Tag Archives: Infinity

The World As A Cohesive Whole

Before we continue, I would like to remind the blog’s readers that in the middle of these or any of the problems we have been discussing, there may be a period of depression, of the feeling that one’s own problem has no solution after all.

Whenever this occurs, the steps I have given before in previous blogs should be followed. Briefly, immediately refuse to worry about the future or the past. Tell yourself you can worry another time if you want to — but for the moment you will not be concerned about the past of the future.

Remind yourself that for all you might have read, of heard, or deduced earlier, it is certainly not inevitable that all unfortunate situations take the darkest of times, and that indeed the opposite is true; for if such were the case, the world and all of life would have literally been destroyed through disasters and calamities.

Concentrate upon the present moment — but more, concentrate upon the most pleasant aspects of the present moment. If that moment has distracting, unfavorable aspects, then resolutely bring into your mind whatever images delight or please you at the moment. These may be very simple. Remember the smell of lilacs, for example, or try to hear the crisp crunch of snow, or try to visualize an ocean or lake. All of these procedures will serve to quiet your mind and body, and build up your own reserves.

 

This is an excellent policy to follow, because we can start it wherever we are. It will help alleviate fears and doubts at least momentarily, so that then we can pursue the entire issue later, with more assurance.

Conflicting beliefs about the nature of reality can bring about dilemmas in almost any form, for the individual will always try to make sense out of his or her surroundings, and try to at least see the world as a cohesive whole.

Some of the most complicated ways of trying to put conflicting beliefs  together are often mental or emotional ones. The more incohesive the individual feels the world to be, the greater his or her efforts will be expended in an attempt to put the world back together.

Some people possess beliefs that are so in opposition to each other that they are forced into some of the most complicated mental or emotional footwork. Their problem will seem so gigantic that only some interference from an outside source will be sufficient to give the individual a sense of wholeness and sanity. A person may become so frightened of using his or her own power of choice or action that the construction of an artificial super being is created — a seemingly sublime personage who gives orders to the individual involved.

Again, let us use a hypothetical case — this time of a man named Stephen.

Stephen may be so terrified of making choices, so indecisive, that he constructs an imaginary super being who orders him to do thus and so. If a decision comes up on a job, for example, then the super being will order Stephen to take one course or another. Stephen has given up accepting responsibility for his actions. This imaginary personage may say it is God, or a famous hero from the present or the past, or Jesus Christ, or Mohammed, and the personality involved will be quite certain that such is the case.

Stephen, for example, many hear the hallucinated voice of the god or hero. The voice may be so frequent that it becomes highly distracting, or it may only appear in times of undue stress.

Again, we are starting out with a fairly simple picture. Our friend might also be convinced that he himself is evil, unworthy, or even depraved, the lowest of men or women. In such circumstances an individual might then construct an artificial devil or demon who annoys him constantly, and even orders acts of a highly destructive nature.

The individual, like Stephen, has also given up the responsibility for his own choices, and feels that he or she cannot be held responsible for any destructive acts that might be committed.

Any of the two kinds of personalities mentioned might also begin to feel persecuted, chased, or harassed by some outside agency. Among the agencies chosen, of course, are the FBI, the CIA, the Russian Secret Police, The Ku Klux Klan, or any controversial group given to acts of violence for whatever purposes.

Sometimes such episodes last for long periods of time, but they can also appear for just several days, clear up spontaneously, and return again perhaps years later.

Some people may seem completely normal in behavior unless certain subjects are brought up in the course of a conversation, or unless some stimulus in the environment arouses them.

For instance, the individual might be talking along normally enough when he or she hears the sirens of a police car in the distance. Instantly the person might leap up, convinced that that was evidence of the pursuit of the FBI or other agency.

The car with siren might disappear, yet the alarmed person’s attitude and actions may very well instantly cause his or her companion to realize that something was clearly amiss. The disturbed person may immediately begin a long tirade, describing previous episodes in which he or she was hunted from city to city. There may be further complications, in which the person insists that phones were bugged, letters opened, and privacy was constantly invaded.

 

This might be the very first sign to the person’s companion that anything was wrong at all. In most such instances the tirade will continue for some time, while in other far lesser episodes it might instead simply leap to disordered, confused thoughts about being so pursued. Or instead, the individual might embark upon a rather heated discussion of police forces in general.

In actuality, people in those circumstances are often so frightened of the use of power that the idea of being under constant surveillance actually lends them a sense of protection.

The point is, that in such circumstances the person will try to use evidence from the outside world to prove that he is indeed being pursued.

In the same fashion, the person who hallucinates the voice of God or a demon actually does so to preserve the idea of sanity in his or her own mind. As long as he or she believes that a god or demon is involved, then the person can consider the entire affair most extraordinary, decidedly apart from usual experience, but valid.

If the therapist tries to convince such a person that the hallucinated personage does not exist, then this threatens the person’s concepts of personal sanity.

It is , then, that any therapist convinces the client that while the super being is a self-construction, and/or that the voices are hallucinations — this does not mean that the client is insane.

An effort should be made to help the client understand that errors of thought and belief are responsible for the condition — and that the removal of those erroneous beliefs can relieve the situation. The therapist should make it clear that he or she understands that the client is not lying, in ordinary terms, when he reports hearing voices from the devil.

 

According to the particular case in point, the therapist should then try to point out the errors of thought and belief involved, and also to explain their more or less habitual cast.

First, the ideas must be disentangled, and then the habitual behavior will begin to disintegrate. The therapist should also assure the client that on many subjects and topics of thought and conversation, the client operates quite well. The subject itself is so cast the, of course, an entire book could easily be devoted to it, so it is impossible to cover all the issues that may be involved with such cases here.

Some of the errors concern the misinterpretation of physical events. The individual — convinced he or she is being pursued by some secret organization — again, may hear the sirens on a very real police car. The error is the assumption that the vehicle is pursuing the individual rather than some other party. The therapist can help the client learn to question his or her interpretation of such events.

All such cases can have their own peculiar complications. In the case of secondary personalities, the main operating portion who usually directs activity might be male, displaying all of the usual male characteristics. The second personality may seemingly be female, however, even speaking in a feminine-like voice. Or the opposite might be the case.

It is also possible for the individual to dress in male attire, while the secondary personality wears feminine clothes — or vice-versa.

What we are involved in mainly, however, are the characteristic periods of seeming amnesia, occurring usually involuntarily, often without any transition except perhaps for a headache.

In this category, I am not referring to individuals like “Psychic Mediums,” who speak for another personality with a sense of ease and tranquillity, and whose resulting information is excellent knowledge — the obvious products of uncommon common sense that proves to be helpful to the individual and others.

Behind all of those instances we have been discussing, however, there is again the need for value fulfillment, that has been blocked largely by conflicting or even opposing beliefs.

Regardless of how unbelievable it might seem to some blog readers, it is true that even the most destructive events are based upon misinterpretations of reality, opposing beliefs, and the inability to receive or express love. In fact, that kind of rage is the mark of a perfectionist caught in what seems to be the grasp of a world not only imperfect, but evil.

This brings us to another most dangerous belief — that the end justifies the means.

The greatest majority of destructive acts are committed in line with that belief. It leads to a disciplined over-rigidity that gradually cuts down the range of human expression.

We should be able to see, in fact, that the problems we have been discussing begin by limiting the field of available choices, and thus curtailing the range of expression. The individual will try to express himself or herself to the best degree possible, and so each individual then begins a concentrated effort to seek out those avenues of expression still open. All of the constructive beliefs mentioned throughout this blog should be applied to all of the instances. The individual must feel safe and protected enough to seek its own development and aid in the fulfillment of others.

One of the most rare and extraordinary developments that can occur in schizophrenic behavior is the construction of a seeming super-being of remarkable power — one who is able to convince other people of his or her divinity.

Most such instances historically have involved males, who claim to have the powers of clairvoyance, prophecy, and omnipotence. Obviously, then, the affected individual was thought to be speaking for God when he gave orders or directions. We are dealing with “god-making,” or “religion-making” — whichever you prefer.

In almost all such instances, discipline is taught to believers through the inducement of fear. Put very loosely, the dogma says that we must love God or he or she will destroy us. The most unbelievable aspects of such dogmas should, it seems, make them very easy to see through. In many cases, however, the more preposterous the legends or dogmas, the more acceptable they become. In some strange fashion followers believe such stories to be true because they are not true. The interceptions of almost all religions have been involved one way or another with these schizophrenic episodes.

 

The person so involved must be extremely disturbed to begin with: up in arms against social, national, or religious issues, and therefore able to serve as a focus point for countless other individuals affected in the same manner.

In a fashion. Adolf Hitler fell into such a classification. Although he lacked that characteristic mark of speaking for a super-being, this was because he frequently regarded himself as the super-being. The trouble is that while such religions can also inspire people to acts of great sympathy, heroism and understanding, their existence rests upon drastic misreadings of the nature or reality.

If the major religions have been touched, then there have also been numberless smaller cults and sects throughout history into the present that bear that same stamp of great psychological power and energy, coupled with an inborn leaning toward self destruction and vengeance.

To varying degrees, other less striking individual cases can bear the same sense of magic and mystery.

There is certainly no need to romanticize schizophrenic behavior, for its romantic-like elements have long been coupled in the public mind in an unfortunate manner, seeming to place the madman and the genius in some kind of indefinable relationship. Such beliefs are apparent in statements such as: “Madness is the other end of sanity,” or “All genius is touched with madness.”

Beneath these ideas is the fear of the mind itself, the belief that its abilities are fine and dependable up to a point — but if it goes too far then it is in trouble.

What does it mean to go too far in that connotation? Usually it means that knowledge itself is somehow dangerous.

In some cases, however, the constructed super-being can deliver astute comments on national, social, or religious conditions.

Most such personages, however, begin to prophesy the end of the world, from which the chosen people — whoever they may be — will be saved. More than a few have rendered specific dates for this worldly foreclosure — dates which have come and gone. Many people still continue to follow the very same dogmas that seemed to have proven themselves wrong; the personage comes up with a newer excuse, or a newer date, and things go on as before.

Again,however, even in far simpler cases, the constructive personage will often make predictions that, incidentally, do not predict — and almost always give orders and directives that are to be followed without question.

There are many other deep psychological connections beneath schizophrenic behavior, but since my blogs are also devoted to other subjects, we will go on to other ways in which conflicting beliefs bring about mental or physical dilemmas.

 

 

 

The Reincarnational Heritage Is Rich

Thus far in my blogs we have been dealing with conflicting beliefs, however — and most of those can be tackled in the context of this life alone.

These beliefs may have physical or mental repercussions, though in most cases the two do not occur at once. We have dealt with some of the numerous physical dilemmas than can result. In other instances the individual encounters the difficulties on mental or emotional levels. One portion of the personality might be wholeheartedly in favor of good expression of personal power, and be stimulated to express and use his or her energy and strength. Another portion of the personality may be just as terrified of power or its uses as the other segment exults in it.

Instead of developing physical complications, in usual terms, sometimes one portion of the personality actually does act with assurance, power, and energy, while another equally valid portion refuses to use energy or power in any way whatsoever. The ideas are so opposing, and such equal adversaries, that the conscious personality can hardly bear to be aware of both at once.

In such cases, while one portion of the personality is expressing itself, and in command of the usual conscious abilities, the other portion lies acquiescent, latent, and unexpressed.

The individual may act purposefully, with power, energy, and strength, for varying lengths of time. Then sometimes without warning the frightened, inactive portions of the personality will take over the normal abilities of consciousness — acting depressed, taciturn, and communicating very poorly with others.

One portion of the personality will carry on conscious behavior — go to work, shop, or whatever, while the other portion of the personality will not remember performing those acts at all.

Take a hypothetical case. Call Marlo A the assertive part of the personality, and Marlo B the passive partner. Marlo A may go out dancing, go to a bar, then turn the entire proceedings over to Marlo B, who finds herself in noisy surroundings, surrounded by people she does not remember, and with no idea how she reached the present destination.

Her trend of memory will go back to the last time that she was in charge of consciousness, and she will have — or may not have — any idea of the existence of Marlo A at all. Marlo A may enjoy action, sports, dancing and bodily activities, while Marlo B may prefer reading, walking, or painting.

Such personalities may even have separate sets of friends — Marlo A and B each having their own companions. Though these personalities may seem so divergent, they are connected with each other, however, and they may on occasion set up their own rather bizarre kind of communication. They may write mysterious notes to each other, leaving them where they are bound to be found — yet notes using a special code or symbols of drugs, because too clear a communication would disrupt the entire relationship.

People may actually carry on such existences for years, until some event or another shows that something is amiss: one of Marlo A’s friends might meet a friend of Marlo B, for example, or the gaps in memory might finally become so frequent that it is obvious something is wrong.

Marlo A and B represent fairly simple examples of schizophrenic behavior, and indeed I have kept the story simple to keep the issues clear. Marlo A may actually grow into a more and more assertive or belligerent personality, even displaying violent tendencies at times, while on the other hand Marlo B might become even more timid, depressed, and solitary.

On other levels, however, each one is well aware of the other’s presence, and on those levels they do react to each other’s activities. This means, of course, that the entire amnesia process, regardless of how perfect it seems, is a surface one. I have used the different beliefs about power as an example, but any belief may be involved if it and its opposite are held in nearly equal weight.

One portion may believe that sex is natural and good, while the other portion believes vehemently that sex is evil and depraved. Here we will use a man for a hypothetical case. David A may be an excellent husband, breadwinner, and father, a church-goer who believes in the beauty and goodness of sex. David B may hold the opposite viewpoint most intently — that sex is at least evil, perhaps sent by the devil, and below or beneath the dignity of a good man.

On topside David A may go to church frequently, be kind and considerate to his family, and, say, come home from work every night for supper. He may carry on a fruitful accomplished existence for varying lengths of time.

Then, however, perhaps without warning, he may suddenly refuse to make love with his wife, becoming hostile with his children, stop off for a few drinks after work, before supper, or even begin seeing a prostitute, or begin an affair — often with a woman he considers beneath his own station.

David A may be quite startled to discover bottles of whiskey lying around in his dresser drawers, when he hardly drinks liquor himself at all. David B may suddenly “come to” in a strange bedroom, in a compromising position with a woman it certainly seems to him he has never seen before in his life.

On the other hand, David B may find himself in the middle of a family picnic, or other gathering — events that bore and displease him — or worse, he may not even remember his family at all. The more complicated such dilemmas becomes, the harder they are to keep secret, however, because their very complications multiply the chances of discovery. And there are, of course, variations.

David B, while drinking, might suddenly be sent back to his David A self. The kinds of communication can be very unique and bewildering, ranging from number codes to nonsense verses, or to the hearing of imaginary voices, which serve to remind one portion of the self that there is also another seemingly alien personality involved in his or her existence.

In many instances very strong feelings of persecution and paranoia can be involved, but these will be discussed in the following blogs.

In the kind of schizophrenic behavior we have just been discussing, hypnosis is frequently used as therapy, often in an attempt not only to introduce the two levels of the personality to each other, but also to uncover the time they originally split off in such a fashion. However, one must ensure that they visit a hypnotist who has completed a significant amount of hypnotherapy training course in order to ensure that the results are positive.

While hypnosis can be of considerable value in the hands of an excellent professional hypnotist, it still has serious drawbacks as a treatment under these conditions. Because of its very nature, hypnosis can end up segmenting the personality still further.

Under such therapy it sometimes seems that news, lesser personality fragments are uncovered, but it is very possible that these instead are created by the therapy itself. The hypnotist obviously wants to cure his patient, and all forms of schizophrenia are intellectually intriguing. The segments of the personality that are involved are being given great attention, and they may seize upon that attention, seeking ways to further dazzle the hypnotist while at the same time sabotaging recovery.

It is far better to address whatever personality is in prominence during the session, to convince it of the therapist’s concern and interest, while letting it know that at other levels it is quite aware of the existence of its other segments.

People with schizophrenic difficulties often enjoy word games and puzzles, so they may well use these to confuse any therapist. The very fact that such a person considers any kind of therapy does mean that he or she is ready to tackle a considerable challenge. It can be put to each segment of the personality, then, that it will be quite a challenge for each to become aware of the other. We might compare the situation to someone who has been separated from a sister or brother for years — explaining, however, that the separation is psychological and not physical.

In a fashion, all of these activities are variations of others. Instead of forming such segmented selves, another person, as mentioned earlier, might enjoy the use of power, yet be so frightened of it that he or she experiences an epileptic episode instead of a schizophrenic one.

The Human Consciousness And Relationship To The Body

We know that we have a conscious mind, of course. We also possess what is often called the subconscious, and this merely consists of feelings, thoughts or experiences that are connected to our conscious mind, but would be considered excess baggage if we had to be aware of them all of the time. Otherwise they would vie for our attention, and interfere with the present decisions that are so important.

If we tried to hold all of those subconscious memories uppermost in our mind all of the time, then we would literally be unable to think or act in the present moment at all. We do more or less have a certain access to our own subconscious mind, however. It is perhaps easier to imagine a continuum of consciousness, for we have a body consciousness also, and that body consciousness is itself made up of the individual consciousness of each molecule that forms all parts of the body itself.

It is sometimes fashionable to say that men and women have conscious minds, subconscious minds, and unconscious minds — but there is no such thing as an unconscious mind. The body consciousness is highly conscious. We are simply not usually conscious of it. Reasoning takes time. It deals with problem-solving — it forms an hypothesis, and then seeks to prove it by trial and error.

If we had to use that kind of process before we could move a muscle, we would get nowhere at all, of course. The other portions of our consciousness, then, deal with a kind of automatic thinking, and operate with a kind of knowledge that takes no time in our terms.

We might say that the varying portions of our own consciousness operate at several different speeds. Translations between one portion of consciousness and another goes on constantly, so that in formation is translated from one “speed” to another. Perhaps we can begin to understand, then, that the whole picture of health or illness must be considered from many more viewpoints than we might earlier have supposed. Many of us have been saturated by conventional, distorted ideas concerning health and illness in general. We might think, for example, of the body being invaded by viruses, or attacked by a particular disease, and these ideas, then, may make us question. We might well wonder why the body consciousness does not simply rise up and cast off any threatening diseases: why would the body allow certain cells to go berserk, or outgrow themselves? The very concept of the immunity system suggests, at least, the disease invader against which the body’s immunity system must or should surely defend itself.

We usually think of our conscious mind as our ego. It is directed toward action in physical life. Many schools of thought seem to have the curious ideas that the ego is inferior to other portions of the self, or “selfish,” and imagine it to be definitely of a lower quality than the inner self, of the soul.

In the first place, it is really impossible to separate portions of the self, and we make such distinctions only in an effort to explain the many facets of the personality. It is generally understood, then, that we do have an ego, directed toward exterior activity, and in those terms we also have an inner ego. It is also conscious, and is the director of all automatic interior activity.

Most people do not realize that they can indeed have access to this inner awareness. This inner ego or inner self should not be thought of as superior to our ordinary mind. It should not be thought of, really, as something separate from our ordinary mind. Our ego and our ordinary consciousness bring into focus all of our physical experiences, and make possible the brilliant preciseness of physical experience.

It is true that physical life represents only one condition of being. We have other kinds of existence, then. The conscious mind is one brilliant segment of our larger consciousness, but it is composed of the same universal energy and vitality that composes all consciousness. There are ways of communicating with the inner ego or inner self, however, and we will discuss some of these in future blogs. It is important, again, to remember that this inner ego or inner self uses a process that is far swifter than reasoning.

When such communications are made, therefore, they often consist of inspiration, intuition, impulses, and deal with feeling far more than with usual logical thinking.

Each person is a vital, conscious portion of the universe. Each person, simply by being, fits into the universe and into universal purposes in a way no one else can. Each person’s existence sends its own ripples throughout time. The universe is conscious at every conceivable point of itself. Each being is an individualized segment of the universe; then, in human terms, each person is a beloved individual, formed with infinite care and love, uniquely gifted with a life like no other.

No animal considers itself a failure, obviously. People, however, often identify with their seeming mistakes, forgetting their abilities in other directions, so that it seems that they are misfits in the universe, or in the world. The conscious mind can indeed have such thoughts because it so often tries to solve all problems on its own, until it begins to feel frightened, overburdened, and a failure in its own eyes.

The inner ego, however, always identifies with its source-identity as a beloved, individualized portions of the universe. It is aware of the universal love that is its heritage.

It is also aware of the infinite power and strength that composes the very fabric of its being. Through being made aware of these facts, the exterior ego can begin to feel a quicker sense of support and nourishment. The knowledge can let it relax, let go, so that it feels its life couched and safe, and knows itself to be indeed a beloved child of the universe, both ancient and young at once, with an identity far beyond the annals of time.

 

It is a great value, then, that each person remember this universal affiliation. Such a reminder can often allow the inner self to send needed messages of strength and love through the various levels, appearing as inspiration, dreams, or simply pure bursts of feeling. The inner ego draws instant and continuous support from the universal consciousness, and the more the exterior ego keeps that fact in mind, the greater its own sense of stability, safety, and self-esteem.

One of the attitudes detrimental to good health is that of self-condemnation, or dislike of the self. Such attitudes are unfortunately sometimes fostered by parents, schools, and religions. Feelings of self-worth, self-esteem, and pleasure with one’s abilities promote feelings of well-being, health, and exuberance.

The universe actively loves itself and all of its parts. The world loves itself and all of its parts. It is not true that energy is neutral or indifferent. Energy is active, positive, propelled by what can almost be called an instantaneous pleasure with itself and its characteristics.

Despite all concepts to the contrary, energy is indeed at its basis, love. It is also composed of highly charged consciousness that operates almost in a leapfrog fashion, with great bursts of exuberance and vitality. The great — the greatest creative force — that force that is the origin for all physical life — did not suddenly appear once in some distant past, sparking the birth of or reality, endowing it with an energy that could only then run down, or dissipate. Instead at every conceivable point within our universal system.

Each new rose in the springtime is in truth a new rose, composed of completely new and unique energy, utterly itself, innocent, alive in the world.

In the deepest of terms, while each body has a history each moment in the body’s existence is also new, freshly emerging into the world, innocent and unique. While there is indeed pain in the world, it is the miraculous principle of pleasure that propels life itself.

Those who look upon physical life as inferior to some other more perfect spiritual existence do a great injustice to physical existence in general. Physical life is everywhere filled with the universal energy that is its source, so it can hardly be inferior to it’s own composition.

Again, corporeal reality is a brilliant segment of existence. It cannot be inferior to existence. It is because we so often view our world through a system of highly limited beliefs that we so often misread the implications of temporal life.

Such beliefs serve to limit our comprehension, until it seems often that physical life consists of a frantic struggle for survival at every level of consciousness. Such ideas certainly do not foster feelings of security, health, or well-being, and they distort the nature of our physical environment.

That environment is not something separate from ourselves, for us to control. Instead, us and the environment support, strengthen, and fortify each other in ways that often escapes us. All portions of the environment contain their own conditions, but of their relationships to all other portions of the world. They add to the world’s health in other words, and our own vitality — and that of our environment — are everywhere interrelated.

 

The New Way

Taken together our ideas themselves are quite ancient, of course. They are expressed by many cultures and religions, esoteric groups and cults from the past, and continuing into present. Their strength, vitality, and worth has been greatly undermined, however, by distortions, negative ideas, and some sheer nonsense.

In other words, these concepts, so natural to all of creation, have not been practiced by humanity in anything like their pure form. To that extent they do indeed represent a new way. They run counter to much of our official knowledge and contemporary thought as far as the mainstream of world culture is concerned. Where such ideas are practiced, they are frequently contaminated by fanaticism, superstition, and expediency.

The main point I want to make is that this “new way” is the ideal and easiest complement to nature’s own innate integrity.

 

 

 

 

Biologically Valid Thoughts, Attitudes, and Beliefs

When we are born we possess a group of attitudes toward oneself and toward life. These allow us to grow with the greatest possible impetus into childhood. They are also important in every period of our life. We can see the results in life all about us, though in animals or plants these are experienced as a matter of feelings rather than, say, as thoughts or attitudes.

It may sound very simplistic to tell one that we must have sunny thoughts as well as rays of the physical sun in order to be healthy — but sunny thoughts are as biologically necessary to our well-being as are the rays of sun that shines in the sky. Even as infants, then, we are predisposed naturally toward certain feelings, thoughts and attitudes that are meant to insure our healthy survival and emergence into adulthood. These are actually composed of inbred psychological information as necessary and vital to our life as the data transmitted by our genes and chromosomes. Indeed, these inbred, inner psychological predispositions are all-important if the information carried by our genes and chromosomes is to be faithfully followed.

It is difficult to translate such biological and psychological material into the words of any language, even though these inbred psychological prerequisites form a kind of language of their own. It is a language that promotes growth, exuberance and fulfillment, and stimulates the entire organism of the body –signaling the proper responses that are required for health and growth.

In later blogs we will discuss contrary feelings, thoughts, and emotions. I want to substitute beliefs for emotions that greatly curtail the natural progression of health and vitality. Here, however, we will deal primarily with those inner predispositions that encourage life and vitality.

I look in a puddle

and what should I see

but the stars in

the heavens looking back at me….

Playing Consciousness At different Speeds

The analogy of the many speeds of consciousness actually fits in well with the actual neurological sequences upon which consciousness plays. As we know, everything alive is conscious — and even so-called dead matter possesses  its own variety of self-awareness.

In our terms, the rhythm of some kind of consciousness would seem exceedingly slow, so that a century might pass between one perception and the next. Other variations might seem amazingly quick — the perceptions following each other so swiftly that they would indeed escape our perception entirely; yet in the wondrous marvels of inner nature, all of these rhythms are connected one to the others, and in a matter of speaking — excuse the pun — they each balance each other.

It is not so much the actual rhythms that are manifested that make the difference in perception, but the absence of certain other rhythms, upon which perception ride.

The Will to Live

The will to live can be comprised by doubts,fear, and rationalizations.

Some people, for example, definitely want to live, while they try to hide from life at the same time. Obviously, this leads them into conflicts. Such people will impede their own motions and progress. They become overly concerned about their own safety. If any of my blog readers feel this way, they may even hide these feelings from themselves. They will  concentrate upon all the dangers present in society in their own country, or in other portions of the world, until their own frightened overall concern for safety seems to be a quite natural, rational response to conditions over which they have no control.

What is actually involved is a kind of paranoia, which can become such a powerful response that it can take over a person’s life, and color all projects. If this has happened to any of my blog readers, you might recognize yourself in any number of different scenarios. You might be a “survivalist,” setting up stores and provisions to be used in case of a nuclear disaster. It may seem to you that you are quite justified in protecting yourself and your family from disaster. In many such cases, however, the people so worried about the occurrence of danger from the outside world are instead concerned about the nature of their own energy, and afraid that it might destroy them.

In other words, they do not trust the energy of their own lives. They do not trust the natural functioning of their bodies, or accept this functioning as a gift of life. Instead they question it at every point — even holding their breath at times, waiting for something to go wrong.

Other people may actually impede those portions of the body given to mobility, so that they limp or tighten their muscles, or otherwise tamper with their bodies so that the end result is one that requires a cautious, hesitating approach to motion. Some may even cause themselves to have severe accidents, in which they sacrifice portions of their bodies to retain a sense of false safety.

These rather self-deceptive feelings are not hidden deeply in the subconscious mind, as we might suppose. Instead, in the majority of cases they consist of quite conscious decisions, made at one time or another on quite surface levels.

 

They are not forgotten, but the people involved simply close their own eyes, so to speak, to those decisions, and pretend that they do not exist, simply to make their lives appear smooth and to save face with themselves, when they know very well that the decisions really rest on very shaky ground indeed.

I do not wish to simplify matters, but such decisions can be uncovered very easily in children. A child might fall and badly scrape a knee — so badly that limping is the result, at least temporarily. Such a child will often be quite conscious of the reason for the affair: he or she may openly admit the fact that the injured part was purposefully chosen so that a dreaded test at school could be missed, and the child might well think that the injury was little enough to pay for the desired effect that it produced.

An adult under the same circumstances might become injured to avoid a dreaded event at the office — but the adult may well feel ashamed of such a reaction, and so hide it from himself or herself in order to save feelings of self-esteem. In such cases, however, the adults will feel that they are victims of events over which they have little or no control.

If the same kind of event occurs with any frequency, their fear of the world and of daily events may grow until it becomes quite unreasonable. Still, in most such instances those inner decisions can be easily reached — but while people are determined to “save face,” they will simply refuse to accept those decisions as their own. People will to live, to act or not to act. To a large extent they will the events of their lives — whether or not they are willing to admit this to themselves, and they will to die.

Begin to understand that energy is the gift of this life — to be expressed, not repressed — and to understand, again that spontaneity knows its own order.

It is no coincidence, in our language, that the word “will” refers to the future, as in a line like “it will happen,” and also refers to the decision-making quality of the mind.

 

Inserting New Ideas Into The World

Under its overall auspices we have the most conventional establishment-oriented textbooks, devoted to continuing traditional ideas. We have, there, a concentration upon education as it is understood at that level.

My blogs do not appear under traditional headings. They are too anti-establishment to be in college networks, but in their way far too reasonable to be considered eccentricities — in the same fashion, now, that traditional blogs are. Maybe I will expand my message to social networks more in the future? I hear that it would be smart to get Facebook followers for free to grow the spread of my message

My blogs are attempting to insert new ideas into the world as it now is, by combining the powers of the intellect and the powers of the intuitions — in other words.

We have been dealing with the magical approach, and let me gently remind my blog readers that I have said we must be willing to change all the way from the old system of orientation to the new, if we want the new approach to work fully for us in our lives. That will, as it happens, include our approach to traditional thought, of course.

As I have said before, also, when faced with the difficulty, the conventional, rational approach tells us to look at the problem, examine it thoroughly, project it into the future, and imagine its dire consequences — and so, faced with the idea of a disclaimer.

That is an excellent example of what not to do.

Some people indeed, will begin to pull out of that, and at least question the approach. In the meantime, of course, our nervous systems reacted to the implied threat against our problems, a threat that now existed in the past, present and future.

We are protected. Our work is protected. When we realize that, we act out of confidence. We indeed catch ourselves. When we realize that we are protected, our own intellects can be reassured enough through experience so that they do not feel the need to solve problems with the rational approach in instances where that approach is not feasible.

In the deepest of terms it was not reasonable to nearly assume that a disclaimer, if used, would therefore be retroactively and then continuously used. It was not a conclusion based upon fact, but a conclusion based upon a reason that applied to one probability only, one series of probable acts — or based upon the probable act of a disclaimer being used to begin with. So again, what we are dealing with is an overall lesson in the way in which the reasoning mind has been taught to react. These are really instances where the intellect has been trained to use only a portion of its abilities, to zoom in the most pessimistic of any given series of probable actions — and then treat those as if they were facts.

I will, of course, have more to say in future blogs, that will hopefully allow our intellect to use in a clear fashion, to better our performances. So if I do decide to expand into social networks, make sure that you keep an eye out for me because I would love the chance to grow my Facebook followers and my blog more. I definitely have a lot of other things to say. We are quite right, again, to say that “There are elements in this situation — or any given situation — impossible for my intellect to know,” so the intellect can take that fact into consideration. Otherwise, we expect it to make deductions while denying it the comfort it should have, of knowing that its deductions need not be made on its own knowledge alone, but on the intuition’s vast magical bank of information — from which, in larger terms, all of the intellect’s information must spring. So I think we are finally trying to use a new approach in that direction.

The magical approach will get us through, if we use it.

“The light of the universe.”

It’s obvious that in this blog adventure I have once again cleverly protected myself from confronting the full creative blast of the life of the universe by allowing myself just a peek at it, and a careful one at that, at the top of a door. As a physical creature I’d be overwhelmed if ever I came even close to facing that awesome conscious and creative power.

The Electric Reality of Dream Locations

We have seen that all experiences retained in electrically coded data within the cells and that the material of the cells forms about this coded experience. We have seen that the ego begins, sparked into being by the inner self, greatly influenced by heredity and physical environment; and that this ego, as it continues to exist, builds up an electrical reality of its own and forms its experiences into the coded data within the cells.

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At any given ‘point,’ the ego is complete within electrical reality as it is psychologically complete within the physical universe. This includes the retention of its dreams as well as the retention of purely physical data.

The electrical system is composed of electricity that is far different from our idea of it. Electricity, as we perceive it, is merely an echo emanation or a sort of shadow image of these infinite varieties of pulsation which give actuality to many phenomena with which we are familiar, but which do not appear as tangible objects within the physical field.

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This electrical system is vastly dense. This is a denseness that does not take up space, a denseness caused by an infinity of electrical fields of varying ranges of intensity. Not only are no two of these electrical fields identical, but there are no identical impulses within them.

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The gradations of intensities are so minute that it would be impossible to measure them, and yet each field contains in coded form the actual living reality of endless egos; contains what we would call the past, present, and future of unnumbered universes; contains the coded data of any and every consciousness that has been or will be, in any universe; those that have appeared to vanish, and those which, seemingly, do not yet exist.

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This density is extremely important, for it is a density of intensities. And it is the infinite variety and gradations of intensity that makes all identities possible and all gestalts, all identities in terms of personalities and fields and universes. It is this density, with this infinite variety of intensity, which allows for both identity and change.

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The electricity that is perceivable within our system is merely a projection of a vast electrical system that we cannot perceive. So far, scientists have been able to study electricity only by observing the projections of it that are perceivable within their terms of reference. As their physical instruments become more sophisticated, they will be able to glimpse more of this reality, but since they will not be able to explain it within their known system of references, many curious and distorted explanations of reported phenomena will be given.

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Yet the inner self offers so many clues. It operates outside of physical references. It is, of itself, free of the distorted effects peculiar to the physical system. A study of dreams, for example, would make many of these points clear, yet many scientists consider such work beneath them.

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Why has no one suspected that dream locations have not only a psychological reality but a definite actuality? A study of dream locations is most important. Dream locations are composed of electrical mass, density and intensity. Here is another point:  Definite work may be done in a dream, but the physical arms and legs are not tired. This would seem contrary to our known laws, but no one has looked into this.

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It is most difficult to even hint at the myriad complexity and dimension of the electrical actuality as it exists. When we consider that each of our own thoughts is composed of a unique intensity of impulse, shared by nothing else; that the same may be said for every dream we will have in our lifetime; and that all our experiences is gathered together in particular ranges of intensity, again completely unique; and that the summation of all that we are exists in one minute range or band of intensities, then we will see how difficult this is to explain.

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This not only applies to our physical field but also to all others. Our field is contained within its own range of intensities, a tiny band of electrical impulses a million times smaller than one note picked at random from the entire mass of musical composition that has ever been written or ever will be written. I am not going too deeply into this now because some blog readers are not ready. But because of the infinite range of intensities available, each individual has limitless intensities within which he or she can move.

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All motion is mental or psychological motion, and all mental or psychological motion has its electrical reality: The inner self moves by moving through intensities. Each new experience opens up a new pulsation intensity. To move through intensities within the electrical system gives the result, in the physical field, of moving through time. We will also discuss this in later blogs, in connection with so-called astral travel.

The Nature of The Dream World and Animal Dreams

The dream world is, then, a natural byproduct of the relationship between the inner self and the physical being — not a reflection, but a byproduct — involving not only a chemical reaction, but also the transformation of energy from one state to another.

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In some respects, all planes or fields of existence are byproducts of others. For example, without the peculiar spark set off through the interrelationship between the inner self and the physical being, the dream world would not exist. But conversely, the dream world is a necessity for the continued survival of the physical individual.

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This point is extremely important. As we know, animals dream. What we do not know is that all consciousness dreams. Atoms and molecules have consciousness, and this minute consciousness forms its own dream even as, on the other hand, it forms its own physical image. As in the material world, atoms combine for their own benefit into more complicated structures, so do they combine to form such gestalts in the dream world.

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I’ve said in past blogs the dream world has its own sort of form and permanence. It is physically oriented, though not to the degree inherent in our ordinary universe. In the same way that the physical image is built up, so is the dream image. We can refer to our previous blog discussions on the nature of matter to help us understand, but the dream world is not a formless, haphazard semi-construction.

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It does not exist in bulk, but it does exist in form. The true complexity and importance of the dream world as an independent field of existence has not yet been fully impressed upon us. Yet, while our world and the dream world are basically independent, they exert pressures and influences one upon the other.

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The dream world, then, is a byproduct of our own existence  [from our standpoint]. It is connected to us through chemical reactions and this leaves open the entryway of interactions. Since dreams are a byproduct of any consciousness involved with matter, then trees have their dreams. All physical matter, being formed about individualized units of consciousness of varying degrees, also participates in the involuntary construction of the dream world.

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A Million Trained Dreamers

Even when we admit the inspirational and supportive nature of dreams, even when we learn to recall dreams and apply them to daily life, we still only begin to glimpse their multidimensional reality. Dream interpretation is important to our three-dimensional mentalities, for example. We believe in utilization; if dreams can’t be useful, then what good are they? Dreams can give us consistent, valid information about our motives, needs and decisions. They can be utilized as very practical aids to daily life. But this is only a portion of any real exploration of dream reality.

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Dream investigation or manipulation as an aesthetic pursuit — as an art, embarked upon for its own sake — this is something else again and is sometimes because of its solitary nature. Yet the fact remains that there is a dream reality with a “structure,” “landscape” and images that appear to be made of matter — but matter that obeys different rules than those with which we are familiar.

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Dreams are not just psychological events. There is a dimension of reality (an “objective” dimension, if you prefer) in which all dream events happen. There are rules:  I call them root-assumptions that operate in all realities, our own included. We have to learn what root-assumptions govern dream reality. I know that we can on occasion manipulate dream events; my blogs readers and I do it frequently. If we follow certain “rules” given to us, we will get more or less predictable results in the dream state — an indication that an “objective” dream dimension exists quite independently of us or our dreams, a dream dimension in which my dreams and yours have their being.

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Just reading such ideas will never convince you of their validity. All true knowledge must be directly experienced; therefore I will include throughout my blogs instructions and suggestions for dream recall, investigation and manipulation.

If we ever hope to “map” the dreamscape, we need a million trained dreamers: a million individuals trained to use dreams as vehicles and then, courageously, to leave them to explore the environment in which they find themselves. We need people able to distinguish between the environment-within-the-dream and the far vaster environment (or atmosphere or medium) in which these dream-places exist.

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Records of individual dreams are not enough, nor are studies of the physiological effects of dreaming. Most psychologists would not admit the existence of a definite structured universe in which dream acts, rather than physical acts, happen. Therefore, at this time, they will not consider dreams in this larger context. We will understand ourselves as dreamers only if we are also aware of the larger environment in which dreams take place, that we interact in the dream state as we do in the waking one and that we form mass dream events as we form physical events on a mass basis.

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Because we must start somewhere, however, we will begin with dream recall and those practical aspects of dream investigation that let us use our dreams in daily life. For one thing, I use this method to lead my blog readers into dream reality. This is a gradual process that gently leads the ego into largely unfamiliar territory and at the same time encourages flexibility of consciousness.

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My next few blogs will include the general nature of dream reality, dream investigation and recall and will be followed by a series of blogs on various kinds of dreams captured by some of my blog readers as we check out some of my theories, as far as we are able. Later, we will journey further into the inner dimension in which dreams take place.

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The whole idea of deliberate dream recall is not new. The methods are not new. I’ll paraphrase them here: Simply buy a notebook to be used exclusively for dreams. Keep it with a pencil or pen by your bed. Before you fall to sleep at night, give yourself this suggestion: “I can remember my dreams and write them down in the morning.”

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You will find that your dreams actually are in your mind when you awaken. Write them down at once, before getting out of bed. If you have a tendency to scribble, then use loose sheets of paper and later transcribe them in the notebook. Don’t worry about neatness, but concentrate on capturing as much of the dream content as possible. If you recall several dreams, jot down a quick sentence about each, then add the details. Leave space after each entry for future notes.

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This method is really easy and workable — but it can be sabotaged. One of my blog reader, had great difficulty remembering her dreams until I discovered that she was using a clock radio to awaken her in the morning and the news happened to be on. The dreams must be recalled before you become mentally involved with the world’s activities.

If you have remembered only unpleasant dreams in the past, you may have built up a block against recalling any dreams at all.

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The unseen self is not a dungeon of repressed ideas and feelings, dangerous to behold, but the fountainhead of individual existence, upon which our present physical survival is dependent. Beyond this, it is our pathway to creative expression, inspiration and wisdom — a doorway to our own greater identity. This does not mean that we do not repress fears and desires beneath consciousness. It means that we must allow ourselves greater flexibility, look into ourselves, admit the fears and release the energy used in repression. As you will see in later blogs, dreams can often release such repressed material for your conscious examination.

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The method of dream recall just given will allow many people to remember more dreams in a month than they previously did in their entire lives. Variations will occur, however. Periods of excellent recall are sometimes followed by poorer ones, and each individual seems to have his or her own cycle of significant activity.

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A recorder app may also be used, of course. You must still play back the app recorder and transfer the dreams into a notebook, however, so that the records are easily accessible. This actually takes more time, but many people prefer to speak their dream recollections into a recorder app at once, rather than to write them down.