and
in so doing I may
repeat, sometimes word for word, what I have already taught you on other
occasions; but knowledge, to be well-assimilated,
involves constant repetition. Now, instruction received is often
followed for some days, then put aside and finally forgotten. What
I have taught you, you have transmitted in many ways, "and
you may recall it in many cases. In recalling once again these same words
of advice, you will make plain the importance that the Masters accord
them, and a great many will
therefore see the suggestion that they ought to put these instructions
into practice if they wish to progress effectively in the chosen way.
Thus, listen again to my lesson and scrupulously respect my directions.
"A great many people experience great difficulties in making Cosmic
contacts, and most of the time it is through lack of a technique which,
however simple, should be perfected, but is too often neglected. This is
what I want to talk to you about.
"What does one mean by 'contact'? It is pertinent to state that the idea
of harmony is included in this term. To be in contact with something means
to be in harmony, in accord, with this thing. Naturally, this harmony
also implies a feeling of unity. Up to a point one may keep his individuality,
but in all contact there are certain qualities or conditions which are
common to that with which one is in accord and to oneself. There should be
a bond of reciprocal exchange, otherwise there is no contact. In the
physical, there is a word which perfectly suits what I want to speak
about. This word is 'resonance'. It specifies the vibratory harmony which,
for example, exists between two tuning forks of the same frequency. When
one is made to sound, the other responds to the same vibrations.
"But what I want to examine is contact with the Cosmic. First of all, we
must return to the nature of the Cosmic, to the exact meaning of this
word, often used without perfect understanding. The Cosmic is this Supreme
Intelligence in which are actually incorporated all the forces, all the
realities which are manifested to us in the many phenomena which make
up our experience. The Cosmic, then, is the unity of all reality. It is at
the same time the material and physical world, and what men have come
to designate as spiritual. The distinction between the two, the material and
the spiritual, rests solely in the extent or the quality of the
manifestation. The Cosmic, insofar as force and Universal Intelligence
are concerned, functions, at one and the same time, in a manner both finite
and infinite. The finite manifestations of the Cosmic are a reduced,
limited form of the phenomena that we are only able to perceive in an
objective manner. To use a simple analogy, let us consider a star in
the sky. As immense as it may be, it is still smaller, more limited, in
comparison with all the galaxies in the skies.
"When one wishes to enter into contact with the Cosmic, what one seeks is
a unity, a harmony, which does not extend simply to some particular form
of phenomena or to a definite category of things. What one seeks is to
submerge, to blend, one's consciousness into the all, into this all of
which consciousness is truly a part. Actually, this unity exists
permanently, but our goal in Cosmic contact is to realize, to understand,
to feel this unity. Harmony with the Cosmic demands that the universal
consciousness in us be put to work, and it is in this way that we may then
raise ourselves up to the great 'all'.
"Mysticism is a science, as much in the method as in the analytical manner
in which its techniques are applied. The aims naturally are entirely
different from those pursued by classical science, but nonetheless they
do constitute an intelligent and systematic method for the use of certain
laws. Because it is a science, mysticism has been led to discover that
there are certain conditions and certain precise moments particularly
favorable to Cosmic contacts. Sun spots have definite effects on human
emotions and on the psychic centers. No one ignores the fact, and science
has proven it, that Sun spots affect the atmosphere in the sense that
they slow down electromagnetic waves; in fact, they lower their frequency.
Consequently Sun spots disturb radio and television transmission, and,
to some degree, even submarine cables.
"For ages past, mystics (Rosicrucians in particular) have known of the
effect of Sun spots on man. Man is an electromagnetic being. The world
forms a vast field of many energies. Man lives in this field, and every
mystic should fully understand that the greatest part of this energy
of which man is made up, and which emanates from him, comes from the Sun.
Thus every change of condition in the Sun affects our glands, our psychic
centers, and our mental and emotional selves.
"Moreover, everyone knows that the Moon affects gravity and the seas, but
what the mystic should know is that the Moon has an influence, a
polarizing effect, on the electrical nature of nervous energy. It affects
the delicate balance of the psychic aura. The greatest effect of the Sun
is on the vitality of the human being. But what the Moon, on its part,
influences the most is the psychic self and the mind of man. When it waxes
from new Moon to full Moon, it reflects at that time the maximum light
of the Sun. At that time it is most visible to man, and has the greatest
influence on living things. In the last fourteen days of its cycle, from
the full Moon to the new Moon, its light begins to wane. But it is in its
first cycle, the ascending cycle, that the effects on man are the most
positive. The second cycle, from the full Moon to the new Moon, is more or
less negative in its effects on humanity. In the course of the positive
period, the harmony between the Moon and the Cosmic rays and the other
Cosmic forces is the greatest.
"It
is necessary to note and to remember that Cosmic contacts are much
better in the course of this first period, that of the waxing Moon. It is
the best time for psychic exercises and projection of the consciousness.
Also in the course of this first period there is, for each one, a definite
day which is his best possible time for Cosmic contacts, a day located
between the new Moon and the full Moon. Each person should determine that
day for himself, discover it by his own experimentation. This is the day
when the psychic centers are in harmony with the Cosmic vibrations
emanating from the Sun and the Moon. The influence of the Moon on the
emotions and the psychic centers varies in intensity from minute to
minute. Every seven minutes there is a new degree, a degree different in
harmony, created in the human body.
"After the best day of the lunar period has been found, it is necessary
to determine next what time produces the best results for the Self. There is
an ancient mystical principle which establishes that the day of birth
is the solar day, the day when the whole organism, the whole being, is in
closest harmony with the Cosmic forces. Consequently, if someone were born
on a Wednesday, or a Thursday, or a Friday, that day is his solar day.
Life is not only divided into seven cycles of seven periods, but the
relation of man with the Divine and the Cosmic also has seven degrees,
which are the seven days of the weeks. But it is necessary to note
this—the Cosmic week begins on the day of birth, the solar day, and this
particular day is the best one for revitalizing and regenerating the vital
forces.
"Although men are identical organic beings, there are functional
differences between them, and each one should profit from these personal
variations of his own nature, and discover his best period for Cosmic
contacts.
"Now let us see how we may use such contacts, and let us ask what
advantages we can draw from these Cosmic contacts. Here is what we
should do first:
"On the solar day, if that is possible, and if meteorological conditions
permit, you should sit in the Sun, letting the rays shine for some minutes
on your face, neck and arms. This places you in harmony with the many
solar radiations. Some of these radiations are known to man; he has
isolated them and he knows their place in the electromagnetic spectrum;
that is a simple point of physics. Other waves still remain to be
discovered by man, and it is precisely these which permit the being
to be psychically in tune with the Cosmic. At the moment when one is in the
indicated position, one should ask in the course of the contact to
be helped and guided in a constructive way. It goes without saying that one
should be sincere. One cannot hide from the Cosmic the real goal which
one is pursuing. One may not, as it were, ask for one thing while really
desiring something else. Whatever one asks for ought to be worthy of
the consciousness, of the moral self. It ought to be something which one has
already attempted to do for oneself. If, on the other hand, one does
not have a particular problem to solve at the moment, one could offer the Self
as an intermediary for helping others, and ask to be directed in doing
whatever may be useful to someone else.
This
evening, my private sanctuary, such as I have conceived it in the Cathedral
of the Soul, is in semi-darkness, lit only by the candles on my
altar, so that I can hardly see the Master who has come to instruct me.
He appeared, preceded by the sacred AUM which, in my cathedral, seems
to be
the 'signal' of the Masters. I recognize him, in my own terminology,
as the 'Master of Experiments' because his messages are always practical,
and
if his instructions are followed carefully, the greatest benefit can
be
obtained from them. I give him my complete attention, taking a great
many
notes to remind me, once I am 'below' again, of the smallest details.
I
am ready, and the Master feels it. Today
I am going toreturn to a subject of the greatest importance,
