Theos-Talk Archives (September 1999 Message tt00119)

	QUOTATIONS on MEDITATION 	PART  3  ====



		Perception --  Consciousness  --  Intelligence


	Perceiver ... "There is only one Perceiver;  the sights are modified
by the channels through which the Perceiver looks...The power of
seeing is the Soul;  the power of the Soul goes into the seeing, hence
what It "sees" are to it real, because seen;  as sights, each is a
reality;  but the nature of the Soul is differ-ent from any and all
"sights."  The nature of the Soul is unmodi-fyable, and this must be
grasped...The Mind as at present consti-tuted is attracted or repelled
by externalities, and the power of the Soul flows in the direction of
concentration, be that long or short.  Trough the Mind, the Soul
determines bad, good, better, best, on this or any plane.  Mind has to
be adjusted by knowledge of essential nature, of causes, and by
analogies and correspon-dences...There is just "Consciousness" and its
"states," which are conditioned consciousness.  We speculate on
conditions;  we cannot [speculate] on Consciousness itself, for we are
that."
										F.P. p. 50


	One Consciousness ... "We have thus to carry on the culture of the
soul by regular stages, never neglecting one part at the expense of
another...The meaning here is that he is to rely upon the One
Consciousness which as differentiated in a man, is his Higher Self.
By means of this higher self [Atman] he is to strengthen the lower
[Kama-Manas], or that which he is accustomed to call "myself [ the
embodied brain-mind ]."

	from other consciousnesses.  It is not waking consciousness or
sleeping consciousness, or any other but consciousness itself...the
one consciousness of each person is the Witness or Spectator of the
actions and experiences of every state we are in or pass through.  It
therefore follows that the waking condition of the mind is not
separate consciousness.

	"The one consciousness pierces up and down through all the states or
planes of Being, and serves to uphold the memory--whether complete or
incomplete--of each state's experi-ences...

	success...The first step is giving up bad associations and get-ting a
longing for knowledge of God;  the second is joining good company,
listening to their teachings and practicing them;  the third is
strengthening the first two attainments, having faith and continuing
in it.  Whoever dies thus, lays the sure founda-tion for ascent to
adeptship or salvation."
							Gita Notes, pp. 98-100


	Sympathy ... "...[is] universal, which exists between all things in
nature (Paracelsus)...Every created being possesses his own celestial
power and is closely allied with "heaven."...[this] secret magnetic
property enables one person to affect another...the greater potency of
the will in the state of ecsta-sy...the imperial will of man."			Isis
I, p. 170




  			Tools of Meditation


	Will ... "But the Adept has no need of any such extraneous apparatus
[ ceremonial magic, employed in antiquity ]--the simple exertion of
his will-power is all-sufficient...the exercise of such will-power is
the highest form of prayer and its instantane-ous response.  To desire
is to realize in proportion to the intensity of the aspiration;  and
that, in its turn, is measured by inward purity."						Is II 592


	"Will is the exclusive possession of man on this our plane of
consciousness.  It divides him from the brute in whom instinc-tive
desire only is active.  Desire in its widest application, is the one
creative force in the Universe.  In this sense it is indistinguishable
from Will;  but we men never know desire under this form while we
remain only men.  Therefore Will and Desire are here considered as
opposed...Will is the offspring of the Divine, the God in man.
Desire, the motive power of the animal life.

	Most men live in and by desire, mistaking it for will.  He who would
achieve, must separate will from desire;  make Will the ruler--for
desire is unstable, ever changing.  Will is steady and constant."

	Both will and desire are absolute creators, forming the man himself
and his surroundings.  But, will creates intelligently--desire,
blindly and unconsciously.  The man, therefore, makes himself in the
likeness of his desires, unless he creates himself (anew) in the
likeness of the Divine, through his Will, the "child of Light."
	[ see "The Elixir of Life"  5 Yrs of Thy. p. 1... ]

	"Man's task is two-fold:  to awaken Will, to strengthen it by use,
and conquest (of the desires);  to make it absolute ruler within his
body;  and, parallel with this, to purify desire...Knowledge and Will
are the tools for the accomplishment of this purification."
		"Will and Desire"			HPB  Lucif. I p. 96


	"Self-consciousness ... belongs to man and proceeds from the Self,
the Higher Manas...whereas the psychic element (or Kama-Manas) is
common to both animal and the human being...no physiol-ogist...will
ever solve the mystery of the human mind, in its highest spiritual
manifestations, or in its dual aspect of the psychic and the noetic
(or the manasic)...unless he knows someth-ing of and is prepared to
admit this dual element...to admit a lower (animal), and a higher (or
divine) mind in man...the "personal" and the "impersonal" Egos."
		"Psychic and Noetic Action"  	HPB Art. II pp 9-10


	Free Choice ... "...by "psychic" individuality we mean that
self-determining power which enables man to override
circumstanc-es...(or better) (13) call it the higher self-conscious
Will..."Mind" is manas, or rather its lower reflection, which,
whenever it disconnects itself, for the time being, with kama (desire,
passion), becomes the guide of the highest mental facul-ties, and is
the organ of the free-will in man physical."
								HPB Art II pp. 12-13


	Self Knowledge:--  "The first necessity for obtaining self-knowledge
is to become profoundly conscious of ignorance;  to feel with every
fiber of the heart that one is ceaselessly self-deceived.

	The second requisite is the still deeper conviction that such
knowledge--such intuitive and certain knowledge--can be obtained by
effort.

	The third, and most important is an indomitable determina-tion to
obtain and face that knowledge.

	Self-knowledge of this kind is unobtainable by what men usually call
"self-analysis."  It is not reached by reasoning or by any brain
process;  for it is the awakening to consciousness of the Divine
nature of man.

	To obtain this knowledge is a greater achievement than to command the
elements of to know the future."
						HPB -- Lucifer Vol. 1, p. 89


	Purifying Desire:  "When desire is for the purely abstract--
when it has lost all trace or tinge of "self"--then it has become
pure.  The first step towards this purity is to kill out the desire
for the things of matter, since these can only be enjoyed by the
separated personality.  The second is to cease from desir-ing for
oneself even such abstractions as power, knowledge, love, happiness,
or fame;  for they are but selfishness after all.

	Life itself teaches these lessons;  for all such objects are found
Dead Sea fruit in the moment of attainment.  This much we learn from
experience.  Intuitive perception seizes on the posi-tive truth that
satisfaction is attainable only in the infinite;  the will makes that
conviction an actual fact of consciousness, till at last all desire is
centered on the Eternal."
							HPB--Lucifer Vol. I, p. 133



  			Results of Meditation


	Progress ... "All our progress is in the inner nature, and not in the
physical where lives the brain...as the great Adepts live in the plane
of our inner nature, it must follow that They might be actively
helping every one of us...the greatest help will [come] from
concentration upon the Higher Self (Atman) and aspiration towards the
Higher Self.  Also, if you will take some subject or sentence from the
Bhagavad Gita and concentrate your mind upon that and meditate upon
it, you will find much good result from it, and there is no danger in
such
concentration." [ WQJ also indicated here the danger of Hatha Yoga
practices.]					WQJ Letters, p. 115


	"Perfection...of body, or superhuman powers, are produced by birth,
or by powerful herbs, or by incantations, penances, or mediations.
[...the sole cause of permanent perfection is medita-tion performed in
incarnations prior to that is which the perfec-tion appears...as
meditation reaches within, it affects each incarnation...]"
Patanjali, p. 62


	"We must discover what actions ought to be performed by us and do
them for that reason, and not because of some result we expect to
follow...By pursuing this practice true meditation is begun and will
soon become permanent.  For, one who watches his thoughts and acts so
as to perform those that ought to be done, will acquire a
concentration in time which will increase the power of real
meditation.  It is not meditation to stare at a spot on the wall for a
fixed period, or to remain for another space of time in a perfectly
vacuous mental state which soon runs into sleep.  All those things are
merely forms which in the end will do no lasting good.  But many
students have run after these follies, ignoring the true way.  The
truth is, that the right method is not easy;  it requires thought and
mental effort, with persistency and faith...all [will] depend on
self-mastery."
								Gita Notes  128-9


	"All true impressions come from within--from the highest Principle in
us, Atma, or the Divinity which is one and the same in all.  If there
is nothing in the brain but impressions from the lower principles of
our being, nothing to connect the Thinker with higher planes, he can
but waver between these lower states.  If thought is to rise further,
it must me thought without a brain.  Nature works by orderly processes
to which we give the name of law.  In the individual it is called the
Will.  By an act of the will all ordinary mental processes may be
stopped;  then the habitual center of mental action may be transcended
and the ascent to the next plane made, without losing the
power to perceive on this.  In all such attempts we must keep the
Fundamentals in view--in mind.  The Spirit in man, the Perceiver, is
"untouched by troubles, works, fruits of works, or desires."  It seems
to me that the clearest comprehension, if not under-standing, of all
this comes from dwelling on the idea of the Perceiver as looking into
one or another of his "sheaths" and finding there the record of the
actions in any or all of them.

	Everything depends on what one has in mind--his fundamental
conceptions of Deity, Nature, and Man, when considering or at-tempting
to practice "concentration."  The general idea on this as on other
subjects and objects is purely personal.  There is no self-examination
of motives, no altruism, no effort to carry out in daily life the
assumed object of fitting one's self to be the better able to help and
teach others, no observation of the evil effects of rushing in for
"psychic development."  H.P.B. says, "One has to have an unshakable
faith in the Deity within, an unlimited belief in his own power to
learn;  otherwise he is bound to fall into delusion and irresponsible
mediumship."  Here is the signpost of warning against all attempts to
develop psy-chically before one has learned to master and guide the
lower, personal self...Dwelling on the Fundamentals and the endeavor
to help others is the true concentration.  Mr. Judge wrote:  "Thus the
Will is freed from the domination of desire and at last subdues the
mind itself."	Friendly Philosopher, p.  400-1


	"...a surer sense of truth than any manner of reasoning.  This is the
action of Buddhi--direct cognition--the goal to which all right
philosophy and life leads.  In our sincere efforts we at times may
have flashes from that seat of consciousness.  The great result is to
have the continuous co-operation of Manas and Buddhi--higher mind and
spiritual knowledge;  to work as the god-man, perfect in all his
parts, instead of the present sectional operation which obtains...The
Doctrine of the Eye is that of the brain consciousness, composed
largely of external impressions.  The Doctrine of the Heart is the
spiritual consciousness of the Ego--not perceived by the brain
consciousness until right thought, and right action which sooner or
later follows it, attune certain centers in the brain in accord with
spiritual vibration...You have much of the intellectual side;  there
should be as much of the devotional;  for what is desirable is the
awakening of the spiritual consciousness, the intuition--Buddhi-- and
this cannot be done unless the thoughts are turned that way with power
and purpose.

	You may, if you will, set apart a certain half-hour, just before
retiring and after arising--as soon as possible after--and before
eating.  Concentrate the mind upon the Masters as ideals and
facts--living, active, beneficent Beings, working in and on the plane
of causes.  Meditate upon this exclusively, and try to reach up to
Them in thought.  If you find the mind has strayed, bring it back
again to the subject of meditation.  The mind will stray more or less,
at first, and perhaps for a long time to come, but do not be
discouraged at the apparent results if unsat-isfactory to your mind.
The real results may not at once be apparent, but the work is not
lost...

	Never mind the past, for you are at the entrance of a new world to
you as persons...Do not try to open conscious communica-tion with
beings on other planes.  It is not the time and danger lies that way,
because the power of creating one's own images, and because of the
power and disposition of the dark forces to simulate beings of Light,
and render futile your efforts to reach the goal.  When the materials
are ready the Architect will ap-pear, but seek him not;  seek only to
be ready.  Do the best you can from day to day, fearing nothing,
doubting nothing, putting your whole trust in the Great Law, and all
will be well.  With the right attitude knowledge will come."	R C -- F
P 13-4



		The "Heart Doctrine"


	"The Doctrine of the Heart is the spiritual consciousness of the
Ego--not perceived by the brain consciousness until right thought, and
right action...attune certain centers in the brain in accord with the
spiritual vibration...read the Voice of the Silence...what is
desirable is the awakening of the spiritual consciousness, the
intuition--
Buddhi--and this cannot be done unless the thoughts are turned that
way with power and purpose...
				R. C. - Friendly Philosopher, pp 13-14


=====================================



	Notes:

	Further references will be found useful as subjects for self study
and mediation in:

		Lucifer, Vol. 1, p. 89...  	on self-knowledge

		Lucifer, Vol. I, p. 133...	on purifying desire

		Theos. Articles & Notes, pp. 49-53
								Truth and Relativity

			( idem )			pp. 53-54
								Law and Comic Evolution

		HPB Articles,  II  92	.	Magic and motive

		WQJ - Path Vol. 6, p. 320-1	Universal Mind

		   (idem.) Vol. 6, p. 321-2	Changing one's nature

		WQJ Articles I p. 512-3		Higher Planes
									of Consciousness

		WQJ Forum Ans. p. 116-7		Mental Obstructions
									to Meditation

		WQJ Forum Ans. p. 8			Mysterious Power of
									Meditation

		WQJ Epitome	pp 25-6		Spiritual Development

		Theos. Art. & Notes, p. 203	The Iron Will




Dallas
dalval@nwc.net





Dallas
dalval@nwc.net 


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