Theos-Talk Archives (February 1998 Message tt00043)

Q. When Tyndall* took a large block of ice and threw a powerful ray upon it
and thence on to a screen, there were to be seen the forms of ferns and
plants in it. What is the reason for this?
*(Professor John Tyndall b. 1820)
A. .......Occultism would explain it by saying either that the ray helped to
show the astral shapes which were preparing to form future ferns and plants,
or that the ice had preserved the reflection of actual ferns and plants that
had been reflected in it.  Ice is a great magician, whose occult properties
are as little known as those of Ether. .....This is well known to the
learned Yogis who dwell on the eternal ice of Bodrinath and the Himalayas.
At any rate, ice has certainly the property of retaining images of things
impressed on its surface under certain conditions of light, images which it
preserves until it is melted. ....
in decomposing the ice with heat you deal with the forces and the that were
impressed on it, then you find that it throws off these images and the forms
appear. It is but one link leading to another link.
H.PB. Transactions of the Blavatsky Lodge.

"When Steiner noted that the icy crystals that form in winter on the panes
of windows are different on a flower shop from those appearing on the
windows of a butcher shop, he suggested to Pfeiffer and to another of his
early followers, Lily Kolisko, that they experiment in the lab with the
formation of crystals as a means of demonstrating  what he called the
"formative forces" in nature."
Secrets of the Soil, Tompkins and Bird, 1989


"I hold a block of ice. I admire its crystalline, glassy, qualities. I
examine the fractures within. I acknowledge the sharp, but numbing coldness.
I witness the steam which arises. I feel the water as it drips from the
ice-block. I watch the deterioration of form. More water, less block.
Finally there is a small pool of water. After then, with evaporation, the
water is no more . . . I am left with nothing. From this what have I learnt?

Practically nothing, for I have missed all of the points of observance. For
one thing, I have seen nothing new to awaken me to a special interest. For
another, I am impatient for the ice to melt and for the examination to be
over. I have seen before this phenomena and I am impatient with it. I am not
truly concerned with the nature of the water so held, as it makes its
marvelous transformations. And yet from this small example one is offered
great distinctions in the process of manifestation. And not purely
distinctions of form and its relation to degree of temperature, but of form
itself, and of the nature of water.

I am required to seek out the originals of the original ice-block, that
might enable me to cast yet another and complete the cycle. If I were to do
this repeatedly, one would assume that the mundaneness of the experiment
would overtake me all the more. But interestingly, it would become ever more
fascinating. And if I persisted long and hard enough, being witness to this
phenomena, the water would of itself, give counsel to me, and make great
explanations. Key # 2 is perseverance. Key # 3 is patience, and a
willingness to listen.

You may try the examination of the ice-block daily, and make notes
concerning your observances. From this we may learn to examine and observe,
and also something of water, and something of water-speak.

Have you ever tried to water your pot-plants with ice-blocks? Men are known
to water themselves with ice-blocks. Forget the notion that ice serves us in
order to simply keep our food and drinks cold. One must find out what occurs
at 0 degrees C and then test the example as many ways possible."
-Mr. B.Hive

Bruce