reflection of human perceptions. This view is known as skepticism or agnosticism in respect to the soul and the reality of God.

The Metaphysics of Kant

Several major viewpoints were combined in the work of Kant, who developed a distinctive critical philosophy called transcendentalism. His philosophy is agnostic in that it denies the possibility of a strict knowledge of ultimate reality; it is empirical in that it affirms that all knowledge arises from experience and is true of objects of actual and possible experience; and it is rationalistic in that it maintains a priori character of the structural principles of this empirical knowledge.

These principles are held to be necessary and universal in their application to experience, for in Kant's view the mind furnishes the archetypal forms and categories (space, time, causality, substance, and relation) to its sensations, and these categories are logically anterior to experience, although manifested only in experience. Their logical anteriority to experience makes these categories or structural principles transcendental; they transcend all experience, both actual and possible. Although these principles determine all experience, they do not in any way affect the nature of things in themselves. The knowledge of which these principles are the necessary conditions must not be considered, therefore, as constituting a revelation of things as they are in themselves. This knowledge concerns things only insofar as they appear to human perception or as they can be apprehended by the senses. The argument by which Kant sought to fix the limits of human knowledge within the framework of experience and to demonstrate the inability of the human mind to penetrate beyond experience strictly by knowledge to the realm of ultimate reality constitutes the critical feature of his philosophy, giving the key word to the titles of his three leading treatises, Critique of Pure Reason, Critique of Practical Reason, and Critique of Judgment. In the system propounded in these works, Kant sought also to reconcile science and religion in a world of two levels, comprising noumena: objects conceived by reason although not perceived by the senses, and phenomena: things as they appear to the senses and are accessible to material study. He maintained that, because God, freedom, and human immortality are noumenal realities, these concepts are understood through moral faith rather than through scientific knowledge. With the continuous development of science, the expansion of metaphysics to include scientific knowledge and methods became one of the major objectives of metaphysicians.

Metaphysics Since Kant

Some of Kant's most distinguished followers, notably Johann Gottlieb Fichte, Friedrich Schelling, G. W. F. Hegel, and Friedrich Schleiermacher, negated Kant's criticism in their elaborations of his transcendental metaphysics by denying the Kantian conception of the thing-in-itself. They thus developed an absolute idealism in opposition to Kant's critical transcendentalism. Since the formation of the hypothesis of absolute idealism, the development of metaphysics has resulted in as many types of metaphysical theory as existed in pre-Kantian philosophy, despite Kant's contention that he had fixed definitely the limits of philosophical speculation. Notable among these later metaphysical theories are radical empiricism, or pragmatism, a form of metaphysics expounded by Charles Sanders Peirce, developed by William James, and adapted as instrumentalism by John Dewey; voluntarism, the foremost exponents of which are the German philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer and the American philosopher Josiah Royce; phenomenalism, as it is exemplified in the writings of the French philosopher Auguste Comte and the British philosopher Herbert Spencer; emergent evolution, or creative evolution, originated by the French philosopher Henri Bergson; and the philosophy of the organism, elaborated by the British mathematician and philosopher Alfred North Whitehead. The salient doctrines of pragmatism are that the chief function of thought is to guide action, that the meaning of concepts is to be sought in their practical applications, and that truth should be tested by the practical effects of belief; according to instrumentalism, ideas are instruments of action, and their truth is determined by their role in human experience. In the theory of voluntarism the will is postulated as the supreme manifestation of reality. The exponents of phenomenalism, who are sometimes called positivists, contend that everything can be analyzed in terms of actual or possible occurrences, or phenomena, and that anything that cannot be analyzed in this manner cannot be understood. In emergent or creative evolution, the evolutionary process is characterized as spontaneous and unpredictable rather than mechanistically determined. The philosophy of the organism combines an evolutionary stress on constant process with a metaphysical theory of God, the eternal objects, and creativity.

Contemporary Developments

In the 20th century the validity of metaphysical thinking has been disputed by the logical positivists (The reader is advised to research Analytic and Linguistic Philosophy; Positivism) and by the so-called dialectical materialism of the Marxists. The basic principle maintained by the logical positivists is the verifiability theory of meaning. According to this theory a sentence has factual meaning only if it meets the test of observation. Logical positivists argue that metaphysical expressions such as "Nothing exists except material particles" and "Everything is part of one all-encompassing spirit" cannot be tested empirically. Therefore, according to the verifiability theory of meaning, these expressions have no factual cognitive meaning, although they can have an emotive meaning relevant to human hopes and feelings.

The dialectical materialists assert that the mind is conditioned by and reflects material reality. Therefore, speculations that conceive of constructs of the mind as having any other than material reality are themselves unreal and can result only in delusion. To these assertions metaphysicians reply by denying the adequacy of the verifiability theory of meaning and of material perception as the standard of reality. Both logical positivism and dialectical materialism, they argue, conceal metaphysical assumptions, for example, that everything is observable or at least connected with something observable and that the mind has no distinctive life of its own. In the philosophical movement known as existentialism, thinkers have contended that the questions of the nature of being and of the individual's relationship to it are extremely important and meaningful in terms of human life. The investigation of these questions is therefore considered valid whether or not its results can be verified objectively.

Since the 1950s the problems of systematic analytical metaphysics have been studied in Great Britain by Stuart Newton Hampshire and Peter Frederick Strawson, the former concerned, in the manner of Spinoza, with the relationship between thought and action, and the latter, in the manner of Kant, with describing the major categories of experience as they are embedded in language. In modern times, metaphysics has been pursued much in the spirit of positivism by Wilfred Stalker Sellars and Willard Van Orman Quine. Sellars has sought to express metaphysical questions in linguistic terms, and Quine has attempted to determine whether the structure of language commits the philosopher to asserting the existence of any entities whatever and, if so, what kind. In these new formulations the issues of metaphysics and ontology remain vital 'food for thought' and contemplation.

 

EXERCISE EIGHT: Concentration Yantra.

A ‘Yantra’ is an aid to concentration based upon such experiences that you have already had in this study. These experiences may be amplified by the work of using the yantra.

Construct a circle of 350mm diameter; inside that and from it’s centre, draw a circle of 50mm diameter, and within that a third circle of 12.5mm. Mentally number these 1,2 and 3 in terms of decreasing diameter.

In circle 3,{the smallest}, paint a 6mm yellow rim around it’s circumference {the inside is painted white. In circle 2, and working from the outside of the yellow rim, paint the circle black. In circle 1, paint a 6mm blue rim around it’s circumference.

Hang this on the wall of your sanctum, at eye level when seated in your chair {about 1500mm away}.

Under conditions of privacy and near silence and by the light of a night light {a single candle in a saucer of clean water} only, the first stage is as follows:

Part One:

1-usual preliminaries including flooding and breathing.

2-Now rest for one minute with eyes closed.

3-On opening eyes, gaze at the centre of your yantra. Proceeding in usual fashion then, gradually lower the eyelids until your best personal position is achieved.

4-Concentrate thoroughly and wait.

Hopefully you will be fortunate enough to experience a wave of colour over the yantra or in the room itself.

Once achieved, gaze at the ceiling for a few seconds. If you continue to fail to see these vibratory colours, you may be too close, or you may need to utilise your own colours - try alternating them.

Part Two :

Within the inner circle place a symbol that is dear to you, perhaps even a loved ones photograph {clear enough to be seen}.

Now, repeat the entire process, never allow your concentration to lapse. Wait, do NOT be impatient, the results have to come from inner distances. Perform this as regularly as possible until results are achieved. Once achieved, you are at the door to the higher states, do not be afraid to go through.

PERFORM THIS FOR FOURTEEN DAYS

EXERCISE NINE: Further Concentrative Exercises.

1-Prepare sanctum - night light {candle} and mirror.

2-Perform all usual preliminaries.

3-’Flood’ the room with your affinite colour.

4-Take a watch or clock with a second hand, and place it in a position that you may observe it without disturbing your asana.

5-Concentrate on the tip of the second hand only. Disregard all other aspects of the timepiece.

6-If your attention wanders-STOP-Now note the time and begin again once the second hand strikes the hour. You must be truthful to yourself. Work until you can muster three minutes of total concentration. Concentration is the key to all in this early work.

EXERCISE TEN: Concentration of Colour.

Make 7 ‘cards’-150mm x 100mm. Paint the cards white. On three draw an inverted triangle, on the other three draw a circle.

Now colour wash the forms in pastel shades as follows:-

Triangle first day-pale red

Circle second day-pale orange

Triangle third day-pale green

Circle fourth day-pale blue

Triangle fifth day-pale yellow

Circle sixth day-pale violet

Seventh card-plain white

1-Perform the essential preliminaries.

2-Place the card at eye level according to your asana.

3-Gaze at the symbol; give it all your attention - refuse all other thought. The colour should ‘come out’ to surround you. With sincere practice you can fill the room with the colour of your card.

4-Use the cards in the order named and on succeeding nights.

One colour will flood more easily - this is your affinite colour. You may have a second. Continue until you are sure of it’s ‘rightness’.

5-After 1 month discard the remaining cards except for your main and secondary and continue this meditative practice until you can ‘flood’ the colours at will anywhere, any time and observe the reaction of those around you when you do so.

EXERCISE ELEVEN: Concentration - The Candle.

1-Observe preliminaries and flood room with colour

{Henceforth incorporate this exercise as part of the preliminaries}.

2-Stand the night light in a saucer of water, level with your eyes when seated on your chair.

3-Look at the flame. Begin visual concentration - for a few seconds only at this stage. Very slowly close your eyes until there is only a slit left for normal vision or until the flame seems brightest. This point is the correct ‘veiling’ of the eyes for you - keep to it.

4-Within a few moments of gentle concentration the rays from the flame will be seen; they go off in all directions from the flame.

5-When the rays are quite clear to your sight, will , deliberately will, that they converge and shine toward you.

6-The rays will shine directly at your heart, throat or your nose root as these are the focal points {‘Chakras’ or ‘Wheels of Force’} for the development of your latent powers. Let the rays come , let them come to the place which you find natural for you.

7-Practice this until the rays direct themselves to the correct chakra without your active willing.

EXERCISE 12: Concentration - Candle and Mirror.

Set two candles in separate saucers of water in front of a mirror, spaced so that when you are seated 1500mm opposite, their reflections are just visible in the sides of the mirror.

All preliminary exercises are to be completed prior to sitting down. Then rest a few moments.

1-Gaze directly into the eyes reflected in the mirror. At first stare with absolute intensity {making sure the flames of the candles are reflected in the mirror}.

2-Very slowly, begin to lower your eyelids until you are just seeing through slits and wait.

3-At this stage the resultant variations are many to different people

- DO NOT PANIC- but concentrate and wait.

You may experience such things as : Your reflection may disappear altogether; if so wait. It is possible that your Master may appear.

Do not dramatise and be truthful to yourself. Your reflection may change in appearance, {transfiguration} and has many meanings - try to search for the answer.

If you cannot, then search out an adept who can assist. You may experience waves of colour. As stated, many variations are possible and there is nothing to fear. Practice this exercise three times daily at the least.

EXERCISE THIRTEEN: Concentration - The Tulip.

Requirements-as before with the addition of a translucent light blue bowl or vase filled to within 25mm of the top with clean water.

1-Usual preliminaries.

2-First concentrate on the vase itself. You will know that what you are doing is to some extent magnetising these. Think of the water within and bring them into harmony with your mental power.

3-When you feel you are 'en rapport', place a tulip in the vase.

It does not matter whether this is real or imaginary.

4-Examine the bulb; note the different colouration of the skin.

See the tulip, when you can do so, gently close your eyes and perceive it through closed eyes; it will probably seem closer to you than it appears on the table. When you have done so, slowly open your eyes and stare at the tulip.

5-Visualise the growth. Perceive how, from the bottom of the bulb, small tender white tendrils appear almost like little worms drawn by the power of the water and it’s magnetism.

If you watch, they will reasonably quickly touch the water, and you may perceive the vibrations.

6-Once the roots are in the water, you will see a small green shoot come up from the top of the bulb. It grows under your fascinated ‘sight’ until finally proud and erect, the flower shoot and bud will emerge. For some this will actually burst into flower, and if it does so, note the colour - it will have a later meaning to you.

This exercise will take some time to accomplish, but when you have done it, you will have allied your concentration to visualisation, and many powers will lie within your ability.

[Note: Not every human being is equally able to sense the currents of Natural forces/energies flowing in the Web of the Etheric which interpenetrate the Physical {and Astral}, nor are we equally able to utilise {Channel and direct} them. Hence the use of aids or 'tools'].

  + Do not proceed until proficient in this exercise +

 

Chakras as Physical Centres of Vital Energy

 See also the article:- "Astrology and Chakras"

Of interest within our study of man, mind and his vehicles, are the Chakra Points of the human body and in their correspondences to the Jewish tradition of the Kabbalah which has seized the imagination of philosophers, psychologists and occultists since Renaissance times.

The Chakras are energy centres located in the vicinity of specific human organs and are linked to each other by energy channels forming a balanced vital energy circuit.

By stimulating the Chakra in meditation, a feeling of wholeness and balance is created, beneficial both spiritually and physically.

Chakra meditation is a special type of concentrative meditation which draws upon Kundalini Yoga for its correspondences.

It is the practice of drawing psychic energy {kundalini} to flow up sushumna, energising the various chakras along the way.

In this way, as each chakra is 'energised', it is believed that occult powers {sidhis} are added exponentially to the individual until at last the crown chakra and enlightenment is attained.

Colour and more specifically, Spectrum Association, {as dealt with in the diagram on page five of this work}, with the various Chakras plays an important role in determining the choosing of Crystals as an aid to advanced meditative practices, and channelling energy [as will be dealt with later in this work] and are as follows:-

1. Red: The 'Root' Chakra

The centre of the basic will to survive and of the material world. Courage, stability, physical health. Primarily relates to the element of earth and to psychic smell. Associated with the spinal column, adrenals, colon, legs and bones.

2. Orange: The 'Lower Abdomen' Chakra {sacral centre}

The centre of feeling and emotion, sexual desire, craving, family life, harmony and tolerance. Elemental association is water and corresponds to psychic taste. Associated with the ovaries, testicles, prostate, genitals, womb and bladder.

3. Yellow: The 'Solar Plexus' Chakra

The centre of self-respect, willpower, confidence, physical energy and self-control. The element of Fire and psychic sight {clairvoyance} Associated with the adrenals, stomach, liver, muscles and nervous system.

4. Green: The 'Heart' Chakra

The centre of compassion, forgiveness, gentleness and the acceptance of reality as it is. The element of Air and psychic touch. Associated with the heart, circulatory system and the arms and lungs.

5. Blue: The 'Throat' Chakra

Centre of communication, speech, knowledge, wisdom and kindness. The element of Air and psychic hearing {clairaudience}Associated with the throat, thyroid gland, and mouth.

6. Indigo: The 'Third Eye' Chakra

The centre of creativity, intuition, imagination insight and devotion to spiritual knowledge. The seat of psychic powers. Meditation on this point is said to cure nervousness. Associated with the pituitary gland, nose, ears, and left eye.

7. Violet: The 'Crown' Chakra

The highest Chakra symbolising the merging of the human Mind with the Divine: Spiritual Unity and Wisdom. Astral projection and enlightenment. Associated with the cerebral cortex, central nervous system and the right eye.

Kabbalistic doctrine is concerned with the realm of the Divine Emanations or Sefiroth in which God's creative power unfolds. Kabbalists have devised many ways of describing this realm. Since it is in principle the content of a Mystic's vision, they speak of it in a language of symbols, as it is not directly perceptible to the human Mind. The diagram on the following page illustrates the Chakras with reference to the body's endocrine system and the Sefiroth of the Kabalah:

The Kabbalistic conception of Adam Kadmon, the Heavenly or Primordial Man. Some kabbalists are of the opinion that the first form patterned by the Ein Sof {The Divine Consciousness} was not Sefiroth, but the body of Adam Kadmon {of which Adam in The Garden of Eden is the Old Testament counterpart}. Adam Kadmon is traditionally shown from the rear because in the Book of Exodus when Moses on the Mount asks God to show him His Glory, the reply is, "Thou shalt see my back parts; but my face shall not be seen".

The Kabbalah asserts that all things in the Universe are part of an organised whole, governed by secret laws, and with hidden correspondences between many things that do not overtly appear to be linked. It is also based on the precept that all phenomena contain something of the Divine, and that man is in some way a reflection of both God and the Universe. Behind the Kabbalistic view is the notion that God is totally unknowable. He cannot be directly addressed in prayer. He is everything and nothing, and cannot be ascribed qualities of good and evil. He is known as Ein Sof, Infinate Radiance.

He did not create the Universe, and therefore cannot be responsible for it.

The Universe emanated or flowed out of Him.

The study of the principles and relationships of the Sefiroth of the Kabbalah are worthy of a lifetimes contemplation in itself.

The idea of the Soul's descent and ascent through the spheres first took shape in the countries of the Eastern Mediterranean and was adapted into the Tree of Life concept - where the soul originated with God and descended through the spheres, picking up the characteristic of each sphere like a new 'skin' as it passed through to the physical and thereby represents the qualities in miniature of the Universe in itself, with each 'layer' corresponding to a sphere or Sefira.

Above: the 10 Sefiroth with the twenty two pathways connecting them. The Sefiroth shown are the emanations of Ein Sof, the totally unknowable, incomprehensible God. The 10 Sefirothic lights are grouped in three triads. The first is Kether, Hokmah, and Binah which represent the thought processes of God; the second is Hesed, Din, and Tifereth which are symbolic of God's moral power; the third is Netsah, Hod, and Yesod which represent the material Universe; and Malkuth which is at the bottom, the earth, where all paths begin.

 The Ptolemaic view of the Universe {below} is in keeping with the method of illustrating the Sefiroth as concentric circles, or spheres and was the accepted {orthodox ecclesiastical} view of the Universe from ancient Greek times to the sixteenth century.

 

Yet another way of visualising the sefiroth is as three pillars, which creates a whole new set of relationships of the Sefiroth. In this method, a theme of opposites is used, with masculine Sefiroth on the right hand pillar, and feminine on the left hand. The middle pillar acts as a balance between them. This pillar, in addition, provides a direct line from the divine - Kether; to the material - Malkuth; which are the supreme Kabbalistic opposites.

The Kabbala, particularly when viewed in the context of the Tree of Life, is a method of using Mind, not purely a system of knowledge in itself. In journeying in the world of the Sefiroth the Kabbalist has to learn the powers of Concentration and Visualisation. Then he has to learn to detach from the physical by mastering those powers; learning to achieve a trance like state in which he can visualise a clear image of his own body in front of him, like a double made up of Etheric/Astral matter; then to transfer his consciousness to this construct of the second body so that he is functioning {seeing/perceiving} through it and begin the long hard ascent to Kether.

The traditional visual imagery and symbolic associations and correspodences of the Sefiroth of the Kabbalah make an excellent focus for contemplation in advanced meditative exercise and will be examined later in this work as we learn to expand our consciousness and powers of concentration and visualisation.

EXERCISE FOURTEEN: The Vehicles Of Man-Physical. -Moving Consciousness

The Divine Force reaches it's lowest point of density manifestation in the physical. It is from this earth plane that our type of evolution begins it's ascent {other life forms have corresponding levels}. Our objective is of course to achieve development of waking consciousness in all man's vehicles to the fullest extent, and reach toward the individual who has control over all the planes of Man's evolution.

This ascent is twofold in its action: {1} it purifies and causes Man to evolve as a physical being and {2} it helps the higher-plane vehicles of the individual to evolve by passing through experiences and impulses which could only be gained at a lower level. This continues through all planes.

Retire to your sanctum with yantra on wall, one candle set in a bowl of water and a hard backed chair. Adopt the Egyptian Asana.

As a first exercise in the spreading of consciousness, we are going to perceive through several points which coincide with chakras or glands.

1- Observe usual preliminaries

2- Gaze at yantra, full stare, normal, and slowly close eyes.

3- As you close your eyes, try to retain yantra centre.

4- Realise you have been seeing through the eyes; now move your consciousness to another point. Feel you are ‘seeing’ through the root of the nose. Do not consider this instruction as idiotic; it is not. If you succeed in moving consciousness, you will find a slight pain at the base of the nose. This is the pineal gland, of which the dictionary says is "a gland of unknown use - believed to be a vestigial sense {sight} organ: thought by Desecrates to be the seat of the soul". Occultists know this as the "third eye".

If this vibration at the base of the nose fails to appear, then, with your eyes still closed, focus your eyes to this point {squint}. This is purely a physical action to assist the movement.

5- Once this slight pain has been achieved, move the consciousness downwards, first to the tip of the nose {which many Eastern societies regard as ‘the squint to the entry gate’}. Rest a while at this point.

6- Continue the path downwards over the closed lips and to the throat. Many will here get their strongest impressions. Rest a while.

7- Travel downwards until you reach the physical shoulder bones. If you are right handed go left; if left handed, go right; and proceed to the location of your physical heart. Rest a while.

8- Now take the opposite side and go upwards to your shoulder thus making an inverted triangle from the shoulders, with the heart as apex.

9- Now go back to the root of the nose, retracing the former path but not resting, and on arrival slowly open eyes and gaze intently at the yantra.

This is but a beginners exercise in the moving of consciousness.

Successful undertaking is a valuable asset as it will locate your main chakra-either pineal, heart or throat.

Practise this exercise regularly, and when a sufficient degree of concentration is reached, it may be done anywhere by visualising the yantra.

EXERCISE FIFTEEN: Perceiving The Etheric.

This is an exercise of great importance to your journey. It may be termed your entry into the realm of extra sensory perception.

It endeavours to facilitate cooperation between the soul/mind and physical/etheric at a lower level -the Etheric.

As always the preliminaries must be undertaken prior.

As you are hoping to make your first contact with the realm of the Etheric it is essential that you achieve the right frame of mind through the preliminaries of breathing and tranquillity.

1. Preliminaries as outlined.

2. Lie face upwards -naked on a suitably folded blanket, with a pillow supporting your head- and a single candle burning { at a distance - so the resultant light is somewhat subdued}

3. Place your feet about 20 inches apart and turn your feet outward until they are relaxed upon the blanket.

4. Place hands palms upwards about ten inches from both sides of your body

5. Ensure that your shoulders are 'flat' and that you are totally relaxed

6. Hold that feeling of relaxation, allowing yourself to feel too heavy to move - as though you are so heavy that you are sinking into the floor.

Continue this feeling of total relaxation - too relaxed to move at all. This is very important.

7. Now let your Mind consciousness take over; you have severed from your body sensation, and it is lying comfortably 'comatose'. Now mentally go down to your toes and feel every portion of them - picture the big toe, feel it glowing with health, feel it so intensely that you can visualise the bones, the muscles, the coursing blood, until it is really glowing.

8. Then slowly, very slowly, raise your leg so that the big toe is just visible. Can you now see the haze surrounding that big toe, which was glowing in your thinking? This is the Etheric.

As in all things, do not expect immediate results. So long as you are sincere in your attempts, it will become with practice, more easy for you to do.

EXERCISE SIXTEEN. Further Exercises in the Etheric Part 1

1. As a variation after the same preliminaries, instead of raising your leg - make a tent of your hands - review exercise 6.

2. In this exercise let the fingertips just touch, the fingers wide apart and stretching.

3. As soon as you feel they are in a comfortable union, just slightly break the contact. This will cause the Etheric you have vitalised in the 'tent' to jump between the fingers {like a spark} that can be seen in dim light.

It will be more discernable in these early stages if viewed against a black cloth or similar background.

At this point in our exercises, consider the concept of the Great Law of Interpenetration.

Just as at this moment our physical bodies are bombarded with waves of sight and sound of which we are unaware but a medium called a television set can make our dull physical senses aware - so do all bodies interpenetrate. The chemico-spatial earth body is penetrated by the Etheric or electrical field body which performs the function of living, binding the independant cells together. But as an entity, we are only conscious and communicable when we are penetrated by 'Mind stuff' and feeling. The feeling emotions are at their lowest shared with other animals, and at their highest demonstrate a selflessness transcending all thought and reason in a sublime act of surrender.

EXERCISE SEVENTEEN: Further Exercises in the Etheric Part 2

1. Perform the usual preliminaries, which now should include the gripping of the thumbs and making a 'tent' -you should be able to

feel a sensation of heat in your tented hands.

2. When you begin to feel this sensation, slowly arise and seat yourself before a table laid with a black cloth and repeat. When you can feel the heat - stare at the black cloth in front of you and wait for the heat to come.

3. Place your hand at the place you have been staring, with open fingers stretched to capacity. You will then with continued practice see the etheric around the hand.

"All living things are controlled by 'electro dynamic fields', which can be mapped and measured by standard voltometers. The Universe is an ordered system, the human organism an ordered component." So stated Professor S. Burr of Yale's School of Medicine in his work "Blue Print for Immortality". "The fields," he asserts, "are influenced by the vast forces of space and, like the simpler fields of physics, can produce an effect across a gap or space without any visible intervening means". [The Reader should research Fractal Geometry and the Mandlebrot Set - A recent mathematical discovery concerning the etheric and hence every living thing.]

EXERCISE EIGHTEEN: The Vehicles of Man - The Astral

The Astral - the vehicle of emotion - is the reservoir of all the happenings which have affected Man's 'feelings' and emotional character. Under the stress of great emotion, Man seems to have periods when he is above reason and physical pain. Consider the so called 'fire-walkers' or the archbishop accused of heresy and in witnessing the torture and burning of his comrades, signed a confession he knowingly knew to be false. - When his conscience finally prevailed he allowed the offending hand which signed the document to burn off. This ability of mind and feeling to transcend ordinary physical pain points to the fact of a higher vehicle -to the fact that man is something more than purely physical.

The occultists believe that the refinement of our experiences on earth comes through the winnowing away of 'bad' things which we have in our unconscious feeling selves, and the passing of the 'good' things from our unconscious minds to our higher state of mind, which we call the super conscious.

It is erroneous to think of all vehicles as separate; they are interpenetrating -vehicles of a true consciousness. On the whole however, the consciousness at the Astral stage will examine feelings of all kinds; love and hate, repression and blossoming, jealousy and disinterested affection. All these constitute the matter for the consciousness in the Astral world.

Now to differentiate the Etheric and the Astral. The Etheric is the vitaliser of the physical body; without it's presence the physical is dead. The Etheric pervades the physical and vitalises the whole, although as you have seen, this is visible as the 'aura' extending outward from the physical. The Astral is the higher vehicle - above the physico-etheric and is in fact the emotional body for Man.

Now to move on to the exercises... never forgetting to perform the preliminaries of breathing and colour flooding.

1. We shall now combine the mirror exercises of exercise 12 with that of the Etheric -15,16 and 17.

2. Full preliminaries.

3. Perform the mirror exercise until some result has been achieved. As previously explained the result cannot be foretold and may vary. When this occurs stretch out your arms with extended fingers as though trying to reach the walls opposite and at right angles.

4. While the vitalising of the fingertips proceeds, move your consciousness to the root of your nose and 'perceive' through that locale.

5. You will now experience some happening; usually the mirror will show a ring of colour and probably a face or a symbol will appear in the centre of the ring momentarily.

After some months, but more probably after years of continued practice, you will see the auras of others in ordinary daylight in the street.

Like all powers- it is two edged, and that is why your moral and philosophic outlook must proceed slightly ahead of your search for knowledge and power.

At all times in this work if you are faced with a word, idea or concept that you do not understand, do not just skip the section, but consult a dictionary, encyclopedia, or preferably a specialist work perhaps from the local library, and research and contemplate the point until you do understand it before moving on.

Even if you feel that you do understand it, it is always wise to consider what others have found to be the case before accepting one point of view as fact. Remember - discernment in all things.

The search for magick is a quest for knowledge; a quest that soon becomes an unquenchable thirst to those who know.

EXERCISE NINETEEN. The Vehicles of Man - Mental, Perceiving the Egg

All man's activities create for themselves a separate 'vehicle' of matter vibrating at such a rate as can respond to the activity concerned. Most occultists separate the Mind of Man into two vehicles, and most psychologists today would accept this differentiation and agree that man's mind has a twofold aspect. In addition to our physical perceptions and the thoughts that deal with all that relates to man's physical environment, there is a creative mind which is perhaps far more important in the defining of what Man is. Most of the important physical functions such as the beating of the heart and cell renewal is done in the purely sub-conscious requiring no actual thought on our part, but is largely 'automatic'. This consciousness which is not obsessed by the physical environment is what Carl Gustov Jung called the collective unconsciousness. And the sending of telepathic messages and the storing of memories he placed under the heading of our superconscious selves.

The physical, etheric and astral all relate to a particular personality which is only a portion of a real 'self', but with abstract thought we touch that wider realm, - the spiritual realm, in which, as all the mystics of all the worlds' religions have taught us, our true self exists.

The power of abstract thought is on a higher frequency {ie. a higher state of consciousness} than concrete thought. The latter deals with observed fact and emotion emanating from physical causes. The former, abstract thinking, accepts values which apply in normal physical life but which we rightly attribute to as 'coming from above'; that is from the Oversoul.

The abstract, by visualisation, can create in the physical world and by the power of imagination can create in fact.

In our Western world we can readily observe this phenomenon in the analogy of the creation of a major building work.

The architect first visualises the layout and structure in his imagination and 'sees' how his work should look, then proceeds to document these ideas on paper until finally they descend to the physical and are erected in stone steel and concrete.

In the East this extends even further into the realm of magick in that Tibetan mystics seem to be able to, through meditation and visualisation actually create visible 'things' in the physical, known as thought forms.

These thought forms, given the correct amount of concentration can be 'ensouled' as it were, with their own seeming consciousness and exist between the two worlds of the Astral and the Physical.

The Mental vehicle, more than anything else perhaps, distinguishes man from the animal despite their physical ancestry. It is the power of imagination and visualisation that has already given man the power to create and will lead him, as in occult belief, to that place where it may truly be said that men are like Gods.

The Mental plane vehicle is also an ovoid and lies further from the physical than does the Astral. It differs however from the Astral, which is in a state of constant flux and in that it's activity is immensely greater than that of the Astral but it is an activity so intense that it appears to be static.

In the Astral, there is constant change as differing emotions reach it from the Physical and little stabilisation. The Mental does tend toward stabilisation, and this means that the kaleidoscopic change of colour in the Astral, is in the Mental vehicle, replaced by more definite colour locations.

The areas will change but a centre point will represent the persons' general tendency of thought - his personality traits.

Many people have written about the meaning and interpretation of the colours apparent in the Astral and Mental bodies, and the general consensus of opinion is that an average, reasonably cultured person of our time will show yellow {intellect}, light/cloudy blue{religious or philosophic} and some orange often striated with medium red {sympathy but with personal outlook}.

Often there is a girdle around the centre of the egg of medium or dark grey showing fear, worry and depression. Green shows adaptability, and shades from lighter to darker green showing cunning, even deceit. The brown of selfishness is likely still to be noticeable.

All the colours are less cloudy than in the lower types of development and the awakening of abstract thought and selflessness illumines the egg with their respective luminous yellow and light blue.

The mental is mans most important evolutionary vehicle, for it is the perfecting and purgation of this vehicle that leads to the higher personalities of the individual man as opposed to personality man.

Now that the basic theory has been put forward we will proceed with the exercises:

1. Preliminaries, which for the rest of this 'course' means posture, breathing, colour flooding, sound. This in effect is 'tuning' your instrument to a state of receptivity and must never be omitted.

2. Visualise that you are going to recognise your various vehicles and start by slowly breathing in. As you inhale, feel your physical self expanding and going outwards to a shell-like ovoid that is both malleable and transparent. Consider this: in fact you are pushing out your consciousness to limit.

3. When you have fully inhaled, hold the breath and perceive where you have pushed the shell to; it is the starting point for your next breath.

4. As you exhale, with the breath all deleterious emotions and thoughts that are within your 'egg'. Force them to go out with the breath where they will dissipate.

5. Now breath again and start your 'pushing out' from the point that you feel you previously reached. Do not try to get too fast a result or to 'expand' too far. Take the exercise slowly with deliberation.

6. Hold and establish the new diameter of the egg and then expel as in {4}.

7. Continue the exercise until you feel you can go no further. This is your present limit and you should know how far you have reached from your physical centre, You will know , it will feel just right.

8. When you have attained this serenity, which is much more than physical 'rest', you must discard your 'shell' armour, so at the last exhalation draw in the egg with your outbreathing until you feel you are back in your physical etheric, but one much purified by this exercise. It is very important to dissipate the shell fully

9. It is recommended at this stage to follow this exercise with the 'retrogression' explained in exercise twenty two.

It is difficult at the first to conceive the named phases, but rest assured practice will ensure entry to the higher states of perception and the understanding which follows.

EXERCISE TWENTY: Vehicles of Man -Spiritual, Stretching the Mind

The Spiritual vehicle is the highest that man uses at this stage of our evolutionary development, and it completes his personality. It is the farthest from the physico-etheric's low vibrations, and at speeds which are beyond our possible comprehension in the physical realm.

A great number of names are used in different religions and mystical sciences to express this plane and its vehicles - 'The Casual Body'; 'The Inspirational Vehicle'; 'The Ego'; what St Paul meant by the 'Soul', are all attempts to express its wonder.

It expresses the three forces of will, of divine love {which Christians call charity}, and of inspiration. Spiritual must not be confused with that 'pure' spirit which is the spark of the Divine within us, but this separation is difficult to grasp - it is the infinite and the finite of the same.

We are told, through various writings that the vehicle is of circular shape, and pulses inward, yet at the same time radiates outward to the outer that surrounds it. The colours go inward like the petals of an incurved chrysanthemum, and there is an ever expanding outer ring of brilliance. It is at this level that one finds the Oversoul, the expression of Man, which is the storehouse of all the various personality lives have gathered from each life.

From this plane the Oversoul can control all the materials and all the psychological powers and potentialities of the lower planes - the physico-etheric; Astral; Mental and from this plane impressions or perhaps more correctly instructions can be conveyed to Man.

For most men the Spiritual body will not be immensely active, but at no time can evil enter this sphere; only the good of the man can find tenure in this place {if place it is}. We are told that it is the absence of colours {that is spiritual possibilities} that have not yet been awakened that typify the generality of men of our age, but there are some who have achieved, whom we call adepts.

It is probable that the ability to 'receive' these impressions from a higher collective power gave rise to the ideas of the Greek Oracle of Delphi; of the Hebrew Prophet; of the local soothsayer, all of whom, on occasion, have been gifted with prophetic illumination 'from above'.

There are, many documented cases of the personality being immersed in a consciousness that is beyond expression in earthly words.

In the East this is called 'Buddhic' power and they believe that certain adepts can tap into this 'divine' inspirational realm at will.

Suffice it to say at this stage that it exists.

No exercise for the Spiritual vehicle is given as those who 'know' have been silent and no documentation other than its mention can be found by the writer. This is not to say that there isn't any, just that the writer can find no one to illumine him.

It may however, be suggested that the student prepare for such heights by constant practice of the previous exercises laid down in this work and through music, poetry and literature - the arts in general, look for a finer appreciation.

As the Buddhic is the plane approaching Unity, this is exactly what we must try to achieve - so - stretch your Mind.

EXERCISE TWENTY ONE: Retrogression - The Oversoul

The four planes of potentiality available to Man as his basic 'equipment' on his journey are: Inspiration; Thought; Emotion and Sensation which are interpenetrative to the physical and act as his 'base of operations'.

The Oversoul is that summation of the individual parts of the vehicles of man which is carried through from lifetime to lifetime. In sum it is the summation of one lifetimes work whose totality is preserved by the Oversoul {As a vehicle} which is a projection from the pure spirit that synthesises all of the individual's experiences in previous lives.

As discussed in our earlier workings, there are the three higher planes which complete the Individual - the perfected Man, whom Jesus commanded we become.

Man's descent into the four lower octave planes is what we call the "Fall". As he passed through each of these planes on his downward thrust into density-consciousness, he made a vehicle or body suitable to the vibratory phase of that group. When at last he reached incarnation in the physical-etheric he retained latent knowledge of all the planes through which he had passed. Through channels of communication which the Indians call 'Chakras'; the Persians called 'Wheels of Force'; the Hebrews call 'Sefiroth' and scientists call 'endocrine glands', the higher planes can be reached, provided that he could raise the vibrations to the requisite level.

This raising of the vibrations can be accomplished through occult science or at times may occur involuntarily. Extra-sensory perception is merely the ability to use, either at will or involuntarily, the 'gateways' to {attuning to the vibrations of} the higher plane.

Throughout our lives our every action has some effect or 'makes a transmission' to the higher levels, but for most of humanity these impulses are only weak. Constant thought upon one subject will however create a 'habit track' and hence the importance of continuity within the exercises laid out in this work.

At death, when the use of the physico-etheric ceases, the impulses of that life also cease, and ascent begins, gathering together all the results, the habit tracks of that one life. Much may have happened that none knows except ourselves - but the impulses have had their effect.

All such thoughts and impulses are graven upon the 'permanent atoms' {for want of a better term} which pass upwards to the Judgement and custody of the Oversoul. The ancient Egyptian priests pictured this as the 'Weighing of the Heart'. The Oversoul is to be perfected, that is, to assume complete control of the lower octaves and all manifestations therein. It will now decide whether or not completion and integration have been reached. If not then the entity will descend again into matter and be born to the flesh, which will include the result of the many lessons learned on its journey so far and an unconscious 'imprint' of the lessons to be learned in this next incarnation.

The writer apologises for his inadequacy in expressing these ideas as they must be but a shadow of the whole truth. But these are the truths stated by men of all nations and the central teaching has not altered for over 5,000 years.

The need of Man, according to both psychologists and occultists, is that we should integrate all our experiences, preferably while on earth.

Adepts claim to have achieved this and become 'whole'. By making oneself in this life to become an integrated 'whole', and not allowing partial emotions, moods, or thoughts to masquerade as our 'Self' we really have achieved the purpose of our existence. Carl Gustov Jung refers to this as having secured individuality, but for the occultist that word has an extra meaning.

This 'Over-Self' has always been the object of the occultist's search; and the various facets of our personality, whether on the physical, emotional or mental level, are assessed by, and possibly absorbed into, this majestic individuality.

The following is a very short and simple exercise, but it is perhaps the most important in this work. It consists of an honest, thorough appraisal of each days actions at the end of that day.

1. Before retiring for the day go out into the fresh air or open a window and perform at least five of the breathing exercises.

2. In seclusion and prior to going to sleep, review the entire days work starting with that moment and working backwards through the day until the time that you awakened. There is a good occult reason for working backwards.

3. This process means considering at the fullest length you can manage all your actions, assessing them, apportioning blame for the wrong ones {this does not mean 'saying sorry', but means to realise the wrong and memorising how you fell into that trap}, and apportioning praise for those things that you have done aright. {It is one of the tragedies of religious tradition that we are not 'allowed' to experience a glow of satisfaction at something well done}.

4. The effect of this exercise if done thoroughly is to

{a} create in the unconscious mind barriers against condemned errors and habit tracks for the approved right-doing.

{b} activate the whole of your vehicles before sinking into sleep and leaving the physical, thereby preparing the vehicles you are to use in that period already cleansed.

{c} give you purgation day by day - a very vital thing.

This exercise sounds simple enough but if done for only a year, it will ennoble your entire entity and illumine your daily life.

EXERCISE TWENTY TWO: Developing Latent Powers - Auras

With the last lesson and exercises, you have completed the necessary elementary philosophical and practical training needed to develop one or more 'sixth sense'.

It is unlikely that you will develop all latent powers; you will have special faculties which will depend entirely on your ray {development} in this incarnation.

Unless you practise with due diligence every day and persevere with this practice until an exercise produces a result you will only approach the higher vehicles perhaps glimpsing occasional flashes but you will not bring them to full use.

Telepathy, clairvoyance, astral and auric projection/perception and the power of thought forms are all facets of the same ability to use the higher vehicles to create forms at their level of vibration and to experience such results through the physico-etheric.

It is proposed to treat the various manifestations or abilities in the following order:-

1. Etheric perception {This you should have achieved and only practice will continue success}

2. Auric perception {allied of course to the etheric} -This lesson will deal with it in full

3. Creation of thought forms as in lesson 20

4. Telepathy as in lesson 21

5. Clairvoyance as will be dealt with in lesson 22.

More on the Magickal Tradition of the Kabbalah

Further our earlier work introducing the wonder and use of the Kabbalah and it's visual manifestations in our meditations, we will now look at some of that imagery as used in association with the attributes of the Sefiroth and you will see that many of the correspondences are quite unexpected. Qualities that we expect to see as being masculine, appear as feminine and vice versa. Some of the planetary associations are not immediately obvious, but the Kabbalah has it's own fscinating logic. For example, Binah, the female force behind everything stable and potential, is linked to the planet Saturn, the planet of stability, old age and fate (usually represented by an old man). Netsah, the male force behind nature, animal drives, and passions is linked to Venus, the goddess of sensuality and nature. All the Sefiroth are rich in imagery and association, which is especially important for our contemplative purposes, and as you will discover in later studies, for the purposes of empowerment of magickal rites.

Kether, the crown, is the first emanation and corresponds with the number 1 in numerological terms. The soul that reaches this Sefira achieves union with God. It is guarded by the creatures that are described in the first chapters of Ezekiel: "and every one had four faces, and every one had four wings". It's symbols are the point, which stands for 1, and the crown. When meditating upon Kether, the Kabbalist must cocentrate on the image of an old bearded man seen in profile.

Hokmah, Wisdom, is the father of the Universe. It is the next emanation from Kether and is therefore number 2. Because it is the force behind activity, its guardian angels are the wheels in Ezekiel, which moved around and had the spirit of life in them. Hokmah's symbols are the phallus, the tower and the straight line, and the image to be used in contemplation is that of the bearded man. Binah, Understanding, is the Mother of the Universe, and being the third emanation is associated with the number 3. It's symbols are the female genitals, the cup, the circle, the diamond and the oval. As with other female Sefiroth, Binah, has conflicting attributes - of life and death, of goodness and evil. It is associated with the mother goddesses and with Hecate, goddess of witchcraft and sorcery. Its image for contemplation is that of the mature woman. Hesed, Love, is accorded the number 4, and is the male force that organises and builds things up. Its symbols are the king's sceptre, the magician's wand, and the bishop's crook, as well as the Greek cross {+} and the pyramid.It is linked with the unicrn which symbolises virility and power, and its image for contemplation is a powerful king on a throne.

Din, Power, is number 5 and the female counterpart of Hesed. It lies behind all destruction, hatred and war. Its planet is Mars and its symbols are the swaord, spear, scourge, chain and the pentagon. Many Kabalists see Din as th source of evil, and there is even a theory that its destructive energy overflowed and it created its own Tree of evil emanations. It is associated with the basilisk, a fierce and deadly creature. Its image for contemplation is the warrior in a chariot.

Tifereth, Beauty, is number 6 and is associated with the sphere of the Sun. It is vital energy and balances the destructive and constructive forces of Din and Hesed. Christian Kabalists associate Tifereth with the Christ because of its direct descent from Kether and because the Sun had an early association with Christ. It is represented by the lion - the beast of the Sun, or by a phoenix or child, the symbols of immortality and mortality. Its images for contemplation are the majestic king and the sacrificed child.

Netsah, Victory, is number 7, the male force behind nature. It stands for the senses and passions. It is the Sefira of the arts and of rhythm, movement and colour. Its sphere is Venus, and the wyrneck is the bird associated with it. Its image for contemplation is the beautiful naked woman.

Hod, Majesty, is number 8. It is the female force of the higher qualities of the mind, such as intuition or insight. It is also the qualites of reason and logic. It is both good and evil, standing for Wisdom and trickery and cunning. Its planet is Mercury, the God of intelligence and magick, and the twin serpents of Mercury's wand are often associated with it. The image of the hermaphrodite is the image for contemplation.

Yesod, Foundation, is the ninth Sefira and the basis of all the active forces of God. It stands for creativity, both sexual and mental. Its number is 9, which is the number of Initation into magick and the occult. It is the reconciler between the animal drives of Netsah and the intellectual faculties of Hod. It is associated with the elephant, and the image for contemplaation is the beautiful naked man.

Malkuth, The earthly Kingdom, is the tenth Sefira. And the number 10 means "all things". It unites all the Sefiroth in the same manner as man transcends all the planetary spheres. Its symbol is the sphinx, which stands for the unity of heaven and earth. The image for contemplation is a beautiful young woman seated on a throne.

Planetary/Elemental Association with the Archangels

Planet

Angel {Ranking}

Direction {Element}

Sun

Michael {1}

South {Fire}

Mercury

Raphael {3}

East {Air}

Venus

Heniel {5}

West{Water}

Moon

Gabriel {2}

West{Water}

Mars

Samael {6}

South {Fire}

Jupiter

Sachiel{8}

Below {Ether}

Saturn

Cassiel{7}

Above {Ether}

Uranus

Uriel {4}

North {Earth}

Neptune

Asariel {9}

West {Water}

Pluto

Azrael {10}

Within { Spirit}

 

Auric Perception

It is essential to have secured some facility of etheric perception before seeing the aura. When you have achieved etheric perception it must be developed by daily use, at work, play, anywhere at all. All living things have an etheric {aura} -vegetable, animal and human.

Everyone receives perceptions from the higher vehicles in dreams. This is an occult truism requiring expansion. Consider the phenomena of dreaming. From the beginning of recorded history dreams have had a meaning for mankind; the seers of every age have recorded them and their message has been interpreted by the 'Josephs' among humanity. Carl Gustov Jung realised that dreams are more than just that - he even saw that dreams can be precognitive. {Some recommended works of Jung are-"General Aspects of Dream Psychology" and "Secret of the Golden Garden"; also, the book "Dream Telepathy" by Montague Ullman,M.D. and Stanley Krippner,Ph.D holds some interesting experimentally documented insights for the student}.

"The Great Dream" has a reality and vividness all its own - often there is a distinctive, 'special' type of light around and within it.

The occultist thinks that dream manifestations have to do with the various vehicles of man and the perception in and of them. There are 4 distinct and separate types of dreams:-

1. The first comes from the individual - that point of striving Man which amalgamates with 'the divine spark'. Such dreams are called visions - nearly all are 'religious' in nature. While dressed in symbolism, they are nonetheless categorical imperatives from the highest contact Man can make.

2. The second come from the Oversoul, that dweller in the eternal now, who bears the synthesis of our past lives, consciousness of the present state, and limitations and intimations of future needs. The Oversoul may see plainly the course of our future but to know is not necessarily to communicate. Such dreams are usually confused by passing through the various planes before entering into our conscious minds; this is why we must write down our dreams immediately upon waking, as the first impulse of the physical is to rationalise and dismiss.

3. The third class come from the Soul Mind, and are expressions of the higher vehicles about this present life. Clarity of meaning suffers as the dream passes down the vehicles and express themselves usually in symbolical terms.

4. The fourth class of dream comes from the Astral or Emotional plane, and are usually mixed with the body's sensations, worries or aspirations of emotive type. They are often wish-fulfilment dreams, particularly of a sexual nature and are the basis of Freud's thinking. Their expression will usually be vivid and a mixture of earth happenings.

It should here be understood that as all these dreams interpenetrate, they are usually somewhat distorted, hence the skill in interpretation either in occult or psychological terms is in removing the distorted factors from that of the real import.

The dream then is a nightly contact with the higher vehicles, and as such is an evolving experience - a prophecy of the real hinterland that is Man.

What is an aura? - We have all seen paintings of the saints with a golden circle of light or halo around their head - such 'auras' have been depicted since the Egyptian Ra, but although the aura is depicted as surrounding the head only, it does envelope the whole body in the shape of an inverted egg. It is because the head actually contains 4 chakra points; and naturally this gives a concentrative power to that area, for all is vibration and electromagnetic in presentation.

Definition:

The increasingly subtle essences of the vehicles which surround the physical centre and which portray the differing rates of vibration emanating from the denser centre in its contact with and use of the higher vehicles of its electromagnetic field. Such octaves of vibration have their own density of respective prana, and the rate of vibration brings about the colours which are seen as the aura.

Refinement:

{a} The essences are subtle because, although each octave group has its own pranic levels, from which it creates the form of the vehicle, they are not perceptible to the 5 senses at normal level. To be perceived the vibrations of the normal must be raised, and that is why certain diseases do raise the level, thereby providing the medical definition in the dictionary.

viz:

{b} The aura is an egg shaped form of varying intensities of prana created by electromagnetic force.

{c} Each octave group has its own density and vibratory rate, so that to perceive implies raising our own vibratory rate to that level. This means following the precepts already laid out and using our latent power constructively in full knowledge of the theory of chakras.

It is important to realise that all is vibration and that the human eyes are only sensitive to light that lies between the wavelengths of 380 and 760 millimicrons. Hence our need to increase our sensitivity and control at will the vibratory rate of our own perceptions.

The size of the aura in an 'underdeveloped' man only extends a few feet from his body, yet an adept's aura extends over incredible distances. It was said of Buddah that his aura stretched for two hundred miles, and of our Lord Jesus that his aura embraced the whole of his environment wherever he cared to concentrate.

"In him we live and move and have our being".

Recapitulate and ensure that you fully understand the lessons and works of exercises 15,16.17 and 18 thoroughly.

The aura is composed of the Buddhic, mental and astral on the 'outer' and the etheric on the 'inner'.

You will only be able to perceive the vibrations coming from a subject for which you are able to 'raise' to a corresponding rate of vibration.

This means that as a student, you will only be able to perceive the etheric and lower emotional and mental - Perception of the Buddhic is rare.

The Etheric will appear as a haze outside of and roughly in form of the physical, outside of this will be an ovoid with definite areas. Nearest the physico-etheric is the astral, which is a swirling mass responsive to all emotive thoughts. The colours are also swirling with the impulses felt by the physical {sensation} and the thoughts of emotional content. This coat of many colours will have an edge - a certain definition, but with out breaking off suddenly.

The Mental, which is much more stable as a vehicle, will also have many colours, but they will largely stay in one place. Again the is an appearance of limitation, but with an advanced soul this higher mental colour fades into the Buddhic.

1. It is helpful to have a fellow student, but you may also practice by observing others without their cognition.

2. Preliminaries and exercises 15-18

3. Sit in Egyptian position with the nightlight before you and in such a place that its rays strike the corners of your eyes, which will be partially lidded in the position you have found to be correct for you.

Shield the light from your subject.

4. As soon as you perceive the etheric of the sitter, and while keeping them in view, very slightly turn away so that in fact you are doing what is known as the "Tibetan Squint".

5. Wait now until the etheric is infused with a ray of colour. At first this may be only a flash, but practice will secure greater permanence.

6. Never sit for more than ten minutes at a time in the beginning of this work although if you are working with a fellow student it is permissible to interchange.

Remember - practice and due diligence are the operatives here.

Colours of The Human Aura

The following table is based primarily on Theosophical material.
Various teachings may attribute different meanings to those listed.

PRIMARY COLOUR/feeling

Shades

Specific Feelings Associated

BLACK malice

 

 

 

dark grey

Depression

 

pale grey

Fear

BROWN materialism

 

 

 

muddy grey/dull rust

Selfishness

RED energy

bright red

anger and force

 

dirty red

passion and sensuality

 

dull red

selfish love

 

rose

unselfish love

ORANGE pride

orange cloud

irritability

 

bright orange

noble indignation

YELLOW intellect

yellow-green

low intellect

 

earthy yellow

selfish thought

 

lemon

high intellect

 

bright gold

logical thought

 

bright red-yellow

spiritual thought

GREEN empathy

grey-green

deceit, jealousy

 

greenish-brown

jealousy

 

emerald green

unselfish resourcefulness

 

foliage green

sympathy and empathy

 

bright apple-green

string vitality

 

bright touquoise

deep sympathy & compassion

BLUE devotion {religious feeling}

grey-blue

fetishism

 

light blue

noble spiritual devotion

 

dark blue

religious feeling

 

bright lilac-blue

lofty religious idealism

VIOLET spiritual

 

psychic & spiritual faculty

WHITE purity/protective

 

 

Memorise the above table as it will be referred to and used later in analysis of your development in perceiving the Etheric and Aura.

EXERCISE TWENTY THREE: {Theory} Developing Latent Power -Making Thought Work For You

Our earth and its denizens float on a sea of Undifferentiated Consciousness, and Man {mineral to man} has been formed by two Cosmic forces -prana: the form creator, and -fohat: the vitaliser and their evolutionary impulses. This sea or Cosmic Mind enters into octaves of vibration, creates a suitable vehicle for each octave and can be vitalised to the fullest use of that octave.

You can use these facts of Cosmic Mind, and on three levels: the unconscious; the day to day; and the supra-conscious {which can be likened to the nine tenths that are above the five sense brain mechanism}

If you use the collective unconscious, then there are two possible approaches:-

1. The appeal for 'gifts', ie. by concentration, which centres upon what you desire {sometimes called sympathetic magick}.

2. Because the mind can control the forces of prana and fohat, we can create [Recommended Reading: Alexandra David-Neales -'With Mystics and Magicians in Tibet]. Most people, however, merely wish without using Will, and this cannot result in achievement. The principle of prayer is exactly this focussing with a known object for attainment.

A chant or mantra exercise such as the Lords Prayer is useful here.

Say it alternately {a} as a dedicated speech and {b} in the mind in silence. You will have to fight against your own earthly five sense environmental training here. The power of imagination and visualisation combined with supreme concentration will prevail.

When you use the prana/fohat to create a thought form say, you are separating from yourself a potion of your life force; but because this thing is vitalised by you, it is your creation, and you can send it on your messages through higher vibrations to find a complementary on that level of vibration according to your wish and power. Your response in another's' thought can be on many levels of vibrations, from the five senses {'a thought just came into my head'} to highest five-sensory vision. Whenever you think, you set up a stress; if your thought was feeble and had no definite end, then it will have little effect on the etheric surround, but if it is powerful and directed, it can effect wonders and affect all in its vicinity.

This is why some people can alter the emotional atmosphere of a room by merely entering it; if someone is depressed, that depression can infect those around them; if you are thinking of the perceived evil in another, and/or express pointless anger, you are filling your neighbourhood with evil thoughts instead of good and hence are only adding to the sorrows of the world. Negative thoughts attract negative results and positive thoughts, positive results. In other words, you must show the qualificatons of entering the Path - that of Will, Wisdom and Love. In order to follow the Path of Light, you must be filled with the intense desire to be of service and be forever vigilant for the opportunity to do so, and remain calm and logical in the face of adversity.

Like all forms, thought forms must be energised. Energy in physics is the term applied to any mass or body when moving strikes against another body and sets that also moving. There is also latent, or potential energy, which is a body's 'potential' to do work by virtue of the stresses resulting from its relation to other bodies. Radiant energy from the sun is another example, with its poles of negative and positive and thereby the creation of an enormous magnetic field.

'As above; So below' - Your mind can use your brain, with its two poles -cerebrum {positive} and cerebellum {negative} to create a magnetic field. This is what you do when using thought form creativeness.

To summarise:

1. Purposive life is the abstraction from a universal 'Undifferentiated Consciousness' into a limited instrument that can use certain of the octaves of vibration of which the Cosmic Mind is formed.

2. This Undifferentiated Consciousness uses two forces, called in science gravitation and electro-magnetism; and in occult terms -prana: which is the atomic form maker at a particular level of octave of vibration, and fohat: which is the urging, energising 'mind' controller behind the evolution from mineral to man.

3. While on earth, we can use the various levels of our physico-etheric, emotional-mental and the spiritual, and their corresponding vehicles. This is done through the discipline of concentration and of occult meditation. {Some Eastern mystics achieve this by silence alone}.

4. Man is a mortal God in that we are here in the physical and our essence is in the Universal Mind.

EXERCISE TWENTY THREE: {Practical} The Law of Suggestion {Wish-Will}

The Law of Suggestion in terms of scientific/anthropological definition may be called 'sympathetic magick' but is best thought of in terms of an appeal to your own unconscious. Most primitive forms of shamanism are based on this form of magick. It is based on the belief that if you really ask for something that is for the benefit of your own evolution , you will receive it through your own unconscious, which is part of the great collective consciousness. {In Catholocism, the parallel is the prayer to St. Jude, the patron saint of 'hopeless cases'; of 'things almost despaired of' - in which the prayer or novena must be said six times daily for nine consecutive days; leaving nine copies of the novena in the Church on each day}.

One way the Occultist uses to make this appeal is to create a Talisman. This must be done in entirety by your own hand and brain - it must be your own expression of wish-will. {A Talisman is an object that is worn or carried as a charm, serving the purpose of attracting or repelling various influences. -In 'Ritual Magick' the making and consecration of a talisman is a very complex process and is dealt with in depth in that section of this work}.

For the purposes of this exercise, proceed as follows:

1. On a piece of cardboard or something similar draw an outer circle of 2 1/2" in radius and within that circle another of 2 1/4" in radius. Draw both lightly in pencil so that you can colour them later.

2. Draw a centre circle of 3/4" radius.

3. Divide the interior the inner and secondary circles into four equal sectors.

4. Into each sector draw a symbol that you understand. Avoid the ordinary Romano-English letters as the familiar form may distract from the purpose at hand.

Use runic symbols or some other form - such as Chinese letters etc. -which conveys a special meaning or message to your mind and is entirely expressive of your private personality.

5. In the small centre circle, draw a picture to represent what it is you require.

If your picture is an amatory one, then a picture drawn by hand is best {although a small cut out of a snapshot or something similar pasted in the middle, will suffice}.

6. Now colour the talisman by lining the small centre ring in black, dark blue or purple; the next {middle} ring in your favourite or affinite colour; and the outer ring with a faint colour wash or wavy line of your choice.

The talisman should be covered, so you can have it with you day and night, and be able to look at it whenever the wish to do so comes - your unconscious will act as timekeeper. Just look at it, mentally phrase your wish-will and put it away. Your five sense brain needs do nothing; leave it to the unconscious. You will probably have surprising results.

Whatever happens is nothing to do with the piece of cardboard, nor its pictorial representations. You are in fact building a thought form of your desire, of your wish-will, and the constant references mean that you are reinforcing that thought form with an implication to the unconscious {The talisman is acting as a focus for your wish-will}. This has power and will give results, so be quite sure to ask for what it is you really need and you make reference to the desire/talisman lasting at most, a couple of seconds, say, fifty times a day.

There are many ways to utilise this Law of Suggestion. A mantra like the famous one of Coue, for example - an hourly repetition of "I’m getting better every day" - will work, provided that you really accept it will and rely on your unconscious to make it so.

EXERCISE TWENTY FOUR: Vitalising/Energising Thought Form

In this more potent exercise you will be utilising all your knowledge of preliminaries, imagination and concentration for visualisation and your ability to transfer your consciousness to your higher vehicles.

You will in fact be attempting to use ‘prakriti’ to build a form of pranic-atomic force, and vitalising it by control of fohat. {your electromagnetic power, which is whole mind.

1. Preliminaries of material - either use a black mirror or a reversed yantra. Make this on a piece of board which may be hung on a wall. An outer circle of 12" diameter is required either in light blue or light yellow {which ever you find affinite}, and a centre circle of 3" diameter in white. The intervening space between the circles in black {for definitions sake}, and varnish the whole.

2. Perform your usual preliminaries until you reach a state of absolute quiescence. Ensure you are alone, and that the silence is as absolute as your environment permits; slow your rate of breathing to the lowest you can achieve.

3. Decide what you are going to create - a treatment of mental or physical health, an attempt to settle some family fracas, a successful business venture or interview or examination. Money even. {Remember Jacob's’ play the Monkeys Paw, so do consider carefully}. Only an adept can make a ‘tulpa’, and this should not be attempted without the presence of a guru of standing, so please do not attempt to at this stage.

Now visualise a symbol of the happening in the centre circle of the anti-yantra {as it is reversed}: for example if you wish to pass an examination see the certificate in all its detail; if you wish to restore harmony to a friendship and you are willing to forgive {if there is a need for forgiveness}, see the person concerned smiling and holding out their hand. Visualisation will have untold benefit to your personality and Oversoul. It is the beginning of that higher vision you are tending toward. Use your mind to make the picture and imprint upon your five-sense brain, and incidentally the unconscious. This is making the idea.

4. Now gaze at the anti-yantra in the usual way, and when your eyelids are partially closed, concentrate entirely upon the centre. {If you lose concentration -start again}. Concentration is a marvellous power of mind and it won’t come without absolute dedication and constant practice}

5. When you feel that you have achieved absolute concentration, rise and expel in a cleansing breath and declare aloud a mantra such as ‘Thy will be done’; ‘So mote it be’, and fill the room with your euphoric light blue.

Perform this ‘ritual’ once a day for seven days; beginning on a Friday {In all the exercise should take about twenty minutes per day}.

EXERCISE TWENTY FIVE: The Dream Diary

Thought works for you every night, for dreams, while often mere reflex to the turmoil of day to day trials and tribulations, have high levels of symbolism and unconscious intuition according to the vehicle which prompts them.

Sometimes these dreams can hold a precognitive message. When we are dreaming, the unconscious will, according to its stage of learning or evolution, ‘escape’ to a different reality - that of your higher self. As there is always the eternal observer {your Oversoul}, this means of course that you are free of the physico-etheric, and as such have experiences in that higher vehicle whilst the body ‘sleeps’ -some of these experiences may be pre-cognitive - some not.

Normally, when a person awakens, a dream is very soon ‘forgotten’ by the conscious mind.

Keep your ‘Dream Book’ by your bed and immediately upon awakening, and with as little physical movement as is possible, record anything that you recall - soon, you will recall in greater detail. By keeping a record of your dreams, expressing as clearly and concisely as possible the dream experienced, you will train your mind to ‘remember’ these experiences.

The dream of import {and you cannot fail to have them} has to filter through the various vehicles and express itself through the physical brain when you write it down. Nonetheless, you will find the results of your recordings extremely interesting. Very often a dream will fulfil itself months after you have dreamt and recorded it.

‘Depth Psychology’ uses this method as its basis and P.W Martins’ book 'Experiments in Depth' is worth the time to read.

Start keeping a record tonight. Your thoughts at all levels of consciousness are always working for you and may sometimes feel despairing because you will not listen to it.

EXERCISE TWENTY SIX: Developing Telepathy

From previous exercises, you now understand that the latent powers of ‘the sixth sense’ are those of the Oversoul controlling the five sense brain through the medium of your various vehicles.

In telepathy, clairvoyance, clairaudience etc., the sender creates a thought form and ‘sends’ this thought form to the designated ‘receiver’.

For example, the thousands of documented cases of ‘death’ bed visions; of appearances of soldiers killed in action to their loved ones; {the list goes on and on}, are thought forms created under extremes of stress - probably unconsciously, which the ‘sender’ has instructed to seek out the certain person to 'receive' the message.

[‘Thoughts Through Space’ by Sir Hubert Wilkins is well worth reading for some definitive facts on telepathy].

Telepathy, both simultaneous and precognitive is experimentally proven and documented scientific fact and yet still has no scientific definition.

Preliminaries for this exercise will include all the stages which you should by now be using automatically. You will require a partner.

In addition, the following suggestions will prove helpful:

a} It is better for the learner to begin at night, when the sun’s rays, and the distraction of the general hub of life is not to be overcome.

b} Practice at a regular time and with a regular assistant or fellow student.

c} At the beginning, work in the same room, but not facing each other.

d} Alternate the roles of ‘sender’ - ‘receiver’.

1. Preliminaries: Participants should do the complete breath and as far as possible, this should be done in unison.

NOTE: AVID EXPECTATIONS WILL DESTROY THE WORKING

Both persons should be calm and relaxed and not overly expectant.

2. Slowly close your eyelids and visualise each other. See every feature of you partner; a link of amity should connect you. When you have visualised, and not before, send your message. Never hurry.

3. Send your message in concrete form. you may for example, request that the receiver go to the window, or you may convey a word or ‘picture’. Whichever you do, visualise it. If a movement, see your partner actually performing that movement. If a word, try to use the law of triangle - that is, pick a word that you can convey with form, sound and word name - a good example is a bell. mentally repeat to yourself over and over and when you have done so, hear the sound when it is rung. {Obviously you are creating a thought-form}. When you have done this -forget it - let the thought go on its way, for the receiver will not normally receive until you have done so.

4. The receiver may hear a sound, see a form or ‘know’ a word, a name, or more likely a combination of these. It is very important to accept the first suggestion the moment you get it, the five-sense rationalisation will confuse the issue. Accept the very first impression.

5. Practice - and remember what that word means.

It helps to keep a record of these experimental exercises, and use a point system to record your efforts-

say, minus three for a complete miss; minus one for no response, plus one for a near success plus three for accuracy. At the end of each week over a three month period, examine the total results.

When you achieve constant ‘plus three’ results - attempt ‘sending’ over increasing distances.