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Esoteric Psychology II - Chapter II - The Ray of Personality - The Coordination of the Personality
Ray Two " 'Again I stand; a point within a circle and yet myself.' The love of love must dominate, not love of being loved. The power to draw unto oneself must dominate, but into the worlds of form that power must some day fail to penetrate. This is the first step towards a deeper search. The word goes forth from soul to form: 'Release thyself from all that stands around, for it has naught for thee, so look to me. I am the One who builds, sustains and draws thee on and up. Look unto me with eyes of love, and seek the path which leads from the outer circle to the point. I, at the point, sustain. I, at the point, attract. I, at the point, direct and choose and dominate. I, at the point, love all, drawing them to the center and moving forward with the travelling points towards that great Center where the One Point stands.' What mean you by that Word? " In reference to this second ray, it is advisable to recollect that all the rays are but the subrays of the second Ray of Love-Wisdom. The One in the center, Who is the "point within the circle" of manifestation, has three major qualities: life or activity in form, love and the power of abstraction. It is these last two qualities of Deity with which we are concerned in these formulas and (in connection with the second ray) the dualities of attraction and abstraction emerge, both latent and both capable of perfected activity in their own field. There comes ever the moment in the life of the aspirant when he begins to consider with wonder the significance of that familiar reaction of finding no satisfaction in the familiar things; the old life of desire for well known forms of existence and expression ceases to attract his interest. The pull or attractive power of the One at the center (Who is his true self) also fails. It is not yet a familiar "call." The aspirant is left, unsatisfied and with a deepening sense of futility and emptiness, "pendent upon the periphery" of the divine [356] "ring-pass-not" which he has himself established. It is at this point and in this situation that he must reflect upon and use this formula. The question might here be interjected: What should now be the procedure and right use? Upon this it is not possible here to enlarge, beyond pointing out that all the meditation processes connected with the Raja-Yoga system are intended to bring the aspirant to a point of such intense inner focusing and alert mental detachment that he will be in a position to use these formulas with understanding, according to his ray type, and to use them with efficacy and power. His meditation has produced the needed alignment. There is therefore a direct way or line (speaking symbolically) between the thinking, meditative, reflective man upon the periphery of the soul's influence and the soul itself, the One Who is at the center. The crisis of evocation succeeds, once this line of contact, this antahkarana, has been established and recognized, and a crisis of intense activity ensues, wherein the man occultly "detaches himself from the furthest point upon the outer rim of life, and sweeps with purpose towards the central Point." Thus speaks the Old Commentary, which is so oft quoted in these pages. It is not possible to do more than put these ideas into symbolic form, leaving these mysteries of the soul to be grasped by those whose soul's influence reaches to that periphery, and is there recognized for what it is. This crisis usually persists for a long time, a far longer one than is the case with the aspirant upon the first ray line of activity. However, when the second ray aspirant has understood and has availed himself of the opportunity and can see ahead the line between himself and the center, then the "light breaks in." It is this period of crisis which presents the major problem to the advanced aspirants of today and evokes consequently [357] the concern of the psychiatrist and psychologist. Instead of treating the difficulty as a sign of progress and as indicating a relatively high point in the evolutionary scale and therefore a reason for a sense of encouragement, it is treated as a disease of the mind and of the personality. Instead of regarding the condition as one warranting explanation and understanding but no real concern, the attempt is made to arrest the difficulty by elimination and not by solution, and though the personality may be temporarily relieved, the work of the soul is for that particular life cycle arrested, and delay ensues. With this problem we will later deal.
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