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Glamor - A World Problem - The Causes of Glamor
b. The Contrast between Glamor and Illumination One of the aptest symbols by which one can gather some picture of the nature of glamor is to picture the astral plane on three of its levels (the second, third and fourth, counting from the top downwards) as a land shrouded in a thick fog of varying densities. The ordinary light of the ordinary man, which is similar to the headlights of a car and their self-sufficient blaze, serves only to intensify the problem and fails to penetrate into the mists and the fog. It simply throws it into relief so that its density and its deterring effects become the more apparent. The condition of fog is revealed - but that is all. So it is on the astral plane in relation to glamor; the light which is in man, self-induced and self-generated, fails ever to penetrate into or to dissipate the gloom and the foggy miasmic conditions. The only light which can dissipate the fogs of glamor and rid the life of its ill effects is that of the soul, which - like a pure dispelling beam - possesses the curious and unique quality of revelation, of immediate dissipation, and of illumination. The revelation vouchsafed is different to that of the intuition for it is the revelation of that which the glamor veils and hides, which is a revelation unique to the astral plane and conditioned by its laws. This particular utilization of soul light takes the form of a focused concentration of the light (emanating from the soul, via the mind) upon the state of glamor - particular or specific, or general and worldwide - so that the nature of the glamor is revealed, its quality and basis is discovered, and its power is brought to an end by a steady, prolonged period of concentration which is given to the dispelling of the condition. [140] In our next section we will deal in detail with the technique of this scientific use of light and, therefore, I will not elaborate the theme at this point. I will only deal with that much of it as will enable you, as a group, to begin your long awaited work upon the problem of dispelling the present world glamor - at least in some of its aspects. I am not defining glamor in this place or giving you instances of its activity as I did in the case of illusion and its contrasting correspondence, the intuition, because I covered the ground very thoroughly in the section immediately preceding, and you have only to refer to that section to read all that I am prepared to give you at this time. I will, however, briefly define illumination, asking you to bear in mind that we are not here dealing with the illumination which reveals Reality, or the nature of the soul or which makes clear to your vision the kingdom of the soul, but with that form of illumination which is thrown down by the soul into the world of the astral plane. This involves the conscious use of light and its employment, first of all, as a searchlight, scanning the astral horizon and localizing the glamor which is causing the trouble, and secondly, as a focused distribution of light, turned with intention upon that area of the astral plane wherein it is proposed that some effort be made to dissipate the fog and mist which are there concentrated. Certain basic premises are, therefore, in order and these might be stated as follows: The quality and the major characteristic of the soul is light. Therefore, if that light is to be used and that quality expressed by the disciple and the worker, he must first of all achieve a recognized contact with the soul through meditation. The quality of the astral plane - its major characteristic - is [141] glamor. It is the field whereon the great battle of the pairs of opposites must be fought as they are the expression of ancient desire, in the one case - glamorous, deceptive and false - and in the other, high spiritual longing for that which is real and true. It should be here remembered that astral desire, wrong and selfish emotion and astral reactions to the facts of daily life, are not natural to the soul and constitute eventually a condition which serves to veil successfully the true nature of the spiritual man. A relation must then be established between the soul and the astral plane, via the astral body of the disciple. This astral body must be regarded by him as his response apparatus to the world of sensation and as the only instrument whereby his soul can contact that level of expression - temporary and non-lasting as it may be. The disciple must, therefore, establish contact with the soul and do this consciously and with the needed emphasis and so carry soul light to his own astral body, learn to focus it there in the solar plexus center, and from that point of achievement proceed to work upon the astral plane at the arduous task of dispelling glamor. When this line of contact has been made and the soul, the astral body and the astral plane have thus been intimately related, the disciple must carry the focused light from the solar plexus (where it has been temporarily localized) to the heart center. There he must steadily hold it and work consistently and perseveringly from that higher center. I might here paraphrase an ancient instruction for disciples, which can be found in the Archives of the Hierarchy and which refers to this particular process. I am giving you a brief and somewhat inadequate paraphrase of this ancient symbolic wording: [142] "The disciple stands and, with his back to the glamorous fog, looks towards the East from whence the light must stream. Within his heart he gathers all the light available and from that point of power between the shoulder blades the light streams forth." The disciple must relinquish all sense of tension or of strain and must learn to work with pure faith and love. The less he feels and the less he is preoccupied with his own feelings or sense of achievement or of non-achievement, the more probable it will be that the work will proceed with effectiveness and the glamor be slowly dispelled. In this work there is no haste. That which is very ancient cannot be immediately dispelled no matter how good the intention or how accurate may be the grasp of the needed technique.
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