In the previous class we talked about Image, Values and Identity. We discussed that the Mind is an instrument we should learn to consciously use, and we are going to return to that same subject soon, but let us remember the idea of Identity.
Gnosis teaches us that our real Identity is related to our Essence and not our Personality nor the Egos that utilize the Personality as a vehicle of action. The Essence is a manifestation of the Being, our Inner Divinity, and when we are able to fully Self-Realize ourselves, this means incarnating the Being. This allows us to become the K-H, the Kosmic Human.
However, the possibility of achieving the K-H is connected to our psyche and how trapped it is in the Inhuman Aggregates or Egos (wherein our Essence is bottled up). If we do not investigate our Identity, the Image we have of ourselves and the Values we have, then we are going to have a lot of difficulty changing our situation, both internally and externally.
In Gnosis, we learn that the psychological Image we have of ourselves (our Self-Image) needs to be carefully studied because the exterior images, the external world we see around ourselves is very often a reflection of the interior Image or Image(s) we have… The External is a reflection of the Internal. Thus, through Self-Study, we can radically transform our lives.
Today, we are going to talk about some other aspects of the work related with change and with Awakening our Essence. The Essence or Consciousness is that Spark or aspect of Divinity we have access to and that we can take advantage of…
We need to have a completely different perspective of how we understand our Lives. We want to make a distinction between the way we used to take life and the way we learn to experience it while implementing the principles of the Gnostic Esoteric Work.
Part 1
The Need to Awaken Consciousness
“Those who are truly interested in the Path of the Razor’s Edge and in the inner self-realization of the Being, will long to experience the great realities of the superior worlds.
All human beings have a right to the great experiences of the spirit, to know the kingdoms and nations of the molecular and electronic regions.
Any aspirant has the right to study at the feet of the Master, to enter through the splendid doors of the temples of major mysteries, to converse face to face with the radiant sons of the aurora of the Manvantara of creation.
One has to begin, however, by awakening consciousness.
It is impossible for the aspirant to be awake in the superior worlds if here in the cellular, physical, material world, they are asleep.
Whosoever wants to awaken consciousness in the internal worlds must awaken here and now in this dense world.
If the aspirant has not awakened consciousness here in the physical world, there is much less of a chance that they will awaken in the superior worlds.
Whosoever awakens consciousness here and now awakens everywhere.”
-Paraphrase from Ch 15 of The Buddha’s Necklace
also called Light from Darkness (Christmas Message 1966-1967)
First, we need to Recognize that we are Asleep
“The first necessity, if one is to awaken consciousness, is to know that one is asleep. Understanding that we are asleep is difficult because normally, everybody is completely convinced that they are awake.
When a person understands that they are asleep, then the process of self-awakening begins. What we are saying is not something most people readily accept. If we tell an intellectual animal that he/she is asleep, they will certainly be offended. People are fully convinced that they are awake.
Yet people work while they are asleep… dreaming; they drive cars while asleep… dreaming; they get married while asleep; and they live their whole lives while sleeping… dreaming: nevertheless, they are totally convinced that they are awake.”
-Paraphrase from Ch 15 of The Buddha’s Necklace
also called Light from Darkness (Christmas Message 1966-1967)
How to Awaken Consciousness
“Whosoever wants to awaken consciousness here and now should begin to comprehend the three subconscious factors called:
1. identification,
2. fascination,
3. and sleep.All types of identification produce fascination and sleep.
We urgently need to be watching all of our thoughts, sentiments, desires, emotions, habits, instincts, sexual impulses, etc. Every thought, emotion, movement, instinctive act, sexual impulse, should be immediately self-observed as they come forth in our psyche. Any lack of attention is sufficient to fall into the sleep of the consciousness.
While walking down a street, you suddenly meet with a crowd protesting something in front of the capitol. If you are not in a state of alertness, you will identify with the demonstrators, join the crowd, and become fascinated. Later you fall asleep psychologically (the Consciousness ‘dreams’): you shout, throw stones, and do things that, in other circumstances, you wouldn’t do, not even for a million dollars.”
-Paraphrase from Ch 15 of The Buddha’s Necklace
also called Light from Darkness (Christmas Message 1966-1967)
The Dreams of the Ego
“There are thousands and millions of circumstances that produce Identification, Fascination and Sleep. People identify with persons, things, ideas, and every type of identification is followed by Fascination and Sleep.
During the hours of rest of the physical body (physical sleep – the 1st State of Consciousness), the Ego or “I” exits the physical body and takes its dreams along with it wherever it goes.
When it returns to the physical body, when it once again enters the Vigil state (the 2nd State of Consciousness), it continues with its same dreams and in this manner, it spends its entire life dreaming.
Persons who physically die may cease to physically exist, but the Ego (the “I”) continues in the supra-sensible regions beyond death.
At the hour of death, the Ego takes along its dreams (its worldliness) and lives in the world of the dead with those same dreams; it continues dreaming, with the Consciousness asleep, it ambulates like a sleepwalker: asleep, unconscious.”
-Paraphrase from Ch 15 of The Buddha’s Necklace
also called Light from Darkness (Christmas Message 1966-1967)
The Practice of Inner Self-Remembering I
“Peoples’ consciousness sleep profoundly, but they believe that they are awake. However, when someone accepts that their consciousness is asleep, this is a clear sign that they are already beginning to awaken.
The one who wants to awaken consciousness should practice Inner Self-Remembering from moment to moment. This exercise of being in Self-Remembering from moment to moment, is in fact an intense work. A moment, an instant, of forgetfulness is enough to begin dreaming beautifully.
Forgetting oneself is an error with incalculable consequences. To identify with anything is the height of stupidity because fascination and sleep are the result.
It is impossible for someone to awaken consciousness if they forget themselves, if they identify with anything. It is impossible for the aspirant to awaken consciousness if they allow themselves to become fascinated, and fall asleep psychologically.
A boxer who exchanges punches with another boxer is sleeping deeply, is dreaming, is totally identified with the event, and is fascinated. If he were to awaken consciousness, he would look in all directions and immediately flee from the ring, wholly ashamed of himself and of the spectators.
You are traveling rapidly by urban transit, planning to get off at a certain street. Suddenly, the memory of a loved one comes to mind. You identify with that memory, becoming fascinated, and you begin day-dreaming. Then, you cry, “Oh, no! Where am I? I have passed my stop. I should have got off at that corner, at that street back there…” Later, you realize that your consciousness had been absent. You get off the vehicle and walk back to the corner where you should have gotten off.”
-Paraphrase from Ch 15 of The Buddha’s Necklace
also called Light from Darkness (Christmas Message 1966-1967)
We should Work with the Consciousness Here & Now
“Whosoever wants to awaken Consciousness should work here and now. We have the Consciousness incarnated and that is why we should work with it here and now.
Whosoever awakens Consciousness here in this physical world awakens in all the worlds. The one who awakens Consciousness in this three-dimensional world, awakens in the fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh dimensions.”
-Paraphrase from Ch 15 of The Buddha’s Necklace
also called Light from Darkness (Christmas Message 1966-1967)
Inner Self-Remembering and the Division of Attention
“If Inner Self-Remembering from moment to moment is fundamental in order to awaken consciousness, then learning to use attention is no less fundamental.
Whosoever wants to awaken consciousness should begin by dividing their attention into three parts:
1. subject,
2. object,
3. location.[1] Subject: inner remembrance of oneself (the 3rd State of Consciousness) from moment to moment. Do not forget yourself when confronted by any representation by any mental images or by any event.
[2] Object: do not identify with anything, with any circumstance. Observe everything, every representation, every fact, every event (no matter how insignificant they may seem) in detail, without identifying, without forgetting yourself.
[3] Location: ask yourself, “What place is this?” Observe the place in detail, asking yourself, “Why am I in this place?” Within this factor of Location, we should include the dimensional issue, since it could be the case that we are really in the fourth or in the fifth dimension of nature during the moment of observation… Upon observing a place, we should never forget the matter of the seven dimensions of nature; it is convenient, therefore, to ask ourselves: “In what dimension am I?” Then, it is necessary (for verification) to make the highest jump possible with the intention of floating in the surrounding atmosphere.
After becoming accustomed to this exercise (to this Division of Attention into 3 parts, to these questions, to this little jump, etc.), many Gnostic students ended up practicing the same exercise during the sleep of the physical body, when they were really in the superior worlds and when they made the famous experimental jump, they floated delightfully in the surrounding atmosphere; they then awoke Consciousness, they then remembered that the physical body had remained asleep in the bed and, full of joy, they were able to dedicate themselves to the study of the mysteries of life and death in the superior dimensions.
It is logical to say that an exercise that is practiced from moment to moment daily, that becomes a habit, a custom, is recorded in the different zones of the mind that afterwards, it is automatically repeated during dreaming, when we are really outside of the physical body and the result is the awakening of Consciousness.
The division of attention into 3 parts leads the aspirant towards the awakening of the consciousness.
Wanting to experience the great realities of the superior worlds without awakening consciousness here and now is to walk along the path of error. The awakening of the consciousness initiates the development of the spatial sense and the experience of that which is real.”
-Paraphrase from Ch 15 of The Buddha’s Necklace
also called Light from Darkness (Christmas Message 1966-1967)
The Practice of Inner Self-Remembering II
“It is very difficult to stay awake from moment to moment, but it is indispensable. When we learn to live awake from moment to moment, we then stop dreaming here and outside of the physical body.
It is necessary to know that when people fall asleep, they come out of their physical bodies, but they carry along their dreams, they live in the internal worlds dreaming and when they return to the physical body, they continue with their dreams, they continue dreaming. When one learns to live awake from moment to moment, then one stops dreaming here and in the internal worlds.
It is necessary to know that the Ego (“I”) enveloped in its Lunar Bodies, exits the physical body when the body falls asleep. Unfortunately, the Ego lives asleep in the internal worlds.
Besides the Ego, that which is called Essence, Soul, Fraction of a Soul, Buddhata, Consciousness, exists inside the Lunar Bodies. It is this Consciousness that we should awaken here and now.
…In the normal intellectual animal, the Being, the Intimus, is not born, nor dies, nor reincarnates, but it does send the Essence to each new Personality. The Essence is a fraction of the Human Soul, the Buddhata. It is urgent to know that the Buddhata, the Essence, is deposited within the Lunar Bodies with which the Ego dresses itself.
Speaking in a little clearer manner, we will say that the Essence is unfortunately bottled up in the Lunar Ego. The lost ones descend. The descent to the Infernal Worlds only has as its objective the destruction of the Lunar Bodies and the Ego by means of Submerged Involution. It is only by destroying the bottle that the Essence escapes.
Here in this world we have the Consciousness, so we should awaken it if we truly want to stop dreaming and live consciously in the superior worlds. The person with their consciousness awake, lives, works, acts consciously in the superior worlds while their body rests in their bed.”
-Paraphrase from Ch 15 of The Buddha’s Necklace
also called Light from Darkness (Christmas Message 1966-1967)
Part 2
Meditation and Self-Discovery
“In life, the only thing of importance is a radical, total and definitive change. The rest, frankly, is of no importance at all.
Meditation is fundamental when we sincerely yearn for such a change. In no way do we want a type of meditation that is insignificant, superficial, and vain. We must become serious and abandon the nonsense that abounds in cheap pseudo-esotericism and pseudo-occultism.
We must know how to take things seriously, that is: how to change, if what we really & truly want is to not fail in the esoteric work. Those who do not know how to meditate, will never be able to dissolve the Ego; they will remain impotent driftwood on the sea of life.
Defects discovered, in the field of practical life, must be profoundly comprehended through the technique of meditation.”
-Paraphrase from Ch 15 of The Buddha’s Necklace
also called Light from Darkness (Christmas Message 1966-1967)
Practical Life, our Attitude and the Flavor of the Work
“The didactic material for meditation is found precisely in the different events and daily circumstances of practical life.
People always complain about unpleasant events. They never know how to see the usefulness of such events. Instead of protesting against disagreeable circumstances, we must extract useful elements from them for our psychic growth through meditation.
In-depth meditation on this or that pleasant or unpleasant circumstance allows us to sense (in ourselves) the taste, the flavor, the effect of the associated event.
It is essential to make a clear distinction between what the flavor of the work is and what the flavor of life is. In any case, to sense the flavor of the work within ourselves requires a total inversion of the attitude that is, our internal state with which we normally take on the circumstances of existence.
No one could taste the flavor of the work while making the mistake of identifying themselves with various events. Certainly, identification impedes the proper psychological appreciation of events. When one becomes identified with this or that event, then one will never be able to extract from it the elements useful for Self-Discovery and the inner growth of the consciousness.
The Esoteric worker who regresses to identification (after having let down their guard) returns to the flavor of life instead of the flavor of the work. This indicates that the previously inverted psychological attitude has returned to its state of identification.
Any unpleasant circumstance must be reconstructed through conscious imagination by means of the techniques of meditation.”
-Paraphrase from Ch 15 of The Buddha’s Necklace
also called Light from Darkness (Christmas Message 1966-1967)
Taking Advantage of the Experiences of Life
“We need to comprehend the necessity to learn how to live. The experiences of life are really useful; unfortunately people hate, detest, and even repudiate, the experiences of life.
Many are those who complain about others and about themselves, and it is amazing to see how people undervalue their experiences. We have to do the opposite: we need to use the experiences of life in order to attain our own Self-Realization. The experiences of life can offer us didactic material useful for the development of the Essence, in other words, for the Spiritual growth.
So, the experiences of life are certainly something magnificent in every sense; since it is not possible to extract the didactic material useful for the development of the Consciousness from any other place except from the experiences of life. For that reason, those who do not like them, or who protest against the painful experiences of life, are obviously losing the best opportunity: They are, specifically, losing the living fountain that can drive the strengthening of their spiritual life.
When one takes the experiences of life as didactic material for one’s own Self-Realization, then one discovers one’s own psychological defects, because it is in our inter-relations with Humanity (with our relatives, with our partners at work, in the factory, in the countryside, etc.) that we attain Self-Discovery through the experiences of life.
Obviously through the experiences of life our own errors appear spontaneously. For example,
• in the presence of an insulter, the “I” of anger appears;
• in the presence of wine, the “I” of drunkenness appears;
• in relation with the opposite sex, if we are alert and vigilant as the watchman in wartime, then lust appears.
So, the experiences of life are useful for self-knowledge.Therefore, the principal thing is not identifying with any event, with any circumstance. We need to learn to see the different events and circumstances without identifying ourselves with them, we need to make good use of each experience, even if the experience is painful, because it is good for self-discovery.
When one self-observes oneself, one can see how useful the experiences of life are…”
-Paraphrase from Lecture #038 in El Quinto Evangelio entitled
“Work Flavor and Life Flavor” also called “The Taste of Work and the Taste of Life”
The Taste or Flavor of the Work and of Life
“We need to understand the necessity to disintegrate the Ego, and this could not be possible if we do not make good use of the hard experiences of life…
There are people who, after a work of constant observation during the different events of life, forget the work they are doing and, as a result of this, they take the experiences of life as they did before – that is, before they started the work.
When one takes the experiences of life as a way to attain a goal, as a way to reach Self-Discovery, as a way to attain Self-Observation, then one can ‘taste’ these experiences (the ‘Taste of the Work’ is something marvelous; it brings an ineffable exquisiteness).
When one discovers a determined psychological defect and eliminates it, then one ‘Tastes the Work’ (it is an unmistakable taste); but when one, after having worked, leaves the Work upon Oneself and takes the experiences of life as before (that is to say, re-inverting the sense of the experiences of life), then undoubtedly one will once again feel the same ‘taste’ of the daily routine, the same ‘Taste of Life’, of common life.
So, it is necessary to distinguish between the ‘Taste of the Work’ and the ‘Taste of routine Life’.
For this reason we say to you: do not escape from the experiences of life, instead make good use even of the most simple experiences for Self-Discovery.
Any event, even if it is insignificant, allows Self-Knowledge; because it is by being in contact with people that one discovers, that is, one Self-Discovers, their own errors.
These errors appear so spontaneously that it is necessary to stay in an Alert State in order to see them.
A discovered defect, has to be worked upon, it has to be Judged, it has to be analyzed correctly, and has to be Comprehended through the Technique of Meditation. Then comes the elimination, the dissolution…
Any psychic aggregate can be dissolved with the help of our Divine Mother. If we beg her to eliminate from us the psychic aggregate that we have Comprehended, then she will do so, she will disintegrate it and we will be freed from that defect…
How happy one feels when one eliminates some defect; one feels as if a heavy weight has been taken away! What an extraordinary happiness!
As we attain the elimination of the different psychic aggregates, the Essence, the Buddhata, becomes liberated, and when all the aggregates have been reduced to cosmic dust, then the Egoic Consciousness disappears and only the Clean Consciousness of the Being remains, the pristine and original Consciousness.
So it is worthwhile to make good use of the practical experiences of life in order to attain Self-Discovery; without them Self-Discovery could not be possible…
-Paraphrase from Lecture #038 in El Quinto Evangelio entitled
“Work Flavor and Life Flavor” also called “The Taste of Work and the Taste of Life”
Self-Discovery and Meditation
When we are working to Comprehend and Eliminate an Ego, we meditate upon it:
• analyzing it,
• praying in regards to it,
• seeking to grasp the very root of its existence…
• Where did it come from?
• Why does it make us think, feel, sense or act in such-and-such a way?
• How does it nourish and sustain itself within our psyche?
The answer to these questions emerges in our interior when our mind is quiet and silent.
We must understand how our Human Machine functions, so that we can use it to our advantage and so that we are not a victim of the Mechanics of Nature.
“Always, when we enter meditation, our mind is divided into two parts:
[1] the part which pays attention, the attentive part
[2] and the inattentive part.”
The inattentive part, that aspect that does not want to pay attention, that does not want to stop its chatter, etc., is the part that does not allow us to listen to the quiet and silence of the Mind.
H.P. Blavatsky uses the term “the Voice of Silence” and this refers to the understanding that emerges when we are able to get beyond the Animal Mind, the “Sensual Mind”, the “den of desire”, and the “Intermediate Mind”.
When we can access what Gnosis calls “Interior Mind”, then we can hear the “Voice of Silence”, that is, the Inner Divinity giving us its Teachings.
Those Teachings are what allow us to Comprehend an Error, a Defect, an Ego, an “I”, that we have discovered within ourselves.
For more information about
the Three Minds (Sensual, Intermediate and Interior),
see Ch 12 of The Great Rebellion
Removing Conflict: Comprehension
“What we are talking about is how to bring about order within our interior…
Authentic Order can only exist when we understand disorder.
This includes the origin of disorder how this disorder comes into being (which is conflict, and that conflict exists in ourselves)
When we understand that disorder comes from conflict and we stop trying to overcome it, to throttle it, to suppress it, then we can begin to observe it.
And then we can observe the disorder: without any distortion, without any choice, without any compulsive, directive impulse, (which is sometimes not an easy task).
Therefore order, which is virtue, comes about without any effort: when there is understanding of disorder.
Whereas order simply from ‘control’ implies either suppression, rejection, or exclusion…
…When you really understand this, then conflict can begin to come to an end, which is the ending of duality and therefore comprehension, understanding arises.
When there is understanding of ‘what is’, then there is no need for conflict.”
-Paraphrase from “Beyond Violence” or “What is Meditation – Why one should meditate at all?”
by J. Krishnamurti Fourth Public Talk at San Diego State College, California 9 April 1970
Order from Disorder: Meditation
“So there are these two essential things that must be completely understood if we are to go into the question of what is meditation:
[1] order, with the understanding of what is disorder,
[2] and conflict, with all its implications, of its duality, contradiction…And when one is divided into anger or jealousy or despair or the desire to fulfill, etc., then there must be contradiction and therefore conflict and distortion. Right?
Without understanding this we cannot possibly know what meditation is.
Don’t fool yourself by all the books they write about meditation, all the people that come to tell you how to meditate, or the groups that are formed in order to meditate.
Because you see, if there is no virtue (which is order), then there must be distortion,
the mind then lives in contradiction, in effort.And how can such a mind know or be aware
of the whole implication of what meditation is?”
-Paraphrase from “Beyond Violence” or “What is Meditation – Why one should meditate at all?”
by J. Krishnamurti Fourth Public Talk at San Diego State College, California 9 April 1970
Self-Discovery, Meditation and Conscious/Intentional Imagination vs Fantasy
So if we return to what we were saying just a moment ago, regarding the two aspects we encounter when we try to meditate (the attentive and the inattentive), then we see the necessity to work upon the Mind. Here is the quote:
“Always, when we enter meditation, our mind is divided into two parts:
[1] the part which pays attention, the attentive part
[2] and the inattentive part.”
So we begin by working the with attentive part, we have to work with what we’ve got, and we use this attentive part to concentrate on the Ego or Defect that we are trying to comprehend.
However, if the inattentive part takes over, then we lose the thread of attention and move into Day-Dreaming…
If this happens, then we need to reestablish Order, by using the “whip of willpower” (as Samael Aun Weor calls it) to direct the Mind back to the task we are going to accomplish:
“One must distinguish between INTENTIONAL IMAGINATION and MECHANICAL IMAGINATION, it is obvious that Mechanical Imagination is the same as Fantasy.”
“When the doors are closed to Fantasy, the organ of intuition is awakened.”
This is part of what happens when we are working on Comprehending an Ego…
Reflection, Concentration and Meditation
As we have said,
“Any unpleasant circumstance must be reconstructed through conscious imagination by means of the techniques of meditation.”
This implies not fantasizing about the event, but consciously replaying it on the screen of our Mind (“INTENTIONAL IMAGINATION”):
“The reconstruction of any event allows us to directly verify for ourselves the various “I’s” participating in the event. Let us take for an example a scene of jealous love in which the “I’s” of anger, jealousy, and even hate intervene. Comprehending each of these “I’s”, each of these factors, actually involves profound reflection, concentration and meditation.
The marked tendency to blame others (called ‘Counter-Transferance’) is an obstruction, an obstacle to the comprehension of our own mistakes. Unfortunately, it is an extremely difficult task to destroy the tendency to blame others within ourselves.
In the name of truth, we can say that we are the only ones to blame for the diverse, unpleasant circumstances of life. The different pleasant or unpleasant events exist with us or without us and are constantly repeated mechanically. Based on this principle, no problem can have a final solution.
Problems are of life, and if there were a final solution, then life would not be life, but death. And so, there can be a modification of the circumstances and problems, but they will never stop being repeated, and there will never be a final solution.
Life is a wheel turning mechanically with ever recurring pleasant and unpleasant circumstances. We cannot halt the wheel; good and bad circumstances always proceed mechanically; we can only change our attitude towards life’s events.”
-Paraphrase from Ch 21 of The Great Rebellion
and from Ch 21 of Manual of Practical Magic
Discovering Defects from Reconstructing Events during Meditation
“As we learn to extract material for meditation from the very circumstances of existence, we will progress in our self-discovery.
Found in any pleasant or unpleasant circumstances are diverse “I’s” or Egos which must be wholly comprehended with the technique of meditation.
This means that any group of “I’s” which takes part in this or that drama, comedy or tragedy of everyday life, after having been integrally comprehended, must be eliminated through the power of the Divine Mother.
As we make use of the sense of psychological observation, it will also develop marvelously. Then we will be able to perceive the “I’s” internally, not only before they have been worked upon, but also throughout the duration of the work.
When these “I’s” have been beheaded and disintegrated, then we feel great relief and immense happiness.”
-Paraphrase from Ch 21 of The Great Rebellion
and from Ch 21 of Manual of Practical Magic
The Retrospective Exercise and Comprehension through Analysis
“…if we truly want a definite change, then it is necessary to take note of our daily psychological states.
Before going to bed, it is wise to examine the events that occurred during the day… It is possible that we may have hurt someone with a laugh, or that we caused someone to fall ill with a smile or with a look that was out of place.
Let us remember that in pure esotericism good is all that is in its place; bad is all that is out of its place.
For instance: water is good in its place, but if the water is out of place, if it floods the house, then it would cause damage; it would be bad and harmful. Likewise, fire in the kitchen, when in its place, besides being useful, is good. Yet, the fire out of its place, burning the furniture of the living room, would be bad and harmful.
Thus, any virtue, no matter how holy it might be, is good in its place; yet, it is bad and harmful out of its place. We can harm others with our virtues. Therefore, it is indispensable to place virtues in their corresponding place.
What would you say about a priest who preaches the Word of the Lord inside a brothel? What would you say about a meek & tolerant male who blesses a gang of assailants attempting to rape his wife & daughters? What would you say about that type of tolerance taken to such an extreme?
What would you say about the charitable attitude of a man who, instead of taking food home, shares his money among beggars who have a vice? What would be your opinion of a helpful man who in a given moment lends a dagger to a murderer?
Remember, that crime also hides within the rhythm of poetry. There is much virtue in the perverse one and much evil in the virtuous one. Even though it may appear incredible, crime also hides in the very perfume of prayer.
Crime disguises itself as a saint. It uses the best virtues; it presents itself as a martyr and even officiates in the sacred temples.”
-Paraphrase from Ch 29 of Revolutionary Psychology
Supplement
Self-Observation and the Personified ‘Figure’ of a Defect
“The sense of intimate self-observation is atrophied in every human being. Yet, such a sense will develop in a progressive manner by working seriously, by observing oneself from moment to moment. Thus, as the sense of self-observation gradually develops through its continuous use, we shall become more capable each time of directly perceiving those “I’s” whose existence we previously never had the least bit of information about.
Indeed, when seen by our sense of inner self-observation, each of those “I’s” (which inhabit our interior) assume this or that figure. This figure is secretly related to the defect that is personified within it. Undoubtedly, the image of each of those “I’s” has a certain unmistakable psychological flavor. Through this image, we instinctively apprehend, capture, trap its inner nature, and the defect which characterizes it.
In the beginning, the esotericist does not know where to start. They feel the necessity of working upon themselves but are completely disoriented. Yet, if we take advantage of the critical moments, of the more unpleasant situations, of the most adverse instances, we shall then discover (if we are alert) the outstanding defects, the “I’s” that we must urgently disintegrate.”
-Paraphrase from Ch 29 of Revolutionary Psychology
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