Awareness of Self

Most people identify the lower components of their microcosmic being as the Self. This is a misconception that results in suffering and pain in everyday experiences. It also prolongs soul-bondage to matter, to Maya, to the wheel of birth and rebirth. Buddhism, for example, teaches that there is no self in that which is ephemeral, and although exoterically, they deny the existence of a self within man, teachers of Vajrayana Buddhism do assert the existence of what they call "the Clear Light of the Void" which is correlative with the concept of the Self in Hindu Philosophy. This Self is independent of the lower principles within the microcosmic being of man. In Western Esotericism, this Self is called "the Monad," "the Virgin Spirit," or "the Divine Spark" issued from the Universal Supreme Being. It is a "fragment" or a facet of the Divine Universal Self, the Universal Being; and as such, it has all the qualities and attributes of its "Parent-Flame."

The One God is often described in Christian literature as omnipresent, omniscient, and omnipotent. To the Buddhist It is Unborn, Unconditioned, Unlimited and Unformed. It is the Tao, with which Lao Tse knew to be nameless. The Real, Divine Being within is our True Being. It is "man" created in God's image. In actuality, it is God individualized as man. Man's Real Self is perpetually attuned with the Divine Mind of the Supreme being and through that attunement, partakes of divine nourishment. Awareness of, and the identification with the Real, with Reality and Truth lies the secret of the Ages related to illumination, life, and power. Conversely, ignorance of man's true estate is the cause of spiritual death. It is a state of non-awareness of the verities of the Divine Self and Absolute Reality. Ignorance causes us to misapprehend the external world. We perceive it as solid and stable, whereas it is void and subjected to the Law of Change. In his book, The Inner Reality, Paul Brunton defines ignorance in this way :

"Ignorance means that you confuse the unreal with the Real, and that you take sense-impressions, thoughts, opinions, or visions to be the one permanent reality which is unchanging." (1952:174)

In contrast to our Real Ego, that which we call our self is an illusion. It is our consciousness deeming itself to be a separate being, a created creature. Our waking consciousness is an integral part of the ocean but it believes itself to be an individual droplet. The Aquarian Gospel considers this concept of the self to be an illusion that should pass away if one aspires to illumination, enlightenment, or salvation--it is insufficient to simply call "Lord, Lord . . . " (Matt. 7:22-23). The Aquarian Gospel, a manuscript derived from Akashic sources also claims that the lower nature of man, the carnal self is the devil within. It says that,

"The only devil from which men must be redeemed is self, the lower self. If man would find his devil he must look within; his name is self." (8:21)

Understanding and being aware of our Real Self is essential if we are to live and function constructively and creatively in the lower worlds as a divine being. Self-reliance, self-confidence, and self-expression take on a deeper meaning when these attributes are realized to be dependent upon the True Self and not to the false ego. Self-confidence is in reality God-confidence. Reliance on the false ego for motivation and inspiration creates unpleasant circumstances as well as the grotesque, obnoxious and repulsive sights and sounds that we see about us. Let us take "self-expression," for instance, as applied in the philosophy and cultivation of art. Every artist is more or less aware of this term. But the "self" they believe in and refer to is simply the content of their subconsciousness, which more often than not, is filled with psychedelic images, gruesome forms, phobias, neurosis, and unresolved energies. Most critics of the art world hold such "self-expressions," so-called artistic works in high regard. The standard of divine beauty it would seem--the expression of the true uniqueness of the Monad, as a facet of the Supreme Being, as was known in ancient Greece--has practically been forgotten by modern man who is materialistically-oriented. We can see from this that the aesthetical sense of a large portion of humanity has been degraded by ignorance of the true Self coupled with an impure subconscious and conscious mind.

Putting off the old man, the false ego, and putting on the new, the Higher Self, becomes a necessity if a utopian-consciousness is to be made manifest in man's mind and to appear as Heaven on earth. This is the Christian's long awaited Kingdom of God in which the vigil and the waiting are observed but not the laying of the foundation. It is the fact of man's dual nature that caused the Nazarene Master in the Aquarian Gospel to quip that,

"Man is the Truth and falsehood strangely mixed." (22:12)

It is incumbent upon the metaphysician to point out to the seekers the manner in which this may be achieved, in which the synthetic image of man may be shed, for most if not all of our social ills are derived from ignorance--from man's false identification with the unreal. Sacrifices of animals in ancient cultures and religions are outward, symbolical practices of the sacrificing of one's carnal self upon the altar of truth. Consorting with the false, and mortal principles makes it difficult for it to be sacrificed and to identify with the true. In the Corona Class Lessons, "Kuthumi" comments on this:

"The frailty of human reason is ever in its identification with the finite self. A sense of being entangled in the process of identification with the objects and experiences hinders the revelation of man's true spiritual nature." (1986:259)

Our present world-dilemma is actually a manifestation of the identity-crisis in man. The only antidote to this problem is in the principle of being centered, and living in God-Consciousness rather in the lower consciousness of the mind. About two thousand years ago we were exhorted by the Christ to seek that we shall find. After looking here and there, many still do not know what they are seeking or why. That which is sought for lies within and not without, and it is Truth that we seek that discloses to us our Reality, our True self. The quest for the Holy Grail in the Authurian legends is simply the search for one's immortal principle, for the Reality beyond the Veil of Isis. This truth emancipates us from mortal limitations, mortal conditions, mortal thoughts--mortality, in short. In teaching, healing and counseling the metaphysician has to stress the importance of this vital law. Most, if not all metaphysical techniques and principles depend on the right understanding of man's Divine, immortal nature.

FINDINGS

In this section we will discuss some of the various principles applicable to the metaphysical ministry as related to the themes mentioned in the previous chapter. As man never ceases to be a student of Nature, so the metaphysician never desist from learning the higher unseen causes that affects one's world, and the laws and principles whereby one may be a master of his world, of one's destiny. It would, therefore, be impossible to deal exhaustively with all of the principles and the finer points of Cosmic Laws that the metaphysician should be aware of, as there are many of such that are as yet to be discovered. We will instead discuss a few that we feel to be of vital importance to one's ministry.

The Immaculate Concept

Many people are besieged by depressive thoughts--not all of which are of their own making. For negative thoughts, the tempting demons that they are, may have an external source that attaches themselves to vulnerable persons. Occultism actually call these "larva." Thoughts are things. They are energy-patterns that possesses independent life of their own, and as such they may live outside of the force-field of their creator. According to psychics, these thoughts, or thought-forms, may appear in varied forms, in accord with the nature of those thoughts. Negative thoughts such as greed, for instance, may appear like a creature resembling an octopus with its many tentacles. Thoughtforms may attach themselves to people other than the creator of those thoughts, and they may have detrimental effects upon the psyche, and the somatic system--that is, if the thoughtforms are debased, negative, depressive, and destructive in nature. It is by being aware of this principle that we may exercise a certain power of good by using it constructively for the benefit of our fellow beings. Indonesian shamanism and Javanese Kejawen recognize these harmful larva that attaches themselves to one's aura, and engage in empowered shower-rituals called "ruwatan" to cleanse one's force-field from the presence of these quasi-beings and their destructive work.

It is apparent from the above that there are two points to be considered:

1. The protection of man against negative forces and thoughtforms.

2. The conveying of the Truth, the immaculate concept regarding man--the highest, divine thoughts and principles on Reality and the True Self to one's fellow men.

Regarding the first point, it would be important to recall the law that "like attracts like." The metaphysician should personally practice and educate his clients of the necessity of being pure in body, mind, and soul; and of thinking, feeling, and living constructively, creatively, positively, and divinely. This may effectively be carried-out by the correct knowing, identification and awareness of what constitutes the True Self. Purity and the positive state of mind acts as an etheric barrier to unknown sources of negative energies and forces in the forms of thoughts and feelings that seek to strike the unwary. Indonesian shamanism teaches of two forms of possessions, one by a living entity and this is called "kesurupan." The other by negative energies and this is referred to as "kesambet." The importance of protection against being kesambet is the reason why in the Eightfold-path of Buddhism we are taught to think and act rightly, in conformity to the divine purity of our innate nature. Another method of protection of great usefulness is to mentally create a white light surrounding the physical form. This acts effectively as a shield against the onslaught of negative thoughtforms, and mental and psychic attack.

The above principles implies that each and every one of us may be responsible for the many forms of crime in our society even though physically we may not have lifted a hand to cause any violence. Our unbridled fantasies and repressive emotions of a base nature are contributing causes of social felony and violence. For example, we may fantasize exterminating someone whom we dislike, and although not doing it in actuality, the thought lives on and tempts a poor weak soul who does listen to the "demonic voices" and thus initiates action. It is even probable that we are chosen to be the victims. Thus, externally, we may fall prey to our own thoughts and feelings; this is our inner reality taking shape and reflecting upon the world that we experience. We become a victim of circumstances by having created and putting the causes into motion in the realm of the mind. The Piscean avatar warned us of this principle by saying that to lust after a married woman is the same as committing adultery.

This brings us to the second point which is the converse side of the above. Holding the concept, the idea of our immaculate divine nature in our minds, by knowing and attuning with the Divine Mind, we tend to telepathically stimulate the minds of others as well, awakening them from their spiritual slumber. This should be reinforced by perceiving others not as they appear to be but what they are in Reality--the Divine Self. Our divine influence upon others is thus enhanced. No judgment and condemnation could occur in such a state and conflict is annihilated. With such a state of mind we radiate energy of a certain frequency that stimulates all with whom we come into contact. In India, for instance, the people intuitively know this and when the chance occurs, they would gather around holy sages for a "darshan." The negative side of this is that they end up worshipping images and divine messengers and not applying in their lives the Word of God pouring forth from their mouths--Jesus Christ was such an example. Nowadays more emphasis is placed on the importance of his person rather than on his teachings, which if they had been applied, would have long ago manifested Heaven on earth and triggered the "second-coming." The Nazarene Master had such a spiritual quality in his aura and mien, and he lived in such a manner that even the possessive entities recognized him as a "Son of God." Apparently, the magnetic waves radiating from his person were a little too intense for their liking.

From the above we can see how necessary it is to refrain from judging and gossiping about others, from perceiving their so-called weaknesses which are merely of the lower components of their being and thinking that they are real, whereas instead we should focus more on what is. Seeing perfection is a means of materializing it--it is having that intense faith built upon the foundation of Truth that has the power to move mountains to the sea; it is seeing the Divine Self made manifest in the physical world; to see the macrocosm, God's immaculate image, in the microcosm. This living idea influences spiritually, and telepathically, the lethargic minds who are unable to hold the vision for themselves. The professional metaphysician should establish his relationships with clients and students based upon such an insight, for it connects and unites his Higher Self with theirs. Divine Healing in a holistic manner then becomes an easy matter. To hold an immaculate concept of ourselves and others--on behalf of ourselves and others--is the task and onus of a metaphysical practitioner.

Metaphysical Healing

Too many therapeutical systems deal exclusively with the symptoms or effects of an inharmonious condition occurring within a person. Seldom do they consider the immaterial causes that bring dis-ease into manifestation. It is estimated that around 80% of our varied illnesses have their cause in the psyche--the emotional and mental being of man. This would indicate that medicine working exclusively upon mere symptoms and not treating the core of the problem is 80% ineffective in resulting in a permanent cure. This is not to infer that medicine proper is without worth as a therapeutical system, it is just that it has to include in its methods the proper evaluation and diagnosis of the psycho-states that results in ill-health--and indeed, advances are being made in the field of psychosomatic medicine. It is in this field that one begins to thread in the area of metaphysical healing, for this particular form of therapy is concerned with one's spiritual balance, with the state and condition within one's psyche. Spiritual health--the state of being in harmony with the universe, with the Tao--is the basis of physical health. In the years to come medical science will probe deeply into the subtle bodies, studying occult anatomy and physiology. This study, however, should be undertaken now by the metaphysician if he is to be an effective instrument of healing. The healing of others, and self-healing is a challenge to every individual, and it is the work of the metaphysician to inculcate the principles and techniques of health and healing to the populace.

Faith plays a prominent role in any system of healing. It would be accurate to say that without faith and the will to live, chances for healing is reduced by a large margin. In most "miraculous" healings, it is this spiritual quality of receptiveness which faith instills that allows the divine energies from the Universal Source to descend into the psyche to purify, and to energize the psychosomatic system. This is a principle that should be recognized by the metaphysician as he is too likely to believe that he is the sole instrument in any healing treatment. Patients are likewise in error should they consider that they were healed by a certain healer after having visited a whole line of doctors and healers. The healing process probably started a long time before it culminated in a healing-treatment given by a certain healer. The healer likewise develops arrogance and pride as a result of believing that s/he is the sole cause of the healing.

In the metaphysical healing process, the arousal of faith in the mind of the patient should be the first step. This principle was known by the ancient practitioners of theurgy and thaumaturgy. The Piscean Avatar, for instance, made it a prerequisite condition for those seeking his divine aid in returning a state of harmony back into their physical bodies. The role faith play in healing is one of the reasons why catalysts in the form of amulets and talismans that influence and transform the conscious and subconscious minds are sometimes effective in healing--as every Polynesian Kahuna and shaman knows.

Not every individual is easily healed. There may be various reasons why a healing may not take place. People get ill for various reasons and although in their conscious minds they may seek alleviation from their illnesses, but deep down inside their subconscious mind they may not at all be anxious to get well. This may seem to be paradoxical, nevertheless, this is a true state of things, and one that faces the challenge of the metaphysician to get to the root of the problem. Some of the possible reasons why people unconsciously militate against the amelioration of their health is that they desire the attention of others. Feelings of being unloved causes an emptiness in the heart and disrupts the natural frequency of the energy-centers in the etheric body. Being ill gives them a morbid sense of fulfillment in the attention that they crave that is being shown upon them. Ted Andrews in his book, The Healer's Manual, gives other pertinent reasons which we will not belabor here.