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PART THREE First Steps on the Occult Way
GETTING TO KNOW YOURSELF
The study of the occult is essentially a practical one. Therefore it is often called the Path, or the Way. And even if your studies seem to be no more than book learning in the first instance, this still is a ractical step along the Occult Path or Way, which is a way of self nowledge.
And self knowledge means a knowledge of your own subjective world - which has more influence upon the objective world in which ou find yourself than you might at first think. All knowledge of the world about you comes to you through your physical senses, but is also processed by your inner attitudes and expectations and prior assumptions. Therefore, however little control you may seem to have on the events going on about you, they are certainly perceived by you through tinted spectacles.
We say of one who is an incurable optimist that they are "looking at the world through rose-tinted glasses" - implying that they are not seeing things as they ‘really’ are. However, we all have our own tinted, or even distorting lenses through which we view the world, and one of the first tasks is to ‘cleanse the doors of perception.’
This is why from the earliest records of occult tradition, it is found that ‘Know thyself’ is the first injunction to every seeker of hidden, or occult, truth. It was engraved at the portal of the world famous oracle of Delphi in ancient Greece. And it remains as true today as it was then.
How do we get to know ourselves? It is not quite so easy a task as it might at first appear. If we find it difficult to see the outer world as it stage of the Path, which is that of the Seeker.
THE SEEKER AND THE QUEST
The search for occult truth tends to fall into a series of identifiabl~ stages. The average man or woman of the world may well have interest in such matters but be quite content with the relationship~ and situations in which they find themselves in the physical world. ~ world that is generally hounded by family relationships, business 94 career ambitions, and the pleasurable pursuit of leisure activities, 4 of which may be pursued in the context of conventional religio~ belief and practice (or lack of it) to a greater or lesser extent. The Seeker is someone to whom all of this, laudable as it well m~)( he, and the norm of general civilised behaviour, becomes inad~ quate. Something somehow is missing. This can come like a bolt from the blue, or be a generally increasing awareness, that may come on in later life.
This can be a very miserable period for such a person, as they maY well not realise what is happening, and may feel guilty that — perhapS in the midst of plenty, and a loving family — they are discontefltcd~ However, it is a very natural process of the beginning of S~J~ However, nobody seems to know what the Holy Grail is, or even what it looks like. In some tales it is in the form of a cup, in others it is a stone, others see it as a dish, to name but a few of the versions. Yet it is none the less real for all that, and has a profound effect upon those who seek it, whether or not they find it, and on the whole realm in general.
So anyone in thc position of the Seeker is seeking for something they know not how to define, or even if it exists. Not unnaturally this can cause some concern, incomprehension, and even irritation and hostility from family and friends.
Some may find a remedy of sorts in greater involvement in church or charitable activities. This can be a step in the right direction, for the higher consciousness that is trying to make itself felt is more concerned with expression in a wider field of service than is generally to be found in the well motivated but essentially self centred concerns of the normal man or woman of the world. However, there is still likely to be a sense of unfulfilment because the type of inner awareness or experience that is to be found in many religious institutions goes nowhere near fulfilling the hunger of soul that can experienced by the Seeker. In the more conventional forms really is, it is even more difficult to weigh up the inner thoughts a~ motivations of our friends, family and acquaintances, and next impossible to look at ourselves accurately and know what reall makes us tick. However, it is this difficult task that is attempted anyone who seriously takes up the study of the occult.
It is true that there is a very great deal of superstitious nonsen that is bandied about in the name of occultism by people wh grasp of the realities of the outer world and their own condition soul could hardly be further from the truth. Occultism, by concentration upon the subjective side of life, (at any rate in the ea$ stages), attracts its share of the immature, the inadequate, and t unbalanced, who are seeking some kind of escape from the ou world. However, this phenomenon of a ‘lunatic fringe’ Occurs’ most areas of study where the subjective plays an important role, such as the arts, or even politics.
Thus the first two traditional virtues of any seeker after occult t are Discretion and Discrimination. One has to develop the ability’ discern the wheat from the chaff. And also not be put off by outw appearances, nor on the other hand fooled by them. We have i~ the phrase ‘seeker after occult truth’ — and that really sums up t knowledge in the occult sense. The discontent, (sometimes it is called the ‘divine discontent’), comes from the higher unconscious levels of their being, which are calling for a measure of conscious recognition.
This feeling can also come to those quite young, and can then be even more of a problem, as it can divert them from the very necessary business of preparing themselves by education and training for a responsible and fulfilling role in material life, and this gives the phenomenon of the ‘drop-out’, whose pursuit of vague ideals overcome all thoughts of immediate and future practicalities.
However, at whatever stage in life it comes, it is in essence no pursuit of vague ideals, even though to an unsympathetic observer it might well appear to be such. There is nothing wrong with ideals, the whole of civilised existence is built upon the pursuit of them, however far the reality may often fall short. They are of necessity vague, however, to some extent until the Seeker has formulated exactly what he or she is looking for.
Something of this dilemma is mirrored in the legends of the Quest of the Holy Grail. This is a search on the part of one of the knights of the Round Table of King Arthur. who is thus, by definition a Seeker. of religious observance indeed, such awareness or experience may be almost entirely lacking, being what one broad churchman once defined, with some self-satisfaction, as “morality tinged with emotion
Thus the Seeker will usually need to seek beyond the confines of established religious thinking, which is a pity in one way, because there is profound truth and experience of a spiritual nature to be found there, but all too often hidden under a very heavy laycr of stale custom and convention.
This means that a lot of books need to be read, or at least looked at, because every single Seeker is different, and the paths to inner wisdom and self knowledge are very diverse. So which way is the right one is the question that every Seeker has to ask, and find the answer for. This may well mean a few false starts, but no time or experience is ever wasted in the long run. It is to be hoped that this book, with its general notes on a variety of aspects of occultism, together with suggested introductory reading, will help a few Seekers to find their true way with a little more facility~ the individual student according to his inner needs as discerned by his teacher. Those without a teacher can choose an ideal or motto that appeals to them, and which reflects their aspirations. This phrase can be changed from time to time as each gets worked out, so to speak. An example might be “Per Ardua ad Astra” — “through glory to the stars”.
A famous example is the Jesus prayer of the Orthodox church, or indeed the Ave Maria of Roman Catholic observance. In the East there are also well known universal mantra such as Om Mani Padme Hum — or simply the sacred word Om or AUM — which starts at the back of the throat and is articulated gradually more forward until the M sound made with the lips. This universal mantram is generally translated as meaning “the jewel in the heart of the lotus”. In symbolic terms this is what the Seeker is seeking. It is a form of the Holy Grail. The jewel is the higher consciousness that lies at the heart of the flower of the personality. Om or Aum itself is generally untranslatable, but signifies by its very articulation, the divine creative process, from the depths of the throat (the higher creative
However, until that way is found, some general practical guidance can be provided, for although all the individual paths are different, and some are broad ways paved by long established Societies, and others more narrow and less trodden paths, they all cover broadly the same ground — which is the quest of the higher consciousness, and its expression in the world. To this end, we give the following practical notes, which should stand any genuine Seeker in good stead, and enable the initial steps of the Path to be trod.
TYPES OF MEDITATION
Most, if not all, occult progress depends upon the practice of meditation. There arc in fact a number of forms of meditation, but in general it simply means the practice of turning the focus of conscious attention inwards instead of outwards, for a time.
In its most rigorous form it may be the practice of thinking about ‘nothing’ for a period often or twenty minutes. This is no easy feat, and it is more rewarding for most of us to think about ‘something’ — which can indeed be equally productive. Various schools or teachers will advocate different subjects upon which to concentrate in this way. With some it will be a phrase, repeated over and over again. This is sometimes called a mantram, and in the East, where it has a strong following, the phrase will be especially selected and given to centre) to the humming expression of the lips in the outer world.
Therefore, in these simple actions the whole of the occult Path is contained in essence. However, in the last analysis the Path has to be expressed or trodden out in daily life — sitting for a few minutes each day meditating in seclusion is a start, and a beneficial practice for a long time to come, but is not the whole story~
Other forms of meditation may be more discursive. That is a phrase may be meditated upon with the expectation of receiving ‘realis- ations’. This is a way that teaching may be brought through to the conscious mind from the deeper levels of one’s being. In a sense it is a controlled form of dreaming.
Taken to its ultimate level such meditation can spawn forth whole books. It should he said that these may be of varying merit. We can all tap these levels within ourselves but it is only the few that are able to do so to the extent and quality of being the authors of inspired communications that are worthy of being disseminated to the world at large. This is an exact parallel of the fact that all or most of us can write poetry or tell stories, which may well be appreciated by our friends and serve as a fulfilling channel of creative effort for ourselves, but not all of us are destined to be great writers.
However some of the key books of occult tradition were received by regular meditation in this time honoured fashion.
At a less verbal and mentally conceptual level there is meditation in picture images. This is a very powerful and rewarding mode of work, although also one where there is some risk of ‘glamour’ and self-deception.
By glamour we mean too literal an interpretation of some of the images that may come to mind. If angelic forms appear in the imagination it is not necessarily the fact that the recipient is in direct conscious contact with the highest heavens. However, as with the more mental forms of meditation, and indeed all occultism in general, it is common sense and a healthily maintained sense of proportion, that must rule the day It is important to believe implicitly in what one subjectively experiences at the time, otherwise the visions will wither, but it is even more important to assess their true value in the cold light of day It is for this reason that a teacher, or spiritual director, is recommended by most schools of thought. As in all subjects, self tuition is possible, but general guidance by an experienced teacher can save some embarrassing excursions into self deception working’, which has come to be applied to any such excursion even when not ostensibly connected with the paths of the Tree of Life. In the system of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn it used to be called ‘scrying in the spirit vision’ but its antecedents go back a very long way indeed. The founder of the Jesuits, Ignatius of Loyola, elaborated his series of Spiritual Exercises by just such visionarv processes applied to scenes from the Bible. We can be assured, from hints dropped in various ancient texts, that this method was very much the modus operandi of the ancient Mysteries, whether of the classical, world or ancient Egypt. It is also how myths and legends were developed by bardic story tellers and later ballad singers. And the same basic techniques are to be found from the esoteric schools of the Orient to the religious practices of the American Indians or Australian aborigines. However, some sort of system needs to be worked to if one is not to be a mere ‘day tripper’ of the inner worlds, seeking and getting only a disorganiscd range of unrelated experience. There can indeed be a certain educative element in such an approach but generally
SYMBOLIC MAPS AND IMAGES
The visual images that can be used for meditation are many and various. They range from static simple images, such as a gold cross with a rose in the centre, to very complex ones such as the Tree of Life. Indeed, comprehensive images such as the Tree of Life contain a wealth of symbolism that can be worked upon in detail. There are, for instance, ten spheres on the Tree of Life, any one of which contains a great deal of images in itself. Enough to provide meditation material for weeks. Much the same could be said for diagrams, or sequences of diagrams, to be found in spiritual alchemy. The secret of penetrating the mysteries that these contain is to imagine them before you, as pictures, not to try to work out their meaning by mental speculation. This same criterion applies to more familiar systems of occult symbols, such as Tarot cards or the hexagrams of the I Ching, to say nothing of the much abused and vulgarised signs of the Zodiac.
As well as picturing such images in a static form before you, it is possible to make them the starting point of a personal experience, by walking into them or through them, in the imagination. When applied to the Tree of Life, this technique is often applied to walking the paths that join one sphere to another — hence the term ‘path speaking some kind of map is an advantage when venturing into strange lands.
There are of course different maps, of which the Tree of Life is one, which is particularly well known in Western occult circles. However, generally speaking all maps of the inner world are based on the inner structure of the human being. We are considerably more than the mobile biological systems that constitute our physical bodies. Behind this physical body, holding it together in a kind of electro-magnctic matrix, is the etheric body. This is sometimes discerned as the aura, under certain conditions, and is the vehicle of consciousness for those people who have had ‘after death’ experiences. Such experi- ences have become more frequently reported in the light of recent advances in medical techniques of resuscitation after heart attacks. The person generally finds himself floating free from the physical body, often at ceiling height, viewing all the attempts of the medical team at revival.
However, we do not seek to teach how to attain such experiences at will. This is technically known as etheric projection, (often mis-called astral projection), and is not a normal or natural condition to be sought after. In life the etheric body is an integral part of the physical body and their separation in full consciousness belongs only to very advanced techniques of yoga, or as the result of physical trauma. There are only a very few individuals to whom it may come naturally or in the early stages of the occult Path. The etheric double is not an amorphous cloud. Like the physical body it has its specialised organs, generally known as chakras, or psychic centres, which are whirling vortices of psychic energy. The aim of practical occult development is to make changes in the centre of consciousness, which will in fact cause changes in the etheric vehicle and indeed ultimately in the subtler aspects of the physical vehicle too. This is done by techniques of imaginative visualisation, in meditation.
The use of the creative imagination is what is called the astral level of consciousness in occult work, and is also the le~’el of psychic perception. In the training of a yogi work at the astral level is allied to work at the etheric level in a series of complex breathing exercises, which are allied to detailed visualisations centred on various parts of the body, and with the taking up of specific physical postures, often very difficult for a Westerner to attain. Only in rare cases is it on the ground (or on a foot-stool if this makes the posture better in relation to the height of the seat of the chair). The ideal to aim for is relaxed poise.
The only breathing technique that is necessary is perhaps a few fairly deep regular breaths to begin with to help initial relaxation. Some people like to do this to a count of four, and to maintain this rhythm throughout their meditation work, but it is not essential and is largely a matter of personal preference and the type of meditation one may be undertaking. The main thing is not to “over-breathe” — leading to over-oxygenation.
Of the various centres in the human organism by far the most important for our immediate purpose are three. That is, a point above the head; the heart; and a point just below the feet. It may seem strange that two of these centres are outside of the physical body but as has been said above, we are not all physical, and our aura extends a considerable way beyond.
By far the most important of these three is the point above the advisable for a Western person, living the kind of life that goes with Western civilisation, to attempt to use full blown Eastern methods of development such as this. There may be modified versions watered down so as to be little more than physical fitness and mental relaxation exercises, which can indeed be beneficial at their elemen- tary level, and which are frequently taught at college evening classes these days. However, the complete yogic method is designed fbr Eastern souls and bodies, and in conditions of life that are very different too. So unless one can live the life of a hermit and devote most of one’s waking hours to it, these techniques are best left alone b most Westerners. What is likely to happen is a heightened psychic sensitivity that cannot cope with the hurly burly and cruder psychic vibrations of Western life, leading to physical debility and nervous exhaustion.
DEVELOPING THE PSYCHIC CENTRES
The Western technique is quite safe and has been practised over centuries. It works directly upon the astral or imaginative levels, without linking in to the etheric body by special breathing tech- niques or postures. The normal position to take up is of being seated, with spine straight, the thighs parallel with the floor, the hands and fore-arms resting upon them, and the feet squarely placed head. It represents our own spark of divine consciousness, our own real self. It may be called various names by different schools of occult thought but the mental labels we choose to put upon things are not all that important.
We suggest you try the following sequence.
When you have composed yourself in meditation concentrate your thought about six inches above your head and imagine a brilliant white light there. You may well be surprised at the ease with which this supposedly subjective image builds up and feels to be actually there. When you are conscious of it being well and truly there tiw seeing a ray of this white light proceeding from it, forwards and downwards, so that it forms a large arc before your body, and comes in again at the point about six inches beneath your feet. Be aware of it then ascending behind your back to join up again with the centre of brilliant light from whence it started.
Having done that satisfactorily, see and feel the circle revolve upon its axis so that you are standing inside a sphere traced out by this line of light.
Now feel a line of light from this point above your head proceeding forward at an angle inside the sphere of light you have made, until it reaches the level of your heart. See it, a few inches inside the shell of