By Roberto Assagioli and others. Excerpt from the book Creative Meditation.
The nature and technique of invocation
The etymological meaning of invocation is to “call down,” “to call into.” It is basically a demand, an appeal to something higher, a plea for help or intervention. The same can be said in general of prayer, but there is an important and fundamental difference. In a special and specific way, prayer (as explained in the fourth instruction) is a “sensitive” approach in which the feeling function is used. Invocation , on the other hand, is an action within that includes and combines the use of all the inner functions. It is a simultaneous activity of the thinking faculty (meditation), of the feeling (prayer), of the imagination (visualization), and of the will (affirmation). It is clear that this comprehensive and synthesizing activity in the whole of the human being – when done right – gives the invocation a unique power that is greater and more enriching than when the individual inner activities are used separately.
Practice makes perfect
Such combined activities are certainly not easy to carry out. In fact, it is very difficult and requires a lot of training and the special use of appropriate techniques. But the time and energy sacrificed to acquire proficiency in the use of invocation is well rewarded by the powerful and beneficial effects, and as with other abilities, once developed, it remains a permanent ability.
Since invocation is a synthesis of several activities, it is first necessary to learn the technique of each activity, while keeping the final goal in mind from the very beginning. The next step is to try the gradual application of two methods or techniques simultaneously – and finally, to learn to use them all at once.
To illustrate these phases more clearly, one can adapt them to the “Great Invocation” (described later). It is particularly well suited for this purpose because it has a specific and direct insistent appeal to the three great aspects of divinity that are also present in man: Light – Love – Will.
The first stage of the training is to make the Great Invocation the subject of both reflective and receptive meditation. This means taking each verse at a time and pondering the meaning of each word and line. When beginning with reflective meditation, for example, in the first verse you may see the words “God” – “Light” – “Mind” – “come to Earth”. This can be a powerful impulse or challenge and can provide unlimited food for thought. Other words that provide similar impulses are found throughout the invocation.
After this or as a variation, one can meditate receptively. If one wishes, one can take the same words and phrases and—holding them alive and present in consciousness with inner silence—endeavor to become receptive to their essential meaning. What one is trying to achieve is an intuitive understanding, a sense of synthesis, a certain degree of fusion, an immediate identification with the reality upon which it is based, so that one feels oneself permeated by light, love, and will, and even radiates light, love, and will at that particular moment.
Inner impulses and realizations
Such an inner experience is a joy. It causes one to feel that an expansion of consciousness is taking place and that one’s life becomes more fulfilling. But it is a short and temporary experience and as a result, a strong desire for a repetition and a striving to experience it more often, for a longer time and to the fullest is awakened. This gives impetus to or “ignites” the emotions and the “loving” activity. There are also other factors that awaken the heart feeling – for example. the recognition of humanity’s urgent need for light and love and to unite the human will with the purpose and will of God. Here the use of the imagination also becomes relevant. Through visualization, where a living image is built up of the transforming effects that the flow of higher energies down to Earth creates, one can greatly intensify the use of prayer or the heart aspect of invocation.
Everyone has a will.
Then comes the application of the will. The realization that everyone has a will, which it is a privilege and a duty to use properly, prompts the application of it in relation to the invocation. In reality, every human being is basically a will — an intelligent and loving will. Everyone wants what they are invoking to happen, to triumph, to become a glorious reality here on Earth. With all the energy they possess, they affirm and say: Let it happen. In the Great Invocation, this affirmation is repeated by repeating the word “let.”
The path to synthesis
Another way to train yourself to use different functions in relation to the Great Invocation is to say each verse aloud and in your mind to emphasize what is directly related to the verse. For example, you can say the first verse aloud with your mind focused on energy and at the same time visualize light. In the second verse, you concentrate your mind on the energy of the heart, and in the third on the will, and finally the fourth verse, along with the final line and all the verses together. These inner activities are interconnected, although different, and each of them stimulates each of the others, making them easier to use. Therefore, when you have learned to use each one effectively and can do so, they will gradually become easier to combine until you are able to fuse them into a synthesis when you say the invocation.
This slightly more comprehensive way of invocation helps to eliminate any errors that often contribute to the fact that the individual methods have limited effect or perhaps no effect at all. In meditation, for example, one can be satisfied by merely thinking about the subject and by performing intelligent exercises without achieving results. Prayer can also become mechanical and superficial or it can become sentimental and exuberant, which has a “damping” effect without adding anything.
Other ways to make the invocation more effective are:
- Saying it out loud when it is This adds the power of sound that helps to keep attention fully concentrated.
- To recite it This gives you time to try to understand the meaning of each word and line.
- To take a short break between each verse with the same intention.
- To emphasize the words “on Earth” especially strongly with the energy of will when they are pronounced. This ensures that the invoked qualities and energies are brought down to Earth and made effective.
The individual and the universal method
There are two ways of directing the descending energies, or rather two concentric methods of applying them: the individual and the universal. The individual, in addition to being recommended, can also be considered a duty. Therefore, one should use the invocation both for one’s own good and for the good of the whole, with the intention of infusing light, love and spiritual power into the personality. The immediate result of this infusing of vitality into the personality will enable it to become an effective instrument for right human relations and loving service. The universal application of the invocation is to direct it towards the good of the entire planet, and this can be done in three ways:
- Each one says it alone, but on behalf of all.
- In group meetings, where the well-known advantage of a unified and joint execution is used.
- As an inner subjective group that links itself with others around it. This can be done in two ways:
- Mutual linking with friends in a special way. The most effective of such inner relationships is a triangular linking with two other people by visualizing chains of light and love, so that a triangle is created. When one has formed several such triangles, one can “see” them connected to each other as a network of light and goodwill.
- One links oneself with all , known and unknown, who use the Great Invocation throughout the world. This is a very large number of people, for it has been translated into more than sixty languages, and is thus spread throughout the Earth. Together with this large group, the meditation group in the new age forms a special center or focus for intensive use.
In all such group efforts, the principle of concord can be applied, which not only provides a basis for direction and focus, but actually multiplies the effectiveness of the concordant action. If the invocation is used frequently and over a long period of time, a constant inner invocative attitude is developed. In this way, the whole of life can gradually become “invocative,” and this means that whatever one has to do, one can do it with a devoted and invocative spirit.
Evocation
Evocation – etymologically “to bring about”! And “to call forth” – is a response from “above,” an “answer” to an invocative prayer. Such responses will always occur. One can rely on it with sure conviction because it is brought about by the universal and never-failing law of cause and effect.
But perceiving the response can be difficult. It often comes in completely unexpected ways and not always clearly, and it can also come at a completely different time. While the evocation at the beginning can be perceived almost immediately, its actual manifestation in consciousness and in the external world can often happen somewhat later or indirectly. It is thus possible that its relation to the invocation can escape attention.
Natural reactions
What is described about receptive meditation (in the third instruction) can also cover the recognition of evoked response. The same mistakes can be made, and the same difficulties and obstacles tend to arise. Although the invocation and the appeal of the personality may be sincere and properly motivated, the response may reveal truths about oneself that one does not like or that require commitments and that the personality is afraid of or unwilling to assume.
In everyday life, it often happens that one desires something but refuses to use the necessary methods to achieve it. One feels that too much is required. Such reactions are normal in human nature, but they should be seen as mistakes and therefore defeated in order to give free rein to the influx and manifestation of the energies that have been evoked. One can be sure that these higher energies create beneficial effects within and in the world, effects that are far greater than the temporary discomfort they may cause. However, these obstacles do not always arise. Often the incoming light, love and power are seen immediately, sweeping away all barriers. When this happens, the task is to absorb and use the evoked energies in the best way by radiating them and letting them find expression in outer action.
Invocation from above
This form of invocation is not generally understood by this name, but it deserves this designation. It is a call or pressure flowing from the soul or from some other higher source. The first and simplest manifestation is the “voice of conscience,” which inspires to follow a higher tendency in action, to perceive ethical values, and to uphold them. It is present in every human being. The degree of obedience or disobedience to this “voice of conscience” is a choice that each individual must make. Herein lies both a privilege and a burden for inner freedom.
Accounts of religious experiences often speak of a “call” from God or an “impulse” from a higher power. At times this may be the beginning of a “dialogue” between a person and a “higher source,” each alternately invoking and evoking. In other cases, the impulse from “above” may take the form of an irresistible demand that feels like an absolute necessity, although often unwanted.
To be called
Psychologist Carl Jung has described “calling” as a higher principle in a particularly good way. Here are some of his thoughts taken from his book The Integration of the Personality .
“What is it that makes many people choose a life path where they break away from their identity with the masses? Basically, it can be called a calling. Those people who have identified with their calling hear an inner voice. The original meaning of having a calling is to experience a voice speaking directly to you, ie that you are ‘called’.
There are clear examples of this in the confessions of the prophets in the Old Testament. But it is not just an ancient figure of speech, as is seen in many comparable biographies (modern examples are Nelson Mandela and Helen Keller).
This feeling of being called is not just a privilege of great personalities. It can happen to any of us. Anyone can listen and hear a calling, that is, a voice that awakens a response within. People who are able to fully consciously affirm that the power of the calling has “called” them can evolve into fully soul-integrated personalities and true servants of the planet and their fellow human beings.”
The Great Invocation
From the source of light in the mind of God,
let light flow into the thoughts of men,
let light come to Earth.
From the source of love in the heart of God,
let love flow into the hearts of men,
may Christ appear on Earth.
From the center where God’s will is known,
let purpose guide the little wills of men,
the purpose the masters know and serve.
From the center we call humanity,
let the plan of love and light be fulfilled,
may it seal the door to evil.
Let light and love and power
restore the plan on Earth.
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