The Washington herald., 1914-10-25

OCTOBER %, 1914.
II, It vivides the power Of hearing the
voice Of the master-which means in this
case the voice Of the ego or higher self
The reason for this statement is thai
when the pituitary body, located In tne
brain between the eyes, il brought into
| working order IL forms Q perfect hnh
with the astral vehicle, 50 that through
It all communications from within car
be received.
i Astral Influences.
II is not only this one; all the higher
force-centers have presently to be awak-
ened. and each must be made responsive
to all kinds Of astral influences from the
various astral sub-planes. This develop
| ment will come to all In due course, but
most people cannot gain II during the
present incarnation, II It Is the nrst IN
which they have begun TO take these
matters seriously in hand. The conquest
OF the serpent-fire has to be repeated
in each incarnation, since the vehicles
are new each time, but after 1t has
been once thoroughly achieved these
repetitions will be an easy matter. II must
be remembered that its action varies with
i different types OF people; some, Tor ex-
ample. would see the higher self rather
than hear its voice. Again, this connec-
tion with the higher has many stages;
for the personality II means the innu-
ence Of the ego, but for the ego himself
II means the power Of the monad, and the
monad in turn II means to become con-
scious expression of the logos.
person should not care In the LEAST
| whether development comes In this IN
carnatIon or in the next. but should re-
gard the matter from the point Of view
of the ego and not Of the personality.
feeling absolutely certain that the Mas
ters are always watching for those whom
they can help, that II Is entirely impos-
sible for any one to be overlooked. and
that They will unquestionably give Their
directions when They think that the
right time has come.
/ have never heard that there Is any
sort OF age limit with regard to the de-
velopment, and I do not see that age
should make any difference, so long az
one has perfect health; but the health IL
q necessity, for only q strong body can
endure the strain. which Is much moro
serious than any one who has not made
the attempt can possibly imagine
The force when aroused must be very
strictly controlled, and II must be moved
through the centers in an order which
differs for people Of different types. The
made IN q particular way. which the
Master will explain when the time
comes.
Astral and Etheric Centers Close.
I have said that the astral and etheric
centers are In very close correspondence;
but between them. and interpenetrating
them IN a manner not readily describable.
is q sheath composed Of a single layer
Of physical atoms much compressed and
permeated by a special form OF vital
force The divine life which normally
descends from the astral body to the
physical Is so attuned as to pass through
with perfect ease, but II is an absolute
barrier to all other forces-all which
cannot use the atomic matter Of both the
planes. This web is the natural protec-
ton provided by nature to prevent pre-
mature opening up Of communication be-
tween the planes-a development which
could lead to nothing but injury.
1t is this, which, under normal condi-
tons, prevents clear recollection Of what
has happened curing sleep. and II Is this
also which causes the momentary un-
consciousness which always occurs at
death. But for this merciful provision the
ordinary man, who knows nothing about
all these things and is entirely unpre-
pared to meet them, could at any moment
the influences Of forces to cope with which
would be entirely beyond his strength.
He would be liable to constant obsession
by any being on the astral plan, who de-
sired to influence him or to seize upon
his vehicles
Il will, therefore, be readily understood
that any injury 70 this web Is q serious
disaster There are several ways in
which injury may come. and It behooves
90 ~
against It It may come by accident or
by continued malpractice Any great
shock to the astral body. such. for ex-
ample, as a sudden. terrible fright. may
rend apart this delicate organism, and.
as II Is commonly expressed. drive the
man mad. COf course. there are other
war; in which fear may cause insanity,
but this is one). A tremendous outburst
OF anger may also produce the same ef-
feet. Indeed, II may follow upon ex-
ceedIngiy strong emotion Of an evil char
acter which produces a kind OF explosion
in the astral body.
The malpractices which may more
gradually injure this protective web are
Of two classes-the use Of alcohol or mar
cotic drugs, and the deliberate endeavor
to throw open the doors which nature
has kept closed by means Of such pro-
cess as is described in spiritualistic par
tain drugs and drink-notably alcohol and
all the narcotics, including tobacco-con-
tain matter. which. on breaking up. vo-
latilIzes. and some OF It passes from the
physical plane to the astral.
When this takes place in the body OF
man these constituents rush out through
the force-centers in the opposite direction
to that for which they are intended and
in doing this repeatedly they seriously
inJure and finally destroy the delicate
web. This deterioration or destruction
may be brought about IN two different
ways. according to the type Of person
concerned and to the proportion Of the
constituents IN his etheric and astral
bodies First, the rush Of volatiltzinS
matter actually burns away the web,
and therefore. leaves the door open to
all sorts of irregular forces and evil in
huences.
The second result is that these volatile
constituents, IN flowing through, some
how harden the atom so that It's pulsa-
ton Is to q large extent checked and
crippled. and II is no longer capable Of
being vftaliZed by the particular type
Of force which Yields II into web. The
result Of this is a kind Of ossification of
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