Traditional views of death don’t encourage us to think about it Why knowledge of the processes of death is useful
Man: a stream of consciousness
Death is a gradual process
After-death states according to Theosophy
How can we verify the given information ourselves?
Bibliography
Ch. 6: Roberto Assagioli's psychosynthesis and the act of will Introduction
Phases of the act of will
Bringing a vision into manifestation
Some concluding remarks
Ch. 7: Seven key axioms for an integral kind of science 5
Cycles are ubiquitous in nature
Actions have consequences. Role of feedback
Nature is made up of holons, part-whole complexes
Everything has a unique pattern of vibration
Progressive evolution
Duality is the hallmark of manifestation
Unity in diversity
Appendix A: A monadic model of the human being
Appendix B: Qualities working within the human psyche
Appendix C: Light on the sacraments: the hidden or esoteric meaning of the seven sacraments
Foreword
In today's fragmented society, many people seem to have lost any sense of meaning and purpose.
Our materialistic science has taught us that we are just a kind of advanced ape with a big brain. Survival of the fittest and fierce competition has been hammered in like dogma. Religion has lost its appeal for many, because of its inconsistency or incompatibility with science. "God is dead", Friedrich Nietzsche said.
To make matters worse, the world is facing threats like climate change, ecological destruction, pandemics, wars, resource scarcity, financial instability, authoritarian regimes, psychopathic leadership, and so on.
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Yet, this is not the whole story. Throughout the ages there have been and still are spiritual teachers who have tried to help the human race by explaining that there is more to this world than the eye can see. They have provided us with insights that could transform this world into a much better place than it currently is.
Indeed, the goal of this book is to summarize some of the essence of these teachings and provide some techniques and practices for you to expand your awareness of what life, death, cooperation and struggle is all about.
Some emphasis is given to the “inner game” and how to deal with the conflicting impulses in your system. Space is reserved on some pages to write down your observations and experiences with the exercises.
The book contains a lot of information and ideas that are probably new to the reader. So, a gradual absorption and digestion of the material seems warranted.
If you, the reader, find some ideas difficult to accept, then put these on a mental shelf for later consideration. One cannot develop a new philosophy of life in one day, week, or even a year. It takes time.
Attention will also be given to new organizations that strive to bundle individual efforts to change the course humanity is currently on. After all, insights need to be applied in one's daily life and today that life influences the whole globe through its consumption and ecological footprint.
May this information be of help to you, the reader, and the people you connect with. In case you want to contact me, email me at ResonanceSelf@protonmail.com Thanks goes to all those who have inspired me to write this book.
Martin Euser
Questions and suggestions, in English only, can be sent to ResonanceSelf@pm.com A Facebook group or an alternative platform might be set up by me when there is sufficient interest for it.
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The topics of this book comprise a vast terrain. They range from perception, belief systems and world views (religion, science and philosophy), to the underlying principles that can be seen operating throughout nature. Some of this material can be found elaborated in my book “Mysteries of the human mind”, and my article on Vitvan (The practical gnostic teachings of Ralph Moriarty deBit), freely available at
Here, I have condensed some of that material and added some new insights and new articles of mine.
Some may ask: why have I chosen the title “Rediscovering Transcendence”, “De-hypnotizing the human psyche & harmonizing relationships”?
The reason is that I believe that there is a growing need and interest among humans to find a basis to ground one's daily life practices upon. There is a felt need to connect to fellow humans on a deeper level. The question is: how to do that? My answer is that one needs to practice some introspection and discover the ground of one's being. Deep inside oneself one can see the Self operating.
In my book “Resonance with the Self” I wrote as the reason for that title: “This is as follows: unless one has some clarity in mind as to one's purpose and goals in life that fit well with one's character and potential, one will struggle endlessly and may well despair as to the meaning of life at all.
The study of first principles of how nature works will give satisfaction to the brain and heart. Learning to cooperate with nature, including humans, brings joy to the self (and the Self as well!). The “Self” refers to that part in you that is the spiritual part. In actuality, the Self is your parent from which you originate. Learning to attune to the Self means to discover who you are, deep inside, and learning to cooperate with others for a more harmonious world. What could be more important? This is also the natural way to evolve, to unfold one's potential.”
As to the phrase “De-hypnotizing the human psyche”, one need only point at the fear mongering by the mainstream media and politicians during the last two years of the Covid-19 pandemic. Professor Matthias Desmet has written a pertinent book on the Mass-formation and hysteria or mass-hypnosis during said period (see Youtube for interviews). Title of the book: The psychology of Totalitarianism. Besides that, 8
in chapter two, the reader will discover that the whole of our education system fails to teach people the skills and insights needed for leading a harmonious life. I'm thinking of basic psychological knowledge, social interactions, knowledge about the diverse religions, practical gardening skills, physical training, for a starter.
The techniques and practices I describe in this book will provide some help to those who are seeking to get a clearer picture of the situation they find themselves in, and of the global state of affairs at this time in history. It is not a scheme of get-rich-and-happy-quick, of which too many already exist. It is not the little self or ego-personality that is the center around which everything revolves, but the larger world in which it is embedded that should matter. Empathy is the quality that is sorely needed in our world.
One exercise that can be very helpful in this regard, is to practice taking multiple perspectives: learn to see situations from multiple angles or perspectives. This will broaden one's context sensitivity and enables a better understanding of the ideas and behavior of other persons. If one can put oneself into the shoes of another person, who holds an opposite view of yours, then one may learn quite a bit. One can also practice defending such an opposite view by considering arguments that would favor such a view.
Many false beliefs need to be exposed and wrong conditioning needs to be undone, especially with regard to values. Humanity as a whole will need a long time to reach that point. You, as an individual, have an opportunity to start now and have a deep look inside yourself.
By doing so, you are also influencing your environment, since all is connected in this world and the universe at large.
Transforming the self or personality is hard work at times. Yet, the gratification and joy can be immense. Have a pleasant and fruitful journey!
The author
Chapter One: perception and beliefs
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Did you ever wonder whether life has a purpose?
What about your own life? Also, do you think that your belief system influences your ideas about purpose? If so, how?
Ponder a while about these questions and write your answers down below on a printout of this page, or in a notebook.
My purpose (or larger goal) in life is:
My beliefs influence my view on life as follows:
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The reason I ask these questions is to start you on a journey of investigating your perception of life, your belief system. What did your parents, school, church, friends, and others, tell or teach you about the world we live in?
What was an implicit or hidden message that you got from them?
What did they teach you about religion, spirituality, death, love, work?
Write your answers down below.
My parents, school, church, friends, media told me about religion/spirituality: About life and death they told me this:
About love:
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About study and work:
We will now dive into the world of consciousness and perception, with its many aspects, and start developing a view of things based on the ancient wisdom 1
traditions. True wisdom never ages. It also incorporates new insights when circumstances change. So, universal principles never change, but the application of insights is adapted to specific situations as these invoke the necessary intuitions.
Intuition is the capacity to grasp a situation as a whole, in all its aspects. The intellect then can work out plans of action to be dynamically adapted when necessary.
The first thing to do now is to investigate belief systems.
1
The wisdom tradition is also known as the perennial wisdom ( philosophia perennis) and includes the best of the esoteric and mystic writings of several schools of philosophy (Advaita Vedanta, Buddhism, Neoplatonism, Sufism, Kabbalah, Christian mysticism, theosophy, to name a few).
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Belief systems: the heritage of humankind Philosophically speaking, one can divide belief systems in two great categories:
materialistic versus spiritual belief systems, or views on life.
The materialistic view entails the belief that matter is all there is. Consciousness is seen as a by-product of matter, the mysterious something that is produced by the neural networks in one's brain. There is no good explanation of phenomena such as telepathy, clairvoyance, near-death-experience, out-of-body experiences, encounters with angels, origin of life, meaning of life, deep spiritual or mystic experiences, and so on. In fact, such a view has little to offer to humanity but shallow pleasure, addictions, greed, ecocide, promises of a techno-paradise. Yet many people live in despair. One may wonder why so many people hold this view.
One might counter-argue that technology has brought us some affluence, at least in (post)industrial countries. True, but at what cost!
The combination of a wrong monetary system, based on eternal economic growth, with a neglect of ecological considerations, has brought the destruction of life on earth ever closer to us.
The spiritual view of life involves the belief that consciousness precedes manifestation. It builds the vehicles it needs for its manifestation out of primordial elements. To be more precise, consciousness, substance and life are three aspects of the same 'thing' or being. Our present languages have no words to describe such triune entities. Philosophers have fallen into the trap of separating consciousness from substance. They have created separate categories where such a separation should not be made. René Descartes was one of those philosophers who made this colossal mistake.
Note that the so-called mind-body problem does not exist in the spiritual vision I describe in this book. Since everything is an expression of consciousness-substancelife (a triunity), it is only a matter of the degree of evolution of beings and the cooperation of apparently opposing forces or energies responsible for manifestation.
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The whole universe is a manifestation of One Life that penetrates all, a bit like an ocean that contains countless water droplets. It has a substantial side as well as a consciousness aspect.
Much more about this, such as fractality and nested systems, can be found in the bibliography in the chapter on the seven axioms and in Appendix A.
The spiritual or holistic view of matter and consciousness is consistent with the evidence found by Dr. Iain McGilchrist (see reference to some of his books above).
This view understands duality and complementarity. It argues that opposites can be reconciled and often work together harmoniously. An example is the two hemispheres of the brain. While the left hemisphere is more involved in rules, static images, rigid yes-no answers to questions, the right hemisphere works more holistically. It sees the Gestalt, or the whole of a situation or person. The reader is encouraged to explore the works of McGilchrist to increase his or her understanding of the workings of the brain, or rather, the brain-mind.
The spiritual or holistic view of matter and consciousness is consistent with the evidence found by Dr. Iain McGilchrist (see reference to some of his books above).
This view understands duality and complementarity. It argues that opposites can be reconciled and often work together harmoniously. An example is the two hemispheres of the brain. While the left hemisphere is more involved in rules, static images, rigid yes-no answers to questions, the right hemisphere works more holistically. It understands context and flow.
The whole universe is a manifestation of One Life that pervades everything, a bit like an ocean containing countless drops of water. It has both a substantial side and a consciousness aspect.
More information about the spiritual vision, in addition to this book, can be found in my e-book “Mysteries of the human mind”, especially the section on Vitvan's New Gnosis, also available as a separate file.
In that book I describe the reification of concepts, that is: the making of a concept into a thing. Taking a metaphor literally is also an example of this. That's something the left hemisphere likes to do, in addition to endlessly abstracting and generalizing, leaving only inanimate objects where there were once living subjects.
The left hemisphere is involved in representations, rather than presentations, which 14
are more of a right hemisphere activity. The left hemisphere deals very poorly with context. It has a narrow focus, and seems to be adapted for the use of tools.
As the saying goes, the map is not the territory. The map leaves out many details of the terrain. It can be useful, but should not be confused with reality.
This reminds me of dominant left-brain scientists who cling to their models of reality even when faced with massive evidence pointing to serious flaws in their models. Rather than modifying these models, such scientists choose to ignore reality and stick with their beloved models. The left hemisphere likes closed systems, with internal consistency. So it's very helpful to ignore or downplay evidence that conflicts with their models. The kinds of questions that are asked are determined by the presuppositions of scientists, which are not often made explicit or acknowledged. This observation is a good introduction to the next section.
One sees what one believes to be true
The parable of the snake and the rope
In the Indian Upanishads there is a nice story about a boy who walks in his village at dusk and suddenly sees a snake. He starts shouting: snake! Snake!
After a while he looks closer and realizes that it is a coiled piece of rope where he nearly trampled upon.
This is a perfect example of how our perceptions are colored and influenced by our beliefs about ourselves and the world. If one believes that others can't be trusted, one will see deceit everywhere. It is a self-fulfilling thing. One projects one's opinions and beliefs on situations one encounters. Perception and beliefs act like a filter on one's consciousness, blocking a lot of valuable information from our awareness.
So, examine your beliefs carefully. Where did you get your ideas about society, education, work, relationships? From the media? From your parents or friends?
From experience?
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Clear perception is not easy to attain. It requires a cleansing of the mind.
More about that in chapter two where some techniques and methods are given to set the mind on a path of clear perception and thinking.
Lastly, this parable points to the truth or reality that consciousness assigns to its perceptions. From the https://www.britannica.com/biography/Michael-
Oakeshott#ref1185950 Britannica encyclopedia: ". .objective idealism, which argues, against materialism, that our experience of reality is mediated by thought while also rejecting the notion that reality is solely subjective and thus relative (subjective
The interested reader is also referred to the philosopher Schelling whose philosophy incorporates the idea of objective idealism.
Values guide us in our thoughts and beliefs
It will not come as a great surprise that values exercise a great influence on our life.
After all, values play a role as diverse as to the importance of success, having good relationships, making money, looking attractive to the other sex, but also in ethical issues and moral decisions and developing virtues. One attaches value to things, persons, achievements. We give meaning to our sense-impressions, filtered through our belief system.
Which are your values? A short questionnaire
A quick way to discover your values is to ask yourself the following questions: What do I want or expect from a life partner? What do I like to do most of my time (paid or unpaid)? What kind of work would I like to do best? How do I spend my 16
money? What kind of hobbies do I have? Do I like to work with people? Do I like to do research? Work in nature? Care for children? Repair cars? Why? Try to get an overview of your most important values. Make a note on this page. It may pay off to revisit your notes some years later to see whether you have shifted your values in some respect.
Psychocybernetics
Lately, I have been listening to the audiobook “Psychocybernetics” by Maxwell Maltz. It is published by Pinguin random House audio. I found it on audiobooks.com. Matt Furey, president of the psychocybernetics foundation gives a commentary in the audio.
I was pleasantly surprised to recognize many points of agreement with my own writings, which give a spiritual form of psychocybernetics. Some highlights, from the first half hour of the audiobook, paraphrased, are the following: 1. Work with visualization and mental imagery
2. The self-image and success
3. The theater of the mind
4. The goal-directed feature of the brain-mind
The self-image is defined in the (audio)book as “the individual's mental and spiritual concept or picture of himself”. It is “the real key to human personality and behavior”. See chapter one . Maltz/Furey state that “a mental blueprint in the subconscious mind controls our future”.
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If one gets stuck in the past and only remembers one's failures, then this is a sign of a poor self-image. The advice is “to relive your best memories, picture what you want and feel you can have it and do have it”. Do this on a daily basis.
Of course, you also have to set goals for yourself. In positive psychology (Seligman) and NLP (neuro-linguistic programming) there are helpful exercises as well to get on a positive track.
In the theater of the mind “remember, relive your best memories, victories, successes, happiest times” ( anchoring, a NLP technique). Then comes an especially interesting point:
“imagine and feel achieving a goal in the future, but experiencing it now, almost like a memory of an accomplished goal”.
That corresponds with an exercise I mention in my article on Roberto Assagioli, that is included in chapter six.
“You can be happy before you reach your goals”.
My comment: when you see life as a process, you can enjoy the moment and focus on the here and now.
The brain-mind is goal-directed. It is teleological. This is not mystical at all.
Cybernetics (science of steering and feedback) grew out of the (programmed) goaldirected behavior of mechanical systems in and shortly after World war Two.
Antiaircraft missiles needed to be more effective in downing airplanes. So, feedback control was implemented in the machines.
Purposeful behavior of machines was studied and optimized.
The idea of teleology, or goal-directedness, was banned from science in the nineteenth century. It is still controversial, I believe, but will be the accepted wisdom of future times. Scientists are just humans, most of the time limited by a very narrow education and suffering from tunnel vision. History shows this all the time. The greatest minds of science always realized this. No-one has ever been able to explain how exactly a person is able to pick up a pen from a table. How does a thought of the pen in your hand materialize in the action to accomplish this fact?
Nobody knows exactly. We must be humble in this regard!
Back to the audio: “self-image is the key to human personality and human behavior”. “Change the self-image and change the personality and the behavior”.
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The self-image “is changed for better or worse, not by intellect alone or by intellectual knowledge alone, but by experiencing”.
“Our present state of self-confidence and poise is the result of our experiences”.
Indeed, and the exercises given here and in chapter two can help one to organize one's life and orientate it in a more positive direction.
“Use creative experiencing to create a better self-image”.
This is further explained in chapter two, where a visualization technique is given to transform negative thoughts.
Successes help build our self-confidence and from failures we can learn a lot. So, be flexible and have an open mind. Self-acceptance is stimulated by the recognition that we form an integral part of the universe. Much more about that in the next chapter and appendix A, where the capabilities of the human being are discussed in light of the experience and knowledge of the great sages of all time.
Lastly:
Remember your successes, however small or great, and let these inspire you to go
on with the challenges you face in your daily life.
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Chapter two: an analysis of the thinking process2
What are thoughts? A new perspective
Did you ever wonder where your mind came from? How did it come about that humans can construct elaborate mathematical systems, anticipate future events and plan accordingly? What are thoughts? Are you the originator of thoughts or are you a passive receiver of thoughts originating from others? What about telepathy? We will consider the process of thinking in some detail in the next sections. Take some notes of what follows and try to connect the ideas with situations you encounter in your daily life. Where not mentioned otherwise, quotes are from my book
“Mysteries of the human mind”, that is freely available on the archive.org or academia.edu.
The character of thoughts
Scientists have no idea what a thought actually is. They seem to assume that the network of neurons in one's brain somehow produces thoughts, but have no idea how that works, let alone how abstract thinking comes about.
Thoughts come in a wide variety and are of different quality. For example, one aspect of thought is desire. There is lust, and gross passion, but there can also be lofty aspirations.
People can be obsessed and even possessed by thoughts. A thought can grow so strong that one can't resist it.
Let's have a look at the characteristics of living beings. What is required for something to be called alive?
Criteria differ among biologists, but we can use the following ones: 2 Much thanks for this chapter goes to D.J.P. Kok, a former leader of the Dutch branch of the Point Loma theosophical society, Blavatsky huis, The Hague
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Living beings are subject to the processes of birth and death.
2.
Living beings require food of some kind (have a metabolism).
3.
Living beings have a character of their own.
4.
Living beings can procreate in some way.
5.
Living beings do have some consciousness of their own.
Analysis of thought will learn, that thoughts conform to all of these points: 1.
Regarding history, one often talks about the 'birth of an idea' in a certain era. Many examples can be given. Not only such dramatic events as the French Revolution but many other gradually unfolding episodes like the Renaissance, the industrial revolution, the computer era, the information superhighway, etc., can be seen in this way. After the birth of an idea, it will grow, evolve to some extent and finally die, to be replaced by another idea (paradigma).
2.
We all know that we often have some desires, maybe to buy something or so.
If we fulfill this desire, the associated thought often quickly dies. If we can't fulfill it, one of two things can happen: we either forget about it or this desire becomes really strong, up to the point that we have to fulfill this desire. We almost drive ourselves crazy until we have got this wish fulfilled. We are constantly feeding this thought with our desire-energy (the fourth aspect of thinking, see further on), making this thought really strong and big. Many examples can be found of this process, showing that we can lose control of ourselves and get entangled in some acts resulting in a really messy situation. Oh, how do we desire that we never had done these things..
Thoughts take form and last longer corresponding to the degree to which they are sustained. They will die sooner when we pay little attention to them.
3.
Thoughts having a character of their own can be understood as follows (my paraphrase of Kok’s line of thought): when we recall the fact that we are sometimes confronted with strange or incomprehensible thoughts, which we soon forget, then we can understand this to be due to the deviant character of these 21
thoughts from our own character. These thoughts simply cannot find a proper soil in us to root and sprout.
Inversely, a thought or idea will strike a note in our consciousness much easier if the character of this idea conforms to the character of our personality.
Racist ideas will more easily resonate in one's mind if one has an element of or a tendency towards racism already in oneself. Art will be more appreciated if we have a sense of beauty or harmony developed in ourselves.
4.
The procreation of thought might seem a little odd at first sight. Yet, we all know about this. If a teacher tells us about something, and we accept that, then these thoughts find a fertile soil in our minds, enabling them to grow, flower and come to fruition. On our turn we can transfer these ideas to others ('sow these thought-seeds'), where they can find a new life. Nowadays, we hear about 'memes', but I take this one step further saying that thoughts are more than just information floating in the air.
5.
A thought has its own consciousness. We all know that we can be quite 'obsessed'
with thoughts (or by thoughts) sometimes. We have great difficulty to break out of some strong thought-influence. The thought has grown to gigantic proportions, blocking other thoughts out of our consciousness. How to deal with such a situation? We must concentrate with all our efforts on other thoughts; especially we must get into action, to break out of this iron hold. A constructive approach is given in the next section.
A positive example of this own consciousness is when we are captivated by some grand, inspirational thought, leading us into unselfish acts we normally would not do.
Kok draws the conclusion that " thoughts are living beings."
"Besides having a vibratory aspect they have life in themselves."3
Then follows Kok’s argument that the stream of thoughts that pass through our minds consists of hosts of living beings. He adds that our faculty of thinking is so to 3 Nowadays, the philosophy of panpsychism is gaining ground among philosophers, because scientists cannot explain consciousness at all. Panpsychism actually was universal among ancient people. It was put aside after Descartes fancied his dualistic scheme and materialistic philosophy took over.
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speak the capability of perceiving thought-forms or images. We will soon see that we do not have to passively undergo the influences of these beings.
Kok continues: "The concept of the stream of thoughts as a host of living beings provides an important key to changing our lives! By applying this knowledge (see also subsequent sections) we can open new vistas of perception and experience. Of course, we have to experience the correctness of this point of view in our own thinking, before we can apply this key."
The following part up to the elaboration is a loose paraphrase and translation of a non-public document from D.J.P. Kok I have in my possession.
In order to investigate the nature of thoughts as living beings, it is advised to see oneself more as a witness of thoughts than as a creator of thoughts. Think of yourself as part of the One Life that is the essence of all beings. That will make it easier to get into the state of witnessing thoughts.
The process of thinking
Here, I repeat, with minor alterations, a part of what I wrote in my first book
“Mysteries of the human mind”: the wisdom-tradition “makes a division between conscious thinking and unconscious thinking.”
“Unconscious thinking is what we all do too often. We uncritically accept the dogmas of science, commercial slogans, technological innovations, political propaganda, etc. It's quite easy for strong personalities to force idea's into the minds of people, as long as these last ones don't know anything about the effects of thoughts on themselves and the situation in the world. Yet, we should know better.
We all know how war propaganda can drive people crazy. Propaganda, slogans, advertisements and the like, can easily influence people when they are not conscious of the effects of these messages.”
“This ignorance about the process of thinking and the effects of thoughts on others and oneself has brought many disasters to mankind. We are in the illusion that we think consciously, that we control our thoughts, while the facts point in another direction. Fact is that we are drifting on the waves of thoughts projected and 23
amplified by strong personalities who have clear reasons to do so (for personal gain, political power, commercial reasons, etc.). Mind, that this is all cleverly done.
We are made to believe we have so many rights (what about our duties?), are made to believe that we need this or that latest object of technology (do we need it really?). We are made to believe almost anything. It's a scary situation.”
Mainstream media are in the hands of a few billionaires. That is not good for a well balanced flow of information to the public.
“How can we break out of this passive kind of thinking?
By conscious or clear thinking.”
Conscious thinking: observing the stream of thoughts
“The recognition of thoughts as living beings is an important step towards conscious thinking, because it leaves no room for doubt respecting the responsibility one has for one's thoughts. Thoughts are simple, elemental beings that follow slavishly the impulse that is given to them. They mostly express their own consciousness when the process of thinking gets out of control.
Many psychological disturbances could possibly be prevented if these facts were known and the knowledge of these things would be correctly applied.”
“In order to illustrate the process of thinking, one can think of the technique of transmitting radio or television waves. A receiver can pick up certain frequencies and by attuning to one of the channels messages are made visible and can be understood. Likewise, a person picks up thought-waves that lie within his bandwidth of thought frequencies. In the case of the human thinking faculty it is clear that this can function both as a transmitter and receiver of thoughts.”
“When we look at a child, we can observe that it has its own character already at birth. Gradually it starts expressing its character during the first years of its life.
This character forms so to speak the bandwidth within which thoughts can be received or perceived.
Parenting, school, and all kinds of other factors influence the child and limit this bandwidth further by offering a narrow perspective on life. Not that the child doesn't resist tradition and prejudice, for example in puberty, but the environment's influences are usually too strong to resist. And so another 'decent' citizen is born, neatly adapted to the utilitarian way of life.”
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Note: today that current forms of education will not do any longer since a transition to a healthy, harmonious way of life has become a bare necessity for humanity's survival.
“This explains why new, refreshing ideas have so much trouble entering into the human mind. Our minds are just too crystallized in traditional concepts and notions of life. The receiving brain-mind can only pick up thoughts of certain frequencies and re-transmit them. This fact is unconsciously or even consciously misused for commercial and political ends.”
“How to change all this? First of all, the process of change should begin with the individual himself, because he or she must realize in which mental situation or state he or she is in. Then only s/he can decide to change his or her way of thinking.
He or she can tune in to other frequencies of thought, that is, tune in to the higher aspects of thinking”, more refined qualities of thought.
A simple technique to neutralize negative thoughts
“Now, we won't book any success if we try to combat our character-faults.”
“Why not? This is because by combat we feed our thoughts, which are living beings. So they will grow stronger instead of starving to death. Instead of combat, we should forget about the unwanted thoughts, let them die. For this we need recognition of these thoughts and give them a positive impulse by simply thinking an opposite, positive thought. By thinking and acting according to this positive thought we outweigh, outbalance, the effects of the negative thought. By persisting in this practice we can change the quality of thoughts and also make our thinking faculty function on other frequencies, more altruistic, spiritual, positive, etc. After some practice we will no longer receive these negative thoughts (we may notice or observe them but do not allow them to upset us). I’m addressing myself to reasonably healthy people here. Others may need psychotherapy to effect an integration and positive orientation towards life.”
Note: the above applies to personal prejudices, not to a justified anger towards the many quirks of our current political-financial-economic system.
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The wisdom-tradition enumerates seven aspects of thinking, as follows: physical, emotional, vital, desire, intellect, intuition, inspiration.
In my first book (see above), I have described these aspects in some detail. Here, I will summarize some of that material. Quotes are from my book as mentioned above. Note that this information forms part of an epistemology: what can we know and how can we know it? Appendix A gives a very brief summary of an ontology, a philosophy of being. The ladder of beings is described there, without explanation of their genesis. The reader is referred to the literature mentioned in later chapters, especially the writings of William Quan Judge and Gottfried de Purucker.
The physical aspect of thinking is concerned with bodily care and necessities.
This is obviously necessary to some degree. Too much attention to the body detracts from the other aspects, as will be clear.
The emotional aspect of thinking refers to the sense-impressions on the mind, and the reaction one gives to one's perception. Too much of this can degenerate into sentimentalism. It might be a good idea to read some of the writings of followers of the Stoa (Stoicism), like Epictetus and Marcus Aurelius. Nowadays, the ideas of the Stoa gain some traction to help people get some peace of mind. I will get back to Marcus Aurelius further on.
The vital aspect of thinking refers to activity of mind in concrete action. For an example of excess expression of vitality, think of managers that want to plan and deal with every minute detail in business. Otherwise, it is a good thing to follow up on one's plans.
The desire aspect of thinking is often misunderstood. Desire is a neutral force, like electricity that flows through a wire. It can be used for good and for bad.
In my first book, I wrote:
'Understanding the motive for our actions is of fundamental importance in the process of acquiring self-knowledge. This motive can be selfish or selfless. Rather than talking about 'good' or 'bad', which are relative terms, different in each culture 26
and historical period, we can better use the terms "selfish" or "selfless" as a criterion for judging our own acts and thoughts. We can deceive ourselves, however, by subtle motives. For example, ambitions may be altruistic, or, on the other hand may involve quite a bit of egoism, pride, etc.'
It takes a lot of sincerity to see our motives clearly for what they are. According to the degree of developed discernment or understanding we will recognize these subtle motives.
Are we slaves of our passions or do we control our mind's activities? This important subject is part of the discussion Krishna has with Arjuna in the Bhagavad Gita.
Example of higher form: Lofty aspirations . Example of lower form: Gross passions.'
The intellectual aspect of thinking is only one aspect of thinking, and not the highest. Intellect works mostly with isolating problems out of their context. It gives fragmented, partial, knowledge. It has a limited ability to get to the core or essence of things, unless coupled with real understanding. It often leads to fighting against symptoms, solving nothing. It mostly only processes thought, usually without much creativity.
Higher form: use of intellect to work out practical solutions in the context of really understanding what the core of a problem is or what a situation is really about.
Note: this requires some intuition already.
Lower form: blindly relying on models in science or wherever, without the necessary understanding of their inherent limits and shortcomings.”
The intuitive aspect of thinking refers not to pure intellectuality, but to a deep understanding of things, people, situations. One can grasp a situation in a flash of insight and see a solution to the problem at hand.
“We see this with the 'mental eye', so to speak. It can take considerable time after this flash of insight occurs for us to work this out in a systematic fashion by use of one's intellectual aspect.”
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“Understanding is involved with grasping the relationship between parts and the whole. One sees the relationship between science, spirituality and philosophy. One appreciates the fact that one cannot really separate the individual from the collective, etc. One recognizes the built-in harmony and order in man, nature, and, in the cosmos in general.”
This aspect of thinking can be called the enlightenment aspect.
“If one has fully developed this aspect, not only on the thinking level, but above that, one is technically called: a Buddha.”
Example: “using one's understanding of things to help others, to improve conditions of humanity.”
The inspirational aspect of thinking.
“The influence of inspiration can be seen in great works of art. Also, mystics of all ages have witnessed great visions in a state of unity consciousness, an experience of the actual wholeness of all life. Sometimes we ourselves feel connected to all beings (to life in general), absorbed into a feeling of unity, while walking in a forest.”
“In general terms, we can develop (identify ourselves with) this aspect only through developing our understanding or intuitive faculty.”
Examples: bringing new concepts into science (based on genuine intuition), like Max Planck, one of the founders of quantum mechanics; creating masterpieces of art.
“If all seven aspects of thinking are completely developed, we can speak of a truly complete, harmonious, wholesome human being.”
We have transcended our personality to open ourselves for the influx of the spirit within. The motto can be: seek and you will find, or attune to the inner layers of consciousness in yourself and get some understanding.
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1. Now that you have studied the seven aspects of thinking, can you name one or two dominating aspects working in or through your mind? How can you tell? How much time do you allow these aspects, and others, to dominate your thinking?
Write your answers down.
2. Apply the method for neutralizing a negative thought on a daily basis.
Write down your experiences. Does counting to ten before you react give you the necessary time to imagine a positive thought?
Changing the pattern of thinking
The thought, action, habit, character connection or cycle We have already seen how we can change our thought-patterns. To elucidate this process further we will look at some important issues of character (again based upon a paraphrase and translation of D.J.P. Kok’s work, but expanded with notes of my own).
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The emperor-philosopher Marcus Aurelius says in his 'Meditations' that:
"Your life is what your thoughts make of it".
"This truth is based upon the fact that behind each act there stands a corresponding thought and the fact that a repeated act becomes a habit. Habits form our character, that is, our pattern of life. A critical investigation of our own thought-life will render an understanding of these facts. From this follows the conclusion that changing our habits of thinking will lead to changes in our character! Of course, we will have to practice this idea of changing our habits of thinking."
"The direction of change should be towards impersonal, selfless thoughts.
There are great examples in history of men and women who practiced self forgetfulness, worked for the benefit of all, fought against dogmatism, group interests and injustice, created great pieces of art, etc .
These were the real founders of civilizations! They can be our examples."
Everybody can become a purveyor of culture and help build a society in which every human being has the opportunity to evolve and express the best qualities that are within him or her.
"The only thing you have to do is to use the creative powers that are within you. The technique is simple: use the power of your imagination by creating an image of how you want to be! "
You will discover the enormous power of creative imagination (a formative power of the human soul). I'm not talking of mere fantasy here, but about the powers of the higher aspects of thinking on the spiritual-mental plane.
“On the one hand you know what your character is now. On the other hand you know how you want to be (and potentially are, deep inside: the higher Self, which forms a part of your constitution and which already has such a high level of awareness and spiritual development).
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You can make your personality transparent to the inner qualities of the Self (see chapter three and appendix A for a discussion of the Self), allowing these energies to flow through your personality. This can be called "attuning to the spiritual worlds", "building a bridge to the inner worlds", "setting up spiritual vibrations". This will greatly influence the world for the better.
“These forces all work through the astral Matrix (higher parts thereof, in the above case), the connecting sphere or spheres for inner and outer planes of being [see further on about the Matrix]. The astral light or field-matrix is a key factor in the explanation of (for example) how a thought impulse leads to a movement of the body, how telepathy and clairvoyance works, etc.”
Note: this Matrix has formative qualities. Rupert Sheldrake has postulated
morphic (formative) causation (https://epages.wordpress.com/2012/03/08/the-mystery-of-matter-chapter-2rupert-sheldrakes-formative-causation/), the existence of form-fields. He also did experiments with telepathy between dog owners and their dogs. Very convincing stuff.
“By this process (see above) you will transform yourself gradually into a more complete human being. The higher aspects of thinking (see above) will be able to express themselves in and through you.”
The personality is connected with the Self. Our thinking faculty has been kindled by this Self. This , by the way, solves the mystery of the evolution of abstract thinking which has puzzled so many biologists.
“Thinking is from one perspective a kind of 'reflection' of the pure ray of thought, emanating from the higher human ego (see appendix A), onto the turbulent mirror of the brain-mind. You can clear this mirror and reflect this pure ray on a crystal-clear mind. “
“The technique is the following: You will have to form an image of yourself of how you want to be and perfect this image. This ideal picture will grow and refine in proportion to the growth of your understanding of life. You will encounter difficulties, no doubt about that, a s you will experience relapses in old modes of 31
thinking and acting. This should be a stimulus to persist in changing your habits of thinking."
Observing the stream of consciousness
“In order to investigate the nature of thoughts as living beings, it is advised to see oneself more as a witness of thoughts than as a creator of thoughts. Think of yourself as part of the One Life that is the essence of all. That will make it easier to get into the state of witnessing thoughts.”
“A good exercise to learn to recognize in what 'track' your thoughts naturally flow, is to observe your flow of thoughts in the moments before you fall asleep. Just observe as a witness (in this exercise). You can learn to recognize the quality or character of these thoughts, and to recognize the several aspects of thinking.
This will be helpful in the process of getting to understand yourself better.
You can also do this exercise on a quiet moment of the day. If you don't like what you see, then you can apply the methods in the next sections for changing your thought-pattern.”
Pythagorean exercise
“A helpful exercise, sometimes ascribed to Pythagoras, consists of looking back at, evaluating, the events of the day when you go to bed. Ask yourself:
"What did I do this day?", "Did I do as I planned to do?", "What did I learn from this day?", "What things can I do better?", "Did I hurt somebody" (If so,
"How can I correct that"?), etc. This is very useful for coping with the world's affairs and will help you to profit more from deep sleep since you already
'processed' some stresses and strains from the day. Of course, this exercise should be done with a sincere attitude of mind.”
“Also, you will understand your weaknesses more clearly as your consciousness is raised. This is only to be expected because a clearer light comes literally to shine through your mind. These weaknesses should not 32
be combated but forgotten by dynamically working for the benefit of humanity, so that you gain inner strength and your consciousness becomes more centered in your spiritual core.”
“One becomes what one thinks. Ponder on the fact that energy describes a circuit and thoughts that are sent out will come back to you after some time. So, be careful in what you send out into the world. A negative projection will get back to you like a boomerang and catch you unexpectedly, if not in this life then surely in another reincarnation. A positive impulse sent out will be reinforced and stimulate others (and yourself too). Ponder about the statement that a force once spent is not lost but continues to exist on subtler planes until it is brought into balance again by another force.”
" One is that with what one identifies oneself with. Think about yourself as a man or woman who is capable of understanding the background of life and who is capable of realizing high ideals in practical life. Be a creator of uplifting ideas and you will become a living embodiment of these!"
Controlling the flow of thoughts.
Changing our pattern of thinking (habits of thinking).
The following three paragraphs are based on some of D.J.P. Kok’s work (my translation and paraphrase).
“The reason for the necessity of getting control over one's thought-life will be clear by now: by controlling the kind of thoughts that enter into one's mind, one can exert a powerful, positive, harmonious influence on this world and also avoid being carried away by harmful desires.”
“We can use the force of thoughts without any danger if we concentrate our minds on a high ideal, that aims at the well-being of humanity in general, e.g.
the ideal of human brotherhood (siblinghood/sisterhood/etc.). Think about 33
this ideal in detail and eliminate all elements in your thinking that are in conflict with this, by replacing these with positive building stones (thoughts).”
“These thoughts will touch many minds and create a driving-force for changing conditions in this world. Persistent and purposeful thinking is necessary to achieve this. By the practice of selflessness and self-forgetfulness one will also see effective ways to help others to help themselves. Many people, but not enough, are doing this kind of thing already for a long time. Do you want to join them?”
“Let me add a couple of practical remarks to the above procedure. To make it more effective, visualize concrete, practical steps to establish parts of this image and DO what you need to do. To give just some examples: did you ever think of helping change the flows of money in this world? Why don't you invest in projects that educate people to make a living for themselves and their families (or put your savings on banks that support projects like these)?”
“What about consumer power: buying products that conform to certain standards of production, labor conditions, environmental conditions, etc.?
What can you do for your neighbors, elderly people, homeless people, etc.?
Most important of course, is to set a good example for others by living a life of love, compassion, using your talents, keeping the welfare of others in mind.
Organizing groups, partaking in groups, spreading information about the reality of the spiritual world, about spirituality in daily life, writing letters to organizations and influential people (opinion makers); a thousand possibilities exist to do useful spiritual work. Personally I like to participate in LETS
systems (Local Exchange Trading Systems). These are systems that work with local currencies and have banned the practice of charging interest. Social contacts are stimulated by participating in such a system and you can gain many new friends.”
“One thing is sure: it is acts which are important, guided by wisdom and discrimination. Use of imagination is the preparatory work, the evolving of the right mental patterns, the 'preparation of the soil'.”
Is there a Matrix or storehouse of impressions?
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Some of you may have read “The divine matrix” by Greg Braden. In this book, Braden describes how to use the properties of this matrix to accomplish your deeply felt wishes. My comment on this is, to proceed wisely, have realistic goals in harmony with your character and possibilities.
This matrix is nothing new. It has been known throughout the ages. (Even in science, there are people speculating on a holographic universe, which is a closely related idea.)
One of its names is “astral light”. The starry sphere, so to speak.
I myself have seen this light too. It is the sphere in which we live, have our emotions and thoughts. It has many regions. The images in our dreams are molded in this light by our mind.
Few people seem to be aware of all this. It is like telling the fish in the ocean that there is an ocean. What?, they say, we don't see the ocean. No, you don't see it, “you are in the midst of it”, as a spiritual teacher (Vitvan) once said.
Plato's allegory of the cave comes to mind. It is still a very apt allegory for this confused time. If you haven't read it, please do so. It is so to the point.
Did you ever ask yourself where the emotional-mental energy goes when you have a deeply moving experience?
The matrix, or field, records and stores all the impressions from life. It is certainly peculiar to see the recording of events or the etching of it in the fabric of the field, as I once clearly saw. This function is related to karma.
One has to deal with karmic impressions in this or another life. More information about that can be found in esoteric literature.
“Mental patterns are not abstractions. They really exist as patterns of subtle matter in the field-matrix, consisting of living beings, vibrating with life and light (In Buddhism the term "skandhas" is sometimes used).
They tend to materialize if only you use your spiritual will.
4
'Will (energy) follows desire', says William Quan Judge in his comments on the Bhagavad Gita. In other words: if one directs one's attention, desire (in the 4
W.Q. Judge: a former leader of the theosophical society in the United States of America 35
form of one's spiritual aspirations) to the inner planes then you can receive spiritual energy from within, establishing a new circuit for one's energy to move in!”
“The human psyche will certainly respond to images dynamically held in the mind, no doubt about that. It is a practice that is known to quite a number of people today. It takes some resoluteness of mind and some effort of concentration at first, but will soon become a habit! Real thought-currents are set in motion when you practice imagination (not your fantasy). Your acts will amplify the influence of these currents a thousand fold. It will bring a healing influence into this world that so sorely needs it. Love (compassion) is the greatest healing power in the world! A true divine magic for the benefit of all, brought into manifestation by you and others. You can make a difference, if you want!”
I'd like to give two references here:
1. Roberto Assagioli, "The Act of Will", Wildwood House, London, 1974.
This is a worthwhile book written by the developer of psychosynthesis, Dr.
Roberto Assagioli. This includes the concept of skillful will and transpersonal Will.
2. School of the Natural Order:
Gnosis (Wisdom tradition) in a modern form.
In this context especially see the material on the “Psychic nature of man”, and, the “First crossing” which deals with the discontented self, the search for meaning and insight, and the possibility of transforming the content of the psyche.
A summary of exercises
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The techniques and practices I describe in this book will provide some help to those who are seeking to get a clearer picture of the situation they find themselves in, and of the global state of affairs at this time in history. It is not a scheme of get-rich-and-happy-quick, of which too many already exist. It is not the little self or ego-personality that is the center around which everything revolves, but the larger world in which it is embedded that should matter. Empathy is the quality that is sorely needed in our world. Besides the following exercises, the reader can find more practices in my article on Vitvan in my archive.
Exercise one
One exercise that can be very helpful in this regard, is to practice taking multiple perspectives: learn to see situations from multiple angles or perspectives. This will broaden one's context sensitivity and enables a better understanding of the ideas and behaviors of other persons. If one can put oneself into the position of another person, who holds an opposite view of yours, then one may learn quite a bit. One can also practice defending such an opposite view by considering arguments that would favor such a view. The point is to acquire nuanced thinking.
Exercise two
Conscious thinking: observing the stream of thoughts
A simple technique to neutralize negative thoughts
“Now, we won't book any success if we try to combat our character-faults.”
“Why not? This is because by combat we feed our thoughts, which are living beings. So they will grow stronger instead of starving to death. Instead of combat, we should forget about the unwanted thoughts, let them die. For this we need recognition of these thoughts and give them a positive impulse by simply thinking an opposite, positive thought. By thinking and acting according to this positive thought we outweigh, outbalance, the effects of the negative thought. By persisting in this practice we can change the quality of thoughts and also make our thinking faculty 37
function on other frequencies, more altruistic, spiritual, positive, etc. After some practice we will no longer receive these negative thoughts (we may notice or observe them but do not allow them to upset us). I’m addressing myself to reasonably healthy people here. Others may need psychotherapy to effect an integration and positive orientation towards life.”
Note: the above applies to personal prejudices, not to a justified anger towards the many quirks of our current political-financial-economic system that wrecks many people worldwide.
Exercise three
“In order to investigate the nature of thoughts as living beings, it is advised to see oneself more as a witness of thoughts than as a creator of thoughts. Think of yourself as part of the One Life that is the essence of all. That will make it easier to get into the state of witnessing thoughts.”
“A good exercise to learn to recognize in what 'track' your thoughts naturally flow, is to observe your flow of thoughts in the moments before you fall asleep. Just observe as a witness (in this exercise). You can learn to recognize the quality or character of these thoughts, and to recognize the several aspects of thinking.
This will be helpful in the process of getting to understand yourself better.
You can also do this exercise on a quiet moment of the day. If you don't like what you see, then you can apply the methods in the next sections for changing your thought-pattern.”
Exercise four
Now that you have studied the seven aspects of thinking, can you name one or two dominating aspects working in or through your mind? How can you tell? Did you observe the stream of thoughts occurring in your consciousness?
How much time do you allow these aspects, and others, to dominate your thinking? Write your answers down.
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Changing the pattern of thinking
“The technique is the following: You will have to form an image of yourself of
how you want to be and perfect this image. This ideal picture will grow and
refine in proportion to the growth of your understanding of life. You will encounter difficulties, no doubt about that, as you will experience relapses in old modes of thinking and acting. This should be a stimulus to persist in
changing your habits of thinking."
Exercise six
Pythagorean exercise
“A helpful exercise, sometimes ascribed to Pythagoras, consists of looking back at, evaluating, the events of the day when you go to bed. Ask yourself:
"What did I do this day?", "Did I do as I planned to do?", "What did I learn from this day?", "What things can I do better?", "Did I hurt somebody" (If so,
"How can I correct that"?), etc. This is very useful for coping with the world's affairs and will help you to profit more from deep sleep since you already
'processed' some stresses and strains from the day. Of course, this exercise should be done with a sincere attitude of mind.”
Exercise seven
Changing the pattern of thinking (habits of thinking)
Controlling the flow of thought
“The reason for the necessity of getting control over one's thought-life will be clear by now: by controlling the kind of thoughts that enter into one's 39
mind, one can exert a powerful, positive, harmonious influence on this world and also avoid being carried away by harmful desires.”
“We can use the force of thoughts without any danger if we concentrate our minds on a high ideal, that aims at the well-being of humanity in general, e.g.
the ideal of human brotherhood (siblinghood/sisterhood/etc.). Think about this ideal in detail and eliminate all elements in your thinking that are in conflict with this, by replacing these with positive building stones (thoughts).”
“These thoughts will touch many minds and create a driving-force for changing conditions in this world. Persistent and purposeful thinking is necessary to achieve this. By the practice of selflessness and self-forgetfulness one will also see effective ways to help others to help themselves. Many people, but not enough, are doing this kind of thing already for a long time. Do you want to join them?”
It might be helpful to study the chapter six on Roberto Assagioli's psychosynthesis and the act of will in order to get some more clues on how to proceed with this exercise.
Bonus exercise
Grant freedom to others as to yourself
This prescript comes from Vitvan
The idea is that one shouldn't impose one's ideas on another person.
That person may very well have other ideas on how to deal with life.
As long as that person doesn't infringe on one's natural rights and isn't involved in criminal or mean activities that hurt others, then I see no need to try to force someone to think like oneself.
There will be other persons that one can collaborate with.
That is not to say that one can't be assertive, of course.
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The Self: your true parent
Before I tell you about the Self, some information about evolution is appropriate here. According to the esoteric tradition, there are three lines of evolution: physical, mental and spiritual. It is interesting to know that the word 'evolution' has the meaning of 'flowing out of', an unfolding of substance and quality. So, physical evolution is about the development of suitable vehicles for manifestation; mental evolution is about the development of the mind, the mental faculties and the brain; spiritual evolution is about the development of spiritual faculties such as direct knowledge of something and opening up for inspiration.
Scientists have limited themselves to study of physical form and of a limited range of cognitive functions. Most of what is essential to the human being has been ignored as being “subjective”stuff that can't be measured or is just some function of 5
the brain. That is extreme reductionism , which is one factor that has led to the deplorable state humanity currently finds itself in.
Some psychologists have gone further, like Abraham Maslov who later in his work has added self-transcendence to his hierarchy of values and Roberto Assagioli with his formulation of psychosynthesis and act of will. I have included a piece on the latter in a separate chapter.
The luminous Self
What is the Self? How does it look? What is its form? Many questions can be asked about this mysterious being, that is on the one hand the parent of each of us, and seems so distant from us.
The ancient teachings reveal some bit of the secrecy surrounding the Self. To begin with, each human being is the projection or outflow of energies from his or her own higher Self. These Selves are interconnected on their own planes of 5 For a solid criticism of reductionism see the book “Irreducible Mind” by Edward F. Kelly, Emily Williams Kelly & others. Rowman & Littlefield publishers, 2007 and later editions.
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existence. The Self has no gender per se, although some might say that It manifested itself to their psychic eye as a man or woman or child.
Many testimonies exist as to encounters with the Self, especially with a bright inner Light that brings joy, peace and clarity of mind. Many people have at least once in their life some uplifting experience concerning the spiritual. The psychiatrist Richard Bucke has devoted a whole volume to that, discussing Cosmic Consciousness. See below.
In appendix A, I discuss the human being and its constitution further. The model you will find there may contribute a great deal to your understanding of the connection of all life, embedded as it all is in one ocean of life, energy, consciousness and substance.
More details about the process of manifestation of the Self in the form of personality can be found in appendix A.
These are almost forgotten teachings of the past. Yet, many people state that they have had at least once in their life some experience of the spirit working in their mind.
Is the Self distant from the personality?
Yes and no. One has to realize that the Self operates in different spheres than the personality. Yet, one can contact the Self when brooding on matters of importance, like vital decisions. When people have serious doubts about some decisions they have to make, and direct their mind towards the spirit within, a certain resonance with the Self may or will result, which will transmit the answer: no. When in serious doubt, don't do it.
Keep in mind that the human being is a stream of consciousness. A human can shift his or her consciousness to more spiritual levels as indicated in chapter two.
Obviously, the Self is deeply involved with the personality of which it is the causal factor. Yet, a person has to learn to develop its own spiritual capabilities. That simply is spiritual evolution which will result in a transformation of the lower self.
The development of virtues is paramount in this regard. Courage, concentration, compassion, integrity and so on. Wholeness of life. A well integrated personality capable of transcending its own small self-interests.
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Testimonies of encounters with the Self The Greek philosopher Socrates testified of the influence of his higher Self on him, which he named his Daimon, a semi-divine being. This is not to be confused with the word demon, which indicates just the opposite.
Another philosopher, Plotine, also refers to his encounters with his Self, as Richard Bucke mentions in his book on “Cosmic Consciousness”. The latter has described many persons that have had an experience of the inner Light. He describes the character of those that have had such a vision of this Light.
These were always people of high morality. Virtues matter in this case.
Many names can be stated here: Gautama Buddha, Shankaracharya, Socrates, Plato, Plotine, Jesus Christ, St. Paul, Mohamed, St. John of the Cross, Jacob Boehme, Blake, Edward Carpenter, Walt Whitman, to name a few.
The list is long and contains only some of the well-known people of their age.
I could mention some others, but this list suffices for the purpose here.
Unless one has a certain level of spiritual development, there is little chance of having such profound visions. Yet, flashes of intuition, or rather hunches, occur in the lives of many people. It all is a matter of degree.
The conclusion of this chapter is this: it is possible to direct one's mind to the energy world of the spirit and strengthen the bond with it. In chapter two, I have indicated how this can be done. A simple technique goes a whole way. Yet, perseverance is needed and the development of clear goals and a sense of purpose. In this connection, in the next chapter the interaction of self and society is further elaborated.
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Some universal principles of concern to humans Many people seem to doubt the value of developing virtues, thinking that we live in an unfair world. Granted that the financial and economic system we live in is terribly flawed, these people are yet misguided as to the need for developing some measure of virtue in themselves. The reason for this will become clear in the next sections.
Ethical principles: grounded in the fabric of nature In chapter two, I briefly mentioned the Matrix as a field on which impressions are etched or recorded. This Matrix is well-known in esoteric circles. It goes by the name: Astral Light. It has many functions, but here I am concerned with its recording properties. Since our intentions and especially actions leave an imprint on the substance of this field, one at once can begin to understand the injunctions of religions and spiritual philosophies:
A. The golden rule: do not unto others as you do not want to be done unto you.
Often it is stated as: do until others as to yourself.
Since we often don't know what is good for ourselves, let alone for others, the negative formulation above has preference in my opinion.
B. As you sow, so you shall you reap
This is a very familiar saying from the New Testament.
The connection of B to A is immediately clear. In Hindu religion, one can find the idea of karma. Now, according to the esoteric tradition, karma does not simply mean fate. Instead it refers to action and the consequences of action.
Materialistic people will object that they often don't see justice done to criminals.
This is a correct observation. The idea of karma, however, has to be coupled with the idea of reincarnation.
Now, I want you to understand that the personality does not reincarnate. What happens after death is that the lessons learned in life and the best features of the 45
self are stored in the Self, like a page written in a notebook. There comes a time that the Self will project and develop a new personality to be born on earth.
This personality will be confronted with the consequences of past actions, for so far that didn't happen already in the previous manifestation of Self. Nobody can escape karmic justice. Nobody. What one can do in this life is develop positive tendencies and character traits and perform acts to equilibrate some of the wrongs of the past. It is a dynamic, evolutionary process!
Humans will evolve over long periods of time into beings with more wisdom and powers of mind and spirit. That is, if the human chooses so.
Here we see why we must develop a clear vision on life. Virtues matter.
Think this through, logically and philosophically.
Note: (write down) what I now understand about justice, cause and effect is this: Learn to become who you really are
At birth, a baby already has his or her own character pattern. Every mother recognizes that fact. She knows how to recognize very quickly who is who, in the case of an identical twin. In the course of, say, twenty years, the expression of this character pattern usually is constricted according to conventions and morals of the time and place the child finds itself in. Many young adults have difficulties in their 46
development. This has been sketched in chapter two. They become frustrated in their development. Society is to blame for a large part in this regard. One factor is the grip that the neoliberal financial-political-economic system has on this world.
Yet, we can make some choices to live according to our higher values. We don't have to consume so many things all day long. We can ponder about a life with less goods and more time for self-development. We can engage in volunteer work and so on. We can listen to our bodies and intuition and develop a more natural or harmonious lifestyle, in accordance with how we feel inside.
In addition, the esoteric tradition states that the Self has developed more qualities than the human being of which it is the originator. It teaches progressive evolution: the idea that all life strives to develop, unfold, deeper qualities from within without. More information can be found in chapter seven and appendix A.
Unity of all life
The most profound teachings of the perennial wisdom-tradition pertain to the unity consciousness that pervades all life. There is one Field from which all beings originate. We are like droplets in an ocean of life. To us, limited beings, It will be incomprehensible in all its vastness. Yet, we may sometimes experience a little of this Sat-Chit-Ananda (Being, Cosmic Mind, Bliss) in short bursts of experiential awareness.
Diversity in Unity seems to be the way the Field operates. Blessed is the human being that can penetrate deeply into this field.
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Chapter four: Self, society, ecosystem The esoteric tradition doesn't give prescriptions on how to organize a society.
Mentalities differ among nations and across time, so, the form of societies will differ. Yet, some general principles are given, from which one can deduce guidelines on how to proceed. (This chapter will contain some of my personal views, although I have tried to look at things from many perspectives in order to get to a balanced view.)
I will discuss some of these succinctly while dealing with the topics here under.
The money system
From the most basic considerations about compound interest and exponential growth, it can be deduced that infinite growth on a finite planet is impossible. The gap between the rich and poor is getting larger. Bad idea. The rich use much more resources than the poor. Bad idea too. Thomas Piketty has written a bestseller about it. The whole of the financial-economic system should be redesigned so as to minimize the burden on the ecological system.
Mike Maloney deals with the workings of our money system in his much acclaimed free video series about money and the Federal reserve system.
Especially, video number five deals with how money is created in our society.
Ecological considerations
Agricultural soils are being depleted at an alarming rate. This cannot go on.
Restoration of the soil is a necessity. Permaculture, food forests and related methods come to mind. These have been employed with success already in some parts of the world.
Climate change could mess up with these results, however.
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Peak prosperity course (free on peakprosperity.com) The world currently uses billions of gallons of oil today. When the easy to extract oil has gone, it seems difficult to replace it with something else.
When one studies the concept of energy density, it looks that a green new deal will fall short of its promise. Richard Heinberg is famous for his analysis of the energy situation in this world. The lack of sufficient rare earth minerals and the sheer amount of energy needed to mine these come to mind. “The long descent”, a book by John Michael Greer may prove illuminating to many in this respect.
William Catton has written about "Overshoot" which is clearly the predicament humanity finds itself in now.
Joseph Tainter has written on the collapse of complex societies. All of this is very recognizable information.
Degrowth & economics
Ireland's prime Minister has called for a steady state economy. This looks like a good idea to me. The equilibrium may well be at a lower level of prosperity, in terms of wealth, than currently is the case in the Western world.
An increasing number of scholars are pleading for degrowth, nowadays.
It may well be that a simpler life also is a happier life with less stress.
All our systems will have to be redesigned. Manufacturers must deliver durable goods, like clothes and other goods that have a long life-cycle. Eternal growth on a finite planet is not possible. See William Catton's book on Overshoot. A more regional based production seems indicated.
Some relevant economists:
Michael Hudson (see Shepheard-Walwyn channel on Youtube)
Richard Wolff (Democracy at work Youtube channel) In my own country, The Netherlands, there are some prominent figures involved with the transition to a resilient society:
Jan Rotmans (transition professor)
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Bob de Wit (society 4.0)
Wouter van Dieren (involved with club of Rome)
Artificial intelligence
Humans have become very dependent on technology.
We have become slaves from our own scientific technology.
The line is certainly crossed when we let algorithms take moral decisions.
Yuval Noah Harari sketches some dangers that face us in the near future.
It remains to be seen how intelligent and understanding AI will become. My guess is that for a long time AI will not reach a high level of insight into human problems and ethical questions. It may split humanity in factions.
Homo Sapiens has become clever, but certainly not wise.
Biotechnology & Big Pharma
This is another hot topic . Will Humans become cyborgs in the future? How far will genetic manipulation go in the future? There are many pitfalls here. One can point to the increasing dependency of humans on complicated forms of technology. Have we become slaves of our own technology?
Big Pharma has a bad name. Not only can the results of many studies on pharmaceuticals not be replicated, there have been many court cases on the issue of opioids (Fentanyl, Oxycodin, etc.). Bill Gates is persona non grata in India.
Something to do with vaccines. There are now studies in preprint that show that mRNA vaccines are not very effective at all. Did I mention the many side-effects of these vaccines? More and more of this will get to the surface and into the open.
Especially watch the alternative media for information.
Climate change
Perhaps the number one threat in the short term is climate change and habitat destruction.
Ever more scientists warn us of serious disruptions in the near future.
Paul Beckwith has a large number of videos on this topic. See Youtube.
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Let's hope that the Arctic ice doesn't melt very soon. You don't want too many selfreinforcing feedback loops messing up the climate.
It seems, however, that humanity is in for a rude awakening.
Geopolitics
The world is now moving from a unipolar world to a multipolar world.
The war in the Ukraine is a part of that process. Some of the causes for this war are elucidated by John Mearsheimer. There can be found many lectures by John on Youtube. Also keep in mind the Wolfowitz and Monroe doctrines and draw your own conclusions.
Social systems
Charles Taylor is a well-known social philosopher who deals with many questions pertaining to society. Another writer is Charles Hugh Smith. See kindle books at amazon.com for his name.
Philosophy: panpsychism
Michael Dowd, eco-theologian, has had many interviews
(https://www.youtube.com/user/thegreatstory) concerning ecological considerations. Panpsychism as a philosophy is clearly gaining ground in this world. In case you wonder, the philosophy I describe in this book can be classified as panentheism. The divine is immanent, present, in creation, but also transcendent.
Psychological counseling and online groups
For those who are in despair about the climate situation and related possible collapse of society, Jem Bendell and his forum may offer some consolation.
Chapter 5: What Happens To Us After Death?
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Summary: August, 2022
TABLE OF CONTENTS
1. Introduction
2. Traditional views of death don’t encourage us to think about it 3. Why knowledge of the processes of death is useful
4. Man: a stream of consciousness
5. Death is a gradual process
6. After-death states according to Theosophy
7. How can we verify the given information ourselves?
Bibliography
Section 1.