Theosophy Basics II : Section 4. Controlling the flow of thoughts.

April 5, 1999

Greetings:

In this section of the article, Shri Martin Euser explains the method of

controlling the flow of thoughts. An extensive bibliography references

and Internet Linkages are provided at the end of the essay.

I find that these theosophical explanations give further insights and

support to the Vedantic concept of human role in this universe. Shri

Martin Euser welcome your comments and questions. All discussions that

pertain to these articles will be forwarded to Martin and I am sure that

he will certainly respond to any of your questions.

Once again, let me express my sincere thanks to Shri Martin Euser for

his permission to post this essay to the Advaitin List.

Ram Chandran

Burke, VA

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Theosophy Basics II : The Psychological Key To Man: Theosophy By Martin

Euser (euser)

Section 4. Controlling the flow of thoughts.

Changing our pattern of thinking (habits of thinking).

The reason for the necessity of getting control over one's thought-life

will be clear by now: by controlling the kind of thoughts that enter

into one's mind, one can exert a powerful, positive, harmonious

influence on this world and also avoid being carried away by harmful

desires.

We can use the force of thoughts without any danger if we concentrate

our minds on a high ideal, that aims at the well-being of humanity in

general, e.g. the ideal of human brotherhood (siblinghood). Think about

this ideal in detail and eliminate all elements in your thinking that

are in conflict with this, by replacing these with positive building

stones (thoughts).

These thoughts will touch many minds and create a driving-force for

changing conditions in this world. Persistent and purposeful thinking is

necessary to achieve this. By the practice of selflessness and

self-forgetfulness one will also see effective ways to help others to

help themselves. Many people, but not enough, are doing this kind of

things already for a long time. Do you want to join them?

Let me add a couple of practical remarks to the above procedure. To make

it more effective, visualize concrete, practical steps to establish

parts of this image and DO what you need to do. To give just some

examples: did you ever think of helping change the flows of money in

this world? Why don't invest in projects that educate people to make a

living for themselves and their families (or put your savings on banks

that support projects like these)?

What about consumer power: buying products that conform to certain

standards of production, labor conditions, environmental conditions,

etc.? What can you do for your neighbors, elderly people, homeless

people, etc.? Most important of course, is to set a good example for

others by living a life of love, compassion, using your talents, keeping

the welfare of others in mind. Organizing groups, partaking in groups,

spreading information about the reality of the spiritual world, about

spirituality in daily life, writing letters to organizations and

influential people (opinion-makers); a thousand possibilities exist to

do useful spiritual work. Personally I like to participate in

LETS-systems (Local Exchange Trading Systems). These are systems that

work with local currencies and have banned the practice of charging

interest. Social contacts are stimulated by participating in such a

system and you can gain many new friends.

One thing is sure: it is ACTS which are important, guided by wisdom and

discrimination. Use of imagination is the preparatory work, the evolving

of the right mental patterns, the 'preparation of the soil'.

Mental patterns are not abstractions. They are really existing patterns

of subtle matter, consisting of living beings, vibrating with life and

light. They tend to materialize if only you use your spiritual will.

'Will (energy) follows desire', says William Quan Judge in his comments

on the Bhagavad Gita. In other words: if one directs one's attention,

desire (in the form of one's spiritual aspirations) to the inner planes

then you can receive spiritual energy from within - establishing a new

circuit for one's energy to move in!

The human psyche will certainly respond to images, dynamically hold in

the mind, no doubt about that. It is a practice which is known to quite

a number of people today. It takes some resoluteness of mind and some

effort of concentration at first, but will soon become a habit! Real

thought-currents are set in motion when you practice imagination (not

your fantasy). Your ACTS will amplify the influence of these currents a

thousand-fold. It will bring a healing influence into this world that so

sorely needs it. Love (compassion) is the greatest healing power in the

world! A true divine magic for the benefit of all, brought into

manifestation by YOU and others. You can make a difference, if you WANT!

I'd like to give two references here:

Roberto Assagioli, ~The Act of Will~, Wildwood House, London, 1974. This

is a worthwhile book written by the developer of psychosynthesis, Dr.

Assagioli. This includes the concept of skillful will and Transpersonal

Will.

School of the Natural Order: Gnosis (Wisdom tradition) in a modern form.

In this context especially see the material on the psychic nature of man

and the article on the Christos. Also, Vitvan's ~Tree of life~ book is

pertinent as is his ~Functional activities~. This latter book gives an

interesting parallel to the division of thinking I sketch in this

article . An online book of Vitvan (On Good and evil) can be found here

An introductory article on Vitvan's writings on general semantics is

available at my website: Highlights of Vitvan's writings(1)

Changing the pattern of thinking. A further investigation.

We have seen already how we can change our thought-pattern. To elucidate

this process further we will look at some important issues of character.

Marcus Aurelius says in his 'Meditations' that:

"your life is what your thoughts make of it".

This truth is based upon the fact that behind each act there stands a

corresponding thought and the fact that a repeated act becomes a habit.

Habits form our character, i.e. our pattern of life. A critical

investigation of our own thought-life will render an understanding of

these facts. From this follows the conclusion that changing our habits

of thinking will lead to changes in our character! Of course, we will

have to exercise this practice of changing our habits of thinking. As a

clarifying note I add that thoughts are in reality actions on the mental

plane. The thought-currents (waves) can manifest themselves on the

physical plane by certain processes (somewhat analogous to

electromagnetic induction I think), but a description of these things is

entirely beyond the scope of this article.

The direction of change should be towards impersonal, selfless thoughts.

There are great examples in history of men and women who practiced great

self-forgetfulness, worked for the benefit of all, fought against

dogmatism, group-interests and injustice, created great pieces of art,

etc. These were the real founders of civilizations! They can be our

examples. Everybody can become a purveyor of culture and help build a

society in which every human being has the opportunity to evolve and

express the best qualities that are within him or her.

The only thing one has to do is to use the creative powers that are

within oneself. The technique is simple: use your imaginative power by

creating an image of how you want to be! You will discover the enormous

power of creative imagination ( a formative power of the human soul).

I'm not talking of fantasy here (that is only a relatively weak power

operative in the lower astral light),but about the powers of the higher

aspects of thinking on the mental plane.

On the one hand you know what your character is now, on the other hand

you know how you want to be (and potentially are, deep inside: the human

ego which forms a part of your constitution and which already has such a

high level of awareness and spiritual development). You can make your

personality transparent to the inner qualities of the human ego (a

separate, but yet closely connected entity), allowing these energies to

flow through your personality. This can be called "attuning to the

spiritual worlds", "building the bridge to the inner worlds", "setting

up spiritual vibrations", etc., greatly influencing the world for the

better.

These forces work all through the astral light (higher parts thereof, in

the above case), the connecting sphere or spheres for inner and outer

planes of being. The astral light is a key-factor in the explanation of

(for example) how a thought-impulse leads to a movement of the body, how

telepathy works, etc. The lower parts of the astral light are involved

with psychism, but a detailed explanation of that is beyond the scope

and purpose of this article (see lit. 3,4,5,6,7,11 for more information

about the astral light). Swedenborg and Boehme classify among the most

famous mystics who were able to see pictures in the astral light.

By this process (see above) you will transform yourself gradually into a

more complete human being. The higher aspects of thinking will be able

to express themselves in you. Our personality is connected with the

(higher) human ego. Our thinking faculty is derived from this last ego.

It is from one perspective a kind of 'reflection' of the pure ray of

thought, emanating from the higher human ego, onto the turbulent mirror

of the brain-mind. You can clear this mirror and reflect this pure ray

on a crystal-clear mind. More information can be found in lit.(3).

You will have to form an image of yourself of how you want to be and

perfect this image. This ideal picture will grow and refine in

proportion to the growth of your understanding of life. You will

encounter difficulties, no doubt about that, as you will experience

relapses in old modes of thinking and acting. This should be a stimulus

to persist in changing your habits of thinking. A helpful exercise,

sometimes ascribed to Pythagoras, consists of looking back at ,

evaluate, the events of the day when you go to bed. Ask yourself: "What

did I do this day?", "did I do as I planned to do?", "what did I learn

from this day?", "what things can I do better?", "Did I hurt somebody?",

etc. This is very useful for coping with the world's affairs and will

help you to profit more from deep sleep since you already 'processed'

some stresses and strains from the day. Of course, this exercise should

be done with a sincere attitude of mind.

Also, you will understand your weaknesses more clearly as your

consciousness is raised. This is only to be expected because a clearer

light comes literally to shine through your mind. These weaknesses

should not be combated but forgotten by dynamically working for the

benefit of humanity, so that you gain inner strength and your

consciousness becomes more centered in your spiritual core.

One becomes what one thinks. Ponder on the fact that energy describes a

circuit and thoughts that are send out will come back to you after some

time. So, be careful in what you send 'out there'. A negative projection

will get back to you like a boomerang and catch you unexpectedly, if not

in this life then surely in another reincarnation. A positive impulse

sent out will be reinforced and stimulate others (and yourself too).

One is that with what one identifies oneself with. Think about yourself

as a man or woman who is capable of understanding the background of life

and who is capable of realizing high ideals in practical life. Be a

creator of uplifting ideas and you will become a living embodiment of

these!

Section 5. Socratic thinking: a question of mentality.

Plato differentiates between Wisdom and knowledge. In his dialogues,

Socrates proceeds from the point of view that he knows nothing with

certainty. This enabled him to question people about their opinions,

showing that their opinions were based on ignorance of the real causes

of life's manifestations. It enabled him also to avoid dogmatism, as his

thinking was not cloaked or veiled with personal opinions or concepts.

Thus, he was able to put himself mentally in the position of others and

understand what the other meant. Seen from the perspective of the

different aspects of thinking one can say that Socrates tried to use the

higher aspects of his thinking, avoiding prejudice and crystallized

tradition. This is a practice of the faculty of understanding and

discrimination!

A careful analysis of these dialogues, e.g. Symposion and Apology, will

render much food for thought as to how the Socratic method works.

What is lacking in our world.

If we apply the Socratic method of thinking to the belief-systems of

people about life and to human life in this world in general, we will

discover that there is quite some dogmatism involved, in religious,

philosophic as well as in scientific sense. Often, the cherished visions

are in conflict with observable facts. Not to mention the fact that that

there are great differences of opinion between and within such radically

different belief-systems as religion and science (yes, science too! -

see Paul Feyerabend's "Against method"). If we think critically about

this, and don't pay any attention to authorities then we end up with the

question: "who is right?".

Now, obviously, this is not a question of: 'what does the majority of

people believe', because truth can only be found by those who have

developed the type of consciousness to perceive this truth. [Plato

speaks about the existence of an organ or instrument of knowledge that

can be purified and kindled afresh (by esoteric study and living the

right life). See Republic,527d. A real organ indeed, according to

Theosophy.]

We need a philosophy of life that can answer all pertinent questions

about life, death, suffering, morality, etc. This philosophy should not

conflict with the basic facts of science (but will conflict with many

current mainstream theories) and should conform to the universal ideas

common to all great religions and philosophies (often clothed in

allegories and symbols). This philosophy should be the natural synthesis

of science, religion and philosophy. It must point the way to a society

in which each individual can realize his best abilities, express his

higher aspects of thinking and lead to peace and understanding. Finally,

it should give safe guidelines for our actions and thinking, not in a

dogmatic way but as pointers to how to live a more spiritual life

without falling into certain traps.

As I pointed out in my first article and corroborated in this one,

Theosophy is such a synthesis.

References to Internet resources

Spirit-WWW Site: http://www.spiritweb.org [American site;See Theosophy

section] http://www.eu.spiritweb.org [European site;See Theosophy

section] A discussion list on Theosophy (through E-mail) is available

(theos-l). See Theosophy section on Spirit-WWW.

Bibliography

1. Fundamentals of the esoteric philosophy. G. de Purucker. TUP-press.

ISBN 0-911500-63-4 ISBN 0-911500-64-2

A good introduction to the Secret Doctrine (H.P.Blavatsky's masterwork).

This book is available on line. See bibliography of theosophy basics,

part 1 for an Adobe Acrobat file format (entire two volume book in one

file).

This book in HTML format (on a chapter by chapter basis) can be found

at: http://www.halcyon.com/pasadena/tup-onl.htm

2. Esoteric instructions #9: Correlations of Cosmic and Human

Constitutions G.de Purucker. Point Loma Publications, Inc. P.O. Box 6507

San Diego, Calif. 92106

3. The key to Theosophy. H.P.Blavatsky. Theosophical University Press

(TUP). Post-office Bin C, Pasadena, Cal. 91109 - 7107 USA tel. (818)

798-3378

An excellent intro to Theosophy. ISBN 0-911500-06-5 cloth ISBN

0-911500-07-3 soft-cover

NOTE: this book is available at:

http://www.spiritweb.org/KeyToTheosophy/index.html

Other useful books:

4. The ocean of Theosophy. W.Q. Judge. TUP-press (see #1) ISBN

0-911500-25-1 cloth ISBN 0-911500-26-x paper

A concise intro to Theosophy. NOTE: this book is available on

Spirit-WWW, see:

http://www.spiritweb.org/OceanOfTheosophy/

5. Echoes of the Orient. W.Q. Judge. (3 volumes) Point Loma

Publications, Inc. P.O. Box 6507 San Diego, Calif. 92106

Contains many excellent magazine articles (vol. 1 ,2) and comments &

suggestions about esoteric teachings (vol.3)

6. The Secret Doctrine (2 vol's), H.P. Blavatsky. (TUP). ISBN

1-55700-001-8 cloth ISBN 1-55700-002-6 soft-cover Volume one is now

available online: http://www.halcyon.com/pasadena/tup-onl.htm

7. The esoteric tradition (2 volumes). G. de Purucker. (TUP) A thorough

work on many theosophical teachings. Contains also comments on science

in the thirties. ISBN 0-911500-65-0 cloth ISBN 0-911500-66-9 paper

8. Fountain-source of occultism. G. de Purucker. (TUP) An advanced book

on esoteric topics. ISBN 0-911500-70-7 cloth ISBN 0-911500-71-5

soft-cover Also available on the web. See:

http://www.halcyon.com/pasadena/tup-onl.htm

9. The dialogues of G. de Purucker (TUP) Very diverse, but offers

valuable insights on practical human problems and also profound themes

of Theosophy. ISBN 0-911500-59-6 (3 volumes)

10. Man in evolution. G. de Purucker. (TUP) A book that analyzes

Theosophy in relation to science. ISBN 0-911500-55-3

Online file:Man in evolution

11. Isis unveiled. H.P. Blavatsky. (TUP) ISBN 0-911500-022 0-911500-030

12. Beyond ego. Transpersonal dimensions in psychology. Ed. Roger Walsh

, M.D.,Ph.D. & Frances Vaughan, Ph.D. J.P. Tarcher, Inc.,Los Angeles.

ISBN: 0-87477-175-7

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