LOVE,
THE DIVINE SACRIFICE; A MUST
It is Easter again!
And we are gathered here like Christians anywhere in the world to
celebrate the Lord's Victory over death. As usual the song of life sounds louder
than the dirge of death: "Oh, death where is thy sting? Oh, grave, where
is thy victory?" Nature is recharged with new life. Millions and millions
of seeds that lay “dead" in the snow covered Earth are bursting to life
after the Spring has cleared the Winteriness, while the first rains have ended
the lifeless dry season in our part of the world and given a new lease of life
to the plant kingdom. Animals have fresh grass to feed on and
all is well again. Christ, by this victory, has become the Resurrection and the
life, and whosoever believeth in Him shall not perish but have everlasting
life. Each of us must carry his own cross and follow the footsteps of Christ to
attain that victory and like Christ become the Resurrection. That is our task!
And Jesus Christ defines our task of conquering death comprehensively in these
words:
“Greater love has no man than this, to lay down his life
for his friends. John 15:13.
Jesus Christ by this statement has mapped out the elastic
limits to a man's compassion for others.
The Redeemer and Savior has shown the height to which all
men must attain in the New Dispensation. It is important to note that we
practice self-love or selfishness which is the very opposite of the Christ love
and as long as we continue to practice selfishness the Second Coming of the
Christ will be delayed. The more it delayed the longer mankind suffers.
How does mankind acquire selfishness? And what must
humanity do to transmute selfishness to selflessness to attain to that
perfection which qualifies him to become a citizen of the New Jerusalem?
The Survival of the Fittest" is the law of the body
which means might is right. Under this law man protects his personal interest
without regard to anyone. This attitude to life disregards the interest of the
physically weak. The weak are exploited. Fortunately, the law of the spirit
demands "sacrifices" which is watering down the brute law of the
body.
The mission of Christ is twofold:
To save the lost sheep and to make initiation hitherto
the preserve of the chosen few open to all. It was for this reason that Jesus,
according to Max Heindel, was not born a Levite, the priestly class. We recall
that Jehovah God had decreed that Aaron and his descendants shall be priests of
Israel. Jesus came from the common class of Israel. Though not from the
priestly class, His message to mankind was much higher than that of Moses. But
Jesus did not deny Moses (The Law) and the prophets who came before him. He
acknowledged the work done by Moses and the prophets that prepared the way for
his coming.
They pointed to the One who was to come and liberate
mankind. Jesus Christ however taught mankind that the preparatory works of
Moses and the prophet had served their purpose and must be done away with. The
breakup of humanity into clans, tribes, races and nations by the Jehovah and
his archangelic hosts with their divisive laws and selfish practices were
counterproductive to the higher human spiritual evolution personified in the
True Light of the World and must therefore be done away with. "Behold I
have made all things new for the former things are passed away-John 21:4-5
Humanity must therefore brace up for the higher learning, the Universal
Brotherhood of man based on altruistic love and not the selfish and conditional
love that was the way of life of materialistic conscious infant humanity.
Universal Brotherhood is to reunite all men in the Christ
love and henceforth love must supersede the law. It is through the Christ love
that mankind can conquer the material world and liberate himself from the
traumatic wheel of birth and death and find his way back to the permanent home
in the heavenly worlds. The three-year ministry of Christ Jesus on the physical
plane was meant to reveal to and teach humanity the greatest law: LOVE and
to demonstrate its application to infant humanity. Mankind did not comprehend
the higher teaching with its abstract benefits. This made the work of the Lord
rather difficult. Knowing that the greatest obstacle to human spiritual
evolution is materialism, Jesus Christ started his great work on earth by
demonstrating how to conquer materialism in the Temptation. Matt. 4:4. Man must
not live by bread alone but by every word that cometh out from the mouth of
God. We may recall that though Jesus refused to change stone into bread to feed
himself after forty days and forty nights of fasting, He applied the higher
laws to feed thousands when they needed food (Matt. 15 :36 - 38,'Mark 8: 1-10).
Jesus has by this act taught humanity to use spiritual power for others who
need them. At His arrest He ordered Peter to put his sword back and surrendered
Himself to the soldiers with a plea to allow his disciples to leave without any
harm.
It is selfless service and unconditional love to others
demonstrated by the Redeemer throughout his stay on earth that man must emulate
in order to create riches in heaven - eternal wealth. The Lord therefore
admonished us not "to store up riches for yourselves here on earth, where
moth and rust destroy and robbers break in and steal. Instead store up riches
for yourselves in heaven where moth and rust cannot destroy and robbers cannot
break in and steal. For your heart will always be where your riches are. Matt
6:19,-21, Luke 12:33-34. We may further illustrate the uselessness of materialism
to spiritual perfection, our goal on the Path of Holiness by the story of the
rich young man who asked the Lord what he needed to do to attain eternal life.
"If thou will be perfect, go and sell all that thou hast, and give to the
poor and then shall thou have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me".
Mattew 10:17-31. The rich man we are told became sad at the Lord's answer and
went away. This is a clear case of too much attachment to temporal things. It
was at this point that the Lord revealed to his disciples that "it is much
harder for rich man to enter the kingdom of God than a camel to go through the
eye of a needle". Mark 19:23-24. The story of the rich man is the story of
every aspirant to the higher life. The disciples who made this sacrifice in
line with the higher
teaching Jesus spelt out their just reward in Matthew 19:28-29. "Verily I
say unto you that ye which have followed me in the regeneration when the son of
man shall sit on the throne of his glory ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones,
judging the twelve tribes of Israel. And everyone that hath forsaken house, or
brethren or sisters or father. or mother or wife or children or lands for my
names sake shall receive an hundredfold and shall inherit everlasting
life".
The disciples have demonstrated that it is through
self-denial self- discipline and self-sacrifice and above all strong faith that
one can attain to the spiritual perfection that gives us victory over death.
The action of the disciples amount to transferring themselves from the
"Broadway" with its let us eat, drink and make merry because tomorrow
we die lifestyles to the Narrow Path, the path of the Cross with is attendant
pain and suffering which eventually lead the aspirant to the ultimate - eternal
life. Matt 7:13-14 the name sake. "Enter ye in the straight gate for wide
is the gate and broad is the gate that leadeth to destruction and those who
enter it are many: Because straight is the gate and narrow is the way, which
leadeth unto life and few there be which find it." The New Teaching of
Jesus has no direct reward as the Old Dispensation where animal sacrifices
replenish granaries, increase in herds of cattle, flocks of sheep etc. it was
and is still a tall order for mankind to comprehend and choose the path of the
Cross; a path full of pain as against wallowing in the lower nature desire,
hence the revolt against Jesus Christ. But Jesus Christ was not deterred by
mankind's hatred and the revolt against Him and the New Teaching- the message
of salvation. The Lord released the higher teaching to mankind mostly in
parables. And as said. earlier, the entire higher teaching is
premised on love. Now love must supersede the law. Man must love his neigbours
as himself. The Redeemer used the Parable of the Good Samaritan to illustrate
the good neighbor lifestyle at the instance of a teacher of the law who like
the rich man wanted to know from Jesus Christ what he must do to attain eternal
life. After narrating the story Jesus asked the teacher of the law which one of
the three characters, the Levite, the priest and the Samaritan, acted like a
neighbor toward the robbery victim. The law teacher answered the one who was
kind to him." And Jesus replied, you go, then and do the same." Luke
10:25-37. The orders go and do the same" is meant for all mankind. Today
we may accuse the Levite and the priest of inhuman behavior and more so when
they are of the clergy, a class of people who society look to for high moral
behavior. But their behavior mirrors what we do variously in our daily lives to
protect our self-interests. How often do we leave old ladies and little
children attempting to cross busy streets to their fate? How often do we drive
past motor accident victims on the highway or even on village roads with the
lame excuse that we are in hurry as time is against us for that programme or
the other? How often do we leave expectant mothers in labour on the village
roads under the pretext that there is no space in the car?
There is also Parable of the Prodigal Son that serves the
same purpose as the parables of the Lost Sheep and the Lost Coin. These
parables were given by Jesus Christ in response to the Pharisee's attack on him
for his association with outcasts, drunkards and sinners in the society and
Corinne Helene rightly observed that the three parables beautifully illustrate
the second reason for Christ mission on earth: "I came to seek and to save
that which is lost." And finally, the real test of the Christ love and his
preparedness to sacrifice self to redeem humanity and the earth came to a head
on the road to Calvary: The Fourteen Stations of the cross. The Fourteen
Stations or steps of the cross represent not only the so many events of the
Master but also symbolize the steps or stations of the development in every
man. And Corinne Helene concludes that the Fourteen Stations of the Cross
represent the seven positive and the seven negative latent powers of the
sympathetic nervous system, in man.
It is reported that only three (3) of the Lord's
disciples: Virgin Mary, Mary Magdalene, and John the Beloved were the only
disciples who were able to travel through the Fourteen Stations with the
Master. Every aspirant must emulate the determination and the perseverance of
those gallant three disciples before he can declare with the Master: consummatum
est. it is accomplished.
The Supreme Way Shower has mapped out the path of
liberation through divine sacrifice and love and declared: "I am the way,
the truth and the life. No one cometh unto the Father but through me." But
the Christ way to the father cannot he attained on silver platter as he has
shown us. It is for this reason that the savior has told us in no uncertain
terms that; "he that does not take up his cross and follow me is not
worthy of me." Because: "blessed are you when men revile you for my
sake. Rejoice and be glad for your reward is great in heaven, for so persecuted
the prophets before you. "Mathew 5:11- 12.
Let the great reward that awaits us in heaven attract us
and hook us to the Christ ideal so that we can also offer the greater love to
others and attain to the liberation which qualifies us for the citizenship of
the new Jerusalem, the holy city. It is in that way that the Christ love and
its divine sacrifice has become a must for every aspirant to perfection.
PERSISTENCE
Every Sunday when we sing the opening hymn we say the words, "if we
persist though oft we fail, in times our
efforts shall prevail." Do we ever stop to think, what is the goal towards
which our efforts are directed? Or, what will we gain if we prevail? By studying
life from an occult point of view, we have the advantage of knowing how God's plan
works and more or less how we fit in that plan. As individuals we know how that
God's plan is the evolution of virgin spirits into divine beings. Our goal
therefore is to be like God, to be one with God. So far there has been only one
who has walked the earth and can say. "My father and
I are one." We have Christ as our guide and helper. He is our ideal; to be
like Him is our goal. This then, is the goal toward which our effort are
directed; this is why we should persist though oft we fail.
There are two paths on the journey to Godhood: the long,
winding, spiral path is indicative of God's persistence love for all his
creation. On this path all spirits will eventually find their way back to the
father. The other path is often referred to as the straight and narrow path.
This path requires the individual's own persistent effort. Christ has shown us
the way and encourages us to walk it, but the effort to continue to walk this
path has to come from ourselves. This path is filled with danger, hardships,
and temptations, and our perseverance must be great indeed to continue
undaunted. We must be as the toddler who is learning to walk: the more he falls
the more determined and daring he becomes.
Through persistence, the spirit is better able to control
its vehicles, because they are all
affected by it. Persistence works best on the most rebellious of the vehicles,
the mind.
Mr. Heindel states that persistence is the chief means of bridling the mind.
Once the
Spirit has control of the mind, the other vehicles almost automatically fall
into place. By gaining control of the mind, spiritual exercises such as
retrospection and meditation become much more meaningful and useful to the
student. Persistence and spiritual exercises seem to go hand in hand and have a
snowballing effect on each other; through persistence the exercises become
easier and more meaningful, and this in turn gives an incentive to continue.
Persistence in concentration also means that the ideal can be held steady
before the mind, and the danger of falling to temptation is lessened.
The desire body is also affected by a persistent effort.
Excitement and change are the
key words of the desire body, but these only lead to wasted energy. By
harnessing and
transmuting that power, a great source of spiritual energy is gained by the
Ego. The
only way to harness this energy is by persistently doing that which is right
according
to God's law. Persistence and repetition are very similar where the vital body
is concerned. By repetition of noble ideals and persistence in well-doing, the
vital body improves considerably in strength, and the spirit gains valuable
time which can be used in serving humanity instead of using it to repair its
vehicle. Persistence in well-doing purifies the vital body to the point that
eventually the two higher ethers can be separated from the two lower ethers and
be used as a conscious vehicles in the inner
planes, such as that of the conscious invisible Helpers.
Through knowledge of health and nutrition and
persistently and faithfully following the physical laws governing our dense
body we can build a better temple for the Spirit. Our dense body is capable of
being a very delicate yet powerful instrument, but this can
only come about when we persistently give it the proper care. Mr. Heindel tells
us that "the aspirant should start to improve himself and earnestly and
persistently continue trying. In that way he will purify his vehicles and they
will begin to shine and draw the attention of the teacher. The aspirant who
faithfully persists will someday, in this or a future life, behold his
patience and faithfulness rewarded and the inner worlds open to his gaze."
In these sentences, Mr. Heindel has given us a key to
advancement and initiation. Initiation is something we should understand if we
choose the straight and narrow path, because they are one and the same. The Cosmo-Conception
states that "the whole result of initiation is to give the spiritual
aspirant an opportunity to develop the higher faculties and powers in a short
time and by severe training, thereby gaining the expansion of
consciousness that all mankind will surely possess eventually, but which the
vast majority chooses to acquire through the slow process of ordinary
evolution." These powers can be ours, but only through a great deal
of work and twice as much persistence. Without persistence we cannot go very
far on this path
Although of great importance, persistence is something
which cannot stand alone. We cannot have persistence unless we have other
character traits as well. Just a few
among these are faith and hope, patience and courage.
We need to have faith in God and in his love and justice
if we are to have hope for a better tomorrow. Faith in one-self or another may
give the courage for advancement. When we believe and have faith in something,
it is much easier to persist as we strive to accomplish our desire. Faith and
hope seem to be the padding that protects us from serious injury every time we
fall. Because we place our faith and hope in God we can say, us Paul
did:"none of these things move me."
Patience and persistence are very closely related, and some perhaps
even use them inter-changeably. There is, however a difference. The dictionary
defines persistence as "adhering firmly to any course, design,
etc.; to continue steadfast against opposition; to endure."
Patience is defined as "the quality or habit of enduring without
complaint; tranquil waiting or expectation; ability to wait events without
perturbation." One is active, the other passive. Without patience,
persistence is very difficult if not impossible. Patience combines with faith
and hope in a sea of calmness. No matter how fierce the storm or how turbulent
the waves may get, when the storm passes the inner calmness returns and the
aspiring spirit can again set sail. The Bible has many passages dealing with
patience.
These are but a few: In Mathew 21: 19, "in your
patience posses ye your souls." Romans 5:3-4, "We glory in
tribulation also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience; and patience,
experience; and experience hope." Hebrew 12: 1, "wherefore seeing we
also are compared about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside
every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with
patience the race that is set before us." Finally, James I :3, "the
trying of your faith worketh patience. "All these passages tell us that
there will be tribulations but with patience and persistence we can rise above
them. The goal is just as real as are tribulations with which we are so
familiar.
Another very important character trait needed by the
aspirant is courage. In mysteries of the Great Operas, Mr. Heindel talks about
courage: "upon the spiritual path there are dangers and places where
physical courage is required. The spirit cannot come to liberation without
physical inconvenience. Sickness usually attends soul growth to a greater or
lesser extends, and it requires physical courage to endure the suffering
incident to that attainment, after which we all strive, and thus sacrifice the
body for the soul." In Christianity Lectures he tells us that, "it is
comparatively easy to die for one's faith as in martyrdom, but that is not
enough, the Christian religion requires of us the courage to live our faith
from day to day all through life.
On the straight and narrow path we come across obstacles
that seem insurmountable. We will fail miserably at times, and our endurance
will be tested to its limit; these will be the times when courage and
persistence will come to our rescue. We can summarize these traits by saying
that faith and hope make our falls less painful; patience gives us calm endurance
while we are down, courage allows us to stand up, and persistence sets us on
our course again.
All religious leaders have stressed to their students and
followers the importance of persistence. They know how much it is needed
because they have traveled the path before us; they know of the dangers along
the way and that there will be many times when we fall-so they urge us to keep
trying.
Knowing that we will fail at times, however, does not
give us an excuse for only half trying. Our failures are legitimate lessons
only when we try our best but are not yet strong enough to meet the test. If we
fail because we only do things half-heartedly, we are doing ourselves more harm
than good. We should also not despair when we are found wanting. The best thing
to do is to determine just why and how we went wrong, try to learn all we can
from our mistakes, determine to do better in the future, and then forget the
incident. It is a serious mistake going over in our minds, saying, I should
have done this or that. The opportunity has passed, and no matter how many
times we go over it in our minds history will not be altered. By learning from our experiences and then forgetting the
incidents we are paving the road ahead of LIS,
and when a similar situation arises we will have a better foundation on which
to stand.
The following quotation is taken from an introduction by
George Adams to a book on meditation, but which
applies equally as well as to the entire effort to live a more spiritual
life. "What is needed above all is unending patience and perseverance-the
kind of perseverance which, having once recognized that the thing is good, will
not be discouraged by repeated failures; perseverance
through the days and years, undaunted by many seeming failures. The failure in any case is
generally not as great as it seems to oneself. The real progress one is making is
delicate and subtle and often finds expression in quite other ways before one
is aware of it directly. But without faithful perseverance nothing can be achieved."
Further on he states that "knowledge gives one the proper context in which
to place one's own particular trials; he will not so
easily despair of himself, realizing that he too is sharing in the common lot
of mankind and playing his part, even through tragedy and failing, so
long as his eyes are set upon the goal which is the goal of all mankind
together,"
In conclusion is a passage from the Cosmo, where Mr.
Heindel speaks of our relation with the Christ. "Having suffered like unto
ourselves in all things and knowing fully our needs, He is
lenient towards our mistakes and failures so long as we continue trying to live
the good life. We must ever keep before our eyes the fact that the only real failure
is ceasing to try."
MARY, MOTHER OF
LOVE
By Gabriel A. Akakpo, 2013, Easter School,
Koforidua Ghana
It has become a tradition to meet here each year where each one brings the
fruits of his experiences of the past year, a way to approach the table of Shew
Bread when we enter into the room of Service of our Tabernacle in the
wilderness. It makes us grow every year and it reinforces us in our capacity to
help more our sisters and brothers of the human family. We are going to put
what all of us have brought to this high appointment together and take that which
is necessary for us to increase our consciousness. Today I am going to give an
exposition on the important role that Mary of Nazareth played in order to
spread the love in the whole universe. For us to get a better understanding of
this lecture, we will say a few words on:
·
The Eternal Feminine
·
Who was Mary
·
what is LOVE
and conclude the lecture by
explaining why Mary is the Mother of LOVE
·
The Eternal Feminine
Every creature even God himself is endowed with two poles which are male
and female; masculine and feminine; positive and negative. According to the
Western Wisdom Teachings, God has three aspects. He is God the Father, God the
Son and God the Holy Spirit. In Him also the double polarized aspects are
spiritually accomplished. The masculine/feminine – positive/negative principle
must be dynamic in every man. The first Mysteries conferred by initiation have
especially for their purpose to educate and to awaken the latent divine
feminine in man, in a power which is particularly fundamental to the individual
regenerative process. The fall which is spoken of in the Writings of the Saints
refers to the inability to awaken the feminine principle or the negative pole
in man. The awakening or raising of this pole constitutes the real challenge
which mankind face since the fall. God's help through divine and human
messengers and prophets, and the individual efforts are all geared towards
raising the feminine principle in order to raise man to the level of the
divine. This feminine pole whose tonic is Fertility and Divinity himself
reflects in nature and in humans. Rhythmic songs of praise to the Eternal
Feminine are entrusted by God to those noble ones who try to participate in his
work of redemption.
The Virgin Mary constitutes the most perfect model of the Feminine
principle. This is why the minstrels, the troubadours and the noble knights
serve as peddlers of this noble mission. The purpose is not for the divine
feminine to supersede the masculine principle. Both Feminine and Masculine
constitute the two wings of the divine creation and all creativeness. This pole
that longs ardently for cooperation, with its advanced imaginative concept, cry
in every man. The great characters in man's history which the Bible makes
mention of are the men in whom the latent feminine herself have been awaken.
The passion was the first act perpetrated by Eve which gave rise to the fall of
man and resulted in humanity being projected into the wilderness of materiality
where he should wander during millennia. The rising from the fall of the
feminine principle was assured by the New Eve: Mary of Nazareth by whom Light
descended into the world and "the word was made flesh and dwelt among men
".
·
Who was Mary?
Max Heindel said of Mary, and I
quote: " His Mother, (talking of Jesus) the Virgin Mary, was also one of
the most sublime examples of human purity, and it is for this reason that she
has been chosen to become the mother of Jesus of Nazareth " (The Rosicrucian Cosmo-Conception page 373).
In the Hymn of the Song of Solomon chapter 6 verse 10, it is said about
Mary:
“Who is this that looks forth like the dawn, fair as the moon, bright as
the sun, terrible as an army with banners?”
To know Mary better, it is necessary to go into history. Mary was born of
pure parents: Joachim and Hannah. These parents themselves were descendants of
related noble Levites with pure heart. Mary's grandmother, Faustina, of the
house of Israel had a vision by which she learned that “the seventh girl of her
daughter Hannah, wife of Joachim will give birth to the blessed moon”. Hannah,
a very beautiful girl was esteemed above all. No other woman of her time
equaled her in grace and in bearing. Their union was very soft. They often
practiced especially abstinence for long periods of time during the holy
seasons having as their topmost ideal to raise devout children that would
contribute to save humanity. To Mary's birth, the Angels’ triumphant choirs
began to sing and proclaimed that the elected should carry the name Mary. These
Angels, in their songs, already proclaimed the doctrine of the Immaculate
Conception thanks to which the men will learn to build one day, the pure
bodies, without sin, freeing themselves gradually of illness and death.
As all great souls that are embodied consciously for a predetermined
purpose, Mary, since her birth, was in possession of all her faculties,
surrounded with the angelic messengers who instructed her. To prepare the way
for the one that is to come, she showed evidence of humility and obedience.
Selfless, she was full of the desire to relieve the sins of her setting. At
three years, she was dedicated to the Temple in an ambiance of praises and
actions of grace. She evolved positively and reached the spiritual elevations
of the time. Because of her devotion, her altruism and marvelous predications,
her mates were jealous of her with evil desires. Joy became sadness and bitterness. However, she would live with these severe strains of
persecution without breaking the constant balance that she had established with
her inner divine Light.
The sublime stage to which the world was a witness was her mystical
marriage with Joseph. During this marriage, according to Max Heindel, painter
Raphael paints the main characters with six fingers/toes, sign of the sixth
sense that they reached. Mary accepted to be the mother of the noble Jesus of
whom Max Heindel makes the following description in these terms: "It must
not be supposed, however, that Jesus was an ordinary individual. He was of a
singularly pure type of mind, vastly superior to the great majority of our
present humanity. Through many lives had he trod the Path of Holiness and thus
fitted himself for the greatest honor ever bestowed upon a human being.” Then
Max Heindel added "Thus the beautiful, pure and lovely spirit whom we know
as Jesus of Nazareth was born into a pure and passionless body. This body was
the best that could be produced on Earth and the task of Jesus, in that
embodiment, was to care for it and evolve it to the highest possible degree of
efficiency, in preparation for the great purpose it was to serve." His
mother, the Virgin Mary, was also a type of the highest human purity and
because of that was selected to become the mother of Jesus. His father was a
high Initiate virgin and capable of performing the act of fecundation as a
sacrament, without personal desire or passion." added Max Heindel in the
Rosicrucian Cosmo-Conception page 378.
Jesus became the most perfect among men and highest initiate of humanity.
The great Solar Christ of the Archangelic life wave, humanity of the Sun
period, came to save the world. It is by him that the Great Mysteries of Light
could penetrate the terrestrial atmosphere and which will later be the basis of
universal brotherhood: the crucible of the love that never dry. By the
incarnation of the Christ Spirit in him, he performed the highest sacrifice on
Golgotha and became Jesous Christos, Theou Uios, which means Jesus
Christ, Son of God, Savior of which the Greek term ichthus apply
meaning fish which is the initiate's symbol.
The majority of the disciples of Jesus were fishermen.
·
What is Love?
There is not a more eloquent definition, complete, spiritual and ennobling
than the one of Saint Paul, contained in the thirteenth chapter of the first
book of Corinthians and that covers a very great part of the text of the Temple
Service of the Rosicrucian Fellowship. Every day when we celebrate the Temple
Service which is the song of Love, we must stop to ponder when we pronounce one
by one the expressions concerning Love and ask if we are on “the safest and the
most joyful road to God”. Daily celebrating the Temple Service strengthens us
and permits us to remain on the path whatever the darkness that covers our
path. If we say “Love suffereth long and is kind”, “love envieth not”, “love
vaunteth not herself”, “is not puffed up”, doth not behave herself unseemly”,
“seeketh not her own”, “is not easily provoked”, thinketh no evil”, rejoiceth
not in iniquity”, “but in the truth”, “beareth all things”, “believeth all
things”, “hopeth all things”, “and endureth all things”, we may see if we are
as it is said. Surely it is very hard to always be on the path but there is
nothing to worry about. When Christ Jesus asked the twelve disciples if they
also would like to go Simon Peter answered:” Lord, to whom would we go. You
have the word that gives the eternal life.” John: 6: 67-68. The theme is so
important that Max Heindel spoke of it in all his literature. Love is a balm,
the panacea for the world’s woes and to bring peace. The keyword of our School
is Service. There is a link between Love – Service and Peace.
Finally, why is Mary the Mother of Love?
According to what have been said so far, we can establish an intimate
relation between Mary and Love especially as it is through her that the love
was embodied into our universe. All her being is resplendent of this Light of
Love by which all of us recognize ourselves as sons and daughters of God. And
imitating the Virgin Mary, we may elevate ourselves to her level at the
appropriate time.
In French, we call Mary (Anglais) Marie. The anagram of Mary is “AIMER”
which means “Love". It seems clear that Mary is Love. By a simple
deduction we can also conclude that the source of love resides in Mary whom
herself is the perfect prototype of the Eternal Love that resides in the
Eternal Feminine principle which is an integral part of the creative God. The
MJ sign (per Mariam ad Jesus) of some Christian communities outline the
narrow path by which man reaches God while following Mary's footsteps: the sacred
golden vessel, the Queen of the Angels, the wife of the Holy Spirit.
We must be grateful for Mary of Nazareth because she brought the glorious
Light of Love into the whole world that maintains the Earth on its orbit.
We must all the time render thousand thanks to Jesus Christ for his supreme
sacrifice and become more worthy to be used as self-conscious channels by
Christ and Elder Brothers in the service of humanity.
THE PHILOSOPHY OF ATTACHMENT
By Anthony Owusu, 2013, Easter School, Koforidua
Ghana
Attachment is described as an "affectional bond" to a unique
individual or object not wholly replaceable by another. This affectional bond
is characterized by maintaining proximity with the attachment figure, seeking
to find comfort and security in the attachment figure, considering the
attachment figure as providing protection or a haven of safety, and
experiencing anxiety when separated from the attachment figure. You can have
anything you wish in your life-but if your sense of self-worth or your happiness
depends on having it, then you are ‘attached’ to it.
A person may be bound by attachments to
·
present or any other family
·
any particular person, good friends, ...
·
children, grandparents, nephews, ...
·
birthplace, native country, culture, religion, nationality
·
any particular place you were or still are living in
·
souvenirs of any kind, particular souvenirs / memories from particular
persons from your past
·
objects from your childhood or earlier years
·
financial or material wealth
The following list enumerates some well-known attachments common to us:
·
Physical Attachments: There are numerous physical attachments, or
“addictions:” These could be attachment to one's body, color, shape, physical
fitness, health, sexual
desire. Also included in this category are attachments to all
material things such as money, house, place, land, nature, clothes, food,
people, pets, possessions, luxury etc. It is not that most of these things are
wrong in themselves. They are essential components of physical-plane existence.
But they impede our growth when they become ends in themselves and when we
think we cannot do without them. They distract attention from more important
things, and the need for them may force us into poor choices.
·
Emotional Attachments: Attachment to particular emotions, one's identity,
family name, family status, family background, caste, race, nation, gender,
language, color, relationships, social status, power, prestige, fame, habits,
hobbies, daily routine, rules, procedures, religion, scriptures, virtue,
morality, opinions, judgments, beliefs, prejudices etc. Emotion is a great
motivator. But by itself, emotion is a blind force. It is sufficiently powerful
to overcome us if we do not control it, and there is a temptation to accept
emotion as though it were uncontrollable. Attachments bind us to other people
and them to us. We cling to our parents, siblings, children, and friends
because we are too insecure to face independent existence. But in the process
we stifle our own growth and theirs. One of the most subtle types of emotional
attachments may be to a spouse. In the marriage relationship, detachment is
necessary to enable our spouse room to grow.
Physical and emotional attachments often are easy to recognize—although not
necessarily easy to overcome. But attachments also exist on a mental level, and
these are much more difficult even to recognize. Mental attachments are
limiting—or in some cases unfounded—beliefs, attitudes, or mindsets that we
accept as necessary and inevitable.
·
Spiritual Attachments: Attachment to religious
leader, beliefs, gods and goddesses, saints, religious tradition,
methods of worship, spiritual practices, places of worship, scriptures, ideals,
virtue, morality, spiritual life, afterlife, knowledge, symbols etc. We believe
that our own religious doctrines represent the whole of truth and that
alternative doctrines must therefore be false or evil. We believe that we will
go to heaven, purgatory, limbo, hell, or nowhere.
Attachment is based on fear and insecurity and the need for security is
based on not knowing the true Self. Those who seek security chase it for a
lifetime without ever finding it. It remains elusive and ephemeral, because
security can never come from money alone. Attachment to money will always
create insecurity no matter how much money you have in the bank. In fact, some
of the people who have the most money are the most insecure.
The source of wealth, of abundance, or of anything in the physical world is
the Self; it is the consciousness that knows how to fulfill every need.
Everything else is a symbol: cars, houses, bank notes, clothes, or airplanes.
Symbols are transitory; they come and go. Chasing symbols is like settling for
the map instead of the territory. It creates anxiety; it ends up making you
feel hollow and empty inside, because you exchange your Self for the symbols of
your Self.
Greed, which is attachment to belongings beyond any true and realistic
personal need, may cause some severe Karma, and it usually may cause lots of
fears as long as you possess your belongings. Just imagine all the billions of
dollars that are spent worldwide for theft insurance, insurance against any
kind of loss by fire, war, accident etc. just because of the fear of loss all
these people have. All this fear of loss is but a proof of extreme attachment
to the objects insured. No insurance can ever protect you from the Karma your
soul has ever caused in this or any previous incarnation.
Co-dependent relationships enmesh you in cords so that it is difficult to
feel objective about the relationship. When a parent becomes bound to his
child, it becomes difficult to release him to adulthood. A child may be so attached to a parent that
it is difficult to form and maintain mature, adult relationships with a
partner.
Attachment is ‘conditional’ love.
Unconditional love dissolves the cords that bind. If you need someone to behave in a
certain way in order to love them, then it is NOT love – it is attachment.
We hold (and cling) onto others for our sake, not theirs. The most powerful
way of releasing attachment is by unconditional love for the self and others.
In Matthew chapter 10:37, Jesus is
pointing to the detachment of even family. The deepest type of natural
attachment for humans is their family. Jesus is talking about what it takes to
become one of his chosen. Many are called, few are chosen – the teaching of
Jesus. The majority cannot detach from family and that is understandable.
Therefore, when a family member dies a person ends up grief stricken, deeply
hurt from the loss. Dealing with the loss of attachments that was deep rooted
causes misery. Consequently, the person experiences karma from their
attachments. The truly wise person does not grieve for the living or the dead.
The person that is seeking the ultimate goal
will be granted with the wisdom to detach emotionally from family.
·
Attachment to the world only causes man to sink deeper into spiritual
forgetfulness and into the mire of materialism
·
Attachment causes pain and suffering.
·
It makes us forget our Source and our true Identity.
·
Attachment also causes false identification; it displaces the Self from its
throne and causes many other selfish qualities to emerge.
·
Attachment lowers one's soul-frequency to the level of the physical octave.
·
It attracts particles of darkness to adhere and cohere in our lower
microcosmic structure. In such a state it is difficult for spiritual
liberation.
Attachment to anything for long
is impossible because everything is continually changing. When you allow
yourself to become attached, you are really allowing yourself to become
attached to memories – events that happened in the past and which will not
occur again. By locking your mind up in this way you yourself will become
narrow-minded, focused and unable to see the sea of opportunities that surround
you. You stagnate and eventually end up trapped at a point that is out of touch
with the ever changing universe.
Mankind is here on this planet
as a guest - a guest for a very limited time. You are a Divine Spirit and are
living for eternity - but your true home is in God. Your stay on this planet is
but of temporary nature. Just long enough to learn all the spiritual lessons
you need to remain eternally in God.
We must realize that we are
only using this body, these experiences, these material objects temporarily on
loan. They are not ours. We are borrowing them. Sooner or later we will leave
them behind. There is nothing to fear; our purpose is not to possess these
things but to use them in order to transcend them. This is the truth, which
goes beyond the law.
Non-attachment is a primary path and requirement of spiritual
growth. Jesus Christ teaches similar
context referring to an individual who obeyed the commandments, yet, strongly
attached to material objects (Matthew 19:16-30).
The scriptures teach that detachment generates a spiritual lifestyle of
growth. Surrendering all emotional relationships, materialism, and even family
is required to attain a spiritual lifestyle of detachment. This path is
required for the person that is seeking truth and enlightenment and who desires
to walk the narrow road.
To surrender all material attachments; the successful person will become
rooted in firm wisdom. A person’s karma melts away, the duties, or action, of a
person should be in the spirit of sacrifice, and that is an act of devotion.
This is a central characteristic that innumerable people fail to comprehend—the
context of detachment and sacrifice.
In order to achieve spiritual freedom, you must let go of everything that you
consider to be part of yourself, especially the negative things. One of the
greatest benefits of non-clinging is that even early in your path, you will
recognize partial results and accomplishments. Learning not to internally
identify with just a few emotions or thoughts will allow you to experience a
little bit of lightness of foot, more joy and freedom walking through your
life. Non-clinging will soon become its own reward, when you realize the
benefits it affords.
For the seasoned practitioner,
even the Teacher must not become an attachment. As an analogy, to clean one's
shirt, it is necessary to use soap. However, if the soap is not then rinsed
out, the garment will not be truly clean. Similarly, the practitioner's mind
will not be fully liberated until he severs attachment to everything, including
the Teacher itself.
Overcoming attachment does not
mean becoming cold and indifferent. On the contrary, it means learning to have
relaxed control over our mind through understanding the real causes of
happiness and fulfillment, and this enables us to enjoy life more and suffer
less.
As
human beings we all want to be happy and free from misery… we have learned that
the key to happiness is inner peace. The greatest obstacles to inner peace are
disturbing emotions such as anger, attachment, fear and suspicion, while love
and compassion and a sense of universal responsibility are the sources of peace
and happiness. Earthly possessions and conditions are not permanent. Things get lost,
they get stolen, they spoil, etc. Knowing that nothing is perennial we should
not get upset if their cycles of existence come to an end. Non-attachment to
things of this Earth helps us maintain tranquility, calmness, and a clear
rational mind. It paves the way for the expression of our Higher Self.
MEASURING
SPIRITUAL PROGRESS
By: Michael Kwame Mensah, 2013 Easter School, Koforidua Ghana
Dear Friends,
To understand why and how to measure spiritual progress, one needs to
understand two important things; firstly the word ‘spirituality’ and what it
connotes and secondly, who can take up the task of spirituality. Spirituality
is defined by various dictionaries and books as ‘ holiness’, ‘piety’,
‘religiousness’, ‘devoutness’, unworldliness’ ‘sanctity’, ‘mysticism’ and
‘otherworldliness’. Consequently all religions have as their goal to provide
the teachings, guides, steps, rituals and others to their faithful towards the
attainment of spirituality. Certainly as Max Heindel tells us, there are many
roads that lead to spirituality and so it is more important to remain on a
chosen path in order to get there safely instead of following many paths at the
same time. The Rosicrucian Fellowship has provided a clear and definite mode of
spiritual attainment as seen in its teachings, steps, stages, guides, in short
both in form and substance. Therefore, at a point, one is
required to ask the question as to whether one is making the needed progress on
the chosen path towards spirituality.
That person must know a number of things about himself. These include:
·
Is it the right time?
·
Does he know himself?
·
Does he have the WILL Power?
·
Does he know his strengths, weaknesses, opportunities available and the
threats to his spiritual undertaking?
·
Is he capable of living outside the world and at the same time in it?
·
Where does he really want to reach and which religion, organisation, group,
sect…. will help him reach there?
As the Rosicrucian Fellowship teaches, we as Virgin Spirits have moved from
involution and now in our evolution towards Godhood. To reach the ultimate…..become
a pillar in the temple of God… we have passed through several earth lives
and may yet go through several more earth lives in the future in order to
attain that height. We are also taught that, those who make the real effort
through great pain and sacrifice move faster and are most likely to cut short
the number of successive earth lives and thus reach the goal in much shorter
time.
The Rosicrucian Fellowship’s teachings are intended to be whole and
complete (holistic) and thus target the four main bodies we possess as living
souls/Ego/Spirit: Dense Body, Vital Body, Desire Body and Mind and thus
provides us various keys aimed at improving these bodies leading us to
spirituality for example:
Dense Physical Body: Vegetarianism (Vegan/Lacto-Ovo), Non alcoholism; Non
wearing of animal furs and leather etc
Vital Body: Repetition of high and noble ideals, and Persistence in well doing
Desire Body: right feeling, expression of love, kindness, empathy and Altruism, ----Retrospection
Mind: Positive Thinking, Creativity, Epigenisis, Intellectual power----- Concentration
The task of achieving spirituality is therefore not child’s play. As it is,
if one is not fully aware of the nature of the assignment and the type of
approach which are more convenient and result oriented, there is the tendency
of becoming a ‘jack of all trades and a master of none’, i.e. intellectual
knowledge of every philosophy, rituals, astrology, Bible and not really a
spiritual ‘guru’ in any sphere. Or worse still, a blatant talkative, full of words and verbosity but little to
show when it comes to the point when his light is dark and no one sees his
light shine. It is important to
recognize that work on any one of the bodies will impact positively or
negatively on the other, and that is the reason why it is necessary to know
what to do, how to and when to do it.
The monitoring of the entire process is evidenced by how well the
exercise of retrospection is performed.
Two questions arise: Am I ready to aspire on the spiritual path and
therefore when and how to start spirituality? All of us come from homes and
communities and have lived in association with families, school mates,
teachers, churches etc. The initial environment has been lived in a somewhat
‘unconscious’ manner where doctrines have been imbibed as demanded by our
mentors be they our parents, teachers and religious leaders during our
formative years. There is therefore some knowledge of what constitutes right
and wrong; good and evil; heaven and hell (if that exists). But then comes in
the life of each individual a period of conscious awakening coupled with the
desire to know more about life other than the ordinary theories of the day.
At that point, it is significant to recognize that the desire body had
already been shaped (hardened) by actions, thoughts and desires of the
formative and middle years and thus becomes difficult to subdue. If you have
been drawn to the Rosicrucian Fellowship and come to understand that
spirituality involves a lot of work especially on the four bodies, the tendency
then is for the aspirant to either try to find short cuts or rationalize every
failure that comes his way or worse still revert to what he was taught in his
formative years that ‘his conditions have been destined by God’ and thus relax
or abandon completely. There are still some who will say ‘I am doing what I can
do and leave the rest for my future lives’ since they now have some knowledge
of the theory of Rebirth. The aspirant who says or does any of these has failed
to critically assess his strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats at
the very onset.
The starting point is not fixed but variable. Every moment can be tagged as
a new point of beginning. There is no need to say that one has failed along the
line so that is the end. What is
important is to know where one is going and continuously keep that vision in
mind! What is quite difficult is to set
spiritual goals. If I ask the question to all of us…..Why did you join the
Rosicrucian Fellowship? Most people would say; for spirituality. If it is for spirituality, then the next
question is what is the RFs modus operandi in making spiritual aspirants
spiritual? Yes, the Preliminary Lessons,
the Regular Students’ Cards, Probationership, Descipleship, the exercises, the
numerous lessons, books etc. Now, what is your spiritual goal and plan of
action within the whole gamut of Rosicrucian Fellowship’s approach?
Of course it will be difficult to measure your level of spirituality if you
do not have a goal you intend to achieve or reach. Indeed there is the tendency
to assume you have made spiritual progress when you have only but met the
administrative conditions for being a regular student, or probationer i.e.
answering and submitting 12 preliminary lessons or sending 24 regular student’s
cards or sending monthly reports. The real work begins when the lessons that
have been received are learned and practiced in the day to day life and living;
when the concept of the exercise of the divine prerogative of free will begins to
show in the SERVICE you render. Only then can one’s status of being a
vegetarian become beneficial. One can know line for line and recite the
Precepts of the Student, but if all one does for instance is not keep quiet but
gossip and talk plenty, no spirituality will take place.
When one has thus fitted himself within the Rosicrucian Fellowship as the
spiritual channel suited to the attainment of one’s spiritual goal within the
context thereof, it behooves upon you to design your own strategy of attainment,
set your objectives for the various stages, indicate your activities and the
associated benchmarks that will enable you measure your progress and then put
them into practice. Let us give a practical example:
If I decide that in the year 2013, my main focus will be on working on the
mind because that is one of my weak points to spiritual attainment, my
understanding of the task is that by developing the mind, I shall be developing
mind power to control my desire and thus gain more positive thinking to effect
epigenetic changes in my life and the lives of other people through creativity
and innovation. My next question is what tool should I use and how frequently.
If I decide to use CONCENTRATION, I ask myself what is concentration? Do I have
enough knowledge of how to concentrate? What is the difference between
visualisation and concentration? What is the difference between concentration
and meditation? Indeed I should understand the tool to the fullest degree in
order to succeed. I need to do a little more research to know what
concentration is in addition to what I already know.
Having understood the tool, my next concern is how often should I do
concentration? The RF teaches us to do it immediately we wake up from sleep and
the reasons have been abundantly provided. But I understand also that in order
to test my strength at concentration, wherever I am when my mind is lingering
around, I should do concentration.
Next question: What is my target and for what period? My answer is: By the
end of 2013, where should I be in terms of mind power? This is the question for
setting your objective. For instance I
should be able to hold a thought without wavering for 20 minutes; WAW
that would be wonderful! Or better still I should be able to penetrate the form
of the object and investigate the substance thereof. Excellent
objectives! Are they achievable? This question depends to a large extent on
your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and the threats. Having weighted all of them, I say yes I
can. What then is the methodology? Yes,
I have them. (I enclose in the appendix some ways of doing concentration)
Next, how would I know I am making progress? Set your timeline and show the
benchmarks or indicators. Based on prior knowledge of the tool and the self
-assessment I do, I set the following as an example.
Month 1- Able to hold
thought for 3 minutes;
Month 2- Able to hold
thought for 5 minutes;
Month 3- 7 minutes,
Month 4 - 10 minutes
Month 5- 12 minutes
Month 6- 15 minutes
Month 7- Able to leave a
blank or void
Month 8- Able to visualise
a form and thus fill the blank or void.
Month 9- Able to
investigate the form
Month 10-11- Able to
investigate the substance or content of the form
Month 12- Substance
investigation completed.
Your indicators or benchmarks therefore provide the means of measuring your
progress. It is also helpful because you would know whether you are making the
progress you indicated or not, the reasons why and thus work to put yourself
continually on track. It is your own benchmarks and you can vary them for as
long as you wish till you achieve the intended goal. Care should be taken not
to set goals that are so grandiose and unachievable. Start with the simple
things you can do and perfect them. Once you have attained mastery, you can
then move to the greater things.
In some cases the measure to your supposed spiritual achievement does not
come from your own self, but by the collective response of the environment in
which you live. Your acts of kindness or otherwise becomes a mirror in which the
people around you see and judge you. Some spiritual aspirants delude themselves
into thinking that the more spiritual they become, the more people with
negative vibrations move away from them. Who knows whether they are not the
ones exuding a certain negative vibration that is making everybody flee from
them. The law says: Like attracts like. The magnet of love, kindness and
Service will constantly attract same into your life while the opposite is
equally true! Both on the path of spirituality and when one has become
spiritual, his desire is to be of help to others and not make people run away
from him.
I want to share with you a simple tool for helping you to understand
yourself in view of the perception of others of you and thus enable you to live
a more positive life. The tool is called Johari Window named after its creators
Joseph Luft and Harry Ingham
|
|
Known to self |
Unknown to self |
|
Known to others |
My Public Self |
My Blind Spots |
|
Unknown to others |
My Hidden Self |
My Unconscious Self |
Johari Window
The four "panes" of the Johari
Window represent four parts of our Self. My Public Self is
what I show others about me. My Hidden Self is what I
choose to hide from others. My Blind Spots are parts of me
others see but I do not. My Unconscious Self is not parts of
me I do not see nor do others. We all have these four parts of Self,
as shown in the Johari Window diagram above, but their
respective sizes vary in each of us.
A more fully aware person has a
large Public Self with the other three areas small in
comparison. This person understands why he acts the way he does and is genuine
and open with others because he has minimized his Hidden Self and Blind
Spots while working to bring the Unconscious Self (Spiritual
Self) to greater awareness. He is in touch with his needs, feelings, and
values - His True Self - the source of his wisdom and
identity.
A generally unaware person has a
small Public Self with the other three areas large in
comparison. This person acts in ways he doesn't understand because outdated
decisions and defense mechanisms have caused him to develop substantial Blind
Spots. In addition, he is guarded and less genuine with others because he
has developed a significant Hidden Self as a defence against
his own deep-seated shame. In short, he has disconnected from his True
Self, becoming more defended than genuine and that is what people see him
for. His light does not shine
Let's review: Overwhelming emotional pain,
particularly early in life, causes us to utilize whatever methods and defenses
are necessary to survive. These methods offer short-term relief but can create
long-term problems because they often require us to repress or disconnect from
our painful emotions. Thus, our Blind Spots, Hidden Self,
and Unconscious Self expand, and our Public Self shrinks
as we distance ourselves from our feelings and needs. In essence, we lose touch
with our True Self, which is our real compass and the source
of our wisdom and identity.
A solution: As your Public Self expands,
you will reclaim disowned parts of yourself - the parts you had to abandon to
survive. In essence, you will reclaim your True Self - the
source of your wisdom and identity.
Spirituality is to be achieved by every living soul
whether during one earth life or the other. We should not wait to be whipped
into line. The desire to achieve results, without reckoning with our basic
nature and the environment in which we live and operate, could be derailed
seriously even when we have the best mode or methodology at our disposal to
enable us reach there. The Rosicrucian platform offers us the modus operandi to
move faster (as Max Heindel would “to take heaven by storm”). In order not to
waste our time and hope to continue in the next earth life, it should be the desire
of every aspirant on the path of spirituality to set clear goals, objectives
and benchmarks for himself, work consciously and conscientiously to succeed by
monitoring and measuring them . The opportunities are enormous and so are the
threats, but the greatest enemy on the path of spirituality are our inherent
weaknesses which we find easier to work with but which can easily block our
Unconscious /Spiritual self…the True Self.
May the ROSES Bloom Upon your CROSS.
Appendix:
Concentration exercises
Exercise 1
Take a book and count the words in any one paragraph. Count them again to
be sure that you have counted them correctly. Start with one paragraph and when
it becomes easier, count the words in a whole page. Perform the counting
mentally and only with your eyes, without pointing your finger at each word.
Exercise 2
Count backwards in your mind, from one hundred to one.
Exercise 3
Count in your mind from one hundred to one, skipping each three numbers,
that is 100, 97, 94, etc.
Exercise 4
Choose an inspiring word, or just a simple sound, and repeat it silently in
your mind for five minutes. When your mind can concentrate more easily, try to
reach ten minutes of uninterrupted concentration.
Exercise 5
Take a fruit, an apple, orange, banana or any other fruit, and hold it in
your hands. Examine the fruit from all its sides, while keeping your whole
attention focused on it. Do not let yourself be carried away by irrelevant
thoughts or associated thoughts that might arise, such as about the shop were
you bought it, about how and where it was grown, its nutritive value, etc. Stay
calm, while trying to ignore these thoughts and not be interested in them. Just
look at the fruit, focus your attention on it without thinking about anything
else, and examine its shape, smell, taste and the sensation it gives when
touching and holding it.
Exercise 6
This is the same as exercise number 5, only that this time you visualize
the fruit instead of looking at it. Start by looking at the fruit and examining
it for about 2 minutes, just as in exercise number 5, and then do this one.
Close your eyes, and try to see, smell, taste and touch the fruit in your
imagination. Try to see a clear and well defined image. If the image becomes
blurred, open your eyes, look at the fruit for a short while, and then close
your eyes and continue the exercise. It might help if you imagine the fruit
held in your hands, as in the previous exercise, or imagine it standing on a
table.
Exercise 7
Take a small simple object such as a spoon, a fork, or a glass. Concentrate
on one of these objects. Watch the object from all sides without any
verbalization, that is, with no words in your mind. Just watch the object
without thinking with words about it.
Exercise 8
After becoming proficient in the above exercises, you can come to this
exercise. Draw a small geometrical figure, about three inches in size, such as
a triangle, a rectangular or a circle, paint it with any colour you wish, and
concentrate on it. You should see only the figure, nothing else. Only the
figure exists for you now, with no unrelated thoughts or any distractions. Try
not to think with words during the exercise. Watch the figure in front of you
and that's it. Try not to strain your eyes.
Exercise 9
The same as number 8, only this time visualize the figure with the eyes
closed. As before, if you forget how the figure looks like, open your eyes for
a few seconds and watch the figure and then close your eyes and continue with
the exercise.
Exercise 10
The same as above in number 9 but the eyes open.
Exercise 11
Try for at least five minutes, to stay without thoughts. This exercise is
to be attempted only after all the previous ones have been performed
successfully. The previous exercises, if practiced correctly, will endow you
with the ability to impose silence on your thoughts. In time it will become
easier and easier.
______________________________________
The secret of success is constant practice. The more time you devote to the
exercises the faster your success arrives. Go on gradually; ten minutes at the
start and in time as you gain the ability to concentrate, give it more time.
When you see that you are successful, you will begin to love the exercises, and
in time they will become a habit. You will be able to concentrate your
attention easily and effortlessly upon anything you want to concentrate on.