The Creative Work of Sound
RULE FOUR
Sound, light, vibration, and the form blend and merge, and thus the work is one. It proceedeth under the law, and naught can hinder now the work from going forward. The man breathes deeply. He concentrates his forces, and drives the thought-form from him.
Before centering our attention upon this rule, it would be well to recollect certain things, so that our reflection on the rule may proceed with profit.
First, the rule we are at present considering concerns work on the mental plane, and before such work is possible it is important to have a developed mind, a well-nurtured intelligence, and also to have achieved some measure of mind control. These rules are not for beginners in the occult sciences; they are for those who are ready for magical work and for labor on the plane of mind. Love is the great unifier, the prime attractive impulse, cosmic and microcosmic, but the mind is the main creative factor and the utilizer of the energies of the cosmos. Love attracts, but the mind attracts, repels and coordinates, so that its potency is inconceivable. Is it not possible dimly to sense a state of affairs in mental realms analogous to that now seen in the emotional? Can we picture the condition of the world when the intellect is as potent and as compelling as is the emotional nature at this time? The race is progressing into an era wherein men will function as minds; when intelligence will be stronger than desire, and when thought powers will be used for appeal and for the guidance of the world, as now physical and emotional means are employed.
There lies in this thought a profoundly necessary incentive for a right understanding of the laws of thought, and a correct instruction to be given of the use of mental matter, and the building of that matter into thought forms.
These rules concern themselves with this information. The second necessary recollection is that the worker in magic and the potent entity wielding these forces must be the soul, the spiritual man, and this for the following reasons:
- Only the soul has a direct and clear understanding of the creative purpose and of the plan.
- Only the soul, whose nature is intelligent love can be trusted with the knowledge, the symbols and the formulas which are necessary to the correct conditioning of the magical work.
- Only the soul has power to work in all three worlds at once, and yet remain detached, and therefore karmically free from the results of such work.
- Only the soul is truly group-conscious and actuated by pure unselfish purpose.
- Only the soul, with the open eye of vision, can see the end from the beginning, and can hold in steadiness the true picture of the ultimate consummation.
You ask, whether workers in black magic possess not an equal power? I answer, no. They can work in the three worlds, but they work from and in the plane of mind, and do not function, therefore, outside their field of endeavor, as does the soul. They can achieve, from their proximity and identification with their working materials, results more potent temporarily and more rapid in accomplishment than the worker in the White Brotherhood, but the results are ephemeral; they carry destruction and disaster in their wake, and the black magician is eventually submerged in the resulting cataclysm.
Let us therefore remember the necessity of a correct use of the mind, and (at the same time) let us ever hold a position beyond and detached from the creative work of our minds, desires and physical accomplishment.
Four words stand forth as one considers Rule IV. First, sound, the formula, or word of power which the soul communicates and so starts the work. This word is dual. It is sounded forth on the note to which the soul responds, his own peculiar note, blended with that of his personality. This chord of two notes is the producer of the resulting effects, and is more important than the set phrase composing the word of power.
Herein lies the problem – to sound these two notes synchronously and with the mind focused. Herein lies a clue to the significance of the AUM or 0M. In the early stages of meditation work, the word is sounded audibly, whilst later it is sounded inaudibly. This training in the sound of the AUM is an unconscious preparation for the dual work of spiritual creation; and facility comes as the attentive aspirant accustoms himself to hear within his brain the soundless sound of OM.
I would suggest here, that students accustom themselves to work in this manner, sounding the word audibly and with much frequency at the close of the morning meditation, but emphasizing in the early part that close attention to the inaudible hearing which will develop the sensitivity of the inner ear, the etheric ear. Later, when the personal note or sound is established and the inner sound is sensed, there can be definite practice in blending the two. This entails the closest attention and the power to perform two activities simultaneously, with the mental attitude of attention to both.
Students whose aspiration is keen and clear would do well to face the issue where the magical work is concerned, and study their aptitude in meditation and their willingness to proceed with stability and caution with the needed discipline. To facilitate this I would suggest that any who are deeply concerned in the work should study and answer the following questions in the light of their souls, and to their higher selves make reply.
- Do you feel you have reached the stage wherein you can:
- Eliminate the meditation form as you now have it.
- Enter with relative facility into the state of contemplation.
- Recognize the vibration of your own soul.
- Does the Sacred Word mean anything to you, and could you formulate clearly the reason you sound it?
- Are you anxious to proceed in this work because your personality aspires, or because your soul is beginning consciously to utilize its mechanism?
In connection with this last question, a close analysis is called for, and I conjure you to speak truth to yourself and thus clearly ascertain the true position. This question lies between a man’s soul and himself.
I would like to interpolate here a few words in connection with myself. Students can sidetrack their energies in idle speculation as to my identity. Of what moment is it? My province in relation to the group is to give needed assistance to those who seek to fit themselves for active work as disciples. I am a disciple and, having progressed further along the Path of Return than the aspirants who study these instructions, know somewhat the pitfalls, understand what is needed, and can aid in the preparation for the momentous moment when they pass the portal. Is more necessary? Is not truth of equal value if enunciated by an aspirant, a disciple or a Master, or e’en a Christ? Mayhap the nearer I am to you the greater may be my usefulness. My anonymity will not be broken and speculations as to my identity are fruitless waste of time. Suffice it that I am an Oriental, that I am on the Teaching Ray, and closely associated with the Master K. H., that part of my work is the steady search for aspirants of strong heart, fervent devotion and trained minds, and that I am a disciple, as are all from the humblest probationer up to the greatest of the Great Ones. One lesson all aspirants need to learn and to learn early and that is, that concentration upon the personality of the Teacher, hoping for personal contact with him, and constant visioning of that condition called “accepted chelaship” serves to postpone that contact and delay the acceptance. Seek to equip your instrument, learn to function in quietness, fulfil your obligations and do your duty, develop restraint of speech and that calm poise that comes from an unselfish life motive and forget the selfish satisfaction that might well up in the heart when recognition of faithfulness comes from the watching Hierarchy.
Give this Instruction careful consideration. These are days wherein many adjustments and changes are being wrought in the world of men. In the resulting confusion, individuals are appreciating the necessity for the uniting of their forces and for cooperation in their efforts, and the need for group work is more apparent than ever before. These are days, therefore, wherein quietness and confidence must be your strength, and wherein the only safeguard lies in a close searching of all underlying motives. As seen on the surface, many apparently diverse principles emerge and the surge of battle appears to go, first one way and then another. As seen on the inner side, the emerging factors are simpler. The contest leads primarily to a testing of motives, and through this testing it is made apparent (to the watching Guides) who, in every group, are capable of clear thinking, accurate discrimination, patient endurance, and an ability to proceed along the probationary path toward the portal of initiation, untrammeled and undisturbed in their inner life by the upheavals on the surface. Could you but see it, the unrest and difficulty everywhere is producing a good which far outweighs the seeming evil. Souls are finding themselves and learning dependence upon the inner Ruler. When all outward props fail and when all the apparent authorities differ in the solution proffered, then souls are thrown back upon themselves and learn to seek within. This inner contact with the higher self is becoming apparent in gradually unfolding degree, and leads to that self-reliance and inward calm which is based upon the rule of the inner God and which, therefore, makes a man an instrument for service in the world.
Part 2 of 3 here.
