What is reality and how do we recognize it? Meditation sharpens our ability to perceive multiple layers of reality and in this article Roberto Assagioli and others describe the many levels and aspects of reality.
By Roberto Assagioli and others. Excerpt from the book Creative Meditation.
Introduction
In this fourth year of instruction, a completely new topic is to be analyzed – it is a topic that deals with the ways in which one can recognize reality and how one can express it in life to an ever greater extent.
Searching for reality is a universal tendency in humanity – at first it is a completely unconscious act, but later it becomes a conscious pursuit.
One of the world’s oldest prayers and invocations is:
Lead us, oh Lord,
from darkness to light,
from the unreal to the real,
from death to immortality.
To discover reality, one must first become aware of the mists that conceal it and the illusions that distort it. When one can begin to “see through” them, reality will gradually reveal itself. This is why various aspects of illusions, along with techniques for processing and breaking them, will be analyzed in these instructions.
This is not only a necessary and valuable procedure for the psychological and spiritual integration and growth of the individual, it has also been called the greatest service that one can render to humanity. It is a definitive and practical form of service to the whole, for one of the greatest difficulties for humanity is to be able to assess values and realities correctly. Furthermore, great pressure is put on people by the tendency in our contemporary civilization which in many ways increases the number of illusions and provokes the acceptance of false values rather than a true appreciation of “the good, the beautiful and the true”. In reality, one helps to bring illusions of all kinds to oneself and others in every way, and this tendency is seriously intensified by the striving of the great majority to rise socially, to increase income and material goods.
Before one can contribute to the breaking down of the more general illusions, one must begin with oneself, and these instructions will contain techniques and meditations that may be helpful in this endeavour. As usual, it is recommended that each instruction be studied over a two-month period. It is also recommended that one study the relationship between illusions and each law and principle, so that the special form of service rendered through the group meditation can continue in its normal rotation throughout the year.
What is reality?
The perception of reality is a very broad subject. There are different levels and degrees of reality, and also of both external and internal reality. The first question that naturally arises when one begins to think about it is: What is reality? This is not easy to answer because it can only be perceived through direct internal experience, rather than through the technical definitions and concepts of others.
Some of the most fundamental insights, such as those of the will, of consciousness, and of the soul, and even of colors, sounds, and the like, can only be gained through individual and personal experience. But from descriptions of other people who have to some extent attained these insights, one can draw help in formulating one’s own thinking and in gaining an intellectual understanding of the subject.
The two universal aspects of reality
The first thing to know is that there are two universal aspects of reality: the transcendent reality and the manifested reality.
- The transcendent reality. It has two aspects:
- Absolute transcendence.
At the present stage of human evolution, one can know practically nothing directly about absolute and ultimate transcendence. But one can postulate or immediately perceive that beyond time and space there is eternity and universality, and beyond manifestation and change there is pure, unchanging being. Those people who have had a glimpse of ultimate reality have tried to explain or rather suggest the experience in many paradoxical ways: the fullness of life – being – essence – and at the same time as emptiness, as nothingness (which does not mean “nothing” in the ordinary sense). - Relative Transcendence
There are many forms and levels of relative transcendence because it is relative to every stage of human evolution and to each individual. It can be thought of as that aspect or “portion” of reality that lies just above the current conscious reach of the individual and group, and which represents for them the next stage of consciousness or realization.
- Absolute transcendence.
- The Manifested Reality
This reality is more familiar. It has been called divinity in manifestation, and it can and has often been perceived in different ways and to different extents. It can hardly be said more sensitively than Francis Thompson’s description in his poem ” The Kingdom of God” – “In no strange land”:
Oh invisible world, we see you,
Oh untouchable world, we touch you,
Oh unknown world, we know you,
Incomprehensible, we understand you,
but not where the circulating systems darken,
and our numb thoughts break forth.
The momentum of wings we will reverse,
Knocking on our own clay-shuttered doors.
The angels remain in their old places.
Just turn a stone and start a wingbeat.
“It is you”, these are your estranged faces,
A loss of many-colored things.
The outer universe and the inner
The manifested reality is clearly seen here in two major areas: The outer universe and the inner world of consciousness or worlds.
In the external world it manifests itself mainly as order and beauty – two concepts that have a close mutual relationship. The wonderful order, based on mathematical laws that regulate cosmic processes, from the movements of stars and galaxies to the particles found in an atom, forces one to recognize the existence of a cosmic being, a living reality that is in activity.
This is seen even more clearly in the wondrous processes that take place in myriads of living organisms, and one recognizes that these living organisms, these bodies, are beautiful. It has been said that “beauty is precisely the expression of as much of the divinity as any form can express.” But as Plato has shown, there is an upward ladder of beauty. Outer beauty both obscures and points to the beauty of the inner reality.
Then comes the realization of the divine presence in the soul of humanity, which is the enigmatic identity between its essential nature and the highest form of reality. This has been variously referred to as the source, the all, and in the powerful biblical affirmation “I have said that you are gods.”
God and humanity
But transcendent reality and immanent reality are not fundamentally different and separate. When one has emphasized first one and then the other as the only reality with limited theological or philosophical perceptions, then one has created two opposing illusions. The view that there is an absolute transcendence, a deep gulf between the creator and the created, between God and humanity, has created the pessimistic view that humans are hopeless sinners, where the sad theological claims of eternal damnation can only be avoided by the intervention of God’s grace. In its most extreme aspects it has produced the view that there is no possibility of avoiding human suffering, and this is the background for the formulation of today’s “philosophies of despair.”
On the other hand, the concept of immanence has only given rise to a global pantheism, a blurring of all differences and a widespread disregard for the different levels, degrees and phases of reality, and consequently of its many manifestations. In practice, this leads to the disregard of all ethical values. The balance and synthesis between transcendence and immanence as two aspects of the same reality has been perceived and affirmed by countless great intuitive philosophers, mystics and poets down through the ages.
This view—which, in contrast to pantheism, has been called panentheism (meaning, “all in God”)—is the fundamental teaching of the Bhagavad Gita. Krishna’s well-known words illustrate this.
Having permeated the entire universe with
a part of myself, I remain.
In the West, it has been said in Neo-Platonic philosophy by Plotinus:
The One is eternally present in His manifestation,
which eternally continues from Him.
God is not seen externally by anyone,
but He is present internally in everyone,
although they are unaware of it.
In the Christian tradition and in the Middle Ages
The same comprehensive view can be found in the early Christian tradition. In a canonical (non-biblical) text attributed to Jesus, found on an Egyptian papyrus, we find this affirmation: “Lift up a stone and you will find me; cut down a tree and I will be there.” Paul stated the same truth in clear terms: “He is above all, and through all, and in all” (Ephesians 4:6) and in the simplest and most direct affirmation, “In him we live and move and have our being” (Acts 17:28).
Later, and especially in the Middle Ages, the dualistic view of theology became predominant, and its greatest exponent, St. Thomas Aquinas, emphasized the omnipresence of God:
Since God is the universal cause of all being,
no matter in which region beings exist,
there must be a divine presence.Summa contra Gentiles, I, III, cap. 68
Mystics, poets and writers
Many mystics have expressed the same truth, especially powerfully by Meister Eckhart. In our time, the perception of this reality has been expressed by several poets and writers, but perhaps it was done most clearly by Rabindranath Tagore:
In order to make itself known, the infinite descends
into the multiplicity of the finite,
and in order for the finite to realize itself,
it ascends and unites with the infinite.
Only in this way is the cycle of truth completed.
Creative Unity
The Principle of Essential Divinity
Having seen this general “panorama” of universal reality, as it can be perceived and described in words, one will be able to understand with a better sense of proportion the different individual perceptions and better consider the ways in which one can have a living perception of the different “realities,” which are the many aspects and levels of the one reality. The highest and most significant perception that each one must arrive at is the perception of one’s own divine nature, that is, the perception of the “principle of essential divinity.” This leads to a joyful perception of what is called “the indomitable nature of goodness and the inevitable and final victory of good.”
Recognition of the evolutionary plan
Then there is a growing realization of the evolutionary plan as it is unfolding at present. Its structure is clearly visible to the discerning eye, despite the confusion, the cross-currents, and the temporary and partial setbacks that are a reality in the present period of crisis and change. This realization is linked to a realization of a higher guiding will and of “the love that lies behind the events of time .” It also implies the emergence of new ideas that will give a more comprehensive and truer picture of both the universe and man.
This makes it possible to perceive the next step or steps that humanity as a whole, any group of people, and individuals can take to cooperate in the elaboration of the overall plan. Plans help to recognize the meaning and purpose of what is happening in both the outer and inner worlds. This leads to a realization of the different tasks that every human being can perform, and of the many opportunities for inner realization and outer service that present conditions offer to humans.
Techniques for recognizing reality
There are several ways that one can use to develop one’s perception of reality. Here are just a few of them briefly mentioned, but the idea is to go into more depth on the subject later in this instruction and in the instructions that follow.
The most direct way to arrive at the realization of reality is by using the technique of presence. What is meant by “practicing presence” is – in other words – that one constantly recalls and recognizes the inherent inner God or reality. Therefore – what one should strive to achieve to some extent and within a relatively short period of time is to be able to identify with this presence.
The inner abilities that make it possible to contact and recognize reality are:
- Intuition or a spiritual intuitive understanding that enables one to gain a synthetic perception of
- The inner enlightened thinking. The purpose and primary function of thinking is to distinguish between the real and the unreal. Its secondary function is to interpret the realities perceived by intuition and the light of the soul, and then formulate
Inner silence in receptive meditation
What is required for both faculties to function consciously is a state of inner silence , a state that can be achieved and maintained in receptive meditation. A teacher once said: “… to raise the technique of silence is of inestimable value … for in silence power increases, problems are solved, and significant realizations are registered. In silence sensitivity and the ability to respond to subjective intuition can be developed.” Then follows the activity of thought in reflective meditation or contemplation.
But there are many obstacles in the process of arriving at such realizations. Fundamentally, there is the normal lack of control of the thoughts. Consequently, it is very necessary to constantly practice concentration and the different stages of meditation – reflective, receptive and creative – that are included in this group work. In this way, one not only achieves control of thinking, it is also developed and trained.
Illusions and glamour
The illusions that distort the mental assessment of truth form the largest group of obstacles, and another category is all the illusions that weaken the inner intuitive power – and they are innumerable. It is these illusions that mainly block the way to reality, with which one must first of all struggle. Therefore, it is advisable to delve into their meaning in this and subsequent instructions. One can begin by using a general and very effective technique that will help develop the power of discrimination. This is the technique of disidentification, which was described in the third instruction of the third year, and it is very strongly recommended as a preparatory exercise. It is repeated later in this instruction.
Before discussing the results that can come from the realization of reality, a word of caution must be sounded. The realization itself can become a source of various illusions. This may sound surprising and paradoxical, but careful reflection will show that it is true. Chief among such illusions are:
- The glamor that persists after the realizations. One may have had flashes of realization that are so vivid that one believes they are permanent. But that is not the case. The mists of glamor again hide the beauty and truth that one received. One “forgets” it or it fades and becomes blurred so that it cannot “take root” in consciousness.
- The illusion of a mental It may remain clear in the mind, but if one stops there, it does not have the transforming effect on the personality that it should create. This may be called an illusion of pure intellectual perception. Cognition must be followed by action. It must awaken the will and have creative effects within and around.
- Delusion or illusion of “totality.” It can be described as a confusion where one considers a part as a whole, and where one believes that the recognition of a particular aspect of reality reveals the whole. This is a widespread delusion and difficult to eliminate. One can easily become “obsessed” with a part of the truth and become so fanatical about it that it is out of proportion to the larger reality. One can see many cases of this around the world, and one should be careful not to succumb to it.
As an encouragement to continue on the path towards reality, it would be good to discover what precious gifts this realization bestows. In the initial stages, it has fundamental and far-reaching effects. In the intermediate stage, there is an expansion of consciousness, an increasing openness to impressions, an intuitive perception of a new light (“inner enlightenment”) and a deeper understanding. As a consequence, there is an ascension and growth. It is said that one grows through moments of realization.
All this is accompanied by a feeling of joy and wonder. There is a close relationship between light and joy. When the realization is complete, a feeling of unity and fusion is created, as one feels that one is part of reality and therefore identifies with it. This has transformative effects on the personality, as it changes and undergoes a process of explanation.
The latter effects can be clearly seen in the influence that one increasingly has on others, both through one’s own radiance and through one’s outward service. Reality, as we have recognized it and as it flows through us, shines through and radiates from us.
What is glamour?
The usual perception of glamor is associated with the word “glamorous,” with movie stars, beauty queens, and such artificial beauty that fascinates and attracts in a superficial way. This is an aspect of glamour, but only in a very elementary sense. In a broader sense, one could say that glamor contributes to highlighting worthless values and to exaggerating the importance of certain people, of situations, and – most often – of oneself. This distorted proportion creates a kind of fog, an illusory world that comes between man and reality and wraps itself around it, making it impossible to perceive clearly and impossible to think in a balanced way.
The word glamor covers the deceptions, misunderstandings, misinterpretations and wrong perceptions that everyone encounters in life. Glamor is essentially emotional in nature, and because the majority of humanity is governed by emotions, glamor permeates the entire human way of life to a great extent today.
Illusion, on the other hand, is mental in nature. Illusion does not belong in the emotional and imaginative realm where glamor prevails, but underlies a view of life and a way of thinking. Illusion can cause problems for those people who are more intellectual than emotional, and the problems they have to contend with may be misunderstanding ideas and thought forms, and misinterpreting and failing to see clearly on the mental plane. Here it can also be said that illusion is created by a lack of sense of proportion and especially by one-sided and one-sided considerations and decision-making regarding any question and any situation. In illusion, parts and aspects of the truth are generally found, but they are exaggeratedly emphasized, thereby excluding all the many facets of the multifaceted spectrum of reality.
This is just a general explanation. Later on, the subject of illusion will be treated in more detail. It is most appropriate to concentrate attention on the subject of glamor first, because it must be understood and understood before the problem of illusion can be addressed and analyzed.
Classifications of glare
There are many different classifications of glamour. As an introduction, it can be broadly said that it exists on three levels.
It is:
- Glare that concerns the physical
- Dazzle of emotions
- Mental glamour.
1. Glamor that concerns the physical world
Glamor on the physical level is relatively easy to detect. An example of this is materialism, which is a fundamental glamour. This has its roots in the innate tendency of humans to regard everything they can see and touch as real. The physical factor is considered as reality, while the inner energy and dynamics that exist in matter and in all aspects of the world in which humans live are completely ignored.
Science uncovers and explains a great deal of this illusion by showing that there are factors which are intangible and cannot be perceived by the human senses, but which are very close to reality, because the external form only appears as a result of these factors. This should help to free oneself from the illusion which overvalues the material and objective aspects of life: the illusion of materialism.
Money
Money is a good example of this materialistic attitude. People tend to think of money as tangible, although coins, bills, checks, and other forms are merely symbols of the energy and power that money represents. Money is actually a materialization of energy, and therefore it is not fundamentally material. Money is associated with the desire for possessions, and it is also to some extent an emotional glamour, but the glamor that surrounds it comes fundamentally from a misapprehension of physical things.
Appearance
Closely related to this is the fascination with appearance – being focused on how things “look” rather than on what they really are. And linked to this is the fascination with conformity. A healthy movement away from this tendency can be seen in the younger generation today. At this level is also the fascination with being busy, and an overvaluation of doing as opposed to being, which is a tendency that seems to be the anchor of Western civilization.
Organizations
The current that emphasizes social and economic organizations is a glamor on the physical level, and it is increasing in our time. It is a product of bureaucracies, and glamors – such as statistics, technology, and the creation of “easy-to-operate machines” – are a danger to the “life” of humanity. But they are necessary to a considerable extent to meet the problems arising from the rapid growth of populations throughout the world and to ensure better conditions, but if they are given too much importance they become a “glamour” that will hide the real problems.
Semantics
On the other hand, semantics (the study of the meaning of words) is an area where a “de-glamorization” can be carried out in a practical and fundamental way. It is a relatively new study and a result of the growing intellectual tendency and urge to analyze more precisely and to understand more clearly.
Communication methods for good and bad
The process of breaking down the glamor in the more advanced countries is being promoted by the emphasis placed on mental development from the very first year of a child’s life. It is a trend that is supported by the new various forms of communication, because although the press, television, radio and computers create and add to a large part of the glamor in the world, they also do much to break down the existing glamour. The information available, the assessments made, and the in-depth and critical research carried out by experienced journalists and commentators who travel the world as “observers” of the new age help to see more clearly and to break through the many veils of glamour, at least to some extent. However, one should always remember that the media often present the views of one person or one group, so one should always remain open to other opinions when reading and listening.
In later instructions, we return to the analysis of some of the illusions of the physical level to see how they can be broken down, because many of them constitute major obstacles to the emergence of a more rightly oriented new age.
2. Dazzle on the level of emotions
Emotional glamours constitute the largest group. In general, the emotional life is both the source and the area of most of the glamours that hinder the recognition of reality. The study this year will therefore be mostly about these glamours. Here, as on the other levels, there are not only individual glamours but also powerful collective glamours, and the emotional area is also a sphere strongly colored by the manifold influences of the imagination. All this contributes to the great variety and powerful activity in which glamor is expressed at this level.
3. Mental Dazzle
Mental illusion is quite different from illusion, and therefore one should distinguish sharply between them. Mental illusions are erroneous mental opinions created by emotional reactions. Emotions distort the normal functioning of thinking, so that thinking becomes subject to instinctive influences, personal feelings, imaginations, and psychic whims.
Illusion, on the other hand, has no emotional character. Illusion occurs when one sees only one aspect of the truth and takes it to be the whole truth. Illusions are often much more difficult to detect because they tend to occupy the mind completely and color the entire thought process. Mental and emotional illusions, on the other hand, if they are promoted by the emotional life, can be perceived by the thinking faculty, which functions, so to speak, above the emotions.
Categories of glamour
To some extent, the various types of glamor can be grouped into categories. Many of them share some of the same qualities, and they often overlap or are rooted in the same fundamental character traits. It can be said that certain psychological types tend to have particular forms of glamour. Broadly speaking, there are seven such types, as illustrated in the following categories:
- Glare of superiority and assertiveness. They include the glamor of:
- Power
- Exercise of authority Ambition
- Pride and conceit
- Physical strength
- Self-centeredness
- Sure to be right
- Impatience and irritation
- Standing out, isolation and reclusiveness
- Independence
- Freedom.
- Negative glare is different, such as:
- Fear
- Loneliness
- Inferiority complex
- Feeling of emptiness
- Frustration
- Depression
- Self-pity
- Anxiety
- Inertia
- Self-destruction
- Self-sacrifice
- Glare associated with activity. These include:
- The glamor of “being busy”
- Constant planning
- Plan to achieve desired goals
- Sneaking and manipulation
- Self-interest
- Preoccupation with practical matters at the expense of spiritual goals
- Efficiency
- Glamorous works related to artistic creation are a group that is in a way the opposite of the previous one. In this category there are glamours that are mainly formed through a sensitive perception of beauty and of the more abstract realities, and from the desire to let them be expressed and thereby create harmony out of them. They include:
- Dazzle of unclear artistic perception
- Glamour regarding beauty
- Tendency to spread Inconvenience
- Lack of objectivity
- Dissatisfaction with existing conditions due to a feeling that something higher and greater exists
- Internal and external conflict.
- Glares that arise from mental polarization. They are increasing due to the current rapid mental development of large sections of society, and they include:
- Dazzle of intellectuality
- The glamor of analysis and dissection
- Criticism
- Uncertainty
- Dazzle of cold mental judgement
- Overemphasis on form.
- Glamor associated with relationships:
- Personal devotion
- Possession thong
- Inflexible adherence to an existing form or model
- Idealism
- Fanaticism
- Shortsightedness
- Sentimental attachment
- Dazzle linked to the indication that the spiritual is expressed in the material or gains meaning through form:
- Law and order glamor that applies
- for organizations
- for ceremonial and ritual
- for the mysterious and secret
- for magical powers.
- Psychic, mediumship.
- Law and order glamor that applies
Processing of blinds
The various glamours that have been mentioned do not constitute the entire list of glamours that one may possess or that may surround him, but the categories mentioned can draw attention to the different existing types and also point to the type of glamor that each person may be prone to according to their own psychological type.
Lest one become depressed by the almost overwhelming number of illusions that one is faced with when one turns one’s attention to this subject, one should realize that many illusions have only temporary value and utility. There are illusions at different “levels,” as mentioned here, and a higher illusion can help overcome a lower one. Another point is that the “decomposition” must be a gradual process and must be accomplished little by little. Trying to get rid of all illusions at the same time or to get completely free from one of them at once will not succeed, and the inability will in turn intensify the feeling of inadequacy in regard to that particular illusion.
Sublimation of glamour
One must, so to speak, choose a target and select a glamor that is easy to deal with, and concentrate one’s attention on it, working on it slowly and steadily, while keeping the other glamors at a distance as much as possible.
It must be remembered, then, that glamours cannot be broken down suddenly. First they must be turned in a new direction, transmuted and raised to something higher, and the energy that came into expression through them must be used in a more constructive way. For example, glamours of covetous attachment can be turned into selfless devotion. This may itself be glamour, but it is of a higher nature, and through it aspiration and service can be developed. Sublimation of a lower glamor into a higher one is thus a method of working it “gradually and little by little”. It also makes it possible to understand objectively that the higher glamor is nevertheless useful.
It is necessary to go through these stages because, for example, even a person who is very committed cannot free himself completely at once from all attachments. He will be left with a feeling of loss and emptiness. Instead, his commitment should become more comprehensive, expanded to encompass more and to spread more and more. The technique is not to show less love, but to show more love—to expand the radiance of love and increase the objects of attention. Through this method, the emotional energy that was previously used in an immoderate and specific way can still be used. It is not “damped up” or rendered ineffective, which would also not be beneficial, but rather harmful. The intensity of the emotional task must be spread and expanded to include a larger area, whereby it can be used more effectively.
This illustrates that when you want to work with glamour, it is not so much a question of “fighting against” it, but more about finding the right technique, expanding your perspective, and using the energies in a more adapted way.
Energy follows thought
Another stage in the process of working with glamor is that once you have discovered a particular glamour, it is not good to dwell on it too long or to give it too much attention. Because if you do, the glamor will increase due to the “strengthening” effect that attention and thoughts have, and it will also quickly assume excessive importance. An attitude that needs to be chosen is inner distance, in other words, disidentification. After having discovered a glamor and made the necessary plan for working with it, with the above method you can also take advantage of the fact that things die out when they are not used.
This attitude will also be helpful in eliminating the harmful and violent circles often created by delusions. For example, delusions about fear are often reinforced by fear of the fear itself, whereby it grows in strength and can even reach an intensity of anxiety neurosis and panic.
Later in the year, the idea is to delve deeper into the psychological and spiritual techniques that can be used to work on the various illusions, but in the meantime – as mentioned earlier – it is recommended to use the technique of disidentification, and to adopt that attitude more and more in working on one’s illusions, as well as one’s life in general. It is a fundamental and very valuable method for teaching the subconscious and for establishing a strengthened center – with knowledge of the soul – within.
Exercise in disidentification
(prepared by Roberto Assagioli)
When the exercise is done by a group, the person leading the exercise speaks naturally in the first person, but each person can adapt to what is being said. The exercise can be done as follows:
“I sit in a comfortable and relaxed position with my eyes closed. Then I affirm: I have a physical body, but I am not my physical body. My body may be in various states of health or disease, and may be either rested or exhausted, but this has nothing to do with my real “I”. My physical body is my precious tool with which I can act and gain experience, but it is only a tool. I treat it well. I seek to keep it in good health, but it is not myself. I have a physical body, but I am not my physical body.
I have feelings, but I am not my feelings. My feelings are countless, contradictory, and changeable, and yet I know that I always remain myself, whether in times of hope or despair, in joy or sorrow, in an irritable or calm state. Since I can observe, understand, and judge my feelings, and thereby increasingly master, control, and use them, it is quite clear that they are not myself. I have feelings, but I am not my feelings.
I have a faculty of thought, but I am not my thoughts. It is more or less developed and active, and it is undisciplined, but can receive instruction. It is an organ of knowledge in relation to the outer world as well as to the inner, but it is not myself. I have a faculty of thought, but I am not my intellect.
After this disidentification of the “I” from that which consciousness contains (sensations, feelings and thoughts), I recognize and affirm that I am a center of pure self-awareness. I am a center with a will capable of mastering, directing and using all my psychological processes and my physical body.”
The unconscious
Before reality can be recognized, one must have recognized the illusions and illusions that stand in the way of discovering it. They act as a veil between man and reality, and the task is to become aware of their existence, to understand their meaning, and to eliminate them in order to open the way to the recognition of reality. This is essential for truly constructive work. Therefore, the intention now is to study the various forms of illusion (as in the first instruction) rather than reality itself, for it is these obstacles that create problems, not reality. It always exists to the one who can see, and the fact that it appears foggy and indeterminate is due solely to obstacles within man himself.
The first step in this process of realization and in the destruction of illusion is to arrive at a clear conception of the psychological state of man. This was dealt with in the third instruction of the third year, and diagrams were used which showed that most of the psychic elements and movements are not found in the conscious realm, but exist and operate in the inner regions called the “unconscious.” It is so important that these two aspects of the personality and their interrelationship be understood. That is why this subject is now taken up again and studied a little more widely before the study of the different categories of illusion is continued.
Unconsciousness does not exist
To get a clear idea of the nature of the unconscious, one must know that there is no such thing as the unconscious. There is a tendency to speak of the unconscious as a definitive reality or entity—this shows how easily the way in which words are used can be distorted and lead a subject astray. One should think of the unconscious as something that is added to, and as a temporary and changing state of psychic elements and activities of which one is not aware at the moment. Something that one is conscious of that one time later sinks down to the unconscious levels, and vice versa all the time. Influences and elements from the unconscious are constantly appearing in the conscious realm. Between these two realms there is a continuous exchange.
Furthermore, one should be able to see the fundamental difference that exists between the part of the unconscious that is unstructured and undifferentiated, and the part that consists of ordered psychic structures of different origins and varying degrees of complexity:
1. The unstructured, flexible unconscious
This is a part of the psyche which in its original state is undifferentiated, receptive to suggestions and obedient to demands – provided they are presented in an appropriate form. The clearest manifestation of this is hypnosis. It is found in everyone and can be compared to an inexhaustible store of unexposed photographic film or unused magnetic tapes. It is flexible substance ready to be shaped – an energy ready for use. It is the great inner wealth of man, but by its very nature this treasure must be guarded very carefully so as not to be adapted, shaped and set in motion by harmful influences. Since it is practically inexhaustible, it is a source of man’s capacity to learn and to improve, and in fact constitutes eternal psycho-spiritual youth.
2. The differentiated unconscious
On the other hand, the differentiated unconscious can be compared to a large collection of exposed films or used CDs. However, this analogy is not entirely correct. Whereas the images on the film and the tracks on the CDs are in a static state, the psychic elements are enriched with a propulsive energy and tend to harmonize with, collide with and mitigate each other in turn, thereby creating perpetual activity and movement.
Thus groups of impulses, notions, urges, tendencies, desires and ideas of various kinds are formed , as well as their interaction and power. They have been called “idea forces”, “complexes” and “psychic compositions”. These complexes gather into larger groupings until they form real sub-personalities – for example: the family itself, the professional self, etc.
They can be compared to the cells of the physical body, which in groups form tissues, such as muscles, connective tissue and nerves. The different types of tissues are connected to each other in specific ways, so that they form organs, such as the stomach, heart and liver, and the organs are coordinated in complex systems, such as the digestive system, the circulatory system and the respiratory system. However, the “psychic systems” are far from coordinated and harmonious like the physical ones. There is still unrest, separation and conflict between them.
Another significant fact is that there is not only the individual unconscious, but also the collective unconscious, and this is due to the close relationship people have with each other and the influence they have on each other, as well as the common “psychic atmosphere” in which they are bound together.
3. The collective unconscious
This can also be broadly described as two types:
- The archaic and atavistic unconscious
- The higher unconscious or superconscious
The first point is conditioned by racial consciousness, by racial experiences, and by archaic ideas—in other words, by the experience of the race. This has a much greater influence than one realizes. It includes the group unconscious, the national unconscious, the racial unconscious—all sources of glamour.
The second point – the higher collective unconscious – is not collective in the true sense of the word. It is the higher regions of the collective unconscious, which for convenience are called the spiritual levels. They are suprapersonal or transpersonal, and they affect the individual supraconscious, and through it the conscious personality.
This shows how complex the nature of the unconscious is, and how varied and complicated the interaction between the conscious personality and the rest of the unconscious is, as it completes the individuality of the individual and the whole of humanity. This is the general structure, and within that frame of reference one can find an explanation for many of one’s own illusions.
Techniques
Before describing some of the incredible number of illusions that bind humanity – which is to say, every single human being – it will be helpful to have a picture of the effective ways in which they can be broken down if one is serious about doing so. Knowing that there are practical and effective methods for dealing with them can prevent the panic of being overwhelmed and discouraged by the vast array of illusions one is confronted with.
There are nine main techniques, all of which are effective, but in different ways and some with certain limitations. Some of the techniques may be more suitable than others for different psychological types and for individual conditions. Likewise, it is necessary to use different techniques that correspond to the nature of the glamor and its intensity. Therefore, it is necessary that they be used with wisdom and understanding.
Once you know them all and how they work, you can choose the most suitable technique for the current purpose. You can also combine two or three of them to make a concentrated attack on a particular enchantment from several sides, or you can use them in sequence.
The nine techniques are:
1. Disidentification.
2. Right proportions.
3. Cultivating the opposite.
4. The “As if” technique.
5. Reducing sensitivity.
6. Transmutation.
7. Indifference.
8. Light.
9. Practicing presence.
Technique for disidentification
The first and most important technique is disidentification. Although it was described in the third year, third instruction, the subject will now be described and elaborated on in more detail because of its great importance and its relation to glamour.
The most direct and immediate meaning is to be able to recognize who I am. It is a question that everyone asks themselves at different times more or less consciously, and especially in certain crisis situations in life it comes to the forefront. The answer is one of the great problems for youth today.
Identification and disidentification
Everyone identifies with very different things – both internal and external – that are not themselves. In consciousness, one also identifies with different aspects of oneself that are not the central “I”. It is in fact from such mistaken identifications that the illusions that tend to envelop man grow, for every time he “identifies” with a feeling, weakness, fear, error or emotional impulse, he limits and misleads himself and narrows his consciousness to a state that is not reality.
As noted in Technique of Disidentification, the various elements of the personality are not identical with the “I,” but they constitute means of expression and organs of experience connected with the “I.” Yet it often happens that these elements dominate. The sensations of the physical body motivate one to believe that “I am tired” or that “I am hungry .” But by using the words “I am,” one identifies with the partial and temporary state and becomes, in a way, hypnotized by it. This identification with the physical body is one of the most limiting and delusion-building states and is thereby the cause of one of the greatest sources of human suffering—the fear of death. Those people who have recognized that they are not their physical body, and that they are simply residents of it, do not fear death, for it is only the physical body that dies—the self-identity remains.
Emotional identification and disidentification
Another area of misidentification is the emotional realm, where the majority of humanity exists. Here one identifies with an emotional state and again uses the fatal words,
“I am” depressed, afraid, angry, or overwhelmed by a strong emotion. The fallacy of this identification is clear when one remembers that on the same day one can experience (and usually does) a number of different and even opposing emotional states, yet one still has the same identity – the same “I”.
Mental identification and disidentification
Then comes the mental plane. People who are mentally polarized identify with their thinking ability, and it is a more subtle, but also a very limiting identification. One can easily become – and often does become – a prisoner of one’s ideas, ideologies, thoughts and also of various philosophical systems. Yet these states are also far from permanent, for one often changes – as one should – one’s ideas and ways of thinking – and forms one concept and soon another.
Self-knowledge – self-identity
As soon as one becomes aware of this, one has begun the process of disidentification, but at first this discovery may bring confusion and a period of darkness and doubt as one asks the question, “What am I now?” It is answered when one steps back, as it were, from the physical sensations, emotions, and mental activity and finds that one remains. It is a living experience of self -awareness, of pure self-identity, and it is this self-identity that endures.
Another way to understand this better is to look back at your life over the years. You can remember the different stages you went through and the illusions of adolescence, and you can now see with greater maturity how different you have been at the different stages. Often it is the case that you can barely recognize yourself in photographs taken a long time ago. Yet you know that there has always been the same golden thread of self-identity despite the many different states – physical, emotional and mental – that you have experienced.
Greater stages of consciousness
But the realization of the central “I” is not all that is to be discovered. In fact, it is in a way only the beginning, because when one has reached clarity about the “I,” which is naturally and entirely self-centered and separative in the beginning in order to assert one’s special and distinct identity as an individual, one finds that this is not enough, and that there must be other and greater states of consciousness with which one can identify.
These stages, which include the recognition of the soul in others, group recognition, and the discovery of the soul within oneself, were elucidated in the third year instruction just referred to, and there were several diagrams to illustrate the different areas or degrees of clear recognition. Therefore, there is no need to go into them in detail here, but only to say in general terms that the unique and individual “reality” passes through an identification which gradually increases and expands, and reaches the discovery of the universal reality. Ultimately, it will be recognized that the individual reality and the universal reality consist of the same spiritual nature or substance.
Two steps to disidentification
This is of course a process that one only experiences gradually, and as previously mentioned, the path goes through the elimination of the many false identifications that one constantly creates. Whether it happens on the physical level, the emotional level, or the mental level, it is the specific illusions and illusions that limit and can even possess and enslave people. Therefore, disidentification from illusions is a very significant process.
- The first step in this process is clearly to discover what is one’s own most limiting and troublesome illusion. Psychoanalysis has revealed that when feelings, complexes and characteristics that plague a person have such great power, it is because they are unaware of them. Once they have been recognized, unmasked and then seen, they are gradually stripped of their power and influence.
- The second step is to see the glamor that one has identified as a force that works through the person—even flows through him—but is not one. This creates an unbounded standpoint, and from that one can gradually build an ever-increasing disidentification from the waves that flow through or overwhelm one.
A crucial step towards disidentification
At this stage, one should decide that one will never allow oneself to be its prey by using the words “I am,” regardless of the nature of the spell. Every time one allows it, its hold is strengthened. In fact, one is literally confirming it instead of breaking it down. One should simply
see it as “a wave of depression (or whatever it might be) trying to flow through me.” It would be unrealistic (which is itself a delusion) not to acknowledge this fact, but by simply allowing it to approach and make itself felt, and by perceiving it at first sight, one confronts it with the forces of the alert “I.” This keeps it at “arm’s length,” so to speak, and is a crucial step in the process of disidentification.
Regular disidentification
Just as it is good to try to disidentify with your delusions when they arise, it is equally good to regularly practice an exercise in disidentification. This will strengthen your independence from the delusions that are causing you trouble, so that you can begin to “teach” the subconscious.
Before describing the exercise, it should be clear that different techniques are needed for different types of glamour. The varying degrees of intensity of a glamor may require more than one technique. It may be added that what may be helpful for one person or in one situation may not be as effective for another.
Different techniques will therefore be described in the following instructions, so that students will be able to find the methods that best suit each particular case, but in the meantime the technique of disidentification will be a good first step on the long journey towards “realization of reality”.
Exercise in disidentification
The exercise described in the third instruction of the third year was about disidentification from the physical, emotional and mental elements of the personality in preparation for self-realization. The same technique can be applied to any of the illusions that present special difficulties in life.
I. First, the stages of realization and affirmation previously mentioned will be reviewed quickly:
a. I have a physical body, but I am not my body. It is a tool that I can use in the external world for experience and action, but it is not myself. I am not my physical body.
b. I have feelings, but I am not my feelings. They are changeable and contradictory forces that I control and use to express myself, but they are not myself. I am not my feelings.
c. I have a faculty of thought, but I am not mine. It is a faculty that I control and use, but it is not myself. I am not my faculty of thought.
d. I acknowledge and affirm that I am the “I,” a center of pure self-awareness. I am a center of will capable of mastering, directing, and using my physical body and all my psychological processes.
II. Now bring some selected charms into the exercise and say:
a. I recognize that the glamor of ………………………………… is an obstacle to my being able to truly express my true self, but it is only a temporary state, a feeling that works through me. It is not myself.
I am not …………………………………………………………………………….
b. I can therefore look at it objectively and analyze and evaluate it impersonally. (Take a minute or two and then confirm again:) The glamor of ……………………………………………………… is not myself.
c. Now reaffirm: I am a center of pure self-identity. I disidentify myself from the glamor of …………………………………………. I am the “I” capable of mastering and using my physical body and all my psychological processes.
III. Finally: Strive to lift self-awareness upward to the soul – the spiritual self (See the third instruction of the third year) and affirm:
I am the soul.
It is the reality
in which I have my position.
This technique is such a fundamental exercise in the development of personal integration and true self-awareness that one would do well to use it daily as an exercise in “psychological and spiritual hygiene.” It also acts as a defense against the constant stream of influences, both internal and external, that are being pushed forward from all sides. It is highly recommended as a daily exercise, because as previously mentioned, it will be a valuable preparation for all subsequent techniques for working with glamour.
The technique for correct proportions
Right proportions are the next thing to concentrate on. It is a quality that should be developed and constantly kept before the inner eye. First, one must be aware that the normal psychological perspective of man is myopic. Only those problems and psychological factors that are closest or in close proximity, or that attract attention at the time, can be seen clearly. As a result, their importance is exaggerated, while everything that is at a greater psychological distance is blurred, its significance is not recognized or is not perceived at all. Paradoxically, one could say that the greater the realities, the less they are perceived. It is therefore necessary to establish a right perspective. This implies that one must expand one’s field of inner vision. This must be done in three directions or dimensions. Thus, one must achieve:
- A far-reaching
- A long-term
- A high-drawing
1. A wide field of view
This is the easiest to understand, and it is not so difficult to achieve to a certain point, because it is based on obvious facts and is confirmed and explained by science. For example, one can get the first sense of the immense vastness of space by looking at the starry sky after dark. But the colossal figures that the science of astronomy has revealed have given a gradual and greater and greater knowledge of the enormous size of the physical universe. The three great steps that astronomy has taken are:
- The achievement of a heliocentric view. The previous view that the Earth was the center of the universe was replaced by the discovery that the Earth is only a minor planet among several orbiting the Sun.
- The discovery that our Sun is only one of the myriad suns that make up the Milky Way. Their number is estimated to be around 100,000 million.
- The greatest step has been the discovery that the Milky Way is just one of countless similar galaxies. It is now known that there are thousands of millions of galaxies. A certain number—about 1,000 million—are already visible with present-day telescopes and radio telescopes, and who knows how many more there are beyond them? The exploration of space by astronauts in recent years has brought vivid descriptions of the vastness of space, in all its realistic detail, to a large number of people who would never have thought of it before. But reaching the Moon (and perhaps some of the planets) really only gives an infinitesimal picture of cosmic space, from which vibrations originating up to a thousand million light-years away have already been detected.
2. A long-range field of vision
This is related to the concept of time. The perception of time is generally completely out of proportion, and its evaluation is entirely subjective. One can often feel that some days, hours, and even minutes are long, while others seem short. Events and experiences that happened many years or decades ago can sometimes seem as if they had just happened. Thus the sense of time is variable and uncertain. In this field too, science is clearly having ever longer cycles in both planetary and cosmic evolution. Astronomy, geology, and the many new methods of exploring substances that physicists have discovered are expanding the perception of time. But here too, theoretical knowledge remains abstract and vague if it is not brought to life through imagination, sensation, and intuition. Only in this way can one gain a truer perception of the proportions between the smaller cycles of personal life, the larger cycles of civilizations and cultures, and the larger cycles of millions and trillions of years that make up the time span of planets and stars.
In connection with the concept of eternity , it should be understood that this word has two meanings: the meaning described in the previous section, unlimited duration of time, and the second meaning, which is a sense of the opposite – a permanent, unchanging, ever- present reality. This has been called the Eternal Now, and it relates to a level or stage of consciousness beyond time and space. This leads to the third dimension to be recognized in the technique of right proportions – a high-reaching field of vision. All the directions in which consciousness expands are actually interconnected and cannot be separated from one another.
3. The high-reaching field of vision
This is more difficult to understand because it relates to the inner stature of man and to the unfathomable realms of spiritual dimensions. The word “high” is of course used only symbolically, but it has always been widely used, and is still used, to describe the various psychological and spiritual levels of realization reached by the most advanced of humanity, and to refer to the more subjective and subtle spheres that can be sensed or perceived intuitively.
As one moves from the known to the unknown, one first encounters the physical level of cognition, shaped by emotions and created by some of the physical senses. Then one encounters the vast emotional realm, which has several sub-levels or zones, ranging from the lower emotions and sentiments to the nobler feelings. Next, as thinking beings, one becomes aware of mental activity, which ranges from the simplest rational to the most abstract philosophical and mathematical concepts.
These levels are more or less well known, forming the inner dimensions in which humanity normally lives. But there is a fourth level or realm that only a few know about and have reached. It has been called the intuitive realm because it can only be reached by using the faculty of intuition, and it is only developed in a minority.
The transcendent reality
Several of the great mystics and seers have passed on their experiences by pointing in their teachings to even higher goals in the inner reality. In these higher realms, the individual consciousness of man is transcended, and one can achieve varying degrees of contact and union with the transcendent reality.
A group of advanced psychologists, with Abraham Maslow being particularly prominent, began scientific research into “peak needs.”
psychology”. This applies to the “peak experiences” that occur at the superconscious and transpersonal levels, and a number of such experiences that psychologists and psychiatrists encounter in their work have been analyzed.
It is the exploration of the “inner space” that leads one into this “peak” dimension. Its reality and great significance have been emphasized since the beginning of meditation study, and the growing interest in all forms of meditation shows that the sense of this dimension has become greater, tempting the human consciousness to discover it.
Practicing the technique of correct proportions
The technique of right proportions can be used and works in many ways. Anything that broadens the vision and deepens the understanding is an aid to attaining a standpoint from which one can see a truer perspective, and various methods can be used to strive for this goal. For example, to increase one’s perception of the vastness of the universe, one can study the available literature on astronomy, which contains data on cosmic distances, “star maps,” and so on. All of this gives a picture of the cosmos, and thereby broadens one’s perception of its immense vastness. A book that vividly illustrates this is Cosmic View, The Universe in 40 Jumps, by Kees Boeke (John Day Co., New York). And when one has the opportunity to look at the starry sky, one naturally gets a direct sense of its vastness. It takes a long time to gain a true and clear realization of it.
Most people feel that their consciousness is expanding and that they are in an elevated state of mind, but some react negatively. They feel insignificant and squeezed and almost crushed in these great dimensions. It is absolutely a delusion, rooted in a separatist attitude, instead of rejoicing in being a participant in this great panorama, which one should be. The method of eliminating this delusion is to know that what matters is quality, not quantity, and that all are of the same essence and have the same standard of value as all the great realities in the universe – just as a single drop of the ocean has the same chemical composition as the water of all the oceans.
To comprehend the infinite passage of time, one must learn and remember the sequence of ever-longer cycles that have been introduced to humanity through modern scientific methods. These cycles range from a split second, a minute, a day, a year, and centuries, to the “astronomical year” of 26,000 years, when the Sun makes its way through the entire zodiac, and right up to the incredibly long lifespans of planets and suns – and thus one can expand the concept of time more and more.
Understanding through meditation and contemplation
But a deeper and clearer understanding of all these vast realities is achieved through meditation and contemplation. As Cyril Hepher writes in The Fellowship of Silences:
All the proportions of life change in the silence.
The moments of time diminish next to
the moments of infinity.
By turning the attention to something higher and greater, the countless little problems of daily life that are given undue attention and importance—the “emphatic trifles,” as Edison called them—are diminished and reduced to their rather insignificant place. But this goal is not easy to achieve, as all spiritual teachers have learned. One of them wrote:
One must muster all the spiritual courage one can
to eliminate and put an end to pettiness.
Fiery World
Many of the writings of the great mystics and seers of both the East and the West have been illuminating and of great help in this regard. Many of them have experienced in moments of inner illumination a true sense of eternity or timelessness, and in Evelyn Underhill’s excellent book Mysticism many of the experiences of the Christian mystics are recounted. Cosmic Consciousness by Richard Maurice Bucke (Dutton & Co. Inc., NY) is also a very informative book on this subject, and it contains a valuable series of reports of experiences of this high nature.
Consciousness expansion
As previously mentioned, meditation is a more direct technique for expanding consciousness. In meditation, the center of consciousness is led upward by aspiration and will toward higher regions of being—toward a transcendent reality. The inner experiences and realizations achieved in this way lack words to describe them, but it can be said that they create an increasing realization that the soul—one’s own spiritual self—is identical with all souls and with the ONE SOUL.
The following mantra, when used meditatively, is helpful in developing this realization of spiritual identity. It can be used as an introduction to normal meditation or at any time when one wishes to “collect one’s thoughts” about the soul.
More radiant than the Sun,
purer than the snow,
finer than the ether,
is the soul, the spirit within.
I am this soul, this soul I am.
Better sense of proportion
Finally, to achieve a better sense of proportion, one could regularly employ a technique practiced by Theodore Roosevelt, which he called “Cutting Down the Size.” William Beebe reported this in his book The Book of Naturalists (Alfred A. Knopf):
“Theodore Roosevelt and I had a little game going on. After an evening of conversation, we would go out onto the lawn and scan the sky until we found a small, faint spot above the low left corner of the great square of Pegasus. One of us would say, “This is the spiral galaxy of Andromeda. It is as big as our Milky Way. It is one of a hundred million galaxies. It contains a hundred million suns, each one larger than our Sun.” Then Roosevelt would smile at me and say, “Now I think we are small enough. Let’s go to bed.”
Main content of other techniques
A more detailed introduction to the rest of the techniques will now be given in the following instructions, where there will be descriptions of exercises that can be practiced in connection with specific illusions. Here they are briefly outlined, so that the many approaches in these short descriptions may make it possible to begin to experiment with at least the simpler of the techniques that seem to be useful, for in general it is necessary to introduce the fight against illusion from several sides in order to be successful.
The technique of cultivating opposites
The cultivation of opposites is in a way the simplest method, but that does not mean that it is easy to perform. As with all techniques, it depends first on having a clear understanding of the delusion one wishes to eliminate, so that one can select its opposite. Second, it involves carefully devoting one’s time and attention to cultivating the opposite quality. Here are some examples of this method:
- Fear can be counteracted by exercising courage,
- depression by fostering joy,
- hostility by developing love,
- collectivism through willingness to share,
- isolation by perceiving the One Life Being
and the underlying synthesis of all beings.
“As if” technique
The “as if” technique was mentioned quite early in the study of meditation in connection with visualization and its suitability for helping to overcome fear in various situations. But it is also a suitable method for working through all personal illusions. The technique consists of acting as if the illusion does not exist, and it is closely related to “cultivating the opposite”. For example, if one tries to adopt the firm attitude that one is not afraid and acts as if one fears nothing, while at the same time cultivating courage, then one is working in two complementary ways. Both techniques contribute something to each other, and together a great deal can be achieved.
The “as if” method may seem too simple to produce lasting results, but it is actually the best method for retraining the unconscious. It is much more than simply “pretending” or doing it in spite of. By using this method, one affirms and calls upon help to achieve the positive qualities one needs. For example, when one doubts whether one is capable of undertaking a certain task, or whether one can improve people’s conditions, one must act as if one possesses the necessary confidence to be able to carry out the tasks successfully. This awakens the conviction that helps the conscious mind to uphold this confidence.
It is a method that not only works immediately because it leads through many difficult situations and tasks, but it also slowly builds the inner qualities that you need.
Technique for systematics
Systematics is a technique by which the emotional energy associated with glamor can be gradually eliminated by means of the creative imagination. These energies often lie deep in the unconscious as well as in the conscious. The method consists of using the imagination to visualize and to mentally and emotionally create the situation that evokes the glamor one wishes to work on. The possibility is opened for the feeling to come right up to the surface of consciousness so that it can be experienced clearly. In this way, a part or a fraction of the glamor is removed each time the exercise is performed. After having performed the exercise a suitable number of times, the feeling is no longer evoked or only weakly evoked by the visualization. Then one can face it and work on it in practical life, in external action, calmly, freely and successfully.
Technique for transmutation
Transmutation is a significant and effective technique, which has the great advantage that it not only eliminates and neutralizes the glamor in question, but can also use the energy that created and animates it for different and more useful purposes. It should be remembered that emotional energy, which is the driving force of the glamour, is in itself neutral. It has created the glamor because it was attracted by a mistaken idea or a wrong judgement.
But if this faulty connection is discovered and eliminated, then the same energy can be used for higher purposes. Here are some examples of separating energy from a glamor so that it takes on a more useful and valuable quality:
- to turn self-pity into sympathy and care for others,
- to turn personal aggression into action for the good of the whole.
- to turn desire for material things into pursuit of spiritual qualities and
The transmutation processes that occur in this technique will be analyzed in more detail later. But everyone can probably see what methods one can begin to apply in their own lives in breaking down the spell. Using energy correctly is, in fact, the most fundamental of all problems.
Technique for indifference
The effectiveness of this technique lies primarily in the fact that it eliminates the harmful circuits that are generally associated with glamor – the emotional reactions that one commonly displays. Here are a few examples: One is afraid of being afraid, which draws attention to fear, which is thereby reinforced. One is angry with oneself because one is angry, which thereby expands the original angry reaction, and so on.
But the technique of indifference is not only about avoiding being emotionally affected by a glamour. The method also consists of creating the opportunity to withdraw attention and, consequently, energy from the glamor in question and then adopt a neutral or higher attitude towards it, so that it fades away and loses its grip.
The technique of disidentification and of right proportions prepares the way for this more subjective method, for it first limits the rise above the glamor in question – disidentification – and then maintains a higher and more far-reaching point of view – seeing it in a true perspective. This is a good example of the fact that, as mentioned earlier, it is possible and useful to employ different – often indirect as well as direct – approaches.
Technology for light
One could say that with this technique one can work with glamor from an even higher level, and it is one of the most effective ways to achieve indifference. It means learning to work with the light and to bring it down from on high to the personality.
There are different forms of light, and this technique, like the others, will be explained in more detail later, as it is a method that requires the practice of a certain form of meditative action. At this point in the study, it will suffice to say that the light that exists above the mists and vapors of the world’s glamor acts as a great destroyer.
factor, and that all you can do is hold yourself in the light, and if you bring it into your life, it helps break down the glamour.
The technique of presence
The technique of presence is the highest method of all, and here too a more precise description must wait until later. Here it is sufficient to say that it means to sense, to feel, and at a higher level to achieve an intuitive realization of the divine presence – of the divine that is present in all manifestation.
Many are familiar with the phrase “practicing presence,” but the technique of presence leads to more than a mystical access to special states of awareness. It is a precise and specific—one might say “scientific”—method for achieving a more subtle and subjective form of awareness.
In the initial steps a certain control of the personality is required, so that contact with the “real” is possible. Likewise, a certain degree of focused attitude must be attained, so that a higher and more subtle inner realization is possible. In addition, the ability to lead what is called a “dualistic life” must be developed—that is, the ability to maintain an inner spiritual attitude while at the same time living an outer life and performing all the practical tasks that require so much time. Furthermore, one must be able to define and formulate the effort to get in touch with the presence and perceive reality. This is a high stage to attain, and it is one of the great goals of practicing meditation.
How to move forward
Here you can receive seven free meditations where you develop different aspects of yourself.
Also read the article Psychosynthesis an Integral Psychology and the biography of Roberto Assagioli
Read the introductory article about energy psychology
Read the introductory article about integral meditation
