newtheosophynetwork.com

A New Beginning: Theosophy Here & Now

Sevenfold Spiritual Nature Of The Human Being: Part One:

Sevenfold Spiritual Nature Of The Human Being: Part Two:

Meditation Practice: The First Form:

Wisdom Path Meditation: Ancient Roots

Meditation Diagram: H.P.B. Teaches Total Spiritual Liberation:

Read the important vision statement article by Star: Applied Theosophy

We are interested in your comments : however this is a teaching and learning resource for those seriously engaged in the practice of Wisdom Path Meditation and study of Living Theosophy. We are interested in comments that reflect a real engagement in Living Theosophy. Comments of an argumentative or trivial nature from those not seriously engaged in Living Theosophy will be either edited or ignored.

The Sponsors, Administrators and Writers at the New Theosophy Network are not interested in attaining public recognition as Personalities. These teachings and writings, given freely for the benefit of those involved at every level of understanding, must stand on their own merit.

Should you wish to discuss or debate Theosophy in general
you may do so at The Theosophical Community

From the effulgency of light — the ray of the ever-darkness — sprung in space the re-awakened energies (Dhyan Chohans): the one from the egg, the six and the five (a); then the three, the one, the four, the one, the five — the twice seven, the sum total (b). And these are: the essences, the flames, the elements, the builders, the numbers, the arupa (formless), the rupa (with bodies), and the force or divine man — the sum total. And from the divine man emanated the forms, the sparks, the sacred animals, and the messengers of the sacred fathers (the Pitris) within the holy four.*

STANZA IV.

Secret Doctrine 1888

The Spiritual Bridge And Life After Death.

There is nothing more certain than that you will die out of this world and enter the purely nonphysical after death states, eventually to return to a new physical life here on Earth. Nothing is more psycho-spiritually difficult to do than to fully grasp and comprehend the meaning of death while we yet live in this world. This is as it should be, for non spiritually active people, given the fact that our seven principles are aligned in a specific order, and a specific way within what theosophy calls a “ring-pass-not”. This “ring-pass-not” encompasses and defines everyday consciousness in the everyday world.

Theosophy has concerned itself with the subject of the postmortem states of being and consciousness since the beginning of the Theosophical Society in 1875 and farther back in the Theosophy of the Classical Greek period and before in India and in particular Ancient Egypt.

In  Paleoanthropology, when we discover that a prehistoric hominid buries its dead, we know it is human. Human mortals like us must always be concerned with what may await us beyond our death. This concern is a crucial aspect of what defines our humanity.

There is nothing morbid or unnatural about the wish to understand the meaning of death or what may lie beyond it. Death is a part of life and is built into every living organism. Death is natural. Theosophy concerns itself with the psycho-spiritual meaning of death and how this experience is to be understood. All true Initiates, while their physical body yet lives, must pass through psycho-spiritual death and what lies beyond as a natural process of spiritual awakening. Sustained wisdom path meditation, initiates the fully active theosophist into the after death and pre-birth states of being. This is how someone becomes an Initiate.

There is a dramatic difference in the way people of different stages of spiritual evolution experience death and what unfolds in the Astral states of Kama Loka and Devachan, after death. This term, Kama Loka, simply means ‘location of desire’ and Devachan simply means ‘house of Devas’ or the home of Angelic beings. The individuals state of innate spiritual development also determines their capacity to grasp and understand the psycho-spiritual significance and meaning of death and the postmortem states.

In The Key to Theosophy 1889, and other original writings a description of the after death states is given, and this is where most people begin to become familiar with the terms Kama Loka and Devachan.

It is necessary to understand that when the The Key to Theosophy was published a great many people were in a state of anguished recoil from the ideas of materialistic and mechanistic Science. Darwinism had shaken long held beliefs in religious dogma, and the Industrial Revolution was tearing millions of people away from the land with its naturally rhythmic spiritual cycles and seasons.

Western society was reeling from the assault on long held certainties by Science, Darwinism, and Industrialization. Spiritualism emerged from within this cultural and spiritual crisis, offering the comfort and excitement of ‘proof’ that mortals not only survive death, but can under the appropriate circumstances communicate with the living. Spiritualist theories and seances became popular overnight and were widely reported in the Press. For every skeptic and disbeliever there were ten people eager and waiting to be convinced by Spiritualism.

Since time immemorial in all enlightened civilizations, Spiritualism has been condemned as Necromancy, the conjuring of the dead. Necromancy is taboo. Nevertheless famous and well thought of cultural leaders at the time pronounced themselves convinced of the claims being made by Spiritualism. Western culture was in danger of a very damaging regression into psychism and atavism. And this precisely during a cycle when the manasic principle was destined to go through a major leap forward into objectivity and fact based pragmatism.

Spirituality was to gain from clarity of thinking and free itself from the blind faith so beloved by authoritarian religions. Unwary people were replacing the authority of the Priest with the authority of disembodied entities posing as spiritual guides speaking through entranced and unconscious Mediums from the world of the dead.

It fell to the Theosophical movement to combat Spiritualism, by pointing to its dangerous illusions, and errors in ethical and spiritual judgment. In Section 9 on the Kama-Loka and Devachan of the Key to Theosophy a devastating argument against Spiritualism is mounted. Increasingly people who found themselves in a spiritual crisis were able to enter into the teachings of Theosophy which are spelled out in a clear and and easy to understand manner.

Much that could have been said at the time about the after death states was omitted in the attempt to keep the message as simple and clear as possible. Apart from spreading the general message of theosophy the purpose of The Key to Theosophy was to steer the public away from the hazards of spiritualism, which involved interference with the dead in an unwholesome way. Of course Spiritualism, which had a brief resurgence under the umbrella of the New Age Movement  still exists and is going on amongst a fringe minority of not very intelligent “trance channeling psychics” and their ‘psychic seeker’ clients.

Theosophy rejects Spiritualism for several reasons not least amongst them the fact that Spiritualism fosters spiritual passivity. Spiritual passivity combined with psychism is a dangerous mix. A positive and healthy spiritual life demands the discovery and awakening of the spiritual will within the higher Self through the path of active meditation. An active and focused spiritual will is vital to authentic spiritual emancipation.

In Part Two we will go into the events and awareness states that unfold during the period between Death and Rebirth.

Wisdom Path Meditation Part Three:

No meaningful progress can be made in Theosophy if we only read about it and do not practice it. If we only read about Theosophy we also run the ever increasing danger of forming profound misconceptions about the significance and meaning of the deeper teachings. Many lifelong readers of Theosophical books are under the illusion that they understand Theosophy and often lead new students astray with their strongly held and erroneous notions about the spiritual significance of the deeper teachings.

Progress in Theosophy means the responsible and continuous practice of Wisdom Path Meditation. In Wisdom Path Meditation Part Two we went into the significance and meaning of Discrimination and Dispassion, and we discovered how to approach these two essential qualities of being and some of their deeper meanings. Most of all we discovered how to begin to develop these qualities and integrate them into our spiritual lives. We did this in order to practice the Virtues:

The Seven Virtues:

[1] Tranquillity: [shad-sampat] Control of the Mind. There is a profoundly deep and peaceful calm within all of us. It never goes away, we encounter it in deep dreamless sleep and it restores us every time. That calm in the depths of the Self is still there throughout the most anxiety filled days you have ever experienced. Ultimately Tranquillity is about dwelling within that deep sleep calm while fully awake. Should you accomplish this in a sustainable way you will be enlightened. It is often a “glimpse enlightenment moment” in this deep state of profoundly liberated calm that inspires lifelong meditation.

[2] [self]Control: [dama] of the Senses:

Touch Taste Smell Hearing Sight. These senses are entirely innocent, in and of themselves, but they can become corrupted by the ego-personality. When you are awake to yourself you discover that your senses are each performing two functions instead of one. Conditioned likes and dislikes have entered into your senses and distort their proper functioning. Each of the Five senses can develop conditioned responses and reactivity. Basically this means that the senses are burdened by past baggage which is to say Skandhas.

You can hear perfectly well without the ‘listener’ for instance, which is always there to keep you out of present time, by comparing everything you hear to the past. Or the ‘taster’ drinking the ‘conditioned idea’ of a cup of tea and not this particular cup of tea which is being tasted now. A corrupt sense of taste is inevitably related to addiction. The ‘looker’ is conditioned to see some things while it remains blind to others. Touch is most often conditioned and corrupted sexually in the demand to mechanically repeat known sensations. Smell so strongly related to memory is dulled in most people living in large smelly urban centres. Through meditation practice and remaining in the present the senses are cleared of their conditioning and come back into awareness in a new way.

[3] Renunciation: [uparati] of all activities that are not duties.

Renunciation does not involve what we usually think of as will or resistance. However it does involve disengagement from those activities and states of consciousness which obstruct or hinder a healthy and wholesome spiritual life. Renunciation demands an “attitude towards all existing things which is not love not hate and not indifference”. Renunciation is the direct result of a “moment of clarity” regarding a particular spiritual obstruction. This meditation practice when sustained brings us to these “moments of clarity”. When the obstruction is seen with total clarity it ends right there.

Renunciation may also involve lifestyle changes and alterations in social activity. This meditation practice presupposes that you abstain entirely from the consumption of alcohol, recreational drugs, or prescription drugs which have a mood altering effect. This is included implicitly in “self-Control and Renunciation”. The use of Alcohol and Drugs in any quantity are serious obstructions and this meditation practice should not even be started until these obstructions have been Renounced. There are no exceptions to this rule.

[4] Endurance: [titiksha]

At its deepest level endurance is the result of having woken up to the reality of ones higher Self. “Perpetual presence in imagination in all space and time”. Endurance also means developing a meditation practice and staying with it every day 365 day per year and ideally and preferably always at the same time at the beginning of your day. Inevitably there will be times when meditation causes discomfort. The ego-personality is well known to produce overwhelming cravings, backaches and extreme itches, even panic in order to break meditation. Endurance in this context means “no reaction” continued calm breathing and continued watching of the mind without interference or reaction.

[5] Faith: [shraddha]

Theosophists have exceptionally strong faith but it is not Faith in any Anthropomorphic God or indeed in any agency outside the Self. At the same time Theosophists are in no way narcissistic or Self worshiping. Theosophists have Faith in the Self which is the Child of the Logos which in turn is the direct emanation of the Absolute. Faith in the Cycle of Necessity, and the Law of Karma. Faith in the Law of Compassion.

[6] Concentration perfected: [samadhana]

When you have reached the stage where you have stabilized and integrated the Seven Virtues grounded in Discrimination and Dispassion, Concentration is perfected. You will be in absolutely no doubt about whether or not you have reached this state. “Perfected” just really means; it works. There will be a radical and stable change in the higher levels at which you are capable of being aware. Importantly you will be able to go to those levels in a reliable and repeatable way. Important too is the fact that you will be able to choose in any given moment what level of being and awareness you wish to function from. Having attained this higher level integration you will find yourself acting with integrity in every situation. It is possible to have an intuitive grasp of how this highly integrated state, is the Enlightenment that leads to Liberation.

[7] Listening: [shravana]

Essentially “Listening” is listening to “silence”. That silence is always with us in the background of every sound we hear. When Concentration is ‘perfected’ we discover that the immense silence within us masks something on an even deeper level. From within the immense inner silence there arises the “voice of the silence”. The state leading to the ability to hear the “voice of the “ silence is called Dharana, which is simply a synonym for “concentration perfected”. It is not possible to reach Dharana without practicing this meditation combining the Seven Virtues as here described. There may be claims about other methods but the approach taken here is the safe and sure theosophical approach.

Liberation: [mumukshutva]   all of these practices must take place in an inner life characterized by an Intense longing for liberation from temporal limitations.

Easy enough to see that the sustained practice of Discrimination and Dispassion make all Seven Virtues possible. It is of crucial importance that we understand that Discrimination, Dispassion and the Seven Virtues be developed and entered into simultaneously. This is of crucial importance because an uneven development of the bridge [antakarana] between the lower self and higher Self can produce unfortunate problems which are very difficult or impossible to correct later. Happy and blessed Meditating!

Wisdom Path Meditation Part Two:

The essential and primary aim of Meditation is to bring about self realization, enlightenment and liberation; karma permitting. We need to look more closely into the two foundation states of awareness required to begin Wisdom Meditation.

The two states we must address first are; Discrimination and Dispassion, Self Realization is impossible without the deliberate awakening and development of these two states. People often think that real Discrimination must surely begin with being super smart, well informed and insightful. First lets remind ourselves of what Discrimination even is:

“Discrimination [viveka]: The sustained cultivation of the ability to discern the true from the false, to differentiate between what is real and eternal “The One Reality” “The Absolute”  “An Omnipresent Eternal Boundless and Immutable Principle” and what is unreal evanescent and temporary, everything that appears on any level and then passes away in time”.

Discrimination begins with a commitment to total intellectual and emotional honesty. It is so easy, yet so difficult, for some. The ego personality embedded in modern life is continuously tempted to appear more knowing, more caring and smarter than it is. We tell ourselves that we care about others, when of course we only think we care, and pass our lives having unreal and often dysfunctional relationships with others.

We learn to become scrupulous in these regards, and refuse to pretend to know, and feel things that we don’t. What could be simpler than to say “I don’t know” when you don’t know?

Also we must learn to always credit our sources and not pass off the brilliance of others as our own. A healthy intelligent and discerning mind is an honest mind. This inquiring constantly learning mind never says “thus I know”, but says “thus have I learned”. To separate knowledge from ego personality is one of the first acts of Discrimination.

We learn to separate knowledge from belief. Naturally we are free to believe anything we like, however if we are sensible reasonable thinkers we will hold a very weak belief in Unicorns, and Leprechauns with pots of gold. We may also strongly believe things that we cannot prove; our intellectual honesty reminds us about the lack of evidence or proof for these strongly held beliefs. Beliefs are not the same thing as spiritual faith which is a constant and resides in a completely different part of our being.

The discriminating mind always looks for evidence and has learned to “criticize without praise or blame”. We show a willingness to adjust our views based upon new evidence provided it is solid. A strong reaction of like or dislike towards any idea alerts us immediately that distortion of comprehension is at work. We become aware of our biases and examine both the source of the idea and the source of our reaction to it. Already we can see the relationship between Discrimination and Dispassion.

The cultivation of Discrimination carries with it the central insight that we spend most of our lives pretending and on top of pretending, we pretend that we are not pretending. Everyone is doing this all the time and it is an important component of “consensus trance”. And why is everyone pretending? It is because they are afraid of waking up to reality. It’s really this simple. Discrimination in any real sense of the word cant happen until you face your fear, and stop pretending to be someone that you are not.

Dispassion: Naturally our first impression of the idea of Dispassion is that we are being invited to refrain from feeling anything, but of course that’s impossible. Human beings are not cybernetic entities, we are not Robots. Some people think that Dispassion must involve the suppression of all emotional spontaneity. Perhaps surprisingly, dispassion involves the cultivation of a positive spontaneous emotional life. If you lack a healthy emotional centre which gives you the ability to empathize, feel compassion and love you wont get far in Theosophy.

Dispassion: [vairagya] this is the cultivation of the ability to “detach” oneself from everything that is “temporary”. This simply carries the attitude of dispassionate mind to its natural conclusion. A sense of real proportion enters into all our affairs and we compare everything that we experience to Eternity. The Absolute otherwise known as the “One Reality” which is “Omnipresent Eternal Boundless and Immutable” is that one highest value against which all other values are measured or evaluated. The Absolute is no empty abstraction for Theosophists but is the source of all that lives and the source of this very Self that is thinking about these things. The moment we have the actual Self Realization that we are fundamentally born of Eternity itself we lose all spiritual fear and experience the “home coming”.

Dispassion means not allowing conditioned emotions and reactivity to make decisions. Dispassion means, and this straight from the Meditation Diagram of H.P.B. :
“Constant refusal to think of reality of: Separations and Meetings: Association with Places, Times and Forms. Futile longings, Expectations, Sad memories, Broken-Heartedness”. These conditioned emotions, and habits of thought, constitute a perceptual distortion field of some considerable power in anyone’s awareness and must be understood and addressed in the consciousness of the would be Theosophist.

Dispassion means that we abandon “The Distinction Friend and Foe”. If we automatically approve of everything our ‘friends’ say and do and automatically disapprove of everything our ‘enemies’ say and do we are merely living in a state of dishonest self delusion towards our ‘friends’ and ‘enemies’ alike. When we extend thoughtful fairness and justice towards everyone we move into an entirely different personal and social reality. We have abandoned bias and anger. We become capable of sound judgment.

Discrimination and Dispassion leads us to the discovery that a whole range of attachments, desires and urges that are going on within us have no reality at all. Some of these attachments, desires and urges can be listed as: “Possessions, Personality, Sensation, Greed, Vanity, Gluttony, Selfishness, Remorse, Lust, Ambition, etc”.

When these attachments, desires, and urges, appear within the field of awareness we are sure that they have no reality and in this way we divest them of all energy and influence. We need to be firm about this and make no exceptions our refusal to endow any of these conditions of consciousness with any reality must be constant.

Naturally we feel all these desires and urges which belong to our evolving human nature, our awareness that these desires and urges have no actual reality is what allows us to avoid having our thoughts and perceptions distorted by them.

“An attitude of mind to all existing things which is not love not hate nor indifference”. If the attitude of mind is not these three states what then is it? It certainly leads to discrimination and dispassion but that is only the first stage, In order to discover the deeper meaning of this sage advice one must practice it in order to experience it. However it is easy to see immediately that a mind free of emotional reactivity and at the same time not indifferent to the realities of life would be a fine thing to cultivate.

In Part Three we will look at some of the virtues.

Theosophical Spiritual Experience Part One.

Everywhere that real theosophy is going on, an atmosphere of cheerful intelligence and serious calm prevails. Theosophists come together to study, meditate and seek guidance about the challenges presented by practicing living Theosophy. The developing Theosophist is taught to pose their question in an objective and impersonal way. Usually the question begins; “is there a teaching on this kind of experience?” Theosophy discourages “excited psychism” talking about personal psychic experiences is considered to be in extremely bad taste.

Study and practice of Wisdom Path Meditation naturally leads to spiritual experience. At the beginning, these experiences are often psychic in nature, accompanied by lucid dreaming and truly remarkable life ‘coincidences’. Naturally these experiences are amazing to anyone who is having them for the first time, but in the grand theosophical scheme of things these early experiences are best ignored beyond whatever may be learned from them.

As practice continues and karmic obstacles are overcome direct experience of the spiritual deepens and the mid-self, that state of awareness where the higher and lower self meet between the 4th and 5th Principles, undergoes profound change. The mid-self must carry on a life on two fronts, on the outside in the ‘world’ life must continue in an orderly and coherent fashion. Stability must be maintained, responsibilities towards the everyday world must be met.

On the inside the mid-self is in a state of continuous transformation, enhanced awareness, intelligence and higher feelings lend intensity to every experience encountered in the everyday world and within the ongoing wisdom path meditation practice. These experiences are well documented in spiritual traditions that lead to actual inner emancipation and enlightenment. Theosophy is acutely aware of the potential for self delusion and narcissistic spiritual vanity that accompanies these intense psycho-spiritual experiences. Theosophy carries within it a fail-safe to guard against experiential self delusion:

Describing the Initiates and Adepts of the Theosophical Tradition…”had passed their lives in learning, not teaching. How did they do so? It is answered: by checking, testing, and verifying in every department of nature the traditions of old by the independent visions of great adepts; i.e., men who have developed and perfected their physical, mental, psychic, and spiritual organisations to the utmost possible degree. No vision of one adept was accepted till it was checked and confirmed by the visions — so obtained as to stand as independent evidence — of other adepts, and by centuries of experiences….” S.D. P.272.

The Sevenfold Spiritual Nature of the Human Being is not a convenient construct invented in order to organize the theories of some recently generated body of psycho-spiritual research and speculation. The spiritual experiences and Initiations that come about as a result of theosophical practice, can be “checked tested and verified” within the context of the great esoteric tradition.

Many people have been lead to believe that there is no way to determine for sure whether someone who claims enlightenment is telling the truth or not. People who say and believe this simply reveal the superficial nature of their spiritual understanding and perhaps hidden motives as well. There is a distinct psycho-spiritual profile and behavioral tendency that goes with each of the stages of mid-self transformation, and indeed for every level in the Sevenfold Spectrum of awareness states. These manifestations are sometimes called ‘spiritual symptoms’.

There is the ever present danger that spiritual seekers can read descriptions of the spiritual symptoms for various enlightened states and then attempt to imitate these symptoms in order to convince the gullible that they are more advanced than they really are. This form of deception can be called ‘psychic acting”. As pointed out above theosophy discourages excited psychism and frowns upon anyone who is attempting to impress others with their self reported and self important descriptions of their ‘personal spiritual experiences’.

In the foundational literature of the Theosophical Society descriptions of higher states are scarce and kept at a very impersonal level. At the beginning H.P.B. did display certain spiritual abilities in an attempt to break through the hardened materialism of Victorian England and to convince people who were potentially important to the theosophical cause at that time, that more spiritually advanced being in the form of Masters did indeed exist. These displays of spiritual phenomena were later abandoned, for the simple reason that someone who needs displays of spiritual phenomena, will always need more, and if they are unable to grasp what theosophy is really all about without the display of ‘signs’ then they are unlikely to grow into a worthy Theosophist in any case.

All these realizations come about as the natural result of following the path described in wisdom path meditation and working with the guidance to be found in the H.P.B. Meditation Diagram. All theorizing and speculation about higher states, prior to direct experience is not only pointless but may indeed prove harmful.

Unfortunately a vast pseudo-theosophical literature now exists which provides intricate extensive and often wrong descriptions of higher spiritual states. Many of these descriptions fall into serious error when describing the spiritual nature of the Individual, the spiritual path itself and the nature of ultimate reality.

With this in mind we are now obliged to enter into a clarification of what each stage of the Sevenfold spectrum of psychic, mental and spiritual awareness states entails. This has now become necessary in order to preserve those who are practicing living theosophy from falling into damaging confusion.

We will begin this revealing explication of the spiritual states as they are experienced by each practitioner of living theosophy in Part Two of this writing.

Theosophy is the ancient wisdom spirituality that has spent most of its history hidden from public view. Known only to the secret brotherhoods of spiritual tradition theosophy has only been made available to the public a few times in the last two thousand years and then only under special social and cultural circumstances.

A civilization must accept freedom of religious faith and hold scientific and philosophical truth as  ideals in their own right for theosophy to make itself known to the public. The cultural and social norms that are taken for granted by any given civilization naturally has a significant effect on how theosophy is received.

When Theosophy began to reemerge out into public view in 1875 and right on through to the 1960s the the first phase of modern theosophical dissemination and organization had been completed. The second phase began in the Sixties and continues on into the 21st Century.

During the phase 1875-1960 the identity of any given person was based upon their status and occupation in society. What gave someone value was that their lives corresponded to the position they could be expected to occupy based on their birth, family background, wealth, education and social circle. Society was highly stratified. In the late eighteen hundreds and right on into the forties and fifties for instance, any man could easily be positioned within his social strata by the hat and suit he wore combined with his accent.

Theosophical writings carried little appeal for the man in the street who was unlikely to read beyond a certain simple level. Theosophy was a rather elitist affair and was adopted quickly by the Intelligentsia and upper and middle classes within the English speaking world, and beyond. Membership in the Theosophical Society became an extended status symbol for many of the people who became involved with it.

The Fourth Principle or Lower Mind existed within a world bound by a great many restraints and obligations which were all based upon social and professional status. Theosophy pioneered the understanding that the self both higher and lower has significance within itself regardless of social status. Theosophy is convinced of the self’s autonomous significance based upon the understanding of the sevenfold spiritual nature of the human being combined with the understanding reincarnation and karma. The concept of social status is replaced by the understanding of the various stages of spiritual evolution and emancipation. The Self has value and significance over and beyond the current karmic circumstances, whatever they may be.

Prior to the modern era of spiritual understanding, which we must date from the Sixties for reasons that will be made clear, it was extremely difficult for the aspiring Theosophist to gain an objective and clear understanding of the lower self. Status and social identity were everything, and every attempt to overcome this form of self identity was fraught with the danger of being thought ‘strange’ and losing ones position and privileges in society. The teachings were made public but the methods that bring about profound spiritual transformation, initiation and ultimate enlightenment remained the carefully guarded knowledge of “the few” within the theosophical movement itself.

The Lower self in the World today [1][2][3][4] in the above graph-has a very different encounter with Theosophy, than the people who encountered it prior to the Sixties of the 20th Century. What has changed? We no longer value individuals based upon Status, now each Self is seen as having intrinsic value and the right to define itself in spiritual and developmental terms commensurate with its own self understanding. Now we live in an era where each person may give and receive, respect and mutual affirmation outside the hierarchy of social status. Theosophy has promoted and taught this understanding of the Self from the beginning, and was largely responsible for the changes in this regard that emerged in the Sixties.

The Human Potential movement that emerged in the sixties and seventies drew on both spirituality and the psychology of pioneers like William James, Carl Jung, Abraham Maslow, and many others. Carl Jung, who had rejected Freud’s reductionism, drew deeply upon spiritual theosophical and esoteric traditions in order to present a psychology that was capable of recognizing the intrinsic value of the human being as a spiritual being.

H. P. Blavatsky had promised to write the “Psychological Key” to the Secret Doctrine of 1888, but was unable to complete this task before her withdrawal from this world in 1891. It must be said for the sake of clarity that Theosophy has always been antagonistic towards any psychological theory that is limited to mere humanism, and excludes the essential spiritual nature of the Self.

Abraham Maslow who must surely have been familiar with Theosophy developed what came to be known as “Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs” which he published in America in 1943. The Hierarchy of Needs is a pyramid divided into five horizontal layers corresponding to five levels of human need and identity. It bears a remarkable resemblance to the Sevenfold Spiritual Nature of the Human Being. Simply add [7] Spirit Man and [6] Spiritual Soul and you have a psychological representation that corresponds to the Theosophical Levels of being quite nicely, if only in caricature.

This approach of Maslow’s grew out of Humanistic Psychology, but because it transcended the psycho-physical boundaries of humanism demanded a new name. Maslow called this new breakthrough into a psychology which embraced the spiritual dimensions of the Self, Trans-personal Psychology.

The Journal of Transpersonal Psychology suggests that transpersonal psychology “is concerned with the study of humanity’s highest potential, and with the recognition, understanding, and realization of unitive, spiritual, and transcendent states of consciousness”

The human being here in the 21st century is fully empowered to enter into an active and experiential spiritual life. The Self is now widely understood to contain higher spiritual potentials which can be developed . The problem now exists for the seeker to discriminate between a very wide range of teachings, practices and approaches all calling themselves Transpersonal Psychology.

We can appreciate new applications of the insights to be gained by a study of the Sevenfold Spiritual nature of the human being. By investigating Transpersonal Psychological theories we can gain new perspectives, provided we do not become bogged down in endless psychological theorizing, and lose sight of our essential spiritual calling.

It behooves us to remain standing on the foundation rock of timeless Theosophy where we may drink the sweet waters from the fountain of eternal wisdom.

The Heart Of Theosophy:

Anyone who looks into alternative religions or comparative forms of spirituality will quickly discover the existence of Theosophy. Those individuals who enjoy a critical and discerning intellect will recognize the appeal of Theosophy almost instantly. Combine this enquiring mind with a love of reading and you have yourself a student of Theosophy. This interest by itself still cant turn someone into an actual Theosophist.

People who become truly involved in Theosophy, all start from a common foundation, with a “spiritual calling” that is felt and deeply understood as a desire to become a better human being in order to be able to serve the cause of a better humanity and bring about an improved culture.

This unselfish and powerful spiritual longing, for a higher and better way of life, for everyone, is the very essence of altruism. This spiritual longing which is so deeply felt and profoundly understood causes the realization that there is a higher life already existing but unrealized within the individual.

In Theosophy we call this preexisting and innate higher life within the individual the Higher Self. The Higher Self has imprinted its qualities deep into the lower self particularly into the energy and emotional bodies. The reflection of the higher mind into the lower mind determines the lower minds capacity to organize itself and think independent thoughts.

Theosophy is not a path of ‘self improvement’ it makes no claims whatsoever about improving ones romantic, financial or social status, neither does it advocate acquiring power over others by hidden means, indeed it explicitly forbids this. So if Theosophy is not a path of ‘self improvement’ what then is it?

Theosophy is a path of ever deepening Self understanding, and Self realization reflected in the world and life as it really and truly is. The Theosophist is a “truth knower” and this is clearly stated in the Motto of its Society. “There is no Religion or Law higher than Truth”. Theosophist accept nothing on face value. Yet all Theosophists trust the “spiritual calling” from their higher Self, and respond to it with gratitude and love filled devotion. They combine this devotion with an ever developing understanding of the spiritual laws that govern the Cosmos. Theosophy is also called “the heart doctrine”.

The awakening imprints of the higher Self in the Four ‘lower’ principles requires only that those tendencies which can obscure and obstruct awakening into the higher Self be removed by the central practices of active and engaged Theosophy itself. A chaotic and confused life is replaced by one of inner integration and integrity. Unity of Self and true Individuality emerges naturally.

What is the source of this unity and Individuality? The pure and simple answer to this deep question is “The Logos”.

In Theosophy the Logos is very,very, important. The Higher Self is fully integrated into it and indeed arises into life from it. An important distinction must be made here when we say “Integrated into the Logos” we are specifically and clearly not saying “Assimilated into the Logos”. The Higher Self remains a true and Free Individual in the deepest sense for all eternity. Every human being is a free and individual logos in their own right.

Anyone familiar with Christian theology will immediately recognize the almost exact similarity to the deeper teachings of Christianity and in particular the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church and the other Christian denominations. If the similarity is almost exact, what then is the difference?

In the Roman Catholic religion they have made the Third Logos the second member of the Trinity, so that they have God the Father= First Logos. God the Son= Second Logos. Holy Spirit= Third Logos. This is incorrect. The real order is:

The 1st Logos:= The Father:= Osiris:= Spirit Man:= Atma
The 2nd Logos:= The Holy Spirit:= Isis:= Spirit Soul:= Buddhi
The 3rd Logos:=  The Son Christ:= Horus:= Spirit Self:= Manas

The Higher Self in we human beings is Integrated within and born out of the Third Logos. It is our inner god though we ourselves are not gods, at least not yet.

Theosophy also differs from organized Exoteric Christianity in an other important respect; theosophists reject all together the notion of vicarious atonement, Jesus did not die for your sins. You are responsible for your ‘sins’. There is accountability in the Cosmos and you a reincarnating Higher Self under the law of Karma like every other individualized being, must win your own godhood in the “cycle of necessity”.

The Betrayal Of The First Object:

Here we are in 2010, one hundred and thirty-five years since the founding of the Theosophical Society in New York in 1875.

We started out with three objects:

[1] To form a nucleus of the Universal Brotherhood of Humanity, without distinction of race, creed, sex, caste/status or colour.

[2] To encourage the study of Comparative Religion, Philosophy and Science.

[3] To investigate unexplained laws of Nature and the powers latent in man.

This first Object: [1] To form a nucleus of the Universal Brotherhood of Humanity, without distinction of race, creed, sex, caste/status or colour: Has become enshrined in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and the UN Charter and is fundamental to the EU Charter. These freedom provisions once thought to be the very bleeding edge of idealist radicalism are now considered commonplace and taken for granted in all advanced societies. But what are these freedom provisions really for?

Multiculturalism is taken for granted in all advanced societies, and the large urban centres in Europe and the Americas present a mosaic of the peoples from all over the World. In order to make Multiculturalism work, these societies hold ‘tolerance’ as a very high value.

Human rights are constantly at issue as ‘tolerance’ must be constantly enforced and ‘freedom provisions’ allowed in the sense that society is seen as the site for the free pursuit of individual desires, and ‘lifestyle choices’.

Secular societies avoid the appearance of either advocating or suppressing any form of religion or spirituality. In order to advance ‘tolerance’ and ‘freedom provisions’ secular society simply ignores, religion and spirituality as a legitimate aspect of human nature. We can call this cultural and legalistic apparatus ‘ideological left liberalism’. All values  are relative, spirituality is a purely subjective affair, and can play no real role in public life. The secular state arbitrates all ethics and values.

With the Globalization of trade and multicultural interaction has come what is known as “capitalist consumerism”. In this economic model the primary activity of any advanced society is the production and consumption of products and services. Products created cheaply in the third world and Asia are consumed in the advanced economies of the West.

Almost all culture now involves the acquisition of electronic devices. Culture is consumed as a product. Every person can be alone within an atmosphere of ‘tolerance’ with their Computer, Laptop, iPod and Smart-phone. Cultural products mediated by technology have supplanted the living engaged and thriving culture upon which the psychic and psychological health of the nation depends.

There is a crisis of meaning amongst the young, who in many cases have come to refer to themselves as the “lost generation”. Apathy is taken for granted. People are living essentially passive lives mediated by technology.An agressive materialistic Atheism, broadcast far and wide within secular society, attacks all religions and spirituality equally. The cancer of Nihilism eats into the souls of the young.

It is clearly evident that this state of cultural and spiritual affairs is not what the First Object had in mind at all.

In Theosophical terms the level of consciousness that is being spoken to in the First Object is the Fourth level in the Sevenfold spiritual nature of the human being:

[4] [Personal-self: Lower Mind] “I Think Therefore I Am” Desire Mind: Mental Conditioning and Reactivity: Beliefs: Educational Skills: Self in “the world”. Public Image: Alienation: Loneliness:

The spiritual purpose of the First Object was to release the human being from the thralldom and polarized subjectivity of the Fourth Principle in order to free the human being up in such a way as to make comprehension of the higher spiritual principles possible.

It is clear to see that the Fourth Principle is highly vulnerable to personal desires and can be easily seduced into thinking that the purpose of life is the fulfilment of these personal desires and that the purpose of society is to organize the production and availability of the objects of these desires: in short the ideal context for the enclosed and degenerated Fourth Principle is “capitalist consumerism” couched in ‘ideological left liberalism’.

Historically Liberalism has always been associated with a very high measure of personal liberty and freedom to follow ones individual conscience, and enlightened self interest. This Liberalism becomes ‘ideological left liberalism’ when a secular state becomes the arbiter of  all human behaviour and cultural values. Cultural ‘ideological left liberalism’ has become combined with economic capitalist consumerism, in all multicultural societies.

The goal of: “To form a nucleus of the Universal Brotherhood of Humanity” has been expropriated and subverted. The multicultural notion that inter-ethnic tolerance and capitalist consumerism as a context for the pursuit of personal desires is all that is needed to keep society running smoothly is failing.

Multiculturalism as an answer to a tolerant and cohesive society is in crisis all over the Western World and is being rejected, simply because ethical and cultural relativism leads to fragmentation and chaos. Consumerism leads the individual into unsupportable financial debt and a sense of inner emptiness.

The New Age Movement was hailed as an answer to the spiritual needs of a post religious secular society, where each individual could pick and choose spiritual beliefs and practices according to self perceived longings and needs. These pursuits being purely subjective lack any universalizing potential. In the absence of a wide public consensus about the nature and reality of the sacred, no culturally potent and productive spiritual movement can emerge.

Obviously the First Object cannot be attained by ordinary means. Where all secular multicultural societies fail is in the fact that it is impossible to legislate improvements in the spiritual nature of human beings. If this were possible all we need do is pass a law that all people will now be better human beings and solve the worlds problems that way.

Lets keep this First Object before us as we proceed, it says:

[1] To form a nucleus of the Universal Brotherhood of Humanity, without distinction of race, creed, sex, caste/status or colour.

This First Object was not intended to be taken in isolation, and it cannot be if it is to be actually made real and fulfilled. “To form a nucleus” is intended to overcome the natural alienation that attends the early stages of individuation found in the Fourth Principle. The means to bring about the First Object is contained in Objects [2] and [3].

The mission and spiritual goal of cultural Theosophy is to unite all humanity in a common spiritual vision. A trans-cultural spiritual community tolerant of differences to be sure, but also engaged and  mutually dedicated to the recognition of all human beings as spiritual beings.

Certainly the First Object demands a response from a humanity who are serious about life: [2] To encourage the study of Comparative Religion, Philosophy and Science. A mindful humanity composed of individuals who are so serious about religion that they are engaged in the study and understanding of all religions.

Individuals who wish to think deeply and seriously about universal theology and philosophy in order to learn the meaning of life and what it means to think deeply and clearly about the central concerns of a spiritually emancipated humanity. This same humanity will concern itself with Science and the pursuit of what can be gained through Science, namely objective and provable knowledge of man and the universe.

This is a call to a spiritual science that can open the way towards a healing of the fractured world where science and religion must remain ever incompatible. Multiculturalism couched in consumerism and deadening inter-ethnic secular ‘tolerance’ falls badly short of the First Object.

The First Object is not trying to bring a materialistic secular society into being quite the contrary it calls for a universal spiritual society grounded in a thoughtful philosophical mindset confirmed by scientific research. This is reemphasized in the Third Object: [3] To investigate unexplained laws of Nature and the powers latent in man]. These latent powers are spiritual abilities and talents as yet un-manifested potentials hidden within the spiritual depths of all truly human beings.

The means to bring about the First Object is Theosophy itself. We can see with the inclusion of natural overlap that:

The First Object: [1] To form a nucleus of the Universal Brotherhood of Humanity, without distinction of race, creed, sex, caste/status or colour.] Refers to Body and Soul.

The Second Object: [2] To encourage the study of Comparative Religion, Philosophy and Science.] Refers to Soul and Mind.

The Third Object:[3] To investigate unexplained laws of Nature and the powers latent in man.] Refers to Mind and Spirit.

Only through the practice of living Theosophy itself can the First Object be realized.

As I was waking up, I was dreaming. I was reading a book, many books, they were difficult to read, but full of wisdom, I loved them. I was the small girl, but I could read them and understand all the wisdom, the paradigms of consciousness, I understood it all. This knowledge seemed to be a “steadying force” that was being explained by many people, and there was a strong knowing that it was there, behind everything. In fact, it was there always, it was laid out in many ways, and even if I hadn’t read the books, the knowledge just was, as it is, underlying everything. It was already all there.

And then, as dreams go, I was the adult, who remembered that she had already read this, somewhere, sometime.

When I awoke I felt as if this whole lifetime, is already all there. For everyone – it is already there. Everyone is complete and the manifestation is complete.

Falling back into this line of thought in a waking meditative state, I again saw it. As I traced over what seemed to be “the pages”, with a small jeweler’s magnifying glass, I began to see the details. How wondrous, the green trees and the earth in such diversity; the people in this awareness space of the magnifying glass each had their own identifiable personalities and vibrations. I kept going over and over this small space, finding out more things, interacting with the people. And they are interacting with me. I was curious and intensely interested .

Somewhere in that small space of what I was perceiving as time, as the magnifying glass moved across, I become that time. I am that vision in the magnifying glass. I am no longer the watcher, guiding the glass over the manifestation to see what I could see. I have become entangled with the beings and I am working through this paradigm which is this place in time. There are lots of problems, one day leads to the next. I think I understand, I think I am helping or I think I am improving and getting ahead of this game. More and more and more, it never stops… I search for the Utopia, the way out – the greater meaning or the solution to problems.

During this experience in time, I have the nagging feeling that I have done all this before, or it is fate? But it can’t be fate because I am making choices. I am choosing good and bad, purifying myself, striving to understand and to become an enlightened spiritual being. It can’t be fate, because if it were all laid out wouldn’t that eliminate the choices?

But those choices… do they appear to be choices? Or are they just me, running my awareness, my “jeweler’s magnifying glass”, over the already complete manifestation, and the only choice I am making is which part of it I want to see?

Every experience I have there, in that moving space of awareness which has become time, has infinite possibilities; every being is infinite and complete and part of the whole manifestation.

I become the watcher looking through the glass again and I see it as a dream, but the flavor of it remains on my soul, the taste on my lips of something I have forgotten, some bit of understanding remains, I can’t remember how I know it, I try to trace my thoughts back and get lost ….

I wanted to share this with you, so that you would know that everything is okay, you are not lost; you are part of a whole that is already complete.

It’s not about the “things, the personality and the experiences” – we are awareness beings without these attributes. We are all Space and Time and our curiosity which pushes us to see or experience the manifestation is the movement.

The more you learn about the Buddha the more you realise that he was-is the greatest Spiritual Genius who has ever lived, probably that’s why we are still talking about him over two thousand five hundred years later. Amongst the many brilliant things he realised and taught was the concept of the Skandha. In Pali and other languages at that time a Skandha referred to a bundle or heap or pile of disparate objects. Everybody knew what a skandha was.

He gave this innocent unassuming word, which everyone understood clearly, psychological and spiritual meaning by referring to the internal heap or pile of inner psycho-spiritual objects that beset human awareness. A Skandha is a lot more than just stuff.

A garage sale is a skandha; and what’s in the garage sale? Say it’s one of those huge garage sales that happen after living in the same house for thirty years raising four children and sending the last of them off to their own grownup lives only recently. When you walk through that garage sale you can see the chains and sequences of objects. There’s furniture, appliances and out of date electronic equipment. Old sports equipment and infomercial exercise machines. There are books, magazines, music collections, mapping out the decades. There’s kitchen equipment, cutlery, plates with mismatched bowls, pots and pans and weird grilling devices and perhaps a defunct but still working barbeque.

Boxes of old ornaments that have lost their sentimental grip on their owners are balanced precariously on the edge of an old chest of drawers. Someone’s attempt to become an artist is partly visible in that stack of almost good paintings. Old birthday and Christmas presents that were given to one and coveted by another now abandoned look rather lonely. All of these objects are connected to the memories of beloved family members, and the objects in one way or another are all connected to each other, almost as if an important part of your identity and the meaning of your life is tied up in all these old things.

It’s a nice sunny morning a good crowd of early bird garage sale mavens are in full plunder and bargain hunt mode. Today is Garage Sale Day and all these things must be gone by days end along with any feelings of attachment to them.

Now imagine that it is your garage sale and at the end of the day all the objects are gone but your attachment to them is not. It isn’t only the objects you miss but all of the associations and connections to the people and memories associated with the objects. You are having really serious sellers remorse. As time passes, even after you have moved to a new house, you are haunted by the memory of many of the things that disappeared from your life on the day of that garage sale. You often think about all the associations and people connected to those objects, and you really miss them and want them back.

Some of those memories are extremely upsetting, because they relate to things you have done that you are not proud of, and to things that others have done to you that for all you try you just can’t fully forgive or forget. There is psycho-energetic intensity to all these memories which increases the more you dwell on them. The rest of your life passes with these intensifying memories going on in the background of your otherwise normal old age.

You die in a normal way of old age. In your next lifetime you have a whole lot of weird attachments and reactions to emotional situations. You now have heavily charged Skandhas and they all relate in the main to the following five areas of your human experience:

[1] Form
[2] Perception
[3] Consciousness
[4] Action
[5] Knowledge

© permission granted to newtheosophynetwork.com one use alone.

As awareness awakens on ever deeper levels through the practice of Wisdom Path Meditation and “living the life” a very significant stage is reached where the individual must pay the closest attention to their motives and actions. Of course we must always temper our motives with wisdom and our actions with compassion, but in the normal run of life we may have ‘normally selfish’ motives and actions based upon enlightened self interest. As a general rule no great harm can come from a normal good person still sleeping in the four Principles of the lower self.

When through inner development and/or natural karmic unfoldment the inner states of the Fourth Principle and the more obvious and easy to apprehend awareness states of the Fifth Principle which is Mind [manas] itself have been reached, a dangerous crossroads of destiny has been entered.

[5] [Spirit-Self: Manas] “A mind to embrace the Universe” Pure Intelligence: Impersonal Thought: Intelligent Conscience: Objectivity: Pure Love of Accurate Knowledge: Individuality for Good or Ill: Solitude:

[4] [Personal-self: Lower Mind] “I Think Therefore I Am” Desire Mind: Mental Conditioning and Reactivity: Beliefs: Educational Skills: Self in “the world”. Public Image: Alienation: Loneliness:

Between each of the mental emotional and spiritual principles there is a passable “ring pass not”. Theosophy teaches that if you simply proceeded in this and all your future lifetimes as a good being you will discover yourself an immortal god at the end of the great cycle. Those who feel a deep longing to “Awaken Now” to a greater life are obliged to travel the path of self conscious spiritual development. This longing to awaken now must be permeated with a pure motive to serve humanity or it is merely spiritual ambition, and will have very bad results.

None of this is an issue until Spirit-Self begins to awaken within Personal-self. There is a profound Eureka moment followed by a complete revolution in consciousness. Everything that was previously held as truth is up for radical questioning. This is not the same thing as the widely advertised “conversion experience” where one set of largely misguided beliefs are exchanged for another.

When the pure love of accurate knowledge is acquired through the exercise of impersonal objectivity; both unfounded belief and unfounded disbelief appear ludicrous and embarrassing. The incarnated mind [5^th principle] has begun its long complicated journey from “I think therefore I am” to “a mind to embrace the universe”.

All of the virtues of the good mind are enhanced to a remarkable degree. The ability to concentrate on complex issues and tasks until they are complete has become virtually effortless. Memory is enhanced by the fact that it is much easier to remember confirmed factual knowledge, than beliefs or fantasies. Creativity as the expression of a clearly understood universal concept becomes an outlet for Individuality to reveal itself. The inner self has begun to awaken to the world and all things appear new and illuminated by the light of factual knowledge of how the world really works according to the laws of physics, biology, chemistry, and so on. Evolutionary psychology illuminates history with the realisation that all human life is a prolonged spiritual event.

The world shattering insight and realisation is had that the law of Karma really does govern human existence across sequences of reincarnations, but in a way impossible to describe to a world that still sleeps in the fulfilment of personal desires on the Fourth Plane of existence. Previously the awakening Individuals karma was governed by an inherent and automatic system of adjustments built into birth life death and rebirth. Now the individual is in a position to direct this process themselves. The self realises that it is free to accomplish anything that moves it to focused and prolonged effort; this focused determination has become the self’s natural condition.

This is called the too smart for your own good stage of spiritual development.

Here is a place of temptation where the individual can make choices which will plant the seeds of their future ruination. The biggest lure and temptation is the knowledge of how to postpone karmic suffering; combined with the knowledge of how to become a very important and powerful person in “the world”.

The individual who is unwilling to go through the intense suffering that spiritual emancipation demands, and who has failed to fully see the dangers of that most pernicious form of self importance known as spiritual pride, may get stuck here on this lower spiritual level and end up aborting their true spiritual mission. At worst the individual may lapse into the ‘dark side’.

The wise Theosophist will hold back here and begin a thorough re-examination of the balance that is being established between the 4^th and 5^th Principles [see above]. They will not do anything to bring major adjustment in how the law of karma flows to them or through them. This will inevitably bring a great deal of misunderstanding and suffering, seeing as the individual is making no effort whatsoever to avoid the results of their own short comings and appears bereft of ambition and worldly wealth.

The moment the higher self begins to awaken within the lower self and the oversight of personal karma falls within the direction of the awakening individual all karmic debts become due. In particular karmic relationships which have no rhyme or reason from a worldly societal point of view will place the individual in inexplicable relationships and circumstances. Inexplicable illnesses and profoundly felt emotional crisis may appear; every weakness and vulnerability contained within will come to the surface. Inevitably all pretence at social respectability will be abandoned and the individual will please the higher self and the spiritual world first and “the world” second or not at all.

Here it becomes vital to focus all of ones spiritual attention on the inner states of the higher self which are:

[7] [Spirit Man: Atma:] The Solar Logos: Pure Spirit Originating In The Spiritual Sun: “Spirit Man Like Sunlight Shines On All” At One In The One Reality: [6] [Spirit Soul: Buddhi:] Universal Soul Mind: Primal Awareness of the Whole: Spiritual Compassion: Mahat: Perfect Unerring Conscience: Discriminates the True from the False: Love Wisdom Freedom. Spiritual Devotion: Love of the Logos:

In man these two principles are already fully merged and are often referred to as “the two in one”. To awaken at this level while incarnated in this world, in this or a future lifetime is the sole and primary goal of the Theosophical spiritual path.

It would be a tragedy to become waylaid on the ego and fear strewn foothills of a lower mind falling victim to its first encounter with higher mind. If the disciple follows the guidance of the Meditation Diagram and faithfully follows the path of Wisdom Meditation they surely will reach and dwell perfected in the Spiritual Sun while yet abiding on the Sacred Earth.

© permission granted to newtheosophynetwork.com alone.

It is necessary to decide certain fundamental things about the quality of the meditative mind and the nature of meditative practice.

When the student Theosophist comes to the need for meditative practice, and this should come as soon as possible, certain definite decisions have to be made about how to proceed.

There is a wide array of meditation practices with long historical traditions behind them. Theosophical meditation is Wisdom Path Meditation which is called Jnana yoga in the Hindu traditions and Mahayana Vajrayanna in Buddhism. Because of the inherently compassionate nature and purpose of Theosophy a strong atmosphere of Devotion permeates this practice of Meditation.

We must never loose sight of the purpose of meditative practice and posture:

The initial purpose of meditation practice and posture is clear:  It is to reach the awareness state within which we can hear the  Voice Of the Silence. The Self’s aim is to re-merge into Silent Present Time Wakefulness.

There are progressive forms of Meditation which change and adapt as the Meditator’s practice progresses and deepen. Wisdom Path Meditation is just such a practice when regarded from within, but the outer form never changes. You are learning a way of meditating that will stand you in good stead for the rest of your life. This form of meditation practice will be described below.

The first fundamental quality of the meditative mind is Silence.

Meditative Silence is not static and inert; on the contrary, it is vibrantly alive fluid responsive and intelligent in deep abiding Higher Selfhood.
The best first form of meditation practice will always be the most simple and elegant. This is what will be described here.

A simple strong wooden chair should be placed within a couple of feet of a blank featureless wall. There is nothing hanging on the wall to distract the Meditator’s attention. The chair is facing the wall. The wall should be either white or slightly off white. If the wall is any particular color it will attune the Meditator’s attention to unwanted emotions and visual effects.  A plain sheet can be used to cover a wall.

The Meditator sits facing the blank featureless wall. Sit in the chair facing the wall up close. If need be there can be a firm flat cushion or pillow on the chair. There need only be a few inches between the Meditator’s toes and the bottom of the wall. The aim here is to sit as close as possible to the wall while remaining comfortable.

Essential to any approach to meditation posture is an erect spine with an upright and balanced head. Feet are planted firmly on the floor; there is no need to keep the knees together if this is found to be uncomfortable or distracting.

This is open eyed Meditation.

Keeping the eyes open breath in a relaxed and unstrained way. The hands are folded in the lap, left hand open facing up, and right hand inside left hand with the thumb tips lightly touching.

The Meditator does not look at any particular point on the wall; instead the eyes are gazing into the peripheral edges of vision. In this way the Meditator is equally aware of everything within the visual field. The eyes are relaxed and simply gazing at the whole visual field simultaneously.

At the same time the Meditator is listening to the silence which naturally abides behind all sound. In this way the Meditator is not trying to exclude or resist any sound that may be in the environment. The Meditator is simply listening to silence and listening to the mind as a total auditory field. This is called “Shravana” “Listening”.

Within this listening to silence and peripheral gazing:

The practice involves counting the breaths up to twelve and then starting over at one and counting the breath back up to twelve and so on. The count is on the in-breath through the nose. The out-breath too is also through the nose; both the in-breath and the out-breath count as one.

The purpose of this breath counting is to move attention away from the head into the total field of Self presence and at the same time to be able to easily observe when the mind wanders.

In the event that the mind wanders at some count before twelve, the Meditator goes back to one and starts over; keeping track of the breath count and always on the in-breath. There is a natural inwardness to this practice even though the eyes are open. Any visual effects which may appear on the blank wall are to be simply witnessed and otherwise ignored.

Inevitably the mind will wander and jump all over the place. The Meditator does absolutely nothing about any of this except calmly watch it happening, with an attitude that is not love not hate & not indifference.

There are definite and obvious advantages to this ancient time honoured approach to beginning Meditation: For one thing it stops you from falling asleep!

Also the Meditator becomes aware of the total field of consciousness and sensation and the inevitable ‘obstructions’ that it contains.

As it states in the Third Fundamental Proposition of the Secret Doctrine : “the Esoteric Doctrine admits of no special gifts or privileges in man save those won by his own Individuality  through countless reincarnations and metempsychosis”.

When the Meditator is able to do the First Form, without loss of focus or concentration for sustained Two Hour Periods, for Forty Continuous Days they may pass into the Second Form. The second form has to do with integrating pure awareness and compassion.

Nearly everyone has heard of meditation, but really only people who have tried it, have any idea of what meditation is. But if someone has tried meditation for a short period of time and then given up they may be left with a distorted and even negative view of what it is. The only way to understand meditation is by doing it until actual meditation takes place.

The approach to meditation described here will take the individual into the meditative state if they continue with it until that happens. People often ask about how long that will take. The fact is that no one can say how long it will take to enter the meditative state once the practice of meditation has begun. Obviously everyone is different.

It is a compelling and telling fact that anyone who continues the practice of meditation until it actually takes place, will continue with it for the rest of their lives.

The Silent Watcher is the Meditator:

You should try this practice for Twenty minutes per day always at the same time, if at all possible. You need to embrace Meditation as a daily practice in your life and rearrange other circumstances around it. You have embarked upon a daily practice of the utmost importance.

Word to the wise: If you are in therapy or taking mood balancing medications or have a history of substance abuse or any other diagnosable mental health issue you should consult a medical professional before adopting this practice.

Any serious spiritual teaching, path of development and enlightenment presumes that you have mental health issues.

Not being spiritually emancipated and enlightened is a mental health issue in itself. In a real spiritual school there is no stigma attached to compromised mental health or any other kind of karma. Full mental health means Enlightenment, peace, joy, compassion, creativity. A life grounded in Love, Wisdom and Freedom, and dedicated to the Good the True and the Beautiful. If you are not in this state of being yet then it means that you have ‘mental health issues’.

Obviously spiritual schools must show a deep interest in mental health because all spiritual transformation involves not only the heart and the will but also of necessity the mind. Each stage of spiritual development carries with it a recognisable degree of mental fallout. If this fallout is not addressed and dealt with it can result in what is called ‘recoil’.

Recoil comes about because the shed and discarded thoughts impulses and feelings of the previous developmental stage have not been fully transformed in the fires of spiritual practice and discipline.

The new stage of spiritual emancipation is naturally young and somewhat fragile, it needs to be nurtured and allowed to grow healthy and strong. This takes time and sustained effort. The residual skandhas of the previous stage still contain considerable negative energy. This negative energy is almost invariably underpinned by fear and self loathing. Fear leads to suspicion and suspicion can easily turn into paranoia which in turn distorts the minds capacity to deal with reality. The residual skandhic energy and content left over from the previous stage of the self must be fully transformed and integrated.

Every relapse is recoil and every active addiction is an attempt to avoid the current reality of the self and the world. Without doubt avoiding reality is a mental health issue. The issue arises naturally as to the mental and ethical condition of the Addict. By what condition and mental process does the Addict make the decision to either resume [relapse] or go on using for instance, Alcohol, or the Drug of Choice; ‘knowing the consequences?’

It is well understood that relapse is rarely a sudden event, but is the result of a process where the addicted individual has allowed their mental and lifestyle health to diminish to the point where relapse becomes inevitable. A common characteristic of the relapse process is a growing neglect of or negativity towards those ideas and practices which maintain a substance and trouble free life. By slow degrees many small but self-destructive decisions are being made.  The individual is sliding back into their old and destructive ways. Recoil isn’t always dramatic or sudden.

For many, and universally recommended by the addiction and mental heath community is the connection to a “higher power”. Simply believing in a “higher power” cannot really help the recovering Addict or anyone else. In AA the 2^nd and 3^rd Step respectively state:

[2]: Came to believe that a power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.

[3] Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him.

This purely subjective approach to a restored or new spiritual life is wholly inadequate because the ‘believer’ has no way to determine whether or not their ‘higher power’ is merely the product of their own fantasy life and a mind distorting and desperate need to clutch at straws in a stormy sea of inner turbulence. This is not intended as a criticism of AA or its methods which work very well for those able to enter into it.

How is a mind distorted by the mental health issues that inevitably flow from active addiction to be sure of anything involving a transcendental realm? Recovery not only involves liberation from obsessive chemical dependency, but the gaining of clarity of mind and the capacity to inquire into essential purposes and meaning. Addiction by definition, means the loss or at very least severe impairment of the individuals “moral compass”.

Only a restored moral compass can deal with the implications of a resolve that takes this form:

[3] “Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him.”

The decision making part of the mind is the same part of the mind where conscience is present. Conscience decides whether a contemplated action in the form of a thought is a “good” action or a “bad” action. In the Addict conscience is occluded to the extent that the decision to use the detrimental substance can be made. What is actually occurring within the mind of the Addict? The first and obvious explanation is “denial”, that notorious self delusion that permits the Addict to continue to suffer from “the disease that does not believe it exists”.

Essentially what is being denied in all denial, is Conscience.

Conscience is the essential bridge between the spiritual man and the man caught in the everyday world with its corruption and ethical challenges presented at every turn. We are obliged to point out that conscience is more than morality. Conscience is on a higher level than the morality taught by organised religions and cultures. In Theosophical terms Mind [manas] guided by Spirit Soul [Buddhi] is the authentic ‘higher power” within the Individual. This higher Self transcends all cultures and religions.

For instance one religion may teach that eating Pork is forbidden but Alcohol may be taken. Another religion teaches that both of these substances are forbidden by god. The fact that another religion teaches that both of these things are permitted tells us that morality is a culture bound instance of local mores and customs.

Conscience is universal; there is no human community on earth where murder is sanctioned. The betrayal of a brother a member of your family or indeed any other is understood to be wrong. Stealing is universally understood to be wrong, as is the abuse of the weak and helpless. Every human being knows when they have done something wrong. Those human beings who lack this ability are defined as sociopaths or found to be suffering from some other severe mental health condition. In recognition of the distinction to be made between a functioning conscience and its complete impairment the law recognises the plea “not guilty for reasons of insanity”.

What constitutes authentic conscience?

In every case authentic conscience is ethical thought combined with compassion. Compassion need not in every case be personal as such, but functions very well in a trans-personal “does no harm” attitude towards all life. Conscience is always at the heart of real relationship. Conscience as active compassion is the recognition that the self is not isolated; decisions and actions will affect others. If those decisions and actions occur under the influence of Drugs or Alcohol or a combination of both, harm to others will surely follow. And this over and above the harm caused to the self. We can even speak of having compassion towards oneself.

Compromised Conscience is a mental health issue. Everyone who is functioning in the thoughtless manner required by Ideological Left Liberalism couched in Capitalist Consumerism is suffering from impaired mental health. A life dedicated to the fulfillment of selfish desires, inevitably fails in the realms of meaningful relationship and life inclusive of an authentic transcendental realm.

Current Ideological Left Liberalism couched in Capitalist Consumerism means that the human being is imprisoned in the Fourth Principle: The Desire driven level of conscious awareness. The higher spiritual inner levels of being and awareness are excluded from consideration altogether. This results in a narcissistic personality driven by the sense of entitlement and selfish privilege. This ‘person’ is incapable of authentic relationship.

Full mental health means Enlightenment, peace, joy, compassion, creativity. A life grounded in Love, Wisdom and Freedom, and dedicated to the Good the True and the Beautiful. If you are not in this state of being yet then it means that you have ‘mental health issues’. The rehabilitation of Conscience is the first step towards a restored mind and an authentic relationship with a real spiritual life.

Lawren Harris Icebergs Davis Straight Detail

Theosophy and the Group of Seven.

Theosophists have always been extremely proud of the Group of Seven, that group of mystically numbered theosophical Canadian artists who gave Canadian art its first ray of inspiring light as a uniquely national art movement. Of course this is not strictly true there were distinctly Canadian artists before the Group of Seven.

Starting during the First World War Canadian Art began to come into its own with the emergence of a national identity that was won with the blood shed in Europe on behalf of the Empire. It can be argued that European Modern Art also found itself on the other side of the trenches. What stirred in Canadian art was an echo of that post war European Cultural Revolution.

Theosophy emerged onto the world stage before modern art and had already made a significant impact on the Anglosphere by the late 1880s with the publication in London of Helena Petrovna Blavatsky’s magnum opus the Secret Doctrine in 1888. By the turn of the Century European art was in the full throws of a revolution that reverberates still. Theosophy was revolutionary in the extreme and held artists in the highest esteem.

Canada’s first national art movement embraced a universally human and divine vision of the artists place in a grand cosmic order that included all peoples and all possibilities of spiritual and creative life.

Walrus Magazine has published an article by Brett Grainger which explores the themes and spiritual convictions of the Group of Seven. I admire the candour intellectual honesty and courage of this article.

The Secret

Speaking of Emily Carr’s relationship with the Group of Seven and Lawren Harris in particular, Grainger writes:

“What he couldn’t have fully appreciated was that the ambivalent, restless energy in Carr’s new work had something to do with her uneasy relationship with Theosophy. While attracted to its syncretism, she bridled at the elitism and smugness it seemed to breed. She especially hated how her new friends in Toronto were constantly belittling Christianity. Their long-winded parsings of theosophical dogma bored her stiff; it seemed all head and no heart, and she found herself missing the warmth of a personal Jesus.”

“Then, in January 1934, she attended a lecture by Raja Singh, a Christian Hindu, and felt her heart leap in her chest. “Oh, this is live, vital religion,” she wrote. She wanted to see life “dipped in love” through communion with a personal divinity. “God as love,” she wrote, “is joyous.” Though she feared the disapproval of Harris and the rest, she was relieved by her decision to “go back sixty years to where I started.” In language reminiscent of Emerson’s assault on the “corpse-cold” rationalism of New England theology a century before, Carr attacked Theosophy as “bloodless,” a “cold storage of beautiful thoughts,” and heaved Blavatsky’s work into the fire.”

Read all of it because its great theosophical reportage. Of course we will nit pick him on some details which he gets wrong, for instance Blavatsky’s Masters were not “dead Tibetans”, or at least they didn’t think they were.

The Secret: Brett Grainger:  Walrus Magazine: