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A DESCRIPTION OF THE PSYCHIC WORLD
Lesson 1
In this course of lessons we are entering In this unconscious identification of
upon a description of the psychic world, as images in the psychic consciousness with
well as a description of one’s own psychic the original dynamic process from which
nature. I believe that it is in order for us to wave-frequency is received, we give values
have a clear understanding of how to to ‘objects’, and ‘things’—and then react
operate and function in the psychic world; according to the quality of the values given.
because that is the level the average person Eventually there is an enormous edifice
functions on more than on any other. Those built up through the complexities of
of you who are conversant with modern thingifying. The Buddhists called it
psychology and advanced psychiatric "samsara,” the Hindus, "maya,” the ancient
procedures and practices know that those in occultists, "the veil of Isis.” The Christian
that profession label the unknown realm of Scientists called it plain illusion, but with
consciousness "the unconscious.” In the this difference: they identified the illusion
School of the Natural Order we set up a with the dynamic process and denied both;
referent for the label "the unconscious,” by thus denying the reality. Through this
describing how we thingify; that is, the identification of illusion with the dynamic
process of thingification. This is the basis process, they tried to find some ‘other’
for the use of the word "unconscious.” Our world—a ‘spiritual world’—to take the
literature is replete with a description of place of this ‘material world’. The struggle
this process. In our work in semantics on to get away from the ‘material world’ in
conscious abstracting we have thoroughly order to be ‘spiritual’ is ancient. They did
and effectively covered how the neural not know that ‘material’ and ‘spiritual’ are
system cannot function fast enough with its just polar opposite words, and that they
afferent-efferent arcs to register the were ‘objectifying’, reifying, words in order
intervals between the frequency impulses to arrive at the truth. This imposed a terrific
registered. As a result, the frequencies contradiction to that which we call life-facts,
registered are grouped together like a which means the way we actually function.
continuous stream. Out of the ‘failure’, or
better stated, out of the inability of the This point, briefly reviewed, is one of
neural system—the sense receptors, sense the most difficult premises for beginners in
faculties—to function fast enough for the our school to grasp and understand. This
afferent-efferent responses to register the fundamental point is one that sets us aside
intervals between impingements, the from all metaphysical (we say
impressions are grouped together. When “metafizzling”) fraternities. Once one
we apply this to seeing, an image or picture understands the abstracting process and can
is formed, then the image or picture is see this world as a dynamic energy system,
identified with that from which the original occultism and mysticism disappear; because
wave-frequency is reflected. This leads us to both are a sort of flight from ‘materiality’ to
look upon a dynamic process as static, as an ‘spirituality’. In our school we have no
‘object’, a ‘thing’. ‘materiality’ to get away from and no
‘spirituality’ to get into. We try to see
A Description of the Psychic World 1
this world as it is in itself, and that puts the Power in the particular state in
us on a factual basis. We begin with the which it is conscious of itself.
Power-to-be-conscious, because that is
something that is beyond question, That requires a great deal of work.
beyond debate, something that is That is, each individual must work to
axiomatic, self-evident, that there is a develop the ability to see it, perceive it,
Power-to-be-conscious of either maya, and function in it. No one can work it
illusion, or the veil of Isis or the reality. out for him. Another person cannot eat
the food which is assimilated and
So there is a Power-to-be-conscious vitalizes your so-called body. You must
before one can be conscious of maya or eat your own food; and you must digest
illusion or a veil of Isis, or even of reality. it, and that process has to be distributed
This allows of no debate. It is a pivotal point by the bloodstream to replace the
of the teaching of this school. A priori there
energy burned in the cellular structures.
must be a Power-to-be-conscious before you
You have to do that for yourself. So you
can discuss that of which you are conscious.
This is irrefutable. Anyone can deny that
have to work out your own clear
there is a God and a beginning, or that God perception and understanding yourself.
created the earth and the heavens and the
sun and stars. But we say, “With what
These lessons are like a chef
power do you deny?” That Power is before preparing the food. The chef might take
there can be a denial. No matter how a great deal of pride in preparing tasty
faithful an atheist one might be, with what dishes and a nicely appointed table and
Power does one create the concept that we make it very attractive, inducing you to
call atheism? sit up and eat it. But supposing you rare
back and exclaim, “There isn’t any chef
In our work we resort to that Power and
and there isn’t any food to eat,” and you
try to develop a greater and greater
don’t eat. What can the chef do about it?
consciousness of being that Power. So all of
the debates, all of the verbalism and
Perhaps wring the sweat off of his brow
discussion about whether or not there is a thinking of all the labor he went to in
God, whether there is a creative Power, etc., preparing it. That’s about all he can do.
mean nothing to us. With what Power do And I always think of myself as a chef,
we conceive a creative Power? With what and I have a great deal of inner interest
Power do we deny a creative Power? That (my private world) in preparing that
is the reality. Then, the various states in other kind of food, (“Man cannot live by
which that Power is conscious become bread alone”) in the most acceptable
representation, whether it is in maya, way. And I just love a nicely appointed
illusion, values given to images table. And I love to partake of my food
identified with the dynamic process, or in the most acceptable, lovely, beautiful
the clear perception of the dynamic aesthetic way. And that is the way these
process itself. Both fall into the same lessons are prepared. But I cannot go
category insofar as it is the operation of one step further. If you won’t eat, you
won’t eat and I must let it go. We have
2 Lesson 1
one satisfaction and one satisfaction describe all of this symbolism. You read
only—we have fulfilled our dharma, the the symbolism as I give it, and re-read it
creative urge that is our supreme duty. in your Bible.) He went down to the sea
There is where our values have to stop. and he took a boat and he crossed over
the sea to the other side and he landed
I have gotten off the beam a little bit on the other side. And the first person
on this preparation for talking about the he had communication with was a man
psychic world. I have said it has been who lived on the other side of the sea.
many years, since I have turned my And this man came to him and dropped
attention to the detailed description of on his knees before him and pled with the
it. That is because I was so engrossed in Master to liberate him from the imps and
a new and higher orientation to what demons with which he was obsessed. By
we are pleased to call the Mind level, virtue of the fact that Christ had crossed
the lowest level of Light’s Regions. I over the sea, he dispelled the imps and
wanted to firmly establish the teaching obsessional demons, and they entered into
part, the literature part of our school, the swine and the swine fled down to the
upon a firm orientation to the Light’s sea and were drowned.
Regions. Thus I have been so engrossed Here is the point I am trying to make.
in doing that that I have for years Providing one can “cross over the sea,” he
neglected the detailed description of the will have the power whereby he can dispel
psychic world. all the denizens of the psychic world,
without opening his consciousness to the
But now I am turning my attention psychic world and without passing through
to it, because in the process of breaking it. Catch that little word "if.” If he could get
the habit of objective identification and into his little boat and pass over the sea, he
all of its manifold of values, and in the would have the power to expel all of the
process of raising one’s forces and accumulated entities that he took on while
expanding, one’s consciousness to in the sea and not in the boat. So, there is a
orientation and identification with that way whereby one could develop complete
and firm orientation to Light’s Regions, and
Mind one opens his consciousness to the
the Mind level, and could accomplish
psychic world and passes through the
complete identification with it without
psychic world. He must pass through it.
opening his consciousness to the psychic
For years I have distressed myself in world and without having to go through it.
trying to find a way to do that without But—and how weighty that word! Who can
opening the consciousness to the do it? Search and search and try to find one
psychic world and without passing who can do it. I am of the opinion that it
through it. could be done if one had enough oriental
fanaticism to "love the Lord thy God with
In our Gospel stories, there is an all thy heart and with all thy mind,” and
allegory describing it. Christ was with all our energy and with all of our
alleged to have gone down to the sea. times, and would nothing else, I believe it
(Remember now, symbolism, he went could be done.
down, down to the sea. I am not going to
A Description of the Psychic World 3
But look around you; look into your when I would try to hold the ‘physical’
respective selves and see whether you are features and form of the person with whom
doing it. You will find that in the vast I was visiting, and it would fade out and the
percentage of cases we are doing everything face or form of a former incarnation, color
and anything else but giving all of our times of skin, etc., would come in. I became so
and energies and force to the love of the absorbed in looking at the new face that I
Light. So, we are confronted with what is couldn’t pay attention to what the visitor
being done, not the ideal of what could be was talking about. There was constant
done. And it is on that basis of what is being conflict between the objective manifold of
done, and not the ideal of what could be amenities and values and the ‘inner’
done, that we feel compelled to describe the operation of my psychic sight and hearing
psychic world. and smelling. As soon as the aura came in I
could smell it in addition to hearing and
In all humility and all becoming seeing.
modesty (I hope), I can speak to you about
the psychic world from a wealth of personal One time a very pompous and dignified
experience. I have to tell you a little story to woman of wealth came to call on me and
illustrate what I mean. I became avid in when I sat down to visit with her the
what is called self-development programs present physiognomy faded out and there
and practices when I was a forest ranger, sat a very black young Negro girl. I was
and even before that time, when I was still trying to smile and be polite on the
in my teens. I was ardent and sought every objective side, and there sat this young
help I could get, and I found a body of black girl. Pretty soon I said, "Where did
literature on yogic philosophy, etc. I studied you come from?” And I got two answers
and practiced the breathing exercises, non- right back all at once. The young girl said to
meat-eating, and whatever I read about. I me, “This is my first incarnation. I’m from
was an extremist. (Whatever I do I have to Africa, the Belgian Congo.” I replied that I
do hide, hair, boots and all or I won’t do it.) thought so because I could see the jungle
So, I threw myself into the breathing around you. And the other voice was
exercises and meditation practices until saying, "What do you mean where did I
pretty soon I could see the aura around come from? Why, I’m Miss So-and-so, and
plants and trees and even the dogs at my my chauffeur is outside waiting for me.”
camp fire. I was alone in the wilderness of Here were two voices speaking at once and
north Idaho before there were any surveys I could hear them both. Well, I had to shake
in that country. My dogs were my myself, so to speak, and get on the job.
companions and I could see the aura
around them as clearly as I could see their There were many of those experiences
bodies. And when a human would stray before I found my teacher. When I did find
into the country I could see his aura so my teacher, and came into his presence, he
easily and plainly that I could hardly see the looked at me steadily and said, "You have
outline of his ‘physical’ face. I began to live been living out of your ‘body’. I didn’t tell
in that world. him anything, but he went on. “You have
Later when I began to teach I had great been living in the psychic world and you
difficulty in holding the ‘physical’ features have developed all sorts of siddhis
or form of one with whom I was visiting. I (meaning, occult abilities, and psychic
had many years of embarrassing moments powers). Do you think that is development?
4 Lesson 1
There is nothing in it that is development— development by learning to function in the
just more illusions! Don’t you have enough psychic world. There are congeries of
illusions in your objective life? There is no pitfalls in the psychic world. As the
development in that; none at all!” He put oriental metaphor says, "Hidden under
great force into what he was saying. After every flower that grows in the psychic
that, slowly that world began to be eclipsed world, a serpent coileth.” To enjoy picking
in me, and as it did, I was able to get the flowers without getting struck by the
reoriented. serpent requires a high degree of
development and degree of differentiation
There are two or three morals that could and discrimination, which the average
be drawn from this true narrative. One is person does not possess at all. Then why do
this: do not develop alone. Find a competent we open such a subject? I have given the
teacher. There is one thing in our western reason. We are confronted with it in
civilization in which we are very remiss. In ourselves and others.
countries where there is understanding of
the evolutionary process, the natural order Now one more step and I am
process of development and growth, through this preliminary. I work upon
parents select a guru or teacher for their one definite premise: that which one knows
children before they are out of their young he can control. That which he does not
childhood, so that they can have proper
know controls him. I work all the time on
guidance and instruction. Observe how we,
that. So the main purpose and the main
respectively, grew up under the false,
objective in this presentation is to know
terrible, disastrous teachings of objective
orthodoxy and what a struggle we have had in order to control. Work on that basis all
to get away from that. Our young the time. We have a motto in our school
generation coming on has no training, no which we have written in large letters above
direction, until they are unconscious our blackboard: "With all your getting, get
instruments of destructive forces that are understanding.” Do not forget that premise.
becoming so prevalent that these young If we do not learn to control it, we are in
ones are dangerous to themselves and to danger of being controlled by it, no matter
society. All you have to do is watch TV or how much one might mentalize or believe
listen to the radio or read your magazines that everything is possible with God, that
and papers to know the increasing you are a Divine Image in God’s perfect
prevalence of gangs and of murders among mind, and that nothing can happen to you,
teenagers. I am of the opinion that our and all of the flight from reality and all that
entire civilization is paying a frightful price sweetness and light stuff! And while you
for not giving proper instruction to our are mentalizing about sweetness and light
growing children. what you do not know is overcoming you!
That is taking a flight from reality into a
Let us mention another side: in opening delusional, metaphysical world.
the subject of the psychic world and giving
a description of its various levels, I do not
want to convey the impression that we
advocate that development; that we
subscribe to it, or that we think that one will
gain something in true growth and
A Description of the Psychic World 5
develops, and when he is fully developed
he has to renounce and surrender that
personality to his individualization. One
might say, why build up a wonderful
personality if it has to be surrendered? The
answer is that we must do it in order to
become a Be-ing, not a person, in order to
become a true Individual in Light’s Regions.
In the natural order process, free and clear
and pure, without false creations, etc., these
five centers in the psychic nature open one
after the other. The first we call the genital
center; next, the solar center, the heart
center, the throat center, and the center in
the forehead. In olden times the information
about the centers was secret or hidden
teaching; it was not given out openly as it is
today. In ancient times those who
understood this teaching developed a
symbolic language so that could talk about
it among themselves and communicate their
As a background for our description of understanding by written symbols without
the psychic world, let us think free and clear the uninitiated knowing what they were
from all perversions, all off-side creations talking about. Out of this ‘secret’ teaching
that are not natural order. There is a natural uranographical and zodiacal symbols
order to psychic development and evolved. (We will go into that in due time,
functioning; but that natural order how the forces in the centers of the psychic
development is so overlaid with a nature function, and why they were
multiplicity of distortions, superimposi- symbolized by the zodiacal signs. All Greek
tions, false creations, perversions that it is mythology is wrapped up in this and you
hardly recognizable. In using the terms "free will be right at home in reading Greek
and clear” I mean free from all foreign or mythology as it has been handed down as
other qualities, elements, etc., or as a folklore ever since. Just from an intellectual
chemist would use those words relative to standpoint it is interesting to understand
some element that he is trying to purify. about the various gods and the happenings
to them, etc. And it is all in here in you and
In visualizing the development of in me in the opening of the five psychic
consciousness in the psychic world as free centers.)
and pure and clear of all infiltrations, our
description would be something like this: These symbols depict what is actually
There are five major centers or cycles taking place in each one in the opening of
through which dynamic force functions in the five psychic-centers. If this process were
the development of the psyche or the according to the natural order, one could
personality pattern. (See diagram above) function from level to level in the psychic
Here we must sharply differentiate between world without encountering monumental
personality and individuality. A person forces, generated by perverse human
6 Lesson 1
nature. But in the effort to open his centers and integration in the race psyche—and the
in the psyche, ninety-nine times out of a release of forces in one’s awakening centers
hundred one will open himself to race of his own psychic nature.
psyche forces in which he is integrated, as
well as to forces of those with whom he is There are students of higher teachings
en rapport. You know the meaning of "en who will work and strive to lift their forces
rapport.” It is commonly called love. Turn from so-called lower levels or centers to
on your radio or TV and listen to it. They higher levels or centers, when the force that
call it love, but they have formed a psychic they are striving to lift should be
rapport and want the consummation of it. expurgated, not lifted up. This is an
important point. One must learn
These psychic rapports in which one discrimination between forces and
unconsciously functions may have influences that motivate him due to
motivated, influenced and persuaded you rapports and his own forces which are
for a long time in the way you think, in the released by the opening of the psychic
way you feel and desire; even your actions centers. Forces received through rapports in
in the objective sense may have been association, integration in the race psyche,
influenced by those forces. All those particularly in intimate contacts, cannot be
motivations were beneath the level of your lifted up; these must be expurgated and
consciousness, that is, you were gotten rid of. "Come ye therefore out from
unconscious of them in your objective, among them and be ye separate.” When
mental, private world. You can break that you are "separate” open your own psychic
objective identification and become centers and lift your own forces. How?
conscious of the forces by which you are There is a chasm, a gulf. I want to describe
motivated. When one has reached this point how to bridge that chasm or gulf, so that you
he no longer mentalizes reasons and will be able to separate the influences and
justifications; he accepts without excuse and forces of others that you have registered, from
alibi, the factuality and actuality of the your own forces. This will free you from
forces by which he is motivated. being trapped by hangers-on and your forces
This requires great courage, because the being vampired and appropriated; free you
menagerie one has cultivated begins to from all sorts of interferences with your Self-
come out and must be looked at—the development efforts. This will be explained as
monkeys, the peacocks strutting, the we continue with our description of the
jackdaws and all the unseemly ‘things’ are psychic world.
there. You have to admit, "If that is the
content of my psychic nature, I had better —Vitvan, taped lectures 1954
look at it and get it out.” For, so long as —Marj Coffman, editor, 2003
there is psychic affinity, you are going to be
motivated and vibrated and influenced, no
matter how much you mentalize about it.
That is encountered when one opens his
consciousness to the content of his own
private world (psychic nature); therefore,
the first thing we have to do is differentiate
between influences from others—the
rapports, lovings, sex relationships, etc.,
A Description of the Psychic World 7
Lesson 2
We are taking up the study of the psychic being a representation of the ensemble of the
world for one reason. Some of our students qualities of feelings, desires and thinking of
have reached a point in their self- the psychic self. In the state called objective
development program where they have identification, which is where we all begin,
entered what we call the purificatory period. one thinks that this— pointing to his ‘body’—
Consequently the psychic world is becoming ”This is me,” and he unconsciously operates
close, so it is in order to give a more detailed or functions on that assumption. His
and minute description of the psychic nature. consciousness in this state of identification
We have likened one who takes his with the ‘body’ as a ‘thing’, or as something
development in his own hands to a green material, causes him to become identified
walnut. We used this analogy because in with the world as an objective appearance.
Southern California (where we lived for a The basis of everything in his world
number of years) there are so many beautiful appearing as ‘things’ and ‘objects to his
English walnut trees. At a certain stage, if one consciousness is the identification with his
will take a nut from the tree and cut it in two own physiological structure, or the
and look at it, he cannot tell the hull from the configuration of units of energy in which he
shell or the shell from the nut. It looks functions, which is a representation of the
homogenous and milky, all blended together. content of his consciousness. This state of
But as the nut ripens the hull loosens from the identification represents the green nut in our
shell, the shell becomes distinct from the hull, analogy.
the hull drops away and the meat of the nut
shrinks away from the shell, becoming quite At this stage of development one doesn’t
distinct from the shell. know that he has a psychic nature, unless he
reads or has read psychological or
If you are a beginner in our study of the psychoanalytical literature and learns that
Wisdom Teachings of the ages, do not think there is an unconscious. “Conscious” means
that we are talking down to you, because anything apparently objective—‘things’ that
there is nothing original with anyone about he can see, hear, taste, smell, bite. In the study
the Ancient Wisdom. Each one of us grows of modern psychology he learns that the
and develops into the discovery of it, not the unconscious is hidden, covered up by the
invention of it. When one begins his studies, censorship of the mental processes. He may
as a rule, his consciousness is completely also learn that he is motivated by the content
identified with the ‘physical body’, the of the unconscious, even though he is
‘physical body’ not as a configuration of units unconscious of that content. This applies to
of energy, a dynamic energy system; but one still in the green nut state. The words
identified with the ‘body’ as it appears to “spirit,” “soul,” “higher self,” etc., are just
sensuous receptivity—as a ‘thing’, as an words to one functioning in objective
‘object’, some ‘thing’ physical, material. identification. They have no meaning for him
because he has no referent for them.
In truth and reality, we label that which is
ordinarily called the ‘physical body’ the But in due course, as the nut ripens—or as
configurational representation of the state in the unfolding, the evolutionary process,
which the real Self is conscious of Itself, plus continues, the shell and meat of the nut, begin
A Description of the Psychic World 1
to loosen from the hull. That is, he begins to one little factor alone! The doctor examines
have psychic sensations and experiences; he the patient, like an automobile mechanic lifts
has gas attacks or pains in the stomach the hood of the car and says that the
(which transmission system is all right, the
carburetor is all right, etc. The doctor says,
“Your heart is good, your lungs are good, and
your liver is good; nothing wrong with you;
you are all right. But he knows something is
wrong; he is not all right. The gas attacks,
nausea, etc., which cannot be accounted for
‘physically’ are due to inharmonious
situations or conditions he has registered. The
nut is beginning to loosen within the hull—
the psychic nature is beginning to function
independently of the so-called physical body.
By and by one may get onto some
teaching or read something and he discovers
he has a psychic nature. He discovers that it is
independent of the ‘physical body’. He may
go out of his body and have experiences and
then return to the body with the memory of
those experiences. He may say, “I had a vivid
dream,” —because he was in bed with his
eyes closed when it occurred. He will account
for all of those experiences as a vivid dream.
means inharmonious solar center
But, once in awhile he may find a verification
registry), and he may come home from a
of those dreams. Perhaps he had visited
shopping trip depleted and enervated and
someone and they recognized him and had a
wonder why he feels as if he had been
conversation with him and wrote him a letter
working hard all day. He may begin to have
about it. “My gracious, that was not a dream.
sensations, experiences, that feel as if he has
It must have been real!” And he begins to
two hearts—one beating in the solar area, and
function independently of his so-called
the other in his chest. He seems to feel a pulse
physical body.
beat in his solar region. (In the chart below,
the solar center is symbolized by Mars in Then later the meat of the nut begins to
Scorpio. Mars, combative, rajasic, shrink away from the shell. That represents
quarrelsome, aggressive; and in Scorpio. Let the Real Self, independent of the so-called
your intuition work on that. We will not go physical body and the psychic nature,
into that symbolism at this time because it beginning to function on Its own level, in Its
would take us too far off our subject.) own world. We call it the Mind level, the
lowest level of Light’s Regions. Everything is
When one begins to feel these gas attacks,
so beautiful, so marvelous, so exhilarating, a
nausea and one ‘thing’ and another, after he
joy song sings in him when he contacts that
has been in an inharmonious situation, he
world in himself; sheer ecstasy, sometimes to
goes to a doctor. I would like to compute the
the extent of a Pentecostal outpouring of
wealth doctors have accumulated over this
A Description of the Psychic World 2
Light and beauty. He is becoming an temple is because the ensemble, the content of
Awakened One. There are two deaths: death the psychic nature is identical with what is
to the objective manifold of values (the world called the personality pattern, the pattern of a
of objective identification) and death to the given person. The content of the psychic
psychic world. Then comes the awakening in nature represents the true person. The
Light that we label the Christos, after the physiological organism as a configuration of
Greeks; the awakening to the Christ- units of energy is representation of the
conscious state. personality pattern. So, it is the true person
that has to be cleaned and purged, then the
After one passes through the green nut outer representation will take care of itself;
stage to the independent functioning of the one doesn’t have to pay any attention to it.
psyche, then to the awakening of the spiritual
or Real Self, he enters upon the real path of Years ago, facetiously, I used to tell my
Self-development. He takes his growth and class that when we got far enough along and
development in his own hands, does his own enough of us understood the Truth, to
thinking, works out his own problems within become a people, we would organize the
himself—he “treads the wine press alone.” “Beauty Parlors of the New Cycle.” There
“Treading the wine press” means that he has would be no cosmetics of any kind used.
to purify the psychic nature in order to There would be steady concentration upon
disentangle his own creative forces from Light, Love, beauty and peace, until the
integration in the influences that he has taken consciousness became so filled with Light and
on from others, through rapports (through his beauty that the ‘body’ would become a
love and affections), and through integration shining representation of the content of the
in the race psyche. He learns to “Come out consciousness in the psychic nature. To put
from among them and be … separate” so that anything else on it would be like painting the
he can distinguish his own creative forces lily. Let’s organize a beauty parlor of the
from the influences of frequency relationships future, where we do nothing but fill our
and the influences due to integration in the consciousness with light, beauty, peace, and
race psyche. loveliness. It would require only about ninety
days for the transformation to take place. That
Near the end of the purificatory period beauty cannot be imitated with any sort of
the five centers of his psychic nature begin to artifices. So, we say the content of the psyche
function independently of those influences is the true person and the objective
and he can then lift his forces from center to representation that we call the body is not the
center until his generative, creative forces, temple; it is only the representation of it—sort
lifted to the highest center of the psyche, of a reflection of it. Eventually we can
invokes the descent of the Power of Light’s graduate from the psyche to the Mind—”Let
Regions—symbolically, the “Christ entering that Mind be in you which was in Christ Jesus
his Temple.” The first thing that takes place our Lord,” which is the Light and Power-to-
when the Christos Power descends, when the be-conscious of itself in its own world, in its
Power and influence from Mind level comes own Self-conscious state.
in, the temple is purged from all that does not
belong to the true natural order evolutionary Now I have laid the foundation of why
process, that does not belong to the Light. study of the psychic nature. We have to go
through it. As I said in my last lesson, I spent
The reason that the psychic nature is the years trying to devise a system of Self-
A Description of the Psychic World 3
development whereby one could reach Mind consciousness to the psychic world and have
level without entering and experiencing to cope with its influences and the content of
anything in the psychic world. I have the unconscious. It is like taking the lid off the
discovered that it can be done, but it is so garbage can. We discover the worlds by
difficult that it is not done. If we were which we are and have been motivated all the
religious fanatics and would take one little time, while our consciousness was in
passage of our scriptures literally and practice objective identity and we were unconscious of
it, we could do it. That little passage is this: the influences by which we were motivated
“Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all and controlled.
thy mind, with all thy soul, with all thy
strength, and thy neighbor as thyself.” To Are you conscious of the forces by which
“love the Lord thy God with all …” means you are motivated? There is not a thought
that you would not give a thought to you think that originates within your brain.
anything else for five seconds, night or day. There is not a force of love and affection you
All means all. have that originates within your heart; there
is not a desire that you have—no matter what
If we were fanatical enough to arrange for the desire or the quality—that originates
helpers to feed us and do everything else for within you. You are motivated by the wave-
us, etc., we could pass through the psychic frequency that you register, and you register
world like entering a boat and crossing over that for which you have affinity.
the sea. (The sea is a symbol of the psychic
world.) But it cannot be done because there There are highly commercialized forces—
are too many demands upon us. We have all persons—that build substantial bank accounts
our life-responsibilities to take care of. Think by stimulating desire for products before they
of all the demands our modern lifestyle are launched. They send out the wave-
require of us. If we were fanatical enough to frequency; they build up the product, picture
arrange that someone would take care of all it, propagandize it, and soon a great number
that Caesar demands of us while we did want it. You think you wanted it? No, we are
nothing but concentrate continuously on the motivated by the unconscious influences that
love of God we could pass over the “sea.” But register upon the psychic nature. We are
many of us who would enter the boat and try motivated by the influences (wave-
to cross over the sea would get thrown out frequencies, vibrations) registered upon the
and, like Jonah, swallowed by the whale. psychic nature. That is the content of what the
Don’t get aristotelian and take that literally; it psychiatrists call of the unconscious. To
is a marvelous symbol—to enter the boat and uncover that world and become conscious of
cross over to the Light worlds without the influences by which you are motivated is
entering the psychic world at all. But the boat to consciously function in the psychic world,
doesn’t any more than get launched before on the psychic level.
we are thrown out because we must turn our
Do we advocate psychic development in
attention to everything else but the love of
our School? No, we do not! Here is what we
God. Pretty soon it is love of the almighty
do advocate: as one has learned sanitation
dollar, trying to keep up with “old man
and hygiene in the objective sense, so he must
overhead.” Then we are swallowed by the
learn sharp discrimination between influences
whale! This is not far-fetched; you are in it
that are constructive, wholesome, and
and I am in it. But through the process of
beneficial and the influences that tend to drag
growth and development we open
A Description of the Psychic World 4
one down and back into darkness—into hell. pure psyche as a yardstick or criterion. But
not one of us has such a clean psyche. So, we
How is each one going to learn sharp describe the average.
discrimination in and among the influences
by which he is motivated? By being thrown We place Mind level, the lowest division
out of the boat into the sea and being of Light’s Regions—the home of the True Self
swallowed by the whale. When we finally at its highest and best—as the high point.
work our way out of the belly of the whale That is the True Self, the meat of the nut,
and out of the sea and land in Nineveh, we shrunk away from even the psychic world at
will have learned sanitation and hygiene in its best. And we use the phrase, “nether
the psychic world. So, we advocate learning world,” as the lowest point where there is a
sharp discrimination. When a wave hits one’s whole world of evil influences below the
field, he knows immediately when it strikes psychic world. Between these two, we divide
our field, our aura, long before it enters into the psychic world into seven divisions. On
the content of the psyche, he knows its the lowest level, the content of the
quality. He knows whether he wants it or unconscious, exist demons, earth bound
wants to reject it. entities, etc. These submerged entities of evil
have to attach themselves to those who have a
There are denizens of that world that will physical organism in order to work through
masquerade as angels of Light. How are you them as instruments or channels to control
going to discriminate between the real angels the ‘objective’ world.
of Light and those masquerading as angels of
Light? Through the process of learning the On the next level above, picture elemental
psychic world and the forces by which you spirits, the formative forces of nature. In our
are motivated you learn how to work, as in Ireland, we call them the “little
instantaneously distinguish and differentiate people,” the gnomes, sylphs, undines, fairies,
between forces that lead to the Light world etc., representatives of a lower order of the
and forces that pull you down into darkness. World Mother, in its purity. There is a
With the best of intentions, those in objective pristine purity to the generative force when
identification will accept any influence from the genetrix—the World Mother—separated
the psychic world without question or from all deviations and perversions to which
discrimination, just because it is something energy has been directed. When the pure
that cannot be seen or heard or is other-than force of the World Mother is separated from
‘objective’. They will lend themselves to artificial deviations, artificial cultivations, and
destructive influences and wake up later, perversions, etc., there is nothing in that pure
after they are under the control of those generative force of nature that should be
influences, to learn they lent themselves to disparaged, condemned or reviled. Rather,
something evil. an apotheosis of it should be developed.
I will endeavor to describe the average The only race on earth that I know of that
state of development of those who have has done that is the Hindus. They call that
entered the stage in Self-development that we generative power—Kali. They have erected
call the purificatory process. It will not be a temples to Kali where they worship that
true representation of the psychic world or of creative power in its purity. I have ventured
any one person’s psychic nature, because we more in telling you about this here than I
would have to understand the clear, clean, have in forty-four years of teaching. I have
A Description of the Psychic World 5
avoided talking about it because of the egotistical vainglory, etc.
impurity of the minds of the average person
in our country cannot catch the pristine purity In the process of learning to function in
of generation.. How are we going to sharply the psychic nature we enter the pure desire
differentiate, sharply discriminate between world. It is a level that is free from these
the forces by which we are motivated, lower levels. That which pertains to the basic
between the purity and impurity? By being state on the part of the Self. There are various
“thrown out of the boat and swallowed by the states in the process of Self-awakening on the
whale.” That means to say, by experience we Mind level. (Note that I didn’t say person,
have to struggle and contend with those which functions in the psychic world.) That
influences and forces in our respective selves. which is comparable and true to the basic
That means in our psychic nature, until we state in which the individual is conscious of
learn our way in it, through it, and out of it. himself is true desire, and he should
That lies ahead of us; there is no escape from experience the fulfillment of that desire
it, because we are not fanatical to devote all to without any apology. This is a little recondite,
the love of the Light. So we are all in it, but so let me give you an illustration, because in
we must uncover it and learn by experience to the overall picture of understanding the
function in it and work our way out of it. natural order, this is vital.
Next there is a level where the I met a man who came from India. I knew
psychological forces—the forces of the him very well. After six or seven years of very
unconscious, of the psychic nature—become close relationship with that man, he told me
perverted and cultivated by the impure that for three turns of the palingenetic cycle
minds of men until they become obsessional, (three incarnations) he had practiced
erotic entities. I am sorry to introduce this asceticism. Now, asceticism is not confined to
level when we are endeavoring to orient just the renunciation of sex force, marriage,
ourselves to Light’s Regions. But it is far and children. Asceticism refers to a broad
better to know about these perverse renunciation of everything in the world—
influences, and guard yourself against them possessions, ‘things’, emoluments, social
through knowledge of them, than it is to position, recognition, working for ‘success’
pretend that you don’t know anything about (and I don’t know what criterion you are
them. That sweetness-and-light attitude is going to set up for that word); etc. This man
dangerous. I have said, and I repeat: that practiced asceticism to such an extent that
which you know you can control; that which instead of emancipating himself from desire,
you do not know controls you, particularly he repressed desire. Ninety-nine times out of
when it resides in the psychic nature and one hundred, renunciation becomes
psychic world. Knowledge is power. So, with repression, not emancipation. So, he said to
all of your getting get understanding; do not me, “In coming to America all of my hidden
wander around like a silly boob thinking repressions in trying to practice asceticism
everything is wonderful and beautiful. What have come out.” He continued, “I have to go
is it that generates all of the contentions and back and down; I am not free to go ‘up’ and
wars in the world? I believe I could prove that on. And down he went into possessions.
it is all based on deviations from the natural
In telling me about himself he also said:
order of the genetrix. There are those who
“Those of predatory wealth in this country—
deliberately cultivate the erotic and perverse
not those who have the power to use wealth
forces for selfish and personal purposes,
A Description of the Psychic World 6
as a commodity and rule it instead of being
ruled by it, but the predatory, the parvenu,
without exception, have been yogis or
ascetics; who were trying to find a ‘spiritual’
world and Light and they repressed desire
instead. When these yogis have to go back
and express what they had repressed, the
pendulum swings as far to the left as it did to
the right.” You cannot repress a desire force
and emancipate yourself from it. I am trying
to emphasize the legitimacy of true desire—
that which you need to experience at your
basic point of development. Get this
experience behind you and then you can
renounce that desire.
Did you ever dream about a big house in
a beautiful setting and richly appointed? Then
by and by there was the financial competence
whereby you could fulfill that desire. I did it.
Then in about three years I found that it took
all my time and energy to take care of it. I
decided I would rather have a little cabin than
be owned by this ‘thing’, and I got rid of it. I
fulfilled desire and by experience got over it.
Experiencing your desire and getting it
behind you represents true development; not
silly renunciation of all sorts of desires that
creates repression.
We come next to a very lovely realm on
the human and personal level, but in order to
describe it adequately we will take this up in
our next lesson.
—Vitvan, taped lectures 1954
Marj Coffman, 2003
A Description of the Psychic World 7
Lesson 3
Remember that we do not advocate would call intestinal fortitude, courage, and
opening and developing our respective everlasting stick-to-it-ive-ness, relentlessly
selves—our consciousness—on or in the hanging on and working. There will be days
psychic world. We polarize to Mind level, and weeks when one will feel that he is doing
knowing without thinking, immediate something, getting there. He will feel alive
awareness. The aristotelians would call it the and buoyant, then whammy! Down he goes
pure spiritual world. We call it Mind level, and hits bottom!
the lowest level of Light’s Regions.
It takes a long time to find out what
Between the lowest level of Light’s happened. One gets careless or lowers his
Regions and the psychic world, which is guard and the old demons and imps creep
controlled by the World Mother, the Genetrix, back in. Egotism gets inflated with a little
there is a chasm, an abyss that we have to success and down he goes. He will say, “All
cross over in the working out of our Self- that effort and work—what’s the use?” But he
development, our salvation. To accomplish dare not surrender, so he begins to fortify
that or to reach that state, we leave behind himself, “puts on his shield and buckler” and
functioning in the psychic world and the goes to war again, fights out those influences
psychic nature and cross over to pure Light. and painfully climbs back up. And so it goes
That is the ideal, the goal toward which we until he, the person, the psyche, becomes so
are striving, and that development is what we filled with the influences of Light’s Regions
advocate and emphasize in our school. that they sort of take over and he can relax a
little because it becomes the great protective
However, in the process of breaking force. This is the great promise given to
objective identification we try to account for treaders of the path.
all of the forces by which we are motivated
from the objective basis, finding reasons for Students should never go to sleep at night
everything under the sun (and under the without placing the ‘body’ in a protective
moon, the lunar cycle). That mental “squirrel- influence. When you withdraw your
caging” and looking for reasons for the consciousness from your ‘body’, if it is left
influences and forces by which we are unprotected, entities, influences from
motivated must be broken before we can rapports—conscious or unconscious—will
enter the path of development. It means make a playground of your ‘body’. Spin a
taking our growth and development in our cocoon around your ‘body’; build a thought
own hands and working it out step by step. form and charge it with protection. Invoke the
We must struggle against the down-pull of angels of Light, the Power of the Christos
those influences we have accumulated while from Mind level. One way or another you
in ignorance and darkness. We struggle must surround yourself with a protective
against those influences and purify the influence before you allow yourself to
psychic nature and little by little climb the withdraw or infold in sleep.
“golden stairs” until we can make the great
leap into the reality. This is a prodigious job, a There are two ways of sleeping. One is to
real he-man’s job. We often say, “Timid souls project and go out of your ‘body’ in your
keep out.” It takes a lot of what the boys psyche. The other is to infold and withdraw
A Description of the Psychic World 17
consciousness from the psyche and unfold on psychic world and making contact with
Mind level. The infolding process is the Light’s Regions.
natural order way to sleep; projection is not
natural order. Either way, when you My point is that in entering the path of
withdraw your consciousness from your Self-development we open ourselves to the
body do not leave it unprotected, because if it psychic world and have to learn to function in
is left unprotected the entities and the it just as we have learned to function in the
influences from rapports will make a so-called physical world, where sanitation
playground out of your body. They will play and hygiene have become a law of our land.
“ducks and drakes” with it—to express it In the psychic world we learn sanitation and
politely. Do not get careless. Do not get off hygiene also—a sharp discrimination in the
guard, because eternal vigilance is the price of gunas, the qualities of forces and influences
our freedom from those lower influences. that try to come in and occupy us. We test
and challenge them. We challenge them in the
I emphasize this at this time because we name of Light, in the name of the Christ, in
are in an unusual historical period of the name of the Father, Mother, and Son. In
development of the human race on this the name of all that is ‘high’, we challenge
planet—the transition between two great every influence before we lend ourselves to it.
cycles when all of the submerged, repressed,
and hidden evil influences are released in the This is very important for those who have
race mind, in the human psyche. Evil entered the path of Self-development. Just
influences become more virulent and because one does not register influences
rampant during a transition period between through the sense faculties, or account for it
two great cycles than at any other time. Some mentally, do not think they are all beautiful.
of us are old enough to remember our One must develop the ability to register the
childhood when everything was stable. We quality, and then learn to distinguish between
thought our Sunday school and church, our gunas that are constructive and beneficial and
social connections, our government, and those that are not helpful. This is quite a job,
particularly our homes would always be like but not formidable. All you have to do is
they were—stable and secure and something break the habit of thinking ‘outside’, or
to rest on, to take for granted. But in this looking for some ‘thing’ (someone) up in the
period we cannot take anything for granted. stratosphere to come down and help you.
The homes we used to know are breaking up; “Why stand ye gazing?” Break that habit.
instead they have become houses—a place to Turn your thought, your feeling and knowing
sleep or a place to go when one cannot go ‘within’. Walk in the light of understanding.
anywhere else. The home we used to know is Don’t be gullible and blind, sitting supinely
very rare today. The old order is breaking up “folding my hands and waiting for my own
and evil forces are becoming more and more to come to me.” Your own will come to you
released. Therefore we who are striving to all right! Never allow a negative attitude.
rise out of the lower levels of consciousness Constantly keep vigilant, positively charged.
have to work harder and be more vigilant Breathe a prayer in your consciousness, deep
than in stable and normal times. “Satan shall in your heart, “Give me Light, more Light,
be loosed for a season” before he is bound more understanding.” Do not be ashamed to
and cast into the pit for another cycle. This learn to pray. None of us is big enough and
indicates the difficulty in surmounting the strong enough not to pray in our hearts for
guidance and support. There is an unwritten
18 A Description of the Psychic World
law that if guidance and support are motivate psychic functioning. The Hindus call
genuinely asked for, it is never refused. That these focalizations chakras. In our Christian
is a wonderful thing. You are never refused! Bible these five centers are symbolized as the
The Higher Ones will come to help you, five wise virgins who preserved oil in their
literally, actually—not poetically or lamps. There is an implication here—that the
figuratively—if genuinely and sincerely in creative force or energy can be exhausted or
your heart you cry for guidance and Light. dissipated. When we talk about exhausting
vital force, the aristotelians (those in
We call those who are canalized and identification with “this ‘body’ is me”) will
function in objective identification think of exhausting energy in sexual
aristotelians. This state of identification, expression. But that is only one way in which
labeled aristotelian, is signalized by the belief the creative generative force can become
and attitude that “this ‘body’ is me.” exhausted. One can exhaust the force by
Everything else is attributed to neural which the psyche functions in the solar plexus
function or the neurons of the brain, etc. In level by quarreling, arguing, contending, etc.
referring to the psychic nature, the It can be exhausted in the heart level, anahata,
aristotelian also speaks of the unconscious— by unwisely pouring out love—just pouring it
meaning that of which one is not objectively out and pouring it out until one doesn’t have
conscious. But it is only relative to objective any force left. It can be exhausted in the
identification that the term “unconscious” can pharyngeal center by too much talking—just
be used. There is really no such ‘thing’ as “an talk, talk until one bores everyone to
unconscious.” But we do have a psychic extinction and wears himself out. One can
nature. The psychic nature is an ensemble of even exhaust his force through the pituitary
units of energy on the atomic level. That is its center—ajna—by lending himself to psychic
substance. (Not sub-atomic, because the sub- phenomena. Opening sight in the psychic
atomic belongs to a higher level that we call world one can become exhausted by those
the solar vesture.) It is an energy world. forces and influences.
When we generalize that world we call it
World Mother Substance. Sometimes we Like the wise virgins we must learn to
substitute the word Genetrix, because the preserve the oil in the psychic lamps so that
energy belongs to the world of generation. At when the Bridegroom—the Christos on Mind
our present state we are concerned with the level—comes, we can go forth to meet Him.
unpurified psyche and want to become The aristotelian Christians call this the Second
thoroughly conversant with it. That is the coming of Christ in clouds of glory (up there
level on which we must do our work. in the skies) surrounded by hosts of angels.
These objective identifiers do not understand
As you recall, we have divided the oriental literature with its simile, metaphor,
psychic world into five levels; or we say there allegory and grandiose stories. Mohammed
are five different degrees of frequency in the told his disciples that “Heaven is like a harem
energy-forces of which the psychic nature is with a thousand naked women!” That was his
composed. (But we must remember that the way of conveying his concept of something
psychic nature functions and is sustained by absolutely wonderful! Also we read of pearly
the Power-to-be-conscious on Mind level.) gates, streets of gold, harps, etc. But if we take
Each of these five levels is governed by a the language metaphorically, it is a story full
focalization of energy, and it is these of beauty. When the Christ consciousness
focalizations or centers of energy which comes, one is surrounded with such power,
A Description of the Psychic World 19
beauty, and wonder that only the most energy substance. This same kind of process
extravagant words can describe the influence. takes place in materializations during a
And those who have preserved the oil in their spiritualistic séance, where the ectoplasm of
lamps go forth to meet him. Those who have the medium conducting the séance is exuded
dissipated their creative energies—the five and configurated. It can be seen and even
foolish virgins—limp along too late and the photographed. Medical sensitives can see it
door is closed! Just a plain, simple, and easily and utilize it in their diagnoses. This
revealing allegory. When our respective time energy substance that we call the etheric
comes that Light’s Regions open to us and let body, interpenetrates the ‘spaces’ between the
us in—the Bridegroom—and we like the bride atoms, molecules, etc., of the ‘physical’ body
go forth to meet him. But we have to have and surrounds it. One does not have to have
something to go forth with, to meet that psychic sight or clairvoyant sight awakened
glory. to see it. Stand someone in front of any
neutral gray background and dim the lights.
Let us see what happens. In the The etheric envelope can then be seen with
purificatory process, when the psychic the physical sight.
consciousness awakens, many turn aside.
There may be a variety of reasons: egotism, To return to my point: if one lends himself
pride, egotistic satisfactions, plain orneriness to influences on the three lower psychic
and one thing or another. Then they become levels, of which he has no knowledge or
negative to psychic influences of the lower sufficient understanding, in due course his
three levels of the psychic world. And if the forces will become diverted from the solar
negativity to those influences of the lower center to a center on the left side called the
three levels continues for a long period, a epigastric center. Force flowing through this
weakness takes place on the left side of the center will puncture or rupture the etheric
psychic nature. envelope. And the result is that there is a
wide open door into his psychic nature on the
Before continuing with this thought, let left side. A ruptured etheric envelope creates
me describe the etheric substance that an open door into the psychic nature. I have
interpenetrates and surrounds the often likened this condition to a barn that has
physiological organism. This etheric been abandoned; the windows are open, the
substance condenses, so to speak; it door half off their hinges. But let us imagine
configurates into what is called teloplasm or an old barn with the door wide open. This
ectoplasm, then protoplasm and cytoplasm, illustrates the person who has lost control of
the substance of cellular structures. what comes in and what goes out of his
Cytoplasm differentiates into colloidal psyche. The psychic nature, the etheric
structures and colloidal structures configurate envelope and the physiological vehicle
into molecular configurations. All of this become a playground for any and every force,
eventuates out of etheric substance. We have but particularly force for which one still has
an example of this process in the affinity. As father-confessor, counselor,
development of the fetus. The mother healer, etc., for many years, I have had many
supplies the energy substance for the of these cases and know what a prodigious
development of the new baby body, and if job it is to get that punctured etheric envelope
sufficient energy is not supplied, it is taken closed. It calls forth more energy and skill in
right out of her teeth, bones and flesh. But psychic volitional direction than is required
mother materializes a baby body out of
20 A Description of the Psychic World
by a surgeon that performs a surgical against the natural order to force a
operation on a physical ‘body’. relationship when there is no longer a close
rapport; when the rapport is broken the two
I am stressing the seriousness of becoming are parted. The relationship must be
an unconscious playground for any and every reciprocal or the home has turned into a
force. Do not be gullible about invisible house. Marriages are made in the Light World
influences. Be eternally vigilant and guard where death cannot part. Death will unite
yourself; keep your forces up all the time. more closely because there are no objective
Separate your forces from those you have interferences and one becomes more
taken on and get rid of those forces that do conscious of unity.
not belong to you. The old aristotelian habit
of appropriating everything to yourself is Love on the personal level is a great help
strong. Hardly anything belongs to you; you to those on the path of development so long
are motivated by influences and rapports in as there is affection, devotion, etc. The two
the race psyche. These forces cannot be lifted grow together toward Light’s Regions, the
up; you have to get rid of them; drive them Christ consciousness. There is mutual support
out. Often they are driven out through the in treading the path together. It is beautiful to
legs and feet. When one is clear and clean see two enter the path and tread it together,
then he takes his own forces up and keeps his but it is very rare. Like all wonderful and
consciousness oriented to Light’s Regions. beautiful things, if it is not worked out in
harmony, it becomes devastating to growth
The personalized level on which the and development.
psyche functions and is motivated is the level
upon which devotion, affection, emotion, and Remember that we do not advocate
personal love obtain. A great deal of stress is psychic development. But if one is in it he
put upon this level—the pure love of man for might as well learn it and with understanding
woman and woman for man; the get out of it. That is the important message of
synchronization of forces and the union that this lesson.
develops in and through that
synchronization. If the forces of two persons —Vitvan, taped lectures 1954
no longer synchronize there is no true Marj Coffman, editor, 2003
personal love. I will whisper this: it is a crime
A Description of the Psychic World 21
Lesson 4
In our study of the psychic world and symbol only by penetrating into the
psychic nature I would like to give you an consciousness of the original creator;
answer to the question: “Why do the otherwise he would not know the original
teachings as given in our School have no meaning that creator devised and
occultism, no mysticism, and no symbolized. The only occultism I can see
metaphysics?” This question has been about it is that the creator’s meaning has
answered in our literature, but upon been obscured by his symbol relative to the
inquiry I find that even students of many understanding of others.
years standing are unable to convey a clear
However, the use of symbolism dates
explanation or give a logical answer to this
back hundreds of years. In earlier times
question. So, let us clarify your
symbolism was used by reason of the fact
understanding.
that the consciousness of students of the
First we take up occultism. Occult Wisdom Teachings had not evolved,
means hidden, secret. Students of occultism racially speaking to the state where they
endeavor to penetrate into that which is could grasp abstract meanings. The
hidden or secret and then use elaborate consciousness of objective identification
symbolism to represent what seems to be was so powerful that they had to have
hidden. They work on the symbolism with something to correspond to their objective
the idea that if they can understand the state of identification, a symbol—something
symbols they can get the understanding of they could see or touch.
that which is ‘behind’ the symbol. This
Today we dispense with symbols and
imposes difficulty because no one can read
clearly describe meanings. This is a
into a symbol that which he does not
tremendous advance, not only in the
possess in his own consciousness.
development of the individual, but an
Psychologically he is bound to attribute to
advance in the race consciousness as a
the symbols the content of his own
whole. The average high school boy and girl
consciousness, or that of which he is
can talk and think in electronics and
conscious of being; then he gets the reaction
modern physics. They don’t have to resort
of that which is attributed to the symbol
to symbols to represent something ‘hidden’.
and believes he knows what the symbol
Because of the advance in intelligence today
represents. Therefore there will be as many
(as limited as it is, relative to what there is
values or meanings given to the symbol as
yet to know), we can talk about the
there are individual instructors of
structure, function and order of the eternal
symbolism. Consequently great confusion
wisdom, and penetrate into the perception
and misunderstanding as to whose
of it without using symbols which causes it
interpretation is correct. Very few realize it
to be occult or hidden. Thus, confusion is
is their own meaning which is being
avoided because there is no need for two or
attributed to the symbolism. The original
three to agree on the meaning of symbols
creator of a symbol may have an entirely
used.
different meaning that he worked out. One
can know the original meaning of a Another reason we can dispense with
symbols is because today we understand
A Description of the Psychic World 23
the structure of the cosmic process. becomes a stabilizing and balancing
Everywhere we look we see it. A life-fact influence. That is, it counteracts oscillating
that we recognize is that everything one between being highly elated one moment an
eats, wears, uses, lives in, etc., comes from then despondent and depressed the next.
the good earth—World Mother Substance.
Do not confuse reason with
Farmers and gardeners may come to realize
intellectuality, because they are not the
that the good earth must be treated with
same. Rationality has an intelligent quality
care, that she can only remain productive so
that intellectualizing does not have. For this
long as her colloidal equivalence and
reason in our School we stress the
equilibrium are maintained. If the colloidal
development of the faculty of rationality.
state of the soil is maintained, a symbiotic
relationship with the whole of cosmos Why is there no metaphysics in our
becomes established. teaching? Because “meta-” is a Greek prefix
denoting behind, other-than, under, etc., and
Why do we not endorse and have a
is usually used with the word ‘physical’. It
mystical doctrine in the structure of thought
is on the basis of objectivity that there can
that we call the teaching as given in our
be a “meta-” or something other-than or
school? Mysticism is based upon and
behind ‘physical’, which in turn implies
developed out of emotional faith; it is faith
something ‘spiritual’. We single quote the
that amounts to certainty and the force of
words ‘physical’, and ‘spiritual’ because we
faith becomes a tangible and functional
cannot set up a referent for either of these
influence. Such orientation is called
terms. That is, we cannot describe meanings
mystical by those who have not developed
which these words symbolize or represent.
and experienced the tangible influence
generated by faith. But a mystic cannot This is a difficult point to present to
explain what he feels or experiences. He those who have not been trained in
will probably say, like Spinoza, “To define conscious abstracting. First we must show
Him [God] is to deny Him.” There are how we abstract—draw from—frequencies
thousands of people who cannot walk the registered through our sense receptors—
path unless they have understanding. They seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting, touching.
have to know what they are doing, where it Then we show how the mechanism of the
leads them, etc. They cannot generate faith neural system and consciousness
in that which they do not know. functioning therein cannot register the
rapidity of the light-energy waves and
But there is another reason why we do
frequencies impinging upon the sense
not incorporate the mystical doctrine in our
receptors. Therefore the neural system
teaching. In the early stages of building up
breaks down and groups the energy-waves
faith to where it becomes a tangible force
together, making a picture or image. This
and power, there is a tremendous
picture or image is in the consciousness, not
fluctuation between way up today—
‘out there’, but consciousness ‘sees’ a so-
everything wonderful and beautiful, all joy
called thing or object, which, according to
and happiness—and way down in the
modern science, is a configuration of units
depths tomorrow. The mystical method of
of energy—electrons and protons, neutrons
development lacks the stabilizing influence
and atoms—all oscillating with tremendous
and the balance born of understanding. The
rapidity.
development of the quality of rationality as
we proceed step by step on the path
24 A Description of the Psychic World
The moment we can understand that the described; therefore it is nothing. In our
‘thing’ or ‘object’ is in the psychic Christian Bible we read, “It is the lie and the
consciousness as a picture, then at least father of all lies.” They are wrestling with it
mentally we know there is no ‘thing’ or in our churches. What is that great lie that is
‘object’ ‘out there’. What is ‘out there’? A the father of all other lies? The Vedas and
dynamic process, an ensemble of Upanishads and Hindu teachings say it is
configurating units of energy. Therefore, “maya.” So, what is maya? Then we go to
there is no physical world upon which we the occultists who call it the Veil of Isis and
can build a “meta-,” or other world. If there tell us we have to learn to lift the Veil if we
is no ‘thing’ or ‘object’ then the basis for would see the reality. (You have to get
some ‘thing’ ‘behind’ the ‘object’ is also under something and heave it, and there is
gone, and there can be no metaphysics. The the truth before you!) Then there are those
only ‘thing’ that is ‘behind’ the picture is the who use the terms mortal mind, illusion.
Power-to-be-conscious that is not yet How do they describe that which is not, just
conscious of the reality. illusion? Why label it if it is nothing? If you
label it, you must have something in mind.
We call those who function in pictures
Do those answers satisfy you? Of course
and images “sleepwalkers,” occupied with
not. They never satisfied anyone.
their dream pictures. The only thing that is
‘behind’, ‘meta-’ is the dreamer. Our work Despite all the mentalizing and
is to awaken these dreamers or verbalizing, there was no rational
“sleepwalkers.” Some have to be awakened understanding and description to convey
the hard way, and some awaken easily; just the process that creates images and pictures.
a touch of the light of understanding and Then with few exceptions the images and
they awaken. pictures were identified with the dynamic
configurations of lightergy (light plus
Those who have studied doctrines and
energy), the reality, and then the reality was
philosophies of the past may have observed
denied along with the pictures. That is, the
that the process of abstracting from the
‘physical’ appearance was identified with
reality and manufacturing dream pictures
the reality then both were denied. As a
was understood, but that there was no
result, words were reified; meanings were
description of how it was done. This is
given to symbols which had nothing to
because the consciousness of the race as a
symbolize. That is like going out on a limb
whole had not evolved the language with
and sawing the limb off behind them. When
which to describe the process. It took our
one gives meaning to words he gets the
modern physicists to create the language. It
reaction to their own meaning. This is what
took Robert Oppenheimer and Einstein
we call “squirrel-caging.” The little squirrel
(bless them); it took Planck and Heisenberg
spins his cage and thinks he is getting
and a host of others to develop the
somewhere; but when he stops he is right
language. And let us not leave out Count
there where he started. This is the process of
Alfred Korzybski who developed and
reifying words, attributing meanings to
detailed the abstracting process.
symbols that have no meaning. Occultism
Guatama the Buddha saw it 500 years again; we call it squirrel-caging. And in
B.C. and called it Samsara. Down to this day their private world they think they are
the Buddhists are asking what is Samsara? doing something. But they haven’t
Darkness? Illusion? Nothing. It cannot be progressed at all. “Who by taking thought
A Description of the Psychic World 25
can add one cubit to his stature?” One must configuration appears to the senses. And
translate thought into action, and develop out of that state of objective identification—
the ability to function in order to progress. “this ‘body’ is me,” as a ‘thing’ or ‘object’—
Mentalizing and intellectualizing are of no values, meanings are attributed to the so-
value. called things or objects. For instance,
another person appears objectively to you.
I hope the answer to the question, “Why
What do you know about the closest ones in
do the teachings as given in our school have
your household? What do you know about
no occultism, no mysticism and no
what motivates them? Psychologically,
metaphysics?” has been clarified.
what do you know about them? You only
In our study of the psychic nature, we see them objectively, unless you are
must keep in mind that there is a Power-to- sensitive to the waves and frequency of the
be-conscious in the background. The state content of their psychic natures. You may
or stages in which the Power-to-be- know whether they are happy or depressed,
conscious becomes conscious can be whether they love you or don’t love you—if
described as a three story house. I am you are sensitive. If one sees only the
talking about the state, not the Power. The ‘physical’ form—the picture or image of
Power is self-evident, undeniable, that person that has been abstracted from
axiomatic. If one denies there is a Power-to- the dynamic process— much is hidden from
be-conscious, ask, “With what power do that objectified state.
you deny?” There must be a power before
There is a build-up of the qualities of
there can be a denial. That is fundamental in
feeling, desiring, loving, and thinking in the
our instruction.
unconscious state in which the Power-to-be-
As we proceed with the description of conscious is conscious. This build-up in the
the states in which the Power-to-be- state of the Power-to-be-conscious of the
conscious is conscious we come to the ensemble of the qualities of values creates
psychic world. Why? Because the Power an imposition upon the so-called body. It
awakens out of the instinctive state that we also creates an eclipse in the consciousness
label animal. When it awakens from the to the Power which is operating in the value
instinctive state, it becomes objectively giving. That build-up of conditions,
conscious; it becomes conscious of its qualities in the consciousness, is called the
‘body’. The animal uses a ‘body’ but is psyche. In the aggregate it is called the
unconscious of using a ‘body’. Study the psychic world, because it is collective. And
consciousness of the animal, not what you it is contagious, like mob psychology is
attribute to it. Similarly, man uses the contagious and affects those in its influence
Power-to-be-conscious in every thought, and causes them to do things they would
feeling, desire, and movement—in not do outside of its influence.
everything he does—but he is unconscious
We can narrow that mob psychology
of the Power.
down to two persons. In any situation the
There is a gradual expansion, influence of one is stronger than the other.
awakening from the unconscious state that That is, one is positive to the other who is
we call instinctive to objective self- negative. The negative one will
consciousness. That means to say that the unconsciously operate under the influence
Power-to-be-conscious awakens to the of the positive one. As you recall there have
consciousness of its own ‘body’ as that been books and lectures about how to
26 A Description of the Psychic World
influence people, how to put over the deal, When that happens, you have reversed the
how to get the name on the dotted line, etc. polarity. You have become the positive one
I have often been asked how to resist high and he becomes negative. Then you are free.
pressure salesmen who use mob Try it next time a high pressure salesman
psychology. There is a little trick that works starts his line; watch how it works. When he
without fail. Don’t close the door on the gets confused and looks to see what is
salesman. Let him in and listen to his wrong with his feet, you can say, “Good
routine, because he has a sales talk, with all day; it was nice to have seen you.”
of the psychological tricks that he has
Mob psychology can even be reduced to
memorized. Let him talk but don’t look at
one—ourselves. In our next lesson I will
him; just look at his feet. Don’t say a word,
describe the way in which we psychologize
but keep looking intently at his feet. Pretty
ourselves by building a private world.
soon, as he goes through his routine, he will
get mixed up, because you haven’t said you
don’t want his product, don’t need it, etc.,
and you are still looking at his feet, and he —Vitvan, taped lectures 1954
wonders if something is wrong with them. Marj Coffman, editor, 2004
A Description of the Psychic World 27
Lesson 5
The next subdivision of the psychic nature the end product of intellectualism that has
of a given man we are describing is the gotten out of the control of the more
development of the mental vehicle or cortical consciously responsible classes and into the
functions. This lesson should clarify the hands of barbarians and submental types who
rebellion witnessed in the race psyche against lack moral, ethical, or spiritual consciousness
intellectualism. That rebellion is signalized on of responsibility in the possession of such
the submental level and also on a high titanic and gigantic power.
intellectual level. On the submental level we
are confronted with vandalism against This is the aristotelian justification or
schools and churches. Teenagers are staging mental excuse for the rebellion among
diabolic raids of a very destructive nature intellectuals against intellectualism. (I am
upon school buildings and equipment— using the word science in this particular
which signalizes a rebellion against the lesson as synonymous with intellectualism.) I
emphasis upon intellectual development. do not agree with that so-called reason. In
There are groups on the planet that are fact, I think it is farfetched. I think it is
predominately submental, and both characteristic of the cortical functions to find
destructive and constructive forces in the race reasons and justifications for everything
psyche released between two great cycles under the sun, as well as under the moon; so I
operate more freely and immediately through go further back to a ‘higher’ level to find a
submental types than in any other grade of ‘reason’ for this rebellion against science and
development. intellectualism. I hope as we work our
consciousness into this subject that reason
However, this destructive force released will become more apparent.
against educational and religious
organizations is not confined to the Let us take up a little background before
submental level of development. We also find we get to the more specific functions of the
rebellion against intellectualism among some brain or of the intellect. The background is
higher developed intellectual persons. (1954) this: whether we study a given individual or
Aldous Huxley, Christopher Isherwood, humanity as a whole on the planet, we find
Gerald Hurd and others are some of the that there are stages, broad degrees in the
leaders. This rebellion against intellectualism unfolding process or in the Self-development
by certain ones in the educated class has been process. We might call it the creative process
justified or excused on the grounds that the emerging out of cosmos (cosmos, meaning
worship of ‘brains’, high intellectuality, order). We make three broad divisions of that
penetrating mental acumen, etc., has resulted process. The first we will label the instinctive
in the development of gigantic destructive phase of development. I referred to it as
forces, such as the atomic and hydrogen submental, where there is very little
bombs. These highly destructive forces have mentation or corticalization brought to bear
gotten out of the control of those who have a upon anything. Such a person operates by
consciousness of responsibility to their impulse motivated by instinct. The instinct is
country and to the humanity as a whole. It is based upon self-preservation, which in this
sense we must broaden to mean the
A Description of the Psychic World 29
preservation of the species, the tribe, etc. In During pre-aristotelian times these omens
the early phases of instinctive development became so persuasive and the domination of
there is no specific self-consciousness. In the superstition in talismans so prevalent that the
abstracting process the aborigine or tribal orderly process of development was being
man cannot abstract to the third order. That eclipsed, thwarted, sidetracked, etc. Therefore
is, he cannot develop or formulate a concept, it was necessary that aristotelian science—the
an idea of himself as separate from his tribe. intellect, the mentality—begin to take over
When he says “I” he means his tribe or his and dispel the domination of the instinctive
family. It is only when the expanding process phase. Hence, the instinctive forces in the
of consciousness develops the ability to psyche were gradually suppressed, repressed
abstract to the third order that tribal man can and held in abeyance until cortical
think of himself as separate from his tribe. development proceeded and the second stage
The point I am making now is that in the was entered—the stage of science, the
early phases of development of the instinctive development of the intellect, learning how to
nature and functions, there is no cortical, think. Today under intellectual domination in
intellectual, or mental differentiation or many cultures around the world, great
discrimination. Instinct functions emphasis is brought to bear on getting an
automatically, without rationalizing, without education. Children must go to school, get
a concept of for and against, pro- and con-. It their lessons, and have that diploma.
just operates willy-nilly, good or bad.
But with the development of the intellect,
As this process of development of the the instinctive forces are driven deeply into
instincts continues, whole peoples become the unconscious. As they become repressed
submerged under the temporary mood or they are no longer active in consciousness,
impulse of the moment and superstition but they are latent and will be released and
becomes uppermost. People live under the become active in consciousness later in the
domination of talismans, omens, etc., to course of Self-development when the
which they give either beneficial or ominous purificatory process is entered. So, one can,
value. Usually an event is seen as ominous and many do, live in the intellect, the mental
and they tremble with fear that something side of their natures to the point of total
dreadful is about to happen. Not too long ago eclipse of the hidden forces in the
in our past, people didn’t understand the ‘unconscious’.
eclipse of the sun or moon. Or if they were
working in the field and a crow flew over The instincts started with a simple reflex
they were terrified, etc. We find lots of that called recept. It takes bundles and bundles of
folk lore still obtaining in the race recepts to make one percept. Then bundles
consciousness today. I remember one time as upon bundles of percepts to make one
a boy I had to clean out the fireplace. I was concept. On the concept level, when one has
bringing a shovel into the house when mother an idea, no matter how the idea was gained,
saw me and flew at me shouting, “Get that whether one claims to be the originator or
shovel out of the house!” I took the shovel out whether he knows he picks up the wave-
and came back. I said, “Mother, what’s the frequency and formulates the idea
matter?” She said, “Oh, never bring a shovel (concretizes it) it requires bundles of ideas,
into the house. That means some member of called concepts, to make one intuitional
the family is going to die and we will have to awareness. Beyond intuitional awareness
use the shovel to dig a grave!” comes the knowing. “What is That, knowing
30 A Description of the Psychic World
which, we shall know everything else?” The builds concepts into his psychic
pronominal word That represents awareness consciousness until a frame of reference has
beyond intuition. But let us confine ourselves become established that constitutes his
to three stages: the instinctive phase of predilections, his determinations, his private
development, the intellectual phase, and the world in which he lives. This is all an
perceptive phase of Mind awareness. These abstracting process which develops from
are the three major stages of development. wave-frequencies registered. We do not
criticize this phase. It is the necessary second
The unawakened have a private world stage in the process of development. In this
that is not common; each one lives in his own stage, some get very opinionated and often go
private world and is eclipsed by his own so far as to try to impose their private world
instincts, feelings, desirings, lovings, and predilections, etc., upon everyone else. We
thinkings. But those who have reached the call them evangelical reformers who want to
third stage of development, those awakened go out and make the whole world conform to
from psychic influences and phenomenal their way of thinking, when it may be that
evaluations—have one common world. The very few have reached an approximate
world of Light does not lend itself to division; content of their own private worlds wherein
this awakened world is an ocean of they can agree or conform. This mental or
impersonalized, universalized love—never intellectual phase is symbolized in our Good
personalized. It is said of Light or of Love, “I Book as the Babel of tongues. Each one talks
am a jealous god, I will have no other image his own separate language, and he is so busy
or god before me; I want all of you or none of with his feelings, desirings, lovings, and
you.” It doesn’t make any difference whether thinkings that he can’t hear what another one
one broke into that world six thousand years is saying. He has a multiplicity of blind spots
ago, or six thousand B. C. or whether he where he can only see or hear that which he
broke into it yesterday; it is the same world wants to see or hear that conforms to the
and common to each of them. Time and space content of his own private world. He hears
have vanished and they are at one in one just enough to wait until the other fellow
common world; there is no separation, no stops in order to get a chance to get in and
division in that world. It is exceedingly describe his own private world. A sort of
difficult to understand one who has broken apotheosis becomes prevalent in this
into that world, because he is motivated by mentation phase—“Why so-and-so can speak
love— not for one or two or for one in an several languages!” “He is a fine
isolated private world—he just loves, because mathematician.” “He is a scientist; he is an
he lives in a flowing ocean of Love and Light. expert,” etc. Great value is given to the
development of cortical functioning.
Before one reaches that state, however, he
Intellectual pursuits become objectives as
must go through the second stage of
values in themselves. For instance, those
development, the development of a
writers who enjoy brilliant and clever
mentalized or cortical state. Those who have
intellectualism in the literary world have
developed a cortex or intellect sufficiently to
developed a language that is understood by
eclipse the instincts immediately begin to
each other, but those who have not developed
formulate a system or category of values
intellectual pursuits to the same extent cannot
about this, that and the other ‘thing’. Through
understand their language. So, they are
the process of abstracting from waves-
writing books to each other. At one time
frequencies registered upon his psyche one
when I was interested in psychological
A Description of the Psychic World 31
investigations, I learned their lingo and could brain of the higher, wider expansion of
read their books. This intellectualism is what function on the part of the Power-to-be-
is called modern education. I will not go into conscious. We graduate from intellectualism
the revolution taking place among educators to knowing without thinking. That clear
which is disrupting the public school system. perception characterizes what we call the new
It signalizes the breakdown of the whole cycle. So, we have reached the point where
emphasis upon intellectualism. we have to clear the decks, so to speak, of the
domination of the intellect. This is the real
In laying the foundation for this talk I told reason for the rebellion against
how, little by little, cortical development intellectualism, not that gigantic forces of
gradually took over the domination and destruction have gotten out of the control of
control of the instinctive forces. In our scientists or highly responsible persons and
occidental culture we label the submental into the hands of submental and destructive
instinctive phase of development pre- types. A higher level force is operating. A
aristotelian. Today we still see submental new stream or new bandpass of wave-
persons dominated by irrational, frequency is coming into the race psyche and
superstitious forces, etc. The development of we must adjust and open ourselves to it and
the intellectual phase we label aristotelian. become motivated by it.
Parenthetically, I want to eulogize Aristotle at
this point as the one in whom the intellectual In addition to the beneficial part played
and scientific forces became focused and by cortical development in destroying the
symbolized. If it had not been for the domination of the instinctive forces, the
influence of Aristotle and all that he development of the intellect created a strong
symbolizes, we would still be under the censorship that kept the instinctive forces
domination of irresponsible instincts, mostly hidden and deeply repressed in the psyche.
of an animalized nature. We would be The censor has to keep the instinctive forces
harassed and obsessed with all sorts of evil hidden and deeply repressed to allow the
influences that would take advantage of lack Real Self on its own Autonomous Field level
of discrimination between those instincts that to perfect and develop Self-awareness as an
are constructive and beneficial and those individualized Be-ing. That first phase of Self-
instincts that are diabolical. All praise and awareness we call objective. The term
honor and credit should be given to Aristotle objective Self-awareness is a synonym for the
as the one through whom a force was word man. In Sanskrit, the word for both
introduced that stemmed the tide of wild and mind and man is the same—manas. Man and
indiscriminate surrender to animalized mind are synonymous terms. So, objective
instincts. Man became a thinking animal, Self-awareness differentiated man from
instead of an animal, and he rose on the scale animal. This is characterized in different
immeasurably though the influence of ways—the animal knows but doesn’t know
Aristotle. that it knows—perception. Man knows and
knows that he knows—apperception. This
We have now reached a period in the knowing that he knows has built a reservoir
evolutionary stream where that aristotelian of knowledge to which a given man can
influence is a deterrent to higher level resort. Alfred Korzybski wrote a book called
development, which we speak of as clear Manhood of Humanity1 in which he brings out
perception, knowing without thinking. We that memory developed and retained in the
find representation in the structure of the psychic consciousness and man can resort to
32 A Description of the Psychic World
it; this the animal cannot do. The animal has and thrown out of the psyche. At that point
to go through the cycle of repeating instincts one becomes the same inside and out—the
without the ability to resort to a check or inside of the cup is just as bright and clean as
evaluation of them. The knowing, and we attempt to make the outside appearance.
knowing that you know, the objective Self- The censor’s job is to keep us thinking of
conscious state is that which characterizes ourselves as we would like to appear in the
man. Man could not have risen above the estimation of others. But the time comes when
instincts without the development of the we want to come clean in our own sight and
cortical processes. This development don’t care what anyone else thinks. We want
necessitated repression of the instincts in the the approval of our inner selves, and what the
psyche or unconscious and developed the other fellow thinks is his business, belongs to
faculty of censorship. That faculty of the his private world. Then we have no fear of
intellect to repress the instincts and hold them going to sleep at night and no fear of what we
in abeyance in the psyche, the ‘unconscious’, call passing out of the body. When each one
is called the censor. stands clean in the presence of his Higher
Self, his house becomes filled with Light. So,
Then came the modern psychiatrists and let your light shine; let your love pour forth.
psychologists learning to penetrate beyond No verbalisms, no preaching or predications
the censor and uncovering the hidden content could equal such a sermon. That is the
of the ‘unconscious’. When that hidden opening or beginning of the next higher phase
content of the psyche is allowed to come out of development that we call the Garden of
on the periphery, we become conscious of it Aarru.
and live through it again and get rid of it.
However, in many cases the premature —Vitvan, taped lectures 1954
release of the content of the unconscious or of Marj Coffman, editor, 2004
the psychic nature is detrimental. In many it
is better that the values belonging to the Reference
private world be retained. But the time comes
Korzybski, Alfred. Manhood of Humanity: The Science
when it is essential that the censor be broken and Art of Human Engineering. E.P. Dutton, New
down so that that which is buried come to the York, 1021; 2nd ed., Institute of General Semantics,
surface of consciousness and be experienced Distributors, 1950.
A Description of the Psychic World 33
Lesson 6
We have been studying the various levels The rule is this: that the outstanding
and divisions of the psychic world and of the mathematical physicists attain intellectual
psychic nature of man. We have learned that brilliancy as the highest point of achievement
the psychic nature of any given man is the in the development of the mental. Notice I
realm by which he is motivated, and I qualify used the term mental, because we sharply
that statement by saying—so long as he differentiate between Mind and the mental,
remains in the human or man state—because the manas. Mind functions in immediacy of
the time will come when he reaches the Knowing without thinking.
Second Crossing. He crosses over into a higher
level of functioning labeled the Mind, the Now thinking can come in to organize
lowest level of Light’s Regions. When one methods of description, that is, language of
makes that crossing he no longer functions in mathematics or ordinary everyday linguistics.
the psychic world or in the human world, When the mental is used as an instrument
even though he retains his physiological with which to organize and communicate that
organism and functions in it. His which has been perceived intuitionally in
consciousness no longer is limited, Mind, subtle Light-substance, then the intellect
circumscribed, and confined to life in the is one of the most powerful and valuable
senses. So with that one qualification, the instruments that we have. But, as a rule, the
statement will stand and will bear scrutiny, instrument sets itself up as the guide or leader
analysis, and investigation. The statement will or as the dominating influence in the life of the
even stand being challenged. The statement is personality; and when it does, things will
this: the psychic nature is that part or division sooner or later “go to pot.” It cannot carry on
of the whole man from which and by which he divorced from the supporting Power with
is motivated. which one is conscious, the supporting I AM.
It is difficult to realize this, because we are Last lesson I spoke of why there is a
under the domination of the censorship of the rebellion against the development of
cortical or mental influences. Back thousands intellectualism. Its cycle is closing. The cycle of
of years B. C., in Vedic times, in the Rig Veda intellectual development began with Aristotle
we read: “The truth is hidden by a golden lid; and closed with Albert Einstein, and a new
remove thou that lid.” The golden lid which age, a new influence, a new outpouring is
hides truth is the brilliancy of the intellect. coming into the consciousness of the race.
That was our last lesson—the brilliancy of the Therefore, intellectualism has served its
intellect and the worship of brains, intellectual purpose in the evolutionary process and is on
acumen. I correlated the intellect with science, its way out.
because the highest point of development of
Before I describe the methodology
the intellect, the brilliancy of the mental, is
whereby the golden lid is to be removed, let us
exemplified by our modern mathematical
backtrack for a moment to that which is
physicists.
prerequisite to even the effort to lift the golden
I am tempted to make some exceptions of lid. Keep in mind the referent for the term, the
those who have the intuitive faculty of Mind symbol, golden lid—the brilliancy of the
sufficiently developed to perceive, then use intellect, called higher manas—not emotional
the intellect to translate what is perceived. But thinking, lower manas. A purified psychic
that is so rare among the scientists that there is nature is prerequisite to the lifting of the
no use introducing it as an exception to the golden lid. Handle this word purified very
rule. carefully. I do not use that in a moral sense. I
use the term as a technician in a laboratory
Description of the Psychic World 35
would use when trying to purify a certain superior to its strength, so that we can not
element from all other substances. Thus, he is only rise above it and command it and free
trying to filter out impurities and get a pure yourself from its influence, but you can
element. The element in this case is the psychic expurgate it out of your psyche. Little by little
nature; that with which we feel, desire, love, we rise to where we can lift the golden lid, to
think, etc. I used to go through an elaborate where we can peek through the censor and
description to set up that we cannot feel, stand face to face with all of the hidden
desire, love or think with the neural system content of the psyche, the unconscious. We
and the physiological organism. I would bring must let the menagerie parade itself. It takes a
in conditions such as hypnotism, anesthetic, a lot of courage; that is why the censorship
projection or dissociation of the psyche from occurs. Those who lack the courage to face the
the physiological organism, and the menagerie must keep that censorship so that
physiological organism remained intact, the unknown content of the unconscious will
nothing disturbed. But that which feels, stay well hidden. We can jump in the “squirrel
desires, loves and thinks is no longer in cage” and spin it—create alibis, excuses,
synchronization and connection with the justifications and face-savings, so that we may
neurons of the brain and the physiological appear in our own estimation as we want to
organism as a whole. Therefore, one can only appear in the estimation of others, so that we
act with the ‘physical body’. can appear well in our own estimation. That is
the province or job of the censor. He belongs
However, there are many qualities or we to the golden lid—the brilliancy of the mental.
might say degrees or kinds of feelings, But our job is to work on the purification of
desirings, lovings, thinkings. Consider the the psyche—providing, of course, that one
qualities in loving: some loving cannot rise wants to tread the path to light and truth. If
much higher than the animal, biological urge; you don’t want to tread the path, all right—
and some loving can rise so high it is like a who cares? Take another ten thousand years,
marriage in heaven, it is so ineffable and take the slow way and be engulfed and
divine, the quality so pure. So, there are many submerged in the psyche until you get so
degrees in the way one can love or be loved. It surfeited that you can’t stand yourself any
is the same with our thinking; there is a vast more. When you reach that point, you get
range of qualities in the character or the kinds busy and expurgate that which you can’t
of gunas in our thoughts. That introduces the stand any more and begin to build in that
purification of the psychic nature. And the which gives joy and peace and light and
purification of the psychic nature is understanding.
prerequisite to lifting the golden lid. There is
no way to lift the golden lid, or even attempt Working on purification of the psyche is
it, until one has gone through the purification the epic of epics; it goes on within yourself
of the psychic nature. Don’t kid yourself, and no one knows anything about it unless
because you do not fool anyone else, you tell him. In a casual meeting the greeting
particularly those who have their eyes open. is usually, “How are you?” This implies,
“What is the state of your health, your heart,
Little by little one has to exercise every liver, etc.?” But we should say to each other,
influence that he can invoke or engender to “How is the state of your consciousness?”
cast out of the psyche all the lower demons “Are you getting the upper hand of those
and imps, earthbound influences, elemental million and one hangers-on, all those entities
spirits and nature forces—all the obsessional, that we have acquired in our stupidity and
erotic forces that are so prevalent in the race ignorance? “How are you getting on in the
psyche and so lauded today. The emphasis is fight?”—because it is a “stiff fight with a short
on sexual allure. There is a diabolical lure to it stick.” That is why we do not subscribe to any
that must be expurgated root and branch from “sweetness-and-light” stuff in our School.
the psychic nature. We must develop strength Sooner or later each one has to face the content
36 Description of the Psychic World
of his unconscious, the ensemble of his psychic When I was a little boy my father used to
nature. One has to whip it out or go down bring home little toys to us children. One that I
whipped, and he had better go down fighting remember very well was a monkey on a stick;
and try it again the next time round than to he would pull one string and the monkey
succumb and be overwhelmed and engulfed would run up the stick; pull another string
by it. and the monkey would run down the stick.
When the censorship cuts us off and we have
Now let us assume that one has cleared his no intimation of the forces by which we are
psyche of all unseemly ‘stuff’; that he no motivated, we are like a monkey on a stick:
longer has affinity, cannot be vibrated on any pull on the string and the monkey runs up;
level; that the “Prince of this world can come another string and the monkey runs down.
unto him” and find no response. Or let us We automatically repeat or appropriate to
assume he has clarified the psychic nature ourselves all the different rapports, influences,
sufficiently to enter the second phase of the contexts of wave-frequency situations, etc.
process, which means lifting the generative
forces, step by step through the five psychic Finally one develops the ability to take
lamps—the allegorical story of the Virgins those forces out of the psychic nature into the
who preserved oil in their lamps. One must pneumatic ovum; this we call the Cosmic Egg,
have oil in his lamps in order to function and a field highly charged and autonomous. Then
the more of it the better. Then he lifts the force, one becomes an Individual and has obeyed the
center by center until it breaks through the injunction, “Come ye therefore out from
crown. among them and be ye separate,” by
separating his forces from contacts, rapports,
Let us repeat two points being considered: race psyche, etc., and lifting those forces
the purification of the psychic nature and the through the psychic nature to the Real Self, the
lifting of one’s generative force to the crown I AM, the Power with which he is conscious.
center until it breaks through into seven Consciousness is developed on that higher
streams. It breaks through into what? It breaks level.
through into the surrounding pneumatic
ovum which will become an Autonomous When studying Gerald Massey (Ancient
Field. During the period of purifying the Egypt, The Light of the World, published in
psyche and lifting one’s generative forces to England, 1907) on Egyptian lore,
the crown center, there is no Autonomous hieroglyphical symbolism, methods of
Field. “Autonomous” Field means separate development, etc., I was intrigued by the
and independent of the psychic world and of recurrence of one word “Aarru.” It took me
the physical world, to use aristotelian some time to grasp the meaning of the term,
language. There is no Autonomous Field and his use of “The Garden of Aarru.” Then it
before the Second Crossing is made; no one is dawned that Gerald Massey referred not only
self-luminous, self-rolling, individualized. to the purified psyche, but to the use of the
Beneath his censorship one automatically purified psyche as the reflector of Light’s
repeats the influences pouring into him from Regions.
the race psyche, from his points of contacts in
the race—meaning other persons—his From time immemorial the symbol water
rapports, his affiliations, etc.. He automatically has been used to represent the psychic world
repeats influences he has registered; that is, he and the psychic nature, whether stormy or
cannot function autonomously. The calm. How placid, how utterly still a mountain
censorship cuts him off and he thinks that he lake must be to reflect the full orbed moon
thinks. He appropriates to himself what he without distortion. So, it is with the higher
feels, what he desires; and he gets vehement psychic nature. When the psyche can be
about my thoughts, my feelings, my desires, my brought to such quiescence and stillness that
this and that. not a ripple distorts the reflection, the higher
Description of the Psychic World 37
world, Light’s Regions, particularly Mind level strong at times in and around my head that I
can be reflected. This reflection of the higher could not hear with the physical ear, and those
world in the calm and purified psyche is called around me thought I had lost my hearing. I
the Garden of Aarru; it could be translated the never knew there was a methodology of
Garden of the Gods. It is a state of true repose, development based on these sound currents
where higher worlds can be contacted. until a few years ago. I thought I knew all the
methods of development going on
Long before one has made the Second everywhere, but here was a new method that
Crossing, by the purification of his psychic came out of India, as many of these do, based
nature and the lifting of his generative forces on the awakening of the sound currents and
to make contact with the higher levels, he can then concentrating upon them to the exclusion
reflect those higher levels, understand them of everything else. This system or method of
and communicate them. Through purification development will carry one on to the opening
and bringing the matter of the psychic nature of Light’s Regions; whether incarnate or
into a state of quiescence, he can contact discarnate and it becomes a world of conscious
visitors from the higher worlds. This is the communication on the level of the sound
only true and legitimate form of spiritualism currents.
that is endorsed and countenanced by the
Greater Ones who understand the whole A Master of Light who broke away form
evolutionary process. Contact can be made the dominating influence of priestcraft in the
with those higher Intelligences—not by Sikh religion, developed what is called the
pulling them down to our unpurified state, Radha Soami movement in the 1920’s and
but by purifying our state so that we make ‘30’s based on awakening the sound currents. I
contact with the higher Be-ings on their own was much intrigued because I learned that
levels. children can be taught to listen to these
currents, and it is easier for them than adults
Once in awhile I want to stand up and bear because their cortical censorship is not
testimony, whether it sounds personal or sufficiently developed to cut them off from
impersonal; I want to say, “I know, because I natural order methods of functioning in the
have experienced fully conscious and psychic nature and the higher worlds.
overwhelmingly tangible contacts with Higher
Intelligences. I have listened to their voices After having waded through yogi
talking to me and giving me direction.” In all posturing, AUM-chanting, back breathing, etc.
solemnity and honesty, as I stand on the How very simple! Long before I heard of this
platform of truth, I bear witness that this is system that had been developed in India, I had
true. But this is only true when there is worked out a methodology in myself to lift the
sufficient purification in the psychic nature so golden lid, to stop the mentalizing processes
that it can remain placid during that contact and get them still. When I went to bed at night
and association. If you are emotionally I wanted to go to sleep and not get to
disturbed they cannot contact you. They have mentalizing, because I realize that only two
to stand aside and wait until you have things could be accomplished—going round
developed the quietude, a sufficient degree of and round mentally, and getting up in the
stillness wherein the reflection can be morning exhausted. To circumvent this
accomplished. interference I began to direct my attention to
and focus on the sound currents. That stopped
The most outstanding experience in the the mentalizing immediately and I could go to
purification of the psychic nature is contact sleep. I was aristotelian enough to think I had
with what is called the sound currents. For to have physical rest and must sleep. Out of
years I had experienced high-pitched, silvery, this practice I discovered the methodology of
bell-like tones all blended together like a lifting the golden lid.
veritable Niagra of sounds. They would get so
38 Description of the Psychic World
I had read in Madame Blavatski’s Secret
Doctrine that one must bring the mind
(meaning the mental) into a state of quiescence
and listen to the “still small voice.” The more I
tried to quiet the mental, the more it would
spin, and I gave up. But today I know that you
can lift the golden lid; you can lift that
brilliancy of the intellect and throw it away,
for you don’t need it any more. How? Simply
listen to the sound currents and you bypass
the intellect and mentalizing; you have lifted
the golden lid and entered the silence where
there is nothing except the high level
frequencies of the I AM That I Am. Listening
to that will do everything else.
We will continue this subject of the Garden
of the Gods in our next lesson.
—Vitvan, taped lectures 1954
Marj Coffman, editor, 2004
Description of the Psychic World 39
Lesson 7
Before continuing with our description of he recovered normal sight. In various ways
the Garden of Aarru, I think it advisable to we can build up a referent for such intense
have a more comprehensive background of light. But when we proceed from that level to
understanding relative to the detailed study a yet higher level, called Supernal Light, we
of the gradual unfolding process. When we just stop talking. No verbalization can
use the terms unfolding process or approach it or create any conception of it.
unfoldment, we assume that all that is We label the Light which is so intense that
unfolded or can be unfolded must a priori we can form no conception of it the Light
have been infolded; we cannot unfold Mother, the Negative Substance. There are
something out of nothing. To carry the various labels for this substance in various
thought further, we have ample empirical languages. We sometimes have occasion to
evidence that Light is converted into energy, use the Sanskrit term, Aditi, and from the
energy into etheric substance, and etheric Kaballah we have borrowed the word Binah.
substance by gradual degrees into what is Mother is from the Latin root mater. We also
called, teloplasm, ectoplasm, protoplasm, use another term, Nature, meaning that which
cytoplasm, then into living matter. That gives birth. We equate these terms, Aditi,
would represent the infolding process. Binah, Mother, Matter, Nature, and we see
There is a higher level from which the this Negative Substance as that which gives
same infolding process can be described. It is birth on any level.
more recondite and difficult for us to describe In the infolding process as seen from a
and to understand. We can designate the higher level, the activity—i.e., activity of
illimitable and incomprehensible Oneness of Mother Substance which the mathematical
Light “God”—if we could adequately set up a physicists would call wave-frequency—is
referent of an incomprehensible and what we call consciousness. Let me repeat
illimitable sphere of Light (cosmos). This that. There is an activity in that which we
would expand our concept of Light. The only label Mother Substance, the waves and
referent I can think of in the ‘objective’ sense frequencies. And the wave-frequencies are
is sunlight. We could think of the most what we call consciousness. With the
brilliant sunlight, but that would be dim activation of the Mother (consciousness) by
referent for The Light. That which we label the Positive Power, consciousness descends
Diffused Light is enormously brighter than into more and more individualized or
the noonday sun, and then when we go to a differentiated states of Self-awareness. It is
still higher level, to what we call Diamond not a ‘descent’ of something called ‘spirit’ into
Light, that is still more difficult to describe. I something called matter. This is a pivotal
can think of the arc of an electric welding point in our teaching. It is a transformation
torch, from which one must shield his eyes. from undifferentiated consciousness to
And in our Christian Bible there is the gradual stages of differentiations, or we could
experience of Saul on the road to Damascus say, ‘descending’ states of Self-awareness on
when he encountered the Greater Be-ing the part of consciousness.
called the Christ. His Light was so intense
‘Behind’ the Mother Substance is an
that Saul’s sense of seeing was obliterated and
incomprehensible Power that activates that
he had to be led around for three days before
Mother Substance and creates the wave-
A Description of the Psychic World 41
frequencies which we call consciousness. That But now we are dealing with the Mother,
is, there is a Power that activates the Light because I want to show the infolding process
Mother. Before that activation, there were as looked at and understood from the level of
“worlds without form, and void and darkness consciousness. Consciousness, as the constant
upon the face of the deeps.” Then the thrill— interactivity of positive and negative,
wave-frequencies that run throughout the differentiates from the vastness of Light. It is
whole Light World. Consciousness is born by consciousness that is constantly motivated by
reason of a Power-to-be-conscious. That a Power-to-be. That incomprehensible Power-
Power cannot be except by way of to-be-conscious causes the activity in the
consciousness, any more than you or I could Mother Substance that we call consciousness,
be without consciousness. So it took the to become more and more differentiated from
Mother, Nature, to give birth to the Power so the undifferentiated.
that it could be conscious. I think that is Another thought must be added as we
wonderful! When you get conditioned in comprehend what is called the infolding
thinking of this there isn’t anywhere you can process. Relative to grades and degrees of
look but what you will see it. You don’t have states of consciousness below the level called
to go up into the stratosphere; look at a man, each state has its representation. Let us
beautiful rose. From atoms to galaxies and reverse the thought, because this is a little
everything between, there would be nothing recondite. One has to be conditioned in
to study if it were not for a positive and thinking in it for a long time before he
negative, and a fusion of that original becomes familiar with it and can function in
hydrogen atom, making all of the elements of it. Any configuration, any ‘thing’ or ‘object’—
the periodic table. So from the study of the any differentiation, any separateness in
atom to the study of the galaxy and appearance, between persons or individuals
everything in between, you cannot refer to or ‘things’—is a representation. That of which
one ‘thing’ that is without a positive and a we are conscious (other than being conscious
negative. This is not confined to the of the Power with which we are conscious)
‘objective’ or configurational level. It ranges and irrespective of the level or the vast range
through all the levels until we reach the of gradations of states—is a representation of
Mighty Godhead, and we find the Godhead is the state in which the Power-to-be is
born of the union of the Positive (Father) and becoming conscious in the Mother.
the Negative (Mother).
Let us dwell with that for a little. What are
“Worlds without form and void and you conscious of? Are you conscious of your
darkness upon the face of the deeps” is called ‘body’? Are you conscious of your feelings?
the Virgin; undifferentiated, unmoved. But Your desires? Your thinkings? We get very
when the Positive Power activates that Virgin conscious when we get to lovings! That of
Substance, there is born the Son of that which you are conscious is a representation of
union—the Only Begotten Son, who creates a state. It represents the state—of what? The
everything. “All power is given unto the Son; state in which the Power-to-be-conscious is
the Father of himself doeth nothing.” “All becoming conscious in the Mother. You might
Power is given unto the Son”—the Word. say, “It is I who am consciousness.” True, it is,
“The Word becomes flesh” when we have but what is the ultimate essence and
finished with the unfolding process. We quintessence and intrinsic nature of “you”? It
become conscious of being that Individual, is the infolded Light. No matter how much
that Son of the Father-Mother God. you dream dreams that you are separate from
42 A Description of the Psychic World
it, you are not. You never can be separate occurred, we can understand that that
from it. But whether you are dreaming tremendous fire-energy is deeply buried,
dreams that you are separate, or acknowledge infolded in the heart of the atom. I think of it
that you cannot be separate from the Light— with awe and trembling because man has not
whatever you are conscious of being has its yet reached the high level of consciousness of
representation. The representation is what is responsibility for the earth and its plants,
called creation or the dynamic creative animals, and man has discovered how to
evidence. Ex–out; sistere–to stand; to stand release that Fire.
out—this marvelous creation, existence, is all This is just a thumbnail sketch of the
representation of the state in which the Power infolding process before beginning to deal
is becoming conscious. with the unfolding process. There is also a
We do not have the opportunity, here, gradual process of unfoldment of that
and we would not exercise it if we did, to incomprehensible Light, Fire, or Substance
describe why the Power had to go through that has infolded. It is a ‘return’ to its source.
those gradual gradations in bringing out what We must single quote the word ‘return’ for
we might call the ‘lower’, ‘grosser’, or the reason that it is a recovering of its
‘coarser’ levels—the transformation of Light consciousness in the undifferentiated. Now
into energy, energy into etheric substance, we are approaching the why, that question I
etheric substance into teloplasm, ectoplasm, said we would were not going to attempt to
protoplasm, living matter. These gradually describe.
descending gradations are representative of “Darkness upon the face of the deeps and
increasing states of Self-awareness, through worlds without form and void” refers to the
the activity taking place on levels of lesser Virgin, the Light Mother. In the virgin state
and lesser differentiation of the Mother there is no consciousness. The gradations that
Substance. We could ask, “Why does it we call the infolding process, in ultimate
happen that way?” We will attempt the understanding, represent the process of
answer, but not just now; I am describing the becoming conscious; that is, the process of the
way it is perceived by all perceivers of the development of consciousness. But in the
Eternal Truth. In our School we never claim unfolding process back to the Oneness after
that such a vision is vouchsafed only to me or having developed consciousness there is full
to one or two. Every perceiver, everywhere, consciousness. Note this, because you may
anywhere, in all the ages of the past and all have read that “spirit decided to plunge into
the ages of the so-called future, will see the matter and struggle and work and fight
same ‘thing’, and it doesn’t belong to any of through matter to get back to spirit.” This sets
them. It belongs to all of them. It belongs to up a duality—something called spirit,
you, too. That gradual differentiation in something called matter. That something
consciousness is called the infolding process. called spirit plunged into matter and
For years I have tried to build up a struggled to get out of matter back to spirit—
referent for that Light—Fire—infolded into duality.
descending states of Self-awareness. When I But in this brief description of the
think of energy I try to visualize electricity. infolding process, there is no duality. It
What is electricity? It is energy infolded and required the two to become the One, the
released and made available. Since the “Only Begotten Son” of the union of the
process of fission and fusion in the atom, the Positive Power and the Negative Substance.
released energy like blinding fire has But before the One there wasn’t any
A Description of the Psychic World 43
consciousness of the Power and the Power worth while; he just puts up with it as a
had no consciousness of Itself, so we could temporary state which requires it.
not say duality. It takes the Power-to-be-
conscious in order to be conscious of duality.
Before the Son there was no consciousness,
STRUCTURAL DIFFERENTIAL
hence no duality. There may be a duality
Energy Wave-Frequencies
seemingly implied here—a positive and a
negative. This is not true, however, because
the Self cannot know Itself except as the Son.
The Nature of the Self is triune—three, yet
one. This Trinity or Highest Triad knows
Itself in, as, and through the Son. Before the Animal
Registry
Son there was no consciousness. If we call
Unity in the One (the Only Begotten Son) Self,
then Self is becoming conscious of Itself. The
process of infolding and the process of
unfolding consciousness is an operation in First Order
Itself, to Itself. And each state in which it Making images
appearing
becomes conscious is represented in Mother substantive
Substance. Isn’t that simple and plain and
wonderful? There is no duality at all in it.
Intrinsically or essentially we are Second Order
Naming;
participants in that process. “Ye are Gods,” in Assigning
disguise. The God is unfolding in you, is
becoming conscious. Notice the play on
words, but both are true. It is a matter of
identification. If you identify “you” with the Third Order
Classifying;
representation of your state, you are just Broad grouping
Differentiating
dreaming dreams. But if you identify “you”
with the Power that is becoming conscious
you are on the beam. And that “you” that is
Fourth Order
becoming conscious is a God—becoming Analyzing;
conscious of Himself. What a glorious thing Distinguishing
one of a kind
we have ahead of us! With what eager
anticipation we can look forward to more and
more God Self-consciousness! Every bit of Fifth Order
such consciousness that you gain, you can Synthesizing;
Grouping into
take with you and bring back again. What catagories
else is there that you can take with you and
bring back again? Can you take your house,
your goods and chattels, and your bank
account with you? You certainly can not. The
eternal verities should have the highest value.
In the long process of struggling ‘upward’
Your teacher doesn’t believe anything else is
in the Mother, we come to our present state,
44 A Description of the Psychic World
the abstracted private world. When we peek his fist and replied emphatically, “I have to
into the psychic world we find a lot of hold this within the accepted academic
hangovers from the instinctive, animalized circles. If I opened the door that you are
world that we have to fight out of our suggesting I would be repudiated.” He would
members with desperate effort to prevent have been called some flown-away,
them from dragging us back into that level. opportunist or a metaphysician—relative to
But it is the abstracted private world of which what they call physical. We call it
we are most conscious, and of which we must representation of a state. It is really funny; I
have an understanding. Before we study this get a good laugh out of it. How upside-down
in detail a little background is in order. As an they try to make it! But it is so simple. Just
aid, let us refer to Count Alfred Korzybski’s read your Christian Bible and you will see
Structural Differential as given in his book, what I am talking about. The spirit, the
Science and Sanity. (See preceding page) He reality, the God (that is a label for it), is All in
conceived and devised this diagram in his All—the infolding Light; the Power-to-be-
effort to establish the science of semantics at conscious infolded even in the atom. When I
the University of Chicago. Count Alfred contemplate “God is All in All” and the
labeled the parabolic figure at the top of the whole unfolding process, then it seems
Structural Differential the submicroscopic ridiculous to try to confine one’s perception
world. He could have just as appropriately on the level of academic circles in order to be
called it sub-electronic world (the quantum accepted. I believe we must learn to stand up
level). We have briefly described that and be non-accepted; to stand in the Light
submicroscopic world in this lesson: the non-accepted until we find another one that is
differentiation, ‘descent’, of Light into energy non-accepted, and another, and another. Then
and energy into living matter through one day we will become a people in this
gradual gradations. (Remember, we always understanding. That is what I am working for
mentally put ‘descent’ in single quotes and will continue to work for. I really don’t
because that is only how it looks from our know who are called non-accepted. We
standpoint, our present state.) That is the recognize our lesser brothers and our greater
transformation of consciousness from brothers in an overall consciousness of unity
undifferentiation to differentiation in order to and oneness on this planet, and transform the
become so differentiated it could be conscious planet itself into Light. So, I am going to walk
of itself. in the Light, unaccepted, if I walk alone. My
This gives us two levels of description. constant prayer is “Lead me from darkness
This description is represented by the into Light, and more Light and more Light.”
parabolic figure on the structural differential, But let us return to the Structural
and labeled submicroscopic world. But we are Differential and the parabolic figure which
looking at it from the objective state of represents the submicroscopic world, the
consciousness or the objective manifold of world of reality in all of its gradations of
values. When I studied with him I drew becoming conscious, and in all of its
Count Alfred’s attention to this in an unfolding stages of becoming a fully
interview. I said, “You are setting up a non- conscious Be-ing. We are motivated from that
aristotelian methodology. Why use the world of reality either in its infolding or its
aristotelian terms such as the submicroscopic unfolding phases of the process. You cannot
world, which is relative to the objective state register a stimulus except by reason of the
of consciousness?” He banged his desk with activity of that world. It is the stimuli
A Description of the Psychic World 45
received from that world from which we
abstract (draw from) and formulate pictures
and images; and those pictures or images
appear as ‘things’ and ‘objects’. Those are
only appearances, but we give value to the
phenomena (pictures and images) and build
up a private world separate from The World.
Perceivers of truth live in one common world.
Everyone else lives in his own private world,
and there are as many private worlds as there
are persons. In the private world
consciousness becomes identified with
‘things’ and ‘objects’ and out of that objective
identification the private world is developed.
We have not completed even the
description of the background, so we will
continue it in the next lesson.
—Vitvan, taped lectures 1954
Marj Coffman, editor, 2004
46 A Description of the Psychic World
Lesson 8
With this lesson we are going to more division the Light Mother, and the other
fully develop some of the points brought we call the World Mother. The Light
out in previous lessons. You will Mother is characterized by intense Light,
remember in our last lesson we described beyond our comprehension. The World
the entire process of the infolding phase, Mother is characterized by energy out of
before the unfolding arc of the great which mass, configurations, are formed as
cosmic cycle began. We described the representation of the state in which the
infolding process from two levels: one, the Power-to-be-conscious is becoming
conversion of Light into energy, energy conscious; a process of becoming
into etheric substance, etheric substance conscious of Be-ing.
into protoplasm, cytoplasm, and then So, to use aristotelian language, or
cellular structures which we call living- objectively speaking we could say the
matter. Then we stepped the description Power-to-be-conscious is deeply buried in
up to a higher level and began to describe Light-energy substance—Lightergy. We
the process on a higher level by setting coined the word Lightergy for Light-
forth a fundamental principle that energy substance, because we adopted a
characterizes the whole infolding coined word mattergy for energy-matter.
(involutionary) and unfolding These terms are representative of the two
(evolutionary) process. That principle is forms of substance in which there is a
this: There is intrinsic to every phase of Power-to-be-conscious, a Power deeply
the cosmic process, every differentiation, a buried and for a long, long time,
Power-to-be-conscious. That Power-to-be- obscured, but which Power motivates the
conscious is struggling out of the effort to become conscious. We could call
nescience, the unconscious, little by little, that effort to become conscious any ‘thing’
to be conscious; struggling out of darkness and every ‘thing’ that grows and
into Light (struggling out of develops—as mineral into plant, plant
unconsciousness into consciousness). But into the animal, and the animal into the
the particular point was that every state in man state. These are the various stages of
which the Power-to-be-conscious is becoming conscious on the part of a
conscious has its representation in nature. Power-to-be-conscious buried within the
Remember our referent for the word Mother Substance. The Mother gives
nature—the Mother Substance, that which birth, eventually, to the Be-ing, the
gives birth. resurrected and risen Christ or Power.
In this teaching, and for If this that we have described is
communication purposes, we divide the fundamentally true, why do we have so
Mother Substance, the negative pole of much trouble in recognizing it, in seeing
the cosmic process, into two divisions. In and functioning in it? For an answer we
itself it is not divided at all, we do the turn to the psychic nature and the
dividing and labeling. We call one processes going on in the psychological
A Description of the Psychic World 43
world, or what the experimental impressed, not only from childhood, but
psychologists call the unconscious. That for generations, the constant suggestion
which has been going on in the that we don’t have to put forth effort or
unconscious for a long, long time amounts work ourselves. This has registered upon
to a semantic blockage that prevents our us and upon the race psyche. We do not
seeing it and working on it. But there are realize that each of us has a job to do and
those who are beginning to see it and are that no one can do it for us. You cannot
working on the solution. eat and ingest the food to nourish the
For approximately 1800 years we have ‘body’ of another one; he has to eat the
been impressed and canalized with one food to nourish his own body.
powerful suggestion: You don’t have to So it is with ideas and understanding.
do anything except believe in Jesus, accept We have to work them out ourselves, or
that He was born and lived and died for nothing will be worked out, no matter
you. He shed his blood for you that you how long we procrastinate. We can take
might go free and do nothing except eons being prodded by the inherent,
believe. I am not ridiculing this type of intrinsic Power-to-be-conscious, in the
belief. I am merely pointing out what it unfolding process by putting off working.
has done to us. It has created the In addition to the psychological
unconscious suggestion in us, and in the blockage to our understanding, there is
world race psyche, that some way or also a mental semantic blockage. When
other by just accepting and believing we we awakened out of the dark night of the
can be elevated into some higher, beatific instincts we reached a point in our
world or realm of Light, power, and development called objective
glory. identification. This is the great semantic
It is my humble opinion that where blockage, not so much a psychological
this doctrine has not created mental blockage to our understanding.
imbeciles it has created rebellion—against Do you understand what we mean by
religion and against the church, where we objective identification? Let us turn again to
should have received instructions as to Count Alfred Korzybski’s Structural
how to “Tread the winepress alone,” how Differential and the parabolic figure at
to work out our own salvation, how to the top. As you recall, Count Alfred gave
intelligently cooperate with the natural the label sub-microscopic world to the
order unfolding process. But in our parabolic figure. We could take it to
ignorance, stupidity, and blindness, we represent Light-energy, Lightergy, the
have thwarted and gone against it, Light Mother, the World Mother, and
sometimes with the best of intentions. configurations of Lightergy. But Count
To answer the question—why is it so Alfred Korzybski, striving to keep
hard for us to see our problem? First, on semantics in the academic acceptance
the psychological level we have to level, called this parabolic figure the sub-
overcome the semantic blockage with microscopic world. For us to do this
which we have been so powerfully adequately, we not only would have to go
44 Lesson 8
into the molecular structures, we would other sense faculties. The wave-
have to go into the atomic structures and frequencies pouring in upon us that we
the constitution of atoms. If we went that register are too fast, the neural system
far, then we would be dealing with Light- breaks down, so to speak, and groups
energy vortices and we would be in the those impressions together, making what
energy world. This is the world from we call a gestalt, a whole—that is, it
which we register stimuli in the form of makes a picture.
wave-frequency. That which has The configuration from which the
developed our ability to see, hear, smell, stimuli are received is a highly dynamic
taste and touch is due to stimuli in the creation. It is composed of units of Light-
form of wave-frequencies of or in Light- energy, but we identify the picture
energy—the ‘body’ of the Mother, nature. formulated in our own consciousness with
For one who is first learning to think the dynamic process—energies,
this way I use one sense faculty to frequencies. We ‘see’ a static ‘thing’ or
illustrate all the faculties of the neural ‘object’. Then we live in an ‘objective
system and the way it works. How do you world’. We don’t see the dynamic process,
see? Is it not by the registry of light, which these configurations all around us
reflected light or radiant light? Is not light represent.
composed of photons in wave- Since we live in this ‘objective’ world,
frequencies? The different colors that we an objective creation, we question: What
see are merely the different wave lengths is ‘behind’ it? What is above it? What
and frequencies of that which we call created the ‘objective’ world? Where is the
light. If we did not register those wave- creator of it? Is it up in the skies or the
frequencies we would not see. Then, why stratosphere somewhere? “Why stand ye
do we not see the units of energy or light, gazing”? It is within you! The Power-to-
those electrons and protons? Because the be-conscious has arisen out of darkness
neural mechanism, the afferent-efferent into the ability to abstract (draw from) the
reflexes are not fast enough for us to Mother, Light-energy in its configurated
register the units of light or energy, those aspects. We abstract and make the
blinking points of light. Therefore, the pictures out of that which we abstract.
neural mechanism blends those wave- When we unconsciously identify those
frequencies together and makes a picture pictures (in consciousness) with the
of them. Look at an electric fan. Before it dynamic process, which this world
is turned on you see the blades of it. When represents in truth and in reality, then we
the blades of the fan spin, you do not see fall under objective identification. In that
the separate blades. You see that which state of objective identification we have a
appears to be a ‘solid’ disk. The neural colossal blockage to understanding the
impressions are not registered separately; process of unfolding—the essential Self
they are blended together. So it is with the
A Description of the Psychic World 45
struggling ‘up’ little by little to Self- garden from which a mythological Adam
awareness. and Eve were cast out. Then we would
Do not question that there is a Power- describe Adam as a generic term, the way
to-be-conscious. It is the most axiomatic we use the term man. Man is Adam, no
and self-evident factor with which we matter at what date in history he might
have to deal. One cannot be conscious of have lived or whether he ever lived at all.
anything unless a priori there is a Power- Eve is the negative ‘part’ of Adam, because
to-be-conscious. So, on two counts (and we are fifty-fifty male and fifty-fifty
more could be given)—one, psychological; female whether in a male or female
one, semantic—we have to surmount and ‘body’. We embody the original union
overcome the barrier or blockage to between the Positive Power and the
becoming aroused or awakened to the fact Negative Substance in the cosmic process.
that we have to work or cooperate with The true Self in each and everyone of us is
the long eonian process that is going on. androgynous. That is, we are fifty percent
We can intelligently cooperate with the negative and fifty percent positive. There
natural order process and become more is a rhythm that governs the palingenetic
quickly awakened to the peace, power, cycle as to which we exemplify in the
and glory of the real Self. ‘outer’ representation of the state in which
each is conscious.
Gradually we work through the
purification of the lower psychic But let us return to the idea of the
conditions, entities, influences, and those Garden. It is valuable for us to
‘things’ that we have taken on in our understand, for many in this country are
rapports and with those with whom we approaching or have reached a point
are in association. Finally we reach a more where it is possible to enter the Garden of
purified state that we call the higher Aarru.
psyche, also described as higher manas, On our Dynamic Septenary Cosmos
where we entertain original individualized chart, above the double line designated
opinions and concepts instead of the Second Crossing, we represent three
unconsciously reflecting the concepts and states of consciousness by the term Atma,
opinions of father, mother, friends, etc., as Buddhi, Manas; these are reflected in the
well as of the race psyche. states ‘below’ the line (in our mental
After the purification of the lower picture). Buddhi we call the Light of
psyche and when we have reached a high Intuition, and Manas means Mind (having
point in the higher psyche, we enter what no reference to the cortical processes).
the Egyptians call the Garden of Aarru. Between Manas and Buddhi there is what
We use the Egyptian term for a very we call the organ of communication that
specific reason. If we would say the we describe as the entrance into a state
Garden of the Gods, you might think of called Love.
the Red Rocks up in Colorado. Or if we By introducing this label love we are
would say the Garden of Eden, you might almost in the position of those scholars
think we are indulging in a mythological that King James 1st of England assembled
46 Lesson 8
to select manuscripts that were to be experience the release of the power,
incorporated in what we now know as the beauty, and loveliness, where we are
King James version of the Christian Bible. perpetually in love—I mean with
It was between 1604 and 1611 that they everything, not any specific ‘thing’. We
worked. There were many valuable don’t particularize it; we are just in love.
manuscripts to select from; therefore We are in love with life, with the light and
many were left out—the Book of the air and sunshine. We are just in love,
Maccabees was excluded, as were Books when that force is released in us. It is that
attributed to Moses and the works of force—impersonal, universal—that is the
Josephus, as well as many valuable Greek organ of communication between the
records. This is quite a story, but I do not mortals and the Immortals. When that
want to go into it now, because we are on force of love is released in the purified
the Garden idea. But during 1604 to 1611 psyche, the mortals can actually
in England the word love was in disrepute, communicate with the Immortals. It is the
and the scholars did not want to use it in Garden of the Gods (not the Red Rocks up
their work; so they substituted the word in Colorado), not the Garden of Eden or
charity. They would not use the word love somewhere over in Iran, Iraq, Pakistan, or
because so much odium was attached to near the Euphrates or Tigris, which is
it! Talk about semantic blockage and supposed to be the original Garden,
values given to a symbol! They missed the geographically speaking. We don’t place it
meaning that the word represents. Today anywhere on any map; we call it a state in
when the word love is mentioned, what which the Power-to-be-conscious arrives.
does one think of? What do the teenagers Each of us arrives at a state where great
think of? What do the movie and fiction love is released, for everything, for love of
writers stress? truth and Light, until one is in love with
Is it possible, today, to stand out of wisdom and the wisdom teachings. If
personal identification, let alone objective consciousness of the great many were
identification? That great Power and imbued and infused with that cosmic
influence that we label love—do not force of love, what a transformation it
identify it with yourself. Do not identify it would effect upon the whole world!
with any person or ‘thing’; just realize it is Suppose we had worked as hard at the job
like the radiance of the sun that shines. of unfoldment as we have to work to get a
There is a Central Sun of all Existences, million dollars! Then compare a million
the Power-to-be-conscious when it is dollars with such a state! This is not
awakened, in you and in me. It is impossible for us. We can do it if we get
characterized by a great influence called busy and work we can lift consciousness
love. This love is the organ of to the Garden of Aarru, the Garden of the
communication between the mortals and Gods, and as mortals we can
the Immortals. It is most wonderful to communicate with the blessed Immortals.
There are orders upon orders of Be-ings in
A Description of the Psychic World 47
Light’s Regions. Do not doubt that they through and love comes forth, is
are. The black bugs crawling on the immediately ahead of us. With just a little
ground, if they had consciousness, might work it can be achieved.
doubt that you are a man and can think; Some of us can testify that this is true,
we in our darkness and stupidity may that we have met, heard, and seen some
doubt the Gods, angels, and archangels, of those blessed Immortals. It is not
but those blessed Immortals are, and we uncommon; it is not vouchsafed to just
are potentially like them. Just a little more one or two. Many have reached that state
unfoldment and a little more climbing up where they communicate with those Great
out of the darkness and we shall reach Ones. We call that state the Garden—
that state of conscious Immortality. where the mortals and Immortals meet
So this Garden, the organ of and the mortal receives guidance, finds his
communication between the mortals and Teacher, finds his helpers, finds all needed
the Immortals, is a great goal. It is not assistance whereby he can tread the path
impossible; it is immediately before us. to higher states and realms.
There are higher levels of Be-ings in
—Vitvan, taped lectures 1954
Light’s Regions that are now beyond us, Marj Coffman, editor, 2004
but reaching the Garden, the state of
purification where light begins to break
48 Lesson 8
Lesson 9
In this lesson we are going to describe unconscious. The content of the unconscious
what we call the purificatory process—the is unknown, and we would say the
cleansing of all accumulated and acquired substances, entities, and qualities of the
substances, influences, entities, and what- psychic nature are unknown in that objective
have-you from the three lower vehicles in self-conscious state.
which we function. As you know, the three There is nothing static, so in due course,
lower vehicles are as follows: first, the as the process goes on, there is a gradual
configurational self; also called the physical recognition that there is something else or
body in aristotelian language; second, there other than the ‘objective’, ‘physical’ self. That
is a vehicle of more attenuated matter something other than ‘objective’ is called
interpenetrating and surrounding the so- ‘subjective’. One gradually becomes
called physical body. We call that the etheric conscious of ‘subjective’ influences, and little
body. And third, there is the psychic nature, by little a transference of consciousness to
composed of a finer, higher, more attenuated the ‘subjective’ takes place. One becomes
substance than the etheric. This substance more conscious of his sensitivities to subtle
also interpenetrates and surrounds the first influences than he is conscious of the
named vehicles in which we function. These functions of the senses (seeing, hearing,
are the three lower vehicles in which the smelling, tasting, and touching). Such a
True Self functions even though that True person is often called a sensitive or a psychic.
Self, before it is fully awakened and becomes But irrespective of what one might be called,
Self-conscious, may identify itself with one every one of us becomes more conscious and
or other or a combination of those lower sensitive to influences—how certain persons
three vehicles. affect us, how certain places affect us, how
Each and everyone of us, with no one goes to town on a shopping trip and
exception, awakens in a state of objective comes home all enervated, devitalized, tired,
identification, in which state we believe that and maybe with a gas attack, etc. This acute
configurational self, the ‘body’ is a ‘thing’, an consciousness of influences of places or
‘object’ as it appears to the senses. That persons indicates the awakening process to
awakening from the animal state is a long, the psychic self or the psychic nature.
long process. In the animal state there is no During this process of becoming
objective self-consciousness. The animal has conscious of the psychic nature we become
a ‘body’ but it doesn’t know that it has a more conscious of feelings, desirings,
‘body’. The awakening is from that rapports. We are conscious of the influences
unconscious, instinctive method of that bind us to certain ones and not to others.
functioning, to becoming objectively And during this period of awakening to the
conscious. In that objective state of functions of the psychic nature, one begins to
identification we say, like a child, “This look for something else that can explain what
(meaning the ‘body’) is me.” That exemplifies he is and his relation to the universe, the
the extreme state of what we call objective meaning of this ‘thing’ called life, etc. In
identification. When we emerge from the other words, one becomes an inquirer for the
animal state, we begin to be self-conscious, truth and he craves understanding. He
but in that state the psychic nature is begins to crave understanding more than he
unknown. That is why it is labeled the
A Description of the Psychic World 49
craves anything else; everything else through. Through our ignorance, and
becomes secondary to that need. sometimes stupidity and blindness to what
We all go through a period of browsing, life is all about, we lend ourselves to or even
reading, inquiring, “metaphysling.” We are cultivate forces, influences, entities, qualities,
in the quest, and sooner or later we will come and carry them around in our psychic nature.
upon a book, a person, a school that clicks— We do this until we contact a higher-level
and we think, “Now I have arrived. This is influence and enter upon the purificatory
what I have been looking for all the time!” If process.
the contact that is made is with one who With respect to the expurgating process
functions on a level higher than the psychic or the cleansing of the psychic nature, there
world or the World Mother (the genetrix), if is one passage in the scriptures that is
the contact is made with a true representative applicable to this point: “There is nothing
of higher regions than the psychic, a hidden but what will be revealed.” That
response, an awakening, a quickening will be means, “There is nothing in your
stirred. One begins to be quickened on a consciousness, or in your psychic nature, no
deeper level than the psychic nature, matter how deeply buried, but that it is going
although the quickening also extends into to be revealed. It is going to come out on the
the psychic nature. The moment that higher periphery of consciousness. There are two
wave-frequency of light influences extends ways in which each and everyone of us
into the psyche, then every ‘thing’ that does becomes extremely conscious of an influence,
not belong to the intrinsic self has to get out. according to the quality of that influence.
That is, a purificatory process begins to take When it is on the periphery of consciousness
place. you are conscious of it. This occurs as the
For a teacher who represents the real, quality enters the psyche, but when that
true Light, there develops a very delicate and substance of the psychic nature is deeply
sometimes dangerous situation when this buried, you are not conscious of it. When a
occurs, because the teacher is blamed for that deeply buried substance is coming out onto
which comes out in the student’s the periphery of the psyche, then once again
consciousness. When one makes contact with you become acutely conscious it. That is, it is
a higher frequency through a true teacher— active in your consciousness.
that influence extends into the psychic nature Many persons live in an intellectual,
and all accumulated qualities and entities are private world built out of codes they try to
cast out that cannot be utilized in the live up to. Or they may build a mental code
building of the new ‘body’, the Temple and manifold of values as a defense against
(which in Masonic lore is the temple not the world or outward conditions in order to
made by hands and without sound of protect themselves. The more negative and
hammer and saw, etc.). During the process sensitive a person may be, the greater effort
there is much ‘material’ that can be used in he will put forth to develop a mental shield
the building of the new vehicles of as a defense against others who might hurt
expression, but there is also a great deal of him, or against influences that might get into
‘material’ that has been accumulated in our the psyche. This mental and objective way of
ignorance and darkness that cannot be used functioning can be developed to such an
in the building of the “new man.” The extent that one becomes wholly unconscious
Apostle Paul said, “The old man must be put of the content of the psychic nature. The
off and the new man must be put on.” This is more the content of the psychic nature is
a literal and actual experience that we go unknown, hidden, the freer play it has in the
50 Lesson 9
psychic self. That is, the more that content of would like to cover. The first is this: not long
the psyche is ignored the freer become its after contact is made with an influence from
movements, activities and functions. It is Mind level or Light’s Regions, there takes
only when focus of attention is given to them place a separation or division in the psychic
that they begin to shrink away. They thrive nature. Through meditation, conscientious
in darkness, or the absence of the light of reading and study one’s light begins to shine,
understanding. The accumulated entities and and contact can be made with highly-
influences will be more active when one is developed intelligences, angels and Be-ings
mentally busy with the outer world affairs— that are invisible to the physical sense. They
with his job, house, ‘things’, activities, etc. are “watchers on the heights,” or guiding
There are those who cannot relax from angels who are alert to those who are
objective interests because they don’t want to sincerely working. They are of great
be caught alone with themselves. They are assistance, particularly if one will appeal to
always busy going, thinking, doing, etc. A them or ask for guidance. It is their dharma,
psychopathic and unconscious fear develops job, to serve and help develop and lift up out
that the content of the psychic nature will of darkness those struggling to become
come out if given an opportunity. In emancipated. No matter how the contact is
psychoanalyzing globetrotters we find that made with higher forces, it is not long before
they keep perpetually doing something or a separation takes place in the psychic
going somewhere because they don’t want to nature. Those qualities, entities, and
face the content of the psyche. They think it unexpurgated matter that cannot be utilized
will go away. But it does not go away. These in the building of the Temple, the new man,
accumulated and acquired conditions from will settle to the lower half of the psyche
childhood on must be brought out on the (from the midriff down). Above the midriff,
periphery of consciousness and expurgated. the psyche will become cleared. Or we could
There is another thought that I did not say that during the purificatory period the
include when speaking of the difficulties of upper half of the psychic nature becomes
the teacher when he meets a person whose clarified, purified, before the lower half of
psychic nature is more or less filled with the psychic nature is cleansed.
unseemly ‘things’, forces, influences, and In Egyptian lore, these two divisions
these conditions are precipitated onto the were symbolically called the north half and
periphery of consciousness and he becomes the south half. In Egypt when a new pharaoh
acutely aware of them. The teacher is always was enthroned or established as the
to blame. “I was all right before I went to that recognized representative of the Sun God, a
place or before I met that teacher. I didn’t feel symbolical ceremony took place, which has
any of these things, and I never had such been very puzzling to aristotelian
thoughts. That teacher put those things on Egyptologists. The first act of the new
me because I didn’t have them before. Now pharaoh was to wage an imitation battle
look at the state I am in!” etc. This is one of between the North and South Half of Egypt.
the precarious factors in presenting the truth This was sort of an ‘objective’ reminder of
or representing the Light, this everlasting the work that had to be done in the psychic
face-saving and blaming someone or nature. The old animal-man accumulations of
something, the thinking that “I couldn’t be to the past must be cleared out so that the new
blame.” man of Light and peace and love may be
There are two or three vital points in built. We do not die and go to heaven; we
describing this process of purification that I work out our heaven right here. If one passes
A Description of the Psychic World 51
out of the lower three vehicles—the psychic, you can feel them at various parts of your
etheric, and physiological organism—before body until they go down into your legs and
the “new man” has been built, he has to come your feet and out. You can feel the progress
back and pick up precisely where he left off. that you are making.
It is like a carpenter going to work in the When one goes to sleep at night he
building of a house. It comes quitting time at withdraws from the ‘body’ or infolds
night and he lays down his tools; he goes consciousness from the objective state; that
home and goes to sleep. The next morning he is, he withdraws consciousness from the
wakes up and goes back on the job right vehicles. Unless you go out of your body
where he left off, and this continues until the with your psyche, you can’t go to sleep; you
house is completed. And there is no truer stay awake. When you are all the way out in
analogy of the process. In each incarnation your psyche, you have taken your own
we unconsciously or consciously work on forces and the psychic centers in which your
our job. It is generally unconscious, but in forces operate with you.
our School we are consciously working on
There is nothing that can operate and
the job of building the “new man” or the
vibrate or influence the ‘body’ except those
Temple. If we don’t get our job done, we lay
forces for which you have affinity. “Affinity”
down our tools—our Will, our mental forces,
means that the etheric substance and the
and our aspirations, the bringing of our
texture of the cellular structures of the ‘body’
forces up from lower to higher levels, etc. We
have taken on the influences that have been
go to sleep, infold. Then we wake up, come
harbored or cultivated in the psychic nature.
back and take up our tools precisely where
It is those influences in the cellular and
we left off, and the job goes on until it is
molecular structures that have been acquired
done.
(and continue to hold in the absence of the
The average student, through his psyche) which constitute affinity. No
associations, studies, his attendance upon influence can bother you or harass you
class work such as this, his meditations and except that for which you still have affinity.
exercises, will quickly clear the north half. This is fundamental. “The prince of this
But how about the south half? The sincere world” can come unto one in whom there is
student is not satisfied to clean just the north no affinity and find nothing in him. If you
half. He knows there is a whole menagerie of are in the purificatory process, you will be
entities and accumulated influences that alerted if these influences, entities, and
must be expurgated and cleared out. rapports, harassing influences, etc., are
Methodologies have been worked out to do trying to use your ‘body’, as a sort of
this work. I am going to give you two instrument for secondhand expression while
methods of working. One is to fortify your you are away from it. You will come back to
thought and understanding. Build up a your body quickly in order to find out what
consciousness of force and power in the has been going on while you were absent.
north half of the psyche, which can be seen Upon awakening, if you are fast, you can
in psychic light as the clear blue of devotion catch those influences operating on you and
and the clear yellow of higher-level thinking. even know their source. (You have to be
These become assets in the battle. One can quick, because one comes back to his body
fortify himself with understanding and with consciousness very fast.) This shows that
mental determination and by the exercise of these influences do not belong to you,
will drive accumulated forces and entities because you have taken your own energies
out of his vehicles. If you are at all sensitive and forces out of your ‘body’ with your
52 Lesson 9
psyche. Such influences may be a projected strength, enough willpower, to drive them
from one that is still in the physical ‘body’, out. So you are in conflict—your force and
or it may be the visitation of an earthbound will against the tenacity and strength of these
soul that has been deprived of its ‘body’ or entities, influences, and forces you are trying
the evil influences from the lower regions, to expurgate, so a tremendous conflict is set
because there are many personifications of up. Be careful now and do not
these lower influences. None of these forces misunderstand me. Use your will and drive
or entities can harass or bother your physical them all out if you have enough strength. But
‘body’ if you have no affinity for the after you have exercised yourself to the limit
qualities which they represent. and you have made no impression upon
It is a long and hard struggle to get to those influences—they are still there
that state where there is no affinity left in harassing you and you hardly dare go to
your members. It requires a great deal of sleep because they are playing “ducks and
work to reach that state, relative to our drakes” in and out of your etheric-physical
general racial level of evolution. Those self the moment you are off guard. Or you
influences in the south half of the psyche are are like the person who is afraid to be alone
extremely strong and tenacious. Do not and has to go, go, go, and can’t relax and
underrate them; they have a tremendous face the content of the unconscious. (One
amount of power and they pay no attention who has a purified psyche is not afraid to be
to good intentions. Do not plead with them, alone, nor is he afraid of death—in the
i.e., “Please go away and leave me alone. In aristotelian sense. One whose psyche is filled
the name of the Christ, go away,” etc. They with all sorts of entities and unexpurgated
just laugh at you and pay no attention; they forces is afraid to die because he is out naked
just have a good time. You must think of the in no-man’s land and has no defense. His
strength that you can marshal as a weight in fear of death is commensurate with the
a scales. Then think of the strength that they content of the psychic nature in the
exercise as a weight in the other scales. There unpurified state.)
is nothing sweet and no good intentions But the point—marshal all the strength
about this. It is a matter of a degree of energy and Will you have and bring it to bear to
opposed against a degree of energy. If you drive out the entities in your physical-
have willpower enough to command the etheric-psychic nature. If you find that you
Light and direct it (heavy weight) you will can’t touch those influences, then I say—stop
outweigh the degree of strength represented the conflict. Stop using what little Will you
by the occupying obsessional entities. have and resort to this other method.
Here is what I have found. There are very Meditate long and earnestly upon Light and
few at our level of development who can Love. Just meditate and lift your forces—try
marshal that degree of will. If you have to feel Light and Love. Love is a cosmic force
enough willpower to direct your will to the that flows through us, and just as soon as we
south half, you will drive it all out. But I begin to lift ourselves above the animal level,
must confess that few have that degree of we are flooded with Light and Love. When
Will. There is another method that I think is a you begin to feel that influence of Light,
better one, because it seems to work almost Love and peace (and you think you have
magically. That method is this: do not some of it) then direct your thought or
establish a conflict—your will against attention throughout your organism and say
opposing forces that are going to hold on mentally, over and over, “Every atom, every
tenaciously. You cannot marshal enough molecule, every cell of my ‘body’, of my
A Description of the Psychic World 53
etheric self, of my psychic nature, is a radiant which is at the heart of every atom, of every
center of Light-Love.” When you deliberately unit of energy, of which the configuration is
meditate on Light and Love and then direct composed. So, the Light and Love you are
your thought, your attention throughout directing is eliciting, awakening, the intrinsic
your whole organism, you are not fighting. If nature of every atom, molecule, and cell. It is
a person stands between the light and the like when, in some kitchens, you turn on the
Light’s Regions to fight, the shadow fights light the cockroaches run to find a crack to
too. So, turn away from the shadow and face crawl into. This is precisely what happens.
Light and Love, directing it to every atom, When you turn the Light on, what are those
molecule and cell. entities going to do? They cannot stand the
Here is what takes place with this Light. Therefore they make it convenient to
method. Those entities must work in the creep away and find some other ‘house’ that
dark—that means, when you are not paying is hospitable to them, and there are many
attention to them; the more one ignores them such houses among those who have not yet
the more active they are. This direction of begun their purificatory work.
Light-Love and the awakening of Light-Love
54 Lesson 9
Lesson 10
In our study of the psychic world and of attention to that false attitude in order to
the psychic nature we are learning that the correct the terrible impression that has
content of the psychic nature operates as been inculcated in the race mind. We must
the most persuasive influence which do much more than just believe.
determines the character of our feelings, our Let us briefly review some of the
desirings, our human lovings and our previous lessons on the psychic nature. I
thinking. When we are feeling, desiring, hope you will be indulgent while I reiterate
loving, or thinking we appropriate those some of these points that are so important
activities to ourselves; we think we to clarity of understanding. According to
originate them. But we do not. We are the teaching as given in our School—the
motivated by the frequencies we register. way we perceive it—there is in this
The reason we think we are feeling, universe a positive and negative force.
desiring, loving, etc., is because There is no manifestation on any level
consciousness is in a state of identification without the union of a positive and
with objectivity. We are limited to the five negative, no matter what level you think
physical senses, or to sense life in of, and no matter what you think of. There
identification. However, there is a latitude must be a union of a positive with a
to our motivations. We can lift ourselves negative or there is no creative process.
from lower to higher levels or states in the
To aid mental understanding, we refer
process of becoming Self-aware. In each
to charts illustrating the mitotic process in
successively higher state that we achieve,
embryology. They show how the positive
we register the influences, vibrations, wave-
sperm enters the ovum and buries itself
frequencies pertaining to a higher level.
therein, exerting its influence upon that
That is, we tune into higher and higher
substance. Then that substance begins to
wave-frequencies.
go through what is called the mitotic
To do this requires work and effort; it is process. That is, it begins to show lines of
not handed to one on a platter. According force terminating at a spindle. At that
to this teaching, no good or perfect man, dividing line, called the spindle, there
whether he lived 1950 years ago or 19 eventuates a division. There are now two
million years ago, or at any other point in cells in place of one, then four in place of
time, can die and shed his blood for us and two, etc. Eventually an embryonic stage is
all we have to do is believe in him. How reached. From the embryonic stage,
simple, how wonderful it would be if we development goes on until there emerges
could accept that; we don’t have to do a the representation of the species to which
thing—just believe! How did you get from the positive and negative belong. This
the animal state to where you are now? It process is infinitely repeated from the
was a long hard “row to hoe” and we are submicroscopic world through the whole
still at it. According to our understanding, series of manifestations of the cosmic
no one died to get you here. We call process.
A Description of the Psychic World 55
I mention the submicroscopic world equality of the positive and negative on all
because all the electrons in the universe will levels, even the human, may be
not make an atom. All the protons in the reestablished.
universe will not make an atom. But let one To describe the negative we use the
proton and one electron come into balanced term magnetic field. When we describe the
synchronization, become married, and you Positive Power of the whole cosmic
have an atom, you have manifestation, you process, we speak of electric fields. If we
have creation—hydrogen. Then the union were mathematical physicists we might
occurs. Fusion builds up all the elements of write out a few formulas to use as a
the periodic table; fusion builds up language, but we are not sufficiently
molecules, colloids, cellular structures, and qualified to write and speak in that
organisms. Eventually fusion builds up, ad language. Therefore we use words when
infinitum, to the infinite! This is not we describe the magnetic field. On a
mysterious or occult. You are face to face cosmic scale we use the term Light—Light
with it wherever you look! How did we get beyond our imagination at our level. “Let
here? We carry the thought through to the there be Light.” That refers to or means
Godhead and find a positive and a negative. Mother. When we attempt to describe the
We acknowledge the positive and Positive Field we are silent, because we
negative and recognize that one cannot only know that it is by reason of the
create without the other. In ancient times Mother. It is beyond name, beyond form; it
the Orientals built up resentment against is unutterable.
women. The story goes that Gautama, the We can follow the developmental
Buddha, allowed both men (positive) and process by studying mitosis on a cosmic
women (negative) to study under him. But scale. Light is gradually, not precipitously,
the men couldn’t resist the women, so the but gradually, converted into energy. The
women had to be put out of his groups. The lowest level of the energy world is what
men couldn’t recognize their own natural we call electricity. If you have an
responses, and they blamed the women. opportunity, ask an electrical engineer
There is also an allegorical story about what electricity is. No doubt he will say, “I
Adam who was visited by the Lord after don’t now what electricity is, but I know
eating the fruit of the forbidden tree. Do what it will do. I know lots of things to do
you remember what Adam told the Lord? with it, but what it is, I don’t know.” I
“It was the woman, she tempted me!” bring this thought in to give the cortical
Resentment against woman was built up in functions or the objective brain something
the Orient until it was carried over into the to get hold of as a referent for the term
Hebrew Scriptures. Most of the doctrines energy. For a long, long time perceivers of
incorporated in the Christian religion were truth have known that Light is converted
taken from the Hebrew; therefore, they into energy. But in recent years this has
eliminated the feminine aspect and placed been empirically demonstrated. When a
emphasis upon God, the positive. That little gadget (called a solar cell) is placed in
attitude, so long established in the race the sunshine it will convert light into
consciousness, must be surrendered so that manifest electrical energy.
56 Lesson 10
Energy is gradually converted into what Now I have just said that the higher
is labeled etheric substance, and there are levels of the etheric substance are the
seven divisions of etheric substance. I mirror that reflects, and that which is
introduce etheric substance as part of the reflected is called psychic light, etc., and
process, before coming to psychic light, none of them are trustworthy, because
because etheric substance becomes a very few of us are pure enough, clean
reflector of the higher levels of Light and enough for the etheric substance in our
the Archetypal Forms in Light. configurational makeup to beautifully
Let me repeat this statement because it reflect Light’s worlds and Be-ings.
is something for your meditations. I like to Someday, as we continue our development
gather all I can on a point and then and studies, we are going to be free from
meditate on it. I have to perceive it before I animalized influences and qualities,
talk about a subject, or I might be repeating, personal desires, etc., and our emotional
parrot-like, on the mental level. Here is the and psychic consciousness will be so placid
statement again: I have to introduce the that it will be like the “glassy sea”
etheric world and the etheric substance as mentioned in our Good Book. Then the
part of the Mother Substance in the process higher levels can be reflected without
of converting light into energy and energy distortion.
into etheric substance, etc., to living matter. I do not believe that anyone in our
I will use the terms ‘higher’ and ‘finer’ present racial state of development has
because the ‘higher’ one goes in Mother reached that degree of purification to be
Substance, the ‘finer’ it becomes. The trustworthy. It is only those who have
highest divisions of etheric substance are come down from Light’s Regions, taken
like a brilliant mirror in which is reflected form and dwelt among us—the great
the ‘higher’ worlds, the higher Be-ings, world teachers—that can be trusted to
Ideas, etc., (Prototypes and Archetypes in reflect everything in the Father’s house, in
Mind substance). Mind or Mind substance Light’s Regions. It is that reflected light
means Light, the Light worlds, Light’s that we call the psychic world, psychic self,
Regions. the true personality. Therefore the person
It is the etheric division of Mother represents the total ensemble of his
Substance that becomes a mirror-like reflections. We label that the psychic
reflector. When Archetypal Forms or Ideas nature.
on Mind level are reflected, the substance As you recall, when we develop in
becomes what we call psychic light, psychic understanding and expand consciousness
world, psychic forms, appearances, etc. we become closer and closer to the heart of
That is why those reflected forms are not our very Be-ing. That is when the
trustworthy. The etheric substance will dichotomy takes place in the psyche.
reflect the imperfections of our own As we develop, the upper, north half,
perceiving and conceiving, until even the of the psyche is becoming more occupied
very Elect can be led astray by psychic by the influences of Light, but it takes a
appearances that are not true reflections. great force and power to clean out the
A Description of the Psychic World 57
lower, south half. For quite some time we down south. Do not underrate the “Man
are divided between reflecting the higher down South.” He is pretty powerful, and
levels and reflecting the lower. We are not to cope with him you have to call upon
through with the animal influences and we additional power from the “Man up
get involved until we become disgusted North.”
with ourselves. We call disgust the fool’s Now we have finished our review and
consolation, “What an idiot I have been! have come to the main point of our lesson,
How could I pull such a stunt!” Then we where the “Man up North” is reflecting the
turn, but we find that turning to the higher motivating forces of Light’s Regions. We
levels is not easy. We work and work label those forces faith, love, and
against those lower influences until we knowledge. These three, blended and
begin to reflect Light’s Regions and feel synthesized, equal wisdom.
good again. We finally get through
Do you know that you can know
vacillating, between the upswings and
without thinking, without squirrel-caging?
downswings, mugwomping, straddling the
Squirrel caging: mentalizing, mentalizing,
fence.
mentalizing; the more you mentalize the
The ancient Egyptians understood this less you know. When you go to bed at
division that takes place in the psyche, night and start mentalizing the only thing
calling it the north half and the south half. you accomplished is that when you wake
This teaching that we give in public today up you are tired and exhausted. “Who by
was most secret in that period. It was taking thought can add one little, tiny,
surrounded with all sorts of safeguards and microscopic speck (pardon the paraphrase)
solemn oaths never to reveal the initiatory to his stature?” True knowing does not
rites. Plato was initiated into the Eleusinian require thought.
mystery schools and the oath that he took
There is a motivating force released in
was so solemn that it has worked a
one at a certain state or stage of
hardship upon posterity, because he could
development—a force, a power of
not divulge what he knew. We must use
understanding. We call this force faith.
higher-level intuition to read behind his
When we reach that point in our respective
words, so to speak. The Great Ones should
evolution, development, we merit the
have given this teaching and realized that
inflow of an influence from the higher
the truth protects itself. No one can gain
levels, from Light’s Regions. Never doubt
understanding of truth and misuse it; the
that statement. There are real Great Be-
boomerang is so immediate and disastrous
ings, Angels, Archangels, Logoi, those who
that he will be thrown down into darkness
have formed a union with the Word,
and the way out is long and hard.
Logos; Logoi; many levels, many divisions,
In the Masonic Order there are cryptic many gradations in the Logoi. The quality
references to the “Man up North,” which of your desires, the quality of your
refers to the north half after the dichotomy emotions, the quality of your thinkings,
has taken place. In their ritual the appeal is etc., can become brighter and brighter until
to the “Man up North” in order to become you radiate and are surrounded by Light.
fortified against, shall we say, the old man
58 Lesson 10
And the watchers on the heights see it. Your unseen cannot detract us.” Chop us in
light attracts their attention and you attract pieces, throw us to the lions in the
them to yourself. All of your tears and all of arena. We are not deterred one iota from
your woe and all of your praying (or the love and faith and confidence that we
braying) amounts to nothing; that is only have the Light and truth.” I tell you that is
emotionalism. But if your light shines you something to walk out on, something to
elect yourself, and a ray is shot down into stand on! It is not something that you
your heart. Let us call the first ray faith. We accept, you know. You might say, “I
don’t know yet, but boy do we feel! We feel believe.” Do you? From this knowing
sure; we feel confident. I like to quote Paul eventuates intestinal fortitude (to express it
that “Heights and depths and principalities politely) to do what you have to do, and
and powers, things seen and doing that, you cannot be shaken one bit.
This is part of what takes place when that
ray called faith comes to one.
—Vitvan, taped lectures 1954
Marj Coffman, editor, 2005
A Description of the Psychic World 59
LESSON 11
I believe we are all conversant with substance, and consciousness are
the metamorphosing process, the synonymous terms.
background against and upon which all of On the Dynamic Septenary Cosmos
our studies rest—that Light, so intense chart (page 62) we indicate by a double
that it is unimaginable, gradually line the point at which the Light is too
metamorphoses into energy (also called brilliant to become a reflecting medium.
etheric substance), and energy into living Below that point it gradually becomes
matter; then the reversal, the dimmed enough so that it can reflect.
transfigurational process, takes place— Through the eons this process of the
from living matter, through degrees of transformation of Light into energy
fineness into Light. This whole process is occurs. We label these slower-vibrating
what we call growth, development, energy levels teloplasm, ectoplasm,
expansion of consciousness, etc. protoplasm, cytoplasm, and living matter.
As Light is gradually transformed into If we were mathematical physicists we
energy it becomes less and less brilliant would describe the waves-frequencies of
until finally it operates as a reflecting those forces in terms of bands, octaves,
medium, a reflector. To reverse the etc., and express them numerically. The
statement we can say, “When Light is at a entire range from living matter to the
certain degree of intensity it cannot extreme brilliancy of Light is all Mother
reflect. The brilliancy is too great; hence it Substance, the negative principle. Of
manifests itself and configurates the course, we are the ones who draw that
Idea—the Idea that Light has of Itself.” line; there is no such ‘line' in the
Now I need to introduce another term, metamorphosing process of Light into
consciousness. If we were going to set up a energy, etc. All that activity of the
referent in words we would say that Mother—the metamorphosing process
consciousness is a synonym for Light. and the return, transfigurational
Light, or consciousness, pertains to the process—whether related to the whole
negative aspect of the cosmic process, and called the cosmic process or related
which we call the Mother. Relative to to the individual—is motivated by a
development, everything above the Positive Power. Darkness represents
Second Crossing is aware as the Light “worlds without form and void and
Mother. The Mother or Negative Principle darkness upon the face of the deeps”;
is motivated, activated by a Positive nothing, a gigantic, unfathonable zero,
Principle. It is the activity of the Mother with no consciousness or knowing that it
Substance that we call consciousness. The is zero. The activity of the Mother
activating, fecundating Power of or in the Substance, fecundated by the Positive
Mother Substance creates the activity of Power, is what we call consciousness.
the substance. So, Light, the activity of Below the imaginary line where Light
A Description of the Psychic World 61
62 Lesson 11
becomes a reflecting medium—its required to untangle the mystery. What I
brilliancy is sufficiently dimmed—that have reference to is this: Just as soon as
degree in the transformation process of the Mother Substance becomes a
the Mother Substance, if clear enough, reflecting medium it not only reflects
reflects Light’s Regions and all the Light’s Regions, but when less clear, it
congeries of Be-ings therein. reflects just as readily the picture-making
Parenthetically speaking, the clearer quality of the human or mortal mind. You
the reflection (meaning more brilliant), will recall that I brought out this point
the ‘finer’ or ‘higher’ the substance of the about the mirror in our last lesson, but I
Mother, the more compact become the wish to carry it further now. That which is
units of the substance, whether units of reflected must be sharply differentiated
energy, units of Light, or whatever. The from the medium which reflects. But we
‘higher’, the more closely packed, the less do not do this with etheric or Mother
interstices (spaces, we would say Substance. Here comes what Lao Tze calls
objectively speaking). The more the “open door of bewilderment.” We, the
condensed, the ‘higher’ the density, the consciousness, occupy a vehicle
finer the substance. composed of Mother Substance—the
cellular structure of your brain, nervous
This is very important, because we
system, centers, your muscles and bones,
think the so-called objective world is
etc. That is the substance in which this
‘solid’, and that when we get away from
Power-to-be-conscious is functioning and
that ‘solid’ world into a ‘higher’ world it
is becoming conscious. When it becomes
is less solid. Just the opposite is true,
sufficiently conscious it includes the
because the density, the compactness of
thinking principle, mortal mind.
the units, is less on the lower levels than it
is on the ‘higher’. Therefore the ‘higher’ I try to avoid the use of the word mind
levels are more compact, more real, until relative to any level below Light’s
we use the word reality relative to the Regions, because ordinarily we say, “that
higher levels. The mental, objective way is in your mind,” when we mean mental
of thinking or evaluating is just the process, cortical function, the human
opposite. The scientists are now mind, etc. I like to reserve the word Mind
demonstrating how much more real the (in writing the word we use a capital M)
‘higher’ and ‘finer’ substance is. I hesitate to indicate the lowest level of Light’s
to use the word concrete to convey a Regions: “Let that Mind be in you which
meaning with which we are familiar, but was also in Christ Jesus our Lord”—the
if you will pardon the use of the word, Christ state of consciousness.
then I would say the ‘higher’ or ‘finer’ the The evolutionary process carries us
substance of the Mother becomes, the along until eventually we learn how to
more concrete, the more real it is. think. In the final analysis, what is
In this background description we thinking? It is picture making, image
come to a confusion in understanding making. For a long period we
where careful and subtle perception is communicated by ideographs. If we
A Description of the Psychic World 63
talked about a horse, we pictured a horse; But note, those feelings and desirings
when we wanted to talk about a house, would be impotent unless thought came
we made a picture of a house. That is the to their support and we began to think
way we developed language, made letters how to get those feelings and sensations
for our alphabet. We communicated with and desirings that give pleasure and how
each other with pictures and about our to avoid those that give us pain and
pictures. That whole process developed displeasure. It is not the thinking process
out of learning how to think (‘thinging’— alone, but its fortification and support by
image making), learning how to make sensations, feelings and desirings, and
pictures of them, learning how to more picture making and reflections.
communicate with each other about our Finally we are lost in a phantasmagoria of
pictures—language. A whole process of image making.
picture making is going on there. The We talk about treading the path,
Mother Substance in which we function finding the way back to Light, but it is out
reflects those pictures and images just as of this maze of picture making, fortified
readily as if it were clear enough to reflect by feeling and desiring that we try to find
Light’s Regions. our way—to what? First we must learn
We do not sharply differentiate that sharp differentiation between what is
which is reflected from the reflector. We reflected and the reflector. Then we must
do not turn to the reflector, the Mother orient feelings, desirings, and thinkings to
Substance. We are too busy looking at the the reality so that we reflect the real.
pictures of our own manufacturing. Then Begin to turn around—away from self-
what? We fall for them, the “open door of manufactured pictures and withdraw the
bewilderment.” Then we begin to give values and attention given to reflected
value; some pictures are bad, some images and pictures and sharply
pictures are good. I want this picture and differentiate between the reflector and the
I don’t want that picture. The thinking pictures. Learn how we manufacture
process begins with how to get those them, until through that understanding
pictures we think we want and how to we can turn to the reality.
avoid those pictures that we think we Turning around, conversion, getting
don’t want. Certainly that is an “open converted, means to face the Light instead
door of bewilderment.” of the pictures that we manufacture. Face
But that is not all. We feel and we the Light until we can reflect the Light
desire also. Feeling is built up out of and stand in the reality. It is as simple as
pleasure-pain, and desire comes on the that! It is elementary once one gets on to
heels of feeling. We desire those it. But what a bewildering thing it is to get
experiences—sensations—that give us on to! This is where I think bewilderment,
pleasure; and we desire to avoid those confusion, become confounded. I think
feelings, sensations, which produce you will agree with me when I get
discomfort, annoyance, suffering, etc. through with the description.
64 Lesson 11
The Light is dynamic for one reason— ovum. We don’t see anything except the
there is a motivating Power that causes activity of the Mother. That is all one
the activity, that dynamism. The only way experiences until the Power has worked
we can bring out the relationship of that its way through all that activity which it is
motivating Power and the Substance, is producing in the substance.
by analogy, until we can see it directly The Mother Substance in its reflecting
without the analogy. That is why we stage is called the genetrix, the dynamic
study the mitotic process in embryology, urge. It is a dynamic urge to emulate, to
cell division, etc. We know that the ovum simulate, to reflect the creating process in
evidences no activity until the sperm has Light’s Regions. When we experience that
penetrated the periphery of the ovum and creative dynamism it is the drive that we
buried itself therein. Immediately there is call sex. Why is it dynamic? Why is it such
activity. The chromosomes line up on the a drive? Because the basis of it is the
spindle and they dance—sort of like the activity in the Mother. Here is where
old Virginia reel. They cross over and confusion becomes confounded. That
mate, and the cells divide. What do we dynamic urge and drive is identified with
have? We have creating. That substance is the pictures instead of sharply
divine activity, fecundated, motivated by differentiating and knowing that the drive
the Positive Force. It is the Positive Force belongs to the Mother. We unconsciously
that buries itself. We use the term the manufacture the images and pictures and
Power-to-be-conscious—“The I Am which become concerned with the objects of
is my True Self is the Power with which I desire, concerned even with the
am conscious”—no matter what one is configuration that has been brought out
conscious of, whether pictures or reality— by the process, concerned with physical
it is still the Power. That Power buried in activities and needs. All of it is being
the Mother Substance struggles to emerge concerned with pictures that are in the
out of that substance, “out of darkness consciousness, created, and brought out.
into Light,” into Self-awareness.
When that dynamic creative urge is
But in emerging out of the Mother identified with the pictures with which
Substance the Power is confronted with we have identified ourselves, the image
something that confounds the confusion. making becomes confounded. It is a
That confusion is because of this confounded state or force that we have to
dynamism of the Mother Substance, even work against in order to lift the
when it becomes a reflecting medium. consciousness out of generation on the
When it becomes a reflector, we call it the reflecting level of the Mother to the pure,
genetrix. The dynamic urge is to create, to crystal clear, creative process in Light’s
produce, because it is constantly being Regions. Note how carefully I said that.
motivated by a hidden Power, the We don’t deny the creative process, we
positive influence upon it. But the sharply place it where it belongs in the
positive influence is not over or outside of Mother, by not identifying with our own
it; that influence is buried in it. Go back to
the analogy: the sperm buries itself in the
A Description of the Psychic World 65
image-making and picture making. Please But there is nothing to fight if you
get this point. understand it! Align yourself with the
I have opened the door to a whole Mother, create with her. Glory in the
book—how to venerate and honor and Mother and reach a veritable apotheosis
actually create the apotheosis of the of her creative dynamism and see how
activity of the Mother, without being clean and pure you will be, how free from
identified with feelings, sensations, any identification with yourself. Learn
desires, etc., and your pictures. You can how to use that identity with the Mother,
stand free and clear in the understanding the genetrix, to generate the Christ
of the dynamic creative process without consciousness in you. It is that force in
any identification with yourself as a you that will give birth to the babe in
person. You become emancipated. Light—the babe that is born of the
Mother. How could it be born without the
I said the thinking is confounded.
Mother Principle, the Mother Substance?
Read the history of religions to see how
It is beautiful when you understand the
confounded it is. Some perceivers and
process. But look at the conflict, the
creators of religions would say of that
anguish, the false sin! “My God, I
great Force—squelch it, kill it, stamp it
sinned!” “Father forgive me for sinning.”
out, become ascetic, celibate; deny it, get
The only sin that I understand or know
away from it. That dynamic creative urge
anything about is in identifying the Force
is the devil himself, and the only way to
with your pictures, your images, and your
get into heaven (I don’t think they would
person, instead of identifying it with the
say Light’s Regions) is to go out and wage
very Power that is in the Mother. The
war on the devil; he walks around in
Mother gives birth to higher and higher
human form. If we are men we withdraw
realizations until it gives birth to the very
from the women and form a monastery;
Power that is in her and becomes the
we look upon the women as carrying
Mother of God. It becomes the Mother of
around desire, and we have to fight that
God literally, actually, when that Power
devil in her. We can’t succumb to her
emerges. And who is that God? “Ye are
lures and fall back down. If we are
Gods,” hidden, buried in the Mother. “Ye
women we would separate ourselves
are Gods,” that finally emerge into Self-
from the men, and say the men are the
awareness and Self-consciousness.
devil, a wolf with a roving eye and we
have to avoid that devil they carry around Here is a point that will give you
with them. Is it not confounded? This has understanding of much that you
turned religions upside-down throughout experience. When the birth of the Logos
the past all over the world, because they (Word) takes place, the Son is born and
have not understood one thing: how to the Mother accompanies the Son in the
sharply differentiate the activity of the search for the understanding of the
Mother from any person. We became motivating force, the Positive Power.
identified with the pictures and images Then as the Son grows up, the Mother
that we created and projected. becomes the bride of the Son. Of course
this is metaphorically speaking. The
66 Lesson 11
Mother that gives birth to the Son and personality. They can say, “Without
becomes the bride of the Son. They the Light (that means, without God) I am
become united in full consciousness of nothing.” It is the activity of that Light,
each other—the Logos made flesh. the activity of God-consciousness in me
Let me approach this perception again, that makes me what I am today, and is
because I am talking about Egyptian going to make me what I am tomorrow
wisdom. I am talking about the wisdom and tomorrow and tomorrow. This is not
of your Christian Bible, the history of the serious and solemn. I think it is a lot of
Holy Trinity, all the hidden mysteries of fun! It is laughter and dancing as we
the secret work of the past. There are understand and grow and develop into it.
three phases to the Mother. She is the The experience is beautiful in the extreme.
virgin—“Worlds without form and void I hope you will pardon me for so
and darkness upon the face of the deeps.” much digression from our main point, but
The Positive Power buries itself within I wanted to talk about this until we had
her and she conceives. This is the the whole background and the referent
Immaculate Conception. Then, when the for that which we are talking about. Then
activity is finished and its work is done, we can understand it and how we contact
she gives birth. Yet, she is the actual the motivating forces.
Virgin Mother. Faith is a substance, the substance of
The Mother becomes the consort, the the Mother. It is not just a belief; it is a
bride of the Positive Power when force, a power, an influence—something
awakened and fully conscious—and this dynamic that comes into the
is what we have to do in our growth and consciousness. We can actually walk out
development, in the epitomization of all on it. It is a substance as ‘solid’ as
of this that we are describing about the ‘concrete’. When a greater Power is
positive-negative process. Man and released in us, we call it love.
woman represent the macrocosm, and the —Vitvan, taped lectures 1954
whole process becomes a condensed Marj Coffman, editor, 2005
replica in the microcosmic state, the
microcosmic self in what we call treading
the path, opening the consciousness,
understanding the process and
intelligently cooperating with it. So,
“Male and female created he them.” The
female personification—the Virgin, the
Mother, the Bride. The male
personification—the fecundating Power
and force and influence that emerges out
of that union. Then what? They become
co-creators, neither one identifying the
creative Power with pictures and images
A Description of the Psychic World 67
Lesson 12
It is alleged that the New Testament of lest any of you think we have forgotten
our Christian Bible is an allegory the motivating forces of Light’s Regions,
composed of numerous allegories. I read which we label, faith, love, knowledge
you this morning the one of those and wisdom, I want to assure you we are
allegories called the temptation. It is from going to come right back to the particular
the Gospel According to Matthew, point where we left off in the description
beginning with the 4th Chapter. of these motivating influences.
Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the In the objective sense, we are born of
wilderness to be tempted of the devil.
And when he had fasted forty days and
woman, and in the understanding of the
forty nights, he afterward hungered. wisdom teachings, every woman
And the tempter came and said unto him, represents a personification of the World
“If thou art the Son of God, command that
these stones become bread.” Mother. So long as one is bound to the
But he answered and said, “It is written wheel of necessity—to be reborn in earth
Man shall not live by bread alone, but by life—he is born of the Mother. Take it in
every word that proceedeth out of the mouth
of God.” the literal sense or take it in the figurative
Then the devil taketh him into the holy sense. That is on the ‘objective’ level. But,
city; and he set him on the pinnacle of the everyone that is bound to the wheel, that
temple,
And saith unto him, “If thou art the Son of is, incarnated and under the necessity to
God, cast thyself down; for it is written, be reincarnated, is also born in the race
He shall give his angels charge concerning psyche in which and with which his own
thee: and
On their hands they shall bear thee up, basic point of development can be
Lest haply thou dash thy foot against a furthered. That is, he is born into a race
stone.” psyche with which he has a karmic
Jesus said unto him, “Again it is written,
Thou shalt not make trial of the Lord thy affinity.
God.” In another sense, so long as one is
Again, the devil taketh him unto an
exceedingly high mountain, and showeth him under the necessity to be reborn in earth
all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of life, he is born into a world of
them; generation—of course, counting that there
And he said unto him, “All these things
will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and are two worlds: the world of generation
worship me.” and the world of regeneration.
Then saith Jesus unto him, “Get thee
hence, Satan, for it is written, Thou shalt In these various ways or contexts of
worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt situation or conditions in which one who
thou serve.” is still bound to the wheel returns to earth
Then the devil leaveth him; and behold,
angels came and ministered unto him. life it is for only one purpose—as the
(From the Greek New Testament) perceivers of the wisdom understand it.
He must further his development, his own
Bear with me while I “go around
individualizing process. He must not only
Robin Hood’s Barn” and back again to
further it, but in one cycle, and perhaps
describe to you what I perceive or
the last one under necessity to return—he
understand this allegory to represent. And
A Description of the Psychic World
will perfect his individualizing process. of saying that: he has to lift his forces out
That means—he will become conscious of the psychic nature. The psychic nature
that he is a Be-ing, indestructible, is a result of functioning in generation,
immortal, eternal. No matter what under the domination of the genetrix; or
mentalized reasons we develop, we could say, under the domination of the
respectively, for being born into earth life, World Mother. He has not yet emerged
those are only our private world reasons out of the ovum. He has not pipped the
and justifications. The perceivers of shell and shattered the periphery. He is
wisdom see only one reason for being still confined within the influences of
born or returning to earth life, and that generation. When one gradually lifts his
reason is as I have stated it: to further the forces out of the psychic nature, he lifts his
evolutionary process, the individualizing forces out of generation and lives in the
understanding or consciousness of Be-ing. state of Be-ing, which is analogous to
This means, a transition out of time into living in Light’s Regions.
eternity; and eternity meaning absence of Before we reach Light’s Regions, we
time, not endless time. have to go through a fierce struggle to
The state of Be-ing is a state of counteract the forces of generation. This is
eternity. The state of becoming not generally known or understood,
conscious of Be-ing, we call time. because we have not been trained from
Therefore, the referent for the word childhood in the natural order process,
time is the action of one’s which we should have been. Look at the
consciousness upon the eternality of terrific amount of doctrines, teachings,
his Be-ing—action, movement of his and psychic impressions we must
consciousness upon timelessness, counteract, surmount and overcome
eternity. Notice that I said absence of before we finally learn the pattern, the
time, not endless time. That action of reason for being, etc., and learn how to
becoming conscious, and each state in intelligently cooperate with it. It is a fierce
which one becomes conscious, has a struggle—almost as fierce a struggle as
representation. So that growth, counteracting the forces of generation
development, movement represents after we learn what it is all about and after
time. It is a movement upon we learn the natural order of the process.
timelessness—eternity. The referent Not having that instruction, not learning
for the word eternity is Be-ing, where from infancy how to cooperate with the
all past, all present, all future is now to process, we blunder. In our stupidity and
the consciousness of Be-ing. ignorance we grope blindly here and there
To reiterate, when one is under the and create all sorts of conditions until we
necessity to return to earth life, he is born finally work out of it. So as a general rule,
in generation. And he has to work we return to earth life born in generation.
through the forces and powers and So long as we have not worked
influences of generation, in order to reach through the desire for expression in
a state beyond generation. Another way generation, there is a certain amount of
70 Lesson 12
legitimacy in giving expression to the creates affinity for the obsessional forces,
motivating forces in generation, but but he adds to them and multiplies the
seldom do we find one who fulfills the demons of hell.
minimum requirements. Generally Let us set up a referent for the words
speaking, one goes beyond those hell and devil so that we will know what
requirements needful in the fulfillment of we are talking about when they are used
his basic point of development. If one did in our allegorical story of the temptation
not have the affinity he would be free in the wilderness. Naturalness of creative
from the wheel and would not be born in expression in generation creates no hell. If
generation, as Paul would say, “…under we turn to the animal world, we find no
the law of sin and death.” We would say over-accentuation of the forces of
under the motivating influences of generation. There may be exceptions
generation, meaning the same thing. We where animals have had contact with
would say born under the law of sin, human beings and become obsessed with
sense. (The referent for the word sin is devils created by humans. It is only in the
sense) If one’s basic state of development human realm where over-expressed forces
in the palingenetic cycle did not require of generation cause men to sink lower
being born in generation, then he would than the animals and become obsessed by
not be born at all. He would be freed from and succumb to those forces. The first
the wheel. But now to go back to the point to remember is that in the animal
point of the allegory I just read, by reason world we find no over-accentuation of the
of the fact that we are born in generation, forces of generation, therefore, no hell is
there is a certain amount of legitimate created by the animals. Hell is created by
expression in the fulfillment of and man.
compliance with the forces of generation.
In former lessons we described the
As a rule we find one of two things that
gradual metamorphosis of Light into
takes place: through egotism and pride
energy, energy into etheric substance and
one over-accentuates the generative forces
etheric substance into living matter. That
and becomes immersed in them beyond
section of Mother Substance labeled
his basic needs. Or he represses those
etheric is a reflector. When that same
forces or motivating urges. If one over-
substance is too brilliant to become a
expresses and cultivates sensations and
reflector it is symbolized by the sun.
feelings until they become obsessional, he
When it is less brilliant, or when it was
becomes a victim, as it were, to that which
dimmed, it becomes a reflector,
he has cultivated or to which he has lent
symbolized by the moon, because the
himself. To the degree that the forces of
moon shines only by reflected light.
generation are over-accentuated, to that
Parenthetically, the ancient perceivers
degree he forms an affinity with the
spoke of “the Sun behind the sun” which
demon world. He becomes filled with the
was their way of referring to Light’s
imps who inhabit the psyches of those
Regions beyond generation. Those who
who lend themselves to over-accentuation
could not understand—the objective
of the generative forces. He not only
identifiers—believed they were sun
A Description of the Psychic World 71
worshippers and worshipped the sun of the qualities of that which is reflected, but
our solar system, whereas, the ancient the etheric substance will partake of the
symbols of the sun and moon represented quality of that which it reflects. Etheric
two phases of World Mother substance. substance is plasmic—meaning form-
When the etheric substance becomes a molding, form-building. And when the
reflector, thought creates the form which etheric substance takes on the quality of
the substance will reflect. When those that which it reflects in its form-building
thought forms are sufficiently developed function, it builds it into living matter
they become occupied with the forces of until the flesh itself becomes molded by
the lower levels of the World Mother the quality of that which is reflected. That
substance, called elemental essence or is because the process is from etheric
nature’s formative forces. With no substance to the ectoplasm, cytoplasm,
exception, these forces are characterized and protoplasm into living matter. It will
by the quality of feelings and desires carry the quality right along with it into
which thought has fortified. Thought the molding, plasmic process. By the same
fortifies sensations, feelings, and desires token, when one’s consciousness turns to
only on the human level. That is why the Light’s Regions, the etheric substance
animal world cannot create hell, and that picks up that quality and builds it into the
is why the animal world is natural in living matter structure that we call the
compliance with the generative urges. configuration. We call it the
Man becomes unnatural by reason of his transfigurational process. “The Word
ability to think. There is another allegory becomes flesh,” the Logos becomes actual
in our Blessed Book which shows that flesh in the process.
thought is the serpent in the Garden of Let us review one particular point.
Eden that tempted the occupants and Man is endowed with thought, so he
caused them to be cast out of the Garden. thinks how to cultivate sensations that
And I could go further in describing that give him pleasure, he thinks how to
allegory and show that in the modern acquire and develop feelings that give him
rebellion against intellectualism. pleasure, and he thinks how to fulfill the
Instinctively man is trying to get back to motivating urges of desire so that his
the Garden and overthrow the serpent thought molds forms which etheric
that caused him to be kicked out. For a substance reflects. Those forms can
time there was worldwide rebellion become so accentuated, so well defined in
against schools and intellectualizing and etheric substance that they become
intellectualizers in general—the migratory. That is, they can leave the
“eggheads” they were called. ‘house’ in which they were originally
But the particular point just now in developed by over-accentuation of forces
this description is this. The etheric of generation beyond natural order
substance will reflect the form that is requirements in the evolutionary process.
presented to it. There is only one point Those elemental essences are not only
where using the illustration of a mirror reflected, but they move from one to
breaks down. The mirror will not take on another all around the world.
72 Lesson 12
The totality of these engendered and himself” and realized that those in Light’s
migrating forms we call the “demon Regions have abundance, freedom, joy
world” and that is our referent for the and peace, ‘while I am down here eating
world hell. One doesn’t die to go to hell. with the swine.’ So, one becomes filled
He has been creating hell ever since he with disgust with living in generation, and
was born in generation. We create hell as then he is filled with desperation to get
soon as we begin to think. We begin to out of hell. That desperateness is a terrific
form the affinities that we have for hell drive. If I were a Greek scholar and had
and we add to the entities component of been translating this allegory into English,
that which we call hell. Do you see how I would not have used the term, “the devil
we do it? Our etheric substance picks up led him.” I would have used the word
the quality of that which is reflected and goaded—the devil goaded him. He became
builds it into our living matter so fed up and desperate to get out of
configuration. That is, the quality becomes generation—goaded, driven by the devil.
component of our ‘body’. So, when we (The devil represents hell in the allegory)
thingify this ensemble that we call body The one way to get out is to get up higher,
or configuration, we thingify an ensemble to get out of the influences and affinities
of entities out of hell—believe it or not! of generation. As Aurobindo says in
There may be exceptions. If one has Savitri, “The shortcut to heaven is through
gone through the purificatory process and hell.” But in this narrative one does not lift
come out of the ‘cleaners’ he is well along his forces out of the psychic nature, one
on the path in the transfigurational does not go higher and higher in order to
process where there are none of these get to the heights, because there is not
entities built into what we call the body. sufficient incentive. He hasn’t enough of a
But so long as one continues under the referent for it. But he will get higher and
motivating influences of generation, under higher to get out of hell once he is driven
the “law of sin and death,” in his by desperation to get out of hell. So, the
sensations, feelings, desirings, and shortcut to heaven is through hell.
thinking, he is an ensemble of what he has Prodded by the devil he gets to heaven.
built in. He is an ensemble of the imps But he doesn’t have that desperation
and entities of hell. without the devil. He gets to an
exceedingly high point because the
Sooner or later (and this applies to
stronger the imps of hell, the higher he
everyone) each of us comes to a point in
has to go to get away from them.
the palingenetic cyclic process where we
become fed up with hell and can’t take it After reaching a high point and is free
any more. When one reaches this point, it and clear, he thinks he did it. He forgets
is signalized by two things which the ministrations of the angels that helped
motivate him. One is disgust with him, he forgets the motivating forces of
yielding, yielding, and cultivating the Light’s Regions that aided him. He forgets
forces of generation. This point is God and thinks he is the one who did it
comparable to the one in the allegory of all. So that is the reason the devil came to
the prodigal son, “…when he came to him again when he was on the heights.
A Description of the Psychic World 73
And the devil says to him, “Now you Let us come back to the allegory. “He
have power and dominion, you can do was led” by the higher motivating
everything. Just form the idea in Mind Influences, the Spirit, into the wilderness
and you can configurate it.” And then the where he fasted forty days and forty
devil said, “Bow down and worship me.” nights. In the wisdom teachings of the
Many reach that state and fall again and past and in the Christian Bible we find
have to do it all over again and again—for many references to the symbol forty. The
only one reason. He has not made the deluge, the journey in the wilderness out
complete surrender of his personality and of Egyptian bondage took forty years.
he attributes his accomplishments to There we have forty days and forty nights
himself, instead of recognizing the in this allegory. He was fasting for forty
motivating forces of Light’s Regions, days and forty nights. Four is the ancient
which is our referent for the word God. He symbol of man, a cube, representing four
does not recognize God as the source of levels. We could describe these levels by
his power and strength and ability to the symbols earth, malkuth, the most
reach the heights. He must surrender objective state; water, representing the
completely his egotism and pride before psychic nature; air, the mental state, and
he can say to the devil, “Get out of here. fire, the hidden power, the Power-to-be-
Get thee behind me, Satan.” He must conscious. We can also describe this man
surrender his pride, his egotism, and his state as ‘body’, that means the
personality. configuration, as etheric, because there is
If you will reread this allegory, I no configuration of living matter without
believe you will see what I have that transition process of Mother
described. But here is the important point Substance from etheric substance into
I want to make: It is through contact with living matter. Then that which is reflected
the ministering Helpers, the guiding Be- by etheric substance becomes a whole
ings, the Angels in Light’s Regions, world of its own. We do not reflect just
through whom we develop faith as a one sensation, one thought form, one
power, a substance, and the force by feeling, etc. There is a whole ensemble of
which we are motivated. When we reach sensations, feelings, desirings, and
that point we are filled with love, love thinkings that are reflected by etheric
that flows like a fountain to everyone and substance. The totality of that which is
everything. It is a motivating influence reflected, with its gunas or qualities to
from the heights that we call Light’s each sensation, feeling, desire, thought, is
Regions. This is our referent for the called the psychic nature. Collectively it is
word—love—agape. Out of the union of called the psychic world or race psyche.
faith and love comes understanding, The four divisions—‘physical’, etheric,
knowledge—that is not accumulated psychic nature, and the mental represent
information about things. It is knowing man. Ten is the number of completion.
without thinking, knowing in the heart, in Ten is composed of two symbols—the
the soul, knowing the heart the soul, of positive and negative. On each of four
everyone and everything. levels you can become aggressive or
74 Lesson 12
become negative—assert yourself or “He hungered”—he had some tag
become negative and take on influences— ends to expurgate, he still had affinities.
hence the forty. When you have reached Even though he reached the highest point
the point represented by ten you have the on four levels, still the devil came. But
power of equilibrium (called Kether in the when he crosses over to Mind he is free
Kabala). When the positive and negative and can tell the devil where to go. All four
have become balanced and united on four quarters (levels) of his Be-ing are now
levels, one has fasted in the wilderness oriented (turned) to Light’s Regions.
forty days and forty nights. Fasted—one
—Vitvan, taped lectures 1954
abstains. He does not become aggressive Marj Coffman, editor, 2005
nor does he take on negatively.
A Description of the Psychic World 75
Lesson 13
This lesson will be in the nature of a We have laid stress upon lifting the
rounding out or extending of several creative forces from ‘lower’ to ‘higher’
points that have been brought to the fore, centers in order to open consciousness
but were not fully or satisfactorily upon the highest level we can reach—the
developed. Our first point is this: All Mind, where the Real Man is developed.
along the way we have laid great stress We describe this as the individualizing
upon the raising of the creative forces process.
from what we erroneously call the ‘lower’ Our methodology of meditation is
centers to the ‘higher’ centers. I say based upon the raising of the forces from
“erroneously” because from a ‘higher’ ‘lower’ to ‘higher’ centers. If one sits in so-
state, which views the whole man called silence, vaguely drifting, mooning,
synthetically—that is, from the Mind level etc., he might be subject to all sorts of
looking at his psychic, etheric, and influences and frequencies of which he has
‘physical’ vehicles in which he, the Real no knowledge and he may not even know
Self, functions while incarnated, there are their quality. Wherever your forces are
no ‘higher’ or ‘lower’ centers. The centers resident—let us say in the heart center—
are just foci of force and power through you remain on that level if the forces are
which consciousness operates on different not lifted ‘above’ that center. So, true
levels. Relative to the state of objective meditation is not sitting supinely,
identification, the Real Man is called the negatively, quietly. It is a positive attitude
‘inner’ man. When he has cleared the of lifting the forces to a ‘higher’ level. It is
upper half of the vehicles in which he is by energy, by force, that we function on
functioning he is called the “man up any level. Without energy you couldn’t
north.” We have sometimes called him the function, couldn’t walk, couldn’t talk,
“man upstairs.” However, do not think couldn’t lift a finger, on the ‘lower’ levels,
‘outside’ of yourself, because there is no and so it is on ‘higher’ levels. If you would
such thing as ‘out’. That can be proved function on a ‘higher’ level, you must get
scientifically. So, always keep your your forces there. Also, if energy is
thought ‘internalized’ when these subjects exhausted on relatively ‘lower’ levels,
are treated. there will be none left to bring ‘up’ with
From that Real Man state there is no which to function in ‘higher’ centers.
high nor low, relative to the centers in In this methodology, which we call
which he functions. When freed from true meditation, there is another factor we
attachments and involvements in sense must consider that is connected with
life, he functions freely on any level, concentrating and lifting one’s forces. We
provided there is some occasion, ‘reason’, have made a mental construct.
or purpose for him to function on so- Philosophically speaking, we have
called ‘lower’ or ‘higher’ levels. described the structure of the cosmic
process. We began with Light, which is upon which the thought dwells, but
incomprehensible to us, because we have different from a mirror, it will partake of
no referent for the brilliancy of real Light. the quality of that upon which the thought
We begin with Light and describe how dwells. A student said to me, “How do
Light is converted into energy, energy into we get ‘higher’ realization, ‘higher’
etheric substance, etheric substance into understanding?” I replied, “Precisely the
protoplasm, cytoplasm and finally into way you got what you have now—by
living matter. Then the reversal or cultivating it.” Whatever you now have—
transfigurational process ‘back’ into Light and I don’t mean possessions,
takes place. None of us can do it in a necessarily—I mean the quality of your
hurry, but ultimately—in the ongoings of feelings, lovings, thinkings—that is what
the ongoings—each and every Real Man, you have. How did you get the way you
the ‘man up north’ will occupy a ‘body’ of are? You might observe persons. One
Light, when the transfigurational process might be in ‘hell’ and another might be in
has been completed. This is what we call ‘heaven’. Ask either of them, “How did
the structural part of the cosmic process in you get that way?” Well, whether that one
which each of us is integrated. Mentally can answer or not, you can answer the
we can treat the process as something question. You got that way by cultivating
‘outside’ of us, something that we observe it. You lived with it, you desired it, you
or can experiment with, as if it didn’t thought about it, you mentalized about it,
belong to us. But functionally, etc., and now you have it. The etheric
intrinsically, we are integrated in the substance reflected it and built it into the
cosmic process. We are part and parcel of very quality of your flesh.
the organism-as-a-whole, just as the Then how does one get Light, truth,
mineral and plant are integrated in the and understanding? By cultivating it. Just
earth (“earth” here used as a symbol). begin cultivating it and cultivating it and
As a mirror will reflect whatever is put keep on cultivating it. Little by little it is
before it, in a similar way the etheric reflected in the quality built into your
substance reflects whatever we bring etheric, ectoplasmic, protoplasmic, living
before it. With our thought fortifying our matter configuration. It is comparable to
sensations, feelings, desirings, and human the cliché that the kids pass around, “You
lovings we can form pictures and images pays your money and you takes your
for the etheric substance to reflect. Or we choice.” Or we can quote the Good Book,
can be very selective of what we allow our “Choose ye this day whom ye shall
minds to entertain. We can turn our serve.” The process is as simple as that.
thought to the world of Light, the world Just choose what you want to build and
of emancipated Be-ings. We can turn our keep cultivating it and cultivating it.
thought to ‘higher things’ and dwell with Here is a factor that we should tie into
those ‘higher things’ until we can form an our description. Light, energy, etheric
understanding, a realization, and the substance, living matter, we label “the
etheric substance will reflect that. Not Mother.” I am not going into that which
only will the etheric substance reflect that activates the Mother Substance. We have
78 Lesson 13
dwelt upon that phase so much. The less against her effort. So, it would seem that
brilliant division of the Mother Substance should learn to intelligently cooperate
we labeled the World Mother, the with the Mother and reduce interferences
genetrix. Then we come to the substance to the minimum. Bringing one’s forces
too brilliant to reflect and called it the from so-called ‘lower’ to ‘higher’ centers
Light Mother. Both are the same in the psychic nature and cooperating
substance, but characterized by different with the World Mother in giving birth to
bands, octaves, of waves-frequencies. the Be-ing on Mind level is a way of
Here is the “tie-in”. The World Mother describing the tie-in. It also describes how
(when it becomes a reflector) is constantly to cooperate with the Mother.
striving to give birth to the Power-to-be- Here is another consideration that ties
conscious by which the substance is in: How the mind of man, the intellect, the
motivated. (You will remember the ability to think becomes important in the
analogy of the ovum and the sperm in process of development, because it is
describing how the Positive Power thought that molds the forms occupied by
galvanized the substance of the ovum into the ‘lower’ levels of the Mother Substance,
terrific activity, until there emerges a Self- called the formative processes of nature.
conscious Be-ing, the Christos, the Sometimes we use the label elemental
Individualized Self that awakens to Itself essences, meaning the elements of the
on Mind level.) This is the Real Man or periodic table. Out of the fusion of
‘inner’ man that we mentioned awhile hydrogen atoms molecules are formed,
ago. It is the World Mother that is putting and out of successive fusion of the
forth such tremendous effort to give birth hydrogen atoms all other atoms of the
to the immortal, indestructible Self. Do periodic table are developed. Then out of
you think that you are doing it? That the aggregation, the configuration of the
would be extremely limited, if any of us atoms of the periodic table, molecules are
thought we could give birth to the Christ formed. Out of the aggregation and fusion
state in our respective selves. of the molecules cellular structures are
It is the lifting of the creative forces formed, etc. We will find that it is a
from ‘lower’ to ‘higher’ centers that ties in process of oneness, a process of synthesis,
with the tremendous effort of the Divine a process of unity out of diversity and
Mother to give birth to that which she is multiplicity that the many gradually
carrying in her ‘body’, in her substance. become One: one Light, one Power, one
Just use analogy, you mothers, who have Intelligence, one Individual.
struggled in travail to give birth, possibly Upon this One we could describe the
entered the very shadow of the valley of whole cosmic process. Think of the One
death to give birth. Carry this analogy, for becoming differentiated into seven rays,
it is valuable. which we could liken to the seven major
We can cooperate with the World bands of the spectrum. Or the One out of
Mother in giving birth to the Christ Child those seven rays described in terms of
or we can stupidly and blindly work qualities, the gunas, becomes the vast
multiplicity. And then the configuration of
A Description of the Psychic World 79
the qualities, together with the ray of the the formation of images and pictures as
substance, or the Mother Substance in the objective, which images and pictures
form of divisions according to the become ensouled with and by elemental
qualities, color, we can show how the One essences of the Mother Substance. You
becomes the multiplicity. This process of might ask, what bearing does this have on
diversity, multiplicity and then the us? It has great bearing, because the
reversal, the fusion, synthesis, unity configuration in which ‘higher’ man, the
confronts us daily. That is right before you Self, functions is merely a configuration of
every day. It is simple high school physics those thought forms filled with ‘lower’
and chemistry. No need to look for some (relatively speaking) substances, elemental
‘high’ or occult realm. The process is essences. When we endeavor to cooperate
going on around you all the time until we with the World Mother in giving birth to
reach that level of thought, in man. The the Christ Child in Mind, in Light
ability to think and the word man means substance, we are shocked to discover that
the same thing, manas/mind. And in some those thought forms, ensouled with
languages those two words are ‘lower’ essences, put up a desperate fight
synonymous. Manas means to think and it to prevent the lifting of our forces to
means man. In our work, we set up the ‘higher’ levels.
referent that when the awakening Pardon the exaggeration for the sake
consciousness (out of the Mother of emphasis, but it is like this. Supposing
Substance, out of the embryo) is that we have built a house. Lots of
sufficiently awakened it becomes animals (the thought forms ensouling the
objectively conscious. lower elemental essences) inhabit the
The first awakening of consciousness house. Psychiatrists call these forces “the
out of the unconscious, out of the Mother individualism of the instincts.” If these are
Substance, out of the nescience, we call not controlled by an iron hand they will
objective self-awareness. Objective self- go willy-nilly, in their own respective
awareness is a synonym for thought—the ways. Each instinct, when uncontrolled,
ability to think. Concurrently with the wants what it wants when it wants it,
awakening of consciousness in objective with no ability to rationalize the
identification comes the ability to think. In consequences or how the others are
the animal state consciousness is affected. It is this conflict in the psychic
awakening, but has not yet awakened to nature that creates psychological cases.
objective self-awareness. Consciousness in Years ago when I was in healing work, we
the animal state lives in a dream world, found that such cases could be healed by
similar to the dream world to which man harmonizing the warfare between the
reverts in sleep. Man lives in a world of instincts. That is, in the warfare between
‘things’ and ‘objects’ as objective to him, the animals incorporated in the
but to the animal there is no thingifying of configuration that we call the person,
dream pictures. some had to cast out and others
Our point is that with the development encouraged. One way or another harmony
of thought or the ability to think comes had to be established.
80 Lesson 13
The animals have their own These are facts with which we are
characteristics because we have built the confronted that show how one is
thought forms which they occupy. Don’t unconsciously motivated by these lower
forget that! In the animal state there are entities incorporated in what we call our
no conflicts, although confusion can be bodies.
induced. It is only when thought is born If one is to do intelligent work on
that we manufacture different thought conditions within his members, he must
forms with different qualities ensouled face himself and not take a flight from
with different essences of Mother reality, thinking he is living in a beautiful
Substance. There is only one time when world. The animals must be conquered
the war among the instincts incorporated and cast out. We must clean the ‘house’ in
in the configuration is blocked and that is which the Christ has to live.
when we try to take our substance, our
When we attempt to lift our forces, we
creative energy, away from them. Then
are at the same time lifting the creative
they stop their warfare with each other
energy away from our own creations. The
and gang up to prevent losing that which
animals and instincts have to fight for
sustains them. If they lose that creative
their very existence. They gang up and
energy upon which they thrive, they will
they will do everything to prevent one
shrivel up and die. So long as we continue
lifting his forces above their level and
to live in the ‘lower’ centers the
drawing their life-blood away from them.
generative, the solar, or even the heart
They will put everything in your way that
center—those animals are drawing energy
they can. Watch carefully as you attempt
into themselves and are fat, sassy, and
to lift your forces to ‘higher’ centers, and
strong. We are motivated by them
see how this person and that one will be
because we are unconscious of them. They
utilized as an instrument or channel.
are deeply buried in the psyche. In your
“Leave those things alone. Don’t fool with
private world—that means, your mental
those forces, just live naturally. Be a
world—you may think, “I am doing this, I
person among persons. Don’t be weird.
am doing that.” But you are motivated by
What will ‘they’ think of you? …” and on
appetites, by urges, by desires, by
and on. Blockages, blockages to prevent
compulsion influences.
you from pulling your forces up to a
These compulsion influences are higher level.
powerful. To illustrate how powerful, just
Although these conflicts are prevalent
read your newspapers and magazines,
in our members, I want to close on
watch the TV news if you need proof, and
another note. There is a world of darkness
if you can stand it. You will see pictures of
in conflict with a world of beauty, a world
good-looking boys who have been caught
of Light and Light’s Be-ings. We have this
in criminal acts. “Why did you kill that
world of Light back of us until there are
man? Why did you get out on a party just
enough, one by one, who can pull their
killing?”—the authorities are asking these
forces up to a ‘higher’ level and in that
questions of teenagers. “I just got an urge
unification of forces combat the darkness.
to kill, just suddenly had an impulse.”
A Description of the Psychic World 81
Then the whole demon world operating in enough but what we are going to lose
our race and on our planet is doomed. many battles, but we can keep on getting
In this transition period between two up on our feet, figuratively speaking, and
great cycles, what is motivating the great fighting the good fight—for Truth and
opposition against all ‘higher’ efforts— Light and the birth of the Christ in each of
educational, spiritual, etc.? What is behind us. At the same time we are fighting a
the great welfare programs throughout world fight of the Light against the forces
the whole world? I read with of evil and darkness.
consternation of the attack upon the great Now I challenge you so that you keep
historian Toynbee, in the recent Saturday alive, awake. Stay on your feet and work.
Review of Literature because he pointed out How are you going to help humanity? By
the doom, the futility, of what we call being one who is lifting himself up, and
Christianity and the coming in of a higher thereby having lifted up that much of
religion of Christ as differentiated from humanity. Don’t go out and try to save
the religion of the church. Why the attack? the world or save humanity until you have
Why the attack against intellectualism? saved yourself. Go to work on yourself,
Why the attack against the school because it is one, one, one, and when there
systems? Why the attack against are enough of us who will do that, we will
education? Why is there being formed in be a people. I have no use for those who
our blessed U.S.A. a fascist organization claim to be the saviors of humanity. They
with great power? They are attacking must first save themselves. The job is right
colleges and universities. Watch what is here, within you and within me. We are
being attacked (1954) and you will going to save ourselves. And when there
recognize the forces of darkness pitted are enough of us who do that we will
against the forces of Light. We are in a have enough strength to counteract the
world struggle in which each one darkness and we won’t lose so many
individually is involved in his fight to lift battles.
his forces above his instincts, above the —Vitvan, taped lectures 1954
animal level in his nature. Marj Coffman, editor, 2005
But let us put forth a good fight. We
may lose a dozen battles, but we are not
going to lose the war. None of us is strong
82 Lesson 13
Lesson 14
“The Differentiation of the Mother call it the cosmic process or the creative
Substance” is the title we will give to this process to differentiate from mentally
lesson, and since much of it will have to thinking of this great world, this
be explained by analogy, I will probably universe, as a static creation. It is a
use it a great deal of the way through the creative process that goes on and on. It is
lesson. We have to resort to analogy dynamic, not static. Not one of us is the
because there are certain ‘spiritual’ same from day to day. We may not
experiences that we have, or become notice this unless we take a period of ten
conscious of, that cannot be talked about or twenty years to observe the creative
because they are on a non-verbal level. We process that is going on. Practice a little
know. Intuitive awareness awakens and on yourself and you will see that nothing
we ‘see’ in the Light of Mind (direct stands still. Let one come into this
cognition of reality), not in the light of the teaching, remain in it just a year or two
intellect, the cortical functions. In the and then take a vacation from it. Go back
Light of Mind we see clearly but much to your old cronies and buddies, old
that is experienced in Mind cannot be flames, and you’ll ask, ”Was I ever like
described directly. Those of you who have that?” Yes, you were, part and parcel of
had similar experiences know what true it. But the context is continuously
religion means. I do not believe that changing. There is only one constant and
anyone will know the meaning of true that is change.
religion until he has had those experiences
in Mind, in Light. (I use the word Light as We can narrow that down. If a given
a synonym for the word Mind) person gets hold of an idea, really gets
hold of it—or it gets hold of him (that is
Lesson after lesson—and almost year the way it works in me—the idea gets
after year—we have been describing in hold of me), then he is motivated with its
detail (and relative to our limited energy, with its force, with its light. So, if
understanding) how and why Light is an idea gets hold of you, you are not the
metamorphosed into energy and energy same any more; a change has taken place.
metamorphosed into living matter. And It is that constant change, that dynamic
by the way, I never use the word matter process, that we divide into three
but that in my consciousness I think of divisions—Light, energy, living matter.
Mater, Mother. I would like each of you When we reverse the order, we call it the
to do the same. evolutionary process. I don’t care for that
word, evolution, yet I employ it. A phase
Light, energy, living matter are three of this evolutionary process, with respect
phases, aspects, or generalized divisions to states of consciousness and
into which we divide the creative process configurational levels, is signalized or
for descriptive purposes. Sometimes we characterized in what we call the man
state, which describes a phase of the
Power-to-be-conscious becoming aware past, are all rolled up and condensed in
of Itself. Man, as such, never evolved that brief period.
from an animal. When we use the word
evolution in our School we use it as a So it is—and I accept it—that one can
symbol to describe the creative process in go to the mountaintop (an analogy) and
its multiplicity of ascending levels or be transfigured into the “body of Light.”
states of Self-awareness. The great The one who can do that has done it
incomprehensible (to us at our present many, many times. But we mortals go
state of development) Power-to-be- through the transfigurational process
conscious became conscious of itself in a gradually, slowly. As we awaken to
greater, wider, broader, higher state. It higher and broader degrees of Self-
didn’t evolve out of an animal. When we awareness, we are converting living
have arrived at the state that we label matter into energy and energy into Light,
man, characterized by objective the three phases of the Mother.
identification, we are merely on the There is one time when I feel self-
threshold of Self-consciousness, because congratulatory and that is when I
objective self-consciousness is the intelligently cooperate with the process,
beginning of Self-consciousness, the Self- instead of ignorantly interfering with it,
consciousness. We are just beginning to so that the steps have to be painfully
be Self-aware. retraced to get back in line again. To get
Now go back to that point: the three in line, cooperate with the process, is
broad generalized divisions of the what each of us can do, when we get
Mother—Light, energy, living matter. sufficiently fed up with other ‘things’,
Now reverse it. The configuration of doing everything else first and leaving
living matter is like a house in which the this until the last. It is inevitable,
Power-to-be-conscious dwells, and as however, that sooner or later we line up
that Power-to-be-conscious becomes with the process. We have a motto in our
more and more Self-aware, there is a School: “Sortem Suam Quisque Amet.”
transfigurational process that goes on in It means “Love your destiny.” I believe
the material, in the mater, in the matter we are predestined to cooperate with the
of the house. We call that transformation, creative process, and that becomes the
that remetamorphosis, the destiny we are supposed to love. You
transfigurational process. No one can come in line and cooperate—why?
undergo that transfigurational process in Because you love your destiny? Not for
the twinkling of an eye, except the one one little bit! You do it to get out of hell!
who has gone through it many times, We all do it because we are fed up and
that is, over and over until he can do it can’t take inharmony anymore. That is
with facility. We have an analogy in the why Aurobindo said, “The shortcut to
nine-month’s period in the configuration heaven is through hell.”
of the embryo, the fetus. Millions and To illustrate what is meant by the
millions of years, ages and ages of the differentiating process of the Great
84 Lesson 14
Mother, whose substance we talk about the differentiated substance the window.
as Light, energy, living matter, imagine a One sun shines through it all and is not
large circle. Within that circle imagine colored, nor is it divided or split.
seven smaller circles; then within one of However, there is some ‘thing’ ‘behind’
the smaller circles picture seven more all this differentiation. According to
circles. There is something other than this where one is born, we find labels such as
differentiating process of the Great “Allah,” “Purusha,” “Fields,” “God.” In
Mother that is causative. our School we use the label Power-to-be-
conscious. Why do we use this label
We label it the Power-to-be-conscious, instead of the word “God”?
the Positive. Let us give an analogical
description: one sun, like the sun of our When I was growing up—in
solar system, shines through a understanding—I used to indulge in
multiplicity of windows. Let us take one discussions that sometimes became
hemisphere of the earth, or if that is too arguments. I do not do this any more,
large to imagine, take one city, like Los because it is only the young in
Angeles. Think of all the windows in that understanding who discuss or argue. But
city. One sun can shine through a I would get into these discussions and I
multiplicity of windows without was challenged, “What do you mean by
changing its Oneness one iota. That is the word God?” Try this question on
easy, is it not? The reason I am using this yourself or someone in your home, if you
analogy is because I have had students want to see how one flounders for an
ask, “How is it that God is all in all, God answer. Synonyms are employed.
can be in the plant, the flowers, in the “Intelligence, Consciousness, Power,” “In
animal, in man, and still remain One?” the beginning was God,” “God is all in
“How can he break himself up into a vast all,” and on and on. When he gets
multiplicity?” But you see he doesn’t through employing all these synonyms,
break himself up. The sun shines through just point that he has just substituted one
many windows and is still one sun. word for another word, but you haven’t
told me yet what all of these words
Let us carry the analogy one step represent, mean. One is not only in a
further and think of the seven major difficult position to describe what he
colors of the spectrum, and the infinite means by the word God but he cannot
number of shades of each color that a establish meaning by a logical thinking
glassmaker might use. The one sun shines process. Ultimately you have to use a
through an infinite range of colored synonym for the word God that can be
window glass. But the source is not described. Therefore we employ the term
changed or colored by any of them. We Power-to-be-conscious. When we use the
can call the state of consciousness the term Power-to-be-conscious, we know
color and the differentiated substance the
there must be a Power-to-be-conscious
windows. One sun—not divided or
before there can be any ‘object’ to be
colored. Now we can consider a state of conscious of. Meditate on it, as I have for
consciousness. Consider that a color and
A Description of the Psychic World 85
some fifty odd years. If there is no Mother. What do we mean by the
consciousness anywhere, there is no expression to be born? To be fully Self-
object of which one could be conscious. It aware, is to be born, the Power-to-be-
is axiomatic, self-evident, that there is a conscious fully awakened, fully aware of
Power-to-be-conscious even though you Itself. It is not identified with its ‘bodies’,
deny there is a Power. With what Power not identified with its reflected etheric
does one argue or deny that there is a substance, not identified with its feelings
Power? and desires and lovings and hatings and
thinkings, all of which means, not
I studied semantics with the creator of identified with its psychic nature.
the science of general semantics, Count Identified with Itself means to be born.
Alfred Korzybski. In one of the seminars We call it the birth of the Christ. The
that I attended, he brought up the point great virgin Mother gave birth to the
that “consciousness is the end product of Christ.
the chemical action of cellular structures
plus their total organization.” This It is that Power-to-be-conscious that
aroused me and I cornered him in his has activated, has entered, the Mother
study. I asked him how he could make Substance, awakening, differentiating,
such a statement. I said, “You know that creating its own Self-awareness,
an abstract quality can rechemicalize the ‘through’, and by the instrumentality of
whole cellular structure.” I did not have the Mother. Without the Mother it is non-
to explain to him that terror, fear, love existent in its pristine, absolute state. If
are abstract qualities, and that an abstract we used a higher order abstraction in
quality, such as terror can turn the hair aristotelian language, we would say, the
white over night. When one can establish absolute is non-existent. Ex—out;
that an abstract quality can rechemicalize sistere—to stand; to stand out.
the whole cellular structure and its
organization, he has proved beyond In India they would say that Nirguna
doubt that consciousness is ‘outside’ and Brahma is non-existent. Nirguna Brahma
independent of such structure. must become Saguna Brahma in order to
come into existence. That is, Nirguna
But let us come back to the Brahma is non-manifest; it is not aware
differentiating process of the Mother of itself. The absolute, in its absolute self,
Substance. There is some ‘thing’ is non-existent. That is, it is non-manifest,
‘behind’—it is merely a higher non-existent. It is not aware of itself. But
dimensional function that we call when that incomprehensible Positive—I
‘behind’—but that which is ‘behind’ is am not going to say “something or
the Power-to-be-conscious. The Power- other”—unites with that universal
to-be-conscious is working in the Mother Negative, manifestation, existence,
Substance that we call ‘body’, and it is activity, consciousness, begins. Isn’t that
also working in your other ‘bodies’—the wonderful? And it is the Mother that
etheric and psychic nature. It is working makes it evident.
through, ‘out’, ‘above’, to be born of the
86 Lesson 14
Initially it seems that the Mother Because of those three in One, the
Substance is wholly undifferentiated, like Trinity that motivates the Mother
the outside circle of our diagram, Substance, we find the seven. The
unmanifest—“Worlds without form and blending of the three creates the seven.
void and darkness upon the face of the Blend numbers 1 and 2, numbers 1 and 3,
deeps.” We symbolize the first numbers 2 and 3, and numbers 1, 2, and
manifestation, in the form of seven 3, and you have four additional colors,
spheres or circles within the largest circle, making a total of seven. This is nothing
representing seven spheres of arbitrary and nothing man devises. He
differentiation. These are also called just discovers that when the
Seven Angels before the Throne, the differentiating process begins in the
Seven Rays of Development, the Seven Mother. It always begins with seven—
Great Logoi—which means Archetypal seven spheres, seven fields, the physicists
Gods. Why seven? Because of that which would say. The struggle of the Power-to-
is ‘behind’ the Great Trinity as One, like be-conscious, to become aware, to be
the one sun (in our analogy). born, goes through a multiplicity of
differentiations from a greater, an
The three primary colors in light are incomprehensible great sphere or field to
violet, green, and red. When I lived in relatively smaller and smaller fields or
New York City, I was called the spheres of force, autonomous fields. If
philosopher of Greenwich Village. I we were mystics we would employ the
would sit up all night and argue with the word ‘spirit’. Every configuration of
artists about the three primaries, because Mother Substance has in the heart and
the three primaries in pigments are red, core a positive center. We symbolize this
yellow, and blue. But the primaries in by a dot in the center of a small circle. Let
light are the two ends of the spectrum us say that the furthest differentiation of
and the precise middle, violet, green, and the Mother Substance is what we call the
red. We can take those three light atom. In the heart, the core, is the proton,
primaries and blend and re-blend them and if that proton were not there, there
and make the seven major colors of the would be no atom. As I said in a former
spectrum and all the the shades. These lesson: all the electrons in the universe
three primaries represent the Trinity, the will not make an atom, and all the
Godhead. Do not ask me to explain this protons in the universe will not make an
because it cannot be done—except that atom, but let one proton capture one
we can say the Power-to-be-conscious is electron and we have manifestation,
struggling to be conscious, to be Self- differentiation, a sphere, a field.
aware. We set that up as axiomatic, self-
evident. Therefore we avoid reification of Now, boys, you can’t get along with
words (giving meaning to words that her, but you cannot get along without
have no meaning). her. And girls, no matter what a
A Description of the Psychic World 87
about differentiating fields and Self-
hardship it is to get along with him, you awareness. I am talking about union in
would not have been without him, and terms of fields with respect to the
which one can condemn the other? Do creative process. In the differentiating
you remember the little ditty that substance of the Mother, there is a
originated in Holland a long time ago, constant fusion, unity. And what
“Reuben, Reuben, I’ve been thinking … activates all this? Mystics would say
if the men were all transported far ‘spirit’. It is the One, the one sun shining
beyond the Northern Sea … What a fine through, struggling to become Self-
world this would be.” But that would be aware, to become a Sun God, to be born
impossible. From bottom to top and far Self-aware. And then the Great Mother
beyond our conception and becomes the bride to accompany the
understanding, there is the unity of the Power in the great Work-to-be-done in
positive and negative or there is nothing. reality, in Light’s Regions, in the realm of
Here is another analogy. If there were Be-ings.
a beautiful flowering fruit tree or vine in —Vitvan, taped lectures 1954
the orchard and no male tree or vine to Marj Coffman, editor, 2005
pollinate it, there would be no fruit. But
let us not become literal. I am talking
88 Lesson 14
