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Page 1 of 11913 · PDF PAGE 85
73 But even the beginner may attempt this practice with advantage. Either a fact fits in or it does not; if it does not, harmony is broken ; and as the Universal harmony cannot be broken, the discord must be in the mind of the student, thus showing that he is not in tune with that Universal choir. Let him then puzzle out first the great facts, then the little; until one summer, when he is bald and lethargic after lunch, he understands and appreciates the existence of flies ! This lack of Understanding with which we all begin is so terrible, so …
1913 · PDF PAGE 62
50 we do perceive that one is bigger than the other. That is the fact of practical importance. We do know that persons can be trained to do things which they could not do without training —and anyone who remarks that you can- not train a person unless it is his destiny to be trained is quite unpractical. Equally it is the destiny of the trainer to train. There is a fallacy in the determinist argument similar to the fallacy which is the root of all " systems " of gambling at Roulette. The odds are just over three to one against red coming up twi…
1913 · PDF PAGE 182
…n calmly proposed to cut out every one's colon, pointing out that a vulture (who has no colon) is a very long-lived bird. As a matter of fact the longevity of the vulture is due to its twisted neck, and many thought- ful persons propose to experiment on Professor Metchnikoff. But the worst of all phantasms are the moral ideas and the religious ideas. Sanity consists in the faculty of adjusting ideas in proper proportion. Any one who accepts a moral or reHgious truth without understanding it is only kept out of the asylum because he does not fol…
1913 · PDF PAGE 130
…rth. And as this Pantacle is made of pure wax, do not forget that "every- thing that lives is holy." All phenomena are sacraments. Every fact, and even every falsehood, must enter into the Pantacle; it is the great storehouse from which the Magician draws. " In the brown cakes of corn we shall taste the food of the world and be strong." ^ ^ We have avoided dealing with the Pantacle as the Paten of the Sacrament, though special instructions about it are given in Liber Legis. It is composed of meal, honey, wine, holy oil, and blood.
1913 · PDF PAGE 124
… respect does this. I respect So-and-so. Therefore, So-and-so did 7iot do this. The moralist of to-day is furious when one points to the fact that practically every great man in history was grossly and notoriously immoral. Enough of this painful subject ! As long as we try to fit facts to theories instead of adopting the scientific attitude of altering the theories (when necessary) to fit the facts, we shall remain mired in falsehood. The religious taunt the scientific man with this open-mindedness, with this adaptability. "Tell a lie and stick…
1913 · PDF PAGE 83
…All. All these lotuses are figured by the Magick Cup. In man they are but partly opened, or only opened to their natural nourishment. In fact it is better to think of them as closed, as secreting that nourishment, which, because of the lack of sun, turns to poison. The Magick Cup must have no lid, yet it must be kept veiled most carefully at all times, except when invocation of the Highest is being made.
1913 · PDF PAGE 14
which we have prescribed; but the mind will probably not let him remain in that simplicity. This fact is the root of all the legends about the " Saint " being tempted by the " Devil." Con- sider the parable of Christ in the Wilderness, where he is tempted to use his magical power, to do anything but the thing that should be done. These attacks on the will are as bad as the thoughts which intrude upon Dharana. It would almost seem as if one could not suc- cessfully practice meditation until the will had become so strong that no force in the Univ…
1913 · PDF PAGE 98
86 This is one of the more exoteric of these rimes. In fact, it is not much better than a sun-myth. Tom is Toum, the God of the Sunset (called the Son of Apollo, the Piper, the maker of music). The only difficulty in the poem concerns the pig; for anyone who has watched an angry sunset in the Tropics upon the sea, will recognize how incom- parable a description of that sunset is given in that wonderful last line. Some have thought that the pig refers to the evening sacrifice, others that she is Hathor, the Lady of the West, in her more sensual …
1913 · PDF PAGE 56
…is a contest between these two wills in the inferior. The will expressed in his vow, which is the will linked to his highest will by the fact that he has taken it in order to develop that highest will, contends with the temporary will, which is based only on temporary considerations.
1913 · PDF PAGE 60
…ferent. At school our masters punished us; when we leave school, if we have not learned to punish ourselves, we have learned nothing. In fact the only danger is that we may value the achievement in itself. The boy who prides himself on his school knowledge is in danger of becoming a college professor. So the Guru of the water-walking Hindu only meant that it was now time to be dissatisfied with what he had done — and to employ his powers to some better end. And, incidentally, since the divine Will is one, it will be found that
1913 · PDF PAGE 119
I07 spilled in the sunlight is perhaps the most beautiful colour that is to be found in nature. It is a notorious fact that it is practically impossible to get a reliable description of what occurs at a spiritualistic seafice; the emotions cloud the vision. Only in the absolute calm of the laboratory, where the observer is perfectly indifferent to what may happen, only concerned to observe exactly what that happening is, to measure and to weigh it by means of instruments incapable of emotion, can one even begin to hope for a truthful record of …
1913 · PDF PAGE 134
…scourse upon any subject, there is little doubt that He could only comply by an unbroken silence, and even that might not be wholly satisfactory, since the Tao Teh King says that the Tao cannot be de- clared either by silence or by speech. In this preliminary task of collecting materials, the idea of the Ego is not of such great moment; all impressions are phases of the non-ego, and the Ego serves merely as a receptacle. In fact, to the well regu- lated mind, there is no question but that the impressions are real, and that the mind, if not a ta…
1913 · PDF PAGE 131
119 When speaking of the Cup, it was shown how every fact must be made significant, how every stone must have its proper place in the mosaic. Woe were it were one stone misplaced! But that mosaic cannot be wrought at all, well or ill, unless every stone be there. These stones are the simple impressions or experiences ; not one may be foregone. Do not refuse anything merely because you know that it is the cup of poison offered by your enemy; drink it with confidence; it is he that will fall dead! How can I give Cambodian art its proper place in …
1913 · PDF PAGE 135
…es even those payments which he anticipates may fall due. A business conducted on such lines would be in a terrible mess; and wc find in fact that man is in just such a mess. While he is working day and night at some unimportant detail of his affairs, some giant force may be advancing /d'^^ claudo to overtake him.
1913 · PDF PAGE 97
…to us. He is the Comforter who re- places the absent Saviour. If there was still any doubt of His identity it would be cleared up by the fact that it is the thumb, which is attri- buted to the element of Spirit, and not one of the four fingers of the four lesser elements, which he sticks into the pie of the new dispensa- tion. He plucks forth one who is ripe, no doubt to send him forth as a teacher into the world, and rejoices that he is so well carrying out the will of the Father. Let us pass from this most blessed subject to yet another. Tom,…
1913 · PDF PAGE 65
…useless, so far as he can see, are sent to him, one day he will find the one thing he needs, while his Understanding will appreciate the fact that none of those other things were useless. So with these early practices of renunciation it will now be clearly understood that they were but of temporary use. They were only of value as training. The adept will laugh over his early absurdities —the disproportions will have been harmonized; and the structure of his soul will be seen as perfectly organic, with no one thing out of its place. He will see …
1913 · PDF PAGE 103
…s eyes as if meditating. Just before I had noticed a change in his face, most extraordinary, as if he were no longer the same person; in fact in the ten minutes we were talking he seemed to be any number of different people. I especially noticed the pupils of his eyes were so enlarged that the entire eye seemed black. (I tremble so and have such a quaking feeling inside, simply in thinking of last night, that I can't form letters.) Then quite slowly the entire room filled with a thick yellow light (deep golden, but not l)rilliant. I mean not da…