Today's post is on fear and pain (from TWM of DK) to which second ray people are peculiarly a prey. Thus for the majority of Second ray aspirants and disciples it constitutes the "dweller on the threshold".
1. Fear: This is one of the most usual of the manifestations of astral energy, and is put first because it constitutes, for the vast majority, the Dweller on the Threshold and also in the last analysis is the basic astral evil. Every human being knows fear and the range of the fear vibrations extends from the instinctual fears of the savage man based on his ignorance of the laws and forces of nature, and on his terror of the dark and the unknown, to the fears so prevalent today of loss of friends and loved ones, of health, of money, of popularity and on to the final fears of the aspirant—the fear of failure, the fear which has its roots in doubt, the fear of ultimate negation or of annihilation, the fear of death (which he shares equally with all humanity) the fear of the great illusion of the astral plane, of the phantasmagoria of life itself, and also fear of loneliness on the Path, even to the very fear of Fear itself. This list could be largely extended but suffices to indicate the prevalence of fears of all kinds. They dominate most situations and darken many happy moments. They reduce man to a timid and frightened atom of sentient life, standing afraid before the stupendousness of the problems of existence, aware of his insufficiency as a man to cope with all situations and unable to leave his fears and questionings behind and step into his heritage of freedom and of life. Often he is so ridden by fear that he becomes afraid of his very reason. The picture cannot be too blackly coloured, for fear is the dominant astral energy at this time and sensitive humanity succumbs all too easily to it.
2. You ask: What are the basic causes of fear? To that question, if carried far enough back into the esoteric history of the solar system there is no intelligible answer to be given. Only the advanced initiate can comprehend. Fear has its roots in the warp and woof of matter itself, and is par excellence, a formulation or effect of the mind principle, and a result of mental activity. The fact that birds and animals know fear puts the whole subject upon a wider footing than if it were simply a human failing and the result of the activity of the functioning of the human mind. It is not incident upon a man's possessing a reasoning mind; if he used his reason in the correct way he could eliminate fear. It lies in what is called cosmic Evil—a high sounding phrase, conveying little. It is inherent in the fact of matter itself and in the play of the pairs of opposites—soul and matter. The sentient souls of animals and of men are subconsciously aware of factors such as:
A. The vastness and therefore the sensed oppression of the Whole.
B. The pressure of all other lives and existences.
C. The working of inexorable Law.
D. The sense of imprisonment, of limitation, and of consequent inadequacy.
In these factors, growing out of the manifested process itself and persisting and growing in potency during the ages, are found the causes of all modern fear and the basis of all terror, above all that which is purely psychological and not just the instinctual fear of the animal.
3. Let us confine our attention to man and more particularly to average man, and see whence
come the waves of fear which sweep him so constantly off his feet.
A. The Fear of Death is based upon:
a. A terror of the final rending processes in the act of death itself. b. Horror of the unknown and the indefinable. c. Doubt as to final immortality. d. Unhappiness at leaving loved ones behind or of being left behind. e. Ancient reactions to past violent deaths, lying deep in the subconsciousness. f. Clinging to form life, because primarily identified with it in consciousness. g. Old erroneous teaching as to Heaven and Hell, both equally unpleasant in prospect to certain types.
B. Fear of the Future: This is a fear that will as yet show a growing tendency to develop and will cause much distress in the world before it is obliterated. It grows out of three human capacities:
a. Instinctive psychological thought habits, which have their roots deep in the animal nature and hark back to the primal instinct of self-preservation. b. The flashes of prevision emanating from the soul who is dwelling in the consciousness of the Eternal Now. c. A mass of individual distress and fear can be taken on by an individual and yet have nothing to do with him whatsoever. It is quite possible for a man to tune in on the fears of other people whilst he himself has literally nothing to fear of any kind.
C.Fear of Physical Pain: Some people have this fear as the underlying cause of all their anxieties, little though they may recognise it. It is really a result of the other three classes of fears; of the strain which they put upon their astral body, and the tension caused by the use of the imaginative faculty and the reasoning tension in the physical nervous system.
D. Fear of Failure: This affects many people along many lines. The fear that one may fail to make good, the fear that we may not gain the love and admiration of those we love, the fear that others despise us or look down upon us, the fear that one may fail to see and grasp opportunity, these are all aspects of the fear complex which colours the lives of so many worthy people. This can be based upon an environment which is uncongenial and unappreciative, on an equipment which seems inadequate to its task, and in many cases has its roots in the fact that a man is a disciple, or a really big soul ready to tread the Probationary Path.
4. When man functions as a soul, he heals; he stimulates and vitalizes; he transmits the spiritual forces of the universe, and all harmful emanations and all destructive forces find in the human kingdom a barrier. Evil and its effects are largely dependent upon humanity for a functioning channel. Humanity's function is to transmit and handle force. This is done in the early and ignorant stages destructively and with harmful results. Later when acting under the influence of the soul, force is rightly and wisely handled and good eventuates. True indeed it is that "the whole creation travaileth in pain until now, waiting for the manifestation of the sons of God."
5. The first set of principles is learnt by the man through grasping, and the subsequent disaster that results from that seizure. He stole, he suffered the penalty and he stole no more. The principle was wrought into him by pain and he learnt that only that which was his by right and not by seizure could be enjoyed. The world is learning this lesson in groups now, for, as its revolutionaries seize and unlawfully hold, they find the stolen property suffices not but brings sorrow. Thus in time they learn the principles.
6. An ancient Scripture says:
"Seek not, Oh twice-blessed One, to attain the spiritual essence before the mind absorbs. Not thus is wisdom sought. Only he who hath the mind in leash, and seeth the world as in a mirror can be safely trusted with the inner senses. Only he who knoweth the five senses to be illusion, and that naught remaineth save the two ahead, can be admitted into the secret of the Cruciform transposed. "The path that is trodden by the Server is the path of fire that passeth through his heart and leadeth to the head. It is not on the path of pleasure, nor on the path of pain that liberation may be taken nor that wisdom cometh. It is by the transcendence of the two, by the blending of pain with pleasure, that the goal is reached, that goal that lieth ahead, like a point of light seen in the darkness of a winter's night. That point of light may call to mind the tiny candle in some attic drear, but—as the path that leadeth to that light is trodden through the blending of the pairs of opposites—that pin-point, cold and flickering, groweth with steady radiance till the warm light of some blazing lamp cometh to the mind of the wanderer by the way."
"Pass on, O Pilgrim, with steady perseverance. No candle is there nor earth lamp fed with oil. Ever the radiance groweth till the path ends within a blaze of glory, and the wanderer through the night becometh the child of the sun, and entereth within the portals of that radiant orb."
7. The force of fear is the product of ignorance, and in its initial stages it is not the product of wrong thinking. It is basically instinctual and is found dominating in the non-mental animal kingdom as well as in the human kingdom. But in the human, its power is increased potently through the powers of the mind, and through memory of past pain and grievance and through anticipation of those we foresee, the power of fear is enormously aggravated by the thought-form we ourselves have built of our own individual fears and phobias. This thought form grows in power as we pay attention to it, for "energy follows thought" till we become dominated by it.
8. You oft have been told that fear is an illusion. Yet this statement does not help. It is a generalisation that one can admit, yet which remains profoundly difficult to apply individually. The fears to which aspirants are subject (note the mode of wording this) are seldom of a selfish nature except insofar as suffering has caused them to recoil from a further continuation of untoward happenings. Their fears are wrapt in seeming love around their loved ones. Yet should each disciple ask himself a most practical question: How many of the torturing hours have been expended on realities and on tangible happenings, and how many on illusory premonitions and on doubts and questionings, based on that which has never happened? I would like to point out to my brothers that they need to do two things:
a. To meditate on truth in daily life, using the concept of truth practised and lived by as their seed thought in meditation; to this end I would suggest that they memorise and use at all times when swept by illusory fears and needless foreboding the following formula or prayer:
"Let reality govern my every thought, and truth be the master of my life."
Let each say this to himself as constantly as need requires, forcing his mind to focus attention upon the significance of these spoken words.
b. I would suggest also sound common sense and the cultivation of an attitude of mind which refuses to permit time for illusory fears to grow. Fear is the main obstacle frequently to a very vital step forward which could be taken in this life, but may have to be delayed to another if due opportunity is not taken and the will nature powerfully excited.
9. At this time there are three qualities predominating in the planetary form—fear, expectancy and a climaxing desire (in the human family) for material possession. Note the word "climaxing". The summation of human desire for material happiness has been reached, and the peak of that desire has been passed; thus mankind has achieved and surmounted much. But the rhythm of the ages is strong.
These three qualities have to be grasped and discounted by the aspirant as he seeks to serve from mental levels. In the place of fear he must substitute that peace which is the prerogative of those who live always in the Light of the Eternal; in the place of questioning expectancy he must substitute that placid, yet active, assurance of the ultimate objective which comes from a vision of the Plan and his contact with other disciples and later with the Master. Desire for material possession must be superseded by aspiration for those possessions which are the joy of the soul—wisdom, love and power to serve. Peace, assurance and right aspiration! These three words, when understood and experienced in the life of every day, will bring about that right "condition of the waters" which will ensure the survival of every thought-form, rightly engendered in meditation by the man, functioning as a soul.
Comments
Post a Comment