Know Thyself

KNOW THYSELF

The revised edition of the Part One Course originally written by Leon MacLaren

In this Work each of us can only begin from where we are, and proceed by steps. The steps by which we proceed are steps in understanding. We can only bring about change in ourselves by practice.

Leon MacLaren

Contents:

Foreword 1. Levels of consciousness 2. Attention 3. Observation and Ego 4. Worlds 5. The Three Intelligences 6. The Higher Powers and Sex 7. Know Thyself Epilogue

Foreword

Leon MacLaren was born in Glasgow on 24th September 1910. He was the son of Andrew MacLaren, a Labour MP and a staunch advocate of Henry George, the American economist. His father was a great influence on his life and Leon followed him in his economic and political aspirations.

Apart from his interests in Politics, Economics and the Law, he listened to the sound of his heart to start a ‘School’, not knowing what this meant, but something “in the manner of Socrates.” As a young man of sixteen he had made the following observation: “It became very clear to me that there was such a thing as Truth and there was such a thing as Justice and that they could be found and being found, could be taught. It seemed to me that that was the most valuable thing one could pursue.” He spent the rest of his life pursuing this aim.

MacLaren began by giving public lectures on Economics, and together with a group of equally inspired friends and also the help of his father, the School of Economic Science was established in 1937. He wrote a book The Nature of Society, setting out the principles which were taught in the School. The S.E.S. survived the war and kept on growing, but MacLaren felt he had done all he could in the field of Economics and began to look for a new impulse. This came in 1953 when he was introduced to Dr. Frances Roles and attended his lectures in The Study Society on the Fourth Way Teaching.

The exponents of this Teaching, G.I.Gurdjieff and P.D.Ouspensky, had died in 1949 and 1947, marking the end of one era and the beginning of a new one. One of Ouspensky’s last instructions was: “To reconstruct everything from the beginning”, and knowingly or unknowingly MacLaren did just that. As soon as he was introduced to what was called ‘The System’, he commented that he was struck by the fact that the diagrams he had developed for his Economics’ course were almost identical to the ones used by Ouspensky. He subsequently wrote his Part One course based on Ouspensky’s exposition in his book In Search of the Miraculous, which would be used almost unaltered for the next thirty years. He expounded such topics as the Levels of Consciousness, the Laws of Three and Seven, the Enneagram, the Cosmic Scale, The Three Centres, and many others. He interspersed the theoretical part with many practical exercises for daily use. There is no doubt that he left an invaluable heritage by reformulating the principles of the Fourth Way Teaching in a new and comprehensible way.

I became Mr. MacLaren’s personal assistant in 1973 until his death, and observed from close quarters his total dedication to writing the weekly material suiting the needs of the many thousands of groups in the school worldwide. But nothing was ever quite so all-encompassing and timeless as the Part One material of the beginning. He always told us that he took great pains in writing it: “It was quite a business producing that course. It was not easy. It had to be right of course, and it cost me the whole of Saturday, and the whole of Sunday and the whole of Sunday night every week.”

It is therefore my intention to preserve MacLaren’s work. It was originally a set of twelve lectures for a course of twelve weeks and I have now abridged it to a third of its size in order to make it more accessible. I have also added more practices based on the original text, which will help the aspirant to better understand the meaning in practice. One important factor that has to be mentioned is what MacLaren called: The Exercise. It was an exercise spelt out in full, which the students had to practice a few times every day, and which they were asked to report on the next week. It took central place in the weekly readings of the material and I have therefore quoted it at the head of every new section, as a reminder that this is a Teaching to be practiced, and not just a theory to be discussed in groups.

Levels of Consciousness

There comes a realization to all seriously minded people that there is something missing in life – something, without which life does not make sense. We pursue this question in various ways and with varying degrees of persistence. After a time some decide that there is, in fact, nothing missing – and at this point the search for them comes to an end. Others may find a substitute that satisfies them for a little time, or indeed for a lifetime. But for others again the question remains open. That which is missing continues to elude them and the search continues.

Man asks three basic questions: He looks out and sees the world around him, the magnificent display of the whole creation, and asks – what is this creation? What is its nature? What is it for?

This question rapidly leads to another – how did this creation come into existence; how is it generated and sustained?

And thirdly he asks – how do I fit in to all this? What is my relation to it? What is the purpose of my life?

To find the answers to these fundamental questions we must start from where we are.

We are in a room, in a house, in a street in a city. Beyond the city is the country, beyond the country all countries of the earth, beyond the earth the planets; beyond the planets, the sun, beyond the sun the galaxy and beyond that many galaxies. Behind and before us stretch the days, weeks, months, years, centuries, and millennia. As our view extends, we shrink and disappear.

Where are we? It is a simple question. It is a daring man who asks simple questions. In answering them the wise man proceeds with caution.

Where are we most of the day? How much time do we spend transferred in imagination to another place and another time? Either rehearsing what we think is going to happen or reviewing something which has happened?

How often do we imagine ourselves re-enacting a past event? Saying and doing all the things we could not think of at the time? And all this time we spend somewhere else at some other time, are we present or absent? Do we not talk of being absent- minded?

May we not rise in the morning, dress, breakfast, catch our bus or train, buy our paper and reach our place of work quite automatically, while in imagination we are somewhere else?

Would you call it being aware? Being present? Or being Lost? Add all this up, do we not spend much of our time oblivious to what is actually happening here and now?

Our question is: ‘Where are we?’ The answer is: ‘Absent’.

. . . . .

The first thing we have to learn about ourselves is that there are a number of levels of consciousness possible for man. The lowest level is deep sleep, as when we are asleep in bed at night. The next level is waking sleep; what we call being awake. The third level is self-consciousness. At this level a man knows all about himself and every person and event directly connected with him. At the fourth level, a man enjoys objective consciousness. In this state he sees the world as it really is. And there is a step beyond that.

Each state of consciousness is related to the next as sleep to waking. Sleep is related to waking sleep (our ordinary state) as sleep to waking. Waking sleep is related to self–consciousness as sleeping to waking. Self-consciousness is related to objective consciousness as sleeping to waking.

People pass from one state to the next by waking up or falling asleep. There are many references to this in the great religious writings. For example, the Christian year begins with Advent. The lesson for the first day in advent is taken from St. Paul and begins with these words: ”Now is the time to rise from sleep.”

The levels of consciousness shown on the diagram below represent great steps, and movement from one to the other is marked by a distinct jump, as in moving from sleep to waking. Within each of these great levels there are many degrees of consciousness. In sleep we are aware of separate things and know only in part. But the word ‘conscious’ means ‘to know all together’, and we will all have experienced those moments when we suddenly know all about the event in which we are involved and our own position in it. At such times many things are seen at once and the whole situation appears in an entirely new light. This is a foretaste of a level of awareness which is described as Self-consciousness. Above the level of ‘Self-consciousness’ is ‘Objective consciousness’ and even that is not the limit of the full development.

We shall be able to recognize the distinct difference between such moments of true wakefulness and our ordinary state during the day when we embark on this spiritual journey.

Objective consciousness

Self-consciousness

Waking sleep (ordinary state)

Sleep

. . . . .

Let us begin with the lowest level.

Sleep

By this we mean sleep in bed at night. Deep sleep does not imply a total absence of awareness, but at this level our awareness is very limited. However, even in this low conscious state, something stays awake.

When waking from a deep sleep observe the following: 1. While in deep sleep nothing was known by us. There was no awareness of a sensory world. Then something wakes us up and we say: ‘I had a good sleep’.

2. The mother of a young child will sleep through the noises of the night and yet be awake at once if the baby turns over and whimpers in its cot. Must not something in her have been wide awake? Does she know anything about it while asleep? 3. When we dream, sometimes one part of ourselves is in the dream and another part knows we are dreaming, and is watching the dream.

All these examples show that something must have been awake while we were asleep. Sometimes it is hard to know the difference between dream at night and the waking state. Therefore our ordinary state during the day cannot be described as full wakefulness and we shall call this level of awareness ‘waking sleep’.

. . . . .

Waking Sleep

A person’s understanding is a measure of both what he knows and what he is. Thus understanding is a thing of the moment, depending on the state of our knowledge and the condition of our instrument. Many of us feel we know a great many things, but few of us feel we are able to live from what we know. Our state of knowledge and the instrument are not constant.

Let us examine our waking state in action.

We all know day-dreaming: it is almost like dreaming at night. Do we wonder how we get up, dress, work, drive a car safely – are we aware when we do these things, or do we perform these daily actions absent mindedly? Would you call it being aware, or being lost?

Do we ever consider how we actually get where we need to be? Is perhaps something watching in spite of our absent minded state?

We say that people are dull, when we are dull; we describe a day as wonderful when we feel wonderful; have we ever observed when we are about to introduce a friend to a stranger, that we are quite unable to recall his name? It is as though we had never known our friends’ name at that moment. Similarly, forgetting keys, glasses, simple everyday objects. This is the state of our knowledge and our lack of awareness

12 or sleep. A madman sees strange things, thinks strange thoughts and does strange acts; so does a drunkard; so does a man who isn’t properly awake!

We can recognize from this that we live in an inverted state – we are awake to something at night, yet asleep to life during the day! Our work is to enlarge our knowledge, raise the state of the instrument, and bring knowledge and being together in the moment of action.

. . . . .

Being Awake

It is vital to discover the difference between presence and absence each one for ourselves in practice. Nothing will change without practice. A doctor or a lawyer does not know what he knows until he starts to operate on a patient or conduct a law suit. It is the same in spiritual work, practice is essential. Each should deliberately attempt to be here now on a specific occasion, and note what happens. The following experiment can be done two or three times every day, for a few minutes at a time.

The Exercise

First of all, sit quietly; let the preoccupations of the moment die down, and for a few minutes let the busy thinking, the dreams and imaginings fall away. Try to be quite still. Then be aware of yourself. This is important. Be aware of your weight on the seat and back of the chair, of the pressure of your feet on the ground, and your clothes on your skin. Bring yourself into the picture. Finally, while remaining quite still and holding this awareness of yourself, open out to the world around you.

See what is in your sight. Hear what is entering your ears; smell; taste. Without turning around, be aware of all around you. Then try to hold this awareness for a few minutes.

Try this experiment in different places and different conditions, two or three times every day. See if you can remember. Watch what you see, smell, taste, hear and sense. Note what happens inside you. Just observe; do not interfere and do not worry about it.

Attention

The Exercise First of all, sit quietly; let the preoccupations of the moment die down, and for a few minutes let the busy thinking, the dreams and imaginings fall away. Try to be quite still. Then be aware of yourself. This is important. Be aware of your weight on the seat and back of the chair, of the pressure of your feet on the ground, and your clothes on your skin. Bring yourself into the picture. Finally, while remaining quite still and holding this awareness of yourself, open out to the world around you.

Throughout the ages, wise men have practiced the control of attention. It leads all the way. To discover the truth, attention must be controlled. To know what is, and what is not, attention must be controlled. When attention is captured and lost we cannot see anything as it is.

What is attention? It is the ladder by which a man may be brought to higher levels of consciousness. It leads all the way.

At the first stage of attention impressions pour in on us from all sides. Attention is scattered. We are not particularly interested in anything but are open to receive impressions.

This is followed, in the second stage, by one of the incoming impressions catching our attention. For a moment our attention is aroused, and is focused. What do we notice? This poised relationship is brief. At this point there are two possibilities: one is a danger and the other an opportunity.

In the third stage we see the opportunity comes at the moment when the attention is caught, and we then have to act very swiftly. With the heightening of attention there comes a fleeting side-effect: momentarily one is made acutely aware of one’s own existence. It is vital that this awareness of oneself be retained, which is done by swiftly bringing the body into view, knowing what one is, where one is, and what is happening. If this is to be done, special energy is required, and in the moment when attention is caught and held, that energy is available and flowing. The differences between giving attention, and having it whipped away are instantaneous, and the key lies in acting when action is possible.

However, the danger in stage three is that nearly every time the incoming impression proceeds to capture our attention wholly. We cease to know what we are, where we are; we sink into the impression, we become the very thing itself. We continue in this state until something startles us out of it. Do we recognise this in ourselves?

We may be surprised to realize that we spend most of our time in this condition, we are wholly lost, and because of this we do not know we are in it. We must practice to recall how we went into this forgetful state, and note our habitual ways of losing our attention. It is always caught by the same thing, and will differ person to person. The end result of this state of attention is pathos; a pathological, disordered state, causing suffering and even death.

Practices:

 Watch the attention. After it has been lost, find out what whipped it away. Observe the moment of opportunity, of the possibility of being aware of one’s own existence. In this brief moment when attention is aroused and heightened - we must bring our body into view, silence thought, and holding attention, and without losing sight of ourselves, - give it to the matter in hand.

 When attention is controlled, we see what to do, and also what not to do. It is always unexpected, for no two occasions are quite the same. What is to be done and not to be done, is never twice the same. Can we give examples from our own experience?

 Sometimes in exceptional emergency, people find their attention under control: they know exactly what to do. Have we experienced this? Examples?

 A simple practice is in everyday life to stay aware of the body and its position in the room, on the chair, in conversation with others, etc. As soon as it is

noticed that attention has drifted off into daydreams or thoughts, bring the awareness back to the body in the room, and the chair, and the conversation.

 Further practice is to strive to have attention on a part of the body while in conversation, while eating a meal or during other activities. For instance, can the attention be kept on the left foot while talking; the lungs; the face; the flow of blood and the movement of cells within the body? Can the attention be held during these outer activities?

Observation and Ego

How much a man learns and how quickly he learns, depends very largely on the degree of his wakefulness, and the quality of his watching. We are constantly reminded that only practical observation can open the way to understanding the great things of life.

What a man sees depends far more on what, in him, is looking, and where he is looking from, rather than upon how he looks – that is to say, the degree of his attention. All these factors affect the quality of his observation. And the quality of a man’s observation is a direct indication of the level of his being at that moment. For observation to take place there must be two poles. There is observer, the subject, who looks at that which is observed, the object. Out of this looking the observation arises. It will be appreciated that the quality of the observation which arises is greatly dependent upon the nature of the observing subject.

Observation covers all the senses. Take for instance sight: how do we see and how do we know we are seeing? First the eyes receive rays of light. Eyes by themselves cannot see. Rays of light are converted into nerve impulses which form an image in the cortex. This is the sensory organization of which we are totally unaware. We first become aware of this image in the cortex when it is observed by the watching intellect. The impression is received and cognized. At this stage it has a neutral quality.

The second level is the work of the watching intellect. Now the neutral impression is evaluated and is no longer neutral. What do you think plays a major part in this evaluation? And to whom do you think these impressions are most frequently

19 related? Incoming impressions are mostly met with a host of preconceptions, personal likes and dislikes, ‘my’ theories, ‘my’ way of doing things, ‘my’ private life, and so on. ‘Me’, or Ego, is the evaluator. However, something in us knows this is not true. ‘Me’ is not the ultimate observer. The proof is simple. Did we not recognise the description of ‘his’ activity? Must ‘he’, that is, ego, not then have been the object of observation? Is it not clear that you cannot be that which you observe? The key to the study of observation is to remember ‘I am the observer, I am the subject, and I can never be anything I see’. No matter how hateful or holy.

Egoism creates the feeling of separateness, which creates the sense of duality, or the idea of being distinct and different from others. It is the false perception of the Self that exists in all of us as individual consciousness. Egoism is a crystallization of thoughts and desires, resulting in a shadow self or usurper, which is subject to ignorance, illusion, and duality; and takes charge of the mind and body and acts as if it was the real Self. Because of egoism we indulge in ownership and doership.

There are a whole series of observers within each of us: first the senses; then the watching intellect ascribing meaning; then what we call ‘Me’ or Ego who, out of the impressions received, builds a world wholly related to himself; and finally the ultimate observer capable of witnessing the entire procedure while remaining totally unaffected by what he sees. Each observer lies behind the one before and each sees beyond what was seen by the one before.

Why should accurate observation be so difficult? It is because most of the time we are not sufficiently awake. One of the first obstacles which prevents our waking up, is that we already believe ourselves to be more awake than we really are. This sleep which inhibits observation is based on forgetfulness, and is akin to hypnosis. We forget that any observation requires two poles: an observer and the thing observed. As the subject looks at the object, the observation arises. We forget that ‘I am the observer’ and become so hypnotised by the observation that we become identified with the thing being looked at. We become it, and forget ourselves.

Can we find our own examples? For instance we look at the body and say ‘I am sick’ or ‘I am well’; we look at movements and say ‘ I am clumsy’, ‘I am skilful’; at our feelings and say ‘I am cross’ or ‘I am happy’; at thoughts and say ‘I am confused’,’ I am lucid’.

The way out is to wake up. The senses are known as the ‘bodily wits’, they are the portals of the body, and man looks out through these portals. He should know that this is what he is doing when he opens eye and ear. When we keep the body in view this is what is meant. It is not a matter of imagining what you think you must look like

20 to someone else. It is simply knowing that you have a body and that impressions are entering through it. See and know that you are seeing, hear and know that you are hearing, touch and know that you are touching. Thus the body is experienced in practice, through the performance of its natural function.

As our consciousness extends to include deeper and deeper levels of observation, so our perception of the world grows wider and wider. Try the following experiment:

Sit balanced and erect. Aware of our bodies and all around us. Holding this awareness and not losing it, let us realise that we are in this room. . . in this house. . . in this street. . . in this city. . . .in this country . . . as part of the nations of the earth . . . itself one of the planets revolving round the sun . . . and the sun one of the uncounted stars in the Milky Way . . . our galaxy but one of millions in the universe.

Did we remain aware of our bodies and stay in the room? Did we find that we started floating off in imagination, seeing maps and astronomical photographs? Is this not pure imaginings?

This is a valuable exercise which we may like to practice each day. Remember to keep the body in view and stay where one is.

Practices:

 Have we noticed how the quality of our observation varies enormously at different times? Have we noticed how the same thing, the same person, or situation can undergo quite sudden and dramatic metamorphosis so that at one moment it is seen in one way, and then a little later it is seen quite differently? Is this to be taken as evidence that the thing or the person has changed, or that we have changed?

 Is it possible for you to observe a sense of ‘Me’, an identity you consider yourself to be, and to whom you attach feelings and reactions? Who is this ‘Me’? Can ‘Me’ be recognized in mind, body, and feelings?

 Self-knowledge and self-mastery require honest observation. Can we observe in ourselves strong and powerful attachments to theories and beliefs which we claim as our ‘own’. Watch this working in ourselves… how your impressions are coloured by ‘Me’, “my’ theories, ‘my feelings, likes, dislikes, prejudices, and ways of doing things; how the attachment to ‘my theory’ prevents us from looking any further. Similarly a false picture of ourselves cuts us off from greater possibilities.

 The key to the study of observation is to remember that I am the observer, I am the subject and I can never be anything that I see. No matter how hateful or holy.

Organic Life and Worlds

All the men that are, have been, and are yet to be, are contained within organic life. If we think of organic life as plants and animals and fish and fowl, we think wrongly; these are only species like man. Organic life is the thin biosphere encircling the hard core of the earth, nearly spherical in shape, reaching up into the mountains, down into the oceans and out into space. This biosphere, organic life, is ruled by the mind of Nature. It contains man.

Organic life is contained within the earth. The earth is not just the hard core from which we are suspended, it is more than that. It contains the hydrosphere, biosphere, atmosphere and magnetic field. Man lives in organic life; organic life in the earth; the earth in the Solar System the Solar System in the Milky Way; the Milky Way in the world of galaxies; and all are contained in the universe.

Let us reflect on this further:

Is not man an organic creature?

Is he not at once contained in organic life and containing organic life within in him?

Is he not a creature of the earth?

Are not these bodies made of earth taken in as food, and do we not breathe the atmosphere of earth?

Then is not man both contained in the earth and containing earth?

Let us consider, is there anything in this room or any person in this room into which the sun has not entered?

Then are not sun, planet, organic life and man all here, now, in this room, together?

At a personal level, there is great benefit in building our attention to remain both present in the body and the room, while also taking full account of the scale of the outer environment.

Look inwards and outwards; man is within, man is without; organic life is within, organic life is without; earth is within, earth is without; sun is within, sun is without. Look both ways and see; see and listen; open the heart and understand. These things may be seen; they may be heard; they may be felt.

“In this body, in this town of Spirit, there is a little house shaped like a lotus, and in that house there is a little space. One should know what is there.

“What is there? Why is it so important?

“There is as much in the little space within the heart, as there is in the whole world outside. Heaven, earth, fire, wind, sun, moon, lightening, stars; whatever is and whatever is not, everything is there.” (Chandogya Upanishad,. Book 8, Ch 1).

. . . . .

Let us ask ourselves ‘What is the world for us now?’ Consider the following seven ‘worlds’:

i. Universe. ii. Galaxies iii. Milky Way iv. Sun v. Earth vi. Organic life vii. Man

Each of the great worlds has a cosmic significance, a psychological significance, a biological significance, a chemical significance and a physical significance. This is Intellect at all levels. Ordinarily we do not recognise these facts because of limitations in ourselves. We have not seen Life and cannot recognise it directly. We have not seen Intellect and cannot recognise it directly.

So narrow and small is our picture of ourselves that we cannot recognise any cosmic significance in ourselves.

We seem wholly unrelated to the planets, suns and galaxies of the universe. This is because of our limited view, which reduces us to pigmy proportions, we see the world as alive or dead, mindful or absent minded, cosmic or non-cosmic – according to our limitations. When all a man knows is body, he sees body everywhere; he infers life and intellect from the activities of the body which he can see. Beyond that he cannot infer them. When he sees body, life and intellect everywhere, then he recognizes cosmic significance.

Have we some sense of the mind of nature? Does the planet Earth have a mind? Do we regard the Solar System as intelligent? Do we think that this view of these greater worlds, which ordinarily denies life or intelligence to them, is due to a limitation in ourselves? Does not all life on this Earth depend on the Earth and Sun? Does this not strike us as a very intelligent operation? Do we consider the universe to have a cosmic purpose? Do we think that Man, you and I, has a cosmic significance? Is it not odd to ascribe a cosmic significance to that which we see as unintelligent, mechanical and dead, and yet doubt the cosmic significance of that which we see as alive and intelligent. Has not something gone wrong somewhere?

Let us reflect on how it may be that a man may discover within himself the laws of nature, music, literature or anything else. May it not be that he is a universe in himself?

Consider now the unity of our common existence:

Though each person is different from another, is not all our humanity in common?

Then is there something within the seed which is human and remains human throughout life?

Are not a mouse and an elephant very different? Yet are they not both mammals, having all the characteristics of mammals?

Is not a man a mammal also?

Will a mammal seed produce a reptile or bird?

Then must not the mammal seed have the characteristic of a mammal in it?

Are not all mammals organic creatures?

Have they not in them all the characteristics of an organic thing?

And are not all organic creatures earth-born? And so on?

Therefore, have we not in us the characteristics of an individual, a human being, a mammal, an animal, an organic creature, the earth, and so on?

And must not all have the laws which govern organic things as a whole, animals as a whole, mammals as a whole, human beings as a whole, and a particular human being as an individual, - all this in us too?

Does this suggest how scientists may discover laws by inspiration, by a deep inner sight, and musicians music in the same way, and so on?

Time for each world is a life-time. Man’s life is commonly between 70 – 80 years. How does this compare with the life of nature as a whole? The life of man to the life of nature is as a day and a night. To the life of the Earth as a single breath; to the life of the Sun as an electric spark. Beyond that it has no significance.

Practices:

 While sensing the body, can we detect Life as it flows through? We can detect our heart-beat; can we detect something else as well? Or is it something we only imagine? Can we sense the Life flowing into other forms – like the Earth, planets, Solar System, Milky Way?

 On how many of these worlds do we depend? Would we not agree that our immediate dependence at this moment stretches at least as far as the Sun? How many of these worlds do we ordinarily see to be alive?

 Do we recognise that man has Mind and Intelligence? Do we recognise Nature as a whole as having Mind? Does the planet Earth have Mind? And Intelligence? And what about the Solar System, and the Sun? Is it our limitation that ordinarily denies Life and intelligence to these worlds?

The Three Intelligences

Everyone knows about the three-fold nature of man in a vague way. And thus it is common to speak of the three parts as head, heart and guts. We all have some notion what is meant by those three words used in this way. All three parts are necessary.

Do we not say of a man who appears to us to be lacking in one of these parts, that he has no head, or he has no heart or he lacks guts? When a man is all head, he cannot do anything despite his theories. When he is all guts, he never stops doing and is forever running his poor head into brick walls. When he is all heart, he wanders ineffectually through a sentimental swamp of non-comprehension. To be all one is hopeless; all three are necessary.

When would we say that the head is best disposed to work well? When it is hot or cool, clear or foggy, full of noise or silent, present or absent? Do we not speak of ‘presence of mind’? The head is best disposed when it is clear, cool, silent and present. Is not its function to observe, to direct and keep order? Must it not be watchful in order properly to fulfill its function?

When is the heart best disposed to work well? If our heart is full of considerations for ourselves, can it feel for others? The heart cannot work well when it is filled with feelings for ourselves, anxieties, fears, expectations and all the rest. We feel for others that is its function.

Are not guts concerned with sustained effort, physical skill, fortitude, ambition and the rest? Does it not need to be ready, sensitive, prepared for action?

These three parts, familiarly called head, heart and guts, are all related to three great principles, or intelligences in us: the intellectual, feeling and instinctive principles.

The intelligences available to man are by no means limited to one. Indeed, his complex structure of body, body organs, body cells, organic molecules, atoms and the rest, could not be managed and made coherent if there were not within him intelligences capable of managing these greatly different worlds. To understand man, and to understand the sensory world of sights, scents, sounds, tastes and sensations in which he moves, one must understand the threefold nature of man. Each of them has its own nature, work, way of viewing the world, and way of responding to it.

Some people are by nature predominantly intellectual; some predominantly feeling, others predominantly active. Many are naturally equipped to act equally in two of these principles. None is naturally equipped to act equally in all three. This requires effort. The even development of all three principles makes a man whole.

. . . . .

The Intellectual Principle

When ordinarily, we speak or think of ‘Intellect’, we refer only to that small part of ordinary intellect of which we are aware, and in which we are conscious. There is much more to it than that, as the feats of men of great intellect plainly demonstrate. Our limited awareness is wholly restricted to a small part of intellect around which it flickers incessantly. The Intellect is naturally equipped to look outwards and view the external world. Informed by the five senses, sight, hearing, smell, taste and touch, it forms a picture of the outside world and shows us our way about it.

This intelligence has to learn nearly everything from experience. We can think of it in the young child as being like a clean sheet of wax ready to receive impressions. From these impressions, it forms its picture of the world and is the chart on which it would have the growing being move. It has its own speed and range. Our human range is very limited; thus we can receive only one octave of light, eight octaves of sound, whereas a dog can hear much higher frequencies and so on. So also is its range of speeds limited.

If we are very dull, its speed is reduced; if we are alive and alert, with attention wide, its speed is accelerated; and great is the difference between one condition and the

30 other. But great though this may seem, it is less by far than the difference between the total range of this intelligence and the total range of the next intelligence, that is, of Instinct.

When the mind is clear and alert, working fast, everything about us seems to slow down; the faster the mind, the slower appearances; the slower the mind, the faster appearances. If we are in a very dull state, things seem to be happening all over the place and we do not know where we are. This intelligence, when silent and clear, is valuable. It looks outwards. It shows us the world about us as it appears, and can penetrate behind appearances to the relationships between things and the order under which they work.

“Death said: God made senses turn outward, man therefore looks outward, not into himself. Now and again a daring soul, desiring immortality, has looked back and found himself” (Katha Upanishad Bk2, Ch 1).

Practices:

 When this intelligence is clear, wide and swift, what effect does this have on the apparent speed of external events? Do they seem to move more quickly or more slowly?

 Suppose we are playing a ball game and are on good form with mind clear and alert. Are we not then able to see the ball all the way, right on to the bat? Do we seem to have plenty of time?

 What do we notice when we are off form and the mind is dull and confused? Does not the ball seem to travel at an invisible speed, and everything happens far too fast?

 When this mind is clear and open, free of imaginings and circling thoughts, how do colours and objects look, are they brighter or duller?

 And when the mind is clear and open, is our optical view larger or smaller?

. . . . .

Functions of Intellect

Each principle has three parts, a moving part, an emotional part and an intellectual part. Most of the time people live in the moving part of the three principles and are governed by them. We should learn to watch how they work.

These are the functions of the moving part of the intellectual principle: 1. The watchman 2. Formation of ideas 3. Storage of ideas

1. Watchman Outward watching: Do we know the difference when our eyes are looking out, because they have nothing else to do; or when we watch to see what’s happening? Is there a difference between actions which are watched and those which are not? Inward watching: we see our inner state and make an effort not to show it. This is restrained and brought about by the Watchman. Or the Watchman spots a hasty word before it is spoken – what are more examples?

2. Formation of ideas Impressions are constantly falling on this part of the intellectual principle. We are rarely aware of this unceasing activity. Out of the impressions so received it busily forms ideas. Ideas about people, places, occupations, political, scientific and religious questions are gathered in this way. This formation of ideas needs watching, for ideas are potent things capable of shaping our lives. The impressions falling on this part may result from clear observation; but they may equally consist of things half seen and half heard; they may be imagined, dreamt, or borrowed from others’ opinions; or may be produced by internal disorder Thus error may accumulate in us and we do not know it. We need to pick over our ideas with an impartial eye and cast out the false. In other words the Watchman needs to do his work.

3. Storage of ideas. All the ideas are stored in memory. They are stored in pairs, so that if one is summoned to the waking mind the other comes also. People commonly couple such ideas as man and woman, high and low, night and day, East and West, black and white, and so on. This method of storing information in the form of ideas is convenient, but we need to remember that it is only a method of storing them and nothing more. If the Watchman is not on his guard, we easily fall into the trap of imagining the world is divided into two.

From this mistake an easy step reduces all our thinking to chaos. We have only to imagine that these pairs are opposites; that man is the opposite of woman, high or low, night or day etc. This imagined opposition not merely divides the world into twos but into quarrelling twos. This fills the world with discord and conflict.

A little reflection soon shows us how false this notion of duality is. A thing is high to us when we have to reach up to it, high and low relate to the body. Day is the light of the sun falling upon the earth, night and day are related to the earth. Man and woman are related in their common humanity. Find the third point and duality disappears.

To watch, and watching the formation of ideas, to store them in memory; to watch over the body, take care of it, restraining it when necessary; these are the functions of the moving part of the intellectual principle. Clarity is its quality; precision its method; silence its condition. Is not watching silent? Is not the formation of ideas silent? Is not the storing of ideas in memory silent?

Clarity, precision and silence; these we must find.

Practices:

 We should watch the movements of the body without interfering; be aware of when too much effort is used, and when not enough.

 We should watch the thoughts of the mind without interfering, and observe the fantasy, inner conversations, and daydreaming.

 Notice how, when we are in a present state of mind, and thoughts, desires and emotions arising from the memory bank are presented, the watchman, as the organ of discrimination, is able to select and analyse whether to act or not.

 Can we observe in ourselves that which we believe to be true, and that which we know to be false? Things in ourselves which we allow ourselves to act on or agree with, even though we know them to be contrary to truth?

 Can we observe how we respond when we take offence? Do we dwell on it, and enjoy it? How much can we observe our enjoyment of feeling miserable.

 The quality of what we observe depends greatly on our state; on the nature of the observer. Can we notice that the quality of our observation varies

enormously at different times? Have we noticed that at one time it will be seen one way, then a little later will be seen quite differently

 A good way to cultivate the witnessing of the memory bank is, when in a present state of mind, to simply be aware of the stream of thoughts, emotion, images and impression that arise. Notice how the stream of thoughts comes from somewhere and then recedes back into that same place. That place is the memory.

 Another practice is to observe how some old hurtful experiences from the past have actually literally ‘softened’ over the years which is the proof that their mark in the memory is slowly disappearing.

. . . . .

The Enemy of Intellect.

The intellectual, instinctive and feeling minds are the ordinary intelligences available to man. We must learn from practice how to order them, purify them and strengthen them so that they may open to us greater powers beyond ordinary reach. The enemies of these three intelligences all arise from inattention. They are found in behaviours that weaken their order, purity or strength. In our sleeping state, when we are not aware of what is happening within us, confusion reigns. It is very common for the moving part of one principle to try to do the work of another. Its energy is literally in the wrong place.

The enemy of Intellect is mechanical and habitual thinking, thinking in opposites, circling thought, and with a flat mechanical view of the universe. All these are rooted in habit and gain their strength from mere repetition. This repetitive power is considerable for they respond to accustomed stimuli quite automatically. In order to see mechanical thinking one has to stop it. One has to exercise control over these mechanical processes.

Mechanical thinking is always based on a fallacy. Thus, we think of pleasant and unpleasant, wet and dry, hot and cold, and completely forget that there is a point between, a third point. From this mistake is created chaos, which fills the world with discord and war.

The ignorant man runs after pleasure, sinks into the entanglements of death; but the wise man, seeking the undying, does not run among things that die” (Katha Upanishad Bk2, Ch 1).

We probably all remember that favourite experiment of our school days in which one hand is put in hot water and the other in cold. Both hands are then removed and put immediately into tepid water. To one hand it seems warm, to the other cool. This experiment is usually practiced to prove why one should use a thermometer, another mechanical device. Its real significance is the importance of the third point, by which the other two are measured, the cold hand, the hot hand, or the mercury. Do we follow this?

Such a simple exposition is plain enough, but do we recognise its implication? For example, how often are we brought to a standstill considering what we should do and what we should not do? ‘Ought I to do this, or ought I NOT to do this’, is a favourite battleground. Do we know it? Can this inner struggle not make us both hot and confused and burn up emotional energy, destroying feeling? Is this not so? What have we forgotten? What is the remedy? We should realise that in this state we cannot make any decision; both poles of the argument are wrong.

If we succeed in this, the problem either disappears altogether or we see it quite differently. Moreover this effort stops the waste of emotional power and conserves feeling. Let us try it. If we cannot achieve attention then and there, it is best to put the argument from our mind and give the attention to something else. It may well clear of itself.

Circling thought is the buzz in our head when thoughts chase their own tails. It fills our heads with noise, disturbing our sleep, distracting us from work and burns up our energy. Do we know what it is to awaken in the morning utterly exhausted? These spinning words can work us into a rage; poison relationships or lower us into depression. It is the power of the moving principle in the wrong place, power needed for action wasted in idleness. Beware this dangerous amusement. Learn to stop. Only when one stops it does one really see it for the useless performance it is.

Flat, mechanical views of the universe are widely current, finding support from pseudo-science. One scientist, describing the beautiful and characteristic patterns of shells, writes: “The shell pigments are, in all probability, merely outlets for the deposition of waste excretory matter”. In statements like these, and they are legion nowadays, beauty is reduced to the dunghill, mystery is explained away, and science degraded to nonsense. Controlled attention prevents this flat view from destroying emotional power.

Listen to a true scientists on this subject: As Einstein says: “The fairest thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the fundamental emotion which stands at the cradle of true art and true science. He who knows it not, and can no longer wonder, no longer feel amazement, is as good as dead, a snuffed out candle. It was the experience of mystery – even if mixed with fear – that engendered religion. A knowledge of the existence of something we cannot penetrate, of the manifestations of the profoundest reason and the most radiant beauty; which are only accessible to our reason in their most elementary forms. It is this knowledge and this emotion that constitutes the truly religious attitude; in this sense alone, I am a religious man”.

Practices:

 Can we observe ourselves being mechanical? Do we see our mechanical thoughts, based on habitual responses and habitual information? Can we specify them to ourselves? This kind of thinking can so easily destroy the beauty and mystery in life.

 Can we spot an idea we have about a person, thing or situation, which was formed out of a mistaken view.

 Can we spot how we divide the world in two by our ideas?

 When finding oneself in a state of indecision do the following; bring oneself to a state of attention, knowing where one is, bringing the body into view and clearing the mind.

. . . . .

The Feeling Principle

The intelligence concerned with the molecular life of the body whose life-times are measured in seconds, is Feeling. What mind in us is specially fitted to know simple goodness? It is the feeling intelligence in the heart of the brain. At full range and power it reaches down to the molecular level, controlling the chemistry of the body, and as far out the other way. In us it works but weakly, and is easily overwhelmed. It is the seat of awe, devotion, sincerity and love.

How often and for how long do we stand in awe before the miracle of creation? How often and for how long are we devoted to the pursuit of good? How often and for how long are we sincere with ourselves? How often and for how long do we love? We love in the morning and frown in the evening according to our bodily state. Constancy is the mark of feeling. Therefore we practice to stand back, to control attention, and keep personal considerations entirely out of the way. Only then can true feeling grow in us, such as Thomas a Kempis describes:

“Love knows no measure, but is fervent above measure. Love feels no burden, disdains no labours, would willingly do more than it can; complains not of impossibility because it conceives that it may and can do all things. It is able therefore to do anything and it performs and effects many things, where he that loveth not faints and lies down. Love watches, and sleeping slumbers not; when weary is not tired; when straightened is not constrained; when frightened is not disturbed; but like a lovely flame and a torch all on fire it mounts upwards and securely passes through all opposition. Whosoever loveth knoweth the sound of this voice” “The Imitation of Christ” Ch 5 Bk 3

Practice:

 Can we give examples of being constant, sincere, full of awe and love?

. . . . .

Functions of Feeling

1. To awaken 2. To cleanse 3. Feeling of becoming one with nation, or religion

The first function of the moving part of Feeling is to awaken; it is the awakener in us. It awakens us out of bed in the morning; it brings us back to ourselves when we are called by name; it alerts us to emergency.

Another function is to set us laughing. It has a rough sense of fun. Laughter cleanses.

On solemn occasions we may have the feeling of belonging to some greater whole, like nation or church or other community.

The Enemy of Feeling

But Feeling is easily overwhelmed and easily poisoned. We are no sooner awakened, than we fall asleep again. Laughter may turn vicious. The enemy of Feeling is identification. When we become involved in things, identifying ‘Me’ with them. It is the emotional involvement in everything and everybody. It is a state of captured attention, begetting imaginings and lying, idle justification, or furious inner conversations engendered by some imaginary offence. If we learn to recognize these at the time of speaking, we shall find that the very energy which is being consumed in these unnecessary performances will serve to wake us up, still the mind, and power the attention.

Emotional involvement reduces everything to a narrow, personal level. It overthrows judgement, confuses the mind, and leaves us helpless to know what is good or what is true. Men can become personally involved with anything; in great questions of religion, of state, of learning, or how to hit a golf ball. Once involved, they no longer know what is true or false. Their own ‘Me’ is at stake, and ‘Me’ is the father of lies.

The Feeling principle suffers from interference by the other two Intelligences who want to take over its functions. When the poor heart is attacked by the power of Instinct, the heart races. It is excited, but it can take the form of anger and rage. Do we not know those fine sunny mornings when we emerge into the light and tingle with elation? This is a wonderful day; we are on top of the world. Half an hour later, we may be exhausted. Do we recognise this?

If not burnt by the power of Instinct, Feeling is chilled by the head. This makes the hard heart, also producing depression and fear. Excitement and depression in all their manifold forms; these we call emotion. They are not emotion. One says, ‘I was so emotional’, when he means he was up in the air; another says, ‘I was so emotional’, when he means he was down in a heap. Up and down, forever changing, this we call emotion, because we do not know what emotion is.

Emotion is silent, still and detached. It has no thought of self. It is not forever changing; it is constant. Emotion will keep a man working all the days of his life in search of truth.

The heart needs protection from the flooding power of the Instinct principle and the cold caution of the head. Who alone can ensure this protection? Only the Watchman in his place in the silent head can protect the heart from this double assault.

Regarding the energy we need for inner development, we can remember that through the action of watchfulness, it is transformed from the power of self- destruction to the power needed for self-creation. This is how to practice what we hear. This is how to eliminate the mechanical stupidities which divide us against ourselves and weaken the precious power within us. When we let go of what is useless and unnecessary, then we gain power to see what is necessary. Then a whole new world opens up, a world of opportunity and scope.

Practices:

 Let us ask ourselves, in all sincerity, how often and for how long do we lie to ourselves, deliberately deceiving ourselves?

 What are the issues about which we lie; what is the result of the lie within ourselves? Can we detect any form of result? How much of our energy is eaten up in vain justifications and excuses?

 Practice controlling the attention, stepping back from involvement in emotional states, and keeping personal considerations entirely out of the way

 Be watchful of what is found to be offensive. Do we notice how much emotional energy is lost each time we take offense?

 Have we caught ourselves talking as though we knew something we did not know? To speak as though we know something we do not know is to lie. Why do we find ourselves compelled to lie in this way, why do we feel it is necessary? . . . . .

The Instinctive Principle

The intelligence that is concerned with the cells in the body is Instinct. The instinctive intelligence rarely troubles us. It is primarily concerned with the inner economy of the body. It has to manage the smooth working of the bodily organs and the great population of body cells. It deals with the ever-changing environment in which the body moves, adjusting internal arrangements accordingly. It deals with disease and matters of that kind. It is also directly concerned with life, and the preservation of the species. It knows what it needs from the start. If it did not, we should not be here, nor would the ‘Intellect’ be permitted the long period of education necessary to its

39 development. It knows its work and does it well. It is securely hidden from our awareness lest we interfere.

The range of speeds and perceptions of this intelligence is vastly greater than that of ordinary intellect, even at its best. Instinct has to deal with frequencies which affect the tiny body-cells as well as those which affect the body as a whole. There is growing evidence that its range reaches far into the radio band. Thus, a very high frequency transmitting station can interfere with the migration of birds, so that they fly in circles about it. When it shuts down, they are released to take up their course again. Sometimes, in life-and-death situations, it shows us its range and power. It is very clear, very cool, and very silent. But it knows what needs to be done.

Someone told the story how he was in a house when it was bombed in the war. He saw a beam falling. It seemed to be moving very slowly. He stepped back, and the beam fell at his feet. He stepped forward onto the beam. The other people in the room thought it had passed straight through him.

Such messages as the small waking part of intellect receives from this great instinctive intelligence are commonly vague and uncertain, seeming to be generally diffused throughout the body. Such are pleasure, pain, delight, sorrow and all the host of opposite sensations linked with these. Sometimes, pain is specific and sharp, when instinct would rouse intellect to some useful decision. Often it is vague and general, a kind of displeasure. Most of our lives are ruled by these vague sensations. We seek out the pleasurable and run from the painful.

But we must beware the beguilement of vague sensations. For by these vague sensations of pleasure and displeasure, hot and cold, wet and dry, Nature would have us doing her work in neglect of greater purposes. As indications of bodily states, they are valuable; but as guides to living, they are treacherous and misleading, for this is not their right place.

Of this the Katha Upansiahd says:

“Death said: ‘The good is one, the pleasant another; both command the soul. Who follows the good attains sanctity; who follows the pleasant drops out of the race. Every man faces both. The mind of the wise man draws him to the good, the flesh of the fool drives him to the pleasant…Diverging roads: one called ignorance, the other wisdom. Rejecting images of pleasure, Nachiketas, you turn towards wisdom”. (Katha Upanishad Bk1 Ch 2).

Is it not easy to think that pleasant is good, and unpleasant equals bad? As a general proposition, is this not ridiculous? Do some people, observing how ridiculous this is, tend to the view that what is pleasant is bad, and what is unpleasant is good? And so impose on themselves unpleasant duties and unpleasant disciplines? Is this any better?

Practice:

 Do we have examples of the action of instinct in life and death situations?

 How much of the time is our life ruled by pleasure and displeasure?

 How vague and uncertain is pleasant and unpleasant?

. . . . .

Functions of Instinct

1. Conditioned reflexes 2. The monkey 3. External reflexes

The moving part of the Instinctive principle consists of conditioned reflexes. These may be produced by training, experiment, imitation and resistance. The training may be good or bad; imitation is a chancy business. How much depends on the chance of family, education, business associates, or friends. So much we depend on conditioned reflexes. See how easily we imitate. Our manners, mannerisms, ways of speaking, and a host of other things are picked up by imitation. The next function of Instinct is the monkey in us. It is good, when well trained. Training is very important to this part. Both head and heart have a part to play. This part of the active principle carries us about all day, does our work, plays our games. It can be raised to high level of skills. It can be very incompetent. But it can only do what it has learnt to do, so that, if it is not watched, it tends to repeat things over and over again. It has one set of actions for Mondays, another for Tuesdays, etc. It walks sits, argues talks, writes, reads, and wants to do to all again.

The function of Instinct is also shown in our external reflexes. There are many in the body, such as the blinking of the eye, retraction of the foot when tickled. These are

41 mainly concerned with the internal economy of the body. As a rule they work well enough.

Practices:

 Have we ever read a whole page and not taken in a single word? What read it? Something must have done.

 Let each consider how much in life depends on these, i.e. family, education etc.

 Have we noticed how much we pick up by imitating others, their mannerisms and habits?

. . . . .

The Enemy of Instinct

The enemy of instinct is idle repetition, and of all the idleness the worst is the idleness of talk. Notice in ourselves the level of idle talk, the nature of the talk, criticism of other people, victimisation of oneself, gossip, repetition of lies, etc. What energy is wasted in this?

Can we observe our senseless talking; can we hear what words are coming out of our mouth? Can we tell the difference between senseless words and those containing sense? On reflection, why do those words containing sense help us find quiet, and why do senseless words create disturbance?

Have we noticed that so often we talk unnecessarily, that people are not listening, or in fact, we are not listening to them? Are we present in the conversation? Can we watch ourselves while in conversation with others, and notice if we are listening. If we are not, then what are we thinking about?

Are we able to be present enough to discern if others are actually listening and are themselves present? Are we thinking about ourselves and our clever reply, about what we will say rather than what is being said by others?

When the attention is controlled, then the tongue is servant of the man. If he will listen then he will hear it speak, truthfully and intelligently. This is the way to curb the chatter of the idle tongue which is the enemy of every man.

From the Dhammapada “Even though a speech be a thousand words long, but made up of senseless words, one word of sense is better, which if a man hears, he becomes quiet.”

Only with practice shall we discover the full power of listening. When anyone is speaking to us, let us make it a rule that we listen. By listening the mind is stilled, the noisy inner conversations which swamp the incoming impressions are silenced, and in this silence and stillness the attention very naturally expands to its full range. In this condition, we are immune to both baseless flattery and personal affront.

A Buddhist sermon illustrates this beautifully: “…A foolish man, learning that the Buddha observed the principle of great love which commends the return of good for evil, came and abused him. The Buddha was silent, pitying his folly. When the man had finished his abuse, the Buddha asked him, saying, ‘Son, if a man declines to accept a present made to him, to whom would it belong?’ And he answered, ‘It would belong to the man who offered it.’ My son, said the Buddha, thou has railed at me, but I decline to accept thy abuse, and request thee to keep it thyself. Will it not be a source of misery to thee? As the echo belongs to the sound, and the shadow to the substance, so misery will overtake the evildoer without fail. The abuser went away ashamed, but he came again and took refuge in the Buddha”.

The plague of the Instinct principle is the Intellect. It is forever interfering, trying to execute movements, which it cannot. The result is we stumble. We try to watch ourselves add up figures and we get them wrong. We try to speak with our heads and get tongue-tied. We know the difference between trying to learn to ride a bicycle and that moment when the Instinct principle takes over, and it is easy. Practices:

 An excellent practice is if we find we are about to repeat something we have said before then do not speak it again without considering if it is really necessary – if it is not necessary then remain silent.

 Be aware of what is being said at all times; whether it is criticism, repetition of bad news, or praise for personal achievements. Consider if they are necessary, and consider what result they will attract.

 We learn with practice, to be alerted by talk, especially spiteful talk. We take no part in it, but holding ourselves in view, fall silent within and listen. Notice what takes place when you do this.

 We should watch our movements without interfering, knowing as we move that the body is moving.

The Higher Powers and Sex

We have been speaking of the ordinary intelligences available to man, about which we know something. We now turn to the higher intelligences, of which we have no direct knowledge as yet. By far the most powerful is Higher Intellect. Next in power are Higher Feeling, and Sex.

In ordinary man, Intellect is cut off from Higher Intellect and Feeling from Higher Feeling. We need to open that door in the heart where entrance may be made. The barrier which excludes ordinary men from these higher powers is ‘Me’ and the confused working of the ordinary powers. This barrier provides the resistance against which work may be done. No resistance, no work; work is necessary to strengthen the powers and prepare them for the great awakening. Behind the barrier lies the treasure, which is the goal of spiritual work.

“The kingdom of heaven is like unto treasure hid in a field; the which when a man hath found, he hideth, and for joy thereof goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field.” (Gospel of Matthew 13:44).

“Dai-Ju visited the master Ba-So in China. Ba-So asked, ‘What do you seek?’ ‘Enlightenment’ replied Dai-Ju. ‘You have your own treasure house, why do you search outside?’ ‘Where is my treasure house?’ ‘What you are asking is your treasure house.’ At these words Dai-Ju was enlightened; ever afterward he urged friends, ‘Open your treasure house and use those treasures.’

While those higher powers remain thus closed against us, we are ruled by sex, by far the most powerful intelligence working in us. Sex does far more than is ordinarily realized; procreation being only a small part of its work.

It is the energy source for the whole machine. It sends the woman in search of a home and the man in search of a career. It is the power in courage, fortitude, sustained endeavour, battle; but it easily turns destructive. It is the strength of recklessness, vaulting ambition, the accumulation of vast riches, the crushing of competitors, and the trampling of nations underfoot.

Do we not know that the most vicious quarrels are between husband and wife and parent and child? In its right place doing its own work it does nothing but good; but in the wrong place, doing the wrong work it is highly destructive. Beware of its flooding. When the power of Sex floods into the other parts, it sets the heart racing and knocks the head silly, so that we imagine, say and do things which we know at the time, but just too late, are disastrous. Alternately, at the bottom of its cycle, it hangs on us like a leaden weight, pulling us into unreasoning depression.

The false working of this great intelligence with its overwhelming power may be brought under control, by ridding ourselves of those follies which render it dangerous. This is done by work on the mind and the body. It is done by attention; by hearing the teaching and putting it into practice. In its right place Sex is creative. We must learn to keep it there. Only then will we gain power to find the treasure hidden behind the barrier.

Practice:

 The rising of passion is a display of sexual energy. Watch anytime anger arises, or a destructive action is about to take place in word or deed. At this time bring the body into view, let the mind fall still, and open awareness wide, and try to hold this silent open awareness for a few minutes.

Know Thyself

When we first come to this work, we believe that each is one person and always the same person, having consciousness, will and the power to choose. Only a vague, uncertain memory causes us to doubt whether something is not lacking. Thus, some feel a lack of knowledge; others, that their ideas are scattered, lacking coherence and method; others feel a lack of aim or purpose; while yet others wonder what life is and what it means.

After only a few weeks of practicing attention, we discover a strange fact. Most of the time, we are not. Our waking intelligence has vacated the body and the place where we are, and is lost in an unreal imaginary world. Upon the slightest stimulus, our inner and outer worlds change completely, so that we are different from one moment to another, and live in a different environment.

Occasionally, as the result of practice, we come back to ourselves, realizing that we are and where we are; but in the same moment, we realize that we do not know how we got there, or what we have been doing since last we came to ourselves. In such moments, we see that we have been asleep; all the busy doing has been done through us and not by us, for we were not there to do it. In such moment we realize that we are not one person, nor always the same person; that we have little consciousness, and rarely; that we do not exercise will or choice, but behave like machines driven by powers we know nothing of.

These moments are rare and short lived at first. Most of the time we forget. Thinking we are unified and stable, we do not seek unity and stability; thinking we are

47 conscious, we do not strive to wake up; thinking we have will, we do not search for it; thinking we have choice, we do not long for it. Forgetfulness is our enemy. But as with practice these moments increase, they awaken a hunger and thirst in us for those very things which we thought we had, and which we lack - wholeness, unity, consciousness, will and choice. And this hunger and thirst engenders in us a power, a new love of knowledge, truth and life.

Our practice is to bring the body into view, let the mind fall silent, and open awareness wide, and try to hold this silent open awareness for a few minutes, and to repeat this two or three times every day. We must bring the body into view to know that we are; let the mind fall silent so that we may a little hear and see; open awareness wide to know where we are; all three at once.

This practice puts the Watchman in place, so that both the outer and inner worlds are held in observation. Practiced regularly each day when we may be quiet, it enables us to come to ourselves at odd moments during the day and see our situation as it really is.

The words carved over the door of the Oracle at Delphi are “Know Thyself”. From the beginning, these words point the direction, and reveal level upon level of meaning as we proceed. What is for us the practical meaning of “Know Thyself”?

At the outset we come to know the small things about ourselves as our awareness is heightened. By the same action, and at the same moment, we see more of the place where we are. As we look deeper in by this method, we see further out at the same time. This seeing takes a new direction. As we see a little beneath the surface within ourselves, seeing the inner confusions and how they may be stopped, we see behind the façade of others also; we see there what we have seen in ourselves; no more, no less. Sight becomes insight.

At these rare moment when we come to ourselves and look, we see others as mirrors of ourselves; they show us what we may see in ourselves, and therefore we do not judge them, for in judging them we judge ourselves. Instead, they remind us sharply of what we need to do in that very moment. We need to come to ourselves, bring our body into view, let the mind fall silent, and give them attention, wide and open; and behold, by this effort they will do the same. Thus faithfully are we mirrored.

By this method, remembering how we are mirrored, our minds are deflected into a ‘new way’. And though at first these moments are rare and of short duration, if we persevere every day, their frequency grows and their duration extends, by which we see more deeply within and without; until, glimpsing good in ourselves, we glimpse it

48 in everything else at the same time. With every step, it is as though we climbed a mountain, and as we made the steep ascent, step by step, things came into view which formerly were hid.

Do we not know that two people may meet, and because of the mood of the one and his inner state, he must say something that were better left unsaid? And because of the mood of the other and his inner state, he must react in a way it were better not to react? And if we were to take a stand more deeply within ourselves, and from self- knowledge see the moods of each, their mental confusion and the rest, would we not also see what one must say and how the other must react? If we knew in ourselves what causes produced these moods and confusions and how they led to statements and reactions, do you think we might recognize them in others before the event? And therefore know the past, present and future of the two?

It is thus with consciousness. With each great step, new worlds come into view; the world of Instinct which governs life; the world of Feeling which governs being; the world of Intellect which knows how all things are governed.

This is the holy mountain of every religion; the steps in awakening consciousness.

“And seeing the multitude, he went up into the mountain; and when he was set, his disciples came unto him: And he opened his mouth, and taught them saying, Blessed are the poor in spirit…” (Gospel of Matthew 5: 1-3).

Practices:

 Have we seen the choice of going on being mechanical or coming to ourselves and stopping the mechanical action?

 Practice: Try to remember yourself when in the middle of an argument.

. . . . .

Hidden within us are the great powers of Higher Intellect and Higher Feeling. We are only cut off from them by the confusion of our ordinary minds, and by the false picture of ourselves to which we cling and which belies the truth.

Higher Intellect is the seat of consciousness; all else its reflection. It is the creative principle in Man, his true Self, and it knows all about him. It stands at the top of the mountain.

Cosmic in its proportions; able to view the whole solar creation; it is often called the Sun of the intellect. It is at once the source of man’s being and the goal of his highest endeavours, the beginning and the end.

“And when he was demanded of the Pharisees, when the Kingdom of God should come, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God cometh not with observation: Neither shall they say, Lo here! Or Lo there! For, behold, the kingdom of God is within you” (Gospel of Luke 17: 20, 21).

This is the ultimate end of the direction “Know Thyself”. It cannot be reached directly. One must proceed by steps.

Objective Governed by Consciousness higher intellect

Subjective Governed by Consciousness higher feeling

Awakened Governed by Consciousness emotionalparts

Waking sleep Governed by external events & moving parts Sleep Governed by instinct & inner state

Next in power to Higher Intellect itself is Higher Feeling. This unites, cleanses, makes whole and conscious. It is the union in one new whole of all emotional powers in man, in which love of knowledge, love of truth and love of life become one, the love of wisdom. It is the seat of philosophy and its constant aim is to attain the higher Self in which wisdom is found. It knows goodness and truth, it sees them in everything.

It is of this Higher Feeling that St Paul wrote his famous passage on charity:

“Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked,……. Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things. Charity never faileth.” (Cor. 1, 13)

How may this be attained? By opening a gate in the barrier created by ‘Me’, mechanical and confused working. When our ordinary Feeling is nourished and strengthened and cleansed of impurities, it rises in power above Instinct and movement, until it attains to power of Higher Feeling itself. When this happens the gate in the heart opens and a man becomes conscious. Then may he enter into his higher powers.

This strengthening and cleansing begins in the Intellect. When it is clear and silent, detached and watching, it may guard the heart against the power of thought and excitement. It may nourish the heart by seeking out food for it. It may bring order into the moving parts. In this way through Intellect we begin to cleanse and purify Feeling. When this is done the gate will open. When Feeling is pure, the gate will open.

Jesus said: “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God” (Gospel of Matthew 5:8).

. . . . .

Epilogue - Truth

We could move through all the days of our life, recognizing that the head was full of circling thought, that the heart was alternately excited and depressed and that our movements were incompetent, but why should we bother to stop these disorders? Are we not perfectly happy as we are?

There is one simple reason why we should wish to change these things. The reason is, they are not true.

It is said that the truth about anything can be judged very simply, for that which is true is ever the same, does not change, neither improves nor decays. If the thing in question does not exhibit these qualities, then it cannot be true.

Truth lives in each one of us, waiting to be revealed, but does not act as a master. No happiness is like that in which the reasoning powers, the feeling powers and the active powers move together, manifesting the truth in man.

Truth has no face by which it may be recognized, nor body by which it may be known, yet the man who has found truth in himself knows it, and sees it in everything. True ideas belong to the Intellect; a true friend to Feeling; a true craftsman to the Instinct.

Truth is hidden from us, first, because of the darkness in which we live and which conceals our inner workings from us, so that we are deceived by erroneous thoughts, charmed by false imaginings, overwhelmed by excitement or depression, or carried away by repetitive movement.

The light we need is the light of consciousness. Just as the light of the sun illumines the physical world during the day, so may the light of consciousness illumine our whole being, night and day. Just as the light of the moon reflecting the light of the sun, may dimly illumine the objects of the night, so the light of the mind, reflecting the light of consciousness, may illumine the moving parts of the three great Intelligences. Our practice is to strengthen and gain control of this mental light.

A man who hears the teaching and practices it, is brought into a deep and silent power within himself, which raises him above the follies, vexations and unnecessary doing of sleeping men, leaving him free to manage his affairs without attachment or involvement. But the man who hears it only and does not do it, is led into greater confusion and verbal complexity. Simplicity is found in practice. Simplicity leads to truth.