A SERIES OF LESSONS IN RAJA YOGA By YOGI RAMACHARAKA Author of "Fourteen Lessons in Yogi Philosophy and Oriental Occultism""Advanced Course in Yogi Philosophy, etc. "; "Hatha Yoga"; "PsychicHealing"; "Science of Breath. " etc. 1906 "_When the soul sees itself as a Center surrounded by itscircumference--when the Sun knows that it is a Sun, surrounded by itswhirling planets-then is it ready for the Wisdom and Power of theMasters_. " PUBLISHERS' NOTICE The lessons which compose this volume, originally appeared in the shapeof monthly lessons, the first of which was issued in October, 1905, andthe twelfth in September, 1906. These lessons met with a hearty andgenerous response from the public, and the present volume is issued inresponse to the demand for the lessons in a permanent and durable form. There have been no changes made in the text. The publishers take the liberty to call the attention of the reader tothe great amount of information condensed within the space given to eachlesson. Students have told us that they have found it necessary to readand study each lesson carefully, in order to absorb the variedinformation contained within its pages. They have also stated that theyhave found it advisable to re-read the lessons several times, allowing aninterval between each reading and that at each re-reading they woulddiscover information that had escaped them during the course of theprevious study. This has been repeated to us so often that we feeljustified in mentioning it, that other readers might avail themselves ofthe same course and plan of study. Following his usual custom, the writer of the lessons has declined towrite a preface for this book, claiming that the lessons speak forthemselves, and that those for whom they are intended will receive themessage contained within them, without any prefatory talk. THE YOGI PUBLICATION SOCIETY. INDEX LESSON I. The "I" LESSON II. The Ego's Mental Tools LESSON III. The Expansion of the Self LESSON IV. Mental Control LESSON V. The Cultivation of Attention LESSON VI. Cultivation of Perception LESSON VII. The Unfoldment of Consciousness LESSON VIII. The Highlands and Lowlands of Mind LESSON IX. The Mental Planes LESSON X. Sub-Consciousing LESSON XI. Sub-Conscious Character Building LESSON XII. Sub-Conscious Influences THE FIRST LESSON. THE "I. " In India, the Candidates for Initiation into the science of "Raja Yoga, "when they apply to the Yogi Masters for instruction, are given a seriesof lessons designed to enlighten them regarding the nature of the RealSelf, and to instruct them in the secret knowledge whereby they maydevelop the consciousness and realization of the real "I" within them. They are shown how they may cast aside the erroneous or imperfectknowledge regarding their real identity. Until the Candidate masters this instruction, or at least until the truthbecomes fixed in his consciousness, further instruction is denied him, for it is held that until he has awakened to a conscious realization ofhis Actual Identity, he is not able to understand the source of hispower, and, moreover, is not able to _feel_ within him the power of theWill, which power underlies the entire teachings of "Raja Yoga. " The Yogi Masters are hot satisfied if the Candidate forms merely a clearintellectual conception of this Actual Identity, but they insist that hemust _feel_ the truth of the same--must become _aware_ of the RealSelf--must enter into a consciousness in which the realization becomes apart of his everyday self--in which the realizing consciousness becomesthe prevailing idea in his mind, around which his entire thoughts andactions revolve. To some Candidates, this realization comes like a lightning flash themoment the attention is directed toward it, while in other cases theCandidates find it necessary to follow a rigorous course of trainingbefore they acquire the realization in consciousness. The Yogi Masters teach that there are two degrees of this awakeningconsciousness of the Real Self. The first, which they call "theConsciousness of the 'I', " is the full consciousness of _real_ existencethat comes to the Candidate, and which causes him to _know_ that he is areal entity having a life not depending upon the body--life that will goon in spite of the destruction of the body--_real_ life, in fact. Thesecond degree, which they call "the Consciousness of the 'I AM', " isthe consciousness of one's identity with the Universal Life, and hisrelationship to, and "in-touchness" with all life, expressed andunexpressed. These two degrees of consciousness come in time to all whoseek "The Path. " To some it comes suddenly; to others it dawns gradually;to many it comes assisted by the exercises and practical work of "RajaYoga. " The first lesson of the Yogi Masters to the Candidates, leading up to thefirst degree, above mentioned, is as follows: That the SupremeIntelligence of the Universe--the Absolute--has manifested the being thatwe call Man--the highest manifestation on this planet. The Absolute hasmanifested an infinitude of forms of life in the Universe, includingdistant worlds, suns, planets, etc. , many of these forms being unknown tous on this planet, and being impossible of conception by the mind of theordinary man. But these lessons have nothing to do with that part of thephilosophy which deals with these myriad forms of life, for our time willbe taken up with the unfoldment in the mind of man of his true nature andpower. Before man attempts to solve the secrets of the Universe without, he should master the Universe within--the Kingdom of the Self. When hehas accomplished this, then he may, and should, go forth to gain theouter knowledge as a Master demanding its secrets, rather than as a slavebegging for the crumbs from the table of knowledge. The first knowledgefor the Candidate is the knowledge of the Self. Man, the highest manifestation of the Absolute, as far as this planet isconcerned, is a wonderfully organized being--although the average manunderstands but little of his real nature. He comprises within hisphysical, mental and spiritual make-up both the highest and the lowest, as we have shown in our previous lessons (the "Fourteen Lessons" and the"Advanced Course"). In his bones he manifests almost in the form ofmineral life, in fact, in his bones, body and blood mineral substancesactually exist. The physical life of the body resembles the life of theplant. Many of the physical desires and emotions are akin to those of thelower animals, and in the undeveloped man these desires and emotionspredominate and overpower the higher nature, which latter is scarcely inevidence. Then Man has a set of mental characteristics that are his own, and which are not possessed by the lower animals (See "FourteenLessons"). And in addition to the mental faculties common to all men, orrather, that are in evidence in a greater or lesser degree among all men, there are still higher faculties latent within Man, which when manifestedand expressed render Man more than ordinary Man. The unfoldment of theselatent faculties is possible to all who have reached the proper stage ofdevelopment, and the desire and hunger of the student for thisinstruction is caused by the pressure of these unfolding latentfaculties, crying to be born into consciousness. Then there is thatwonderful thing, the Will, which is but faintly understood by thoseignorant of the Yogi Philosophy--the Power of the Ego--its birthrightfrom the Absolute. But while these mental and physical things _belong_ to Man, they are_not_ the Man himself. Before the Man is able to master, control, anddirect the things belonging to him--his tools and instruments--he mustawaken to a realization of Himself. He must be able to distinguishbetween the "I" and the "Not I. " And this is the first task before theCandidate. That which is the Real Self of Man is the Divine Spark sent forth fromthe Sacred Flame. It is the Child of the Divine Parent. It isImmortal--Eternal--Indestructible--Invincible. It possesses withinitself Power, Wisdom, and Reality. But like the infant that containswithin itself the sometime Man, the mind of Man is unaware of its latentand potential qualities, and does not know itself. As it awakens andunfolds into the knowledge of its real nature, it manifests itsqualities, and realizes what the Absolute has given it. When the RealSelf begins to awaken, it sets aside from itself those things whichare but appendages to it, but which it, in its half-waking state, hadregarded as its Self. Setting aside first this, and then that, it finallydiscards all of the "Not I, " leaving the Real Self free and deliveredfrom its bondage to its appendages. Then it returns to the discardedappendages, and makes use of them. In considering the question: "What is the Real Self?" let us first stopto examine what man usually means when he says "I. " The lower animals do not possess this "I" sense. They are conscious ofthe outer world; of their own desires and animal cravings and feelings. But their consciousness has not reached the Self-conscious stage. Theyare not able to think of themselves as separate entities, and to reflectupon their thoughts. They are not possessed of a consciousness of theDivine Spark--the Ego--the Real Self. The Divine Spark is hidden in thelower forms of life--even in the lower forms of human life--by manysheaths that shut out its light. But, nevertheless, it is there, always. It sleeps within the mind of the savage--then, as he unfolds, it beginsto throw out its light. In you, the Candidate, it is fighting hard tohave its beams pierce through the material coverings When the Real Selfbegins to arouse itself from its sleep, its dreams vanish from it, and itbegins to see the world as it is, and to recognize itself in Reality andnot as the distorted thing of its dreams. The savage and barbarian are scarcely conscious of the "I. " They are buta little above the animal in point of consciousness, and their "I" isalmost entirely a matter of the consciousness of the wants of the body;the satisfaction of the appetites; the gratification of the passions; thesecuring of personal comfort; the expression of lust, savage power, etc. In the savage the lower part of the Instinctive Mind is the seat of the"I. " (See "Fourteen Lessons" for explanation of the several mental planesof man. ) If the savage could analyze his thoughts he would say that the"I" was the physical body, the said body having certain "feelings, ""wants" and "desires. " The "I" of such a man is a physical "I, " the bodyrepresenting its form and substance. Not only is this true of the savage, but even among so-called "civilized" men of to-day we find many in thisstage. They have developed powers of thinking and reasoning, but they donot "live in their minds" as do some of their brothers. They use theirthinking powers for the gratification of their bodily desires andcravings, and really live on the plane of the Instinctive Mind. Such aperson may speak of "my mind, " or "my soul, " not from a high positionwhere he looks upon these things from the standpoint of a Master whorealizes his Real Self, but from below, from the point-of-view of the manwho lives on the plane of the Instinctive Mind and who sees above_himself_ the higher attributes. To such people the body is the "I. "Their "I" is bound up with the senses, and that which comes to themthrough the senses. Of course, as Man advances in "culture" and"civilization, " his senses become educated, and are satisfied only withmore refined things, while the less cultivated man is perfectly satisfiedwith the more material and gross sense gratifications. Much that we call"cultivation" and "culture" is naught but a cultivation of a more refinedform of sense gratification, instead of a real advance in consciousnessand unfoldment. It is true that the advanced student and Master ispossessed of highly developed senses, often far surpassing those of theordinary man, but in such cases the senses have been cultivated under themastery of the Will, and are made servants of the Ego instead of thingshindering the progress of the soul--they are made servants instead ofmasters. As Man advances in the scale, he begins to have a somewhat higherconception of the "I. " He begins to use his mind and reason, and hepasses on to the Mental Plane--his mind begins to manifest upon the planeof Intellect. He finds that there is something within him that is higherthan the body. He finds that his mind seems more _real_ to him than doesthe physical part of him, and in times of deep thought and study he isable almost to forget the existence of the body. In this second stage, Man soon becomes perplexed. He finds problems thatdemand an answer, but as soon as he thinks he has answered them theproblems present themselves in a new phase, and he is called upon to"explain his explanation. " The mind, even although not controlled anddirected by the Will, has a wonderful range, but, nevertheless, Man findshimself traveling around and around in a circle, and realizes that he isconfronted continually by the Unknown. This disturbs him, and the higherthe stage of "book learning" he attains, the more disturbed does hebecome. The man of but little knowledge does not see the existence ofmany problems that force themselves before the attention of the man ofmore knowledge, and demand an explanation from him. The tortures of theman who has attained the mental growth that enables him to see the newproblems and the impossibility of their answer, cannot be imagined by onewho has not advanced to that stage. The man in this stage of consciousness thinks of his "I" as a mentalthing, having a lower companion, the body. He feels that he has advanced, but yet his "I" does not give him the answer to the riddles and questionsthat perplex him. And he becomes most unhappy. Such men often developinto Pessimists, and consider the whole of life as utterly evil anddisappointing--a curse rather than a blessing. Pessimism belongs to thisplane, for neither the Physical Plane man or the Spiritual Plane man havethis curse of Pessimism. The former man has no such disquieting thoughts, for he is almost entirely absorbed in gratifying his animal nature, whilethe latter man recognizes his mind as an instrument of himself, ratherthan as _himself_, and knows it to be imperfect in its present stage ofgrowth. He knows that he has in himself the key to all knowledge--lockedup in the Ego--and which the trained mind, cultivated, developed andguided by the awakened Will, may grasp as it unfolds. Knowing this theadvanced man no longer despairs, and, recognizing his real nature, andhis possibilities, as he awakens into a consciousness of his powers andcapabilities, he laughs at the old despondent, pessimistic ideas, anddiscards them like a worn-out garment. Man on the Mental Plane ofconsciousness is like a huge elephant who knows not his own strength. Hecould break down barriers and assert himself over nearly any condition orenvironment, but in his ignorance of his real condition and power he maybe mastered by a puny driver, or frightened by the rustling of a piece ofpaper. When the Candidate becomes an Initiate--when he passes from the purelyMental Plane on to the Spiritual Plane--he realizes that the "I, " theReal Self--is something higher than either body or mind, and that both ofthe latter may be used as tools and instruments by the Ego or "I. " Thisknowledge is not reached by purely intellectual reasoning, although suchefforts of the mind are often necessary to help in the unfoldment, andthe Masters so use it. The real knowledge, however, comes as a specialform of consciousness. The Candidate becomes "aware" of the real "I, " andthis consciousness being attained, he passes to the rank of theInitiates. When the Initiate passes the second degree of consciousness, and begins to grow into a realization of his relationship to theWhole--when he begins to manifest the Expansion of Self--then is he onthe road to Mastership. In the present lesson we shall endeavor to point out to the Candidate themethods of developing or increasing the realization of this "I"consciousness--this first degree work. We give the following exercises ordevelopment drills for the Candidate to practice. He will find that acareful and conscientious following of these directions will tend tounfold in him a sufficient degree of the "I" consciousness, to enable himto enter into higher stages of development and power. All that isnecessary is for the Candidate to feel within himself the dawn of theawakening consciousness, or awareness of the Real Self. The higher stagesof the "I" consciousness come gradually, for once on the Path there is noretrogression or going backward. There may be pauses on the journey, butthere is no such thing as actually losing that which is once gained onThe Path. This "I" consciousness, even in its highest stages, is but a preliminarystep toward what is called "Illumination, " and which signifies theawakening of the Initiate to a realization of his actual connection withand relation to the Whole. The full sight of the glory of the "I, " is buta faint reflected glow of "Illumination. " The Candidate, once that heenters fully into the "I" consciousness, becomes an "Initiate. " And theInitiate who enters into the dawn of Illumination takes his first stepupon the road to Mastery. The Initiation is the awakening of the soul toa knowledge of its real existence--the Illumination is the revelation ofthe real nature of the soul, and of its relationship with the Whole. After the first dawn of the "I" consciousness has been attained, theCandidate is more able to grasp the means of developing the consciousnessto a still higher degree--is more able to use the powers latent withinhim; to control his own mental states; to manifest a Centre ofConsciousness and Influence that will radiate into the outer world whichis always striving and hunting for such centres around which it mayrevolve. Man must master himself before he can hope to exert an influence beyondhimself. There is no royal road to unfoldment and power--each step mustbe taken in turn, and each Candidate must take the step himself, and byhis own effort. But he may, and will, be aided by the helping hand of theteachers who have traveled The Path before him, and who know just whenthat helping hand is needed to lift the Candidate over the rough places. We bid the Candidate to pay strict attention to the followinginstruction, as it is all important. Do not slight any part of it, for weare giving you only what is necessary, and are stating it as briefly aspossible. Pay attention, and follow the instruction closely. This lessonmust be mastered before you progress. And it must be practiced not onlynow, but at many stages of the journey, until full Initiation andIllumination is yours. RULES AND EXERCISES DESIGNED TO AID THE CANDIDATE IN HIS INITIATION. The first instruction along the line of Initiation is designed to awakenthe mind to a full realization and consciousness of the individuality ofthe "I. " The Candidate is taught to relax his body, and to calm his mindand to meditate upon the "I" until it is presented clearly and sharplybefore the consciousness. We herewith give directions for producing thedesired physical and mental condition, in which meditation andconcentration are more readily practiced. This state of Meditation willbe referred to in subsequent exercises, so the Candidate is advised toacquaint himself thoroughly with it. STATE OF MEDITATION. If possible, retire to a quiet place or room, whereyou do not fear interruption, so that your mind may feel secure and atrest. Of course, the ideal condition cannot always be obtained, in whichcase you must do the best you can. The idea is that you should be able toabstract yourself, so far as is possible, from distracting impressions, and you should be alone with yourself--in communion with your Real Self. It is well to place yourself in an easy chair, or on a couch, so that youmay relax the muscles and free the tension of your nerves. You should beable to "let go" all over, allowing every muscle to become limp, until afeeling of perfect peace and restful calm permeates every particle ofyour being. Rest the body and calm the mind. This condition is best inthe earlier stages of the practice, although after the Candidate hasacquired a degree of mastery he will be able to obtain the physicalrelaxation and mental calm whenever and wherever he desires. But he must guard against acquiring a "dreamy" way of going around, wrapped in meditation when he should be attending to the affairs of life. _Remember this_, the State of Meditation should be entirely under thecontrol of the Will, and should be entered into only deliberately and atthe proper times. The Will must be master of this, as well as of everyother mental state. The Initiates are not "day dreamers, " but men andwomen having full control of themselves and their moods. The "I"consciousness while developed by meditation and consciousness, soonbecomes a fixed item of consciousness, and does not have to be producedby meditation. In time of trial, doubt, or trouble, the consciousness maybe brightened by an effort of the Will (as we shall explain in subsequentlessons) without going into the State of Meditation. THE REALIZATION OF THE "I. " The Candidate must first acquaint himselfwith the reality of the "I, " before he will be able to learn its realnature. This is the first step. Let the Candidate place himself in theState of Meditation, as heretofore described. Then let him concentratehis entire attention upon his Individual Self, shutting out all thoughtof the outside world, and other persons. Let him form in his mind theidea of himself as a _real_ thing--an actual being--an individualentity--a Sun around which revolves the world. He must see himself as theCentre around which the whole world revolves. Let not a false modesty, orsense of depreciation interfere with this idea, for you are not denyingthe right of others to also consider themselves centres. You are, infact, a centre of consciousness--made so by the Absolute--and you areawakening to the fact. Until the Ego recognizes itself as a Centre ofThought, Influence and Power, it will not be able to _manifest_ thesequalities. And in proportion as it recognizes its position as a centre, so will it be able to manifest its qualities. It is not necessary thatyou should compare yourself with others, or imagine yourself greater orhigher than them. In fact, such comparisons are to be regretted, and areunworthy of the advanced Ego, being a mark and indication of a lack ofdevelopment, rather than the reverse. In the Meditation simply ignore allconsideration of the respective qualities of others, and endeavor torealize the fact that YOU are a great Centre of Consciousness--a Centreof Power--a Centre of Influence--a Centre of Thought. And that like theplanets circling around the sun, so does your world revolve around YOUwho are its centre. It will not be necessary for you to argue out thismatter, or to convince yourself of its truth by intellectual reasoning. The knowledge does not come in that way. It comes in the shape of arealization of the truth gradually dawning upon your consciousnessthrough meditation and concentration. Carry this thought of yourself as a"Centre of Consciousness--Influence--Power" with you, _for it is anoccult truth, _ and in the proportion that you are able, to realize it sowill be your ability to manifest the qualities named. No matter how humble may be your position--no matter how hard may be yourlot--no matter how deficient in educational advantages you may be--stillyou would not change your "I" with the most fortunate, wisest and highestman or woman in the world. You may doubt this, but think for a moment andyou will see that we are right. When you say that you "would like to be"this person or that, you really mean that _you_ would like to have theirdegree of intelligence, power, wealth, position, or what not. What youwant is something that is theirs, or something akin to it. But you wouldnot for a moment wish to merge your _identity_ with theirs, or toexchange _selves_. Think of this for a moment To _be_ the other personyou would have to let _yourself_ die, and instead of _yourself_ you wouldbe the other person. The real _you_ would be wiped out of existence, andyou would not be _you_ at all, but would be _he_. If you can but grasp this idea you will see that not for a moment wouldyou be willing for such an exchange. Of course such an exchange isimpossible. The "I" of you cannot be wiped out. It is eternal, and willgo on, and on, and on, to higher and higher states--but it always will bethe same "I. " Just as you, although a far different sort of person fromyour childhood self, still you recognize that the same "I" is there, andalways has been there. And although you will attain knowledge, experience, power and wisdom in the coming years, the same "I" will bethere. The "I" is the Divine Spark and cannot be extinguished. The majority of people in the present stage of the race development havebut a faint conception of the reality of the "I. " They accept thestatement of its existence, and are conscious of themselves as an eating, sleeping, living creature--something like a higher form of animal. Butthey have not awakened to an "awareness" or realization of the "I, " whichmust come to all who become real centres of Influence and Power. Some menhave stumbled into this consciousness, or a degree of it, withoutunderstanding the matter. They have "felt" the truth of it, and they havestepped out from the ranks of the commonplace people of the world, andhave become powers for good or bad. This is unfortunate to some extent, as this "awareness" without the knowledge that should accompany it maybring pain to the individual and others. The Candidate must meditate upon the "I, " and recognize it--_feel_ it--tobe a Centre. This is his first task. Impress upon your mind the word "I, "in this sense and understanding, and let it sink deep down into yourconsciousness, so that it will become a part of you. And when you say"I, " you must accompany the word with the picture of your Ego as a Centreof Consciousness, and Thought, and Power, and Influence. See yourselfthus, surrounded by your world. Wherever you go, there goes the Centre ofyour world. YOU are the Centre, and all outside of you revolves aroundthat Centre. This is the first great lesson on the road to Initiation. Learn it! The Yogi Masters teach the Candidates that their realization of the "I"as a Centre may be hastened by going into the Silence, or State ofMeditation, and repeating their first name over slowly, deliberately andsolemnly a number of times. This exercise tends to cause the mind tocentre upon the "I, " and many cases of dawning Initiation have resultedfrom this practice. Many original thinkers have stumbled upon thismethod, without having been taught it. A noted example is that of LordTennyson, who has written that he attained a degree of Initiation in thisway. He would repeat his own name, over and over, and the same timemeditating upon his identity, and he reports that he would becomeconscious and "aware" of his reality and immortality--in short wouldrecognize himself as a _real_ center of consciousness. We think we have given you the key to the first stage of meditation andconcentration. Before passing on, let us quote from one of the old HinduMasters. He says, regarding this matter: "When the soul sees itself as aCentre surrounded by its circumference--when the Sun knows that it is aSun, and is surrounded by its whirling planets--then is it ready for theWisdom and Power of the Masters. " THE KNOWLEDGE OF THE INDEPENDENCE OF THE "I" FROM THE BODY. Many of theCandidates find themselves prevented from a full realization of the "I"(even after they have begun to grasp it) by the confusing of the realityof the "I" with the sense of the physical body. This is a stumbling blockthat is easily overcome by meditation and concentration, the independenceof the "I" often becoming manifest to the Candidate in a flash, upon theproper thought being used as the subject of meditation. The exercise is given as follows: Place yourself in the State ofMeditation, and think of YOURSELF--the Real "I"--as being independent ofthe body, but using the body as a covering and an instrument. Think ofthe body as you might of a suit of clothes. Realize that you are able toleave the body, and still be the same "I. " Picture yourself as doingthis, and looking down upon your body. Think of the body as a shell fromwhich you may emerge without affecting your identity. Think of yourselfas mastering and controlling the body that you occupy, and using it tothe best advantage, making it healthy, strong and vigorous, but stillbeing merely a shell or covering for the real "You. " Think of the body ascomposed of atoms and cells which are constantly changing, but which areheld together by the force of your Ego, and which you can improve atWill. Realize that you are merely inhabiting the body, and using it foryour convenience, just as you might use a house. In meditating further, ignore the body entirely, and place your thoughtupon the Real "I" that you are beginning to feel to be "you, " and youwill find that your identity--your "I"--is something entirely apart fromthe body. You may now say "my body" with a new meaning. Divorce the ideaof your being a physical being, and realize that you are above body. Butdo not let this conception and realization cause you to ignore the body. You must regard the body as the Temple of the Spirit, and care for it, and make it a fit habitation for the "I. " Do not be frightened if, duringthis meditation, you happen to experience the sensation of being out ofthe body for a few moments, and of returning to it when you are throughwith the exercise. The Ego is able (in the case of the advanced Initiate)of soaring above the confines of the body, but it never severs itsconnection at such times. It is merely as if one were to look out of thewindow of a room, seeing what was going on outside, and drawing in hishead when he wishes. He does not leave the room, although he may placehis head outside in order to observe what is doing in the street. We donot advise the Candidate to try to cultivate this sensation--but if itcomes naturally during meditation, do not fear. REALIZING THE IMMORTALITY AND INVINCIBILITY OF THE EGO. While themajority accept on faith the belief in the Immortality of the Soul, yetbut few are aware that it may be demonstrated by the soul itself. TheYogi Masters teach the Candidates this lesson, as follows: The Candidateplaces himself in the State of Meditation, or at least in a thoughtfulframe of mind, and then endeavors to "imagine" himself as "dead"--thatis, he tries to form a mental conception of himself as dead. This, atfirst thought, appears a very easy thing to imagine, but as a matter offact it is _impossible_ to do so, for the Ego refuses to entertain theproposition, and finds it impossible to imagine it. Try it for yourself. You will find that you may be able to imagine your _body_ as lying stilland lifeless, but the same thought finds that in so doing _You_ arestanding and looking at the body. So you see that _You_ are not dead atall, even in imagination, although the body may be. Or, if you refuse todisentangle yourself from your body, in imagination, you may think ofyour body as dead but _You_ who refuse to leave it are still _alive_ andrecognize the dead body as a thing apart from your Real Self. No matterhow you may twist it you _cannot_ imagine yourself as dead. The Egoinsists upon being _alive_ in any of these thoughts, and thus finds thatit has within itself the sense and assurance of Immortality. In case ofsleep or stupor resulting from a blow, or from narcotics or anaesthetics, the mind is apparently blank, but the "I" is conscious of a continuity ofexistence. And so one may imagine himself as being in an unconsciousstate, or asleep, quite easily, and sees the possibility of such a state, but when it comes to imagining the "I" as dead, the mind utterly refusesto do the work. This wonderful fact that the soul carries within itselfthe evidence of its own immortality is a glorious thing, but one musthave reached a degree of unfoldment before he is able to grasp its fullsignificance. The Candidate is advised to investigate the above statement for himself, by meditation and concentration, for in order that the "I" may know itstrue nature and possibilities, it must realize that it cannot bedestroyed or killed. It must know what it is before it is able tomanifest its nature. So do not leave this part of the teaching until youhave mastered it. And it is well occasionally to return to it, in orderthat you may impress upon the mind the fact of your immortal and eternalnature. The mere glimmering of this conception of truth will give you anincreased sense of strength and power, and you will find that your Selfhas expanded and grown, and that you are more of a power and Centre thanyou have heretofore realized. The following exercises are useful in bringing about a realization of theinvincibility of the Ego--its superiority to the elements. Place yourself in the State of Meditation, and imagine the "I" aswithdrawn from the body. See it passing through the tests of air, fireand water unharmed. The body being out of the way, the soul is seen tobe able of passing through the air at will--of floating like a bird--ofsoaring--of traveling in the ether. It may be seen as able to passthrough fire without harm and without sensation, for the elements affectonly the physical body, not the Real "I. " Likewise it may be seen aspassing through water without discomfort or danger or hurt. This meditation will give you a sense of superiority and strength, andwill show you something of the nature of the real "I. " It is true thatyou are confined in the body, and the body may be affected by theelements, but the knowledge that the Real "I" is superior to thebody--superior to the elements that affect the body--and cannot beinjured any more than it can be killed, is wonderful, and tends todevelop the full "I" consciousness within you. For You--the Real "I"--arenot body. You are Spirit. The Ego is Immortal and Invincible, and cannotbe killed and harmed. When you enter into this realization andconsciousness, you will feel an influx of strength and power impossibleto describe. Fear will fall from you like a worn-out cloak, and you willfeel that you are "born again. " An understanding of this thought, willshow you that the things that we have been fearing cannot affect the Real"I, " but must rest content with hurting the physical body. And they maybe warded off from the physical body by a proper understanding andapplication of the Will. In our next lesson, you will be taught how to separate the "I" from themechanism of the mind--how you may realize your mastery of the mind, justas you now realize your independence of the body. This knowledge must beimparted to you by degrees, and you must place your feet firmly upon oneround of the ladder before you take the next step. The watchword of this First Lesson is "I. " And the Candidate must enterfully into its meaning before he is able to progress. He must realize hisreal existence--independent of the body. He must see himself asinvincible and impervious to harm, hurt, or death. He must see himself asa great Centre of Consciousness--a Sun around which his world revolves. Then will come to him a new strength. He will feel a calm dignity andpower, which will be apparent to those with whom he comes in contact. Hewill be able to look the world in the face without flinching, and withoutfear, for he will realize the nature and power of the "I. " He willrealize that he is a Centre of Power--of Influence. He will realize thatnothing can harm the "I, " and that no matter how the storms of life maydash upon the personality, the real "I"--the Individuality--is unharmed. Like a rock that stands steadfast throughout the storm, so does the "I"stand through the tempests of the life of personality. And he will knowthat as he grows in realization, he will be able to control these stormsand bid them be still. In the words of one of the Yogi Masters: "The 'I' is eternal. It passesunharmed through the fire, the air, the water. Sword and spear cannotkill or wound it. It cannot die. The trials of the physical life are butas dreams to it. Resting secure in the knowledge of the 'I, ' Man maysmile at the worst the world has to offer, and raising his hand he maybid them disappear into the mist from which they emerged. Blessed is he who can say (understandingly) 'I'. " So dear Candidate, we leave you to master the First Lesson. Be notdiscouraged if your progress be slow. Be not cast down if you slip back astep after having gained it. You will gain two at the next step. Successand realization will be yours. Mastery is before. You will Attain. Youwill Accomplish. Peace be with you. MANTRAMS (AFFIRMATIONS) FOR THE FIRST LESSON. "I" am a Centre. Around me revolves my world. "I" am a Centre of Influence and Power. "I" am a Centre of Thought and Consciousness. "I" am Independent of the Body. "I" am Immortal and cannot be Destroyed. "I" am Invincible and cannot be Injured. [Illustration: "I"] THE SECOND LESSON. THE EGO'S MENTAL TOOLS. In the First Lesson we gave instruction and exercises designed to awakenthe consciousness of the Candidate to a realization of the real "I. " Weconfined our instructions to the preliminary teachings of the reality ofthe "I, " and the means whereby the Candidate might be brought to arealization of his real Self, and its independence from the body and thethings of the flesh. We tried to show you how you might awaken to aconsciousness of the reality of the "I"; its real nature; itsindependence of the body; its immortality; its invincibility andinvulnerability. How well we have succeeded may be determined only bythe experience of each Candidate, for we can but point out the way, andthe Candidate must do the real work himself. But there is more to be said and done in this matter of awakening to arealization of the "I. " So far, we have but told you how to distinguishbetween the material coverings of the Ego and the "I" itself. We havetried to show you that you had a real "I, " and then to show you what itwas, and how it was independent of the material coverings, etc. But thereis still another step in this self analysis--a more difficult step. Evenwhen the Candidate has awakened to a realization of his independence ofthe body, and material coverings, he often confounds the "I" with thelower principles of the mind. This is a mistake. The Mind, in its variousphases and planes, is but a tool and instrument of the "I, " and is farfrom being the "I" itself. We shall try to bring out this fact in thislesson and its accompanying exercises. We shall avoid, and pass by, themetaphysical features of the case, and shall confine ourselves to theYogi Psychology. We shall not touch upon theories, nor attempt toexplain the cause, nature and purpose of the Mind--the working tool ofthe Ego--but instead shall attempt to point out a way whereby you mayanalyze the Mind and then determine which is the "not I" and which is thereal "I. " It is useless to burden you with theories or metaphysical talk, when the way to prove the thing is right within your own grasp. By usingthe mind, you will be able to separate it into its parts, and force it togive you its own answer to the questions touching itself. In the second and third lessons of our "_Fourteen Lessons_, " we pointedout to you the fact that man had three Mental Principles, or subdivisionsof mind, all of which were below the plane of Spirit. The "I" is Spirit, but its mental principles are of a lower order. Without wishing to undulyrepeat ourselves, we think it better to run hastily over these threePrinciples in the mind of Man. First, there is what is known as the Instinctive Mind, which man sharesin common with the lower animals. It is the first principle of mind thatappears in the scale of evolution. In its lowest phases, consciousnessis but barely perceptible, and mere sensation is apparent. In its higherstages it almost reaches the plane of Reason or Intellect, in fact, theyoverlap each other, or, rather, blend into each other. The InstinctiveMind does valuable work in the direction of maintaining animal life inour bodies, it having charge of this part of our being. It attends to theconstant work of repair; replacement; change; digestion; assimilation;elimination, etc. , all of which work is performed below the plane ofconsciousness. But this is but a small part of the work of the Instinctive Mind. Forthis part of the mind has stored up all the experiences of ourselves andancestors in our evolution from the lower forms of animal life into thepresent stage of evolution. All of the old animal instincts (which wereall right in their place, and quite necessary for the well-being of thelower forms of life) have left traces in this part of the mind, whichtraces are apt to come to the front under pressure of unusualcircumstances, even long after we think we have outgrown them. In thispart of the mind are to be found traces of the old fighting instinct ofthe animal; all the animal passions; all the hate, envy, jealousy, andthe rest of it, which are our inheritances from the past. The InstinctiveMind is also the "habit mind" in which is stored up all the little, andgreat, habits of many lives, or rather such as have not been entirelyeffaced by subsequent habits of a stronger nature. The Instinctive Mindis a queer storehouse, containing quite a variety of objects, many ofthem very good in their way, but others of which are the worst kind ofold junk and rubbish. This part of the mind also is the seat of the appetites; passions;desires; instincts; sensations; feelings and emotions of the lower order, manifested in the lower animals; primitive man; the barbarian; and theman of today, the difference being only in the degree of control overthem that has been gained by the higher parts of the mind. There arehigher desires, aspirations, etc. , belonging to a higher part of themind, which we will describe in a few minutes, but the "animal nature"belongs to the Instinctive Mind. To it also belong the "feelings"belonging to our emotional and passional nature. All animal desires, suchas hunger and thirst; sexual desires (on the physical plane); allpassions, such as physical love; hatred; envy; malice; jealousy; revenge, etc. , are part of this part of the mind. The desire for the physical(unless a means of reaching higher things) and the longing for thematerial, belong to this region of the mind. The "lust of the flesh; thelust of the eyes; the pride of life, " belong to the Instinctive Mind. Take note, however, that we are not condemning the things belonging tothis plane of the mind. All of them have their place--many were necessaryin the past, and many are still necessary for the continuance of physicallife. All are right in their place, and to those in the particular planeof development to which they belong, and are wrong only when one ismastered by them, or when he returns to pick up an unworthy thing thathas been cast off in the unfoldment of the individual. This lesson hasnothing to do with the right and wrong of these things (we have treatedof that elsewhere) and we mention this part of the mind that you mayunderstand that you have such a thing in your mental make-up, and thatyou may understand the thought, etc. , coming from it, when we start in toanalyze the mind in the latter part of this lesson. All we will ask youto do at this stage of the lesson is to realize that this part of themind, while _belonging_ to you, is _not_ You, yourself. It is _not_ the"I" part of you. Next in order, above the Instinctive Mind, is what we have called theIntellect, that part of the mind that does our reasoning, analyzing;"thinking, " etc. You are using it in the consideration of this lesson. But note this: You are _using_ it, but it is _not_ You, any more than wasthe Instinctive Mind that you considered a moment ago. You will begin tomake the separation, if you will think but a moment. We will not take upyour time with a consideration of Intellect or Reason. You will find agood description of this part of the mind in any good elementary work onPsychology. Our only idea in mentioning it is that you may make theclassification, and that we may afterward show you that the Intellect isbut a tool of the Ego, instead of being the real "I" itself, as so manyseem to imagine. The third, and highest, Mental Principle is what is called the SpiritualMind, that part of the mind which is almost unknown to many of the race, but which has developed into consciousness with nearly all who read thislesson, for the fact that the subject of this lesson attracts you is aproof that this part of your mental nature is unfolding intoconsciousness. This region of the mind is the source of that which wecall "genius, " "inspiration, " "spirituality, " and all that we considerthe "highest" in our mental make-up. All the great thoughts and ideasfloat into the field of consciousness from this part of the mind. All thegreat unfoldment of the race comes from there. All the higher mentalideas that have come to Man in his upward evolutionary journey, that tendin the direction of nobility; true religious feeling; kindness; humanity;justice; unselfish love; mercy; sympathy, etc. , have come to him throughhis slowly unfolding Spiritual Mind. His love of God and of his fellowman have come in this way. His knowledge of the great occult truths reachhim through this channel. The mental realization of the "I, " which we areendeavoring to teach in these lessons, must come to him by way of theSpiritual Mind unfolding its ideas into his field of consciousness. But even this great and wonderful part of the mind is but a tool--ahighly finished one, it is true, but still a tool--to the Ego, or "I. " We propose to give you a little mental drill work, toward the end thatyou may be able more readily to distinguish the "I" from the mind, ormental states. In this connection we would say that every part, plane, and function of the mind is good, and necessary, and the student must notfall into the error of supposing that because we tell him to set asidefirst this part of the mind and then that part, that we are undervaluingthe mind, or that we regard it as an encumbrance or hindrance. Far fromthis, we realize that it is _by the use of_ the mind that Man is enabledto arrive at a knowledge of his true nature and Self, and that hisprogress through many stages yet will depend upon the unfolding of hismental faculties. Man is now using but the lower and inferior parts of his mind, and he haswithin his mental world great unexplored regions that far surpassanything of which the human mind has dreamed. In fact, it is part of thebusiness of "Raja Yoga" to aid in unfolding these higher faculties andmental regions. And so far from decrying the Mind, the "Raja Yoga"teachers are chiefly concerned in recognizing the Mind's power andpossibilities, and directing the student to avail himself of the latentpowers that are inherent in his soul. It is only by the mind that the teachings we are now giving you may begrasped and understood, and used to your advantage and benefit. We aretalking direct to your mind now, and are making appeals to it, that itmay be interested and may open itself to what is ready to come into itfrom its own higher regions. We are appealing to the Intellect to directits attention to this great matter, that it may interpose less resistanceto the truths that are waiting to be projected from the Spiritual Mind, which knows the Truth. MENTAL DRILL. Place yourself in a calm, restful condition, that you may be able tomeditate upon the matters that we shall place before you forconsideration. Allow the matters presented to meet with a hospitablereception from you, and hold a mental attitude of willingness to receivewhat may be waiting for you in the higher regions of your mind. We wish to call your attention to several mental impressions orconditions, one after another, in order that you may realize that theyare merely something _incident_ to you, and _not_ YOU yourself--that youmay set them aside and consider them, just as you might anything that youhave been using. You cannot set the "I" aside and so consider it, but thevarious forms of the "not I" may be so set aside and considered. In the First Lesson you gained the perception of the "I" as independentfrom the body, the latter merely being an instrument for use. You havenow arrived at the stage when the "I" appears to you to be a mentalcreature--a bundle of thoughts, feelings, moods, etc. But you must gofarther. You must be able to distinguish the "I" from these mentalconditions, which are as much tools as is the body and its parts. Let us begin by considering the thoughts more closely connected with thebody, and then work up to the higher mental states. The sensations of the body, such as hunger; thirst; pain; pleasurablesensations; physical desires, etc. , etc. , are not apt to be mistaken foressential qualities of the "I" by many of the Candidates, for they havepassed beyond this stage, and have learned to set aside these sensations, to a greater or lesser extent, by an effort of the Will, and are nolonger slaves to them. Not that they do not experience these sensations, but they have grown to regard them as incidents of the physicallife--good in their place--but useful to the advanced man only when hehas mastered them to the extent that he no longer regards them as closeto the "I. " And yet, to some people, these sensations are so closelyidentified with their conception of the "I" that when they think ofthemselves they think merely of a bundle of these sensations. They arenot able to set them aside and consider them as things apart, to be usedwhen necessary and proper, but as things not fastened to the "I. " Themore advanced a man becomes the farther off seem these sensations. Notthat he does not feel hungry, for instance. Not at all, for he recognizeshunger, and satisfies it within reason, knowing that his physical body ismaking demands for attention, and that these demands should be heeded. But--mark the difference--instead of feeling that the "_I_" is hungry theman feels that "_my body_" is hungry, just as he might become consciousthat his horse or dog was crying for food insistently. Do you see whatwe mean? It is that the man no longer identifies himself--the "I"--withthe body, consequently the thoughts which are most closely allied to thephysical life seem comparatively "separate" from his "I" conception. Sucha man thinks "my stomach, this, " or "my leg, that, " or "my body, thus, "instead of "'I, ' this, " or "'I' that. " He is able, almost automatically, to think of the body and its sensations as things _of_ him, and_belonging to_ him, which require attention and care, rather than as realparts of the "I. " He is able to form a conception of the "I" as existingwithout any of these things--without the body and its sensations--and sohe has taken the first step in the realization of the "I. " Before going on, we ask the students to stop a few moments, and mentallyrun over these sensations of the body. Form a mental image of them, andrealize that they are merely incidents to the present stage of growth andexperience of the "I, " and that they form no real part of it. They may, and will be, left behind in the Ego's higher planes of advancement. Youmay have attained this mental conception perfectly, long since, but weask that to give yourself the mental drill at this time, in order tofasten upon your mind this first step. In realizing that you are able to set aside, mentally, thesesensations--that you are able to hold them out at arm's length and"consider" them as an "outside" thing, you mentally determine that theyare "not I" things, and you set them down in the "not I" collection--thefirst to be placed there. Let us try to make this still plainer, even atthe risk of wearying you by repetitions (for you must get this ideafirmly fixed in your mind). To be able to say that a thing is "not I, "you must realize that there are two things in question (1) the "not I"thing, and (2) the "I" who is regarding the "not I" thing just as the "I"regards a lump of sugar, or a mountain. Do you see what we mean? Keep atit until you do. Next, consider some of the emotions, such as anger; hate; love, in itsordinary forms; jealousy; ambition; and the hundred and one otheremotions that sweep through our brains. You will find that you are ableto set each one of these emotions or feelings aside and study it; dissectit; analyze it; consider it. You will be able to understand the rise, progress and end of each of these feelings, as they have come to you, andas you recall them in your memory or imagination, just as readily as youwould were you observing their occurrence in the mind of a friend. Youwill find them all stored away in some parts of your mental make-up, andyou may (to use a modern American slang phrase) "make them trot beforeyou, and show their paces. " Don't you see that they are not "You"--thatthey are merely something that you carry around with you in a mental bag. You can imagine yourself as living without them, and still being "I, " canyou not? And the very fact that you are able to set them aside and examine andconsider them is a proof that they are "not I" things--for there are twothings in the matter (1) _You_ who are examining and considering them, and (2) the thing itself which is the _object_ of the examination andconsideration at mental arm's length. So into the "not I" collection gothese emotions, desirable and undesirable. The collection is steadilygrowing, and will attain quite formidable proportions after a while. Now, do not imagine that this is a lesson designed to teach you how todiscard these emotions, although if it enables you to get rid of theundesirable ones, so much the better. This is not our object, for we bidyou place the desirable (at this time) ones in with the opposite kind, the idea being to bring you to a realization that the "I" is higher, above and independent of these mental somethings, and then when you haverealized the nature of the "I, " you may return and use (as a Master) thethings that have been using you as a slave. So do not be afraid to throwthese emotions (good and bad) into the "not I" collection. You may goback to them, and use the good ones, after the Mental Drill is over. Nomatter how much you may think that you are bound by any of theseemotions, you will realize, by careful analysis, that it is of the "notI" kind, for the "I" existed before the emotion came into active play, and it will live long after the emotion has faded away. The principalproof is that you are able to hold it out at arm's length and examineit--a proof that it is "not I. " Run through the entire list of your feelings; emotions; moods; and whatnot, just as you would those of a well-known friend or relative, and youwill see that each one--every one--is a "not I" thing, and you will layit aside for the time, for the purpose of the scientific experiment, atleast. Then passing on to the Intellect, you will be able to hold out forexamination each mental process and principle. You don't believe it, youmay say. Then read and study some good work on Psychology, and you willlearn to dissect and analyze every intellectual process--and to classifyit and place it in the proper pigeon-hole. Study Psychology by means ofsome good text-book, and you will find that one by one every intellectualprocess is classified, and talked about and labeled, just as you would acollection of flowers. If that does not satisfy you, turn the leaves ofsome work on Logic, and you will admit that you may hold theseintellectual processes at arm's length and examine them, and talk aboutthem to others. So that these wonderful tools of Man--the Intellectualpowers may be placed in the "not I" collection, for the "I" is capable ofstanding aside and viewing them--it is able to detach them from itself. The most remarkable thing about this is that in admitting this fact, yourealize that the "I" is using these very intellectual faculties to passupon themselves. Who is the Master that compels these faculties to dothis to themselves? The Master of the Mind--The "I. " And reaching the higher regions of the mind--even the Spiritual Mind, youwill be compelled to admit that the things that have come intoconsciousness from that region may be considered and studied, just as maybe any other mental thing, and so even these high things must be placedin the "not I" collection. You may object that this does not prove thatall the things in the Spiritual Mind may be so treated--that there may be"I" things there that can not be so treated. We will not discuss thisquestion, for you know nothing about the Spiritual Mind except as it hasrevealed itself to you, and the higher regions of that mind are like themind of a God, when compared to what _you_ call mind. But the evidence ofthe Illumined--those in whom the Spiritual Mind has wonderfully unfoldedtell us that even in the highest forms of development, the Initiates, yea, even the Masters, realize that above even their highest mentalstates there is always that eternal "I" brooding over them, as the Sunover the lake; and that the highest conception of the "I" known even toadvanced souls, is but a faint reflection of the "I" filtering throughthe Spiritual Mind, although that Spiritual Mind is as clear as theclearest crystal when compared with our comparatively opaque mentalstates. And the highest mental state is but a tool or instrument of the"I, " and is not the "I" itself. And yet the "I" is to be found in the faintest forms of consciousness, and animates even the unconscious life. The "I" is always the same, butits apparent growth is the result of the mental unfoldment of theindividual. As we described it in one of the lessons of the "_AdvancedCourse_" it is like an electric lamp that is encased in many wrappings ofcloth. As cloth after cloth is removed, the light seems to grow brighterand stronger, and yet it has changed not, the change being in the removalof the confining and bedimming coverings. We do not expect to make yourealize the "I" in all its fullness--that is far beyond the highest knownto man of to-day--but we do hope to bring you to a realization of thehighest conception of the "I, " possible to each of you in your presentstage of unfoldment, and in the process we expect to cause to drop fromyou some of the confining sheaths that you have about outgrown. Thesheaths are ready for dropping, and all that is required is the touch ofa friendly hand to cause them to fall fluttering from you. We wish tobring you to the fullest possible (to you) realization of the "I, " inorder to make an Individual of you--in order that you may understand, andhave courage to take up the tools and instruments lying at your hand, anddo the work before you. And now, back to the Mental Drill. After you have satisfied yourself thatabout everything that you are capable of thinking about is a "not I"thing--a tool and instrument for your use--you will ask, "And now, whatis there left that should not be thrown in the "not I" collection. " Tothis question we answer "THE 'I' ITSELF. " And when you demand a proofwe say, "Try to set aside the 'I' for consideration!" You may try fromnow until the passing away of infinities of infinities, and you willnever be able to set aside the real "I" for consideration. You may thinkyou can, but a little reflection will show you that you are merelysetting aside some of your mental qualities or faculties. And in thisprocess what is the "I" doing? Simply setting aside and consideringthings. Can you not see that the "I" cannot be both the _considerer_ andthe thing considered--the _examiner_ and the thing examined? Can the sunshine upon itself by its own light? You may consider the "I" of someother person, but it is _your_ "I" that is considering. But you cannot, as an "I, " stand aside and see yourself as an "I. " Then what evidencehave we that there is an "I" to us? This: that you are always consciousof being the considerer and examiner, instead of the considered andexamined thing--and then, you have the evidence of your consciousness. And what report does this consciousness give us? Simply this, and nothingmore: "I AM. " That is all that the "I" is conscious of, regarding itstrue self: "I AM, " but that consciousness is worth all the rest, for therest is but "not I" tools that the "I" may reach out and use. And so at the final analysis, you will find that there is something thatrefuses to be set aside and examined by the "I. " And that something isthe "I" itself--that "I" eternal, unchangeable--that drop of the GreatSpirit Ocean--that spark from the Sacred Flame. Just as you find it impossible to imagine the "I" as dead, so will youfind it impossible to set aside the "I" for consideration--all that comesto you is the testimony: "I AM. " If you were able to set aside the "I" for consideration, who would be theone to consider it? Who could consider except the "I" itself, and if itbe _here_, how could it be _there?_ The "I" cannot be the "not I" even inthe wildest flights of the imagination--the imagination with all itsboasted freedom and power, confesses itself vanquished when asked to dothis thing. Oh, students, may you be brought to a realization of what you are. Mayyou soon awaken to the fact that you are sleeping gods--that you havewithin you the power of the Universe, awaiting your word to manifestin action. Long ages have you toiled to get this far, and long must youtravel before you reach even the first Great Temple, but you are nowentering into the conscious stage of Spiritual Evolution. No longer willyour eyes be closed as you walk the Path. From now on you will begin tosee clearer and clearer each step, in the dawning light of consciousness. You are in touch with all of life, and the separation of your "I" fromthe great Universal "I" is but apparent and temporary. We will tell youof these things in our Third Lesson, but before you can grasp that youmust develop the "I" consciousness within you. Do not lay aside thismatter as one of no importance. Do not dismiss our weak explanation asbeing "merely words, words, words, " as so many are inclined to do. We arepointing out a great truth to you. Why not follow the leadings of theSpirit which even now--this moment while you read--is urging you to walkThe Path of Attainment? Consider the teachings of this lesson, andpractice the Mental Drill until your mind has grasped its significance, then let it sink deep down into your inner consciousness. Then will yoube ready for the next lessons, and those to follow. Practice this Mental Drill until you are fully assured of the _reality_of the "I" and the _relativity_ of the "not "I" in the mind. When youonce grasp this truth, you will find that you will be able to use themind with far greater power and effect, for you will recognize that it isyour tool and instrument, fitted and intended to do your bidding. Youwill be able to master your moods, and emotions when necessary, and willrise from the position of a slave to a Master. Our words seem cheap and poor, when we consider the greatness of thetruth that we are endeavoring to convey by means of them. For who canfind words to express the inexpressible? All that we may hope to do is toawaken a keen interest and attention on your part, so that you willpractice the Mental Drill, and thus obtain the evidence of your ownmentality to the truth. Truth is not truth to you until you have provenit in your own experience, and once so proven you cannot be robbed of it, nor can it be argued away from you. You must realize that in every mental effort You--the "I"--are behind it. You bid the Mind work, and it obeys your Will. You are the Master, andnot the slave of your mind. You are the Driver, not the driven. Shakeyourself loose from the tyranny of the mind that has oppressed you for solong. Assert yourself, and be free. We will help you in this directionduring the course of these lessons, but you must first assert yourself asa Master of your Mind. Sign the mental Declaration of Independence fromyour moods, emotions, and uncontrolled thoughts, and assert your Dominionover them. Enter into your Kingdom, thou manifestation of the Spirit! While this lesson is intended primarily to bring clearly into yourconsciousness the fact that the "I" is a reality, separate and distinctfrom its Mental Tools, and while the control of the mental faculties bythe Will forms a part of some of the future lessons, still, we think thatthis is a good place to point out to you the advantages arising from arealization of the true nature of the "I" and the relative aspect of theMind. Many of us have supposed that our minds were the masters of ourselves, and we have allowed ourselves to be tormented and worried by thoughts"running away" with us, and presenting themselves at inopportune moments. The Initiate is relieved from this annoyance, for he learns to assert hismastery over the different parts of the mind, and controls and regulateshis mental processes, just as one would a fine piece of machinery. He isable to control his conscious thinking faculties, and direct their workto the best advantage, and he also learns how to pass on orders to thesubconscious mental region and bid it work for him while he sleeps, oreven when he is using his conscious mind in other matters. These subjectswill be considered by us in due time, during the course of lessons. In this connection it may be interesting to read what Edward Carpentersays of the power of the individual to control his thought processes. Inhis book "_From Adam's Peak to Eleplumta_, " in describing his experiencewhile visiting a Hindu Gnani Yogi, he says: "And if we are unwilling to believe in this internal mastery over thebody, we are perhaps almost equally unaccustomed to the idea of masteryover our own inner thoughts and feelings. That a man should be a prey toany thought that chances to take possession of his mind, is commonlyamong us assumed as unavoidable. It may be a matter of regret that heshould be kept awake all night from anxiety as to the issue of a lawsuiton the morrow, but that he should have the power of determining whetherhe be kept awake or not seems an extravagant demand. The image of animpending calamity is no doubt odious, but its very odiousness (we say)makes it haunt the mind all the more pertinaciously and it is useless totry to expel it. "Yet this is an absurd position--for man, the heir of all the ages:hag-ridden by the flimsy creatures of his own brain. If a pebble in ourboot torments us, we expel it. We take off the boot and shake it out. And once the matter is fairly understood it is just as easy to expel anintruding and obnoxious thought from the mind. About this there ought tobe no mistake, no two opinions. The thing is obvious, clear andunmistakable. It should be as easy to expel an obnoxious thought fromyour mind as it is to shake a stone out of your shoe; and till a man cando that it is just nonsense to talk about his ascendancy over Nature, andall the rest of it. He is a mere slave, and prey to the bat-wingedphantoms that flit through the corridors of his own brain. "Yet the weary and careworn faces that we meet by thousands, even amongthe affluent classes of civilization, testify only too clearly how seldomthis mastery is obtained. How rare indeed to meet a _man_! How commonrather to discover a creature hounded on by tyrant thoughts (or cares ordesires), cowering, wincing under the lash--or perchance priding himselfto run merrily in obedience to a driver that rattles the reins andpersuades him that he is free--whom we cannot converse with in careless_tete-a-tete_ because that alien presence is always there, on the watch. "It is one of the most prominent doctrines of Raja Yoga that the power ofexpelling thoughts, or if need be, killing them dead on the spot, _must_be attained. Naturally the art requires practice, but like other arts, when once acquired there is no mystery or difficulty about it. And it isworth practice. It may indeed fairly be said that life only begins whenthis art has been acquired. For obviously when instead of being ruled byindividual thoughts, the whole flock of them in their immense multitudeand variety and capacity is ours to direct and dispatch and employ wherewe list ('for He maketh the winds his messengers and the flaming fire Hisminister'), life becomes a thing so vast and grand compared with what itwas before, that its former condition may well appear almost antenatal. "If you can kill a thought dead, for the time being, you can do anythingelse with it that you please. And therefore it is that this power is sovaluable. And it not only frees a man from mental torment (which isnine-tenths at least of the torment of life), but it gives him aconcentrated power of handling mental work absolutely unknown to himbefore. The two things are co-relative to each other. As already saidthis is one of the principles of Raja Yoga. "While at work your thought is to be absolutely concentrated in it, undistracted by anything whatever irrelevant to the matter inhand--pounding away like a great engine, with giant power and perfecteconomy--no wear and tear of friction, or dislocation of parts owing tothe working of different forces at the same time. Then when the work isfinished, if there is no more occasion for the use of the machine, itmust stop equally, absolutely--stop entirely--no _worrying_ (as if aparcel of boys were allowed to play their devilments with a locomotive assoon as it was in the shed)--and the man must retire into that region ofhis consciousness where his true self dwells. "I say the power of the thought-machine itself is enormously increased bythis faculty of letting it alone on the one hand, and of using it singlyand with concentration on the other. It becomes a true tool, which amaster-workman lays down when done with, but which only a bungler carriesabout with him all the time to show that he is the possessor of it. " We ask the students to read carefully the above quotations from Mr. Carpenter's book, for they are full of suggestions that may be taken upto advantage by those who are emancipating themselves from their slaveryto the unmastered mind, and who are now bringing the mind under controlof the Ego, by means of the Will. Our next lesson will take up the subject of the relationship of the "I"to the Universal "I, " and will be called the "Expansion of the Self. " Itwill deal with the subject, not from a theoretical standpoint, but fromthe position of the teacher who is endeavoring to make his studentsactually _aware_ in their consciousness of the truth of the proposition. In this course we are not trying to make our students past-masters of_theory_, but are endeavoring to place them in a position whereby theymay _know_ for themselves, and actually experience the things of which weteach. Therefore we urge upon you not to merely rest content with reading thislesson, but, instead, to study and meditate upon the teachings mentionedunder the head of "Mental Drill, " until the distinctions stand outclearly in your mind, and until you not only _believe_ them to be true, but actually are _conscious_ of the "I" and its Mental Tools. Havepatience and perseverance. The task may be difficult, but the reward isgreat. To become conscious of the greatness, majesty, strength and powerof your real being is worth years of hard study. Do you not think so?Then study and practice hopefully, diligently and earnestly. Peace be with you. MANTRAMS (AFFIRMATIONS) FOR THE SECOND LESSON. "I" am an entity--my mind is my instrument of expression. "I" exist independent of my mind, and am not dependent upon it forexistence or being. "I" am Master of my mind, not its slave. "I" can set aside my sensations, emotions, passions, desires, intellectual faculties, and all the rest of my mental collection oftools, as "not I" things--and still there remains something--and thatsomething is "I, " which cannot be set aside by me, for it is my veryself; my only self; my real self--"I. " That which remains after all thatmay be set aside _is_ set aside is the "I"--Myself--eternal, constant, unchangeable. [Illustration: "I am"] THE THIRD LESSON. THE EXPANSION OF THE SELF. In the first two lessons of this course we have endeavored to bring tothe candidate a realization in consciousness of the reality of the "I, "and to enable him to distinguish between the Self and its sheaths, physical and mental. In the present lesson we will call his attention tothe relationship of the "I" to the Universal "I, " and will endeavor togive him an idea of a greater, grander Self, transcending personalityand the little self that we are so apt to regard as the "I. " The keynote of this lesson will be "The Oneness of All, " and all of itsteachings will be directed to awakening a realization in consciousness ofthat great truth. But we wish to impress upon the mind of the Candidatethat we are _not_ teaching him that he is the Absolute. We are notteaching the "I Am God" belief, which we consider to be erroneous andmisleading, and a perversion of the original Yogi teachings. This falseteaching has taken possession of many of the Hindu teachers and people, and with its accompanying teaching of "Maya" or the complete illusion ornon-existence of the Universe, has reduced millions of people to apassive, negative mental condition which undoubtedly is retarding theirprogress. Not only in India is this true, but the same facts may beobserved among the pupils of the Western teachers who have embraced thisnegative side of the Oriental Philosophy. Such people confound the"Absolute" and "Relative" aspects of the One, and, being unable toreconcile the facts of Life and the Universe with their theories of "I AmGod, " they are driven to the desperate expedient of boldly denying theUniverse, and declaring it to be all "an illusion" or "Maya. " You will have no trouble in distinguishing the pupils of the teachersholding this view. They will be found to exhibit the most negative mentalcondition--a natural result of absorbing the constant suggestion of"nothingness"--the gospel of negation. In marked contrast to the mentalcondition of the students, however, will be observed the mental attitudeof the teachers, who are almost uniformly examples of vital, positive, mental force, capable of hurling their teaching into the minds of thepupils--of driving in their statements by the force of an awakened Will. The teacher, as a rule, has awakened to a sense of the "I" consciousness, and really develops the same by his "I Am God" attitude, because byholding this mental attitude he is enabled to throw off the influence ofthe sheaths of the lower mental principles, and the light of the Selfshows forth fiercely and strongly, sometimes to such an extent that itfairly scorches the mentality of the less advanced pupil. But, notwithstanding this awakened "I" consciousness, the teacher ishandicapped by his intellectual misconception and befogging metaphysics, and is unable to impart the "I" consciousness to his pupils, and, insteadof raising them up to shine with equal splendor with himself, he reallyforces them into a shadow by reason of his teachings. Our students, of course, will understand that the above is not written inthe spirit of carping criticism or fault-finding. We hold no such mentalattitude, and indeed could not if we remain true to our conception ofTruth. We are mentioning these matters simply that the student may avoidthis "I Am God" pitfall which awaits the Candidate just as he has wellstarted on the Path. It would not be such a serious matter if it weremerely a question of faulty metaphysics, for that would straighten itselfout in time. But it is far more serious than this, for the teachinginevitably leads to the accompanying teaching that all is Illusion or_Maya_, and that Life is but a dream--a false thing--a lie--a nightmare;that the journey along the Path is but an illusion; that everything is"nothing"; that there is no soul; that You are God in disguise, and thatHe is fooling Himself in making believe that He is You; that Life is buta Divine masquerade or sleight-of-hand performance; that You are God, butthat You (God) are fooling Yourself (God) in order to amuse Yourself(God). Is not this horrible? And yet it shows to what lengths the humanmind will go before it will part with some pet theory of metaphysics withwhich it has been hypnotized. Do you think that we have overdrawn thepicture? Then read some of the teachings of these schools of the OrientalPhilosophy, or listen to some of the more radical of the Western teacherspreaching this philosophy. The majority of the latter lack the courage ofthe Hindu teachers in carrying their theories to a logical conclusion, and, consequently they veil their teachings with metaphysical subtlety. But a few of them are more courageous, and come out into the open andpreach their doctrine in full. Some of the modern Western teachers of this philosophy explain matters bysaying that "God is masquerading as different forms of life, includingMan, in order that he may gain the experience resulting therefrom, foralthough He has Infinite and Absolute Wisdom and Knowledge, he lacks theexperience that comes only from actually living the life of the lowlyforms, and therefore He descend thus in order to gain the neededexperience. " Can you imagine the Absolute, possessed of all possibleKnowledge and Wisdom, feeling the need of such petty "experience, " andliving the life of the lowly forms (including Man) in order "to gainexperience?" To what Depths do these vain theories of Man drive us?Another leading Western teacher, who has absorbed the teaching of certainbranches of the Oriental Philosophy, and who possesses the courage of hisconvictions, boldly announces that "You, yourself, are the _totality_ ofbeing, and with your mind alone create, preserve and destroy theuniverse, which is your own mental product. " And again the last mentionedteacher states: "the entire universe is a bagatelle illustration of yourown creative power, which you are now exhibiting for your owninspection. " "By their fruits shall you know them, " is a safe rule toapply to all teachings. The philosophy that teaches that the Universe isan illusion perpetrated by you (God) to amuse, entertain or fool yourself(God), can have but one result, and that is the conclusion that"everything is nothing, " and all that is necessary to do is to sit down, fold your hands and enjoy the Divine exhibition of legerdemain that youare performing for your own entertainment, and then, when the show isover, return to your state of conscious Godhood and recall with smilesthe pleasant memories of the "conjure show" that you created to foolyourself with during several billions of ages. That is what it amountsto, and the result is that those accepting this philosophy thrust uponthem by forceful teachers, and knowing in their hearts that they are_not_ God, but absorbing the suggestions of "nothingness, " are driveninto a state of mental apathy and negativeness, the soul sinking into astupor from which it may not be roused for a long period of time. We wish you to avoid confounding our teaching with this just mentioned. We wish to teach you that You are a real Being--_not_ God Himself, but amanifestation of Him who is the Absolute. You are a Child of theAbsolute, if you prefer the term, possessed of the Divine Heritage, andwhose mission it is to unfold qualities which are your inheritances fromyour Parent. Do not make the great mistake of confounding the Relativewith the Absolute. Avoid this pitfall into which so many have fallen. Donot allow yourself to fall into the "Slough of Despond, " and wallow inthe mud of "nothingness, " and to see no reality except in the person ofsome forceful teacher who takes the place of the Absolute in your mind. But raise your head and assert your Divine Parentage, and your Heritagefrom the Absolute, and step out boldly on the Path, asserting the "I. " (We must refer the Candidate back to our "Advanced Course, " for ourteachings regarding the Absolute and the Relative. The last three lessonsof that course will throw light upon what we have just said To repeat theteaching at this point would be to use space which is needed for thelesson before us. ) And yet, while the "I" is _not_ God, the Absolute, it is infinitelygreater than we have imagined it to be before the light dawned upon us. It extends itself far beyond what we had conceived to be its limits. Ittouches the Universe at all its points, and is in the closest union withall of Life. It is in the closest touch with all that has emanated fromthe Absolute--all the world of Relativity. And while it faces theRelative Universe, it has its roots in the Absolute, and drawsnourishment therefrom, just as does the babe in the womb obtainnourishment from the mother. It is verily a manifestation of God, andGod's very essence is in it. Surely this is almost as "high" a statementas the "I Am God" of the teachers just mentioned, --and yet how different. Let us consider the teaching in detail in this lesson, and in portions ofothers to follow. Let us begin with a consideration of the instruments of the Ego, and thematerial with which and through which the Ego works. Let us realize thatthe physical body of man is identical in substance with all other formsof matter, and that its atoms are continually changing and beingreplaced, the material being drawn from the great storehouse of matter, and that there is a Oneness of matter underlying all apparent differencesof form and substance. And then let us realize that the vital energy or_Prana_ that man uses in his life work is but a portion of that greatuniversal energy which permeates everything and everywhere, the portionbeing used by us at any particular moment being drawn from the universalsupply, and again passing out from us into the great ocean of force orenergy. And then let us realize that even the mind, which is so close tothe real Self that it is often mistaken for it--even that wonderful thingThought--is but a portion of the Universal Mind, the highest emanation ofthe Absolute beneath the plane of Spirit, and that the Mind--substance or_Chitta_ that we are using this moment, is not ours separately anddistinctly, but is simply a portion from the great universal supply, which is constant and unchangeable. Let us then realize that even thisthing that we feel pulsing within us--that which is so closely bound upwith the Spirit as to be almost inseparable from it--that which we callLife--is but a bit of that Great Life Principle that pervades theUniverse, and which cannot be added to, nor subtracted from. When we haverealized these things, and have begun to feel our relation (in theseparticulars) to the One Great Emanation of the Absolute, then we maybegin to grasp the idea of the Oneness of Spirit, and the relation of the"I" to every other "I, " and the merging of the Self into the one greatSelf, which is not the extinction of Individuality, as some havesupposed, but the enlargement and extension of the IndividualConsciousness until it takes in the Whole. In Lessons X and XI, of the "Advanced Course" we called your attention tothe Yogi teachings concerning _Akasa_ or Matter, and showed you that allforms of what we know as Matter are but different forms of manifestationof the principle called _Akasa_, or as the Western scientists call it, "Ether. " This Ether or _Akasa_ is the finest, thinnest and most tenuousform of Matter, in fact it is Matter in its ultimate or fundamental form, the different forms of what we call Matter being but manifestations ofthis _Akasa_ or Ether, the apparent difference resulting from differentrates of vibration, etc. We mention this fact here merely to bringclearly before your mind the fact of the Universality of Matter, to theend that you may realize that each and every particle of your physicalbody is but a portion of this great principle of the Universe, fresh fromthe great store-house, and just about returning to it again, for theatoms of the body are constantly changing. That which appears as yourflesh to-day, may have been part of a plant a few days before, and may bepart of some other living thing a few days hence. Constant change isgoing on, and what is yours to-day was someone's else yesterday, andstill another's to-morrow. You do not own one atom of matter_personally_, it is all a part of the common supply, the stream flowingthrough you and through all Life, on and on forever. And so it is with the Vital Energy that you are using every moment ofyour life. You are constantly drawing upon the great Universal supply of_Prana_, then using what is given you, allowing the force to pass on toassume some other form. It is the property of all, and all you can do isto use what you need, and allow it to pass on. There is but one Force orEnergy, and that is to be found everywhere at all times. And even the great principle, Mind-substance, is under the same law. Itis hard for us to realize this. We are so apt to think of our mentaloperations as distinctively our own--something that belongs to uspersonally--that it is difficult for us to realize that Mind-substance isa Universal principle just as Matter or Energy, and that we are butdrawing upon the Universal supply in our mental operations. And more thanthis, the particular portion of Mind-substance that we are using, although separated from the Mind-substance used by other individuals by athin wall of the very finest kind of Matter, is really in touch with theother apparently separated minds, and with the Universal Mind of which itforms a part. Just as is the Matter of which our physical bodies arecomposed really in touch with all Matter; and just as is the Vital Forceused by us really in touch with all Energy; so is our Mind-substancereally in touch with all Mind-substance. It is as if the Ego in itsprogress were moving through great oceans of Matter, Energy, orMind-substance, making use of that of each which it needed and whichimmediately surrounded it, and leaving each behind as it moved on throughthe great volume of the ocean. This illustration is clumsy, but it maybring to your consciousness a realization that the Ego is the only thingthat is really _Yours_, unchangeable and unaltered, and that all the restis merely that portion of the Universal supply that you draw to yourselffor the wants of the moment. It may also bring more clearly before yourmind the great Unity of things--may enable you to see things as a Whole, rather than as separated parts. Remember, _You_--the "I"--are the onlyReal thing about and around you--all that has permanence--and Matter, Force and even Mind-substance, are but your instruments for use andexpression. There are great oceans of each surrounding the "I" as itmoves along. It is well for you also to bear in mind the Universality of Life. All ofthe Universe is alive, vibrating and pulsating with life and energy andmotion. There is nothing dead in the Universe. Life is everywhere, andalways accompanied by intelligence. There is no such thing as a dead, unintelligent Universe. _Instead of being atoms of Life floating in a seaof death, we are atoms of Life surrounded by an ocean of Life, pulsating, moving, thinking, living. _ Every atom of what we call Matter is alive. Ithas energy or force with it, and is always accompanied by intelligenceand life. Look around us as we will--at the animal world--at the plantworld--yes, even at the world of minerals and we see life, life, life--all alive and having intelligence. When we are able to bring thisconception into the realm of actual consciousness--when we are able notonly to intellectually accept this fact, but to even go still further and_feel_ and be conscious of this Universal Life on all sides, then are wewell on the road to attaining the Cosmic Consciousness. But all these things are but steps leading up to the realization ofthe Oneness in Spirit, on the part of the Individual. Gradually theredawns upon him the realization that there is a Unity in the manifestationof Spirit from the Absolute--a unity with itself, and a Union with theAbsolute. All this manifestation of Spirit on the part of theAbsolute--all this begetting of Divine Children--was in the nature of asingle act rather than as a series of acts, if we may be permittedto speak of the manifestation as an _act_. Each Ego is a Centre ofConsciousness in this great ocean of Spirit--each is a Real Self, apparently separate from the others and from its source, but theseparation is only apparent in both cases, for there is the closestbond of union between the Egos of the Universe of Universes--each is knitto the other in the closest bond of union, and each is still attached tothe Absolute by spiritual filaments, if we may use the term. In time weshall grow more conscious of this mutual relationship, as the sheaths areoutgrown and cast aside, and in the end we will be withdrawn into theAbsolute--shall return to the Mansion of the Father. It is of the highest importance to the developing soul to unfold into arealization of this relationship and unity, _for when this conception isonce fully established the soul is enabled to rise above certain of thelower planes, and is free from the operation of certain laws that bindthe undeveloped soul_. Therefore the Yogi teachers are constantly leadingthe Candidates toward this goal. First by this path, and then by thatone, giving them different glimpses of the desired point, until finallythe student finds a path best fitted for his feet, and he moves alongstraight to the mark, and throwing aside the confining bonds that haveproved so irksome, he cries aloud for joy at his new found Freedom. The following exercises and Mental Drills are intended to aid theCandidate in his work of growing into a realization of his relationshipwith the Whole of Life and Being. MENTAL DRILL. (1) Read over what we have said in the "Advanced Course" regardingthe principle known as Matter. Realize that all Matter is One at thelast--that the real underlying substance of Matter is _Akasa_ orEther, and that all the varying forms evident to our senses are butmodifications and grosser forms of that underlying principle. Realizethat by known chemical processes all forms of Matter known to us, orrather all combinations resulting in "forms, " may be resolved into theiroriginal elements, and that these elements are merely _Akasa_ indifferent states of vibration. Let the idea of the Oneness of the visibleUniverse sink deeply into your mind, until it becomes fixed there. Theerroneous conception of diversity in the material world must be replacedby the consciousness of Unity--Oneness, at the last, in spite of theappearance of variety and manifold forms. You must grow to see behind theworld of forms of Matter, and see the great principle of Matter (_Akasa_or Ether) back of, within, and under it all. You must grow to _feel_this, as well as to intellectually see it. (2) Meditate over the last mentioned truths, and then follow the matterstill further. Read what we have said in the "Advanced Course" (LessonXI) about the last analysis of Matter showing it fading away into Forceor Energy until the dividing line is lost, and Matter merges into Energyor Force, showing them both to be but the same thing, Matter being agrosser form of Energy or Force. This idea should be impressed upon theunderstanding, in order that the complete edifice of the Knowing of theOneness may be complete in all of its parts. (3) Then read in the "Advanced Lessons" about Energy or Force, in theoneness underlying its various manifestations. Consider how one form ofEnergy may be transformed into another, and so on around the circle, theone principle producing the entire chain of appearances. Realize that theenergy within you by which you move and act, is but one of the forms ofthis great Principle of Energy with which the Universe is filled, andthat you may draw to you the required Energy from the great Universalsupply. But above all endeavor to grasp the idea of the Oneness pervadingthe world of Energy or Force, or Motion. See it in its entirety, ratherthan in its apparent separateness. These steps may appear somewhattedious and useless, but take our word for it, they are all helps infitting the mind to grasp the idea of the Oneness of All. Each step isimportant, and renders the next higher one more easily attained. In thismental drill, it will be well to mentally picture the Universe inperpetual motion--everything is in motion--all matter is moving andchanging its forms, and manifesting the Energy within it. Suns and worldsrush through space, their particles constantly changing and moving. Chemical composition and decomposition is constant and unceasing, everywhere the work of building up and breaking down is going on. Newcombinations of atoms and worlds are constantly being formed anddissolved. And after considering this Oneness of the principle of Energy, reflect that through all these changes of form the Ego--the RealSelf--YOU--stand unchanged and unharmed--Eternal, Invincible, Indestructible, Invulnerable, _Real_ and Constant among this changingworld of forms and force. You are above it all, and it revolves aroundand about you--Spirit. (4) Read what we have said in the "Advanced Course" about Force orEnergy, shading into Mind-substance which is its parent. Realize thatMind is back of all this great exhibition of Energy and Force that youhave been considering. Then will you be ready to consider the Oneness ofMind. (5) Read what we have said in the "Advanced Lessons" aboutMind-substance. Realize that there is a great world of Mind-substance, or an Universal Mind, which is at the disposal of the Ego. All Thought isthe product of the Ego's use of this Mind-substance, its tool andinstrument. Realize that this Ocean of Mind is entire and Whole, and thatthe Ego may draw freely from it. Realize that _You_ have this great oceanof Mind at your command, when you unfold sufficiently to use it. Realizethat Mind is back of and underneath all of the world of form and namesand action, and that in that sense: "All is Mind, " although still higherin the scale than even Mind are _You_, the Real Self, the Ego, theManifestation of the Absolute. (6) Realize your identity with and relationship to All of Life. Lookaround you at Life in all its forms, from the lowest to the highest, allbeing exhibitions of the great principle of Life in operation alongdifferent stages of The Path. Scorn not the humblest forms, but lookbehind the form and see the reality--Life. Feel yourself a part of thegreat Universal Life. Let your thought sink to the depths of the ocean, and realize your kinship with the Life back of the forms dwelling there. Do not confound the forms (often hideous from your personal point ofview) with the principle behind them. Look at the plant-life, and theanimal life, and seek to see behind the veil of form into the real Lifebehind and underneath the form. Learn to feel your Life throbbing andthrilling with the Life Principle in these other forms, and in the formsof those of your own race. Gaze into the starry skies and see there thenumerous suns and worlds, all peopled with life in some of its myriadforms, and feel your kinship to it. If you can grasp this thought andconsciousness, you will find yourself at-one-ment with those whirlingworlds, and, instead of feeling small and insignificant by comparison, you will be conscious of an expansion of Self, until you feel that inthose circling worlds is a part of yourself--that You are there also, while standing upon the Earth--that you are akin to all parts of theUniverse--nay, more, that they are as much your home as is the spot uponwhich you are standing. You will find sweeping upon you a sense ofconsciousness that the Universe is your home--not merely a part of it, asyou had previously thought. You will experience a sense of greatness, andbroadness and grandness such as you have never dreamed of. You will beginto realize at least a part of your Divine inheritance, and to know indeedthat you are a Child of the Infinite, the very essence of your DivineParent being in the fibres of your being, At such times of realizationone becomes conscious of what lies before the soul in its upward path, and how small the greatest prizes that Earth has to offer are whencompared to some of these things before the soul, as seen by the eyes ofthe Spiritual Mind in moments of clear vision. You must not dispute with these visions of the greatness of the soul, butmust treat them hospitably, for they are your very own, coming to youfrom the regions of your Spiritual Mind which are unfolding intoconsciousness. (7) The highest step in this dawning consciousness of the Oneness of All, is the one in which is realized that there is but One Reality, and at thesame time the sense of consciousness that the "I" is in that Reality. Itis most difficult to express this thought in words for it is somethingthat must be felt, rather than seen by the Intellect. When the Soulrealizes that the Spirit within it is, at the last, the only _real_ partof it, and that the Absolute and its manifestation as Spirit is the only_real_ thing in the Universe, a great step has been taken. But there isstill one higher step to be taken before the full sense of the Onenessand Reality comes to us. That step is the one in which we realize theIdentity of the "I" with the great "I" of the Universe. The mystery ofthe manifestation of the Absolute in the form of the Spirit, is veiledfrom us--the mind confesses its inability to penetrate behind the veilshielding the Absolute from view, although it will give us a report ofits being conscious of the presence of the Absolute just at the edge ofthe boundary line. But the highest region of the Spiritual Mind, whenexplored by the advanced souls who are well along the Path, reports thatit sees beyond the apparent separation of Spirit from Spirit, andrealizes that there is but one Reality of Spirit, and that all the "I"'sare really but different views of that One--Centres of Consciousness uponthe surface of the One Great "I, " the Centre of which is the AbsoluteItself. This certainly penetrates the whole region of the Spiritual Mind, and gives us all the message of Oneness of the Spirit, just as theIntellect satisfies us with its message of the Oneness of Matter, Energy, and Mind. The idea of Oneness permeates all planes of Life. The sense of Reality of the "I" that is apparent to You in the moments ofyour clearest mental vision, is really the reflection of the sense ofReality underlying the Whole--it is the consciousness of the Whole, manifesting through your point or Centre of Consciousness. The advancedstudent or Initiate finds his consciousness gradually enlarging until itrealizes its identity with the Whole. He realizes that under all theforms and names of the visible world, there is to be found One Life--OneForce--One Substance--One Existence--One Reality--ONE. And, instead ofhis experiencing any sense of the loss of identity or individuality, hebecomes conscious of an enlargement of an expansion of individuality oridentity--instead of feeling himself absorbed in the Whole, he feels thathe is spreading out and embracing the Whole. This is most hard to expressin words, for there are no words to fit the conception, and all that wecan hope to do is to start into motion, by means of our words, thevibrations that will find a response in the minds of those who read thewords, to the end that they will experience the consciousness which willbring its own understanding. This consciousness cannot be transmitted bywords proceeding from the Intellect, but vibrations may be set up thatwill prepare the mind to receive the message from its own higher planes. Even in the early stages of this dawning consciousness, one is enabled toidentify the _real_ part of himself with the _real_ part of all the otherforms of life that pass before his notice. In every other man--in everyanimal--in every plant--in every mineral--he sees behind the sheath andform of appearance, an evidence of the presence of the Spirit which isakin to his own Spirit--yea, more than akin, for the two are One. He seesHimself in all forms of life, in all time in all places. He realizes thatthe Real Self is everywhere present and everlasting, and that the Lifewithin himself is also within all the Universe--in everything, for thereis nothing dead in the Universe, and all Life, in all of its varyingphases, is simply the One Life, held, used and enjoyed in common by all. Each Ego is a Centre of Consciousness in this great ocean of Life, andwhile apparently separate and distinct, is yet really in touch with theWhole, and with every apparent part. It is not our intention, in this lesson, to go into the details of thisgreat mystery of Life, or to recite the comparatively little of the Truththat the most advanced teachers and Masters have handed down. This is notthe place for it--it belongs to the subject of Gnani Yoga rather than toRaja Yoga--and we touch upon it here, not for the purpose of trying toexplain the scientific side of it to you, but merely in order that yourminds may be led to take up the idea and gradually manifest it inconscious realization. There is quite a difference between thescientific, intellectual teaching of Gnani Yoga, whereby the metaphysicaland scientific sides of the Yogi teachings are presented to the minds ofthe students, in a logical, scientific manner, and the methods of RajaYoga, in which the Candidate is led by degrees to a _consciousness_(outside of mere intellectual belief) of his real nature and powers. Weare following the latter plan, for this course is a Course in _Raja_Yoga. We are aiming to present the matter to the mind in such a mannerthat it may prepare the way for the dawning consciousness, by brushingaway the preconceived notions and prejudices, and allowing a cleanentrance for the new conception. Much that we have said in this lessonmay appear, on the one hand, like useless repetition, and, on the otherhand, like an incomplete presentation of the scientific side of the Yogiteachings. But it will be found, in time, that the effect has been thatthe mind of the student has undergone a change from the absorbing of theidea of the Oneness of Life, and the Expansion of the Self. The Candidateis urged not to be in too much of a hurry. Development must not beforced. Read what we have written, and practice the Mental Drills we havegiven, even if they may appear trifling and childish to some of you--weknow what they will do for you, and you will agree with us in time. Makehaste slowly. You will find that the mind will work out the matter, eventhough you be engaged in your ordinary work, and have forgotten thesubject for the time. The greater portion of mental work is done in thisway, while you are busy with something else, or even asleep, for thesub-conscious portion of the mind works along the lines pointed out forit, and performs its task. As we have said, the purpose of this lesson is to bring you in the way ofthe unfoldment of consciousness, rather than to teach you the details ofthe scientific side of the Yogi teachings. Development is the keynote ofRaja Yoga. And the reason that we wish to develop this sense of theReality of the "I, " and the Expansion of the Self, at this place is thatthereby you may assert your Mastery over Matter, Energy and Mind. Beforeyou may mount your throne as King, you must fully realize inconsciousness that you _are_ the _Reality_ in this world of appearances. You must realize that you--the _real_ You--are not only existent, andreal, but that you are in touch with all else that is real, and that theroots of your being are grounded in the Absolute itself. You must realizethat instead of being a separate atom of Reality, isolated and fixed in anarrow space, you are a Centre of Consciousness in the Whole of Reality, and that the Universe of Universes is your home--that your Centre ofConsciousness might be moved on to a point trillions of miles from theEarth (which distance would be as nothing in Space) and still you--theawakened soul--would be just as much at home there as here--that evenwhile you are here, your influence extends far out into space. Your realstate, which will be revealed to you, gradually, throughout the ages, isso great and grand, that your mind in its present state of developmentcannot grasp even the faint reflection of that glory. We wish you to try to form at least a faint idea of your Real State ofBeing, in order that you may control the lower principles by the force ofyour awakened Will, which Will depends upon your degree of consciousnessof the Real Self. As man grows in understanding and consciousness of the Real Self, so doeshis ability to use his Will grow. Will is the attribute of the Real Self. It is well that this great realization of the Real Self brings with itLove for all of Life, and Kindness, for, were it not so, the Will thatcomes to him who grows into a realization of his real being could be usedto the great hurt of those of the race who had not progressed so far(their _relative_ hurt, we mean, for in the end, and at the last, no soulis ever really _hurt_). But the dawning power brings with it greater Loveand Kindness, and the higher the soul mounts the more is it filled withthe higher ideals and the more does it throw from it the lower animalattributes. It is true that some souls growing into a consciousness oftheir real nature, without an understanding of what it all means, maycommit the error of using the awakened Will for selfish ends, as may beseen in the cases of the Black Magicians spoken of in the occultwritings, and also in the cases of well known characters in history andin modern life, who manifest an enormous Will which they misuse. All ofthis class of people of great Will have stumbled or grown blindly into aconsciousness (or partial consciousness) of the real nature, but lack therestraining influence of the higher teachings. But such misuse of theWill brings pain and unrest to the user, and he is eventually driven intothe right road. We do not expect our students to grasp fully this idea of the Expansionof Self. Even the highest grasp it only partially. But until you get aglimmering of the consciousness you will not be able to progress faron the path of Raja Yoga. You must understand _what you are_, before youare able to use the power that lies dormant within you. You must realizethat you are the Master, before you can claim the powers of the Master, and expect to have your commands obeyed. So bear patiently with us, yourTeachers, while we set before you the lessons to be learned--the tasks tobe performed. The road is long, and is rough in places--the feet maybecome tired and bruised, but the reward is great, and there are restingplaces along the path. Be not discouraged if your progress seem slow, forthe soul must unfold naturally as does the flower, without haste, withoutforce. And be not dismayed nor affrighted if you occasionally catch a glimpseof your higher self. As "M. C. " says, in her notes on "Light on the Path"(see "Advanced Course, " page 95): "To have seen thy soul in its bloom, isto have obtained a momentary glimpse in thyself of the transfigurationwhich shall eventually make thee more than man; to recognize, is toachieve the great task of gazing upon the blazing light without droppingthe eyes, and not falling back in terror as though before some ghastlyphantom. This happens to some, and so, when the victory is all but won, it is lost. " Peace be with thee. MANTRAM (AFFIRMATION) FOR THE THIRD LESSON. There is but one ultimate form of Matter; one ultimate form of Energy;one ultimate form of Mind. Matter proceeds from Energy, and Energy fromMind, and all are an emanation of the Absolute, threefold in appearancebut One in substance. There is but One Life, and that permeates theUniverse, manifesting in various forms, but being, at the last, but One. My body is one with Universal Matter; My energy and vital force is onewith the Universal Energy; My Mind is one with the Universal Mind; MyLife is one with the Universal Life. The Absolute has expressed andmanifested itself in Spirit, which is the real "I" overshadowing andembracing all the apparently separate "I"s. "I" feel my identity withSpirit and realize the Oneness of All Reality. I feel my unity with allSpirit, and my Union (through Spirit) with the Absolute. I realize that"I" am an Expression and Manifestation of the Absolute, and that itsvery essence is within me. I am filled with Divine Love. I am filled withDivine Power. I am filled with Divine Wisdom. I am conscious of identityin spirit, in substance; and in nature; with the One Reality. THE FOURTH LESSON. MENTAL CONTROL. In our first three lessons of this series, we have endeavored to bringinto realization within your mind (1) the consciousness of the "I"; itsindependence from the body; its immortality; its invincibility andinvulnerability; (2) the superiority of the "I" over the mind, as well asover the body; the fact that the mind is not the "I, " but is merely aninstrument for the expression of the "I"; the fact that the "I" is masterof the mind, as well as of the body; that the "I" is behind all thought;that the "I" can set aside for consideration the sensations, emotions, passions, desires, and the rest of the mental phenomena, and stillrealize that it, the "I, " is apart from these mental manifestations, andremains unchanged, real and fully existent; that the "I" can set asideany and all of its mental tools and instruments, as "not I" things, andstill consciously realize that after so setting them aside there remainssomething--itself--the "I" which cannot be set aside or taken from; thatthe "I" is the master of the mind, and not its slave; (3) that the "I" isa much greater thing than the little personal "I" we have beenconsidering it to be; that the "I" is a part of that great One Realitywhich pervades all the Universe; that it is connected with all otherforms of life by countless ties, mental and spiritual filaments andrelations; that the "I" is a Centre of Consciousness in that great OneReality or Spirit, which is behind and back of all Life and Existence, the Centre of which Reality or Existence, is the Absolute or God; thatthe sense of Reality that is inherent in the "I, " is really thereflection of the sense of Reality inherent in the Whole--the Great "I"of the Universe. The underlying principle of these three lessons is the Reality of the"I, " in itself, over and above all Matter, Force, or Mind--positive toall of them, just as they are positive or negative to each other--andnegative only to the Centre of the One--the Absolute itself. And this isthe position for the Candidate or Initiate to take: "I am positive toMind, Energy, and Matter, and control them all--I am negative only to theAbsolute, which is the Centre of Being, of which Being I Am. And, as Iassert my mastery over Mind, Energy, and Matter, and exercise my Willover them, so do I acknowledge my subordination to the Absolute, andgladly open my soul to the inflow of the Divine Will, and partake of itsPower, Strength, and Wisdom. " In the present lesson, and those immediately following it, we shallendeavor to assist the Candidate or Initiate in acquiring a mastery ofthe subordinate manifestations, Matter, Energy, and Mind. In order toacquire and assert this mastery, one must acquaint himself with thenature of the thing to be controlled. In our "Advanced Course" we have endeavored to explain to you the natureof the Three Great Manifestations, known as _Chitta_, or Mind-Substance;_Prana_, or Energy; and _Akasa_, or the Principle of Matter. We alsoexplained to you that the "I" of man is superior to these three, beingwhat is known as _Atman_ or Spirit. Matter, Energy, and Mind, as we haveexplained, are manifestations of the Absolute, and are relative things. The Yogi philosophy teaches that Matter is the grossest form ofmanifested substance, being below Energy and Mind, and consequentlynegative to, and subordinate to both. One stage higher than Matter, isEnergy or Force, which is positive to, and has authority over, Matter(Matter being a still grosser form of substance), but which is negativeto and subordinate to Mind, which is a still higher form of substance. Next in order comes the highest of the three--Mind--the finest form ofsubstance, and which dominates both Energy and Matter, being positive toboth. Mind, however is negative and subordinate to the "I, " which isSpirit, and obeys the orders of the latter when firmly and intelligentlygiven. The "I" itself is subordinate only to the Absolute--the Centre ofBeing--the "I" being positive and dominant over the threefoldmanifestation of Mind, Energy, and Matter. The "I, " which for the sake of the illustration must be regarded as aseparate thing (although it is really only a Centre of Consciousness inthe great body of Spirit), finds itself surrounded by the triple-ocean ofMind, Energy and Matter, which ocean extends into Infinity. The body isbut a physical form through which flows an unending stream of matter, for, as you know the particles and atoms of the body are constantlychanging; being renewed; replaced; thrown off, and supplanted. One's bodyof a few years ago, or rather the particles composing that body, havepassed off and now form new combinations in the world of matter. Andone's body of to-day is passing away and being replaced by new particles. And one's body of next year is now occupying some other portion of space, and its particles are now parts of countless other combinations, fromwhich space and combinations they will later come to combine and form thebody of next year. There is nothing permanent about the body--even theparticles of the bones are being constantly replaced by others. Andso it is with the Vital Energy, Force, or Strength of the body (includingthat of the brain). It is constantly being used up, and expended, a freshsupply taking its place. And even the Mind of the person is changeable, and the Mind-substance or _Chitta_, is being used up and replenished, thenew supply coming from the great Ocean of Mind, into which the discardedportion slips, just as is the case with the matter and energy. While the majority of our students, who are more or less familiar withthe current material scientific conceptions, will readily accept theabove idea of the ocean of Matter, and Energy, and the fact that thereis a continual using up and replenishing of one's store of both, they mayhave more or less trouble in accepting the idea that Mind is a substanceor principle amenable to the same general laws as are the other twomanifestations, or attributes of substance. One is so apt to think of hisMind as "himself"--the "I. " Notwithstanding the fact that in our SecondLesson of this series we showed you that the "I" is superior to themental states, and that it can set them aside and regard and considerthem as "not-I" things, yet the force of the habit of thought is verystrong, and it may take some of you considerable time before you "getinto the way" of realizing that your Mind is "something that you use, "instead of being You--yourself. And yet, you must persevere in attainingthis realization, for in the degree that you realize your dominance overyour mind, so will be your control of it, and its amenability to thatcontrol. And, as is the degree of that dominance and control, so willbe the character, grade and extent of the work that your Mind will do foryou. So you see: _Realization brings Control_--_and Control bringsresults_. This statement lies at the base of the science of _Raja Yoga_. And many of its first exercises are designed to acquaint the student withthat realization, and to develop the realization and control by habit andpractice. The Yogi Philosophy teaches that instead of Mind being the "I. " it isthe thing through and by means of which the "I" _thinks_, at least sofar as is concerned the knowledge concerning the phenomenal or outwardUniverse--that is the Universe of Name and Form. There is a higherKnowledge locked up in the innermost part of the "I, " that far transcendsany information that it may receive about or from the outer world, butthat is not before us for consideration at this time, and we must concernourselves with the "thinking" about the world of things. Mind-substance in Sanscrit is called "_Chitta_, " and a wave in the_Chitta_ (which wave is the combination of Mind and Energy) is called"_Vritta_, " which is akin to what we call a "thought. " In other words itis "mind in action, " whereas _Chitta_ is "mind in repose. " _Vritta_, whenliterally translated means "a whirlpool or eddy in the mind, " which isexactly what a thought really is. But we must call the attention of the student, at this point, to the factthat the word "Mind" is used in two ways by the Yogis and otheroccultists, and the student is directed to form a clear conception ofeach meaning, in order to avoid confusion, and that he may more clearlyperceive the two aspects of the things which the word is intended toexpress. In the first place the word "Mind" is used as synonymouswith _Chitta_, or Mind-substance, which is the Universal Mind Principle. From this _Chitta_, Mind-substance, or Mind, all the material of themillions of personal minds is obtained. The second meaning of the word"Mind" is that which we mean when we speak of the "mind" of anyone, thereby meaning the mental faculties of that particular person--thatwhich distinguishes his mental personality from that of another. We havetaught you that this "mind" in Man, functions on three planes, and havecalled the respective manifestations (1) the Instinctive Mind; (2) theIntellect; and (3) the Spiritual Mind. (_See "Fourteen Lessons in YogiPhilosophy, " etc. _) These three mental planes, taken together, make upthe "mind" of the person, or to be more exact they, clustered around the"I" form the "soul" of the individual. The word "soul" is often used assynonymous with "spirit" but those who have followed us will distinguishthe difference. The "soul" is the Ego surrounded by its mentalprinciples, while the Spirit is the "soul of the soul"--the "I, " or RealSelf. The Science of _Raja Yoga_, to which this series of lessons is devoted, teaches, as its basic principle, the Control of the Mind. It holds thatthe first step toward Power consists in obtaining a control of one'sown mind. It holds that the internal world must be conquered before theouter world is attacked. It holds that the "I" manifests itself inWill, and that that Will may be used to manipulate, guide, govern anddirect the mind of its owner, as well as the physical world. It aims toclear away all mental rubbish, and encumbrances--to conduct a "mentalhouse-cleaning, " as it were, and to secure a clear, clean, healthy mind. Then it proceeds to control that mind intelligently, and with effect, saving all waste-power, and by means of concentration bringing the Mindin full harmony with the Will, that it may be brought to a focus and itspower greatly increased and its efficiency fully secured. Concentrationand Will-power are the means by which the Yogis obtain such wonderfulresults, and by which they manage and direct their vigorous, healthyminds, and master the material world, acting positively upon Energy andMatter. This control extends to all planes of the Mind and the Yogis notonly control the Instinctive Mind, holding in subjection its lowerqualities and making use of its other parts, but they also develop andenlarge the field of their Intellect and obtain from it wonderfulresults. Even the Spiritual Mind is mastered, and aided in itsunfoldment, and urged to pass down into the field of consciousness someof the wonderful secrets to be found within its area. By means of _RajaYoga_ many of the secrets of existence and Being--many of the Riddles ofthe Universe--are answered and solved. And by it the latent powersinherent in the constitution of Man are unfolded and brought into action. Those highly advanced in the science are believed to have obtained such awonderful degree of power and control over the forces of the universe, that they are as gods compared with the ordinary man. _Raja Yoga_ teaches that not only may power of this kind be secured, butthat a wonderful field of Knowledge is opened out through its practice. It holds that when the concentrated mind is focused upon thing orsubject, the true nature and inner meaning, of, and concerning, thatthing or subject will be brought to view. The concentrated mind passesthrough the object or subject just as the X-Ray passes through a block ofwood, and the thing is seen by the "I" as it _is_--in truth--and not asit had appeared before, imperfectly and erroneously. Not only may theoutside world be thus explored, but the mental ray may be turned inward, and the secret places of the mind explored. When it is remembered thatthe bit of mind that each man possesses, is like a drop of the oceanwhich contains within its tiny compass all the elements that make up theocean, and that to know perfectly the drop is to know perfectly theocean, then we begin to see what such a power really means. Many in the Western world who have attained great results in theintellectual and scientific fields of endeavor, have developed thesepowers more or less unconsciously. Many great inventors are practicalYogis, although they do not realize the source of their power. Anyone whois familiar with the personal mental characteristics of Edison, will seethat he follows some of the _Raja Yoga_ methods, and that Concentrationis one of his strongest weapons. And from all reports, Prof. Elmer Gates, of Washington, D. C. , whose mind has unfolded many wonderful discoveriesand inventions, is also a practical Yogi although he may repudiate theassertion vigorously, and may not have familiarized himself with theprinciples of this science, which he has "dropped into" unconsciously. Those who have reported upon Prof. Gates' methods, say that he fairly"digs out" the inventions and discoveries from his mind, after goinginto seclusion and practicing concentration, and what is known as theMental Vision. But we have given you enough of theory for one lesson, and must begin togive you directions whereby you may aid yourself in developing theselatent powers and unfolding these dormant energies. You will notice thatin this series we first tell you something about the theory, and thenproceed to give you "something to do. " This is the true Yogi method asfollowed and practiced by their best teachers. Too much theory istiresome, and sings the mind to sleep, while too much exercise tires one, and does not give the inquiring part of his mind the necessary food. Tocombine both in suitable proportions is the better plan, and one that weaim to follow. MENTAL DRILL AND EXERCISES. Before we can get the mind to do good work for us, we must first "tame"it, and bring it to obedience to the Will of the "I. " The mind, as arule, has been allowed to run wild, and follow its own sweet will anddesires, without regard to anything else. Like a spoiled child or badlytrained domestic animal, it gets into much trouble, and is of very littlepleasure, comfort or use. The minds of many of us are like menageriesof wild animals, each pursuing the bent of its own nature, and going itsown way. We have the whole menagerie within us--the tiger, the ape, thepeacock, the ass, the goose, the sheep the hyena, and all the rest. Andwe have been letting these animals rule us. Even our Intellect iserratic, unstable, and like the quicksilver to which the ancientoccultists compared it, shifting and uncertain. If you will look aroundyou you will see that those men and women in the world who have reallyaccomplished anything worth while have trained their minds to obedience. They have asserted the Will over their own minds, and learned Mastery andPower in that way. The average mind chafes at the restraint of the Will, and is like a frisky monkey that will not be "taught tricks. " But taughtit must be, if it wants to do good work. And teach it you must if youexpect to get any use from it--if you expect to use it, instead of havingit use you. And this is the first thing to be learned in _Raja Yoga_--this control ofthe mind. Those who had hoped for some royal road to mastery, may bedisappointed, but there is only one way and that is to master and controlthe mind by the Will. Otherwise it will run away when you most need it. And so we shall give you some exercise designed to aid you in thisdirection. The first exercise in _Raja Yoga_ Is what is called _Pratyahara_ or theart of making the mind introspective or turned inward upon itself. It isthe first step toward mental control. It aims to turn the mind fromgoing outward, and gradually turning it inward upon itself or innernature. The object is to gain control of it by the Will. The followingexercises will aid in that direction: EXERCISE I. (a) Place yourself in a comfortable position, and so far as possible freefrom outside disturbing influences. Make no violent effort to controlthe mind, but rather allow it to run along for a while and exhaust itsefforts. It will take advantage of the opportunity, and will jump aroundlike an unchained monkey at first, until it gradually slows down andlooks to you for orders. It may take some time to tame down at firsttrial, but each time you try it will come around to you in shorter time. The Yogis spend much time in acquiring this mental peace and calm, andconsider themselves well paid for it. (b) When the mind is well calmed down, and peaceful, fix the thought onthe "I Am, " as taught in our previous lessons. Picture the "I" as anentity independent of the body; deathless; invulnerable; immortal; real. Then think of it as independent of the body, and able to exist withoutits fleshly covering. Meditate upon this for a time, and then graduallydirect the thought to the realization of the "I" as independent andsuperior to the mind, and controlling same. Go over the general ideas ofthe first two lessons, and endeavor to calmly reflect upon them andto see them in the "mind's eye. " You will find that your mind isgradually becoming more and more peaceful and calm, and that thedistracting thoughts of the outside world are farther and farther removedfrom you. (c) Then let the mind pass on to a calm consideration of the ThirdLesson, in which we have spoken of the Oneness of All, and therelationship of the "I" to the One Life; Power; Intelligence; Being. Youwill find that you are acquiring a mental control and calm heretoforeunknown to you. The exercises in the first three lessons will haveprepared you for this. (d) The following is the most difficult of the variations or degrees ofthis exercise, but the ability to perform it will come gradually. Theexercise consists in gradually shutting out all thought or impressionof the outside world; of the body; and of the thoughts themselves, thestudent concentrating and meditating upon the word and idea "I AM, " theidea being that he shall concentrate upon the idea of mere "being" or"existence, " symbolized by the words "I Am. " Not "I am _this_, " or "I am_that_, " or "I _do_ this, " or "I _think_ that, " but simply: "I _AM_. "This exercise will focus the attention at the very centre of Being withinoneself, and will gather in all the mental energies, instead of allowingthem to be scattered upon outside things. A feeling of Peace, Strength, and Power will result, for the affirmation, and the thought back of it, is the most powerful and strongest that one may make, for it is astatement of Actual Being, and a turning of the thought inward to thattruth. Let the mind first dwell upon the word "I, " identifying it withthe Self, and then let it pass on to the word "AM, " which signifiesReality, and Being. Then combine the two with the meanings thereof, andthe result a most powerful focusing of thought inward, and most potentStatement of Being. It is well to accompany the above exercises with a comfortable and easyphysical attitude, so as to prevent the distraction of the attention bythe body. In order to do this one should assume an easy attitude and thenrelax every muscle, and take the tension from every nerve, until aperfect sense of ease, comfort and relaxation is obtained. You shouldpractice this until you have fully acquired it. It will be useful to youin many ways, besides rendering Concentration and Meditation easier. Itwill act as a "rest cure" for tired body, nerves, and mind. EXERCISE II. The second step in _Raja Yoga_ is what is known as _Dharana_, orConcentration. This is a most wonderful idea in the direction of focusingthe mental forces, and may be cultivated to an almost incredible degree, but all this requires work, time, and patience. But the student will bewell repaid for it. Concentration consists in the mind focusing upon acertain subject, or object, and being held there for a time. This, atfirst thought seems very easy, but a little practice will show howdifficult it is to firmly fix the attention and hold it there. It willhave a tendency to waver, and move to some other object or subject, andmuch practice will be needed in order to hold it at the desired point. But practice will accomplish wonders, as one may see by observing peoplewho have acquired this faculty, and who use it in their everyday life. But the following point should be remembered. Many persons have acquiredthe faculty of concentrating their attention, but have allowed it tobecome almost involuntary, and they become a slave to it, forgettingthemselves and everything else, and often neglecting necessary affairs. This is the ignorant way of concentrating, and those addicted to itbecome slaves to their habits, instead of masters of their minds. Theybecome day-dreamers, and absent-minded people, instead of Masters. Theyare to be pitied as much as those who cannot concentrate at all. Thesecret is in a mastery of the mind. The Yogis can concentrate at will, and completely bury themselves in the subject before them, and extractfrom it every item of interest, and can then pass the mind from the thingat will, the same control being used in both cases. They do not allowfits of abstraction, or "absent-mindedness" to come upon them, nor arethey day-dreamers. On the contrary they are very wide awake individuals;close observers; clear thinkers; correct reasoners. They are masters oftheir minds, not slaves to their moods. The ignorant concentrator burieshimself in the object or subject, and allows it to master and absorbhimself, while the trained Yogi thinker asserts the "I, " and then directshis mind to concentrate upon the subject or object, keeping it well undercontrol and in view all the time. Do you see the difference? Then heedthe lesson. The following exercises may be found useful in the first steps ofConcentration: (a) Concentrate the attention upon some familiar object--a pencil, forinstance. Hold the mind there and consider the pencil to the exclusion ofany other object. Consider its size; color; shape; kind of wood. Considerits uses, and purposes; its materials; the process of its manufacture, etc. , etc. , etc. In short think as many things about the pencil aspossible allowing the mind to pursue any associated by-paths, such as aconsideration of the graphite of which the "lead" is made; the forestfrom which came the wood used in making the pencil; the history ofpencils, and other implements used for writing, etc. In short exhaustthe subject of "Pencils. " In considering a subject under concentration, the following plan of synopsis will be found useful. Think of the thingin question from the following view-points: (1) The thing itself. (2) The place from whence it came. (3) Its purpose or use. (4) Its associations. (5) Its probable end. Do not let the apparently trivial nature of the inquiry discourage you, for the simplest form of mental training is useful, and will help todevelop your Will and Concentration. It is akin to the process ofdeveloping a physical muscle by some simple exercise, and in both casesone loses sight of the unimportance of the exercise itself, in view ofthe end to be gained. (b) Concentrate the attention upon some part of the body--the hand forinstance, and fixing your entire attention upon it, shut off or inhibitall sensation from the other parts of the body. A little practice willenable you to do this. In addition to the mental training, this exercisewill stimulate the part of the body concentrated upon, for reasons thatwill appear in future lessons. Change the parts of the body concentratedupon, and thus give the mind a variety of exercises, and the body theeffect of a general stimulation. (c) These exercises may be extended indefinitely upon familiar objectsabout you. Remember always, that the thing in itself is of no importance, the whole idea being to train the mind to obey the Will, so that when youreally wish to use the mental forces upon some important object, you mayfind them well trained and obedient. Do not be tempted to slight thispart of the work because it is "dry" and uninteresting, for it leads upto things that are most interesting, and opens a door to a fascinatingsubject. (d) Practice focusing the attention upon some abstract subject--that isupon some subject of interest that may offer a field for mentalexploration. Think about the subject in all its phases and branches, following up one by-path, and then another, until you feel that you knowall about the subject that your mind has acquired. You will be surprisedto find how much more you know about any one thing or subject than youhad believed possible. In hidden corners of your mind you will find someuseful or interesting information about the thing in question, and whenyou are through you will feel well posted upon it, and upon the thingsconnected with it. This exercise will not only help, to develop yourintellectual powers, but will strengthen your memory, and broaden yourmind, and give you more confidence in yourself. And, in addition, youwill have taken a valuable exercise in Concentration or _Dharana_. _The Importance of Concentration. _ Concentration is a focusing of the mind. And this focusing of the mindrequires a focusing, or bringing to a center, of the Will. The mind isconcentrated because the Will is focused upon the object. The mind flowsinto the mould made by the Will. The above exercises are designed notonly to accustom the mind to the obedience and direction of the Will, butalso tend to accustom the Will to command. We speak of strengthening theWill, when what we really mean is training the mind to obey, andaccustoming the Will to command. Our Will is strong enough, but we do notrealize it. The Will takes root in the very center of our being--in the"I, " but our imperfectly developed mind does not recognize this tact. We are like young elephants that do not recognize their own strength, butallow themselves to be mastered by puny drivers, whom they could brushaside with a movement. The Will is back of all action--all doing--mentaland physical. We shall have much to say touching the Will, in these lessons and thestudent should give the matter his careful attention. Let him look aroundhim, and he will see that the great difference between the men who havestepped forward from the ranks, and those who remain huddled up in thecrowd, consists in Determination and Will. As Buxton has well said:"The longer I live, the more certain I am that the great differencebetween men, the feeble and the powerful; the great and theinsignificant; is Energy and Invincible Determination. " And he might haveadded that the thing behind that "energy and invincible determination"was Will. The writers and thinkers of all ages have recognized the wonderful andtranscendent importance of the Will. Tennyson sings: "O living Will thoushalt endure when all that seems shall suffer shock. " Oliver WendellHolmes says: "The seat of the Will seems to vary with the organ throughwhich it is manifested; to transport itself to different parts of thebrain, as we may wish to recall a picture, a phrase, a melody; to throwits force on the muscles or the intellectual processes. Like thegeneral-in-chief, its place is everywhere in the field of action. It isthe least like an instrument of any of our faculties; the farthestremoved from our conceptions of mechanism and matter, as we commonlydefine them. " Holmes was correct in his idea, but faulty in his details. The Will does not change its seat, which is always in the center of theEgo, but the Will forces the mind to all parts, and in all directions, and it directs the _Prana_ or vital force likewise. The Will is indeedthe general-in-chief, but it does not rush to the various points ofaction, but sends its messengers and couriers there to carry out itsorders. Buxton has said: "The Will will do anything that can be done inthis world. And no talents, no circumstances, no opportunities willmake a two-legged creature a Man without it. " Ik Marvel truly says:"Resolve is what makes a man manifest; not puny resolve, not crudedeterminations, not errant purpose--but that strong and indefatigableWill which treads down difficulties and danger, as a boy treads down theheaving frost-lands of winter; which kindles his eye and brain with aproud pulse-beat toward the unattainable. Will makes men giants. " The great obstacle to the proper use of the Will, in the case of themajority of people, is the lack of ability to focus the attention. TheYogis clearly understand this point, and many of the _Raja Yoga_exercises which are given to the students by the teachers, are designedto overcome this difficulty. Attention is the outward evidence of theWill. As a French writer has said: "The attention is subject to thesuperior authority of the Ego. I yield it, or I withhold it, as I please. I direct it in turn to several points. I concentrate it upon each pointas long as my Will can stand the effort. " Prof. James has said: "Theessential achievement of the Will, when it is most voluntary, is toattend to a difficult object, and hold it fast before the mind. Effort ofAttention is the essential phenomenon of the Will. " And Prof. Hallecksays: "The first step toward the development of Will lies in the exerciseof Attention. Ideas grow in distinctness and motor-power as we attend tothem. If we take two ideas of the same intensity and center the attentionupon one, we shall notice how much it grows in power. " Prof. Sully says:"Attention may be roughly defined as the active self-direction of themind to any object which presents itself at the moment. " The word"Attention" is derived from two Latin words, _ad tendere_, meaning "tostretch towards, " and this is just what the Yogis know it to be. By meansof their psychic or clairvoyant sight, they see the thought of theattentive person stretched out toward the object attended to, like asharp wedge, the point of which is focused upon the object underconsideration, the entire force of the thought being concentrated at thatpoint. This is true not only when the person is considering an object, but when he is earnestly impressing his ideas upon another, or upon sometask to be accomplished. Attention means reaching the mind out to andfocusing it upon something. The trained Will exhibits itself in a tenacious Attention, and thisAttention is one of the signs of the trained Will. The student must nothastily conclude that this kind of Attention is a common faculty amongmen. On the contrary it is quite rare, and is seen only among those of"strong" mentality. Anyone may fasten his Attention upon some passing, _pleasing_ thing, but it takes a trained will to fasten it upon someunattractive thing, and hold it there. Of course the trained occultist isable to throw interest into the most unattractive thing upon which itbecomes advisable to focus his Attention, but this, in itself, comes withthe trained Will, and is not the possession of the average man. VoluntaryAttention is rare, and is found only among strong characters. But it maybe cultivated and grown, until he who has scarcely a shade of it to-day, in time may become a giant. It is all a matter of practice, exercise, andWill. It is difficult to say too much in favor of the development of thefaculty of tenacious Attention. One possessing this developed faculty isable to accomplish far more than even a much "brighter" man who lacksit. And the best way to train the Attention, under the direction of theWill, is to practice upon _uninteresting_ objects, and ideas, holdingthem before the mind until they begin to assume an Interest. This isdifficult at first, but the task soon begins to take on a pleasantaspect, for one finds that his Will-power and Attention are growing, andhe feels himself acquiring a Force and Power that were lacking before--herealizes that he is growing Stronger. Charles Dickens said that thesecret of his success consisted in his developing a faculty of throwinghis entire Attention into whatever he happened to be doing at the momentand then being able to turn that same degree of Attention to the nextthing coming before him for consideration. He was like a man behind agreat searchlight, which was successively turned upon point after point, illuminating each in turn. The "I" is the man behind the light, and theWill is the reflector, the light being the Attention. This discussion of Will and Attention may seem somewhat "dry" to thestudent, but that is all the more reason that he should attend to it. Itis the secret that lies at the basis of the Science of _Raja Yoga_, andthe Yogi Masters have attained a degree of Concentrated Will andAttention that would be inconceivable to the average "man on the street. "By reason of this, they are able to direct the mind here and there, outward or inward, with an enormous force. They are able to focus themind upon a small thing with remarkable intensity, just as the rays ofthe sun may be focused through a "sun-glass" and caused to ignite linen, or, on the other hand, they are able to send forth the mind with intenseenergy, illuminating whatever it rests upon, just as happens in the caseof the strong electric searchlight, with which many of us are familiar. By all means start in to cultivate the Attention and Will. Practice onthe unpleasant tasks--do the things that you have before you, and fromwhich you have been shrinking because they were unpleasant. Throwinterest into them, and the difficulty will vanish, and you will come outof it much stronger, and filled with a new sense of Power. MANTRAM (AFFIRMATION). "I" have a Will--it is my inalienable property and right. I determine tocultivate and develop it by practice and exercise. My mind is obedient tomy Will. I assert my Will over my Mind. I am Master of my mind and body. I _assert_ my Mastery. My Will is Dynamic--full of Force and Energy, andPower. I feel my strength. I am Strong. I am Forceful. I am Vital. I amCenter of Consciousness, Energy, Strength, and Power, and I claim mybirthright. THE FIFTH LESSON. THE CULTIVATION OF ATTENTION. In our last lesson we called your attention to the fact that the Yogisdevote considerable time and practice to the acquirement ofConcentration. And we also had something to say regarding the relationof Attention to the subject of Concentration. In this lesson we shallhave more to say on the subject of Attention, for it is one of theimportant things relating to the practice of _Raja Yoga_, and the Yogisinsist upon their students practicing systematically to develop andcultivate the faculty. Attention lies at the base of Will-power, and thecultivation of one makes easy the exercise of the other. To explain why we lay so much importance to the cultivation of Attention, would necessitate our anticipating future lessons of this series, whichwe do not deem advisable at this time. And so we must ask our students totake our word for it, that all that we have to say regarding theimportance of the cultivation of Attention, is occasioned by the relationof that subject to the use of the mind in certain directions as willappear fully later on. In order to let you know that we are not advancing some peculiar theoryof the Yogis, which may not be in harmony with modern Western Science, wegive you in this article a number of quotations, from Western writers andthinkers, touching upon this important faculty of the mind, so that youmay see that the West and East agree upon this main point, howeverdifferent may be their explanations of the fact, or their use of thepower gained by the cultivation of Attention. As we said in our last lesson, the word Attention is derived from twoLatin words "_ad tendere_, " meaning "to stretch toward, " which is reallywhat Attention is. The "I" wills that the mind be focused on someparticular object or thing, and the mind obeys and "stretches toward"that object or thing, focusing its entire energy upon it, observing everydetail, dissecting, analyzing, consciously and sub-consciously, drawingto itself every possible bit of information regarding it, both fromwithin and from without. We cannot lay too much stress upon theacquirement of this great faculty, or rather, the development of it, forit is necessary for the intelligent study of _Raja Yoga_. In order to bring out the importance of the subject, suppose we start inby actually giving our Attention to the subject of Attention, and see howmuch more there is in it than we had thought. We shall be well repaid forthe amount of time and trouble expended upon it. Attention has been defined as a focusing of consciousness, or, if oneprefers the form of expression, as "detention in consciousness. " In thefirst case, we may liken it to the action of the sun-glass through whichthe sun's rays are concentrated upon an object, the result being that theheat is gathered together at a small given point, the intensity of thesame being raised many degrees until the heat is sufficient to burn apiece of wood, or evaporate water. If the rays were not focused, the samerays and heat would have been scattered over a large surface, and theeffect and power lessened. And so it is with the mind. If it is allowedto scatter itself over the entire field of a subject, it will exert butlittle power and the results will be weak. But if it is passed throughthe sun-glass of attention, and focused first over one part, and thenover another, and so on, the matter may be mastered in detail, and aresult accomplished that will seem little less than marvelous to thosewho do not know the secret. _Thompson_ has said: "The experiences most permanently impressed uponconsciousness, are those upon which the greatest amount of attention hasbeen fixed. " Another writer upon the subject has said that "Attention is soessentially necessary to understanding, that without some degree of itthe ideas and perceptions that pass through the mind seem to leave notrace behind them. " _Hamilton_ has said: "An act of attention, that is, an act ofconcentration, seems thus necessary to every exertion of consciousness, as a certain contraction of the pupil is requisite to every exertion ofvision. Attention then is to consciousness what the contraction of thepupil is to sight, or, to the eye of the mind what the microscope ortelescope is to the bodily eye. It constitutes the better half of allintellectual power. " And _Brodie_ adds, quite forcibly: "It is Attention much more than anydifference in the abstract power of reasoning, which constitutes the vastdifference which exists between minds of different individuals. " _Butler_ gives us this important testimony: "The most importantintellectual habit I know of is the habit of attending exclusively to thematter in hand. It is commonly said that genius cannot be infused byeducation, yet this power of concentrated attention, which belongs as apart of his gift to every great discoverer, is unquestionably capable ofalmost indefinite augmentation by resolute practice. " And, concluding this review of opinions, and endorsements of that whichthe Yogis have so much to say, and to which they attach so muchimportance, let us listen to the words of _Beattie_, who says: "Theforce wherewith anything strikes the mind, is generally in proportion tothe degree of attention bestowed upon it. Moreover, the great art ofmemory is attention, and inattentive people always have bad memories. " There are two general kinds of Attention. The first is the Attentiondirected within the mind upon mental objects and concepts. The other isthe Attention directed outward upon objects external to ourselves. Thesame general rules and laws apply to both equally. Likewise there may be drawn another distinction and division of attentioninto two classes, _viz. _, Attenion attracted by some impression cominginto consciousness without any conscious effort of the Will--this iscalled Involuntary Attention, for the Attention and Interest is caught bythe attractiveness or novelty of the object. Attention directed to someobject by an effort of the Will, is called Voluntary Attention. Involuntary Attention is quite common, and requires no special training. In fact, the lower animals, and young children seem to have a greatershare of it than do adult men. A great percentage of men and women neverget beyond this stage to any marked degree. On the other hand, VoluntaryAttention requires effort, will, and determination--a certain mentaltraining, that is beyond the majority of people, for they will not "takethe trouble" to direct their attention in this way. Voluntary Attentionis the mark of the student and other thoughtful men. They focus theirminds on objects that do not yield immediate interest or pleasure, inorder that they may learn and accomplish. The careless person will notthus fasten his Attention, at least not more than a moment or so, for hisInvoluntary Attention is soon attracted by some passing object of nomatter how trifling a nature, and the Voluntary Attention disappears andis forgotten. Voluntary Attention is developed by practice andperseverance, and is well worth the trouble, for nothing in the mentalworld is accomplished without its use. The Attention does not readily fasten itself to uninteresting objects, and, unless interest can be created it requires a considerable degree ofVoluntary Attention in order that the mind may be fastened upon such anobject. And, more than this, even if the ordinary attention is attractedit will soon waver, unless there is some interesting change in the aspectof the object, that will give the attention a fresh hold of interest, orunless some new quality, characteristic or property manifests itself inthe object. This fact occurs because the mind mechanism has not beentrained to bear prolonged Voluntary Attention, and, in fact, the physicalbrain is not accustomed to the task, although it may be so trained bypatient practice. It has been noticed by investigators that the Attention may be rested andfreshened, either by withdrawing the Voluntary Attention from the object, and allowing the Attention to manifest along Involuntary lines towardpassing objects, etc. ; or, on the other hand, by directing the VoluntaryAttention into a new field of observation--toward some new object. Sometimes one plan will seem to give the best results, and again theother will seem preferable. We have called your attention to the fact that Interest developsAttention, and holds it fixed, while an uninteresting object or subjectrequires a much greater effort and application. This fact is apparent toanyone. A common illustration may be found in the matter of reading abook. Nearly everyone will give his undivided attention to some bright, thrilling story, while but few are able to use sufficient VoluntaryAttention to master the pages of some scientific work. But, right here, we wish to call your attention to the other side of the case, which isanother example of the fact that Truth is composed of paradoxes. Just as Interest develops Attention, so it is a truth that Attentiondevelops Interest. If one will take the trouble to give a littleVoluntary Attention to an object, he will soon find that a littleperseverance will bring to light points of Interest in the object. Thingsbefore unseen and unsuspected, are quickly brought to light. And many newphases, and aspects of the subject or object are seen, each one of which, in turn, becomes an object of Interest. This is a fact not so generallyknown, and one that it will be well for you to remember, and to use inpractice. _Look_ for the interesting features of an uninteresting thing, and they will appear to your view, and before long the uninterestingobject will have changed into a thing having many-sided interests. Voluntary Attention is one of the signs of a developed Will. That is, ofa mind that has been well trained by the Will, for the Will is alwaysstrong, and it is the mind that has to be trained, not the Will. And onthe other hand, one of the best ways to train the mind by the Will, is bypractice in Voluntary Attention. So you see how the rule works both ways. Some Western psychologists have even advanced theories that the VoluntaryAttention is the _only_ power of the Will, and that that power issufficient, for if the Attention be firmly fixed, and held upon an objectthe mind will "do the rest. " We do not agree with this school ofphilosophers, but merely mention the fact as an illustration of theimportance attributed by psychologists to this matter of VoluntaryAttention. A man of a strongly developed Attention often accomplishes far more thansome much brighter man who lacks it. Voluntary Attention and Applicationis a very good substitute for Genius, and often accomplishes far more inthe long run. Voluntary Attention is the fixing of the mind earnestly and intently uponsome particular object, at the same time shutting out from consciousnessother objects pressing for entrance. _Hamilton_ has defined it as"consciousness voluntarily applied under its law of limitations to somedeterminate object. " The same writer goes on to state that "the greaterthe number of objects to which our consciousness is simultaneouslyextended, the smaller is the intensity with which it is able to considereach, and consequently the less vivid and distinct will be theinformation it contains of the several objects. When our interest in anyparticular object is excited, and when we wish to obtain all theknowledge concerning it in our power, it behooves us to limit ourconsideration to that object to the exclusion of others. " The human mind has the power of attending to only one object at a time, although it is able to pass from one object to another with a marvelousdegree of speed, so rapidly, in fact, that some have held that it couldgrasp several things at once. But the best authorities, Eastern andWestern, hold to the "single idea" theory as being correct. On this pointwe may quote a few authorities. _Jouffroy_ says that "It is established by experience that we cannot giveour attention to two different objects at the same time. " And _Holland_states that "Two thoughts, however closely related to one another, cannot be presumed to exist at the same time. " And _Lewes_ has told usthat "The nature of our organism prevents our having more than one aspectof an object at each instant presented to consciousness. " _Whateley_says: "The best philosophers are agreed that the mind cannot actuallyattend to more than one thing at a time, but, when it appears to be doingso it is really shifting with prodigious rapidity backward and forwardfrom one to the other. " By giving a concentrated Voluntary Attention to an object, we not onlyare able to see and think about it with the greatest possible degree ofclearness, but the mind has a tendency, under such circumstances, tobring into the field of consciousness all the different ideas associatedin our memory with that object or subject, and to build around the objector subject a mass of associated facts and information. And at the sametime the Attention given the subject makes more vivid and clear all thatwe learn about the thing at the time, and, in fact, all that we mayafterwards learn about it. It seems to cut a channel, through whichknowledge flows. Attention magnifies and increases the powers of perception, and greatlyaids the exercise of the perceptive faculties. By "paying attention" tosomething seen or heard, one is enabled to observe the details of thething seen or heard, and where the inattentive mind acquires say threeimpressions the attentive mind absorbs three times three, or perhapsthree times "three times three, " or twenty-seven. And, as we have justsaid, Attention brings into play the powers of association, and gives usthe "loose end" of an almost infinite chain of associated facts, storedaway in our memory, forming new combinations of facts which we had nevergrouped together before, and bring out into the field of consciousnessall the many scraps of information regarding the thing to which we aregiving attention. The proof of this is within the experience of everyone. Where is the one who does not remember sitting down to some writing, painting, reading, etc. , with interest and attention, and finding, muchto his surprise, what a flow of facts regarding the matter in hand waspassing through his mind. Attention seems to focus all the knowledge of athing that you possess, and by bringing it to a point enables you tocombine, associate, classify, etc. , and thus create new knowledge. _Gibbon_ tells us that after he gave a brief glance and consideration toa new subject, he suspended further work upon it, and allowed his mind(under concentrated attention) to bring forth all his associatedknowledge regarding the subject, after which he renewed the task withincreased power and efficiency. The more one's attention is fixed upon a subject under consideration, thedeeper is the impression which the subject leaves upon the mind. And theeasier will it be for him to afterwards pursue the same train of thoughtand work. Attention is a prerequisite of good memory, and in fact there can be nomemory at all unless some degree of attention is given. The degree ofmemory depends upon the degree of attention and interest. And when it isconsidered that the work of today is made efficient by the memory ofthings learned yesterday, the day before yesterday, and so on, it is seenthat the degree of attention given today regulates the quality of thework of tomorrow. Some authorities have described Genius as the result of great powers ofattention, or, at least, that the two seem to run together. Some writerhas said that "possibly the best definition of genius is the power ofconcentrating upon some one given subject until its possibilities areexhausted and absorbed. " _Simpson_ has said that "The power and habit ofthinking closely and continuously upon the subject at hand, to theexclusion, for the time, of all other subjects, is one of the principal, if, indeed, not the principal, means of success. " _Sir Isaac Newton_ hastold us his plan of absorbing information and knowledge. He has statedthat he would keep the subject under consideration before himcontinually, and then would wait till the first dawning of perceptiongradually brightened into a clear light, little by little. A mentalsunrise, in fact. That sage observer, _Dr. Abercrombie_, has written that he consideredthat he knew of no more important rule for rising to eminence in anyprofession or occupation than the Ability to do one thing at a time, avoiding all distracting and diverting objects or subjects, and keepingthe leading matter continually before the mind. And others have addedthat such a course will enable one to observe relations between thesubject and other things that will not be apparent to the carelessobserver or student. The degree of Attention cultivated by a man is the degree of his capacityfor intellectual work. As we have said, the "great" men of all walks oflife have developed this faculty to a wonderful degree, and many of themseem to get results "intuitively, " whereas, in truth, they obtain them byreason of their concentrated power of Attention, which enables them tosee right into the center of a subject or proposition--and all around it, back and front, and all sides, in a space of time incredible to the manwho has not cultivated this mighty power. Men who have devoted muchattention to some special line of work or research, are able to actalmost as if they possessed "second sight, " providing the subject iswithin their favorite field of endeavor. Attention quickens every one ofthe faculties--the reasoning faculties--the senses--the deridingqualities--the analytical faculties, and so on, each being given a "fineedge" by their use under a concentrated Attention. And, on the other hand, there is no surer indication of a weak mind thanthe deficiency in Attention. This weakness may arise from illness orphysical weakness reacting upon the brain, in which case the trouble isbut temporary. Or it may arise from a lack of mental development. Imbeciles and idiots have little or no Attention. The great Frenchpsychologist, _Luys_, speaking of this fact, says "Imbeciles and idiotssee badly, hear badly, feel badly, and their sensorium is, inconsequence, in a similar condition of sensitive poverty. Itsimpressionability for the things of the external world is at a minimum, its sensibility weak, and consequently, it is difficult to provoke thephysiological condition necessary for the absorption of the externalimpression. " In old age the Attention is the first faculty to show signs of decay. Some authorities have held that the Memory was the first faculty to beaffected by the approach of old age, but this is incorrect, for it is amatter of common experience that the aged manifest a wonderfully clearmemory of events occurring in the far past. The reason that their memoryof recent events is so poor is because their failing powers of Attentionhas prevented them from receiving strong, clear mental impressions, andas is the impression so is the memory. Their early impressions havingbeen clear and strong, are easily recalled, while their later ones, being weak, are recalled with difficulty. If the Memory were at fault, itwould be difficult for them to recall any impression, recent or fardistant in time. But we must stop quoting examples and authorities, and urging upon youthe importance of the faculty of Attention. If you do not now realize it, it is because you have not given the subject the Attention that youshould have exercised, and further repetition would not remedy matters. Admitting the importance of Attention, from the psychological pointof view, not to speak of the occult side of the subject, is it not amatter of importance for you to start in to cultivate that faculty? Wethink so. And the only way to cultivate any mental or physical part orfaculty is to Exercise it. Exercise "uses up" a muscle, or mentalfaculty, but the organism makes haste to rush to the scene additionalmaterial--cell-stuff, nerve force, etc. , to repair the waste, and italways sends a little more than is needed. And this "little more, "continually accruing and increasing, is what increases the muscles andbrain centers. And improved and strengthened brain centers give the mindbetter instruments with which to work. One of the first things to do in the cultivation of Attention is to learnto think of, and do, one thing at a time. Acquiring the "knack" or habitof attending closely to the things before us, and then passing on to thenext and treating it in the same way, is most conducive to success, andits practice is the best exercise for the cultivation of the faculty ofAttention. And on the contrary, there is nothing more harmful from thepoint of view of successful performance--and nothing that will do more todestroy the power of giving Attention--than the habit of trying to do onething while thinking of another. The thinking part of the mind, and theacting part should work together, not in opposition. _Dr. Beattie_, speaking of this subject, tells us "It is a matter of nosmall importance that we acquire the habit of doing only one thing at atime; by which I mean that while attending to any one object, ourthoughts ought not to wander to another. " And _Granville_ adds, "Afrequent cause of failure in the faculty of Attention is striving tothink of more than one thing at a time. " And _Kay_ quotes, approvingly, awriter who says: "She did things easily, because she attended to them inthe doing. When she made bread, she thought of the bread, and not of thefashion of her next dress, or of her partner at the last dance. " _LordChesterfield said, _ "There is time enough for everything in the course ofthe day, if you do but one thing at a time; but there is not time enoughin the year if you try to do two things at a time. " To attain the best results one should practice concentrating upon thetask before him, shutting out, so far as possible, every other idea orthought. One should even forget self--personality--in such cases, asthere is nothing more destructive of good thinking than to allow morbidself-consciousness to intrude. One does best when he "forgets himself" inhis work, and sinks his personality in the creative work. The "earnest"man or woman is the one who sinks personality in the desired result, orperformance of the task undertaken. The actor, or preacher, or orator, or writer, must lose sight of himself to get the best results. Keep theAttention fixed on the thing before you, and let the self take care ofitself. In connection with the above, we may relate an anecdote of _Whateley_that may be interesting in connection with the consideration of thissubject of "losing one's self" in the task. He was asked for a recipe for"bashfulness, " and replied that the person was bashful simply because hewas thinking of himself and the impression he was making. His recipe wasthat the young man should think of others--of the pleasure he could givethem--and in that way he would forget all about himself. The prescriptionis said to have effected the cure. The same authority has written, "Letboth the extemporary speaker, and the reader of his own compositions, study to avoid as far as possible all thoughts of self, earnestly fixingthe mind on the matter of what is delivered; and they will feel lessthat embarrassment which arises from the thought of what opinion thehearers will form of them. " The same writer, _Whateley_, seems to have made quite a study ofAttention and has given us some interesting information on its details. The following may be read with interest, and if properly understood maybe employed to advantage. He says, "It is a fact, and a very curious one. That many people find that they can best attend to any serious matterwhen they are occupied with something else which requires a little, andbut a little, attention, such as working with the needle, cutting openpaper leaves, or, for want of some such employment, fiddling anyhow withthe fingers. " He does not give the reason for this, and at first sightit might seem like a contradiction of the "one thing at a time" idea. Buta closer examination will show us that the minor work (the cuttingleaves, etc. ) is in the nature of an involuntary or automatic movement, inasmuch as it requires little or no voluntary attention, and seems to"do itself. " It does not take off the Attention from the main subject, but perhaps acts to catch the "waste Attention" that often tries todivide the Attention from some voluntary act to another. The habit mindmay be doing one thing, while the Attention is fixed on another. Forinstance, one may be writing with his attention firmly fixed upon thethought he wishes to express, while at the time his hand is doing thewriting, apparently with no attention being given it. But, let a boy, orperson unaccustomed to writing, try to express his thoughts in this way, and you will find that he is hampered in the flow of his thoughts by thefact that he has to give much attention to the mechanical act of writing. In the same way, the beginner on the typewriter finds it difficult tocompose to the machine, while the experienced typist finds the mechanicalmovements no hindrance whatever to the flow of thought and focusing ofAttention; in fact, many find that they can compose much better whileusing the typewriter than they can by dictating to a stenographer. Wethink you will see the principle. And now for a little Mental Drill in Attention, that you may be startedon the road to cultivate this important faculty. MENTAL DRILL IN ATTENTION. _Exercise I. _ Begin by taking some familiar object and placing it beforeyou, try to get as many impressions regarding it as is possible for you. Study its shape, its color, its size, and the thousand and one littlepeculiarities about it that present themselves to your attention. Indoing this, reduce the thing to its simplest parts--analyze it as far asis possible--dissect it, mentally, and study its parts in detail. Themore simple and small the part to be considered, the more clearly willthe impression be received, and the more vividly will it be recalled. Reduce the thing to the smallest possible proportions, and then examineeach portion, and mastering that, then pass on to the next part, and soon, until you have covered the entire field. Then, when you haveexhausted the object, take a pencil and paper and put down as nearly aspossible all the things or details of the object examined. When you havedone this, compare the written description with the object itself, andsee how many things you have failed to note. The next day take up the same object, and after re-examining it, writedown the details and you will find that you will have stored away agreater number of impressions regarding it, and, moreover, you will havediscovered many new details during your second examination. This exercisestrengthens the memory as well as the Attention, for the two are closelyconnected, the memory depending largely upon the clearness and strengthof the impressions received, while the impressions depend upon the amountof attention given to the thing observed. Do not tire yourself with thisexercise, for a tired Attention is a poor Attention. Better try it bydegrees, increasing the task a little each time you try it. Make a gameof it if you like, and you will find it quite interesting to notice thesteady but gradual improvement. It will be interesting to practice this in connection with some friend, varying the exercise by both examining the object, and writing down theirimpressions, separately, and then comparing results. This adds interestto the task, and you will be surprised to see how rapidly both of youincrease in your powers of observation, which powers, of course, resultfrom Attention. _Exercise II. _ This exercise is but a variation of the first one. Itconsists in entering a room, and taking a hasty glance around, and thenwalking out, and afterward writing down the number of things that youhave observed, with a description of each. You will be surprised toobserve how many things you have missed at first sight, and how you willimprove in observation by a little practice. This exercise, also, may beimproved by the assistance of a friend, as related in our last exercise. It is astonishing how many details one may observe and remember, after alittle practice. It is related of Houdin, the French conjurer, that heimproved and developed his faculty of Attention and Memory by playingthis game with a young relative. They would pass by a shop window, taking a hasty, attentive glance at its contents. Then they would goaround the corner and compare notes. At first they could remember only afew prominent articles--that is, their Attention could grasp only a few. But as they developed by practice, they found that they could observe andremember a vast number of things and objects in the window. And, at last, it is related that Houdin could pass rapidly before any large shopwindow, bestowing upon it but one hasty glance, and then tell the namesof, and closely describe, nearly every object in plain sight in thewindow. The feat was accomplished by the fact that the cultivatedAttention enabled Houdin to fasten upon his mind a vivid mental image ofthe window and its contents, and then he was able to describe thearticles one by one from the picture in his mind. Houdin taught his son to develop Attention by a simple exercise which maybe interesting and of value to you. He would lay down a domino before theboy--a five-four, for example. He would require the boy to tell him thecombined number at once, without allowing him to stop to count the spots, one by one. "Nine" the boy would answer after a moment's hesitation. Then another domino, a three-four, would be added. "That makes sixteen, "cried the boy. Two dominoes at a time was the second day's task. Thenext day, three was the standard. The next day, four, and so on, untilthe boy was able to handle twelve dominoes--that is to say, giveinstantaneously the total number of spots on twelve dominoes, after asingle glance. This was Attention, in earnest, and shows what practicewill do to develop a faculty. The result was shown by the wonderfulpowers of observation, memory and attention, together with instantaneousmental action, that the boy developed. Not only was he able to adddominoes instantaneously, but he had powers of observation, etc. , thatseemed little short of miraculous. And yet it is related that he had poorattention, and deficient memory to begin with. If this seems incredible, let us remember how old whist players note andremember every card in the pack, and can tell whether they have beenplayed or not, and all the circumstances attending upon them. The same istrue of chess players, who observe every move and can relate the wholegame in detail long after it has been played. And remember, also, howone woman may pass another woman on the street, and without seeming togive her more than a careless glance, may be able to relate in detailevery feature of the other woman's apparel, including its color, texture, style of fashioning, probable price of the material, etc. , etc. And amere man would have noticed scarcely anything about it--because he wouldnot have given it any attention. But how soon would that man learn toequal his sister in attention and observation of women's wearing apparel, if his business success depended upon it, or if his speculative instinctwas called into play by a wager with some friend as to who could rememberthe most about a woman's clothing, seen in a passing glance? You see itis all a matter of Interest and Attention. But we forget that the Attention may be developed and cultivated, and wecomplain that we "cannot remember things, " or that we do not seem to beable to "take notice. " A little practice will do wonders in thisdirection. Now, while the above exercises will develop your memory and powers ofobservation, still that is not the main reason that we have given them toyou. We have an ulterior object, that will appear in time. We aim todevelop your Will-power, and we know that Attention stands at the gate ofWill-power. In order to be able to use your Will, you must be able tofocus the Attention forcibly and distinctly. And these childish exerciseswill help you to develop the mental muscles of the Attention. If youcould but realize the childish games the young Yogi students are requiredto play, in order to develop the mental faculties, you would change yourminds about the Yogi Adepts whom you have been thinking about as meredreamers, far removed from the practical. These men, and their students, are intensely practical. They have gained the mastery of the Mind, andits faculties, and are able to use them as sharp edged tools, while theuntrained man finds that he has but a dull, unsharpened blade that willdo nothing but hack and hew roughly, instead of being able to produce thefinished product. The Yogi believes in giving the "I" good tools with which to work, and hespends much time in tempering and sharpening these tools. Oh, no, theYogi are not idle dreamers. Their grasp of "practical things" wouldsurprise many a practical, matter-of-fact Western business man, if hecould but observe it. And so, we ask you to practice "observing things. " The two exercises wehave given are but indications of the general line. We could give youthousands, but you can prepare them yourselves as well as could we. The little Hindu boy is taught Attention by being asked to note andremember the number, color, character and other details of a number ofcolored stones, jewelry, etc. , shown for an instant in an open palm, the hand being closed the moment after. He is taught to note anddescribe passing travelers, and their equipages--houses he sees on hisjourneys--and thousands of other everyday objects. The results are almostmarvelous. In this way he is prepared as a _chela_ or student, and hebrings to his _guru_ or teacher a brain well developed--a mind thoroughlytrained to obey the Will of the "I"--and with faculties quickened toperceive instantly that which others would fail to see in a fortnight. Itis true that he does not turn these faculties to "business" or otherso-called "practical" pursuits, but prefers to devote them to abstractstudies and pursuits outside of that which the Western man considers tobe the end and aim of life. But remember that the two civilizations arequite different--following different ideals--having different economicconditions--living in different worlds, as it were. But that is all amatter of taste and ideals--the faculty for the "practical life" of theWest is possessed by the _chela_, if he saw fit to use it. But all Hinduyouths are not _chelas_, remember--nor are all Western youths "captainsof industry, " or Edisons. MANTRAM (AFFIRMATION). I am using my Attention to develop my mental faculties, so as to give the"I" a perfect instrument with which to work. The mind is _My_ instrumentand I am bringing it to a state of capacity for perfect work. MANTRAM (OR AFFIRMATION). There is but One Life--One Life Underlying. This Life is manifestingthrough ME, and through every other shape, form, and thing. I am restingon the bosom of the Great Ocean of Life, and it is supporting me, andwill carry me safely, though the waves rise and fall--though the stormsrage and the tempests roar. I am safe on the Ocean of Life, and rejoiceas I feel the sway of its motion. Nothing can harm me--though changes maycome and go, I am Safe. I am One with the All Life, and its Power, Knowledge, and Peace are behind, underneath, and within Me. O! One Life!express Thyself through me--carry me now on the crest of the wave, nowdeep down in the trough of the ocean--supported always by Thee--all isgood to me, as I feel Thy life moving in and through me. I am Alive, through thy life, and I open myself to thy full manifestation and inflow. THE SIXTH LESSON. CULTIVATION OF PERCEPTION. Man gains his knowledge of the outside world through his senses. And, consequently, many of us are in the habit of thinking of these senses asif _they_ did the sensing, instead of being merely carriers of thevibrations coming from the outside world, which are then presented to theMind for examination. We shall speak of this at greater length a littlelater on in this lesson. Just now we wish to impress upon you the factthat it is the Mind that perceives, not the senses. And, consequently, adevelopment of Perception is really a development of the Mind. The Yogis put their students through a very arduous course of practiceand exercises designed to develop their powers of perception. To manythis would appear to be merely a development of the Senses, which mightappear odd in view of the fact that the Yogis are constantly preachingthe folly of being governed and ruled by the senses. But there is nothingparadoxical about all this, for the Yogis, while preaching the folly ofsense life, and manifesting the teaching in their lives, neverthelessbelieve in any and all exercises calculated to "sharpen" the Mind, anddevelop it to a keen state and condition. They see a great difference between having a sharpened perception, on theone hand, and being a slave to the senses on the other. For instance, what would be thought of a man who objected to acquiring a keen eyesight, for fear it would lead him away from higher things, by reason of hisbecoming attached to the beautiful things he might see. To realize thefolly of this idea, one may look at its logical conclusion, which wouldbe that one would then be much better off if all their senses weredestroyed. The absurdity, not to say wickedness, of such an idea will beapparent to everyone, after a minute's consideration. The secret of the Yogi theory and teachings regarding the development ofthe Mental powers, lies in the word "_Mastery_. " The Yoga studentaccomplishes and attains this mastery in two ways. The first way is bysubordinating all the feelings, sense-impressions, etc. , to the Masteryof the "I, " or Will, the Mastery being obtained in this way by theassertion of the dominancy of the "I" over the faculties and emotions, etc. The second step, or way, lies in the Yogi, once having asserted themastery, beginning to develop and perfect the Mental instrument, so as toget better work and returns from it. In this way he increases his kingdomand is Master over a much larger territory. In order for one to gain knowledge, it is necessary to use to the bestadvantage the mental instruments and tools that he finds at his disposal. And again, one must develop and improve such tools--put a keen edge uponthem, etc. Not only does one gain a great benefit from a development ofthe faculties of perception, but he also acquires an additional benefitfrom the training of the whole mind arising from the mental disciplineand training resulting from the former exercises, etc. In our previouslessons we have pointed out some of the means by which these facultiesmight be greatly improved, and their efficiency increased. In this lessonwe shall point out certain directions in which the Perceptive facultiesmay be trained. We trust that the simplicity of the idea may not causeany of our students to lose interest in the work. If they only knew justwhat such development would lead to they would gladly follow oursuggestions in the matter. Every one of the ideas and exercises given byus are intended to lead up to the strengthening of the Mind, and theattainment of powers and the unfoldment of faculties. There is no royalroad to Raja Yoga, but the student will be well repaid for the work ofclimbing the hill of Attainment. In view of the above, let us examine the question of The Senses. Throughthe doors of the senses Man receives all his information regarding theoutside world. If he keeps these doors but half open, or crowded up withobstacles and rubbish, he may expect to receive but few messages fromoutside. But if he keeps his doorways clear, and clean, he will obtainthe best that is passing his way. If one were born without sense-organs--no matter how good a Mind he mighthave--he would be compelled to live his life in a dreamy plant-life stageof existence, with little or no consciousness. The Mind would be like aseed in the earth, that for some reason was prevented from growing. One may object that the highest ideas do not come to us through thesenses, but the reply is that the things obtained through the senses arethe "raw material" upon which the mind works, and fashions the beautifulthings that it is able to produce in its highest stages. Just as is thebody dependent for growth upon the nourishment taken into it, so is themind dependent for growth upon the impressions received from theUniverse--and these impressions come largely through the senses. It maybe objected to that we know many things that we have not received throughour senses. But, does the objector include the impressions that camethrough his senses in some previous existence, and which have beenimpressed upon his instinctive mind, or soul-memory? It is true thatthere are higher senses than those usually recognized, but Nature insistsupon one learning the lessons of the lower grades before attempting thoseof the higher. Do not forget that all that we know we have "worked for. " There isnothing that comes to the idler, or shirker. What we know is merely theresult of "stored-up accumulations of previous experience, " as Lewes hasso well said. So it will be seen that the Yogi idea that one should develop all partsof the Mind is strictly correct, if one will take the trouble to examineinto the matter. A man sees and knows but very little of what is goingon about him. His limitations are great. His powers of vision report onlya few vibrations of light, while below and above the scale lie aninfinity of vibrations unknown to him. The same is true of the powers ofhearing, for only a comparatively small portion of the sound-waves reachthe Mind of Man--even some of the animals hear more than he does. If a man had only one sense he would obtain but a one-sense idea of theoutside world. If another sense is added his knowledge is doubled. And soon. The best proof of the relation between increased sense perception anddevelopment is had in the study of the evolution of animal forms. In theearly stages of life the organism has only the sense of feeling--and verydim at that--and a faint sense of taste. Then developed smell, hearingand sight, each marking a distinct advance in the scale of life, for anew world has been opened out to the advancing forms of life. And, whenman develops new senses--and this is before the race--he will be a muchwiser and greater being. Carpenter, many years ago, voiced a thought that will be familiar tothose who are acquainted with the Yogi teachings regarding the unfoldmentof new senses. He said: "It does not seem at all improbable that thereare properties of matter of which none of our senses can take immediatecognizance, and which other beings might be formed to perceive in thesame manner as we are sensible to light, sound, etc. " And Isaac Taylor said: "It may be that within the field observed by thevisible and ponderable universe there is existing and moving anotherelement fraught with another species of life--corporeal, indeed, andvarious in its orders, but not open to cognizance of those who areconfined to the conditions of animal organization. Is it to be thoughtthat the eye of man is the measure of the Creator's power?--and that Hecreated nothing but that which he has exposed to our present senses? Thecontrary seems much more than barely possible; ought we not to think italmost certain?" Another writer. Prof. Masson, has said: "If a new sense or two were addedto the present normal number, in man, that which is now the phenomenalworld for all of us might, for all that we know, burst into somethingamazingly different and wider, in consequence of the additionalrevelations of these new senses. " But not only is this true, but Man may increase his powers of knowledgeand experience if he will but develop the senses he has to a higherdegree of efficiency, instead of allowing them to remain comparativelyatrophied. And toward this end, this lesson is written. The Mind obtains its impressions of objects of the outside world by meansof the brain and sense organs. The sensory organs are the instruments ofthe Mind, as is also the brain and the entire nervous system. By means ofthe nerves, and the brain, the Mind makes use of the sensory organs inorder that it may obtain information regarding external objects. The senses are usually said to consist of five different forms, _viz. _, sight, hearing, smell, touch, and taste. The Yogis teach that there are higher senses, undeveloped, orcomparatively so, in the majority of the race, but toward the unfoldmentof which the race is tending. But we shall not touch upon these latentsenses in this lesson, as they belong to another phase of the subject. Inaddition to the five senses above enumerated, some physiologists andpsychologists have held that there were several others in evidence. Forinstance, the sense by which the inner organs revealed their presence andcondition, The muscular system reports to the mind through some sensethat is not that of "touch, " although closely allied to it. And thefeelings of hunger, thirst, etc. , seem to come to us through an unnamedsense. Bernstein has distinguished between the five senses and the one justreferred to as follows: "The characteristic distinction between thesecommon sensations and the sensations of the senses is that by the latterwe gain knowledge of the occurrences and objects which belong to theexternal world (and which sensations we refer to external objects), whilst by the former we only feel conditions of our own body. " A sensation is the internal, mental conception, resulting from anexternal object or fact exciting the sense organs and nerves, and thebrain, thus making the mind "aware" of the external object or fact. AsBain has said, it is the "mental impression, feeling, or conscious state, resulting from the action of external things on some part of the body, called on that account, sensitive. " Each channel of sense impressions has an organ, or organs, peculiarlyadapted for the excitation of its substance by the particular kind ofvibrations through which it receives impressions. The eye is mostcunningly and carefully designed to receive the light-waves; andsound-waves produce no effect upon it. And, likewise, the delicatemechanism of the ear responds only to sound-waves; light-waves failing toregister upon it. Each set of sensations is entirely different, and theorgans and nerves designed to register each particular set are peculiarlyadapted to their own special work. The organs of sense, including theirspecial nervous systems, may be compared to a delicate instrument thatthe mind has fashioned for itself, that it may investigate, examine andobtain reports from the outside world. We have become so accustomed to the workings of the senses that we takethem as a "matter of course, " and fail to recognize them as the delicateand wonderful instruments that they are--designed and perfected by themind for its own use. If we will think of the soul as designing, manufacturing and using these instruments, we may begin to understandtheir true relations to our lives, and, accordingly treat them with morerespect and consideration. We are in the habit of thinking that we are aware of all the sensationsreceived by our mind. But this is very far from being correct. Theunconscious regions of the mind are incomparably larger than the smallconscious area that we generally think of when we say "my mind. " Infuture lessons we shall proceed to consider this wonderful area, andexamine what is to be found there. Taine has well said, "There is goingon within us a subterranean process of infinite extent; its productsalone are known to us, and are only known to us in the mass. As toelements, and their elements, consciousness does not attain to them. Theyare to sensations what secondary molecules and primitive molecules are tobodies. We get a glance here and there at obscure and infinite worldsextending beneath our distinct sensations. These are compounds andwholes. For their elements to be perceptible to consciousness, it isnecessary for them to be added together, and so to acquire a certain bulkand to occupy a certain time, for if the group does not attain this bulk, and does not last this time, we observe no changes in our state. Nevertheless, though it escapes us, there is one. " But we must postpone our consideration of this more than interestingphase of the subject, until some future lesson, when we shall take a tripinto the regions of Mind, under and above Consciousness. And a mostwonderful trip many of us will find it, too. For the present, we must pay our attention to the channels by which thematerial for knowledge and thought enter our minds. For these senseimpressions, coming to us from without, are indeed "material" upon whichthe mind works in order to manufacture the product called "Thought. " This material we obtain through the channels of the senses, and thenstore in that wonderful storehouse, the Memory, from whence we bring outmaterial from time to time, which we proceed to weave into the fabric ofThought. The skill of the worker depends upon his training, and hisability to select and combine the proper materials. And the acquiring ofgood materials to be stored up is an important part of the work. A mind without stored-up material of impressions and experiences would belike a factory without material. The machinery would have nothing uponwhich to work, and the shop would be idle. As Helmholtz has said, "Apprehension by the senses supplies directly or indirectly, the materialof all human knowledge, or at least the stimulus necessary to developevery inborn faculty of the mind. " And Herbert Spencer, has this to sayof this phase of the subject, "It is almost a truism to say that inproportion to the numerousness of the objects that can be distinguished, and in proportion to the variety of coexistences and sequences that canbe severally responded to, must be the number and rapidity and variety ofthe changes within the organism--must be the amount of vitality. " A little reflection upon this subject will show us that the greaterdegree of exercise and training given the senses, the greater the degreeof mental power and capability. As we store our mental storehouse withthe materials to be manufactured into thought, so is the quality andquantity of the fabric produced. It therefore behooves us to awaken from our "lazy" condition of mind, andto proceed to develop our organs of sense, and their attendant mechanism, as by doing so we increase our capacity for thought and knowledge. Before passing to the exercises, however, it may be well to give a hastypassing glance at the several senses, and their peculiarities. The sense of Touch is the simplest and primal sense. Long before thelower forms of life had developed the higher senses, they had evidencedthe sense of Touch or Feeling. Without this sense they would have beenunable to have found their food, or to receive and respond to outsideimpressions. In the early forms of life it was exercised equally by allparts of the body, although in the higher forms this sense has becomesomewhat localized, as certain parts of the body are far more sensitivethan are others. The skin is the seat of the sense of Touch, and itsnerves are distributed over the entire area of the skin. The hand, andparticularly the fingers, and their tips, are the principal organs ofthis sense. The acuteness of Touch varies materially in different parts of the body. Experiments have shown that a pair of compasses would registerimpressions as a very slight distance apart when applied to the tip ofthe tongue. The distance at which the two points could be distinguishedfrom one point, on the tip of the tongue, was called "one line. " Usingthis "line" as a standard, it was found that the palmar surface of thethird finger registered 2 lines; the surface of the lips 4 lines, and theskin of the back, and on the middle of the arm or thigh, as high as 60lines The degree of sensitiveness to Touch varies greatly with differentindividuals, some having a very fine sense of touch in their fingers, while others manifested a very much lower degree. In the same way, there is a great difference in the response of thefingers to weight--a great difference in the ability to distinguish thedifference of the weight of objects. It has been found that some peoplecan distinguish differences in weight down to very small fractions of anounce. Fine distinctions in the differences in temperature have also beennoticed. The sense of touch, and its development has meant much for Man. It is theone sense in which Man surpasses the animals in the matter of degree andacuteness. The animal may have a keener smell, taste, hearing and sight, but its sense of Touch is far beneath that of Man. Anaxagoras is quotedas saying that "if the animals had hands and fingers, they would be likemen. " In developing the sense of Touch, the student must remember thatAttention is the key to success. The greater the amount of Attention thegreater the degree of development possible in the case of any sense. When the Attention is concentrated upon any particular sense, the latterbecomes quickened and more acute, and repeated exercise, under thestimulus of Attention, will work wonders in the case of anyparticular sense. And on the other hand, the sense of touch may bealmost, or completely inhibited, by firmly fixing the Attention uponsomething else. As an extreme proof of this latter fact, the studentis asked to remember the fact that men have been known to sufferexcruciating torture, apparently without feeling, owing to the mind beingintently riveted upon some idea or thought. As Wyld has said, "The martyrborne above sensuous impressions, is not only able to endure tortures, but is able to endure and quench them. The pinching and cutting of theflesh only added energy to the death song of the American Indian, andeven the slave under the lash is sustained by the indignant sense of hiswrongs. " In the cases of persons engaged in occupations requiring a fine degree ofTouch, the development is marvelous. The engraver passes his hand overthe plate, and is able to distinguish the slightest imperfection. And thehandler of cloth and fabrics is able to distinguish the finestdifferences, simply by the sense of touch. Wool sorters also exercise awonderfully high degree of fineness of touch. And the blind are able tomake up for the loss of sight by their greatly increased sense of Touch, cases being recorded where the blind have been able to distinguish_color_ by the different "feel" of the material. The sense of Taste is closely allied to that of Touch--in fact someauthorities have considered Taste as a very highly developed sense ofTouch in certain surfaces of the body, the tongue notably. It will beremembered that the tongue has the finest sense of Touch, and it also hasthe sense of Taste developed to perfection. In Taste and Touch the objectmust be brought in direct contact with the organ of sense, which is notthe case in Smell, Hearing, or Sight. And, be it remembered, that thelatter senses have special nerves, while Taste is compelled to fall backupon the ordinary nerves of Touch. It is true that Taste is confined to avery small part of the surface of the body, while Touch is general. Butthis only indicates a special development of the special area. The senseof Taste also depends to a great extent upon the presence of fluids, andonly substances that are soluble make their presence known through theorgans and sense of Taste. Physiologists report that the sense of Taste in some persons is soacute that one part of strychnine in one million parts of water hasbeen distinguished. There are certain occupations, such as that ofwine-tasters, tea-tasters, etc. , the followers of which manifest adegree of fineness of Taste almost incredible. The sense of Smell is closely connected with the sense of Taste, andoften acts in connection therewith, as the tiny particles of thesubstance in the mouth arise to the organs of Smell, by means of theopening or means of communication situated in the back part of the mouth. Besides which the nose usually detects the odor of substances before theyenter the mouth. The sense of Smell operates by reason of the tinyparticles or the object being carried to the mucous membrane of theinterior of the nose, by means of the air. The membrane, being moist, seizes and holds these particles for a moment, and the fine nervousorganism reports differences and qualities and the Mind is thus informedof the nature of the object. The sense of Smell is very highly developed among animals, who arecompelled to rely upon it to a considerable extent. And many occupationsamong men require the development of this sense, for instance, thetobacconist, the wine dealer, the perfumers, the chemist, etc. It isrelated that in the cases of certain blind people, it has been observedthat they could distinguish persons in this manner. The sense of Hearing is a more complex one than in the case of Taste, Touch and Smell. In the latter three the objects to be sensed must bebrought in close contact with the sense-organs, while in Hearing theobject may be far removed, the impressions being carried by thevibrations of the air, which are caught up and reported upon by thenervous organism of the sense of Hearing. The internal mechanism ofthe ear is most wonderfully intricate and complex, and excites to wonderthe person examining it. It cannot be described here for want of space, but the student is advised to inquire into it if he has access to anylibrary containing books on the subject. It is a wonderful illustrationof the work of the mind in building up for itself instruments with whichto work--to acquire knowledge. The ear records vibrations in the air from 20 or 32 per second, the rateof the lowest audible note, to those of 38, 000 per second, the rate ofthe highest audible note. There is a great difference in individuals inregard to the fineness of the sense of Hearing. But all may develop thissense by the application of Attention. The animals and savages havewonderfully acute senses of Hearing developed only along the lines ofdistinctness, however--on the other hand musicians have developed thesense along different lines. The sense of Sight is generally conceded to be the highest and mostcomplex of all the senses of Man. It deals with a far larger number ofobjects--at longer distances--and gives a far greater variety ofreports to the mind than any of its associate senses. It is the sense ofTouch magnified many times. As Wilson says of it, "Our sight may beconsidered as a more delicate and diffusive kind of touch that spreadsitself over an infinite number of bodies; comprehends the largestfigures, and brings into our reach some of the most remote parts of theuniverse. " The sense of Sight receives its impressions from the outside world bymeans of waves that travel from body to body--from sun to earth, and fromlamp to eye. These waves of light arise from vibrations in substance, ofan almost incredible degree of rapidity. The lowest light vibration isabout 450, 000, 000, 000, 000 per second, while the highest is about750, 000, 000, 000, 000 per second. These figures deal only with thevibrations recognizable by the eye as light. Above and below thesefigures of the scale are countless other degrees invisible to the eye, although some of them may be recorded by instruments. The differentsensations of color, depend upon the rate of the vibrations, red beingthe limit of the lowest, and violet the limit of the highest visiblevibrations--orange, yellow, green, blue, and indigo being theintermediate rates or colors. The cultivation of the sense of Sight, under the aid of Attention is mostimportant to ail persons. By being able to clearly see and distinguishthe parts of an object, a degree of knowledge regarding it is obtainedthat one may not acquire without the said exercise of the faculty. Wehave spoken of this under the subject of Attention, in a previous lesson, to which lesson we again refer the student. The fixing of the eye upon anobject has the power of concentrating the thoughts and preventing themfrom wandering. The eye has other properties and qualities that will bedwelt upon in future lessons. It has other uses than seeing. Theinfluence of the eye is a marvelous thing, and may be cultivated anddeveloped. We trust that what we have said will bring the student to a realizationof the importance of developing the powers of Perception. The senses havebeen developed by the mind during a long period of evolution and effortthat surely would not have been given unless the object in view was worthit all. The "I" insists upon obtaining knowledge of the Universe, andmuch of this knowledge may be obtained only through the senses. The Yogistudent must be "wide awake" and possessed of developed senses andpowers of Perception. The senses of Sight and Hearing, the two latest inthe scale of Evolutionary growth and unfoldment, must receive aparticular degree of attention. The student must make himself "aware"of what is going on about and around him, so that he may "catch" the bestvibrations. It would surprise many Westerners if they could come in contact with ahighly developed Yogi, and witness the marvelously finely developedsenses he possesses. He is able to distinguish the finest differencesin things, and his mind is so trained that, in thought, he may drawconclusions from what he has perceived, in a manner that seems almost"second-sight" to the uninitiated. _In fact, a certain degree ofsecond-sight is possible to one who develops his sense of Sight, underthe urge of Attention. _ A new world is opened out to such a person. Onemust learn to master the senses, not only in the direction of beingindependent of and superior to their urgings, but also in the matter ofdeveloping them to a high degree. The development of the physical senses, also has much to do with the development of the "Astral Senses, " ofwhich we have spoken in our "Fourteen Lessons, " and of which we may havemore to say in the present series. The idea of _Raja Yoga_ is to renderthe student the possessor of a highly developed Mind, with highlydeveloped instruments with which the mind may work. In our future lessons we shall give the student many illustrations, directions, and exercises calculated to develop the different facultiesof the mind--not only the ordinary faculties of everyday use, but othershidden behind these familiar faculties and senses. Commencing with thenext lesson, we shall present a system of exercises, drills, etc. , thepurpose of which will be the above mentioned development of the facultiesof the Mind. In this lesson we shall not attempt to give specific exercises, but willcontent ourselves with calling the attention of the student to a fewgeneral rules underlying the development of Perception. GENERAL RULES OF PERCEPTION. The first thing to remember in acquiring the art of Perception is thatone should not attempt to perceive the whole of a complex thing or objectat the same time, or at once. One should consider the object in detail, and then, by grouping the details, he will find that he has consideredthe whole. Let us take the face of a person as a familiar object. If onetries to perceive a face as a whole, he will find that he will meet witha certain degree of failure, the impression being indistinct and cloudy, it following, also, that the memory of that face will correspond with theoriginal perception. But let the observer consider the face in detail, first the eyes, thenthe nose, then the mouth, then the chin, then the hair, then the outlineof the face, the complexion, etc. , and he will find that he will haveacquired a clear and distinct impression or perception of the whole face. The same rule may be applied to any subject or object. Let us takeanother familiar illustration. You wish to observe a building. If yousimply get a general perception of the building as a whole, you willbe able to remember very little about it, except its general outlines, shape, size, color, etc. And a description will prove to be verydisappointing. But if you have noted, _in detail_, the material used, theshape of the doors, chimney, roof, porches, decorations, trimmings, ornamentation, size and number of the window-panes etc. , etc. , the shapeand angles of the roof, etc. , you will have an _intelligent_ idea of thebuilding, in the place of a mere general outline or impression of such asmight be acquired by an animal in passing. We will conclude this lesson with an anecdote of the methods of thatfamous naturalist Agassiz, in his training of his pupils. His pupilsbecame renowned for their close powers of observation and perception, and their consequent ability to "think" about the things they had seen. Many of them rose to eminent positions, and claimed that this was largelyby reason of their careful training. The tale runs that a new student presented himself to Agassiz one day, asking to be set to work. The naturalist took a fish from a jar in whichit had been preserved, and laying it before the young student bade himobserve it carefully, and be ready to report upon what he had noticedabout the fish. The student was then left alone with the fish. There wasnothing especially interesting about that fish--it was like many otherfishes that he had seen before. He noticed that it had fins and scales, and a mouth and eyes, yes, and a tail. In a half hour he felt certainthat he had observed all about that fish that there was to be perceived. But the naturalist remained away. The time rolled on, and the youth, having nothing else to do, began togrow restless and weary. He started out to hunt up the teacher, but hefailed to find him, and so had to return and gaze again at thatwearisome fish. Several hours had passed, and he knew but little moreabout the fish than he did in the first place. He went out to lunch and when he returned it was still a case of watchingthe fish. He felt disgusted and discouraged, and wished he had never cometo Agassiz, whom, it seemed, was a stupid old man after all, --one awaybehind the times. Then, in order to kill time, he began to count thescales. This completed he counted the spines of the fins. Then he beganto draw a picture of the fish. In drawing the picture he noticed that thefish had no eyelids. He thus made the discovery that as his teacher hadexpressed it often, in lectures, "a pencil is the best of eyes. " Shortlyafter the teacher returned, and after ascertaining what the youth hadobserved, he left rather disappointed, telling the boy to keep on lookingand maybe he would see something. This put the boy on his mettle, and he began to work with his pencil, putting down little details that had escaped him before, but which nowseemed very plain to him. He began to catch the secret of observation. Little by little he brought to light new objects of interest about thefish. But this did not suffice his teacher, who kept him at work on thesame fish for three whole days. At the end of that time the studentreally knew something about the fish, and, better than all, had acquiredthe "knack" and habit of careful observation and perception in detail. Years after, the student, then attained to eminence, is reported assaying: "That was the best zoological lesson I ever had--a lesson whoseinfluence has extended to the details of every subsequent study; alegacy that the professor left to me, as he left to many others, ofinestimable value, which we could not buy, and with which we cannotpart. " Apart from the value to the student of the particular informationobtained, was the quickening of the perceptive faculties that enabled himto observe the important points in a subject or object, and, consequently to deduce important information from that which wasobserved. The Mind is hungry for knowledge, and it has by years of wearyevolution and effort built up a series of sense systems in order to yieldit that knowledge and it is still building. The men and women in theworld who have arrived at the point of success have availed themselves ofthese wonderful channels of information, and by directing them underthe guidance of Will and Attention, have attained wonderful results. These things are of importance, and we beg of our students not to pass bythis portion of the subject as uninteresting. Cultivate a spirit ofwide-awakeness and perception, and the "knowing" that will come to youwill surprise you. No only do you develop the existing senses by such practice and use, _butyou help in the unfoldment of the latent powers and senses that arestriving for unfoldment_. By using and exercising the faculties that wehave, we help to unfold those for the coming of which we have beendreaming. MANTRAM (AFFIRMATION). I am a Soul, possessed of channels of communication with the outer world. I will use these channels, and thereby acquire the information andknowledge necessary for my mental development. I will exercise anddevelop my organs of sense, knowing that in so doing I shall cause tounfold the higher senses, of which they are but forerunners and symbols. I will be "_wide-awake_" and open to the inflow of knowledge andinformation. The Universe is my Home--I will explore it. THE SEVENTH LESSON. THE UNFOLDMENT OF CONSCIOUSNESS. We have thought it well to make a slight change in the arrangement ofthese lessons--that is, in the order in which they should appear. We hadcontemplated making this Seventh Lesson a series of Mental Drills, intended to develop certain of the mental faculties, but we have decidedto postpone the same until a later lesson, believing that by so doing amore logical sequence or order of arrangement will be preserved. In thislesson we will tell you of the unfoldment of consciousness in Man, and inthe next lesson, and probably in the one following it, we shall presentto you a clear statement regarding the states of mind, below and overconsciousness--a most wonderful region, we assure you, and one that hasbeen greatly misunderstood and misinterpreted. This will lead up to thesubject of the cultivation of the various faculties--both conscious andoutside of consciousness, and the series will be concluded by threelessons going right to the heart of this part of the subject, and givingcertain rules and instruction calculated to develop Man's wonderful"thought-machine" that will be of the greatest interest and importanceto all of our students. When the lessons are concluded you will see thatthe present arrangement is most logical and proper. In this lesson we take up the subject of "The Unfoldment ofConsciousness"--a most interesting subject. Many of us have been in thehabit of identifying "consciousness" with mind, but as we proceed withthis series of lessons we will see that that which is called"consciousness" is but a small portion of the mind of the individual, andeven that small part is constantly changing its states, and unfolding newstates undreamed of. "Consciousness" is a word we use very often in considering the science ofthe Mind. Let us see what it means. Webster defines it as one's"knowledge of sensations and mental operations, or of what passes inone's own mind. " Halleck defines it as "that undefinable characteristicof mental states which causes one to be aware of them. " But, as Halleckstates, "Consciousness is incapable of definition. To define anything weare obliged to describe it in terms of something else. And there isnothing else in the world like consciousness, hence we can define it onlyin terms of itself, and that is very much like trying to lift one's selfby one's own boot straps. Consciousness is one of the greatest mysteriesthat confronts us. " Before we can understand what Consciousness really is, we must know justwhat "Mind" really is--and that knowledge is lacking, notwithstanding themany injenious theories evolved in order to explain the mystery. Themetaphysicians do not throw much light on the subject, and as formaterialistic science, listen to what Huxley says: "How it comes aboutthat anything so remarkable as a state of consciousness comes about bythe result of irritating nervous tissue, is just as unaccountable as theappearance of the genie when Aladdin rubbed his lamp. " To many persons the words "consciousness" and "mental process, " or"thought" are regarded as synonymous. And, in fact, psychologists so helduntil quite recently. But now it is generally accepted as a fact thatmental processes are not limited to the field of consciousness, and it isnow generally taught that the field of sub-consciousness (that is, "under" conscious) mentation, is of a much greater extent than that ofconscious mentation. Not only is it true that the mind can hold in consciousness but one factat any one instant, and that, consequently, only a very small fraction ofour knowledge can be in consciousness at any one moment, but it is alsotrue that the consciousness plays but a very small part in the totalityof mental processes, or mentation. The mind is not conscious of thegreater portion of its own activities--Maudsley says that only ten percent comes into the field of consciousness. Taine has stated it in thesewords: "Of the world which makes up our being, we only perceive thehighest points--the lighted up peaks of a continent whose lower levelsremain in the shade. " But it is not our intention to speak of this great subconscious region ofthe mind at this point, for we shall have much to do with it later on. Itis mentioned here in order to show that the enlargement or development ofconsciousness is not so much a matter of "growth" as it is an"unfoldment"--not a new creation or enlargement from outside, but ratheran unfoldment outward from within. From the very beginning of Life--among the Particles of InorganicSubstance, may be found traces of something like Sensation, and responsethereto. Writers have not cared to give to this phenomenon the name of"sensation, " or "sensibility, " as the terms savored too much of "senses, "and "sense-organs. " But Modern Science has not hesitated to bestow thenames so long withheld. The most advanced scientific writers do nothesitate to state that in reaction, chemical response, etc. , may be seenindications of rudimentary sensation. Haeckel says: "I cannot imaginethe simplest chemical and physical process without attributing themovement of the material particles to unconscious sensation. The idea ofChemical Affinity consists in the fact that the various chemical elementsperceive the qualitative differences in other elements and experience'pleasure' or 'revulsion' at contacts with them, and execute theirspecific movements on this ground. " He also speaks of the sensitivenessof "plasm, " or the substance of "living bodies, " as being "only asuperior degree of the general irritability of substance. " Chemical reaction, between atoms, is spoken of by chemists as a"sensitive" reaction. Sensitiveness is found even in the Particles ofInorganic Substance, and may be regarded as the first glimmerings ofthought. Science recognizes this when it speaks of the unconscioussensation of the Particles as _athesis_ or "feeling, " and the unconsciousWill that responds thereto, as _tropesis_, or "inclination. " Haeckel saysof this that "Sensation perceives the different qualities of the stimuli, and feeling the quantity, " and also, "We may ascribe the feeling ofpleasure and pain (in the contact with qualitatively differing atoms) toall atoms, and so explain the elective affinity in chemistry (attractionof loving atoms, inclination; repulsion of hating atoms, disinclination). " It is impossible to form a clear or intelligent idea of the phenomenon ofchemical affinity, etc. , unless we attribute to the Atoms something akinto Sensation. It is likewise impossible to understand the actions of theMolecules, unless we think of them as possessing something akin toSensation. The Law of Attraction is based upon Mental States inSubstance. The response of Inorganic Substance to Electricity andMagnetism is also another evidence of Sensation and the response thereto. In the movements and operations of crystal-life we obtain evidences ofstill a little higher forms of Sensation and response thereto. The actionof crystallization is very near akin to that of some low forms of plasmicaction. In fact, the "missing link" between plant life and the crystalsis claimed to have been found in some recent discoveries of Science, theconnection being found in certain crystals in the interior of plantscomposed of carbon combinations, and resembling the inorganic crystals inmany ways. Crystals grow along certain lines and forms up to a certain size. Thenthey begin to form "baby-crystals" on their surfaces, which then take onthe growth--the processes being almost analogous to cell-life. Processesakin to fermentation have been detected among chemicals. In many ways itmay be seen that the beginning of Mental Life must be looked for amongthe Minerals and Particles--the latter, be it remembered, composing notonly inorganic, but also Organic Substance. As we advance in the scale of life, we are met with constantly increasingunfoldment of mentation, the simple giving place to the complexmanifestations. Passing by the simple vital processes of the monera, orsingle-celled "things, " we notice the higher forms of cell life, withgrowing sensibility or sensation. Then we come to the cell-groups, inwhich the individual cells manifest sensation of a kind, coupled with acommunity-sensation. Food is distinguished, selected and captured, andmovements exercised in pursuit of the same. The living thing is beginningto manifest more complex mental states. Then the stage of the lowerplants is reached, and we notice the varied phenomena of that region, evidencing an increased sensitiveness, although there are practically nosigns of special organs of sense. Then we pass on to the higher plantlife, in which begin to manifest certain "sensitive-cells, " or groups ofsuch cells, which are rudimentary sense organs. Then the forms of animallife, and considered with rising degrees of sensations and growing senseapparatus, or sense organs, gradually unfolding into something likenervous systems. Among the lower animal forms there are varying degrees of mentation withaccompanying nerve centers and sense-organs, but little or no signs ofconsciousness, gradually ascending until we have dawning consciousness inthe reptile kingdom, etc. , and fuller consciousness and a degree ofintelligent thought in the still higher forms, gradually increasing untilwe reach the plane of the highest mammals, such as the horse, dog, elephant, ape, etc. , which animals have complex nervous systems, brainsand well developed consciousness. We need not further consider the formsof mentation in the forms of life below the Conscious stage, for thatwould carry us far from our subject. Among the higher forms of animal life, after a "dawn period" orsemi-consciousness, we come to forms of life among the lower animalspossessing a well developed degree of mental action and Consciousness, the latter being called by psychologists "Simple Consciousness, " butwhich term we consider too indefinite, and which we will term "PhysicalConsciousness, " which will give a fair idea of the thing itself. We usethe word "Physical" in the double sense of "External, " and "Relating tothe material structure of a living being, " both of which definitions arefound in the dictionaries. And that is just what Physical Consciousnessreally is--an "awareness" in the mind, or a "consciousness" of the"external" world as evidenced by the senses; and of the "body" of theanimal or person. The animal or person thinking on the plane of PhysicalConsciousness (all the higher animals do, and many men seem unable torise much higher) identifies itself with the physical body, and isconscious only of thoughts of that body and the outside world. It"knows, " but not being conscious of mental operations, or of theexistence of its mind, it does not "know that it knows. " This form ofconsciousness, while infinitely above the mentation of the nonconsciousplane of "sansation, " is like a different world of thought from theconsciousness of the highly developed intellectual man of our age andrace. It is difficult for a man to form an idea of the Physical Consciousnessof the lower animals and savages, particularly as he finds it difficultto understand his own consciousness except by the act of being conscious. But observation and reason have given us a fair degree of understandingof what this Physical Consciousness of the animal is like--or at least inwhat respect it differs from our own consciousness. Let us take afavorite illustration. A horse standing out in the cold sleet and rainundoubtedly _feels_ the discomfort, and possibly pain, for we know byobservation that animals feel both. But he is not able to analyze hismental states and wonder when his master will come out to him--think howcruel it is to keep him out of the warm stable--wonder whether he will betaken out in the cold again tomorrow--feel envious of other horses whoare indoors--wonder why he is compelled to be out cold nights, etc. , etc. , --in short, he does not think as would a reasoning man under suchcircumstances. He is aware of the discomfort, just as would be theman--and he would run home if he could just as would the man. But he isnot able to pity himself, nor to think about his personality as wouldthe man, nor does he wonder whether such a life is worth living, afterall. He "knows, " but is not able to think of himself as knowing--he doesnot "know that he knows, " as we do. He experiences the physical pain anddiscomfort, but is spared the mental discomfort and concern arising fromthe physical, which man so often experiences. The animal cannot shift its consciousness from the sensations of theouter world to the inner states of being. It is not able to "knowitself. " The difference may be clumsily illustrated by the example of aman feeling, seeing or hearing something that gives him a pleasurablesensation, or the reverse. He is conscious of the feeling or sensation, and that it is pleasurable or otherwise. That is Physical Consciousness, and the animal may share it with him. But it stops right there with theanimal. But the man may begin to wonder _why_ the sensation ispleasurable and to associate it with other things and persons; orspeculate _why_ he dislikes it, what will follow, and so on--that isMental Consciousness, because he recognizes an inward self, and isturning his attention _inward_. He may see another man and experience afeeling or sensation of attraction or aversion--like or dislike. This isPhysical Consciousness, and an animal also may experience the sensation. But the man goes further than the animal, and wonders just what there isabout the man he likes or detests, and may compare himself to the man andwonder whether the latter feels as he does, and so on--this is MentalConsciousness. In animals the mental gaze is freely directed outward, and never returnsupon itself. In man the mental gaze may be directed inward, or may returninward after its outward journey. The animal "knows"--the man not only"knows, " but he "knows that he knows, " and is able to investigate that"knowing" and speculate about it. We call this higher consciousnessMental Consciousness. The operation of Physical Consciousness we callInstinct--the operation of Mental Consciousness we call Reason. The Man who has Mental Consciousness not only "feels" or "senses" things, but he has words or mental concepts of these feelings and sensations andmay think of himself as experiencing them, separating himself, thesensation or feeling, and the thing felt or sensed. The man is able tothink: "I feel; I hear; I see; I smell; I taste; I desire; I do, " etc. , etc. The very words indicate Mental Consciousness recognizing mentalstates and giving them names, and also recognizing something called "I"that experiences the sensations. This latter fact has causedpsychologists to speak of this stage as "Self-consciousness, " but wereserve this idea of the "I" consciousness for a higher stage. The animal experiences something that gives it the impressions or feelingthat we call "pain, " "hurt, " "pleasant, " "sweet, " "bitter, " etc. , allbeing forms of sensation, but it is unable to think of them in words. The pain seems to be a part of itself, although possibly associated withsome person or thing that caused it. The study of the unfoldment ofconsciousness in a young baby will give one a far better idea of thegrades and distinctions than can be obtained from reading mere words. Mental Consciousness is a growth. As Halleck says, "Many persons neverhave more than a misty idea of such a mental attitude. They always takethemselves for granted, and never turn the gaze inward. " It has beendoubted whether the savages have developed Self-consciousness, and evenmany men of our own race seem to be but little above the animals inintellect and consciousness. They do not seem able to "know themselves"even slightly. To them the "I" seems to be a purely physical thing--abody having desires and feeling but little more. They are able to feel anact, but scarcely more. They are not able to set aside any physical"not--I, " being utterly unable to think of themselves as anything elsebut a Body. The "I" and the Body are one with them, and they seemincapable of distinguishing between them. Then comes another stage in which mental-consciousness proper sets in. The man begins to realize that he has "a mind. " He is able to "knowhimself" as a mental being, and to turn the gaze inward a little. Thisperiod of development may be noticed in young children. For a timethey speak of themselves as a third person, until finally they begin tosay "I. " Then a little later comes the ability to know their own mentalstates as such--they know that they have a mind, and are able todistinguish between it and the body. It is related that some childrenexperience a feeling of terror when they pass into this stage. Theyexhibit signs of bashfulness and what is commonly termed"self-consciousness" in that sense. Some tell us in after years that whenthey became aware of themselves as an entity they were overcome withalarm, as if by a sense of loneliness and apartness from the Universe. Young people often feel this way for several years. There seems to be adistinct feeling that the Universe is antagonistic to and set apart fromthem. And, although this feeling of separateness and apartness grows less acuteas the man grows older, yet it is always present to a greater or lessdegree until a still higher stage--the Ego-consciousness is reached, whenit disappears as we shall see. And this mental-conscious stage is a hardone for many. They are entangled in a mass of mental states which the manthinks is "himself, " and the struggle between the real "I" and itsconfining sheaths is painful. And it becomes still more painful as theend is neared, for as man advances in mental-consciousness and knowledgehe feels more keenly and suffers accordingly. Man eats the fruit of theTree of Knowledge and begins to suffer, and is driven out of the Gardenof Eden of the child and primitive races, who live like the birds of theair and concern themselves not about mental states and problems. Butthere is deliverance ahead in the shape of a higher consciousness, although but few realize it and still fewer have gained it. Perhaps thislesson may point out the way for you. With the birth of mental-consciousness comes the knowledge that there isa mind in others. Man is able to speculate and reason about the mentalstates of other men, because he recognizes these states within himself. As man advances in the Mental Consciousness he begins to develop aconstantly increasing degree and grade of Intellect, and accordingly heattaches the greatest importance to that part of his nature. Some menworship Intellect as a God, ignoring its limitations which other thinkershave pointed out. Such people are apt to reason that because the humanintellect (in its present state of development) reports that such a thing_must_ be, or _cannot_ possibly be, that the matter is forever settled. They ignore the fact that it is possible that Man's Intellect, in itspresent state of unfoldment, may be able to take cognizance of only avery small part of the Universal Fact, and that there may be regions uponregions of Reality and Fact of which he cannot even dream, so far arethey removed from his experience. The unfoldment of a new sense wouldopen out a new world and might bring to light facts that would completelyrevolutionize our entire world of conceptions by reason of the newinformation it would give us. But, nevertheless, from this Mental Consciousness has come the wonderfulwork of Intellect, as shown in the achievements of Man up to this time, and while we must recognize its limitations, we gladly join in singingits praises. Reason is the tool with which Man is digging into the mineof Facts, bringing to light new treasures every day. This stage of MentalConsciousness is bringing to Man knowledge of himself--knowledge of theUniverse--that is well worth the price he pays for it. For Man _does_ paya price for entrance into this stage--and he pays an increasing price ashe advances in its territory, for the higher he advances the more keenlyhe feels and suffers, as well as enjoys. Capacity for pain is the priceMan pays for Attainment, up to a certain stage. His pain passes from thePhysical to the Mental consciousness, and he becomes aware of problemsthat he never dreamt existed, and the lack of an intelligent answerproduces mental suffering. And the mental suffering that comes to himfrom unsatisfied longings, disappointment, the pain of others whom heloves, etc. , is far worse than any physical suffering. The animal lives its animal life and is contented, for it knows nobetter. If it has enough to eat--a place to sleep--a mate--it is happy. And some men are likewise. But others find themselves involved in a worldof mental discomfort. New wants arise, and the lack of satisfactionbrings pain. Civilization becomes more and more complex, and brings itsnew pains as well as new pleasures. Man attaches himself to "things, " andeach day creates for himself artificial wants, which he must labor tomeet. His Intellect may not lead him upward, but instead may merelyenable him to invent new and subtle means and ways of gratifying hissenses to a degree impossible to the animals. Some men make a religion ofthe gratification of their sensuality--their appetites--and become beastsmagnified by the power of Intellect. Others become vain, conceited andpuffed up with a sense of the importance of their Personality (the false"I"). Others become morbidly introspective, and spend their timeanalyzing and dissecting their moods, motives, feelings, etc. Othersexhaust their capacity for pleasure and happiness, but looking outsidefor it instead of within, and become _blase_, bored, _ennuied_ and anaffliction to themselves We mention these things not in a spirit ofPessimism but merely to show that even this great Mental Consciousnesshas a reverse and ugly side as well as the bright face that has beenascribed to it. As man reaches the higher stages of this Mental Consciousness, and thenext higher stage begins to dawn upon him, he is apt to feel more keenlythan ever the insufficiency of Life as it appears to him. He is unable tounderstand Himself--his origin, destiny, purpose and nature--and hechafes against the bars of the cage of Intellect in which he is confined. He asks himself the question, "Whence come I--Whither go I--What is theobject of my Existence?" He becomes dissatisfied with the answers theworld has to give him to these questions, and he cries aloud indespair--and but the answer of his own voice comes back to him from theimpassable walls with which he is surrounded. He does not realize thathis answer must come from Within--but so it is. Psychology stops when it reaches the limits of Mental Consciousness, oras it calls it "Self-Consciousness, " and denies that there is anythingbeyond--any unexplored regions of the Mind. It laughs at the reports thatcome from those who have penetrated farther within the recesses of theirbeing, and dismisses the reports as mere "dreams, " "fantasies, ""illusions, " "ecstatic imaginings, " "abnormal states, " etc. , etc. But, nevertheless, there are schools of thought that teach of thesehigher states, and there are men of all ages and races that have enteredthem and have reported concerning them. And we feel justified in askingyou to take them into consideration. There are two planes of Consciousness, of which we feel it proper tospeak, for we have obtained more or less information regarding them. There are still higher planes, but they belong to higher phases of lifethan are dealt with here. The first of these planes or states of Consciousness, above the"Self-Consciousness" of the psychologists (which we have called "MentalConsciousness") may be called "Ego-consciousness, " for it brings an"awareness" of the Reality of the Ego. This "awareness" is far above theSelf-consciousness of the man who is able to distinguish "I" from "You, "and to give it a name. And far above the consciousness that enables aman, as he rises in the scale, to distinguish the "I" from faculty afterfaculty of the mind, which he is able to recognize as "not--I, " until hefinds left a mental something that he cannot set aside, which he calls"I"--although this stage alone is very much higher than that of theaverage of the race, and is a high degree of Attainment itself. It isakin to this last stage, and yet still fuller and more complete. Inthe dawning of Ego Consciousness the "I" recognizes itself still moreclearly and, more than this, is fully imbued with a sense and "awareness"of its own _Reality_, unknown to it before. This awareness is not a merematter of reasoning--it is a "consciousness, " just as is PhysicalConsciousness and Mental Consciousness something different from an"intellectual conviction. " It is a Knowing, not a Thinking or Believing. The "I" _knows_ that it is Real--that it has its roots in the SupremeReality underlying all the Universe, and partakes of its Essence. It doesnot know what this Reality is, but it knows that it is Real, andsomething different from anything in the world of name, form, number, time, space, cause and effect--something Transcendental and surpassingall human experience. And knowing this, it knows that it cannot bedestroyed or hurt; cannot die, but is immortal; and that there isSomething which is the very essence of Good behind of, underneath andeven _in_ itself. And in this certainty and consciousness is there Peace, Understanding and Power. When it fully bursts upon one, Doubt, Fear, Unrest and Dissatisfaction drop from him like wornout garments and hefinds himself clothed in the Faith that Knows; Fearlessness; Restfulness;Satisfaction. Then he is able to say understandingly and with meaning "IAM. " This Ego Consciousness is coming to many as a dawning knowledge--thelight is just rising from behind the hills. To others it has comegradually and slowly, but fully, and they now live in the full light ofthe consciousness. Others it has burst upon like a flash, or vision--likea light falling from the clear sky, almost blinding them at first, butleaving them changed men and women, possessed of that something thatcannot be understood by or described to those who have not experiencedit. This last stage is called "Illumination" in one of its forms. The man of the Ego Consciousness may not understand the Riddle of theUniverse or be able to give an answer to the great Questions of Life--buthe has ceased to worry about them--they now disturb him not. He may usehis intellect upon them as before, but never with the feeling that intheir intellectual solution rests his happiness or peace of mind. Heknows that he stands on solid rock, and though the storms of the world ofmatter and force may beat upon him, he will not be hurt. This and otherthings he knows. He cannot prove these things to others, for they are notdemonstrable by argument--he himself did not get them in that way. And sohe says but little about it--but lives his life as if he knew them not, so far as outward appearances go. But inwardly he is a changed man--hislife is different from that of his brothers, for while their souls arewrapped in slumber or are tossing in troubled dreams, his Soul hasawakened and is gazing upon the world with bright and fearless eyes. There are, of course, different stages or degrees of this Consciousness, just as there are in the lower planes of consciousness. Some have it to aslight degree, while others have it fully. Perhaps this lesson will tellsome of its readers just what is the thing that has "happened" to themand which they hesitate to speak of to their closest friend or lifecompanion. To others it may open the way to a fuller realization. Wesincerely trust so, for one does not begin to Live until he knows the "I"as Reality. There is a stage still higher than this last mentioned but it has come tobut very few of the race. Reports of it come from all times, races, countries. It has been called "Cosmic Consciousness, " and is described asan awareness of the Oneness of Life--that is, a consciousness that theUniverse is filled with One Life--an actual perception and "awareness"that the Universe is full of Life, Motion and Mind, and that there isno such thing as Blind Force, or Dead Matter, but that All is alive, vibrating and intelligent. That is, of course, that the _Real Universe_, which is the Essence or background of the Universe of Matter, Energy andMind, is as they describe. In fact, the description of those who have hadglimpses of this state would indicate that they see the Universe as AllMind--that All is Mind at the last. This form of consciousness has beenexperienced by men here and there--only a few--in moments of"Illumination, " the period lasting but a very short space of time, thenfading away, leaving but a memory. In the moment of the "Illumination"there came to those experiencing it a sense of "intouch-ness" withUniversal Knowledge and Life, impossible to describe, accompanied by aJoy beyond understanding. Regarding this last, "Cosmic Consciousness, " we would state that it meansmore than an intellectual conviction, belief or realization of the factsas stated, for an actual _vision_ and _consciousness_ of these thingscame in the moment of Illumination. Some others report that they have adeep abiding sense of the reality of the facts described by the report ofthe Illumined, but have not experienced the "vision" or ecstasy referredto. These last people seem to have with them always the same mental stateas that possessed by those who had the "vision" and passed out of it, carrying with them the remembrance and feeling, but not the actualconsciousness attained at the moment. They agree upon the essentialparticulars of the reports. Dr. Maurice Bucke, now passed out of thisplane of life, wrote a book entitled "Cosmic Consciousness, " in which hedescribes a number of these cases, including his own, Walt Whitman's andothers, and in which he holds that this stage of consciousness is beforethe race and will gradually come to it in the future. He holds that themanifestation of it which has come to some few of the race, as abovestated, is but the first beams of the sun which are flashing upon us andwhich are but prophecies of the appearance of the great body of lightitself. We shall not here consider at length the reports of certain greatreligious personages of the past, who have left records that in momentsof great spiritual exaltation they became conscious of "being in thepresence of the Absolute, " or perhaps within the radius of "the light ofIts countenance. " We have great respect for these reports, and have everyreason for believing many of them authentic, notwithstanding theconflicting reports that have been handed down to us by thoseexperiencing them. These reports are conflicting because of the fact thatthe minds of those who had these glimpses of consciousness were notprepared or trained to fully understand the nature of the phenomena. Theyfound themselves in the spiritual presence of Something of awful grandeurand spiritual rank, and were completely dazed and bewildered at thesight. They did not understand the nature of the Absolute, and when theyhad sufficiently recovered they reported that they had been in the"presence of God"--the word "God" meaning their particular conceptionof Deity--that is, the one appearing as Deity in their own particularreligious creed or school. They saw nothing to cause them to identifythis Something with their particular conception of Deity, except thatthey thought that "it _must_ be God, " and knowing no other God excepttheir own particular conception, they naturally identifying the Somethingwith "God" as they conceived Him to be. And their reports naturallywere along these lines. Thus the reports of all religions are filled with accounts of theso-called miraculous occurrences. The Catholic saint reports that he "sawof light of God's countenance, " and the non-Catholic reports likewiseregarding God as he knows him. The Mohammedan reports that he caught aglimpse of the face of Allah, and the Buddhist tells us that he sawBuddha under the tree. The Brahman has seen the face of Brahma, and thevarious Hindu sects have men who give similar reports regarding their ownparticular deities. The Persians have given similar reports, and even theancient Egyptians have left records of similar occurrences. Theseconflicting reports have led to the belief, on the part of those who didnot understand the nature of the phenomena, that these things were "allimagination" and fancy, if indeed not rank falsehood and imposture. Butthe Yogis know better than this. They know that underneath all thesevarying reports there is a common ground of truth, which will be apparentto anyone investigating the matter. They know that all of these reports(except a few based upon fraudulent imitation of the real phenomenon)are based upon truth and are but the bewildered reports of the variousobservers. They know that these people were temporarily lifted above theordinary plane of consciousness and were made aware of the existence of aBeing or Beings higher than mortal. It does not follow that they saw"God" or the Absolute, for there are many Beings of high spiritual growthand development that would appear to the ordinary mortal as a very God. The Catholic doctrine of Angels and Arch-angels is corroborated by thoseamong the Yogis who have been "behind the Veil, " and they give us reportsof the "Devas" and other advanced Beings. So the Yogi accepts thesereports of the various mystics, saints and inspired ones, and accountsfor them all by laws perfectly natural to the students of the YogiPhilosophy, but which appear as supernatural to those who have notstudied along these lines. But we cannot speak further of this phase of the subject in this lesson, for a full discussion of it would lead us far away from the phase of thegeneral subject before us. But we wish to be understood as saying thatthere are certain centers in the mental being of Man from which may comelight regarding the existence of the Absolute and higher order of Beings. In fact, from these centers come to man that part of his mental"feelings" that he calls "the religious instinct or intuition. " Man doesnot arrive at that underlying consciousness of "Something Beyond" bymeans of his Intellect--it is the glimmer of light coming from the highercenters of the Self. He notices these gleams of light, but notunderstanding them, he proceeds to erect elaborate theological andcreedal structures to account for them, the work of the Intellect, however, always lacking that "feeling" that the intuition itselfpossesses. True religion, no matter under what name it may masquerade, comes from the "heart" and is not comforted or satisfied with theseIntellectual explanations, and hence comes that unrest and craving forsatisfaction which comes to Man when the light begins to break through. But we must postpone a further discussion of this part of the subject forthe present. We shall consider it again in a future lesson in connectionwith other matters. As we have said, our next two lessons will take uponthe inquiry regarding the regions outside of the consciousness of theordinary man. You will find it a most fascinating and instructive inquiryand one that will open up new fields of thought for many of you. MANTRAM (AFFIRMATION. ) I Am a Being far greater and grander than I have as yet conceived. I amunfolding gradually but surely into higher planes of consciousness. I ammoving Forward and Upward constantly. My goal is the Realization of theTrue Self, and I welcome each stage of Unfoldment that leads me toward myaim. I am a manifestation of REALITY. I _AM_. THE EIGHTH LESSON. THE HIGHLANDS AND LOWLANDS OF MIND. The Self of each of us has a vehicle of expression which we call theMind, but which vehicle is much larger and far more complex than we areapt to realize. As a writer has said "Our Self is greater than we know;it has peaks above, and lowlands below the plateau of our consciousexperience. " That which we know as the "conscious mind" is not the Soul. The Soul is not a part of that which we know in consciousness, but, onthe contrary, that which we know in consciousness is but a small part ofthe Soul--the conscious vehicle of a greater Self, or "I. " The Yogis have always taught that the mind has many planes ofmanifestation and action--and that many of its planes operated above andbelow the plane of consciousness. Western science is beginning to realizethis fact, and its theories regarding same may be found in any of thelater works on psychology. But this is a matter of recent development inWestern science. Until very recently the text books held thatConsciousness and Mind were synonymous, and that the Mind was consciousof all of its activities, changes and modifications. Liebnitz was one of the first Western philosophers to advance the ideathat there were planes of mental activity outside of the plane ofconsciousness, and since his time the leading thinkers have slowly butsurely moved forward to his position. At the present time it is generally conceded that at least ninety percent of our mental operations take place in the out-of-conscious realm. Prof. Elmer Gates, the well known scientist, has said: "At least ninetyper cent of our mental life is sub-conscious. If you will analyze yourmental operations you will find that conscious thinking is never acontinuous line of consciousness, but a series of conscious data withgreat intervals of subconscious. We sit and try to solve a problem, andfail. We walk around, try again, and fail. Suddenly an idea dawns thatleads to the solution of the problem. The subconscious processes were atwork. We do not volitionally create our own thinking. It takes place inus. We are more or less passive recipients. We cannot change the natureof a thought, or of a truth, but we can, as it were, _guide the ship by amoving of the helm_. Our mentation is largely the result of the greatCosmic Whole upon us. " Sir William Hamilton says that the sphere of our consciousness is only asmall circle in the center of a far wider sphere of action and thought, of which we are conscious through its effects. Taine says: "Outside of a little luminous circle, lies a large ring oftwilight, and beyond this an indefinite night; but the events of thistwilight and this night are as real as those within the luminous circle. " Sir Oliver Lodge, the eminent English scientist, speaking of the planesof the mind, says: "Imagine an iceberg glorying in its crisp solidity, and sparkling pinnacles, resenting attention paid to its submerged self, or supporting region, or to the saline liquid out of which it arose, andinto which in due course it will some day return. Or, reversing themetaphor, we might liken our present state to that of the hulls ofships submerged in a dim ocean among strange monsters, propelled in ablind manner through space; proud perhaps of accumulating many barnaclesas decoration; only recognizing our destination by bumping against thedock-wall; and with no cognizance of the deck and cabins above us, orthe spars and sails--no thought of the sextant, and the compass, andthe captain--no perception of the lookout on the mast--of the distanthorizon. With no vision of objects far ahead--dangers to beavoided--destinations to be reached--other ships to be spoken to bymeans other than by bodily contact--a region of sunshine and cloud, ofspace, or perception, and of intelligence utterly inaccessible to partsbelow the waterline. " We ask our students to read carefully the above expression of Sir OliverLodge, for it gives one of the clearest and most accurate figures of theactual state of affairs concerning the mental planes that we have seen inWestern writings. And other Western writers have noted and spoken of these out-of-consciousrealms. Lewes has said: "It is very certain that in every consciousvolition--every act that is so characterized--the larger part of it isquite unconscious. It is equally certain that in every perception thereare unconscious processes of reproduction and inference. There is amiddle distance of sub-consciousness, and a background ofunconsciousness. " Taine has told us that: "Mental events imperceptible to consciousness arefar more numerous than the others, and of the world that makes up ourbeing we only perceive the highest points--the lighted-up peaks of acontinent whose lower levels remain in the shade. Beneath ordinarysensations are their components, that is to say, the elementarysensations, which must be combined into groups to reach ourconsciousness. " Maudsley says: "Examine closely and without bias the ordinary mentaloperations of daily life, and you will find that consciousness has notone-tenth part of the function therein which it is commonly assumedto have. In every conscious state there are at work conscious, sub-conscious, and infra-conscious energies, the last as indispensable asthe first. " Oliver Wendall Holmes said: "There are thoughts that never emerge intoconsciousness, which yet make their influence felt among the perceptiblemental currents, just as the unseen planets sway the movements of thosethat are watched and mapped by the astronomer. " Many other writers have given us examples and instances of the operationof the out-of-consciousness planes of thought. One has written that whenthe solution of a problem he had long vainly dealt with, flashed acrosshis mind, he trembled as if in the presence of another being who hadcommunicated a secret to him. All of us have tried to remember a nameor similar thing without success, and have then dismissed the matter fromour minds, only to have the missing name or thought suddenly presented toour conscious mind a few minutes, or hours, afterwards. Something in ourmind was at work hunting up the missing word, and when it found it itpresented it to us. A writer has mentioned what he called "unconscious rumination, " whichhappened to him when he read books presenting new points of viewessentially opposed to his previous opinions. After days, weeks, ormonths, he found that to his great astonishment the old opinions wereentirely rearranged, and new ones lodged there. Many examples of thisunconscious mental digestion and assimilation are mentioned in the bookson the subject written during the past few years. It is related of Sir W. R. Hamilton that he discovered quarternions oneday while walking with his wife in the observatory at Dublin. He relatesthat he suddenly felt "the galvanic circle of thought" close, and thesparks that fell from it was the fundamental mathematical relations ofhis problem, which is now an important law in mathematics. Dr. Thompson has written: "At times I have had a feeling of theuselessness of all voluntary effort, and also that the matter was workingitself clear in my mind. It has many times seemed to me that I was reallya passive instrument in the hands of a person not myself. In view ofhaving to wait for the results of these unconscious processes, I haveproved the habit of getting together material in advance, and thenleaving the mass to digest itself till I am ready to write about it. Idelayed for a month the writing of my book 'System of Psychology, ' butcontinued reading the authorities. I would not try to think about thebook. I would watch with interest the people passing the windows. Oneevening when reading the paper, the substance of the missing part of thebook flashed upon my mind, and I began to write. This is only a sample ofmany such experiences. " Berthelot, the founder of Synthetic Chemistry has said that theexperiments leading to his wonderful discoveries have never been theresult of carefully followed trains of thought--of pure reasoningprocesses--but have come of themselves, so to speak, from the clear sky. Mozart has written: "I cannot really say that I can account for mycompositions. My ideas flow, and I cannot say whence or how they come. Ido not hear in my imagination the parts successively, but I hear them, asit were, all at once. The rest is merely an attempt to reproduce what Ihave heard. " Dr. Thompson, above mentioned, has also said: "In writing this work Ihave been unable to arrange my knowledge of a subject for days and weeks, until I experienced a clearing up of my mind, when I took my pen andunhesitatingly wrote the result. I have best accomplished this by leadingthe (conscious) mind as far away as possible from the subject upon whichI was writing. " Prof. Barrett says: "The mysteriousness of our being is not confined tosubtle physiological processes which we have in common with all animallife. There are higher and more capacious powers wrapped up in our humanpersonality than are expressed even by what we know of consciousness, will, or reason. There are supernormal and transcendental powers ofwhich, at present, we only catch occasional glimpses; and behind andbeyond the supernormal there are fathomless abysses, the Divine ground ofthe soul; the ultimate reality of which our consciousness is but thereflection or faint perception. Into such lofty themes I do not proposeto enter, they must be forever beyond the scope of human inquiry; nor isit possible within the limits of this paper to give any adequateconception of those mysterious regions of our complex personality, whichare open to, and beginning to be disclosed by, scientific investigation. " Rev. Dr. Andrew Murray has written: "Deeper down than where the soul withits consciousness can enter there is spirit matter linking man with God;and deeper down than the mind and feelings or will--in the unseen depthsof the hidden life--there dwells the Spirit of God. " This testimony isremarkable, coming from that source, for it corroborates and reiteratesthe Yogi teachings of the Indwelling Spirit Schofield has written: "Ourconscious mind as compared with the unconscious mind, has been likenedto the visible spectrum of the sun's rays, as compared to the invisiblepart which stretches indefinitely on either side. We know now that thechief part of heat comes from the ultra-red rays that show no light; andthe main part of the chemical changes in the vegetable world are theresults of the ultra-violet rays at the other end of the spectrum, whichare equally invisible to the eye, and are recognized only by their potenteffects. Indeed as these invisible rays extend indefinitely on both sidesof the visible spectrum, so we may say that the mind includes not onlythe visible or conscious part, and what we have termed the sub-conscious, that which lies below the red line, but the supraconscious mind that liesat the other end--all those regions of higher soul and spirit life, ofwhich we are only at times vaguely conscious, but which always exist, andlink us on to eternal verities, on the one side, as surely as thesub-conscious mind links us to the body on the other. " We know that our students will appreciate the above testimony of Dr. Schofield, for it is directly in the line of our teachings in the YogiPhilosophy regarding the Planes of the Mind (see "Fourteen Lessons"). We feel justified in quoting further from Dr. Schofield, for he voices inthe strongest manner that which the Yogi Philosophy teaches asfundamental truths regarding the mind. Dr. Schofield is an Englishwriter on Psychology, and so far as we know has no tendency towardoccultism, his views having been arrived at by careful scientific studyand investigation along the lines of Western psychology, which rendershis testimony all the more valuable, showing as it does, how the humanmind will instinctively find its way to the Truth, even if it has toblaze a new trail through the woods, departing from the beaten tracksof other minds around it, which lack the courage or enterprise to strikeout for themselves. Dr. Schofield writes: "The mind, indeed, reaches all the way, and whileon the one hand it is inspired by the Almighty, on the other it energizesthe body, all whose purposive life it originates. We may call thesupra-conscious mind the sphere of the spirit life, the sub-conscious thesphere of the body life, and the conscious mind the middle region whereboth meet. " Continuing, Dr. Schofield says: "The Spirit of God is said todwell in believers, and yet, as we have seen, His presence is not thesubject of direct consciousness. We would include, therefore, in thesupra-conscious, all such spiritual ideas, together with conscience--thevoice of God, as Max Muller calls it--which is surely a half-consciousfaculty. Moreover, the supra-conscious, like the sub-conscious, is, as wehave said, best apprehended when the conscious mind is not active. Visions, meditations, prayers, and even dreams have been undoubtedlyoccasions of spiritual revelations, and many instances may be adduced asillustrations of the workings of the Spirit apart from the action ofreason or mind. The truth apparently is that the mind as a whole is anunconscious state, by that its middle registers, excluding the highestspiritual and lowest physical manifestations, are fitfully illuminatedin varying degree by consciousness; and that it is to this illuminatedpart of the dial that the word "mind, " which rightly appertains to thewhole, has been limited. " Oliver Wendell Holmes has said: "The automatic flow of thought is oftensingularly favored by the fact of listening to a weak continuousdiscourse, with just enough ideas in it to keep the (conscious) mindbusy. The induced current of thought is often rapid and brilliant ininverse ratio to the force of the inducing current. " Wundt says: "The unconscious logical processes are carried on with acertainty and regularity which would be impossible where there exists thepossibility of error. Our mind is so happily designed that it preparesfor us the most important foundations of cognition, whilst we have notthe slightest apprehension of the _modus operandi_. This unconscioussoul, like a benevolent stranger, works and makes provisions for ourbenefit, pouring only the mature fruits into our laps. " A writer in an English magazine interestingly writes: "Intimations reachour consciousness from unconsciousness, that the mind is ready to work, is fresh, is full of ideas. " "The grounds of our judgment are oftenknowledge so remote from consciousness that we cannot bring them toview. " "That the human mind includes an unconscious part; thatunconscious events occurring in that part are proximate causes ofconsciousness; that the greater part of human intuitional action is aneffect of an unconscious cause; the truth of these propositions is sodeducible from ordinary mental events, and is so near the surface thatthe failure of deduction to forestall induction in the discerning of itmay well excite wonder. " "Our behavior is influenced by unconsciousassumptions respecting our own social and intellectual rank, and thatof the one we are addressing. In company we unconsciously assume abearing quite different from that of the home circle. After being raisedto a higher rank the whole behavior subtly and unconsciously changes inaccordance with it. " And Schofield adds to the last sentence: "This isalso the case in a minor degree with different styles and qualities ofdress and different environments. Quite unconsciously we change ourbehavior, carriage, and style, to suit the circumstance. " Jensen writes: "When we reflect on anything with the whole force of themind, we may fall into a state of entire unconsciousness, in which we notonly forget the outer world, but also know nothing at all of ourselvesand the thoughts passing within us after a time. We then suddenly awakeas from a dream, and usually at the same moment the result of ourmeditations appears as distinctly in consciousness without our knowinghow we reached it. " Bascom says: "It is inexplicable how premises which lie belowconsciousness can sustain conclusions in consciousness; how the mind canwittingly take up a mental movement at an advanced stage, having missedits primary steps. " Hamilton and other writers have compared the mind's action to that of arow of billiard balls, of which one is struck and the impetus transmittedthroughout the entire row, the result being that only the last ballactually moves, the others remaining in their places. The last ballrepresents the conscious thought--the other stages in the unconsciousmentation. Lewes, speaking of this illustration, says: "Something likethis, Hamilton says, seems often to occur in a train of thought, one ideaimmediately suggesting another into consciousness--this suggestionpassing through one or more ideas which do not themselves rise intoconsciousness. This point, that we are not conscious of the formation ofgroups, but only of a formed group, may throw light on the existence ofunconscious judgments, unconscious reasonings, and unconsciousregistrations of experience. " Many writers have related the process by which the unconscious mentationemerges gradually into the field of consciousness, and the discomfortattending the process. A few examples may prove interesting andinstructive. Maudsley says: "It is surprising how uncomfortable a person may be madeby the obscure idea of something which he ought to have said or done, andwhich he cannot for the life of him remember. There is an effort of thelost idea to get into consciousness, which is relieved directly the ideabursts into consciousness. " Oliver Wendell Holmes said: "There are thoughts that never emerge intoconsciousness, and which yet make their influence felt among theperceptive mental currents, just as the unseen planets sway the movementsof the known ones. " The same writer also remarks: "I was told of abusiness man in Boston who had given up thinking of an important questionas too much for him. But he continued so uneasy in his brain that hefeared he was threatened with palsy. After some hours the naturalsolution of the question came to him, worked out, as he believed, in thattroubled interval. " Dr. Schofield mentions several instances of this phase of the workings ofthe unconscious planes of the mind. We mention a couple that seeminteresting and to the point: "Last year, " says Dr. Schofield, "I was driving to Phillmore Gardens togive some letters to a friend. On the way, a vague uneasiness sprang up, and a voice seemed to say, 'I doubt if you have those letters. ' Consciousreason rebuked it, and said, 'Of course you have; you took them out ofthe drawer specially. ' The vague feeling was not satisfied, but could notreply. On arrival I found the letters were in none of my pockets. Onreturning I found them on the hall table, where they had been placed amoment putting on my gloves. " "The other day I had to go to see a patient in Folkestone, in ShakespeareTerrace. I got there very late, and did not stay but drove down to thePavilion for the night, it being dark and rainy. Next morning at eleven Iwalked up to find the house, knowing the general direction, though neverhaving walked there before. I went up the main road, and, after passinga certain turning, began to feel a vague uneasiness coming intoconsciousness, that I had passed the terrace. On asking the way, I foundit was so; and the turning was where the uneasiness began. The nightbefore was pitch dark, and very wet, and anything seen from a closecarriage was quite unconsciously impressed on my mind. " Prof. Kirchener says: "Our consciousness can only grasp one quite clearidea at once. All other ideas are for the time somewhat obscure. They arereally existing, but only potentially for consciousness, _i. E. , _ theyhover, as it were, on our horizon, or beneath the threshold ofconsciousness. The fact that former ideas suddenly return toconsciousness is simply explained by the fact that they have continuedpsychic existence: and attention is sometimes voluntarily orinvoluntarily turned away from the present, and the appearance of formerideas is thus made possible. " Oliver Wendell Holmes says: "Our different ideas are stepping-stones; howwe get from one to another we do not know; something carries us. We (ourconscious selves) do not take the step. The creating and informingspirit, which is _within_ us and not _of_ us, is recognized everywhere inreal life. It comes to us as a voice that will be heard; it tells us whatwe must believe; it frames our sentences and we wonder at this visitorwho chooses our brain as his dwelling place. " Galton says: "I have desired to show how whole states of mental operationthat have lapsed out of ordinary consciousness, admit of being draggedinto light. " Montgomery says: "We are constantly aware that feelings emergeunsolicited by any previous mental state, directly from the dark womb ofunconsciousness. Indeed all our most vivid feelings are thus mysticallyderived. Suddenly a new irrelevant, unwilled, unlooked-for presenceintrudes itself into consciousness. Some inscrutable power causes it torise and enter the mental presence as a sensorial constituent. If thisvivid dependence on unconscious forces has to be conjectured with regardto the most vivid mental occurrences, how much more must such asustaining foundation be postulated for those faint revivals of previoussensations that so largely assist in making up our complex mentalpresence!" Sir Benjamin Brodie says: "It has often happened to me to haveaccumulated a store of facts, but to have been able to proceed nofurther. Then after an interval of time, I have found the obscurity andconfusion to have cleared away: the facts to have settled in their rightplaces, though I have not been sensible of having made any effort forthat purpose. " Wundt says: "The traditional opinion that consciousness is the entirefield of the internal life cannot be accepted. In consciousness, psychicacts are very distinct from one another, and observation itselfnecessarily conducts to unity in psychology. But the agent of this unityis outside of consciousness, which knows only the result of the work donein the unknown laboratory beneath it. Suddenly a new thought springs intobeing. Ultimate analysis of psychic processes shows that the unconsciousis the theater of the most important mental phenomena. The conscious isalways conditional upon the unconscious. " Creighton says: "Our conscious life is the sum of these entrances andexits. Behind the scenes, as we infer, there lies a vast reserve which wecall 'the unconscious, ' finding a name for it by the simple device ofprefixing the negative article. The basis of all that lies behind thescene is the mere negative of consciousness. " Maudsley says: "The process of reasoning adds nothing to knowledge (inthe reasoner). It only displays what was there before, and brings toconscious possession what before was unconscious. " And again: "Mind cando its work without knowing it. Consciousness is the light that lightensthe process, not the agent that accomplishes it. " Walstein says: "It is through the sub-conscious self that Shakespearemust have perceived, without effort, great truths which are hidden fromthe conscious mind of the student; that Phidias painted marble andbronze; that Raphael painted Madonnas, and Beethoven composedsymphonies. " Ribot says: "The mind receives from experience certain data, andelaborates them unconsciously by laws peculiar to itself, and the resultmerges into consciousness. " Newman says: "When the unaccustomed causes surprise, we do not perceivethe thing and then feel the surprise; but surprise comes first, and thenwe search out the cause; so the theory must have acted on the unconsciousmind to create the feeling, before being perceived in consciousness. " A writer in an English magazine says: "Of what transcendent importance isthe fact that the unconscious part of the mind bears to the consciouspart such a relation as the magic lantern bears to the luminous discwhich it projects; that the greater part of the intentional action, thewhole practical life of the vast majority of men, is an effect of eventsas remote from consciousness as the motion of the planets. " Dr. Schofield says: "It is quite true that the range of the unconsciousmind must necessarily remain indefinite; none can say how high or low itmay reach. .. . As to how far the unconscious powers of life that, as hasbeen said, can make eggs and feathers out of Indian corn, and milk andbeef and mutton out of grass, are to be considered within or beyond thelowest limits of unconscious mind, we do not therefore here press. It isenough to establish the fact of its existence; to point out its moreimportant features; and to show that in all respects it is as worthy ofbeing called mind as that which works in consciousness. We thereforereturn to our first definition of Mind, as 'the sum of psychic action inus, whether conscious or unconscious. '" Hartmann calls our attention to a very important fact when he says: "Theunconscious does not fall ill, the unconscious does not grow weary, butall conscious mental activity becomes fatigued. " Kant says: "To have ideas and yet not be conscious of them--therein seemsto lie a contradiction. However, we may still be immediately aware ofholding an idea, though we are not directly conscious of it. " Maudsley says: "It may seem paradoxical to assert not merely that ideasmay exist in the mind without any consciousness of them, but that anidea, or a train of associated ideas, may be quickened into action andactuate movements without itself being attended to. When an ideadisappears from consciousness it does not necessarily disappear entirely;it may remain latent below the horizon of consciousness. Moreover it mayproduce an effect upon movement, or upon other ideas, when thus activebelow the horizon of consciousness. " Liebnitz says: "It does not follow that because we do not perceivethought that it does not exist. It is a great source of error to believethat there is no perception in the mind but that of which it isconscious. " Oliver Wendell Holmes says: "The more we examine the mechanism of thoughtthe more we shall see that anterior unconscious action of the mind thatenters largely into all of its processes. People who talk most do notalways think most. I question whether persons who think most--that is whohave most conscious thought pass through their mind--necessarily do mostmental work. Every new idea planted in a real thinker's mind grows whenhe is least conscious of it. " Maudsley says: "It would go hard with mankind indeed, if they must actwittingly before they acted at all. Men, without knowing why, follow acourse for which good reasons exist. Nay, more. The practical instinctsof mankind often work beneficially in actual contradiction to theirprofessed doctrines. " The same writer says: "The best thoughts of an author are the unwilledthoughts which surprise himself; and the poet, under the influence ofcreative activity, is, so far as consciousness is concerned, beingdictated to. " A writer in an English magazine says: "When waiting on a pier for asteamer, I went on to the first, which was the wrong one. I came back andwaited, losing my boat, which was at another part of the pier, on accountof the unconscious assumption I had made, that this was the only place towait for the steamer. I saw a man enter a room, and leave by anotherdoor. Shortly after, I saw another man exactly like him do the same. Itwas the same man; but I said it must be his twin brother, in theunconscious assumption that there was no exit for the first man but bythe way he came (that by returning). " Maudsley says: "The firmest resolve or purpose sometimes vanishesissueless when it comes to the brink of an act, while the true will, which determines perhaps a different act, springs up suddenly out of thedepths of the unconscious nature, surprising and overcoming theconscious. " Schofield says: "Our unconscious influence is the projection of ourunconscious mind and personality unconsciously over others. This actsunconsciously on their unconscious centers, producing effects incharacter and conduct, recognized in consciousness. For instance, theentrance of a good man into a room where foul language is used, willunconsciously modify and purify the tone of the whole room. Our mindscast shadows of which we are as unconscious as those cast by our bodies, but which affect for good or evil all who unconsciously pass within theirrange. This is a matter of daily experience, and is common to all, thoughmore noticeable with strong personalities. " Now we have given much time and space to the expressions of opinion ofvarious Western writers regarding this subject of there being a plane orplanes of the mind outside of the field of consciousness. We have givenspace to this valuable testimony, not alone because of its intrinsicvalue and merit, but because we wished to impress upon the minds of ourstudents that these out-of-conscious planes of mind are now beingrecognized by the best authorities in the Western world, although it hasbeen only a few years back when the idea was laughed at as ridiculous, and as a mere "dream of the Oriental teachers. " Each writer quoted hasbrought out some interesting and valuable point of the subject, and thestudent will find that his own experiences corroborate the points citedby the several writers. In this way we think the matter will be madeplainer, and will become fixed in the mind of those who are studying thiscourse of lessons. But we must caution our students from hastily adopting the severaltheories of Western writers, advanced during the past few years, regarding these out-of-conscious states. The trouble has been that theWestern writers dazzled by the view of the subconscious planes ofmentation that suddenly burst upon the Western thought, hastily adoptedcertain theories, which they felt would account for all the phenomenaknown as "psychic, " and which they thought would fully account for allthe problems of the subject. These writers while doing a most valuablework, which has helped thousands to form new ideas regarding the natureand workings of the mind, nevertheless did not sufficiently explore thenature of the problem before them. A little study of the Orientalphilosophies might have saved them and their readers much confusion. For instance, the majority of these writers hastily assumed that becausethere _was_ an out-of-conscious plane of mentation, therefore all theworkings of the mind might be grouped under the head of "conscious" and"sub-conscious, " and that all the out-of-conscious phenomena might begrouped under the head of "subconscious mind, " "subjective mind, " etc. , ignoring the fact that this class of mental phenomena embraced notonly the highest but the lowest forms of mentation In their newly found"mind" (which they called "subjective" or "sub-conscious"), they placedthe lowest traits and animal passions; insane impulses; delusions;bigotry; animal-like intelligence, etc. , etc. , as well as the inspirationof the poet and musician, and the high spiritual longings and feelingsthat one recognizes as having come from the higher regions of the soul. This mistake was a natural one, and at first reading the Western worldwas taken by storm, and accepted the new ideas and theories as Truth. Butwhen reflection came, and analysis was applied there arose a feeling ofdisappointment and dissatisfaction, and people began to feel that therewas something lacking. They intuitively recognized that their higherinspirations and intuitions came from a different part of the mind thanthe lower emotions, passions, and other sub-conscious feelings, andinstincts. A glance at the Oriental philosophies will give one the key to theproblem at once. The Oriental teachers have always held that theconscious mentation was but a small fraction of the entire volume ofthought, but they have always taught that just as there was a field ofmentation _below_ consciousness, so was there a field of mentation_above_ consciousness as much higher than Intellect as the other waslower than it. The mere mention of this fact will prove a revelation tothose who have not heard it before, and who have become entangled withthe several "dual-mind" theories of the recent Western writers. The moreone has read on this subject the more he will appreciate the superiorityof the Oriental theory over that of the Western writers. It is like thechemical which at once clears the clouded liquid in the test-tube. In our next lesson we shall go into this subject of the above-consciousplanes, and the below-conscious planes, bringing out the distinctionclearly, and adding to what we have said on the subject in previousbooks. And all this is leading us toward the point where we may give youinstruction regarding the training and cultivation--the retraining andguidance of these out-of-conscious faculties. By retraining the lowerplanes of mentation to their proper work, and by stimulating the higherones, man may "make himself over. " mentally, and may acquire powers ofwhich he but dreams now. This is why we are leading you up to theunderstanding of this subject, step by step. We advise you to acquaintyourself with each phase of the matter, that you may be able to apply theteachings and instructions to follow in later lessons of the course. MANTRAM (AFFIRMATION). I recognize that my Self is greater than it seems--that above and belowconsciousness are planes of mind--that just as there are lower planes ofmind which belong to my past experience in ages past and over which Imust now assert my Mastery--so are there planes of mind into which I amunfolding gradually, which will bring me wisdom, power, and joy. I AmMyself, in the midst of this mental world--I am the Master of myMind--I assert my control of its lower phases, and I demand of its higherall that it has in store for me. THE NINTH LESSON. THE MENTAL PLANES. In our last lesson we told you something about the operation of the mindoutside of the field of consciousness. In this lesson we will attempt toclassify these out-of-consciousness planes, by directing your attentionto the several mental planes above and below the plane of consciousness. As we stated in the last lesson, over 90 per cent of our mentaloperations are conducted outside of the field of consciousness, so thatthe consideration of the planes is seen to be an important subject. Man is a Centre of Consciousness in the great One Life of the Universe. His soul has climbed a great many steps before it reached its presentposition and stage of unfoldment. And it will pass through many moresteps until it is entirely free and delivered from the necessity of itsswaddling clothes. In his mental being man contains traces of all that has gone before--allthe experiences of himself and the great race movement of which he is apart. And, likewise, his mind contains faculties and mental planes whichhave not as yet unfolded into consciousness, and of the existence ofwhich he is but imperfectly aware. All of these mental possessions, however, are useful and valuable to him--even the lowest. The lowestmay be used to advantage, under proper mastery, and are only dangerous tothe man who allows them to master him instead of serving him as theyshould, considering his present stage of development. In this consideration of the several mental planes we shall not confineourselves to the technical occult terms given to these several planes, but will place them in general groups and describe the features andcharacteristics of each, rather than branch off into long explanations ofthe growth and reason of the several planes, which would take us far awayfrom the practical consideration of the subject. Beginning at the lowest point of the scale we see that man has a body. The body is composed of minute cells of protoplasm. These cells are builtup of countless molecules, atoms and particles of matter--precisely thesame matter that composes the rocks, trees, air, etc. , around him. TheYogi philosophy tells us that even the atoms of matter have life and anelementary manifestation of mind, which causes them to group togetheraccording to the law of attraction, forming different elements, combinations, etc. This law of attraction is a mental operation, and isthe first evidence of mental choice, action and response. Below this isPrana or Force, which, strictly speaking, is also a manifestation ofmind, although for convenience we designate it as a separatemanifestation of the Absolute. And therefore we find that this law of attraction between the atoms andparticles of matter is a mental action, and that it belongs to man'smental kingdom, because he has a body and this mental action iscontinually going on in his body. So therefore this is the lowest mentalplane to be considered in the make-up of the man. This plane is, ofcourse, far sunken beneath the plane of consciousness, and is scarcelyidentified with the personality of the man at all, but rather belongs tothe life of the whole, manifest in the rock as well as in the man. But after these atoms have been grouped by the law of attraction and haveformed molecules of matter, they are taken possession of by a highermental activity and built up into cells by the mental action of theplant. The life impulse of the plant begins by drawing to it certainparticles of inorganic matter--chemical elements--and then building theminto a single cell. Oh, mystery of the cell! The intellect of man isunable to duplicate this wonderful process. The Mind Principle on theVegetative Plane, however, knows exactly how to go to work to select anddraw to itself just the elements needed to build up the single cell. Thentaking up its abode in that cell--using it as a basis of operations, itproceeds to duplicate its previous performance, and so cell after cellis added, by the simple reproductive process of division andsubdivision--the primitive and elemental sex process--until the mightyplant is built up. From the humblest vegetable organism up to thegreatest oak the process is the same. And it does not stop there. The body of man is also built up in just thisway, and he has this vegetative mind also within him, below the plane ofconsciousness, of course. To many this thought of a vegetative mind maybe somewhat startling. But let us remember that every part of our bodyhas been built up from the vegetable cell. The unborn child starts withthe coalition of two cells. These cells begin to build up the new bodyfor the occupancy of the child--that is, the mind principle in the cellsdirects the work, of course--drawing upon the body of the mother fornourishment and supplies. The nourishment in the mother's blood, whichsupplies the material for the building up of the child's body, isobtained by the mother eating and assimilating the vegetable cells ofplants, directly or indirectly. If she eats fruit, nuts, vegetables, etc. , she obtains the nourishment of the plant life directly--if she eatsmeat she obtains it indirectly, for the animal from which the meat wastaken built up the meat from vegetables. There is no two ways aboutthis--all nourishment of the animal and human kingdom is obtained fromthe vegetable kingdom, directly or indirectly. And the cell action in the child is identical with the cell action in theplant. Cells constantly reproducing themselves and building themselves upinto bodily organs, parts, etc. , under the direction and guidance of themind principle. The child grows in this way until the hour of birth. Itis born, and then the process is but slightly changed. The child beginsto take nourishment either from the mother's milk or from the milk of thecow, or other forms of food. And as it grows larger it partakes of manydifferent varieties of food. But always it obtains building material fromthe cell life of the plants. And this great building up process is intelligent, purposeful, to awonderful degree. Man with his boasted intellect cannot explain the real"thingness" of the process. A leading scientist who placed the egg of asmall lizard under microscopical examination and then watched it slowlydevelop has said that it seemed as if some hand was tracing the outlinesof the tiny vertebrae, and then building up around it. Think for a momentof the development of the germ within the egg of the humming-bird, or theant, or the gnat, or the eagle. Every second a change may be noticed. Thegerm cell draws to itself nourishment from the other part of the egg, andthen it grows and reproduces another cell. Then both cells divide--thensubdivide until there are millions and millions and millions of cells. And all the while the building up process continues, and the bird orinsect assumes shape and form, until at last the work is accomplishedand the young bird emerges from the egg. And the work thus commenced continues until the death of the animal. Forthere is a constant using-up and breaking-down of cell and tissue, whichthe organism must replace. And so the vegetative mind of the plant, orinsect, or animal, or man, is constantly at work building up new cellsfrom the food, throwing out worn-out and used-up material from thesystem. Not only this, but it attends to the circulation of the blood inorder that the materials for the building up may be carried to all partsof the system. It attends to the digestion and assimilation of thefood--the wonderful work of the organs of the body. It attends to thehealing of wounds, the fight against disease, the care of the physicalbody. And all this out of the plane of consciousness--in the infant manthe animal world, the vegetable kingdom--ever at work, untiring, intelligent, wonderful. And this plane of mind is in man as well as inthe plant, and it does its work without aid from the conscious part ofman, although man may interfere with it by adverse conscious thought, which seems to paralyze its efforts. Mental Healing is merely therestoring of normal conditions, so that this part of the body may do itswork without the hindrance of adverse conscious thought. On this plane of the mind is found all of the vital functions andoperations. The work is done out-of-consciousness, and the consciousnessis aware of this part of the mind only when it makes demands upon theconscious for food, etc. On this plane also resides the elementaryinstinct that tends toward reproduction and sexual activity. The demandof this part of the mind is always "increase and multiply, " and accordingto the stage of growth of the individual is the mandate carried out, aswe shall see presently. The elementary impulses and desires that wefind rising into the field of consciousness come from this plane of themind. Hunger, thirst and the reproductive desires are its messages to thehigher parts of the mind. And these messages are natural and free fromthe abuses and prostitution often observed attached to them by theintellect of man in connection with his unrestrained animal impulses. Gluttony and unnatural lust arise not from the primitive demand of thisplane of the mind--for the lower animals even are free from them to agreat extent--but it is reserved for man to so prostitute these primitivenatural tendencies, in order to gratify unnatural and artificialappetites, which serve to frustrate nature rather than to aid her. As Life advanced in the scale and animal forms appeared on the scene newplanes of mind were unfolded, in accordance to the necessity of theliving forms. The animal was compelled to hunt for his food--to prey uponother forms, and to avoid being preyed upon by others. He was compelledto struggle for the unfoldment of latent powers of his mind that wouldgive him means to play his part in the scheme of life. He was compelledto do certain things in order to live and reproduce his kind. And hedemanded not in vain. For there came to him slowly an unfolding knowledgeof the things necessary for the requirements of his life. We call thisInstinct. But, pray remember, by Instinct we do not mean the still highersomething that is really rudimentary Intellect that we notice in thehigher animals. We are speaking now of the unreasoning instinct observedin the lower animals, and to a certain degree in man. This Instinctiveplane of mentality causes the bird to build its nest before its eggs arelaid, which instructs the animal mother how to care for its young whenborn, and after birth; which teaches the bee to construct its cell and tostore up its honey. These and countless other things in animal life, andin the higher form of plant life, are manifestations of Instinct--thatgreat plane of the mind. In fact, the greater part of the life of theanimal is instinctive although the higher forms of animals have developedsomething like rudimentary Intellect or Reason, which enables them tomeet new conditions where Intellect alone fails them. And man has this plane of mind within him, below consciousness. In factthe lower forms of human life manifest but little Intellect, and livealmost altogether according to their Instinctive impulses and desires. Every man has this Instinctive mental region within him and from it areconstantly arising impulses and desires to perplex and annoy him, as wellas to serve him occasionally. The whole secret consists in whether theman has Mastery of his lower self or not. From this plane of the mind arise the hereditary impulses coming downfrom generations of ancestors, reaching back to the cavemen, and stillfurther back into the animal kingdom. A queer storehouse is this. Animal instincts--passions, appetites, desires, feelings, sensations, emotions, etc. , are there. Hate, envy, jealousy, revenge, the lust of theanimal seeking the gratification of his sexual impulses, etc. , etc. , arethere, and are constantly intruding upon our attention until we haveasserted our mastery. And often the failure to assert this mastery comesfrom an ignorance of the nature of the desire, etc. We have been taughtthat these thoughts were "bad" without being told _why_, and we havefeared them and thought them the promptings of an impure nature, or adepraved mind, etc. This is all wrong. These things are not "bad" ofthemselves--they came to us honestly--they are our heritage from thepast. They belong to the animal part of our nature, and were necessary tothe animal in his stage of development. We have the whole menageriewithin us, but that does not mean that we should turn the beasts looseupon ourselves or others. It was necessary for the animal to be fierce, full of fight, passionate, regardless of the rights of others, etc. , butwe have outgrown that stage of development, and it is ignoble for us toreturn to it, or to allow it to master us. This lesson is not intended as a discourse upon Ethics or morals. We donot intend going into a discussion of the details of "Right and Wrong, "for we have touched upon that phase of the subject in other works. But wefeel justified in calling your attention to the fact that the human mindintuitively recognizes the "Rightness" of the living up to that whichcomes to us from the highest parts of the mind--the highest product ofour unfoldment. And it likewise intuitively recognizes the "Wrongness" ofthe falling back into that which belongs to the lower stages of ourmentality--to the animal part of us, that is our heritage from the pastand that which has gone before. While we may be puzzled about many details of morals and ethics and maynot be able to "explain" why we consider certain things right or wrong, we still intuitively feel that the highest "Right" of which we arecapable is the acting out of that which is coming to us from the highestpole of our mental being, and that the lowest "Wrong" consists in doingthat which carries us back to the life of the lower animals, in so far asmentality is concerned. Not because there is anything absolutely "Wrong"in the mental processes and consequent of the animals in themselves--theyare all right and perfectly natural in the animals--but we intuitivelyrecognize that for us to fall back to the animal stage is a "goingbackward" in the scale of evolution. We intuitively shrink at anexhibition of brutality and animality on the part of a man or woman. Wemay not know just why, but a little reflection will show us that it is asinking in the evolutionary scale, against which the spiritual part of usrevolts and protests. But this must not be construed to mean that the advanced soul looks uponthe animal world with disgust or horror. On the contrary, there isnowhere to be found a higher respect for animal life and being than amongthe Yogi and other advanced souls. They delight in watching the animalsfilling their places in life--playing out their parts in the divinescheme of life. Their animal passions and desires are actions viewedsympathetically and lovingly by the advanced soul, and nothing "Wrong" ordisgusting is seen there. And even the coarseness and brutality ofthe savage races are so regarded by these advanced souls. They seeeverything as natural according to the grade and degree of development ofthese people. It is only when these advanced souls view the degeneracies of "civilized"life that they feel sorrow and pain. For here they see instances ofdevolution instead of evolution--degeneration instead of regenerationand advancement. And not only do they know this to be the fact, but thedegenerate specimens of mankind themselves feel and know it. Comparethe expression of the animal or savage going through their natural lifeactions and performances. See how free and natural are their expressions, how utterly apart are evidences of wrong doing. They have not as yetfound out the fatal secret of Good and Evil--they have not as yet eatenthe forbidden fruit. But, on the contrary, look into the faces of thedegenerates and fallen souls of our civilized life. See the furtiveglance and the self-consciousness of "Wrong" evident in every face. Andthis consciousness of "Wrong" bears heavily upon these people--it isheavier than the punishments heaped upon them That nameless somethingcalled "conscience" may be smothered for a while, but sooner or later itcomes to light and demands the pound of flesh from its victim. And yet you will say that it seems hard to think that the same thing canbe Right in one person and Wrong in another. This seems like a hardsaying and a dangerous doctrine, but it is the Truth. And maninstinctively recognizes it. He does not expect the same sense of moralresponsibility in a young child, or in a savage, that he does in amature, developed, civilized man. He may restrain the child and thesavage, for self-protection and the welfare of all, but he realizes thedistinction, or at least should do so. And not only is this true, but asman advances in the scale he casts off many ideas of "Wrong" that heonce held, having outgrown the old ideas and having grown into newconceptions. And the tendency is always upward and onward. The tendencyis constantly from Force and Restraint toward Love and Freedom. The idealcondition would be one in which there were no laws and no necessity forthem--a condition in which men had ceased to do wrong because they hadoutgrown the desire rather than from fear or restraint or force. Andwhile this condition as yet seems afar off, there is constantly going onan unfoldment of higher planes and faculties of the mind, which when oncefully manifest in the race will work a complete revolution in ethics andlaws and government--and for the better, of course. In the meantimeMankind moves along, doing the best it can, making a steady though slowprogress. There is another plane of the mind which is often called the "Instinct, "but which is but a part of the plane of the Intellect, although itsoperations are largely below the field of consciousness. We allude towhat may be called the "Habit Mind, " in order to distinguish it from theInstinctive Plane. The difference is this: The Instinctive plane of mindis made up of the ordinary operations of the mind below the plane of theIntellect, and yet above the plane of the Vegetative mind--and also ofthe acquired experiences of the race, which have been transmitted byheredity, etc. But the "Habit Mind" contains only that which has beenplaced there by the person himself and which he has acquired byexperience, habit, and observation, repeated so often until the mindknows it so well that it is carried below the field of consciousness andbecomes "second nature, " and akin to Instinct. The text books upon psychology are filled with illustrations and examplesof the habit phase or plane of the mental operations, and we do not thinkit necessary to repeat instances of the same kind here. Everyone isfamiliar with the fact that tasks which at first are learned only byconsiderable work and time soon become fixed in some part of the minduntil their repetition calls for little or no exercise of consciousmental operation. In fact, some writers have claimed that no one really"learns" how to perform a task until he can perform it almostautomatically. The pupil who in the early stages of piano playing findsit most difficult to control and manage his fingers, after a time is ableto forget all about his fingering and devote his entire attention to thepages of his music, and after this he is able to apparently let hisfingers play the entire piece of music by themselves without a thought onhis part. The best performers have told us that in the moments of theirhighest efforts they are aware that the out-of-conscious portion of theirmind is doing the work for them, and they are practically standing asideand witnessing the work being done. So true is this that in some cases itis related that if the performer's conscious mind attempts to take up thework the quality is impaired and the musician and the audience notice thedifference. The same thing is true in the case of the woman learning to operate thesewing machine. It is quite difficult at first, but gradually it grows to"run itself. " Those who have mastered the typewriter have had the sameexperience. At first each letter had to be picked out with care andeffort. After a gradual improvement the operator is enabled to devote herentire attention to the "copy" and let the fingers pick out the keys forthemselves. Many operators learn rapid typewriting by so training thehabit mind that it picks out the letter-keys by reason of their position, the letters being covered over in order to force the mind to adapt itselfto the new requirements. A similar state of affairs exists wherever menor women have to use tools of any kind. The tool soon is recognized bythe mind and used as if it were a part of the body, and no more consciousthought is devoted to the manipulation than we devote to the operation ofwalking, which, by the way, is learned by the child only by theexpenditure of time and labor. It is astonishing how many things we do"automatically" in this way. Writers have called our attention to thefact that the average man cannot consciously inform you how he puts onhis coat in the morning--which arm goes in first, how the coat is held, etc. But the habit mind knows--knows very well. Let the student stand upand put on his coat in the regular way, following the leadings of thehabit mind. Then, after removing it, let him attempt to put it on byinserting the other arm first, for instance. He will be surprised to findout how awkward it will be for him, and how completely he has beendepending upon the habit mind. And tomorrow morning let him find outwhich shoe the habit mind has been putting on him first and then try toreverse the order and notice how flurried and disturbed the habit mindwill become, and how frantically it will signal to the conscious mind:"Something wrong up there!" Or try to button on your collar, reversingthe order in which the tabs are placed over the button--right beforeleft, or left before right, as the case may be, and notice theinvoluntary protest. Or, try to reverse the customary habit in walkingand attempt to swing your right arm with the movement of your right leg, and so on, and you will find it will require the exercise of great willpower. Or, try to "change hands" and use your knife and fork. But we muststop giving examples and illustrations. Their number is countless. Not only does the habit mind attend to physical actions, etc. , but italso takes a hand in our mental operations. We soon acquire the habit ofceasing to consciously consider certain things, and the habit mind takesthe matter for granted, and thereafter we will think automatically onthose particular questions, unless we are shaken out of the habit by arude jolt from the mind of someone else, or from the presentation of someconflicting idea occasioned by our own experience or reasoning processes. And the habit mind hates to be disturbed and compelled to revise itsideas. It fights against it, and rebels, and the result is that many ofus are slaves to old outgrown ideas that we realize are false and untrue, but which we find that we "cannot exactly get rid of. " In our futurelessons we will give methods to get rid of these old outgrown ideas. There are other planes of mind which have to do with the phenomena knownas "psychic, " by which is meant the phases of psychic phenomena known asclairvoyance, psychometry, telepathy, etc. , but we shall not considerthem in this lesson, for they belong to another part of the generalsubject. We have spoken of them in a general way in our "Fourteen Lessonsin Yogi Philosophy, etc. " And now we come to the plane of mind known to us as Intellect or theReasoning Faculties. Webster defines the word Intellect as follows: Thepart or faculty of the human soul by which it knows, as distinguishedfrom the power to feel and to will; the thinking faculty; theunderstanding. The same authority defines the word Reason as follows:"The faculty or capacity of the human mind by which it is distinguishedfrom the intelligence of the inferior animals. " We shall not attempt togo into a consideration of the conscious Intellect, for to do so wewould be compelled to take up the space of the remaining lessons of thecourse, and besides, the student may find extended information on thissubject in any of the text books on psychology. Instead we will considerother faculties and planes of mind which the said text books pass byrapidly, or perhaps deny. And one of these planes is that of UnconsciousReasoning, or Intellect. To many this term will seem paradoxical, butstudents of the unconscious will understand just what is meant. Reasoning is not necessarily conscious in its operations, in fact, agreater part of the reasoning processes are performed below or above theconscious field. In our last lesson we have given a number of examplesproving this fact, but a few more remarks may not be out of place, norwithout interest to the student. In our last lesson you will see many instances stated in which thesub-conscious field of the Intellect worked out problems, and then aftera time handed to the conscious reason the solution of the matter. Thishas occurred to many of us, if not indeed to all of us. Who has notendeavored to solve a problem or question of some sort and after "givingit up" has had it suddenly answered and flashed into consciousness whenleast expected. The experience is common to the race. While the majorityof us have noticed these things, we have regarded them as exceptional andout of the general rule. Not so, however, with students of the mentalplanes. The latter have recognized these planes of reason, and haveavailed themselves of their knowledge by setting these unconsciousfaculties to work for them. In our next lesson we will give directions toour students regarding this accomplishment, which may prove of thegreatest importance to those who will take the trouble to practice thedirections given. It is a plan that is known to the majority of men whohave "done things" in the world, the majority of them, however, havingdiscovered the plan for themselves as the result of a need or demand uponthe inner powers of mind. The plane of mind immediately above that of Intellect is that known asIntuition. Intuition is defined by Webster as follows: "Directapprehension or cognition; immediate knowledge, as in perception orconsciousness, involving no reasoning process; quick or ready insight orapprehension. " It is difficult to explain just what is meant byIntuition, except to those who have experienced it--and these people donot need the explanation. Intuition is just as real a mental faculty asis Intellect--or, to be more exact, is just as much a collection ofmental faculties. Intuition is above the field of consciousness, and itsmessages are passed downward, though its processes are hidden. The raceis gradually unfolding into the plane of Intuition, and the race willsome day pass into full consciousness on that plane. In the meantime itgets but flashes and glimpses from the hidden region. Many of the bestthings we have come from that region. Art, music, the love of thebeautiful and good poetry, the higher form of love, spiritual insight toa certain degree, intuitive perception of truth, etc. , etc. , come fromthis region. These things are not reasoned out by the intellect, but seemto spring full born from some unknown region of the mind. In this wonderful region dwells Genius. Many, if not all of the greatwriters, poets, musicians, artists and other examples of genius have feltthat their power came to them from some higher source. Many have thoughtthat it emanated from some being kindly to them, who would inspire themwith power and wisdom. Some transcendent power seemed to have been calledinto operation, and the worker would feel that his product or creationwas not his handiwork, but that of some outside intelligence. The Greeksrecognized this something in man, and called it man's "Daemon. " Plutarchin his discourse on the daemon that guided Socrates speaks of the visionof Timarchus, who, in the case of Trophonius, saw spirits which werepartly attached to human bodies, and partly over and above them, shiningluminously over their heads. He was informed by the oracle that the partof the spirit which was immersed in the body was called the "soul, " butthat the outer and unimmersed portion was called the "daemon. " The oraclealso informed him that every man had his daemon, whom he is bound toobey; those who implicitly follow that guidance are the prophetic souls, the favorites of the gods. Goethe also spoke of the daemon as a powerhigher than the will, and which inspired certain natures with miraculousenergy. We may smile at these conceptions, but they are really very close to thetruth. The higher regions of the mind, while belonging to the individual, and a part of himself, are so far above his ordinary consciousness thatto all intents and purposes messages from them are as orders from anotherand higher soul. But still the voice is that of the "I, " speaking throughits sheaths as best it is able. This power belongs to every one of us, although it manifests only in thedegree that we are able to respond to it. It grows by faith andconfidence, and closes itself up, and withdraws into its recesses whenwe doubt it and would question its veracity and reality. What we call"originality" comes from this region. The Intuitive faculties pass on tothe conscious mind some perception of truth higher than the Intellect hasbeen able to work out for itself, and lo! it is called the work ofgenius. The advanced occultist knows that in the higher regions of the mind arelocked up intuitive perceptions of all truth, and that he who can gainaccess to these regions will know everything intuitively, and as a matterof clear sight, without reasoning or explanation. The race has not as yetreached the heights of Intuition--it is just beginning to climb thefoothills. But it is moving in the right direction. It will be well forus if we will open ourselves to the higher inner guidance, and be willingto be "led by the Spirit. " This is a far different thing from being ledby outside intelligence, which may, or may not, be qualified to lead. Butthe Spirit within each of us has our interests at heart and is desirousof our best good, and is not only ready but willing to take us by thehand and lead us on. The Higher Self is doing the best it can for ourdevelopment and welfare, but is hampered by the confining sheaths. Andalas, many of us glory in these sheaths and consider them the highestpart of ourselves. Do not be afraid to let the light of the Spirit piercethrough these confining sheaths and dissolve them. The Intuition, however, is not the Spirit, but is one of its channels of communicationto us. There are other and still higher planes of mind, but the Intuitionis the one next in the line of unfoldment, and we should open ourselvesto its influence and welcome its unfoldment. Above the plane of Intuition is that of the Cosmic Knowing, upon which wewill find the consciousness of the Oneness of All. We have spoken of thisplane in our lesson on the Unfoldment of Consciousness. When one is ableto "conscious" on this plane--this exalted plane of mind--he is able tosee fully, plainly and completely that there is One Great Life underlyingall the countless forms and shapes of manifestation. He is able to seethat separateness is only "the working fiction of the Universe. " He isable to see that each Ego is but a Centre of Consciousness in the greatOcean of Life--all in pursuance of the Divine Plan, and that he is movingforward toward higher and higher planes of manifestation, power andindividuality, in order to take a greater and grander part in theUniversal work and plans. The Cosmic Knowing in its fulness has come to but few of the race, butmany have had glimpses, more or less clear, of its transcendent wonder, and others are on the borderland of this plane. The race is unfoldinggradually, slowly but surely, and those who have had this wonderfulexperience are preparing others for a like experience. The seed is beingsown, and the harvest will come later. This and other phases of thehigher forms of consciousness are before the race. The individuals whoread this lesson are perhaps nearer to it than they think; their interestin the lessons is an indication of that hunger of the soul which is aprophecy of the satisfaction of the cry for spiritual bread. The Law ofLife heeds these cries for aid and nourishment and responds accordingly, but along the lines of the highest wisdom and according to the _realrequirements_ of the individual. Let us close this lesson with a quotation from "Light on the Path, " whichbears directly upon the concluding thought. Read it carefully and let itsink down deep into your inner consciousness, and you will feel thethrill of joy that comes to him who is nearing the goal. "Look for the flower to bloom in the silence that follows the storm; nottill then. "It shall grow, it will shoot up, it will make branches and leaves, andform buds while the storm lasts. But not until the entire personality ofthe man is dissolved and melted--not until it is held by the divinefragment which has created it, as a mere subject for grave experiment andexperience--not until the whole nature has yielded and become subjectunto its higher self, can the bloom open. Then will come a calm such ascomes in a tropical country after the heavy rain, when nature works soswiftly that one may see her action. Such a calm will come to theharassed spirit. And in the deep silence the mysterious event will occurwhich will prove that the way has been found. Call it by whatever nameyou will. It is a voice that speaks where there is none to speak, it is amessenger that comes--a messenger without form or substance--or it is theflower of the soul that has opened. It cannot be described by anymetaphor. But it can be felt after, looked for, and desired, even amongthe raging of the storm. The silence may last a moment of time, or it maylast a thousand years. But it will end. Yet you will carry its strengthwith you. Again and again the battle must be fought and won. It is onlyfor an interval that nature can be still. " * * * * * The concluding three lessons of this series will be devoted to apractical course of instruction in the development of the hidden planesof the mind, or rather, in the development of the power of the individualto master the same and make use of them in his life. He will be taught tomaster the lower principles, not only in the surmounting of them, but inthe transmitting of the elemental forces toward his higher ends. Powermay be obtained from this part of the mind, under the direction of theWill. And the student will be told how to set the unconscious Intellectto work for him. And he will be told how to develop and train the Will. We have now passed the line between the theoretical and the practicalphases of the subject, and from now on it will be a case of train, develop, cultivate and apply. Knowing what lies back of it all, thestudent is now prepared to receive the instructions which he might havemisused before. Peace be with thee all. MANTRAM (AFFIRMATION). I AM THE MASTER OF MY SOUL. THE TENTH LESSON. SUB-CONSCIOUSING. In the Ninth Lesson we called your attention to the fact that Reasoningwas not necessarily conscious in its operations, and that, in fact, alarge part of the rational processes of the mind are performed below orabove the field of consciousness. And in the Eighth Lesson we gave you anumber of examples illustrating this fact. We also gave you a number ofcases in which the sub-conscious field of the Intellect worked outproblems, and then after a time passed on to the conscious field of theIntellect the solution of the matter. In this lesson we purposeinstructing you in the methods by which this part of the Intellect may beset to work for you. Many have stumbled upon bits of this truth forthemselves, and, in fact, the majority of successful men and men who haveattained eminence in any walk of life have made more or less use of thistruth, although they seldom understand the reason of it. Very few Western writers have recognized the work of this plane of themind. They have given us full and ingenious theories and examples of theworkings of the Instinctive Mind, and in some cases they have touchedupon the workings and operations of the Intuitional planes, but in nearlyevery case they have treated the Intellect as something entirely confinedto the Conscious plane of mentation. In this they have missed some of themost interesting and valuable manifestations of sub-conscious mentation. In this lesson we will take up this particular phase of mentation, andtrust to be able to point out the way to use it to the best advantage, giving some simple instructions that have been given by the Hinduteachers to their students for centuries past, such instructions ofcourse, being modified by us to conform to the requirements andnecessities of the Western student of today. We have taken the liberty of bestowing a new title upon this phase ofmentation--we have thought it well to call it "Sub-consciousing. " Theword "Sub, " of course means "under; below;" and the word "Consciousing"is a favorite term employed by Prof. Elmer Gates, and means receivingimpressions from the mind. In a general way, "Sub-consciousing, " as usedin this lesson, may be understood to mean "using the subconscious mind, under orders of the conscious mind. " By referring to our Eighth Lesson, we see mention made of the case of theman who indulged in "unconscious rumination, " which happened to him whenhe read books presenting new points of view essentially opposed to hisprevious opinion. You will note that after days, weeks, or months, hefound that to his great astonishment the old opinions were entirelyrearranged, and new ones lodged there. On the same page you will see mentioned the case of Sir William Hamilton, who discovered an important law of mathematics while walking with hiswife. In this case he had been previously thinking of the missing link inhis chain of reasoning, and the problem was worked out for him by thesub-conscious plane of his Intellect. On the same page, and the one following, is found the case of Dr. Thompson, who gives an interesting account of the workings of this partof his mind, which caused him at times to experience a feeling of theuselessness of all voluntary effort, coupled with a feeling that thematter was working itself clear in his mind. He tells us that at times heseemed to be merely a passive instrument in the hands of some personother than himself, who compelled him to wait until the work wasperformed for him by some hidden region of the mind. When thesubconscious part of the mind had completed its work, it would flash themessage to his conscious mind, and he would begin to write. On page 178 mention is also made of the great French chemist Berthelot, who relates that some of his best conceptions have flashed upon him asfrom the clear sky. In fact, the Eighth Lesson is largely made up ofexamples of this kind, and we ask the student to re-read the same, inorder to refresh his mind with the truth of the workings of thesub-conscious mentality. But you will notice in nearly all the cases mentioned, that those whorelated instances of the help of the sub-conscious mind had merelystumbled upon the fact that there was a part of the mind belowconsciousness that could and would work out problems for one, if it couldsomehow be set in operation. And these people trusted to luck to startthat part of the mind in operation. Or rather, they would saturatetheir conscious mind with a mass of material, like stuffing the stomachwith food, and then bid the subconscious mind assort, separate, arrangeand digest the mental food, just as does the stomach and digestiveapparatus digest the natural food--outside of the realm of consciousnessor volition. In none of the cases mentioned was the subconsciousmind _directed_ specially to perform its wonderful work. It was simplyhoped that it might digest the mental material with which it had beenstuffed--in pure self defense. But there is a much better way, and weintend to tell you about it. The Hindu Yogis, or rather those whoinstruct their pupils in _"Raja Yoga, "_ give their students directionswhereby they may _direct_ their sub-conscious minds to perform mentaltasks for them, just as one may direct another to perform a task. Theyteach them the methods whereby, after having accumulated the necessarymaterials, they may bid the sub-conscious mentality to sort it out, rearrange, analyze, and build up from it some bit of desired knowledge. More than this, they instruct their pupils to direct and order thesub-conscious mentality to search out and report to them certaininformation to be found only within the mind itself--some question ofphilosophy or metaphysics. And when such art has been acquired, thestudent or Yogi rests assured that the desired result will be forthcomingin due time, and consequently dismisses the matter from his consciousmind, and busies himself with other matters, knowing that day and night, incessantly, the sub-consciousing process is going on, and that thesub-conscious mind is actively at work collecting the information, orworking out the problem. You will see at once the great superiority of this method over the old"hit-or-miss, " "hope-it-will-work" plan pursued by those who havestumbled upon bits of the truth. The Yogi teacher begins by impressing upon his students the fact that themind is capable of extending outward toward an object, material ormental, and by examining it by methods inherent in itself, extractingknowledge regarding the object named. This is not a startling truth, because it is so common, everyone employing it more or less every day. But the process by which the knowledge is extracted is most wonderful, and really is performed below the plane of consciousness, the work of theconscious mind being chiefly concerned in _holding the Attention_ uponthe object. We have spoken of the importance of Attention in previouslessons, which it will be well for you to re-read, at this time. When the student is fully impressed with the details of the process ofAttention, and the subsequent unfoldment of knowledge, the Yogi proceedsto inform him that there are other means of obtaining knowledge about anobject, by the employment of which the Attention may be firmly directedtoward the object and then afterwards held there _unconsciously_--thatis, a portion of the Attention, or a sub-conscious phase of mentation, which will hold the sub-conscious mind firmly upon the work untilaccomplished, leaving the conscious Attention and mentality free toemploy itself with other things. The Yogis teach the students that this new form of Attention is far moreintense and powerful than is the conscious Attention, for it cannot bedisturbed or shaken, or distracted from its object, and that it will workaway at its task for days, months, years, or a lifetime if necessary, according to the difficulty of the task, and in fact carries its workover from one life to another, unless recalled by the Will. They teachthe student that in everyone's life there is going on a greater or lessdegree of this sub-conscious work, carried on in obedience to a strongdesire for knowledge manifested in some former life, and bearing fruitonly in the present existence. Many important discoveries have been madein obedience to this law. But it is not of this phase of the matter thatwe wish to speak in this lesson. The Yogi theory is that the sub-conscious intellectual faculty may be setto work under the direction of orders given by the Will. All of you knowhow the sub-conscious mentality will take up an order of the Will, or astrong wish, that the person be awakened at a certain hour in order tocatch a train. Or, in the same way how the remembrance of a certainengagement at, say, four o'clock, will flash into the mind when the handsof the clock approach the stated hour. Nearly every one can recallinstances of this sort in his own experience. But the Yogis go much further than this. They claim that any and allfaculties of the mind may be "set going, " or working on any problem, ifordered thereto by the Will. In fact, the Yogis, and their advancedstudents have mastered this art to such a surprising extent that theyfind it unnecessary to do the drudgery of thinking in the consciousfield, and prefer to relegate such mental work to the sub-conscious, reserving their conscious work for the consideration of digestedinformation and thought presented to them by the sub-conscious mind. Their directions to their students cover a great deal of ground, andextend over a long period of time, and many of the directions are quitecomplicated and full of detail. But we think that we can give ourstudents an abbreviated and condensed idea in a few pages of the lesson. And the remaining lessons of the course will also throw additional lighton the subject of sub-conscious mental action, in connection withother subjects. The Yogi takes the student when the latter is much bothered by aconsideration of some knotty and perplexing philosophical subject. Hebids the student relax every muscle, --take the tension from everynerve--throw aside all mental strain, and then wait a few moments. Thenthe student is instructed to grasp the subject which he has had beforehis mind firmly and fixedly before his mental vision, by means ofconcentration. Then he is instructed to pass it on to the sub-consciousmentality by an effort of the Will, which effort is aided by forming amental picture of the subject as a material substance, _or bundle ofthought, _ which is being bodily lifted up and dropped down a mentalhatch-way, or trap-door, in which it sinks from sight. The student isthen instructed to say to the sub-conscious mentality: "I wish thissubject thoroughly analyzed, arranged, classified (and whatever else isdesired) and then the results handed back to me. Attend to this. " The student is taught to speak to the sub-conscious mentality just as ifit were a separate entity of being, which had been employed to do thework. He is also taught that _confident expectation_ is an important partof the process, and that the degree of success depends upon the degree ofthis confident expectation. In obstinate cases, the student is taught to use the Imagination freely, until he is able to make a mental image or picture of the sub-consciousmind doing what is required of it. This process clears away a mentalpath for the feet of the sub-conscious mind, which it will choosethereafter, as it prefers to follow the line of least resistance. Of course much depends upon practice--practice makes perfect, you know, in everything else, and sub-consciousing is no exception to the rule. The student gradually acquires a proficiency in the art ofsub-consciousing, and thereafter devotes his time to acquiring new factsfor mental digestion, rather than bestowing it upon the mechanical act ofthinking. But a very important point to be remembered is that the Will-power backof the transferred thought-material, which Will-power is the cause of thesubconscious action, depends very greatly upon the attention and interestgiven to the acquired material. This mass of thought-material which is tobe digested, and threshed out by the sub-conscious mind, must be wellsaturated with interest and attention, in order to obtain the bestresults. In fact interest and attention are such important aids to theWill, that any consideration of the development and acquirement ofWill-power is practically a development and acquirement of attention andinterest. The student is referred to previous lessons in this course inwhich the importance of interest and attention is explained anddescribed. In acquiring the mass of thought-material which is to be passed on to thesub-conscious digestion, one must concentrate a great degree of interestand attention upon each item of thought-material gathered up. Thegathering of this thought-material is a matter of the greatestimportance, and must not be lightly passed by. One cannot hastily gathertogether all sorts of thought-material, and then expect the subconsciousmind to do its work properly--it will not, in fact, and the studentproceeding upon any such erroneous supposition is doomed todisappointment. The proper way to proceed, is to take up each bit of thought-material inturn, and examine it with the greatest possible interest, andconsequently the greatest attention, and then after having fairlysaturated it with this interested attention, place it with the pile ofmaterial which, after a while, is to be passed on to the sub-consciousmentality. Then take up the next bit of material, and after giving itsimilar treatment, pass it along to the pile also. Then after a whilewhen you have gathered up the main facts of the case, proceed to considerthe mass as a whole, with interest and attention, giving it as it were a"general treatment. " Then drop it down the trap-door into thesub-conscious mind, with a strong command, "Attend to thisthought-material, " coupled with a strong expectant belief that yourorder will be obeyed. The idea underlying this treatment of the thought-material with interestand attention is that by so doing a strong "Mental Image" is created, which may be easily handled by the sub-conscious mind. Remember that youare passing on "thoughts" for the sub-consciousness to act upon, and thatthe more tangible and real these thoughts are, the better can they behandled. Therefore any plan that will build these thoughts up into "real"things is the plan to pursue. And attention and interest produce justthis result. If we may be pardoned for using a homely and commonplace illustration wewould say that the idea may be grasped by the illustration of boiling anegg, whereby the fluid "white" and "yolk" becomes solid and real. Alsothe use of a shaving brush by a man, by which the thin lather isgradually worked up into a rich, thick, creamy mass, is an illustration. Again, the churning of butter is a favorite illustration of the Hindus, who thus call the attention of their students to the fact thatthought-material if worked upon with attention and interest become"thought-forms" that may be handled by the mind just as the hands handlea material object. We ask you to think of these illustrations, for whenyou once grasp the idea that we wish to convey to you, you will have thesecret of great thinking powers within your grasp. And this power of sub-consciousing is not confined alone to theconsideration of philosophical questions. On the contrary it isapplicable to every field of human thought, and may be properly employedin any and all of them. It is useful in solving the problems of every-daylife and work, as well as to the higher flights of the human mind. And wewish every one of our students to realize that in this simple lesson weare giving them the key to a great mental power. To realize just what we are offering to you, we would remind you of theold fairy tales of all races, in which there is to be found one or moretales telling of some poor cobbler, or tailor, or carpenter, as the casemay be, who had by his good deeds, gained favor with the "brownies" orgood fairies, who would come each night when the man and his family wereasleep, and proceed to complete the work that the artisan had laid outfor the morrow. The pieces of leather would be made into shoes; the clothwould be sewed into garments; the wood would be joined, and nailedtogether into boxes, chairs, benches and what not. But in each case therough materials were prepared by the artisan himself during the day. Well, that is just what we are trying to introduce to you. A clan ofmental brownies, loving and kindly disposed toward you, who are anxiousand willing to help you in your work. All you have to do is to givethem the proper materials, and tell then what you want done, and theywill do the rest. But these mental brownies are a part of your ownmentality, remember, and no alien and foreign entities, as some haveimagined. A number of people who have accidentally discovered this power of thesub-conscious mind to work out problems, and to render other valuableservice to its owner, have been led to suppose that the aid really camefrom some other entity or intelligence. Some have thought that themessages came from friends in the spirit land, and others have believedthat some high intelligence--God or his angels--was working in theirbehalf. Without discussing spirit communication, or Divine messages, inboth of which we believe (with certain provisional reservations) we feeljustified in saying that the majority of cases of this kind may bereferred to the sub-conscious workings of one's own mentality. Each of us has "a friend" in our own mind--a score of them in fact, whodelight in performing services for us, if we will but allow them to doso. Not only have we a Higher Self to whom we may turn for comfort andaid in times of deep distress and necessity, but we have these invisiblemental workers on the sub-conscious plane, who are very willing and gladto perform much of our mental work for us, if we will but give them thematerial in proper shape. It is very difficult to impart specific directions for obtainingthese results, as each case must depend to a great extent upon thepeculiar circumstances surrounding it. But we may say that the main thingneeded is to "lick into shape" the material, and then pass it on to thesub-conscious mind in the manner spoken of a few moments ago. Let us runover a few cases wherein this principle may be applied. Let us suppose that you are confronted with a problem consisting of anuncertainty as to which of two or more courses to adopt in some affair oflife. Each course seems to have advantages and disadvantages, and youseem unable to pass upon the matter clearly and intelligently. The moreyou try the more perplexed and worried do you become. Your mind seems totire of the matter, and manifests a state which may be called "mentalnausea. " This state will be apparent to any one who has had much"thinking" to do. The average person, however, persists in going overthe matter, notwithstanding the tired condition of the mind, and itsevident distaste for a further consideration of the subject. They willkeep on forcing it back to the mind for consideration, and even at nighttime will keep thrashing away at the subject. Now this course is absurd. The mind recognizes that the work should be done by another part ofitself--its digestive region, in fact--and naturally rebels at thefinishing-up machinery being employed in work unsuited for it. According to the Sub-consciousing plan, the best thing for the man to dowould be for him first to calm and quiet his mind. Then he should arrangethe main features of the problem, together with the minor details intheir proper places. Then he should pass them slowly before him inreview, giving a strong interest and attention to each fact and detail, as it passes before him, _but without the slightest attempt to form adecision, or come to a conclusion_. Then, having given the matter aninterested and attentive review, let him _Will_ that it pass on to hissub-conscious mind, forming the mental image of dropping it through thetrap-door, and at the same time giving the command of the Will, "Attendto this for me!" Then dismiss the matter from your conscious mind, by an effort of commandof the Will. If you find it difficult to do this, you may soon acquirethe mastery by a frequent assertion, "I have dismissed this matter frommy conscious mind, and my sub-conscious mind will attend to it for me. "Then, endeavor to create a mental feeling of perfect trust and confidencein the matter, and avoid all worry or anxiety about it. This may besomewhat difficult at the first trial, but will become a natural feelingafter you have gained the confidence arising from successful results inseveral cases. The matter is one of practice, and, like anything elsethat is new, must be acquired by perseverance and patience. It is wellworth the time and trouble, and once acquired will be regarded assomething in the nature of a treasure discovered in an unexpected place. The sense of tranquillity and content--of calm and confidence--that comesto one who has practiced this plan, will of itself be worth all thetrouble, not to speak of the main result. To one who has acquired thismethod, the old worries, frettings, and general "stewed up" feeling, willseem like a relic of barbarism. The new way opens up a world of newfeelings and content. In some cases the matter will be worked out by the sub-consciousmind in a very short time, and in fact we have known cases in whichthe answer would be flashed back almost instantly, almost like aninspiration. But in the majority of cases more or less time is required. The sub-conscious mind works very rapidly, but it takes time to arrangethe thought-material properly, and to shape it into the desired forms. Inthe majority of cases it is well to let the matter rest until the nextday--a fact that gives us a clue to the old advice to "sleep over" animportant proposition, before passing a final decision. If the matter does not present itself the following day, bring it upagain before the conscious mind for review. You will find that it hasshaped itself up considerably, and is assuming definite form andclearness. But right here--and this is important--do not make the mistakeof again dissecting it, and meddling with it, and trying to arrange itwith your conscious mind. But, instead, give it attention and interestin its new form, and then pass it back again to the sub-conscious mindfor further work. You will find an improvement each time you examine it. But, right here another word of caution. Do not make the mistake ofyielding to the impatience of the beginner, and keep on repeatedlybringing up the matter to see what is being done. Give it time to havethe work done on it. Do not be like the boy who planted seeds, and whoeach day would pull them up to see whether they had sprouted, and howmuch. Sooner or later, the sub-conscious mind will, of its own choice, lift upthe matter and present it to you in its finished shape for theconsideration of the conscious mind. The sub-conscious mind does notinsist that you shall adopt its views, or accept its work, but merelyhands out to you the result of its sorting, classifying and arranging. The choice and will still remains yours, but you will often find thatthere is seen to be one plan or path that stands out clearly from theothers, and you will very likely adopt that one. The secret is that thesub-conscious mind with its wonderful patience and care has analyzed thematter, and has separated things before apparently connected. It has alsofound resemblances and has combined things heretofore considered opposedto each other. In short it has done for you all that you could have donewith the expenditure of great work and time, and done it well. And thenit lays the matter before you for your consideration and verdict. Its whole work seems to have been in the nature of assorting, dissecting, analyzing, and arranging the evidence, and then presenting it before youin a clear, systematic shape. It does not attempt to exercise thejudicial prerogative or function, but seems to recognize that its workceases with the presentation of the edited evidence, and that of theconscious mind begins at the same point. Now, do not confuse this work with that of the Intuition, which is a verydifferent mental phase or plane. This sub-conscious working, justmentioned, plays an entirely different part. It is a good servant, anddoes not try to be more. The Intuition, on the contrary, is more like ahigher friend--a friend at court, as it were, who gives us warnings andadvice. In our directions we have told you how to make use of this part of themind, consciously and knowingly, so as to obtain the best results, and toget rid of worry and anxiety attendant upon unsettled questions. But, in fact, every one of us makes more or less use of this part of the mindunconsciously, and not realizing the important part it plays in ourmental life. We are perplexed about a matter and keep it "on our minds"until we are forced to lay it aside by reason of some other demand, orwhen we sink to sleep. Often to our surprise we will find that when wenext think of it the matter has somehow cleared up and straighteneditself out, and we seem to have learned something about it that we didnot know before. We do not understand it, and are apt to dismiss it as"just one of those things. " In these lessons we are attempting to explainsome of "those things, " and to enable you to use them consciously andunderstandingly, instead of by chance, instinctively, and clumsily. Weare teaching you Mastery of the Mind. Now to apply the rule to another case. Suppose you wish to gathertogether all the information that you possess relating to a certainsubject. In the first place it is certain that you know a very great dealmore about any subject than you think you do. Stored away in the variousrecesses of the mind, or memory if you prefer that term, are stray bitsof information and knowledge concerning almost any subject. But thesebits of information are not associated with each other. You have neverattempted to think attentively upon the particular question before you, and the facts are not correlated in the mind. It is just as if you hadso many hundred pounds of anything scattered throughout the space of alarge warehouse, a tiny bit here, and a tiny bit there, mixed up withthousands of other things. You may prove this by sitting down some time and letting your thoughtsrun along the line of some particular subject, and you will find emerginginto the field of consciousness all sorts of information that you hadapparently forgotten, and each fitting itself into its proper place. Every person has had experiences of this kind. But the work of gatheringtogether the scattered scraps of knowledge is more or less tedious forthe conscious mind, and the sub-conscious mind will do the work equallywell with the wear and tear on the attention. In fact, it is thesub-conscious mind that _always_ does the work, even when you think it isthe conscious mind. All the conscious mind does is to hold the attentionfirmly upon the object before it, and then let the sub-consciousness passthe material before it. But this holding the attention is tiresome work, and it is not necessary for it to expend its energies upon the details ofthe task, for the work may be done in an easier and simpler way. The best way is to follow a plan similar to the one mentioned a few pagesback. That is, to fix the interested attention firmly upon the questionbefore you, until you manage to get a clear, vivid impression of _justwhat you want answered_. Then pass the whole matter into thesub-conscious mind with the command "Attend to this, " and then leave it. Throw the whole matter off of your mind, and let the sub-consciouswork go on. If possible let the matter run along until the next morningand then take it up for consideration, when, if you have proceededproperly you will find the matter worked out, arranged in logicalsequence, so that your conscious attention will be able to clearlyreview the string of facts, examples, illustrations, experiences, etc. , relating to the matter in question. Now, many of you will say that you would like this plan to work in casesin which you have not the time to sleep over it. In such cases we willsay that it is possible to cultivate a rapid method of sub-consciousing, and in fact many business men and men of affairs have stumbled upon asimilar plan, driven to the discovery by necessity. They will give aquick, comprehensive, strong flash of attention upon the subject, getting right to the heart of it, and then will let it rest in thesub-conscious mind for a moment or two, killing a minute or two of time n"preliminary conversation, " until the first flash of answer comes tothem. After the first flash, and taking hold of the first loose end ofthe subject that presents itself to them, they will unwind a string ofinformation and "talk" about the subject that will surprise eventhemselves. Many lawyers have acquired this knowledge, and are what isknown as "resourceful. " Such men are often confronted with questions ofconditions utterly unsuspected by them a moment before. Practice hastaught them the folly of fear and loss of confidence at such moments, andhas also impressed upon them the truth that something within them willcome to the rescue. So, presenting a confident air, they will manage tosay a few platitudes or commonplaces, while the sub-conscious mind ismost rapidly gathering its materials for the answer. In a moment anopening thought "flashes upon" the man, and as he continues idea afteridea passes before his conscious and eager attention, sometimes sorapidly that it is almost impossible to utter them and lo! the danger isover, and a brilliant success is often snatched from the jaws of anapparent failure and defeat. In such cases the mental demand upon thesub-conscious mind is not voiced in words, but is the result of a strongmental need. However, if one gives a quick verbal command "_Attend tothis_, " the result will be heightened. We have known of cases of men prominent in the world's affairs who made apractice of smoking a cigar during important business interviews, notbecause they particularly cared for tobacco, but because they had learnedto appreciate the value of a moment's time for the mind to "gather itselftogether, " as one man expressed it. A question would be asked, or aproposition advanced suddenly, demanding an immediate answer. Under thewatchful eyes of the other party the questioned party tried not to showby his expression any indication of searching for an answer, for obviousreasons. So, instead, he would take a long puff at the cigar, then a slowattentive look at the ashes on its tip, and then another moment consumedin flicking the ash into the receptacle, and then came the answer, slowly, "Well, as to that--" or some other words of that kind, prefacingthe real answer which had been rapidly framed by the sub-conscious mindin time to be uttered in its proper place. The few moments of time gainedhad been sufficient for the sub-conscious mind to gather up itsmaterials, and the matter to be shaped properly, without any appearanceof hesitation on the part of the answerer. All of this required practice, of course, but the principle may be seen through it all and in everysimilar case. The point is that the man, in such cases, sets some hiddenpart of his mind to work for him, and when he begins to speak the matteris at least roughly "licked into shape for him. " Our students will understand, of course, that this is not advice to smokecigars during interviews of importance, but is merely given to illustratethe principle. We have known other men to twirl a lead pencil in theirfingers in a lazy sort of fashion, and then drop it at the importantmoment. But we must cease giving examples of this kind, lest we beaccused of giving instructions in worldly wisdom, instead of teaching theuse of the mind. The impressive pause of the teacher, before answeringhis pupil's question, is also an example of the workings of this law. Oneoften says "stop, let me think a moment, " and during his pause he doesnot really consciously think at all, but stares ahead in a dreamyfashion, while his sub-conscious mind does the work for him, although helittle suspects the nature of the operation. One has but to look aroundhim to realize the importance and frequent application of this truth. And not only may the sub-conscious mind be used in the directionsindicated on preceding pages, but in nearly every perplexity and problemof life may it be called upon for help. These little sub-consciousbrownies are ever at our disposal, and seem to be happy to be of serviceto us. And so far from being apt to get us in a position of false dependence, itis calculated to make us self-confident--for we are calling upon a partof _ourselves_, not upon some outside intelligence. If those people whonever feel satisfied unless they are getting "advice" from others wouldonly cultivate the acquaintance of this little "home adviser" withinthem, they would lose that dependent attitude and frame of mind, andwould grow self-confident and fearless. Just imagine the confidence ofone who feels that he has within him a source of knowledge equal to thatof the majority of those with whom he is likely to come in contact, andhe feels less afraid to face them, and look them fearlessly in the eyes. He feels that his "mind" is not confined to the little field ofconsciousness, but is an area infinitely greater, containing a mass ofinformation undreamed of. Everything that the man has inherited, orbrought with him from past lives--everything that he has read, heard orseen, or experienced in this life, is hidden away there in some quarterof that great sub-conscious mind, and, if he will but give the command, the "essence" of all that knowledge is his. The details may not bepresented to his consciousness (often it is not, for very good occultreasons) by the result, or essence of the knowledge will pass before hisattention, with sufficient examples and illustrations, or arguments toenable him to make out "a good case" for himself. In the next lesson we will call your attention to other features andqualities of this great field of mind, showing you how you can put it towork, and Master it. Remember, always, the "I" is the Master. And itsMastery must always be remembered and asserted over all phases and planesof the mind. Do not be a slave to the sub-conscious, but be its MASTER. MANTRAM (OR AFFIRMATION). I have within me a great area of Mind that is under my command, andsubject to my Mastery. This Mind is friendly to me, and is glad to domy bidding, and obey my orders. It will work for me when I ask it, andis constant, untiring, and faithful. Knowing this I am no longerafraid, ignorant or uninformed. The "I" is master of it all, and isasserting its authority. "I" am master over Body, Mind, Consciousness, and Sub-consciousness. I am "I"--a Centre of Power, Strength, andKnowledge. I am "I"--and "I" am Spirit, a fragment from the Divine Flame. THE ELEVENTH LESSON. SUBCONSCIOUS CHARACTER BUILDING. In our last lesson (the Tenth Lesson) we called your attention to thewonderful work of the sub-conscious regions of mentation in the directionof the performance of Intellectual work. Great as are the possibilitiesof this field of mentation in the direction named, they are equaled bythe possibilities of building up character by similar methods. Every one realizes that one may change his character by a strenuouscourse of repression and training, and nearly all who read these lineshave modified their characteristics somewhat by similar methods. But itis only of late years that the general public have become aware thatCharacter might be modified, changed, and sometimes completely altered bymeans of an intelligent use of the sub-conscious faculties of the mind. The word "Character" is derived from ancient terms meaning "to mark, " "toengrave, " etc. , and some authorities inform us that the term originallyarose from the word used by the Babylonian brickmakers to designate thetrade mark impressed by them upon their bricks, each maker having his ownmark. This is interesting, in view of the recent theories regarding thecultivation of characteristics which may be found in the current Westernworks on psychology. But these theories are not new to the Yogi teachersof the East, who have employed similar methods for centuries past intraining their students and pupils. The Yogis have long taught that aman's character was, practically, the crude character-stuff possessed byhim at his birth, modified and shaped by outside influences in the caseof the ordinary man, and by deliberate self-training and shaping by thewise man. Their pupils are examined regarding their characteristics, andthen directed to repress the undesirable traits, and to cultivate thedesirable ones. The Yogi practice of Character Building is based upon the knowledge ofthe wonderful powers of the sub-conscious plane of the mind. The pupil isnot required to pursue strenuous methods of repression or cultivation, but, on the contrary, is taught that such methods are opposed to nature'splans, and that the best way is to imitate nature and to gradually unfoldthe desired characteristics by means of focusing the will-power andattention upon them. The weeding out of undesirable characteristics isaccomplished by the pupil cultivating the characteristics directlyopposed to the undesirable ones. For instance, if the pupil desires toovercome Fear, he is not instructed to concentrate on Fear with the ideaof killing it out, but, instead, is taught to mentally deny that he hasFear, and then to concentrate his attention upon the ideal of Courage. When Courage is developed, Fear is found to have faded away. The positivealways overpowers the negative. In the word "ideal" is found the secret of the Yogi method ofsub-conscious character building. The teachings are to the effect that"ideals" may be built up by the bestowal of attention upon them. Thestudent is given the example of a rose bush. He is taught that the plantwill grow and flourish in the measure that care and attention is bestowedupon it and _vice versa_. He is taught that the ideal of some desiredcharacteristic is a mental rosebush, and that by careful attention itwill grow and put forth leaves and flowers. He is then given some minormental trait to develop, and is taught to dwell upon it in thought--toexercise his imagination and to mentally "see" himself attaining thedesired quality. He is given mantrams or affirmation to repeat, for thepurpose of giving him a mental center around which to build an ideal. There is a mighty power in words, used in this way, providing that theuser always thinks of the meaning of the words, and makes a mentalpicture of the quality expressed by them, instead of merely repeatingthem parrot fashion. The Yogi student is trained gradually, until he acquires the power ofconscious direction of the sub-conscious mind in the building up process, which power comes to anyone--Oriental or Occidental--who will take thetrouble to practice. In fact, nearly everyone possesses and actively usesthis power, although he may not be aware of it. One's character islargely the result of the quality of thoughts held in the mind, and ofthe mental pictures or ideals entertained by the person. The man whoconstantly sees and thinks of himself as unsuccessful and down-troddenis very apt to grow ideals of thought forms of these things until hiswhole nature is dominated by them, and his every act works toward theobjectification of the thoughts. On the contrary, the man who makes anideal of success and accomplishment finds that his whole mental natureseems to work toward that result--the objectification of the ideal. Andso it is with every other ideal. The person who builds up a mental idealof Jealousy will be very apt to objectify the same, and to unconsciouslycreate condition that will give his Jealousy food upon which to feed. Butthis particular phase of the subject, properly belongs to our nextlesson. This Eleventh Lesson is designed to point out the way by whichpeople may mould their characters in any way they desire--supplantingundesirable characteristics by desirable ones, and developing desirableideals into active characteristics. The mind is plastic to him who knowsthe secret of its manipulation. The average person recognizes his strong and weak points of character, but is very apt to regard them as fixed and unalterable, or practicallyso. He thinks that he "is just as the Lord made him, " and that is the endof it. He fails to recognize that his character is being unconsciouslymodified every day by association with others, whose suggestions arebeing absorbed and acted upon. And he fails to see that he is mouldinghis own character by taking interest in certain things, and allowing hismind to dwell upon them. He does not realize that he himself is reallythe maker of himself, from the raw and crude material given himat his birth. He makes himself negatively or positively. Negatively, ifhe allows himself to be moulded by the thoughts and ideals of others, and positively, if he moulds himself. Everyone is doing one or theother--perhaps both. The weak man is the one who allows himself to bemade by others, and the strong man is the one who takes the buildingprocess in his own hands. The process of Character-building is so delightfully simple that itsimportance is apt to be overlooked by the majority of persons who aremade acquainted with it. It is only by actual practice and theexperiencing of results that its wonderful possibilities are borne hometo one. The Yogi student is early taught the lesson of the power and importanceof character building by some strong practical example. For instance, thestudent is found to have certain tastes of appetite, such as a like forcertain things, and a corresponding dislike for others. The Yogi teacherinstructs the student in the direction of cultivating a desire and tastefor the disliked thing, and a dislike for the liked thing. He teaches thestudent to fix his mind on the two things, but in the direction ofimagining that he likes the one thing and dislikes the other. The studentis taught to make a mental picture of the desired conditions, and to say, for instance, "I loathe candy--I dislike even the sight of it, " and, onthe other hand, "I crave tart things--I revel in the taste of them, "etc. , etc. , at the same time trying to reproduce the taste of sweetthings accompanied with a loathing, and a taste of tart things, accompanied with a feeling of delight. After a bit the student finds thathis tastes are actually changing in accordance with his thoughts, and inthe end they have completely changed places. The truth of the theory isthen borne home to the student, and he never forgets the lesson. In order to reassure readers who might object to having the student leftin this condition of reversed tastes, we may add that the Yogi teachersthen teach him to get rid of the idea of the disliked thing, and teachhim to cultivate a liking for all wholesome things, their theory beingthat the dislike of certain wholesome eatables has been caused by somesuggestion in childhood, or by some prenatal impression, as wholesomeeatables are made attractive to the taste by Nature. The idea of all thistraining, however, is not the cultivation of taste, but practice inmental training, and the bringing home to the student the truth of thefact that his nature is plastic to his Ego, and that it may be moulded atwill, by concentration and intelligent practice. The reader of thislesson may experiment upon himself along the lines of the elementary Yogipractice as above mentioned, if he so desires. He will find it possibleto entirely change his dislike for certain food, etc. , by the methodsmentioned above. He may likewise acquire a liking for heretoforedistasteful tasks and duties, which he finds it necessary to perform. The principle underlying the whole Yogi theory of Character Building bythe sub-conscious Intellect, is that the Ego is Master of the mind, andthat the mind is plastic to the commands of the Ego. The Ego or "I" ofthe individual is the one real, permanent, changeless principle of theindividual, and the mind, like the body, is constantly changing, moving, growing, and dying. Just as the body may be developed and moulded byintelligent exercises, so may the mind be developed and shaped by the Egoif intelligent methods are followed. The majority of people consider that Character is a fixed something, belonging to a man, that cannot be altered or changed. And yet they showby their everyday actions that at heart they do not believe this to be afact, for they endeavor to change and mould the characters of thosearound them, by word of advice, counsel, praising or condemnation, etc. It is not necessary to go into the matter of the consideration ofthe causes of character in this lesson. We will content ourselves bysaying that these causes may be summed up, roughly, as follows: (1)Result of experiences in past lives; (2) Heredity; (3) Environment;(4) Suggestion from others; and (5) Auto-suggestion. But no matter howone's character has been formed, it may be modified, moulded, changed, and improved by the methods set forth in this lesson, which methods aresimilar to what is called by Western writers, "Auto-suggestion. " The underlying idea of Auto-suggestion is the "willing" of the individualthat the changes take place in his mind, the willing being aided byintelligent and tried methods of creating the new ideal or thought-form. The first requisite for the changed condition must be "desire" for thechange. Unless one really desires that the change take place, he isunable to bring his Will to bear on the task. There is a very closeconnection between Desire and Will. Will is not usually brought to bearupon anything unless it is inspired by Desire. Some people connect theword Desire with the lower inclinations, but it is equally applicable tothe higher. If one fights off a low inclination or Desire, it is becausehe is possessed of a higher inclination or Desire. Many Desires arereally compromises between two or more conflicting Desires--a sort ofaverage Desire, as it were. Unless one desires to change his character he will not make any movetoward it. And in proportion to the strength of the desire, so will bethe amount of will-power that is put in the task. The first thing forone to do in character building is to "want to do it. " And if he findsthat the "want" is not sufficiently strong to enable him to manifest theperseverance and effort necessary to bring it to a successful conclusion, then he should deliberately proceed to "build up the desire. " Desire may be built up by allowing the mind to dwell upon the subjectuntil a desire is created. This rule works both ways, as many people havefound out to their sorrow and misery. Not only may one build up acommendable desire in this way, but he may also build up a reprehensibleone. A little thought will show you the truth of this statement. A youngman has no desire to indulge in the excesses of a "fast" life. But aftera while he hears, or reads something about others leading that sort oflife, and he begins to allow his mind to dwell upon the subject, turningit around and examining it mentally, and going over it in hisimagination. After a time he begins to find a desire gradually sendingforth roots and branches, and if he continues to water the thing in hisimagination, before long he will find within himself a blossominginclination, which will try to insist upon expression in action. There isa great truth behind the words of the poet: "Vice is a monster of so frightful mien, That to be hated needs but to be seen. Yet seen too oft, familiar with her face, We first endure, then pity, and then embrace. " And the follies and crimes of many a man have been due to the growing ofdesire within his mind, through this plan of planting the seed, and thencarefully watering and tending to it--this cultivation of the growingdesire. We have thought it well to give this word of warning because itwill throw light upon many things that may have perplexed you, andbecause it may serve to call your attention to certain growing weeds ofthe mind that you have been nourishing. But remember, always, that the force that leads downward may betransmuted and made to lead upward. It is just as easy to plant and growwholesome desires as the other kind. If you are conscious of certaindefects and deficiencies in your character (and who is not?) and yet findyourself not possessed of a strong enough desire to make the changesnecessary, then you should commence by planting the desire seed andallowing it to grow by giving it constant care and attention. You shouldpicture to yourself the advantages of acquiring the desirable traits ofcharacter of which you have thought. You should frequently go over andover them in your mind, imaging yourself in imagination as possessingthem. You will then find that the growing desire will make headway andthat you will gradually begin to "want to" possess that trait ofcharacter more and more. And when you begin to "want to" hard enough, youwill find arising in your consciousness a feeling of the possession ofsufficient Will-power to carry it through. Will follows the Desire. Cultivate a Desire and you will find back of it the Will to carry itthrough. Under the pressure of a very strong Desire men have accomplishedfeats akin to miracles. If you find yourself in possession of desires that you feel are hurtfulto you, you may rid yourself of them by deliberately starving them todeath, and at the same time growing opposite desires. By refusing tothink of the objectionable desires you refuse them the mental food uponwhich alone they can thrive. Just as you starve a plant by refusing itnourishing soil and water, so may you starve out an objectionabledesire by refusing to give it mental food. _Remember this, for it is mostimportant_. Refuse to allow the mind to dwell upon such desires, andresolutely turn aside the attention, _and, particularly, theimagination_, from the subject. This may call for the manifestation of alittle will-power in the beginning, but it will become easier as youprogress, and each victory will give you renewed strength for the nextfight. But do not temporize with the desire--do not compromise withit--refuse to entertain the idea. In a fight of this kind each victorygives one added strength, and each defeat weakens one. And while you are refusing to entertain the objectionable guest you mustbe sure to grow a desire of an entirely opposite nature--a desiredirectly opposed to the one you are starving to death. Picture theopposite desire, and think of it often. Let your mind dwell upon itlovingly and let the imagination help to build it up into form. Think ofthe advantages that will arise to you when you fully possess it, and letthe imagination picture you as in full possession of it, and acting outyour new part in life strong and vigorous in your new found power. All this will gradually lead you to the point where you will "want to"possess this power. Then you must be ready for the next step which is"Faith" or "Confident Expectation. " Now, faith or confident expectation is not made to order in most persons, and in such cases one must acquire it gradually. Many of you who readthese lines will have an understanding of the subject that will give youthis faith. But to those who lack it, we suggest that they practice onsome trivial phases of the mental make-up, some petty trait of character, in which the victory will be easy and simple. From this stage they shouldwork up to more difficult tasks, until at last they gain that faith orconfident expectation that comes from persevering practice. The greater the degree of faith or confident expectation that one carrieswith him in this task of character building, the greater will be hissuccess. And this because of well established psychological laws. Faithor confident expectation clears away the mental path and renders the workeasier, while doubt or lack of faith retards the work, and acts asobstacles and stumbling blocks. Strong Desire, and Faith, or confidentexpectation are the first two steps. The third is Will-power. By Will-power we do not mean that strenuous, clenching-of-fist-and-frowning-brow thing that many think ofwhen they say "Will. " Will is not manifested in this way. Thetrue Will is called into play by one realizing the "I" part ofhimself and speaking the word of command from that center ofpower and strength. It is the voice of the "I. " And it is neededin this work of character building. So now you are ready for work, being possessed of (1) Strong Desire;(2) Faith or Confident Expectation; and (3) Will-power. With such atriple-weapon nothing but Success is possible. Then comes the actual work. The first thing to do is to lay the track fora new Character Habit. "Habit?" you may ask in surprise. Yes, Habit! Forthat word gives the secret of the whole thing. Our characters are made upof inherited or acquired habits. Think over this a little and you willsee the truth of it. You do certain things without a thought, because youhave gotten into the habit of doing them. You act in certain ways becauseyou have established the habit. You are in the habit of being truthful, honest, virtuous, because you have established the habit of being so. Doyou doubt this? Then look around you--or look within your own heart, andyou will see that you have lost some of your old habits of action, andhave acquired new ones. The building up of Character is the building upof Habits. And the changing of Character is the changing of Habits. Itwill be well for you to settle this fact in your own mind, for it willgive you the secret of many things connected with the subject. And, remember this, that Habit is almost entirely a matter of thesub-conscious mentality. It is true that Habits originate in theconscious mind, but as they are established they sink down into thedepths of the sub-conscious mentality, and thereafter become "secondnature, " which, by the way, is often more powerful than the originalnature of the person. The Duke of Wellington said that habit was asstrong as ten natures, and he proceeded to drill habits into his armyuntil they found it natural to act in accordance with the habits poundedinto them during the drills. Darwin relates an interesting instance ofthe force of habit over the reason. He found that his habit of startingback at the sudden approach of danger was so firmly established that nowill-power could enable him to keep his face pressed up against the cageof the cobra in the Zoological Gardens when the snake struck at him, although he knew the glass was so thick that there could be no danger, and although he exerted the full force of his will. But we venture to saythat one could overcome even this strongly ingrained habit, by graduallytraining the sub-conscious mentality and establishing a new habit ofthought and action. It is not only during the actual process of "willing" the new habit thatthe work of making the new mental path goes on. In fact, the Yogisbelieve that the principal part of the work goes on sub-consciouslybetween the intervals of commend, and that the real progress is made inthat way, just as the real work of solving the problem is performedsub-consciously, as related in our last lesson. As an example, we maycall your attention to some instances of the cultivation of physicalhabits. A physical task learned in the evening is much easier to performthe following-morning than it was the night before, and still easierthe following Monday morning than it was on the Saturday afternoonprevious. The Germans have a saying that "we learn to skate in summer, and to swim in winter, " meaning that the impression passed on to thesubconscious mentality deepens and broadens during the interval of rest. The best plan is to make frequent, sharp impressions, and then to allowreasonable periods of rest in order to give the sub-conscious mentalitythe opportunity to do its work. By "sharp" impressions we meanimpressions given under _strong attention_, as we have mentioned in someof the earlier lessons of this series. A writer has well said: "Sow an act, reap a habit; sow a habit, reap acharacter; sow a character, reap a destiny, " thus recognizing habit asthe source of character. We recognize this truth in our training ofchildren, forming goods habits of character by constant repetition, bywatchfulness, etc. Habit acts as a _motive_ when established, so thatwhile we think we are acting without motive we may be acting under thestrong motive power of some well established habit. Herbert Spencer haswell said: "The habitually honest man does what is right, not consciouslybecause he 'ought' but with simple satisfaction; and is ill at ease tillit is done. " Some may object that this idea of Habit as a basis ofCharacter may do away with the idea of a developed moralconscientiousness, as for instance, Josiah Royce who says: "Theestablishment of organized habit is never in itself enough to ensurethe growth of an enlightened moral conscientiousness" but to such wewould say that one must "want to" cultivate a high character before hewill create the habits usual to the same, and the "want to" is thesign of the "moral conscientiousness, " rather than the habit. And thesame is true of the "ought to" side of the subject. The "ought to" arisesin the conscious mind in the beginning, and inspires the cultivationof the habit, although the latter after a while becomes automatic, amatter of the sub-conscious mentality, without any "ought to" attachment. It then becomes a matter of "like to. " Thus we see that the moulding, modifying, changing, and building ofCharacter is largely a matter of the establishing of Habits. And what isthe best way to establish Habits? becomes our next question. The answerof the Yogi is: "Establish a Mental Image, and then build your Habitaround it. " And in that sentence he has condensed a whole system. Everything we see having a form is built around a mental image--eitherthe mental image of some man, some animal, or of the Absolute. This isthe rule of the universe, and in the matter of character-building we butfollow a well established rule. When we wish to build a house, we firstthink of "house" in a general way. Then we begin to think of "what kind"of a house. Then we go into details. Then we consult an architect, and hemakes us a plan, which plan is his mental image, suggested by our mentalimage. Then, the plan once decided upon, we consult the builder, and atlast the house stands completed--an objectified Mental Image. And so itis with every created thing--all manifestation of a Mental Image. And so, when we wish to establish a trait of Character, we must form aclear, distinct Mental Image of what we wish to be. This is an importantstep. Make your picture clear and distinct, and fasten it in your mind. Then begin to build around it. Let your thoughts dwell upon the mentalpicture. Let your imagination see yourself as possessed of the desiredtrait, and _acting it out_. Act it out in your imagination, over and overagain, as often as possible, persevering, and continuously, seeingyourself manifesting the trait under a variety of circumstances andconditions. As you continue to do this you will find that you willgradually begin to express the thought in action--to objectify thesubjective mental image. It will become "natural" for you to act more andmore in accordance with your mental image, until at last the new habitwill become firmly fixed in your mind, and will become your natural modeof action and expression. This is no vague, visionary theory. It is a well known and provenpsychological fact, and thousands have worked marvelous changes in theircharacter by its means. Not only may one elevate his moral character in this way, but he maymould his "work-a-day" self to better conform to the needs of hisenvironment and occupation. If one lacks Perseverance, he may attainit; if one is filled with Fear, he may supplant it with Fearlessness; ifone lacks Self-confidence, he may gain it. In fact, there is no traitthat may not be developed in this way. People have literally "madethemselves over" by following this method of character-building. Thegreat trouble with the race has been that persons have not realized thatthey _could_ do these things. They have thought that they were doomed toremain just the creatures that they found themselves to be. They did notrealize that the work of creation was not ended, and that they had withinthemselves a creative power adapted to the needs of their case. When manfirst realizes this truth, and proves it by practice, he becomes anotherbeing. He finds himself superior to environment, and training--he findsthat he may ride over these things. He makes _his own environment_, and_he trains himself_. In some of the larger schools in England and the United States, certainscholars who have developed and manifested the ability to controlthemselves and their actions are placed on the roll of a grade calledthe "Self-governed grade. " Those in this grade act as if they hadmemorized the following words of Herbert Spencer: "In the supremacy ofself-control consists one of the perfections of the ideal man. Not to beimpulsive--not to be spurred hither and thither by each desire--but to beself-restrained, self-balanced, governed by the just decision of thefeelings in council assembled * * * that it is which moral educationstrives to produce. " And this is the desire of the writer of thislesson--to place each student in the "Self-governed class. " We cannot attempt, in the short space of a single lesson, to map out acourse of instruction in Character Building adapted to the special needsof each individual. But we think that what we have said on the subjectshould be sufficient to point out the method for each student to map outa course for himself, following the general rules given above. As a helpto the student, however, we will give a brief course of instruction forthe cultivation of one desirable trait of character. The general plan ofthis course may be adapted to fit the requirements of _any other case_, if intelligence is used by the student. The case we have selected is thatof a student who has been suffering from "a lack of Moral Courage--a lackof Self-Confidence--an inability to maintain my poise in the presenceof other people--an inability to say 'No!'--a feeling of Inferiority tothose with whom I come in contact. " The brief outline of the course ofpractice given in this case is herewith given: PRELIMINARY THOUGHT. You should fix firmly in your mind the fact that youare the Equal of any and every man. You come from the same source. Youare an expression of the same One Life. In the eyes of the Absolute youare the equal of any man, even the highest in the land. Truth is "Thingsas God sees them"--and in Truth you and the man are equal, and, at thelast, One. All feelings of Inferiority are illusions, errors, and lies, and have no existence in Truth. When in the company of others rememberthis fact and realize that the Life Principle in you is talking to theLife Principle in them. Let the Life Principle flow through you, andendeavor to forget your personal self. At the same time, endeavor to seethat same Life Principle, behind and beyond the personality of the personin whose presence you are. He is by a personality hiding the LifePrinciple, just as you are. Nothing more--nothing less! You are bothOne in Truth. Let the conscious of the "I" beam forth and you willexperience an uplift and sense of Courage, and the other will likewisefeel it. You have within you the Source of Courage, Moral and Physical, and you have naught to Fear--Fearlessness is your Divine Heritage, availyourself of it. You have Self-Conscience, for the Self is the "I" withinyou, not the petty personality, and you must have confidence in that "I. "Retreat within yourself until you feel the presence of the "I, " and thenwill you have a Self-Confidence that nothing can shake or disturb. Oncehaving attained the permanent consciousness of the "I, " you will havepoise. Once having realized that you are a Center of Power, you will haveno difficulty in saying "No!" when it is right to do so. Once havingrealized your true nature--your Real Self--you will lose all sense ofInferiority, and will know that you are a manifestation of the One Lifeand have behind you the strength, power, and grandeur of the Cosmos. Begin by realizing YOURSELF, and then proceed with the following methodsof training the mind. WORD IMAGES. It is difficult for the mind to build itself around an idea, unless that idea be expressed in words. A word is the center of an idea, just as the idea is the center of the mental image, and the mental imagethe center of the growing mental habit. Therefore, the Yogis always laygreat stress upon the use of words in this way. In the particular casebefore us, we should suggest the holding before you of a few wordscrystallizing the main thought. We suggest the words "I Am"; Courage;Confidence; Poise; Firmness; Equality. Commit these words to memory, andthen endeavor to fix in your mind a clear conception of the meaning ofeach word, so that each may stand for a Live Idea when you say it. Bewareof parrot-like or phonographic repetition. Let each word's meaning standout clearly before you, so that when you repeat it you may _feel_ itsmeaning. Repeat the words over frequently, when opportunity presentsitself, and you will soon begin to notice that they act as a strongmental tonic upon you, producing a bracing, energizing effect. And eachtime you repeat the words, understandingly, you have done something toclear away the mental path over which you wish to travel. PRACTICE. When you are at leisure, and are able to indulge in "daydreams" without injury to your affairs of life, call your imaginationinto play and endeavor to picture yourself as being possessed of thequalities indicated by the words named. Picture yourself under the mosttrying circumstances, making use of the desired qualities, andmanifesting them fully. Endeavor to picture yourself as acting out yourpart well, and exhibiting the desired qualities. Do not be ashamed toindulge in these day-dreams, for they are the prophecies of the things tofollow, and you are but rehearsing your part before the day of theperformance. Practice makes perfect, and if you accustom yourself toacting in a certain way in imagination, you will find it much easier toplay your part when the real performance occurs. This may seem childishto many of you, but if you have an actor among your acquaintances, consult him about it, and you will find that he will heartily recommendit. He will tell you what practice does for one in this direction, andhow repeated practice and rehearsals may fix a character so firmly in aman's mind that he may find it difficult to divest himself of it after atime. Choose well the part you wish to play--the character you wish to beyours--and then after fixing it well in your mind, practice, practice, practice. Keep your ideal constantly before you, and endeavor to growinto it. And you will succeed, if you exercise patience and perseverance. But, more than this. Do not confine your practice to mere privaterehearsal. You need some "dress rehearsals" as well--rehearsals inpublic. Therefore, after you get well started in your work, manage toexercise your growing character-habits in your everyday life. Pick outthe little cases first and "try it on them. " You will find that you will be able to overcome conditions that formerlybothered you much. You will become conscious of a growing strength andpower coming from within, and you will recognize that you are indeed achanged person. Let your thought express itself in action, whenever youget a good chance. But do not try to force chances just to try yourstrength. Do not, for instance, try to force people to ask for favorsthat you may say "No!" You will find plenty of genuine tests withoutforcing any. Accustom yourself to looking people in the eye, and feelingthe power that is back of you, and within you. You will soon be able tosee through their personality, and realize that it is just one portion ofthe One Life gazing at another portion, and that therefore there isnothing to be afraid of. A realization of your Real Self will enable youto maintain your poise under trying circumstances, if you will but throwaside your false idea about your personality. Forget yourself--yourlittle personal self--for a while, and fix your mind on the UniversalSelf of which you are a part. All these things that have worried you arebut incidents of the Personal Life, and are seen to be illusions whenviewed from the standpoint of the Universal Life. Carry the Universal Life with you as much as possible into your everydaylife. It belongs there as much as anywhere, and will prove to be a towerof strength and refuge to you in the perplexing situations of your busylife. Remember always that the Ego is master of the mental states and habits, and that the Will is the direct instrument of the Ego, and is alwaysready for its use. Let your soul be filled with the strong Desire tocultivate those mental habits that will make you Strong. Nature's plan isto produce Strong Individual expressions of herself, and she will be gladto give you her aid in becoming strong. The man who wishes to strengthenhimself will always find great forces back of him to aid him in the work, for is he not carrying out one of Nature's pet plans, and one which shehas been striving for throughout the ages. Anything that tends to makeyou realize and express your Mastery, tends to strengthen you, andplaces at your disposal Nature's aid. You may witness this in everydaylife--Nature seems to like _strong_ individuals, and delights in pushingthem ahead. By Mastery, we mean mastery over your own lower nature, aswell as over outside nature, of course. The "I" is Master--forget it not, O student, and assert it constantly. Peace be with you. MANTRAM (OR AFFIRMATION). I am the Master of my Mental Habits--I control my Character. I Will to beStrong, and summon the forces of my Nature to my aid. THE TWELFTH LESSON. SUB-CONSCIOUS INFLUENCES. In this lesson we wish to touch upon a certain feature of sub-consciousmentation that has been much dwelt upon by certain schools of westernwriters and students during the past twenty years, but which has alsobeen misunderstood, and, alas, too often misused, by some of those whohave been attracted to the subject. We allude to what has been called the"Power of Thought. " While this power is very real, and like any other ofthe forces of nature may be properly used and applied in our every daylife, still many students of the power of the Mind have misused it andhave stooped to practices worthy only of the followers of the schools of"Black Magic. " We hear on all sides of the use of "treatments" forselfish and often base ends, those following these practices seeming tobe in utter ignorance of the occult laws brought into operation, and theterrible reaction inevitably falling to the lot of those practicing thisnegative form of mental influence. We have been amazed at the prevailingignorance concerning the nature and effects of this improper use ofmental force, and at the same time, at the common custom of such selfish, improper uses. This, more particularly, when the true occultist knowsthat these things are not necessary, even to those who seek "Success" bymental forces. There is a true method of the use of mental forces, aswell as an improper use, and we trust that in this lesson we may be ableto bring the matter sharply and clearly before the minds of our students. In our first course (The Fourteen Lessons) in the several lessonsentitled, respectively, "Thought Dynamics, " "Telepathy, etc. , " and"Psychic Influence, " we have given a general idea of the effect of onemind upon other minds, and many other writers have called the attentionof the Western world to the same facts. There has been a generalawakening of interest in this phase of the subject among the Westernpeople of late years, and many and wonderful are the theories that havebeen advanced among the conflicting schools regarding the matter. But, notwithstanding the conflicting theories, there is a general agreementupon the fundamental facts. They all agree that the mental forces may beused to affect oneself and others, and many have started in to use thesemental forces for their own selfish ends and purposes, believing thatthey were fully justified in so doing, and being unaware of the web ofpsychic causes and effects which they were weaving around them by theirpractices. Now, at the beginning, let us impress upon the minds of our students thefact that while it is undoubtedly true that people who are unaware of thetrue sources of strength within them, may be, and often are affected bymental force exerted by others, it is equally true that no one can beadversely affected in this way providing he realizes the "I" withinhimself, which is the only Real part of him, and which is an impregnabletower of strength against the assaults of others. There is no cause forall of this fear that is being manifested by many Western students ofthought-power, who are in constant dread of being "treated" adversely byother people. The man or woman who realizes the "I" within, may by theslightest exercise of the Will surround himself with a mental aura whichwill repel adverse thought-waves emanating from the minds of others. Nay, more than this--the habitual recognition of the "I, " and a few moments'meditation upon it each day, will of itself erect such an aura, and willcharge this aura with a vitality that will turn back adverse thought, andcause it to return to the source from which it came, where it will servethe good purpose of bringing to the mistaken mind originating it, theconviction that such practices are hurtful and to be avoided. This realization of the "I, " which we brought out in the first fewlessons of the present series, is the best and only real method ofself-protection. This may be easily understood, when we remind you thatthe whole phenomena of mental influencing belongs to the "illusion" sideof existence--the negative side--and that the Real and Positive side mustof necessity be stronger. Nothing can affect the Real in you--and thenearer you get to the Real, in realization and understanding, thestronger do you become. _This is the whole secret_. Think it over. But, there are comparatively few people who are able to rest firmly inthe "I" consciousness all the time and the others demand help while theyare growing. To such, we would say "Creep as close the Realization of theI, as possible, and rest your spiritual feet firmly upon the rock of theReal Self. " If you feel that people, circumstances, or things areinfluencing you unduly, stand up boldly, and deny the influence. Saysomething like this, "I DENY the power or influence of persons, circumstances, or things to adversely affect me. I ASSERT my Reality, Power and Dominion over these things. " These words may seem very simple, but when uttered with the consciousness of the Truth underlying them, they become as a mighty force. You will understand, of course, that thereis no magic or virtue in the words themselves--that is, in the groupingof the letters forming the words, or the sounds of the words--the virtueresting in the _idea_ of which the words are the expression. You will besurprised at the effect of this STATEMENT upon depressing, or adverseinfluences surrounding you. If you--_you_ who are reading these wordsnow--feel yourself subject to any adverse or depressing influences, willthen stand up erect, throwing your shoulders back, raising your head, andlooking boldly and fearlessly ahead, and repeat these words firmly, andwith faith, you will feel the adverse influences disappearing. You willalmost see the clouds falling back from you. Try it now, before readingfurther, and you will become conscious of a new strength and power. You are perfectly justified in thus denying adverse influence. You have aperfect right to drive back threatening or depressing thought-clouds. Youhave a perfect right to take your stand upon the Rock of Truth--your RealSelf--and demand your Freedom. These negative thoughts of the world ingeneral, and of some people in particular, belong to the dark side oflife, and you have a right to demand freedom from them. You do not belongto the same idea of life, and it is your privilege--yes, your duty--torepel them and bid them disappear from your horizon. You are a Child ofLight, and it is your right and duty to assert your freedom from thethings of darkness. You are merely asserting the Truth when you affirmyour superiority and dominion over these dark forces. And in the measureof your Recognition and Faith, will be the power at your disposal. Faithand Recognition renders man a god. If we could but fully recognize andrealize just what we are, we could rise above this entire plane ofnegative, dark world of thought. But we have become so blinded andstupefied with the race-thought of fear and weakness, and so hypnotizedwith the suggestions of weakness that we hear on all sides of us, thateven the best of us find it hard to avoid occasionally sinking back intothe lower depths of despair and discouragement. But, let us rememberthis, brothers and sisters, that these periods of "back-sliding" becomeless frequent, and last a shorter time, as we proceed. Bye-and-bye weshall escape them altogether. Some may think that we are laying too much stress upon the negative sideof the question, but we feel that what we have said is timely, and muchneeded by many who read these lessons. There has been so much saidregarding this negative, adverse power of thought, that it is well thatall should be taught that it is in their power to rise above this thing--that the weapon for its defeat is already in their hand. The most advanced student may occasionally forget that he is superior tothe adverse influence of the race-thought, and other clouds of thoughtinfluence that happen to be in his neighborhood. When we think of how fewthere are who are sending forth the positive, hopeful, thought-waves, andhow many are sending forth continually the thoughts of discouragement, fear, and despair, it is no wonder that at times there comes to us afeeling of discouragement, helplessness, and "what's the use. " But wemust be ever alert, to stand up and _deny these things out of existence_so far as our personal thought world is concerned. There is a wonderfuloccult truth in the last sentence. We are the makers, preservers, anddestroyers of our personal thought-world. We may bring into it that whichwe desire to appear; we may keep there what we wish, cultivating, developing and unfolding the thought-forms that we desire; we maydestroy that which we wish to keep out. The "I" is the master of itsthought-world. Think over this great truth, O student! By Desire wecall into existence--by affirmation we preserve and encourage--byDenial we destroy. The Hindus in their popular religious conceptionspicture the One Being as a Trinity, composed of Brahma, the Creator;Vishnu, the Preserver, and Siva, the Destroyer--not three gods, as iscommonly supposed, but a Trinity composed of three aspects of Deity orBeing. This idea of the threefold Being is also applicable to theIndividual--"as above so below. " The "I" is the Being of the Individual, and the thought-world is its manifestation. It creates, preserves, anddestroys--as it Will. Carry this idea with you, and realize that yourindividual thought-world is your own field of manifestation. In it youare constantly creating--constantly preserving--constantly destroying. And if you can destroy anything in your own thought-world you remove itfrom its field of activity, so far as you are concerned. And if youcreate anything in your own thought-world, you bring it into activebeing, so far as you are concerned. And if you preserve anything, youkeep it by you in effect and full operation and influence in your life. This truth belongs to the higher phases of the subject, for itsexplanation is inextricably bound up in the explanation of the"Thing-in-Itself"--the Absolute and Its Manifestations. But even what wehave said above, should give to the alert student sufficient notice tocause him to grasp the facts of the case, and to apply the principles inhis own life. If one lives on the plane of the race-thought, he is subject to its laws, for the law of cause and effect is in full operation on each plane oflife. But when one raises himself above the race-thought, and on to theplane of the Recognition of the Real Self--The "I"--then does heextricate himself from the lower laws of cause and effect, and placeshimself on a higher plane of causation, in which he plays a much higherpart. And so we are constantly reminding you that your tower of strengthand refuge lies on the higher plane. But, nevertheless, we must deal withthe things and laws of the lower plane, because very few who read theselessons are able to rest entirely upon the higher plane. The greatmajority of them have done no more than to lift themselves partially onto the higher plane, and they are consequently living on both planes, partly in each, the consequence being that there is a struggle betweenthe conflicting laws of the two planes. The present stage is one of thehardest on the Path of Attainment, and resembles the birth-pains of thephysical body. But you are being born into a higher plane, and the painafter becoming the most acute will begin to ease, and in the end willdisappear, and then will come peace and calm. When the pain becomes themost acute, then be cheered with the certainty that you have reached thecrisis of your new spiritual birth, and that you will soon gain peace. And then you will see that the peace and bliss will be worth all the painand struggle. Be brave, fellow followers of The Path--Deliverance isnigh. Soon will come the Silence that follows the Storm. The pain thatyou are experiencing--ah, well do we know that you are experiencing thepain--is not punishment, but is a necessary part of your growth. All Lifefollows this plan--the pains of labor and birth ever precede theDeliverance. Such is Life--and Life is based upon Truth--and all is wellwith the world. We did not intend to speak of these things in thislesson, but as we write there comes to us a great cry for help and a wordof encouragement and hope, from the Class which is taking this course oflessons, and we feel bound to respond as we have done. Peace be withyou--one and all. And, now we will begin our consideration of the laws governing what wehave called "Sub-conscious Influence. " All students of the Occult are aware of the fact that men may be, andare, largely influenced by the thoughts of others. Not only is this thecase in instances where thoughts are directed from the mind of one personto the mind of another, but also when there is no special direction orintention in the thought sent forth. The vibrations of thoughts linger inthe astral atmosphere long after the effort that sent forth the thoughthas passed. The astral atmosphere is charged with the vibrations ofthinkers of many years past, and still possesses sufficient vitality toaffect those whose minds are ready to receive them at this time. And weall attract to us thought vibrations corresponding in nature with thosewhich we are in the habit of entertaining. The Law of Attraction is infull operation, and one who makes a study of the subject may seeinstances of it on all sides. We invite to ourselves these thought vibrations by maintaining andentertaining thoughts along certain lines. If we cultivate a habit ofthinking along the lines of Cheerfulness, Brightness and Optimism, weattract to ourselves similar thought vibrations of others and we willfind that before long we will find all sorts of cheerful thoughts pouringinto our minds from all directions. And, likewise, if we harbor thoughtsof Gloom, Despair, Pessimism, we lay ourselves open to the influx ofsimilar thoughts which have emanated from the minds of others. Thoughtsof Anger, Hate, or Jealousy attract similar thoughts which serve to feedthe flame and keep alive the fire of these low emotions. Thoughts of Lovetend to draw to ourselves the loving thoughts of others which tend tofill us with a glow of loving emotion. And not only are we affected in this way by the thoughts of others, butwhat is known as "Suggestion" also plays an important part in this matterof sub-conscious influence. We find that the mind has a tendency toreproduce the emotions, moods, shades of thought, and feelings of otherpersons, as evidenced by their attitude, appearance, facial expression, or words. If we associate with persons of a gloomy temperament, we runthe risk of "catching" their mental trouble by the law of suggestion, unless we understand this law and counteract it. In the same way we findthat cheerfulness is contagious, and if we keep in the company ofcheerful people we are very apt to take on their mental quality. The samerule applies to frequenting the company of unsuccessful or successfulpeople, as the case may be. If we allow ourselves to take up thesuggestions constantly emanating from them, we will find that our mindswill begin to reproduce the tones, attitudes, characteristics, dispositions and traits of the other persons, and before long we will beliving on the same mental plane. As we have repeatedly said, these thingsare true only when we allow ourselves to "take on" the impressions, butunless one has mastered the law of suggestion, and understands itsprinciples and operations he is more or less apt to be affected by it. All of you readily recall the effect of certain persons upon others withwhom they come in contact. One has a faculty of inspiring with vigor andenergy those in whose company he happens to be. Another depresses thosearound him, and is avoided as a "human wet-blanket. " Another will cause afeeling of uneasiness in those around him, by reason of his prevailingattitude of distrust, suspicion, and low cunning. Some carry anatmosphere of health around them, while others seem to be surrounded witha sickly aura of disease, even when their physical condition does notseem to indicate the lack of health. Mental states have a subtle way ofimpressing themselves upon us, and the student who will take the troubleto closely observe those with whom he comes in contact will receive aliberal education along these lines. There is of course a great difference in the degree of suggestibilityamong different persons. There are those who are almost immune, while atthe other end of the line are to be found others who are so constantlyand strongly impressed by the suggestions of others, conscious orunconscious, that they may be said to scarcely have any independentthought or will of their own. But nearly all persons are suggestibleto a greater or lesser degree. It must not be supposed from what we have said that all suggestions are"bad, " harmful, or undesirable. Many suggestions are very good for us, and coming at the right time have aided us much. But, nevertheless, it iswell to always _let your own mind pass upon_ these suggestions, beforeallowing them to manifest in your sub-conscious mind. Let the finaldecision be your own--and not the will of another--although you may haveconsidered outside suggestions in connection with the matter. Remember always that YOU are an Individual, having a mind and Will ofyour own. Rest firmly upon the base of your "I" consciousness, and youwill find yourself able to manifest a wonderful strength against theadverse suggestions of others. Be your own Suggestor--train and influenceyour sub-conscious mind Yourself, and do not allow it to be tampered withby the suggestions of others. Grow the sense of Individuality. There has been much written of recent years in the Western worldregarding the effect of the Mental Attitude upon Success and attainmentupon the material plane. While much of this is nothing but the wildestimagining, still there remains a very firm and solid substratum of truthunderlying it all. It is undoubtedly true that one's prevailing mental attitude isconstantly manifesting and objectifying itself in his life. Things, circumstances, people, plans, all seem to fit into the general ideal ofthe strong mental attitude of a man. And this from the operation ofmental law along a number of lines of action. In the first place, the mind when directed toward a certain set ofobjects becomes very alert to discover things concerning thoseobjects--to seize upon things, opportunities, persons, ideas, and factstending to promote the objects thought of. The man who is looking forfacts to prove certain theories, invariably finds them, and is also quitelikely to overlook facts tending to disprove his theory. The Optimist andthe Pessimist passing along the same streets, each sees thousands ofexamples tending to fit in with his idea. As Kay says: "When one isengaged in seeking for a thing, if he keep the image of it clearly beforethe mind, he will be very likely to find it, and that too, probably, where it would otherwise have escaped his notice. So when one is engagedin thinking on a subject, thoughts of things resembling it, or bearingupon it, and tending to illustrate it, come up on every side. Truly, wemay well say of the mind, as has been said of the eye, that 'it perceivesonly what it brings within the power of perceiving. '" John Burroughs haswell said regarding this that "No one ever found the walking fern who didnot have the walking fern in his mind. A person whose eye is full ofIndian relics picks them up in every field he walks through. They arequickly recognized because the eye has been commissioned to find them. " When the mind is kept firmly fixed upon some ideal or aim, its whole andvaried powers are bent toward the realization and manifestation of thatideal. In thousands of ways the mind will operate to objectify thesubjective mental attitude, a great proportion of the mental effort beingaccomplished along sub-conscious lines. It is of the greatest importanceto one who wishes to succeed in any undertaking, to keep before hismind's eye a clear mental image of that which he desires. He shouldpicture the thing desired, and himself as securing it, until it becomesalmost real. In this way he calls to his aid his entire mental force andpower, along the sub-conscious lines, and, as it were, makes a clear pathover which he may walk to accomplishment. Bain says regarding this: "Byaiming at a new construction, we must clearly conceive what is aimed at. Where we have a very distinct and intelligible model before us, we are ina fair way to succeed; in proportion as the ideal is dim and wavering, westagger or miscarry. " Maudsley says: "We cannot do an act voluntarilyunless we know what we are going to do, and we cannot know exactly whatwe are going to do until we have taught ourselves to do it. " Carpentersays: "The continued concentration of attention upon a certain idea givesit a dominant power, not only over the mind, but over the body. " Mullersays: "The idea of our own strength gives strength to our movements. Aperson who is confident of effecting anything by muscular efforts will doit more easily than one not so confident of his own power. " Tanner says:"To believe firmly is almost tantamount in the end to accomplishment. Extraordinary instances are related showing the influence of the willover even the involuntary muscles. " Along the same lines, many Western writers have added their testimony tothe Yogi principle of the manifestation of thought into action. Kay haswritten: "A clear and accurate idea of what we wish to do, and how it isto be effected, is of the utmost value and importance in all the affairsof life. A man's conduct naturally shapes itself according to the ideasin his mind, and nothing contributes more to success in life than havinga high ideal and keeping it constantly in view. Where such is the caseone can hardly fail in attaining it. Numerous unexpected circumstanceswill be found to conspire to bring it about, and even what seemed atfirst to be hostile may be converted into means for its furtherance;while by having it constantly before the mind he will be ever ready totake advantage of any favoring circumstances that may presentthemselves. " Along the same lines, Foster has written these remarkablewords: "It is wonderful how even the casualties of life seem to bow toa spirit that will not bow to them, and yield to subserve a design whichthey may, in their first apparent tendency, threaten to frustrate. When afirm, decisive spirit is recognized, it is curious to see how the spaceclears around a man and leaves him room and freedom. " Simpson has said:"A passionate desire and an unwearied will can perform impossibilities, or what seem to be such to the cold and feeble. " And Maudsley gives toaspiring youth a great truth, when he says: "Thus it is that aspirationsare often prophecies, the harbingers of what a man shall be in acondition to perform. " And we may conclude the paragraph by quotingLytton: "Dream, O youth, dream manfully and nobly, and thy dreams shallbe prophets. " This principle of the power of the Mental Image is strongly impressedupon the mind of the _chela_, or student, by the Yogi teachers. Thestudent is taught that just as the house is erected in accordance withthe plan of the architect, so is one's life built in accordance with theprevailing Mental Image. The mind sub-consciously moulds itself aroundthe prevailing mental image or attitude, and then proceeds to draw uponthe outer world for material with which to build in accordance with theplan. Not only is one's character built in this way, but thecircumstances and incidents of his life follow the same rule. The Yogistudent is instructed into the mysteries of the power of the mind in thisdirection, not that he may make use of it to build up material success, or to realize his personal desires--for he is taught to avoid thesethings--but he is fully instructed, nevertheless, that he may understandthe workings of the law around him. And it is a fact well known to closestudents of the occult, that the few who have attained extraordinarilyhigh degrees of development, make use of this power in order to help therace. Many a world movement has been directed by the mind, or minds, ofsome of these advanced souls who were able to see the ideal of evolutionahead of the race, and by visualizing the same, and concentrating upon itin meditation, actually hastened the progress of the evolutionary wave, and caused to actually manifest that which they saw, and upon which theyhad meditated. It is true that some occultists have used similar plans to further theirown selfish personal ends--often without fully realizing just what powerthey were employing--but this merely illustrates the old fact that theforces of Nature may be used rightly and wrongly. And it is all the morereason why those who are desirous of advancing the race--of assisting inthe evolution of the world--should make use of this mighty power in theirwork. Success is not reprehensible, notwithstanding the fact that manyhave interpreted and applied the word in such a matter as to make itappear as if it had no other meaning or application other than the crude, material selfish one generally attributed to it, by reason of its misuse. The Western world is playing its part in the evolution of the race, andits keynote is "Accomplishment. " Those who have advanced so high thatthey are able to view the world of men, as one sees a valley from amountain peak, recognize what this strenuous Western life means. They seemighty forces in operation--mighty principles being worked out by thosewho little dream of the ultimate significance of that which they aredoing. Mighty things are before the Western world to-day--wonderfulchanges are going on--great things are in the womb of time, and the hourof birth draws near. The men and women in the Western world feel withinthem the mighty urge to "accomplish" something--to take an active part inthe great drama of life. And they are right in giving full expression tothis urge, and are doing well in using every legitimate means in the lineof expression. And this idea of the Mental Attitude, or the Mental Image, is one of the greatest factors in this striving for Success. In this lesson we do not purpose giving "Success Talks" for our students. These lessons are intended to fill another field, and there are manyother channels of information along the lines named. What we wish to dois to point out to our students the meaning of all this strenuousstriving of the age, in the Western world, and the leading principleemployed therein. The great achievements of the material world are beingaccomplished by means of the Power of the Mind. Men are beginning tounderstand that "Thought manifests itself in Action, " and that Thoughtattracts to itself the things, persons and circumstances in harmony withitself. The Power of Mind is becoming manifest in hundreds of ways. Thepower of Desire, backed by Faith and Will, is beginning to be recognizedas one of the greatest of known dynamic forces. The life of the race isentering into a new and strange stage of development and evolution, andin the years to come MIND will be seen, more clearly and still moreclearly, to be the great principle underlying the world of materialthings and happenings. That "All is Mind" is more than a dreamy, metaphysical utterance, is being recognized by the leaders in the world'sthought. As we have said, great changes are before the world and the race, andevery year brings us nearer to the beginning of them. In fact, thebeginning is already upon us. Let any thinker stop and reflect over thewonderful changes of the past six years--since the dawning of theTwentieth Century, and he will be dull indeed if he sees not the trend ofaffairs. We are entering into a new Great Cycle of the race, and the oldis being prepared for being dropped off like an old worn out husk. Oldconventions, ideals, customs, laws, ethics, and things sociological, economical, theological, philosophical, and metaphysical have beenoutgrown, and are about to be "shed" by the race. The great cauldron ofhuman thought is bubbling away fiercely, and many things are rising toits surface. Like all great changes, the good will come only with muchpain--all birth is with pain. The race feels the pain and perpetualunrest, but knows not what is the disease nor the remedy. Many falsecases of diagnosis and prescription are even now noticeable, and willbecome still more in evidence as the years roll by. Many self-styledsaviours of the race--prescribers for the pain of the soul and mind--willarise and fall. But out of it all will come that for which the racenow waits. The changes that are before us are as great as the changes in thought andlife described in the late novel by H. G. Wells, entitled "_In the Daysof the Comet_. " In fact, Mr. Wells has indicated in that story some ofthe very changes that the advanced souls of the race have informed theirstudents are before the race--the prophetic insight of the writer namedseems marvelous, until one realizes that even that writer is being usedas a part of the mental machinery of The Change itself. But the changewill not come about by reason of the new gas caused by the brushing ofthe earth's surface by a passing comet. It will come from the unfoldingof the race mind, the process being now under way. Are not the signs ofmental unrest and discomfort becoming more and more apparent as the daysgo by? The pain is growing greater, and the race is beginning to fret andchafe, and moan. It knows not what it wants, but it knows that it feelspain and wants something to relieve that pain. The old things arebeginning to totter and fall, and ideas rendered sacred by years ofobservance are being brushed aside with a startling display ofirreverence. Under the surface of our civilization we may hear thestraining and groaning of the ideas and principles that are striving toforce their way out on to the plane of manifestation. Men are running hither and thither crying for a leader and a savior. Theyare trying this thing, and that thing, but they find not that which theyseek. They cry for Satisfaction, but it eludes them. And yet all thissearch and disappointment is part of the Great Change, and is preparingthe race for That-which-must-Come. And yet the relief will not comefrom any Thing or Things. It will come from Within. Just as when, inWell's story, things righted themselves when the vapor of the comet hadcleared men's minds, so will Things take their new places when the mindof the race becomes cleared by the new unfoldment that is even now underway. Men are beginning to feel each other's pains--they find themselvesunsatisfied by the old rule of "every man for himself, and the devil takethe hindmost"--it used to content the successful, but now it doesn't seemto be so satisfying. The man on top is becoming lonesome, anddissatisfied, and discontented--his success seems to appall him, in somemysterious manner. And the man underneath feels stirring within himselfstrange longings and desires, and dissatisfaction. And new frictions arearising, and new and startling ideas are being suddenly advanced, supported and opposed. And the relations between people seem to be unsatisfactory. The oldrules, laws, and bonds are proving irksome. New, strange, and wildthoughts are coming into the minds of people, which they dare not utterto their friends--and yet these same friends are finding similar ideaswithin themselves. And somehow, underneath it all is to be found acertain Honesty--yes, there is where the trouble seems to come, _theworld is tiring of hypocrisy and dishonesty in all human relations_, andis crying aloud to be led back, someway, to Truth and Honesty in Thoughtand Action. But it does not see the way out! And it will not see the wayout, until the race-mind unfolds still further. And the pain of the newunfoldment is stirring the race to its depths. From the deep recesses ofthe race-mind are rising to the surface old passions, relics from thecave-dweller days, and all sorts of ugly mental relics of the past. Andthey will continue to rise and show themselves until at last the bubblingpot will begin to quiet down, and then will come a new peace, and thebest will come to the surface--the essence of all the experiences of therace. To our students, we would say: During the struggle ahead of the race, play well your part, doing the best you can, living each day by itself, meeting each new phase of life with confidence and courage. Be notdeluded by appearances, nor follow after strange prophets. Let theevolutionary processes work themselves out, and do you fall in with thewave without struggling, and without overmuch striving. The Law isworking itself out well--of that be assured. Those who have entered intoeven a partial understanding and recognition of the One Life underlying, will find that they will be as the chosen people during the changes thatare coming to the race. They have attained that which the race isreaching toward in pain and travail. And the force behind the Law willcarry them along, for they will be the leaven that is to lighten thegreat mass of the race in the new dispensation. Not by deed, or byaction, but by Thought, will these people leaven the mass. The Thought iseven now at work, and all who read these words are playing a part in thework, although they may know it not. If the race could realize this truthof the One Life underlying, to-day, the Change would occur in a moment, but it will not come in that way. When this understanding gradually dawnsupon the race--this new consciousness--then will Things take their properplaces, and the Lion and the Lamb lie down together in peace. We have thought it well to say these things in this the last lesson ofthis course. They are needed words--they will serve to point out the wayto those who are able to read. "_Watch and wait for the Silence that willfollow the Storm_. " In this series of lessons we have endeavored to give you a plain, practical presentation of some of the more important features of "RajaYoga. " But this phase of the subject, as important and interesting as itis, is not the highest phase of the great Yoga teachings. It is merelythe preparation of the soil of the mind for what comes afterward. Thephase called "Gnani Yoga"--the Yoga of Wisdom--is the highest of allthe various phases of Yoga, although each of the lower steps is importantin itself. We find ourselves approaching the phase of our work for whichwe have long wished. Those who have advised and directed this work havecounseled us to deal with the less advanced and simpler phases, in orderto prepare the minds of those who might be interested, so that they wouldbe ready for the higher teachings. At times we have felt an impatiencefor the coming of the day when we would be able to teach the highest thathas come to us. And now the time seems to have come. Following thiscourse, we will begin a series of lessons in "GNANI YOGA"--the Yoga ofWisdom--in which we will pass on to our students the highest teachingsregarding the Reality and its Manifestations--the One and the Many. Theteachings that "All is Mind" will be explained in such a manner as to beunderstood by all who have followed us so far. We will be able to impartto you the higher truths about Spiritual Evolution, sometimes called"Reincarnation, " as well as Spiritual Cause and Effect, often called"Karma. " The highest truths about these important subjects are oftenobscured by popular misconceptions occasioned by partial teaching. Wetrust that you--our students--will wish to follow us still higher--higherthan we have ventured so far, and we assure you that there is a Truth tobe seen and known that is as much higher than the other phases upon whichwe have touched, as those phases have been higher than the currentbeliefs of the masses of the race. We trust that the Powers of Knowledgemay guide and direct us that we may be able to convey our message so thatit may be accepted and understood. We thank our students who havetraveled thus far with us, and we assure them that their loving sympathyhas ever been a help and an inspiration to us. Peace be with you.