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3. Some Problems of Psychology - Part 2

When modern psychologists comprehend more fully the creative purpose of humanity, and seek to develop the creative imagination more constructively, and also to train the directional will, much will be accomplished.  When these two factors (which are the signal evidence of divinity in man) are studied and scientifically developed and utilised, they will produce the self-releasing of all the problem cases which are found in our clinics at this time.  Thus we shall, through experiment, arrive at a more rapid understanding of man.  Psychology can count definitely upon the innate ability of the [429] human unit to understand the use of the creative imagination and the use of directed purpose, for it is found frequently even in children.  The development of the sense of fantasy and the training of children to make choices (to the end that ordered purpose may emerge in their lives) will be two of the governing ideals of the new education.  The sense of fantasy calls into play the imagination, perception of beauty, and the concept of the subjective worlds; the power of choice, with its implications of why and wherefore and to what end (if wisely taught from early days), will do much for the race, particularly if, at the time of adolescence, the general world picture and the world plan are brought to the attention of the developing intelligence.  Therefore:

1. The sense of fantasy

2. The sense of choice

3. The sense of the whole plus

4. The sense of ordered purpose

should govern our training of the children which are coming into incarnation.  The sense of fantasy brings the creative imagination into play, thus providing the emotional nature with constructive outlets; this should be balanced and motivated by the recognition of the power of right choice and the significance of the higher values.  These, in turn, can be developed selflessly by a due recognition of the environing whole in which the individual has to play his part, whilst the entire range of reactions are increasingly subordinated by the understanding of the ordered purpose which is working out in the world.

These are the basic premises which should emerge in the new techniques which psychology will use when it has reached the point of accepting (or at least experimenting with) the [430] above ideas.  By their use, it will be found that the problem case itself can be brought into functioning right activity, for all the innate, and unused faculties of man will be swept into integrating activity.  The process is always and inevitably the same:

1. Cleavage.

2. A recognition of duality, either subjectively or in the waking consciousness.

3. A period of wild unrest, of frustration and futility, leading sometimes to disaster, to forms of nervous or mental breakdown, and to generally chaotic and undesirable conditions.

4. An intelligently applied bridging process, gradually carried forward, once the point of cleavage is determined.

5. The achievement of periods of recognised fusion, integration or true normality.  A process of analysis would here be useful.  It will later be found that psycho-analysis will come into its real usefulness when it comes to the aid of a man in explaining his achievement rather than in unearthing the detail of his apparent disaster.  There is no real disaster.  There is only an unrecognised point of crisis, a moment of unrealised fulfillment.  The disaster comes when this point of crisis is not utilised and understood, for it then serves to increase the cleavage instead of being recognised as a moment of opportunity.

6. The establishment of a definite rhythm composed of the creative imagination, of discriminating choice, of the value of the relation of the part to the whole, and of the acceptance of group purpose.  This rhythm, when duly established in a life or in a series of lives, leads eventually to

7. Integration.

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I would like to stop here and point out that the foundation of the new psychology must inevitably be built upon the premise that this one life is not man's sole opportunity in which to achieve integration and eventual perfection.  The great Law of Rebirth must be accepted and it will then be found to be, in itself, a major releasing agent in any moment of crisis or any psychological problem case.  The recognition of further opportunity and a lengthened sense of time are both quieting and helpful to many types of mind; its interpretative value will be found illuminating as the patient grasps the fact that behind him lie points of crisis wherein it can be demonstrated by his present equipment that he achieved integration, thus guaranteeing to him victory in his present point of crisis and of difficult conflict.  The light which this throws on relationships and environment will serve to stabilise his purpose and make him comprehend the inevitability of responsibility.  When this great law is understood in its true implications and not interpreted in terms of its present childish presentation, then man will shoulder the responsibility of living with a daily recognition of the past, an understanding of the purpose of the present, and with an eye to the future.  This will also greatly lessen the growing tendency towards suicide which humanity is showing.

It will be apparent to you, therefore, that the time element can enter into the problem most helpfully and it is here that a real understanding of the Law of Rebirth, or of the Law of Opportunity (as I would prefer to call it) will be of definite usefulness.  Above everything else, it will bring into the attitude of both psychologist and problem case, the idea of hope, the thought of fulfillment and of ultimate achievement.

It will also be essential that the psychologist of the future should arrive at a recognition and an admittance of the inner structure of the human being—of his emotional vehicle, his [432] mind body and their close inter-relation through the medium of the vital or etheric body which serves ever as the linking web between the dense physical body and the other bodies.  The soul and its triplicity of energies (life itself, expressing will or purpose, love and intelligence) work through the seven major centres, whilst the mind body and the astral body work through many other centres, though possessing also within themselves seven centres which are the transmitting counterparts of those found in the etheric body.  The integrations which evolution eventually effects are carried out through the medium of all these centres.  Through the heightening of vibration, through the swinging into activity of the centres, and through the subsequent and consequent development of the human response apparatus, new avenues of approach to reality, new qualities of awareness, new sensitivity to that which has hitherto been unrecognised, and new powers begin to open up.

Each man is, therefore, within himself, a hierarchy, a reflection of a great chain of being—the Being which the universe expresses.  Psychology has to recognise eventually:

1. The fact of the soul, the integrating agent, the self.

2. The Law of Opportunity or Rebirth.

3. The nature of the inner structure of man and its relation to the outer tangible form.

It is interesting to note that practically all the teaching given anent rebirth or reincarnation has emphasised the material phenomenal side though there has always been a more or less casual reference to the spiritual and mental gains acquired in the school of life upon this planet, from incarnation to incarnation.  The true nature of the unfolding awarenesses and the growth in the inner consciousness of the true man have been little noted; the gain of each life in added grasp of [433] the mechanism of contact, and the result of increased sensitivity to the environment (which are the only values with which the self concerns itself), are seldom, if ever, stressed.  Details of living conditions, statements about possible material situations, descriptions of places, clothes, and of personality human relations are imaginatively displayed, and the "recovery of past incarnations" has usually been the so-called recovery of dramatic episodes which feed the innate sense of individuality of the reincarnating man, and usually feed his vanity as well.  This curious presentation has been due to several things.  First of all, to the fact that the world of illusion is the dominating factor as yet in the lives of the best of men; secondly, that the point in evolution has been such that the writer or speaker has not been able to view the life cycle from the angle of the soul, detached and undeluded, for had he done so, the material phenomenal descriptions would have been omitted and probably not even perceived, and only the values—spiritual and mental—and those matters which concern the group interior life would have been emphasised.  The methods used to present this age-old doctrine of rebirth, and the false emphasis laid upon the form aspect to the exclusion of the soul values, have brought about a bad reaction to the whole subject in the minds of intelligent people and of the scientific investigator.  Yet, in spite of this, real good has been accomplished, for the whole theory has been seeping steadily into the racial consciousness, becoming an integral part of it and, therefore, moving on to popular and finally scientific recognition.

In considering the inner structure of man and those factors which produce the outer appearance and quality and condition it, thus producing the resultant behaviour and conduct, psychologists will have to study the following subjects, [434] beginning with the lowest aspect and expanding their ideas to include the highest possible.  These might be grouped and listed as follows:

1. The outer response apparatus, acting under impulses received from the outer environment and the inner subjective realms.  These come, according to the esoteric theories, via

a. The brain, from whence certain aspects of the nervous system are directed and controlled, first by mental influence and then by conscious soul direction.

b. The endocrine or glandular system, acting under impulses entering the physical body via the seven centres in the etheric body; of these centres, the glandular system is simply the externalisation, or physical counterpart.  The glands condition the man through the blood stream, being in their turn conditioned by the centres.

c. The solar plexus, directing and controlling certain aspects of the nervous system, and which is in large part the instinctual or animal brain.

d. The heart, the centre of life.

2. The vital or etheric body.  This is the major energising factor and is an exact replica or counterpart of the outer form, being the true intermediary between the inner worlds and the outer man.  The nadis (lines or threads of force) underlie every nerve in the human body and the centres which they form at certain points of intersection or juncture are the background or motivating agency of every ganglion or plexus found in the human body.  Certain of these centres, major and minor, are of unique evolutionary importance.  These are as follows:

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a. The head centre is the seat of soul energy, or the centre through which the conscious, spiritual man functions.

b. The heart centre is the seat of life, of the highest principle which expresses itself through man.

c. The solar plexus centre is the seat of the instinctual life, of the animal soul, and of the highly developed emotional nature.

d. The centre at the base of the spine is the major integrating centre and comes into functioning activity when two major fusions have been effected:  that of the fusions of the three bodies into one coordinated personality, and when soul and body are at-oned.

3. The emotional or sentient body, which is often called the astral body.  From this vehicle emanate the desires, impulses, aspirations and those conflicts of duality which so oft afflict and hinder the disciple.  It is the seat also of the creative, imaginative life of man.  It also possesses centres of force which are counterparts of those to be found in the etheric body, but for the majority of people it is energised mainly from the world of illusion and from the astral plane.  It is from this plane of illusory awareness, that the advanced man has to learn to withdraw himself.

4. The mind nature, which works through four centres and only four.

5. The soul itself, or the true spiritual man, the self in manifestation, working through or seeking to work through, its phenomenal appearance, the fourfold lower man.

If the above is carefully studied, it will become apparent that the cleavages which exist in man are cleavages in certain inherent or basic relations:

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1. Found within the man himself, in one or other of these various focal points of realization or awareness:

a. Unrecognised by the man himself or by those around him.  When this is the case, the man is unevolved and the cleavages or gaps in his consciousness do no real harm relatively, either to himself or to those in his environment.  They simply indicate lack of development.

b. When recognised, they produce distress and difficulty and the man becomes in need of sound psychological help.  Correct information along the lines here laid down can be given in those cases where the intellectual type is involved; the psychologist is then dealing with people who should be able and willing to help themselves.

c. When the man has effected the necessary bridging and unification, he then becomes a unified personality.  Then the mystic can emerge.  This means that he has achieved the point wherein the higher bridging between the integrated personality and the soul becomes possible.  Finally, a Master of the Wisdom, Who is an exponent of the Christ consciousness, in its unifying, salvaging and constructive aspects, appears.

The at-oning of the higher and the lower nature will produce results which will be determined in their field of expression by a man's ray.  These ray conditions will result in a man's finding his right field of usefulness and right expression in the political, religious, or scientific fields, and in other modes of divine manifestation.

2. Found between a man and his environment..  The effect of this may mean that he is an anti-social human being, or unpopular, full of fear of life, or expressing, in many [437] other forms, his inability to tune in on his surroundings.  Lack of understanding, of right relationship, and inability correctly to blend the inner and the outer forms of the life structure, will be evidenced.  The cause of the cleavage in this case is usually found somewhere within the astral body itself.

3. Found between a man and his life task, or the life activity to which fate ordains him and pre-disposition inclines him.  The difficulty here lies in a definite break or failure of continuity between the mind nature, determining purpose, and the astral nature, governing impulse.

4. Found between a man and his overshadowing (and slowly dominating) soul.  This leads to much realised unhappiness, dire conflict, and the eventual and symbolic "death of the personality."

Here again I would like to pause and to point out that the concepts of death, of substitution, of the vicarious at-one-ment and of sacrifice, will—in the New Age—be superseded by the concepts of resurrection or of livingness, of spiritual unity, of transference and of service, so that a new note will enter into human life, bringing hope and joy and power and freedom.

b. PROBLEMS OF INTEGRATION

One of the first things which happens when a man has succeeded (alone or with academic psychological aid) in healing or bridging certain cleavages is the recognition of an immediate sense of well-being and of demand for expression.  This in its turn, brings its own problems among which are these:

A sense of power, which makes the man, temporarily at least, selfish, dominant, sure of himself and full of arrogance.  He is aware of himself as facing a larger [438] world, a wider horizon, and greater opportunities.  This larger sense can bring, therefore, serious troubles and difficulties.  This type of person, under the influence of this extension of consciousness, is often beautifully motivated and actuated by the highest intentions, but only succeeds in producing inharmony in his surroundings.  These tendencies, when allowed to rule unchecked, can lead eventually to a serious state of ego-mania, for ego-mania is outstandingly a problem of integration.  All these difficulties can be obviated and offset if the man can be brought to realise himself as an integral part of a much greater whole.  His sense of values will then be adjusted and his sense of power rightly oriented.

A tendency to over-emphasis may also show itself, turning the man (as a result of integration and a sense of well-being or power and capacity) into a fanatic, at any rate for a time.  Again with the best motives in the world, he seeks to drive everyone the way that he has come, failing to recognise the differences in background, ray type, point in evolution, and tradition and heredity.  He becomes a source of distress to himself and to his friends.  A little learning can be a dangerous thing, and the cure for many ills, particularly of a psychological nature, is the recognition of this.  Progress can then be made on the Path of Wisdom.

The over-development of the sense of direction or of vocation, if you like to call it so, though the two are not identical, for the sense of direction is less definite than the recognition of vocation.  In the schools of esoteric psychology, a phrase is sometimes used in connection with this sense of direction or inner guidance which runs as follows:  "the bridging of the gaps induces a man continuously to run across the bridge."  Certain aspects [439] of the man are now consciously recognised, and the higher of these constantly attracts him.  When, for instance, the gap between the astral or emotional body and the mind has been bridged, and the man discovers the vast field of mental activity which has opened up before him, he may for a long time become materialistically intellectual and will tune out as far as he can all emotional reactions and psychic sensitivity, glamouring himself with the belief that they are, for him, non-existent.  He will then work intensively on mental levels.  This will prove only a passing matter from the point of vision of the soul (e'en if it last an entire incarnation or several incarnations); but it can cause definite psychological problems, and create in the man's perception of life, "blind spots."  However, much trouble is cured by leaving people alone, provided the abnormality is not too excessive.

Once the fact of the soul is admitted, we shall see an increasing tendency to leave people to the directing purpose and guidance of their own souls, provided that they understand what is happening to them and can discriminate between:

a. The upward surging of the subconscious self into the lighted area of consciousness,

b. The play and force and recognitions of the immediately conscious self.

c. The downflow of the superconscious self, the soul, carrying inspiration, higher knowledges and intuitions.

These words—subconscious, conscious and super-conscious—need definition, for the purpose of this treatise; they [440] are bandied about so freely and mean different things according to the school of psychological thought to which the student belongs.

I use the term subconscious to signify the entire instinctual life of the form nature, all the inherited tendencies and innate predispositions, all the acquired and accumulated characteristics (acquired in past incarnations and frequently lying dormant unless suddenly evoked by stress of circumstance) and all the unformulated wishes and urges which drive a man into activity, plus the suppressed and unrecognised desires, and the unexpressed ideas which are present, though unrealised.  The subconscious nature is like a deep pool from which a man can draw almost anything from his past experience, if he so desires, and which can be stirred up until it becomes a boiling cauldron, causing much distress.

The conscious is limited to that which the man knows himself to be and have in the present—the category of qualities, characteristics, powers, tendencies and knowledges of all kinds which constitute a mans stock in trade and of which he is definitely aware or of which the psychologist is aware.  These are displayed in his window for all to see, and they make him what he apparently is to the outer onlooking world.

By the super-conscious, I mean those potencies and knowledges which are available but which are as yet uncontacted and unrecognised and, therefore, of no immediate use.  These are the wisdom, love and abstract idealism which are inherent in the nature of the soul but which are not yet, and never have been a part of the equipment available for use.  Eventually, all these powers will be recognised and used by the man.  These potencies and realisations are called in The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali by the interesting name of "the raincloud of knowable things."  These "knowable things" will eventually [441] drop into the conscious aspect of a man's nature and become an integral part of his intellectual equipment.  Finally, as evolution proceeds and the ages pass away, they will drop into the subconscious aspect of his nature, as his power to grasp the super-conscious grows in capacity.  I might make this point clearer to you if I pointed out that just as the instinctual nature is today found largely in the realm of the subconscious, so in due time, the intellectual part of man (of which he is at this time becoming increasingly aware) will be relegated to a similar position and will drop below the threshold of consciousness.  The intuition will then take its place.  For most people, the free use of the intuition is not possible, because it lies in the realm of the super-conscious.

All these movements within the realm of consciousness,—from the subconscious to the immediately conscious and from thence to the super-conscious—are essentially crises of integration, producing temporary situations which must be handled.  I would like here to point out that when an individual becomes aware of the higher aspect of himself which is demanding integration and is conscious of its nature and of the part which it could play in his life expression, he frequently becomes afflicted with an inferiority complex.  This is the reaction of the lower, integrated aspects to the higher one.  He experiences a sense of futility; the comparison which he makes within himself of the possible achievement and the point already attained leaves him with a sense of failure and of impotence.  The reason for this is that the vision is at first too big, and he feels that he cannot make the grade.  Humanity today has made so much progress upon the path of evolution that two groups of men are thus powerfully affected:

1. The group which has recognised the need for bridging the cleavage between the emotional nature and the mind [442] and has thus, through their integration, reached the level of intelligence.

2. The group that has already bridged this cleavage and is now aware of a major task which is the bridging of the gap between the personality and the soul.

These groups include a very large number of people at this time; the sense of inferiority is very great and causes many types of difficulty.  If, however, the cause is more intelligently approached and handled, it will be found that the growth of a truer perspective will be rapid.

Another real difficulty in the field of achieved integration is to be found in the case of those who have integrated the entire lower nature and have fused the energies of the personality.  All the energies involved in this fusion have quality, and the combination and interplay of these qualities (each determined by some particular ray energy) constitute the character of the person.  For a long while after integration has been reached there will frequently be much conflict, strictly within the realm of character and within the Man's immediate consciousness.  First one energy and then another will assert itself and battle for the supremacy.  It might be of value here if I posited a hypothetical case, giving you the governing ray energies and reminding you that their fusion is the objective.  In the case in point the subject has fused the personality vehicles into one functioning whole and is definitely a personality, but the major fusion of soul and personality has not been made.

Major energies

Egoic energy........................

Ray 1.  The energy of will or power.

Personality energy...............

Ray 4.  The energy of harmony through conflict.

 

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Minor Energies

Mental energy......................

Ray 3.  The energy of intelligence.

Astral energy.......................

Ray 6.  The energy of devotion. Idealism.

Physical energy...................

Ray 1.  The energy of will or power.

 

Here we have a fivefold field of energy in which all factors are active except the energy of the ego or soul.  They have been definitely fused.  There is at the same time a growing awareness of the need for a still higher or more inclusive fusion and the establishing of a definite relation with the soul.  The process has been as follows:  First, the man was simply an animal, aware only of physical energy.  Then he began to include within his field of awareness the emotional nature, with its desires, demands and sensitive reactions.  Next, he discovered himself as a mind, and mental energy proceeded to complicate his problem.  Finally, he arrived at the life expression we are hypothetically considering in which he has (and this is the point of real interest).

a. A first ray physical body, with a brain dominated and controlled by a third ray mind.  This means capacity for intellectual achievement of a very varied kind.

b. An emotional nature which, being governed by sixth ray energy, can be rapidly swung into fanatical orientations and is easily idealistic.

c. The whole problem is further complicated by the rapidly emerging fourth ray energies of the personality.  This means that the personality goal is the achievement of harmony, unity and skill in living, through an intensity of conflict, waged within [444] the fourfold field of energy which constitutes the lower self.

You will, therefore, have a man who is ambitious for power, but with right motive, because he is truly idealistic; who will fight intelligently to achieve it, but will fight fanatically to bring about these ends because his fourth ray personality and sixth ray astral body will force him to do so, and his first ray body and brain will enable him to put up a strong fight.  At the same time, his first ray soul energy is seeking to dominate, and will eventually do so through the medium of third ray mental energy, influencing the first ray brain.  The first result of soul influence will be an intensification of every thing in the personality.  The trouble will be localised in the mental body or in the brain and can range all the way down from idee fixe and mental crystallisation to insanity (if the stimulation becomes unduly powerful or the heredity is not good.)  He can express arrogant success in his chosen field of work, which will make him a dominant and unpleasant person, or he can express the fluidity of the third ray mind which will make him a scheming manipulator or a fighter for immense schemes which can never really materialise.  In this analysis I have not considered the tendencies evoked in past lives and lying hidden in the subconscious, or his heredity and environment.  I have simply sought to show one thing:  that the conflict of energies within a man can produce serious situations.  But most of them can be corrected through right understanding.

It will be apparent to you, therefore, that one of the first studies to be made in this new approach to the psychological field will be to discover:

1. Which rays, major and minor, are conditioning and determining [445] the nature of the man, and evoking the quality of his daily life.

2. Which of these five energies is (at the time of the difficulty) the most dominant, and through which body or vehicle it is focussed.

3. Which of these ray energies is struggling against the imposed dominance, mentioned above.  These can be either:

a. Varying aspects of the same energy within their own particular field.

b. Higher energies which are endeavouring to control the lower energies and therefore indicating a cleavage in the man's nature.

c. The energy of the fusion process itself, which unifies the lower energies into one functioning personality.

d. The adjustment of the bridging process between the two major energies.  This will result in the at-one-ment of soul and of the personality.

These constitute the larger areas of difficulty, and in each of these fields of conflicting energies there are lesser centres of conflict.  These are frequently brought about by environing circumstances and events.

Given all these factors, and considering our hypothetical case as being that of a man with a highly intelligent nature and a good equipment for daily expression, how would the esoteric psychologist proceed?  How would he deal with the man and what would he do?  On what broad and general principles would he proceed?  I can but briefly indicate some of them, reminding you that, in the case which we are considering, the subject is definitely cooperating with the psychologist and is interested in bringing about the right results.  The answers to the following questions will be the goal of the psychologist's effort:

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1. What are your reasons for wanting to be "straightened out"?  This phrase, though an ordinary colloquialism, has deep significance, for it indicates the recognition of the need of alignment.

2. What brought this need to your attention and evoked in you the desire for a specific process of interior adjustment?

3. Realising the nature of the inner constitution of man, in which vehicle is there the need for the bridging process?  Where is the point of cleavage, and, therefore, the point of present crisis?  Is this difficulty a major or a minor crisis?

4. What are the five ray energies conditioning the subject?

5. How far does the man's life pattern, his life vocation and his innate coherent desires, coincide with the trend set by

a. The soul ray type of energy,

b. The personality ray type?

With disciples much of the difficulty will be found to lie in this area of expression.

6. In what period of the present life expression did the cleavage make its appearance?  Or has an achieved integration brought about the difficult situation?  Is this problem

a. One of cleavage, requiring a bridging process, and leading thus to a fusion of energies?

b. One of integration, requiring right understanding of what has happened, and leading to right adjustment of the fused powers to environing conditions?

7. Is the man at the point where he should be

a. Integrated as a personality and, as a result, becoming more strictly human.

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b. Developed as a mystic and taught to recognise the higher aspect and its relation to the lower, with a view to their unification.

c. Trained as an occultist and brought mentally to such a state of consciousness that the higher and the lower natures or aspects begin to function as one?  This involves the blending of the forces of the personality and the energy of the soul, and fusing them into one divine expression of "the part within the whole."

8. What, in the last analysis, must be done to make "the lighted area" of the immediate consciousness of such a nature that the subconscious part of the man can be "lighted at will by the ray of the mind", and the mind itself can become a search light, penetrating into the super-consciousness and thus revealing the nature of the soul?  It is in fact the problem of the expansions of consciousness.  A wide field of psychological investigation lies ahead in connection with the use of the mind as constituting the "path of light between the subconscious nature and the superconscious nature, and yet focussing both as a brilliant point of light within the conscious nature."

To esotericists, this whole problem of the at-one-ment is closely connected with the building of the antaskarana.  This name is given to the line of living energy which links the various human aspects and the soul, and it holds the clue to the occult truism that "before a man can tread the Path, he must become the path itself."  When the cleavages are all bridged, the various points of crisis have been surmounted and passed, and the required fusions (which are simply stages in process) have taken place, then unification or at-one-ment occurs.  New fields of energy then are entered, [448] recognised and mastered, and then again new areas of consciousness open up before the advancing pilgrim.

The great planetary achievement of Christ was expressed by St. Paul in the words that He made "in himself of twain one new man, so making peace."  (Ephesians II. 15)

In the two words "peace" and "good will" you have two keywords which express the bridging of two cleavages:  One in the psychic nature of man, particularly that between the mind and the emotional vehicle which means the attainment of peace, and the other between the personality and the soul.  This latter is the resolution of a basic "split", and it is definitely brought about by the will-to-good.  This bridges not only the major cleavage in individual man, but it is that which will bring about the great and imminent fusion between intelligent humanity and the great spiritual centre which we call the spiritual Hierarchy of the planet.

It has been the almost unconscious recognition of these cleavages and of the need for their fusion which has made marriage, and the consummating act of marriage, the great mystical symbol of the greater inner fusions.

May I remind you also that these cleavages are cleavages in consciousness or awareness and not in fact?  Is that too difficult a matter for us to grasp?  Let us ponder upon it.

c. PROBLEMS OF STIMULATION

We now come to what is the most interesting part of our psychological study, for we will take up and consider the results of stimulation.

This theme is of outstanding interest at this time because of the mystical tendency and the spiritual urge which distinguishes humanity as a whole, and because of the definite results—some of them bad, many of them good—which the growing practice of meditation is bringing about in the world [449] of men.  These results of mystical and spiritual aspiration and of applied occult or intellectual meditation (in contradistinction to the mystical approach) must be faced and understood or a great opportunity will be lost and certain undesirable developments will appear and need later to be offset.

It surprises you, does it not, when I speak of the mystical tendency of humanity?  Yet never before has the aspiration of mankind been of so high and general an order.  Never before have so many people forced themselves on to the Path of Discipleship.  Never before have men set themselves to discover truth in such large numbers.  Never before has the Approach to the Hierarchy been so definite and so real.  This situation warrants certain reactions.  Of what nature should these reactions be?  How shall we meet and deal with the opportunity with which we are confronted?  By the development of the following attitudes:  By a determination to avail oneself of the tide which is forcing humanity to approach the world of spiritual realities in such a way that the results will be factual and proven; by a realisation that what men seek in their millions is worth seeking and is of a reality, hitherto unknown; by a recognition that now is the day of opportunity for all disciples, initiates and workers, for the tide is on and men can be influenced for good at this time but perhaps not later.  There are not always times of crisis, for they are the exception, not the rule.

This is, however, a time of unusual crisis.  One point, nevertheless, seems impressed upon my mind, and I would like to emphasise it.  In these times of crisis and consequent opportunity, it is essential that men should realise two things:  first, that it is a time of stimulation, and also that it is a time of crisis for the Hierarchy as well as for men.  This latter point is oft forgotten; the hierarchical crisis is of great importance, owing to its relative rarity.  Human crises are frequent and—[450] from the time angle—of almost regular occurrence.  But this is not the case where the Hierarchy is concerned.  Also when a human crisis and a hierarchical crisis coincide and are simultaneous, there emerges an hour of dominant opportunity, and for the following reasons:

1. The attention of the Great Ones is entirely focussed, owing to planetary affairs, in one particular direction.  A synthesis of planned effort appears.

2. These occasions are so rare that when they do occur, they indicate a solar, as well as a planetary, significance.

3. Certain forces and powers, exterior to the government of the solar system, have been called into play, owing to the planetary emergency.  This emergency is of such importance (from the angle of consciousness) that the solar Logos has seen fit to invoke external agencies to aid.  And, They are aiding.

If you couple to these facts the reoriented and focussed attention of humanity upon what is called "modern idealism", you have a most interesting moment or event—for these two words are synonymous.

Men everywhere are aspiring towards freedom, towards mutual understanding, towards right group and personal conditions of living and of thinking, and towards right external and internal relationships.  This is a fact generally recognised.  Humanity is weary and tired of unwholesome ways of living, of the exploitation of the defenceless, of the growth of discontent, and of the centralisation of power in wrong and selfish hands.  They are anxious for peace, right relations, the proper distribution of time and the understanding and right use of money.  Such indications are unusual and of a deeply spiritual nature.

What is the result of these developments in the world of [451] subjective spiritual government and in the world of human affairs?

First of all and pre-dominantly, the evocation of a joint Approach:  one being the longing and the desire of the Hierarchy for the solution of the human problem and the adjustment of human misery, and also for a right emergence of spiritual government (the government of correct values) and the other being the determination of man to bring about right conditions and proper environing situations wherein human beings can develop, and wherein the true values also may register and be recognised.  It is at this point that the Hierarchy and humanity are at-one.  That many human beings are too undeveloped to record these aspirations correctly is nonessential.  They are unconsciously working towards the same ends as is the Hierarchy.

Where these two allied situations simultaneously exist, the result is necessarily a synchronous response, and this (equally necessarily) produces stimulation.  The situation in relation to humanity as a whole is exactly the same as the situation in the life of an individual mystic.  This must be carefully borne in mind, because the trend of human aspiration is mystical and not occult.  Hence the world wide appositeness of what I am saying and its opportuneness.

I intend, however, to confine myself to the problems of the individual mystic and leave my readers to draw the necessary parallels.

It might be of value if, first of all, we defined the word stimulation, dealing with it from the occult standpoint and not just from the technical dictionary standpoint.  Stimulation is the crux of our problem and we might as well face it and understand whereof we speak and what are the implications.

I have consistently emphasised the necessity for our recognition of the existence of energy.  In occultism (or esotericism) [452] we use the word "energy" to connote the living activity of the spiritual realms, and of that spiritual entity, the soul.  We use the word "force" to connote the activity of the form nature in the realms of the various kingdoms in nature.  This is a point of dominant interest and of implied distinction.

Stimulation might, therefore, be defined as the effect which energy has upon force.  It is the effect which soul has upon form, and which the higher expression of divinity has upon what we call the lower expression.  Yet all is equally divine in time and space and in relation to the point in evolution and the whole.  This energy has the following effects and I state these effects in various ways in order to produce clarification in the many differing types of minds:

1. An increased rate of rhythm and vibration.

2. A capacity to offset time and, therefore, to do more in one hour of so-called time than the average person can do in two or three hours of time.

3. An upheaval in the personality life which leads—if correctly met—to a clear sighted meeting of karmic obligations.

4. An intensification of all reactions.  This includes all reactions emanating from the world of daily living (and, therefore, from the environment), from the world of aspirational life, from the mind and from the soul, the great Reality in the life of the incarnated individual (even if he does not know it).

5. A clarification of life objectives, and hence a dominant emphasis upon the importance of the personality and the personality life.

6. A developing process of destruction which involves issues with which it seems beyond the capacity of the personality to deal.

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7. Certain physiological and psychological problems which are based upon the capacity, the inherent weaknesses and strengths and the qualifications of the instruments of reception.

It should be remembered here that all stimulation is based upon the reaction (or the power to receive and register) of the lower nature when brought into relation to the higher.  It is not based upon the reaction of the higher to the lower.  Upon this reception, there eventuates a speeding up of the atoms which compose the personality vehicles; there follows a galvanising into activity of cells in the brain which have been hitherto dormant and also of the body areas around the seven centres, particularly in the organic and physiological correspondences to the centres, plus a grasp of possibilities and of opportunities.  These results may work out either in the form of disastrous failure or in the form of significant development.

To all this, the stimulation of the nervous system of the subject responds and hence the effects are pronouncedly physical.  These effects may mean release through the proper expenditure of the inflowing energy and consequently no serious effects, even when there may exist undesirable conditions, or they may mean that the instrument is in such a condition that the energy pouring through will be disruptive and dangerous and all kinds of bad results may be incurred.  These include:

Mental problems.

It is with this theme that we shall now deal primarily.  Mental stimulation is comparatively rare, if the total population of the planet is considered; nevertheless among the peoples of our Western civilisation and among the cream of the [454] Eastern civilisation it is frequently to be found.  These particular problems can, for the sake of clarity, be divided into three groups or categories:

1. Those problems which arise out of intense mental activity, which produce undue mental focus and emphasis, one-pointed intellectual approach and crystallisation.

2. Those problems which arise out of meditation processes, which have successfully brought about illumination.  This, in its due turn, produces certain difficulties, such as—

a. Over activity of the mind, which grasps and sees too much.

b. The revelation of glamour and illusion.  This leads to bewilderment and the unfoldment of the lower psychism.

c. Over sensitivity to the phenomena of the inner light, registered in the etheric body.

3. Those arising out of the higher psychic unfoldments, with consequent sensitivity to—

a. Guidance.

b. Cooperation with the Plan.

c. Soul contact.

The last three groups of problems under sensitivity are most definite and real in the experience of disciples.

The first group of problems (those arising out of intense mental activity) are those of the pronounced intellectual and they range all the way from a narrow crystallised sectarianism to that psychological phenomenon called idee fixe.  They are largely the problems of thought-form making, and by their means the man becomes the victim of that which he has himself constructed; he is the creature of a Frankenstein of [455] his own creation.  This tendency can be seen working out in all schools of thought and of cultures and is primarily applicable to the leader type of man and to the man who is independent in his thought life and, therefore, capable of clear thinking and the free movement of the chitta or mind stuff.  It is necessary, therefore, in the coming days to deal with this particular problem, for minds will be met with increasing frequency.  As the race proceeds towards a mental polarisation which will be as powerful as the present astral polarisation from which it is emerging, it will be found increasingly necessary to educate the race in—

1. The nature of mental substance.

2. The triple purpose of the mind: