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A Treatise on White Magic - Rule Ten - The Present Age and the Future
Certain words of warning I would like to give and also a summarization of much earlier said: First, hold not on to the form no matter what it be. All forms are but experiments, and reach the point where they are in balance - to be either discarded or vivified. Secondly, remember that all personalities (your own included) have their periods of ebb and flow, under the law. The periods of ebb in the case of those holding prominent position cause at times consternation to all those who follow their personalities, and not the inner God within their own heart. Thirdly, bear in mind, also, that just as in the individual life there come the periods wherein the vision is obscured, the valley is traversed, and the stars shut out by the fog, so in connection with groups will the same be seen. But bear equally in mind that after the valley is crossed (for all aspirants and for all truly spiritual groups) the Mount of Initiation is seen and ascended; after obscuration succeeds the vision, and after night comes the day. In the great cycles affecting cosmic groups this also can be seen; in the lesser cycles, controlling the races, the same eventuates and the same law persists in all the lesser groups down to the groups of tiny lives that hold sway in the vehicles of man. This needs emphasis. Fourthly, do not permit yourselves to be discouraged. Discouragement is due to three causes. Paramountly it is due to the lowering of the vitality of the bodily organism. When such is the case, the astral body makes too strong a demand upon the physical, and in the endeavor to respond and in the sensed incapacity to do so adequately, lies one cause of the sense of discouragement. This often attacks those of you who are finely organized in the physical vehicle. The cure for this type of [342] discouragement is obvious, is it not? Rest and relaxation build anew, and give time for nature to adjust the trouble. The sun too revitalizes with prana and this should be considered. After all, sound common sense is the special requirement, and also the realization that one's work is adjusted to one's capacity, and not to the overwhelming need. Meditate on this. Another basis for discouragement is the over-development of the concrete mind, which in its turn makes too great a demand upon the emotional nature, and consequently again upon the physical. Too great a capacity to see all around a subject, too disproportionate a comprehension of the world's need, and too quick an apprehension of the many issues involved in connection with some particular matter produce a violent vibration in the astral body. This leads to a shattering of the physical vehicle, and the result sensed we term discouragement. It is here that a sense of proportion must be cultivated, that the faculty of wise balancing enters, and that mental equilibrium must be achieved. The cure lies in the realization that time, eternity, evolution (call it what you will) brings all things to pass, and that everything does not depend upon individual effort. It is possible for wise souls to hasten the good work, but the end, nevertheless, is sure. If the wise souls are not forthcoming yet the force of evolution brings all things to pass, even if more slowly. Do not forget this, but when discouragement from mental sources settles down upon you, in quietness adjust yourself, and in contemplation sense the ultimate achievement of that great factor, Time. A third cause lies in more occult realms, and is due to the balancing of the pairs of opposites. When the pendulum swings - as it must and does - towards that which we call dark, evil, and undesirable, it produces in those of you who are oriented towards the light a tension which results in discomfort in all the bodies, and is [343] specially sensed as depression by the physical body. The more sensitive your body, the greater your responsiveness to this form of temptation. It is one of the things which specially hinders the aspirant. It renders him negative and receptive from the form side, and slows down his vibration. It prevents achievement and his service to the world suffers in consequence. The cure for discouragement does not lie in cultivating a violent counter vibration. It lies in the wise use of the mental body, and in a capacity to reason logically and to see the cause of the conditions, which lies either in your own personality or in your environment. Thus poise will be attained. It lies also in the appreciation of Time as a solvent as aforesaid. It lies also in the stilling of the concrete mind and a subsequent linking up with the soul and, via the soul, with the egoic group and consequently with the Master. It must never be forgotten that contact with the Master is made in this order, and that he who comes more and more under the guidance of the soul is he who more and more enters into the consciousness of his Master. Then having with unselfish intent linked up with the Master, there comes next the deliberate and concentrated effort to work with pure dispassion, and with no desire to see the fruit of action. This process, long continued and pursued with patience, will result eventually in the attaining of an equilibrium which nothing can disturb.
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