man - a tri cerebral being

8/9/2019 Man - A Tri Cerebral Being

1/27

1

MANA TRI-CEREBRAL BEING

an extension to the notes of Leon McLaren,based on the work of Ouspensky

June 2000


2/27

2

HEAD

HEART

BELLY

figure 1

The minds available to man are by no means limited to one; in this simple scheme weshow three cerebral centres, located at the head, the hart and the belly.Indeed, the complex structure of body, body organs, body cells, organic molecules, atoms

and the rest, could not be managed and made coherent if there were not within manintelligences capable of managing these greatly different worlds.When, ordinarily, we speak or think of mind, we refer only to that small part of ordinaryintellect of which we are aware, and in which we are conscious. There is much more to itthan that, as the feats of men of great intellect plainly demonstrate.

When a man is all head, he cannot do anything, despite his theories.

When he is all belly (body), he never stops doing and is forever running his poor headinto brick walls.

When he is all heart, he wanders ineffectually through a sentimental swamp of non-comprehension.

To be all one is hopeless; all three are necessary.

The head is best disposed when it is clear, cool, silent and present.Its function is:

to observe

to direct and

keep order.It must be watchful in order properly to fulfil its function.

The heart cannot work well when it is filled with feelings for ourselves, anxieties, fears,

expectations and all the rest.To feel for others; that is its function.

The body, centred in the belly, is concerned with sustained effort, physical skill, fortitude,endurance, ambition and the rest.It must be

ready,

sensitive,

prepared for action.


3/27

3

REASONING PRINCIPLE

FEELING PRINCIPLE

ACTIVE PRINCIPLE

figure 2

The three parts, familiarly called head, heart and belly, are all related to three greatprinciples in us;

the reasoning principle,

the feeling principle and the active principle.

To understand man, and to understand the sensory world of sights, scents, sounds, tastesand sensations in which he moves, one must understand the threefold nature of man. Thereasoning principle, the feeling principle, and the active principle are the three greatprinciples within him. Each of them has its own nature, work, way of viewing the world, andway of responding to it.

All movements in the body are initiated and executed by the nervous system under thedirection of the active principle.This is the function which carries us about and does our work for us.At other times, when the active principle rules us, we act and react, sensitive to everystimulus, seeing everything as an opportunity for action. Then indeed are we busy.

The feeling principle working through the nervous system lends a quality to ourmovements, according to our inner state at the time. Thus, our movements may be violentas when we slam a door in rage. They may be very gentle, as when we are caring for asick child.All the nuances of our inner state express themselves in the way we sit, stand, carryourselves, talk, hold our faces, and the rest. Most of the time, we are oblivious of this.

When feeling holds sway, we see the world and ourselves differently. Our responses aredifferent; our actions are different; for the time we are feeling people.

The reasoning principle cannot initiate or execute any movement by itself. It can give ageneral direction, which may or may not be obeyed by the body. It provides the availableinformation necessary for delicate movement, but it does not initiate or executemovements. What it can do is restrain or stop any movement, as when one is taking care,or arrests a movement that has already begun.At those times when reason predominates in us, we see the world and ourselves asreason sees them; we act as reason would have us act; and respond as reason wouldhave us respond. Then we are wholly reasonable.

This simple structure enables us to start our investigations of the three great principleswithin us, in a very simple way.


4/27

4

If we watch our movements, we shall come to know the action of all three systems; weshall learn what they do and what makes them do it.

There are times to be reasonable; times to feel; and times to act. We should know which iswhich. Reason gives us one view of the world and ourselves feeling another, the activeprinciple a third. We should know which is which.Some people are by nature predominantly reasoning; some predominantly feeling; others

predominantly active. Many are naturally equipped to act equally in two of these principles.None is naturally equipped to act equally in all three. This requires effort. The evendevelopment of all three principles makes a man whole.

Knowledge of these three principles is necessary to wholeness; it is discovered inexperience. The even development in them is necessary to wholeness; it is achieved bypractice. Knowledge and practice lead to understanding. Therefore, let us turn ourattention to the study of these three principles.

exercise :

Let us watch our movements during the day, without interfering, so often as we canremember.Look for the work of the three systems.

People sometimes find that when they begin to watch themselves walking, they begin tostumble and be awkward. This is because they never watch without interfering. The onlything they can do is to check or stop movement; with the result that they trip themselvesup.

Now we must learn to watch without interfering. For this purpose, the mind must be silent,the body in view as a whole, and the vision open. In this state, we can watch withoutinterfering. If we do not interfere, we see what happens.


5/27

5

REASONING PRINCIPLE

FEELING PRINCIPLE

SEX

MOVEMENT

INSTINCT

figure 3

The active principle divides into three:

sex,

movement and

instinct.

This combination of sex, movement and instinct, is by far the most potent force in ordinaryman.We may think of sex, for the time being, as the powerhouse of the body, lending itsstrength to all the other parts.

The propagation of the species is only a small part of the work of sex.

Each of the minds / principles shown in figure 3 has it own time corresponding to the innerworld it has to manage.

instinct

The mind that is concerned with the cells in the body, co-ordinating their activity duringtheir short lives, is instinct, the Mind of Nature in us. To perform its task it has to be muchfaster than ordinary mind of which we are aware. It is securely hidden from our awareness,lest we interfere. We are only aware of it in grave emergency.

The instinctive intelligence rarely troubles us. lt is primarily concerned with the innereconomy of the body. It has to manage the smooth working of the bodily organs and thegreat population of body cells. It deals with the ever-changing environment in which thebody moves, adjusting internal arrangements accordingly. It deals with disease andmatters of that kind. It is also directly concerned with life, and the preservation of thespecies.It knows what it needs to know from the very start. If it did not, we should not be here.

Such messages as the small waking part of intellect receives from this great intelligenceare commonly vague and uncertain, seeming to be generally diffused throughout the body.Such are pleasure, pain, delight, sorrow, and all the host of opposite sensations linked withthese.Sometimes, pain is specific and sharp, when instinct would rouse intellect to some useful


6/27

6

decision. Often, it is vague and general, a kind of displeasure.Most of our lives are ruled by these vague sensations. We seek out the pleasurable andrun from the painful.

The range of speeds and perception of this intelligence is vastly greater than that ofordinary intellect, even at its best. It has to deal with frequencies, which affect the tiny bodycells as well as those, which affect the body as a whole. There is growing evidence that its

range reaches far into the radio band. Thus, a very high frequency transmitting station caninterfere with the migration of birds, so that they fly in circles about it. When it shuts down,they are released to take up their course again.Sometimes, in life-and-death situations, it shows us its range and power. It is very clear,very cool, and very silent. But it knows what needs to be done.

feeling

The mind concerned with the molecular life of the body, whose lifetimes are measured inseconds, is feeling. It is the action of hormones in the blood that we vaguely know asfeelings. For this purpose, the feeling mind has to be very fast.

What mind in us is specially fitted to know simple goodness? It is the feeling intelligence inthe heart of the brain.At full range and power, it reaches down to the molecular level, controlling the chemistry ofthe body, and as far out the other way.In us, it works but weakly, and is easily overwhelmed.

It is the seat of awe, devotion, sincerity and love. How often, and for how long, do westand in awe before the miracle of creation? How often, and for how long, are we devotedto the pursuit of good? How often, and for how long, are we sincere with ourselves? How

often, and for how long, do we love?

The enemy of feeling is attention captured, or identification as it is sometimes called.When we become involved in things, identifying ME with them, emotional power runs outof us in deceptive imaginings.

moving

The moving mind is closely associated with instinct, and has a similar speed.

reasoning

The reasoning mind is naturally equipped to look outwards and view the external world.Informed by the five senses sight, hearing, smell, taste and touch, it forms a picture of theoutside world and shows us our way about it.

This mind has to learn nearly everything from experience. We can think of it in the youngchild as being like a clean sheet of wax ready to receive impressions. From theseimpressions, it forms its picture of the world and is the chart on which it would have thegrowing being move.

It has its own speed and range. Its range is very limited; thus, it can receive only one

octave of light, eight octaves of sound, and so on; but there are many more. So also is itsrange of speeds limited, as we shall presently see.When this mind is clear and alert, working fast, everything about us seems to slow down;


7/27

7

the faster the mind, the slower appearances; the slower the mind, the faster appearances.If we are in a very dull state, things seem to be happening all over the place and we do notknow where we are.

Again, when this mind is clear and open, free of imaginings and circling thoughts, do notcolours appear much keener and brighter than when it is dull and confused?Does this not mean that the range of colours being observed has enlarged, so that more

frequencies are being received? And again, when the mind is clear and open, is not theview enlarged, so that much more is seen at once?

This mind, when silent and clear, is valuable. It shows us the world about us as it appears,and can penetrate behind appearances to the relationships between things and the orderunder which they work. It looks outwards.


8/27

8

PARTS OF PRINCIPLES

Principle Moving Emotional Intellectual

REASONING

WatchmanFormation of ideasStorage of impressionsClassification

------------------------------

Love of knowledge

--------------------------- Discovery

FEELING

AwakenerRough sense of fun

Crowd emotion

------------------------------

Love of truthDesire to create

--------------------------- Creation

MOVING

Conditioned reflexes

------------------------------

Delight in movement(sport, skill, rhythm)

--------------------------- Invention

INSTINCTIVE Simple reflexes

Love of life

------------------------------------- Life

figure 4 (moving parts)

Each principle has three parts:

a moving part,

an emotional part and

an intellectual part.


9/27

9

the moving part of the reasoning principle

The first function of the moving part of the reasoning principle is to watch; it is thewatchman in us. It watches in the double sense of the word; it looks out to see what isabroad and watches over what is within; it is at once a sentinel and a guard.

Sometimes we look out, because our eyes happen to be open and we have nothing betterto think about; occasionally, we watch to see what is happening.Again, we do many things during the day while thinking busily of something else.Occasionally, we watch what we are doing; taking care to see that it is well done. Thiswatching is the act of the watchman.

Then, there is an inward watching. For example, most of the time, our looks betray ourfeelings; at times, we see our inner state and make an effort not to show it. Thisinformation, leading to restraint, reaches us through the watchman.Or again, the watchman spots a hasty word before it is spoken, and the word is checked.

The transmission of this inner seeing is his inner work.

Another function of the moving part of the reasoning principle is the formation of ideas.Rarely are we aware of this unceasing activity. Impressions are constantly falling on thispart of the reasoning principle during waking hours. Out of the impressions so received, itbusily forms ideas.Ideas about people, places, occupations, political, scientific and religious questions, aregathered in this way. This formation of ideas needs watching, for ideas are potent thingscapable of shaping our lives.The impressions falling on this part may result from clear observation; but they mayequally consist of things half seen and half heard; they may be imagined, dreamt, or

borrowed from other opinions; or may be produced by internal disorder.Thus error may accumulate in us and we not know it. Just occasionally we realise that anidea about some person, thing or situation was formed out of a mistaken view.

This function, the formation of ideas, leads to another, the storage of ideas in memory.For this purpose, the moving part of the reasoning principle stores all ideas in pairs, so thatif one is summoned to the waking mind, the other comes also.People commonly couple such ideas as man and woman, high and low, night and day,east and west, black and white, and so on.This method of storing information in the form of ideas is convenient, but we need toremember that it is only a method of storing them and nothing more. If the watchman is not

on guard, we easily fall into the trap of imagining the world is divided into twos. This is notso.From this mistake, an easy step reduces all our thinking to chaos. We have only toimagine that these pairs are opposites; that man is the opposite of woman, high or low,night or day, east of west, black or white; and so on. This imagined opposition not merelydivides the world into twos, but into quarrelling twos. This fills the world with discord, anunhappy and unnecessary state.A little thought soon shows us how false this notion of duality is. A thing is high to us whenwe have to reach up to it; low, when we have to reach down. High and low are related toour body.Day is the light of the sun falling upon the earth; and it continually shines on it. Night is theshadow cast by the earth. Night and day are related to the earth.Man and woman are related in their common humanity. Find the third point and dualitydisappears!!!!


10/27

10

The functions of the moving part of the reasoning principle are:

to watch and watching,

to form ideas and watching the formation of ideas,

to store them in memory,

to watch over the body, take care of it, restraining it when necessary.

Clarity is its quality; precision its method, silence its condition.

the moving part of the feeling principle

The first function of the moving part of feeling is to awaken; it is the awakener in us. Itawakens us out of bed in the morning; it brings us back to ourselves when we are calledby name; it alerts us in emergency.

Another function of the moving part of feeling is to set us laughing. It has a rough sense of

fun. Laughter cleanses. To awaken and cleanse; this is the function of the moving part offeeling.

A third function of this part is to make us members of a greater body, as on solemnoccasions when we become one with nation, church, or other community. Then, for amoment, we belong.

But feeling in its moving part is easily overwhelmed and easily poisoned. We are nosooner awakened, than we fall asleep again. Laughter may turn vicious. We may readilybecome one of a mob.The heart is foolish; it needs the clarity, precision and silent guidance of the head. It needs

the watchman.

the moving part of the moving division of the active principle

The moving part of the moving division of the active principle consists of conditionedreflexes. Training, experiment, imitation and resistance may produce these.The training may be good or bad; imitation is a chancy business. How much depends onthe chance of family, education, business associates, friends and the like.Training is very important to this part. Both head and heart have a part to play.

This moving part of the moving division of the active principle carries us about all day,does our work, plays our games, and is generally busy. It can be raised to high levels ofskill; it can be very incompetent.It not only walks, stoops, runs, sits down, gesticulates, and plays cricket, but it adds up,subtracts, multiplies, argues, talks, conducts conversations, writes, reads, and anythingelse it has learnt to do.

the moving part of the instinct division of the active principle

The moving part of instinct consists of simple reflexes. There are very many in the body.

We know a few external reflexes. Such is the blink of the eye when some object passesnear it; the retraction of the toes if the sole of the foot is tickled. These simple reflexes are,


11/27

11

however, mainly concerned with the internal economy of the body. As a rule, this workswell enough, and we need not trouble further about it at this stage.

exercise :

These examples of the work of the moving part of the three great principles show us what

to look for.We must learn to see this inner activity while remaining wide-awake to what is happeningaround. Thus we begin to learn how the world, as it appears to us, depends on what partof us is looking, and the state of that part. Most of the time, people live in the moving partsof the three great principles. While they live there, they are governed by them. We need toknow how they work and what they do.


12/27

12

figure 4 (emotional parts)

To bring order into the moving parts of the three great principles, they must be seen. Thisis the beginning. But they cannot bring order into themselves.

Within every one of us the emotional powers are ready to order the moving parts of all theprinciples and bring them under control. They are not evenly developed in us; if they were,we could be whole. But there they are, one great step nearer to truth than the movingparts.

If you would find the emotional powers within us

the love of knowledge,

the love of life and

the love of truthand by their calm, sustaining power be filled with a desire to create a new man in us, free

from confusion, stumbling and falsehood, a man made after the image of our true self,then we must be prepared to pay the price. And this price is none other than to give up allthat is false.Just as in this world no desire may be gratified, except a person forego those things whichwould frustrate it, and just as a runner who would win a great race must forego thosethings which would put him out of condition to run swiftly, so a man would come undertruth and find his true self must pay the appropriate price.

Consider the world of opinion. To have true opinions, a man must give up false opinions.People are often wedded to their own opinions, and be ever ready to do violent battle intheir defence. But they may be mistaken opinions, and the man holding them, though he

profess to be seeking truth, may be deluded. His clinging is his downfall.

When someone or something gives us offence, are we apt to nurse that offence, dwell onit, savour it to the full and speculate on how it might be used as the righteous basis foractions and words too unrighteous for us normally to contemplate? We are miserable, weknow it and, in a curious way, we like it. There are some who love being miserable,professionals at the game.

Similarly, in the field of action, if a man is to find true ways of working, he must first give upthe false ways he has laboriously acquired.But it is not easy to unlearn ways of working that have become habitual. How only is a

man enabled to unlearn his habitual ways of working?Must he not first see, with precision, what his ways of working really are?If these ways have become habitual, will this not require the exercise of considerableattention?

Seeing falsity in ourselves, what alone can give us the power gladly to sweep it all away?Is it not the love of knowledge, the love of life and the love of truth within us?These three love of knowledge, love of life and love of truth evenly developed andharmoniously joined, unite in the love of wisdom.Under the power of philosophy, a mans powers, like diverse objects scattered in amagnetic field, turn all on way towards the centre of attraction. Love of wisdom is themagnetic field; truth its centre.


13/27

13

figure 4 (intellectual parts)

It belongs to the intellectual parts of the three principles to bring man to the way, the truthand the life.It belongs to the reasoning principle to discover the way; to the active principle to bring aman to life; and to the feeling principle to create the light of truth in him. And it belongs tothe moving division of the active principle to invent the means by which the way, the truthand the life may be made actual in practice.

These intellectual parts cannot bring us to the way, the truth and the life, so long as weharbour, nourish and pamper the false image of ourselves, which is called ME.Little by little, we have to discover the forms and shapes of ME and root them out. Only inthis way can we ever know our true self.


14/27

14

PARTS OF PRINCIPLES

Principle Moving Emotional Intellectual

REASONING

WatchmanFormation of ideasStorage of impressionsClassification

------------------------------

Circling thoughtInner conversationsSimple associations

Imaginings (ME)

Love of knowledge

---------------------------

Attachment to ideas, theories, creedsSuppression of thought

Discovery

FEELING

AwakenerRough sense of funCrowd emotion

------------------------------

Depression and fearExcitement and elation

Love of truthDesire to create

---------------------------

Attachment to rituals, forms,

ceremonies, beliefsSuperstition

PersecutionsFanaticism

Creation

MOVING

Conditioned reflexes

------------------------------

Thinking about movements

Delight in movement

(sport, skill, rhythm)

---------------------------

Cruelty, Torture

Invention

INSTINCTIVE Simple reflexes

Love of life

-------------------------------------

Struggle for my lifeSuppression of competitorsMaintenance of caste by force

Life

figure 5 : the negative aspect of the moving part


15/27

15

negative aspect in the moving part of the thinking principle

In our sleeping state, when we are not aware of what is happening within us, so that theprinciples within us work in the dark, confusion reigns. Each is busily trying to do theothers work. Its energy is literally in the wrong place.

So common is it for the moving part of one principle to try to do the work of another, thatwe commonly associate this misplaced effort with the other principle. Now we must knowthis unnecessary effort for what it is.

The first example is circling thought.Do we not know the buzz in the head when thoughts chase their own tails, repeating,repeating and repeating?This is the work of the active principle in the wrong place. It fills our heads with noise,disturbing our sleep, distracting us from work, interfering with our pleasures, and burningup energy. Once it is fairly started, it is not easily stopped.When the reasoning principle has gone to sleep at night, the active principle does not.

This is because this circling thought has been in continuous operation all night. During theday, the necessary activities of the day hold our attention, checking it. At night, therestraining power of reason is withdrawn. There is nothing to stop it.These spinning words can work us into a rage with husband, wife or child; poisonrelationships in offices; raise us to foolish expectation of some delight, which then mustdisappoint; or lower us into depression from which we cannot lift.Beware this dangerous amusement. Learn to stop. Only when one stops it does one reallysee it for the useless performance it is. Only then does one see its danger.It is the power of the active principle in the wrong place, power needed for action wasted inidleness.

Our next example is inner conversations.In these, we rehearse events. Saying all the things we could not think of at the time. Inthese, we postulate conversations, which are yet to take place, arguing with aventriloquists dummy in the head. How different the event proves to be.They too are the work of the active principle in the wrong place. We give ourselves, inthese inner conversations, all sorts of reasons for indulging them. We explain to ourselvesthat we are preparing for the event, or that we are learning form experience; but it is notso. All we are doing is deceiving ourselves.These inner conversations are not true. When we stop them, we see that they are not true.Therefore, let us stop them.

The third example of the work of the active principle in the wrong place is simpleassociation.We are travelling on a bus and see a child carrying a particular type of satchel. We recall aschoolmate of our own who carried a similar satchel; and that the last time we met theywere en route for the Mediterranean or perhaps it was Egypt, where the Pyramids are,and the Pharaohs. In no time at all we are miles and centuries away, transferred in timeand place on a chain of simple associations.When we stop this foolish irrelevance, we shall discover a wonderful economy andconservation of energy.

Each of these activities in the wrong place is the work of the active principle in us, but theyinclude in increasing degree another misplaced activity, imaginings. This is the work ofthe heart.


16/27

16

Everyone has his favourite pattern of imaginings. Let us discover what it is. Men commonlyrescue gorgeous females; girls make conquests. Then, there is the office girls dream.Sitting on a swivel chair before a silent typewriter, she pictures herself basking in the sunon a golden beach, with her dream man close at hand. Or, there is the comfortableascetic, ensconced in a soft chair before a warm fire, who pictures himself saving his soulin a bare cell with a hair shirt.These dreams are not important, for they do not deceive us. It is those we believe which

damage. These are the lies we have learnt by heart.The only way to discover the lies we have told ourselves until we believe them is to stopimaginings. In particular, each one of us has painted a false picture of himself, whichdeceives no one but himself. This is the deepest lie of all.

What have these things, circling thought, inner conversations, simple association andimaginings, to do with reason? Nothing. Where is clarity, precision and silence now?Keep the power of the active principle in its right place, ready for action. There it is whollygood. In the wrong place, clouding, confusing and deafening the head, it is wholly bad.See this by stopping it, and learn that nothing is bad except it be in the wrong place.Therefore, practice stopping the activity of the active principle in the head, and return its

power to the right place.Only the watchman, in his observation post of the head, can bring order to these parts.This is the first function of the moving part of reason.

negative aspect in the moving part of the feeling principle

The poor heart is attacked from two sides, from above and from below.Attacked by the active power, the heart races and the temperature rises. It is excited or

elated. Excitement takes many forms, from simple excitement, through anger, rage,hysteria. This is the flooding of the active power.If not burnt by the active power, the moving part of feeling is chilled by the head. Thismakes the hard heart.

The action of the moving part of reason in the heart produces depression and fear.One is going to meet another. What does he think of me? Asks his head. His hearttrembles. What will he think if I say this or do that? Asks his head. The heart is frozen.This is favourite practice of most heads, to be wholly concerned with what the other manthinks of this one.

Excitement and depression in all their manifold forms; these we normally call emotion. Asa matter of fact they are not emotion. Emotion is silent, still and detached. It has nothought of self. It is not forever changing; it is constant.Emotion will keep a man working all the days of his life in search of truth.

The heart needs protection; protection from the flooding power of the active principle,protection from the cold caution of the head.Only the watchman in his place in the silent head can protect the heart from this doubleassault. Only then can we gradually learn what emotion is.Sometimes it is called the control of attention, sometimes the control of sense, sometimesthe guarding of the heart; it is all the same thing.


17/27

17

negative aspect in the moving part of the active principle

The plague of the moving part of the moving division of the active principle is the movingpart of reason. It is forever interfering, trying to execute movements, which it cannot. Theresult is, we stumble. We try to watch our walking and trip over our feet. We try to speakwith our heads and get tongue-tied.We must learn to watch and not interfere. Leave to the moving part of this principle theexecution of movement.We know the difference between trying to learn to ride a bicycle and that moment whenthe moving division takes over, and it is easy. We know the same in learning to swim. It islike that.

remarks on negative aspects

To change any one of these ailments, and restore the misplaced energy to the right place,we must proceed by steps. First, we must see what is happening while it is happening. Forexample, we must see the thought circling in our heads while it is circling. Recollection isno use, for we cannot change what has already happened.Seeing the thought circling in the head, exactly what it is, we must learn to cut it off in fullflight. Then something is changed.We cannot change anything in theory; we can only change it in practice.

There is one simple reason, one deep reason beyond all others, why we should wish tochange these things. The reason is they are not true.Because the three principles have each their own nature, each is true or false in its own

way. True ideas belong to the reasoning principle; a true friend to the feeling principle; anda true craftsman to the moving division of the instinctive-moving principle.

The first step is to see what is happening in each principle in us, while it is happening; todiscover, each for himself, his own falseness, so that it may be cleansed.This observation is only possible when the watchman is in place. To put him in place, wemust practise, two or three times in every day; and our practice is to bring the body intoview whole, silence thought, and open the vision, so that we see what is happening withinand without at the same time. This practice at quiet times puts us in the right condition.Then, unexpectedly during the day, it shows us exactly what is happening in a particularmoment.

No happiness is like to that in which the reasoning powers, the feeling powers and theactive powers move together.The light we need is the light of consciousness. Until it dawns, we must use the light of themind and shine it on the principles within us to see what is happening.


18/27

18

figure 5 : ME (in the moving parts)

Why do people cling to false opinions, circling thought, inner conversations, simpleassociation and imaginings; why do they cultivate their depressions and excitements; andwhy do they hold on to incompetence? What makes people oppressive, cruel and hateful?

watch this ME, and see its functioning.

It assumes any guise to suit any occasion.ME claims body, life, sensations, feelings, thoughts, ways of doing things, and ways of notdoing things, anything and everything he makes his property.If someone or something casts a doubt on a belief to which ME has become attached, arewe not most offendedAnd similarly, do we not cling to ways of doing things, which have become my way ofdoing things?We could add to the list forever; reputation, other peoples opinions of ME, what other

people are saying about ME, thinking about ME. A twitch of the eye, an intonation of thevoice, a derogatory movement incenses ME. For ME has feelings, and MEs feelingsshould be respected.Then ME has its saintly form. In this shape, it will endure anything until its patience isexhausted! After all, even for a saint, there are limits!

Look into circling thoughts; there is ME. Look into imaginings; they revolve round ME.Observe the body at work, and see ME interfere. Some work is too much for me; some isbeneath me and ME really ought no to be expected to do it.From this inner claiming, ME steps out. There is my wife, my husband, my child, mywork, my hobby, my car and everything else.

What is this ME? It is the false image of oneself which has sunk into ones very being. Nopart of one is safe from it. It claims everything.This creature of imaginings, who began to grow in us when we learnt to talk, is false as it isfickle and inconstant. It is a denial of our true self, our true nature and our true place.From now on, let us watch for it, and see it for what it is.

What a man sees depends far more on what, in him, is looking and where he is lookingfrom, rather than upon how he looks - that is to say the degree of his attention.All these factors affect the quality of his observations, and the quality of a mansobservations at any time is a direct indication of the level of his being at that moment.

We must remember that for, any observation to take place there must be two poles. Thereis the observer, the subject, who looks at that which is observed, the object.Out of this looking the observation arises.It will be appreciated that the quality of the observation, which arises, is greatly dependentupon the nature of the observing subject.Have we noticed how the same thing, the same person or the same situation can undergoquite sudden and dramatic metamorphosis, so that at one moment it is seen in one way,and then, a little later, it is seen quite differently.

Observation covers all the senses, but for simplicity we will take sight as an example andask ourselves how do we see, and how do we know we are seeing?First there are the eyes, which receive rays of light. But the eyes by themselves could notsee. They need the sensory organisation. Through it, rays of light are converted into nerveimpulses, which form an image in the visual cortex. This is the work of the sensory


19/27

19

organisation of which we are totally unaware.We first become aware of this image in the visual cortex when it is observed by thewatching intellect. The impression is received and cognised. At this stage the impressionhas a neutral quality.So far, the first level of observation has been the work of the sensory organisation. Thesecond level is the work of the watching intellect. Now, the neutral impression is presentedfor our attention. It is evaluated, and in this evaluation a significance is attributed to it. It is

no longer neutral. Most frequently, incoming impressions are met with and evaluated by ahost of preconceptions, prejudices, personal likes and dislikes these, ever changing, andsubject to all manner of external influences, which include that feckless character whomwe have called ME. These impressions are related to my theories, to my feeling, to myway of doing things, to my conduct of my private life. ME is the evaluator, and out of theimpressions received ME builds its own world, which is wholly related to itself.

ME is not the ultimate observer reaping the fruits of observation. The proof is very simple.Did we not all recognize the description of its activity? Must it not then have been theobject of observation?The key to the study of observation is to remember that I am the observer, I am the

subject, and I can never be anything, which I see, no matter how hateful or how holy.


20/27

20

figure 5 (negative parts of the emotional parts)

Love of knowledge, love of life end love of truth are wholly creative.But their emotional power may readily be turned destructive.

Love of knowledge leads men to form ideas, theories and creeds to help them find the wayto truth. Only too easily, they become attached to ideas, theories, or creeds, so thatthey imagine these ideas, theories and creeds are true, and all others are false.Then, wholly seized by this dire attachment, in the name of knowledge they suppressthought.Instead of loving knowledge, they passionately adhere to particular ideas, theories, orcreeds, and hate all others. By this twist, they defeat knowledge so far as they are able.Thus the love of knowledge becomes mere attachment to ideas, theories, creeds etc. thevery antithesis of love of knowledge, leading to suppression of thought.

Before anyone can begin on the way of knowledge, they must have some notion thatknowledge does exist, and that it is possible for it to be found; that it is possible to know.Therefore they set out in search of it. They become devoted to this pursuit of knowledge.Through their observations and experience they collect certain facts and information,which appear to be helpful and leading in the right direction. Very naturally they look forsome order in these; some system connecting the facts. So theories are constructed in thehope that the theory will open the way to further knowledge.But then it is so easy to forget why the theory was constructed, and instead of using thetheory as a method of opening the way to further knowledge and, experience, somehowthe theory assumes the position of knowledge itself. What began as a means takes on theguise of an end.

There may be many avenues of approach to knowledge, but a man finds one particularavenue of approach and, forgetting about the great concept with which he began, heattempts to suppress all others who are proceeding by any other road.Watch this working in ourselves; how the attachment to my theory prevents one fromlooking any further.What has this to do with love of knowledge? Nothing. It is devotion to ignorance.Suppression of thought, which often begins in the name of knowledge, soon becomes ameans of power over men, the instrument of the oppressor.

Similarly love of truth, and the desire to create, forms beliefs, rituals, ceremonies and thelike, in which the knowledge of the heart may be made manifest.

Again, too easily, men become attached to particular rituals, forms, ceremonies andbeliefs, fervently imagining that these alone lead to truth and give shape to creation.So dreadful is it, in their fevered view, that men should pursue other rituals, forms,ceremonies and beliefs, that for the mens own sake they will persecute.

Because the moving division of the active principle gladly serves the rest, delight inmovement can be perverted as love of knowledge and love of truth may be perverted andbecome the creature of their perversion. In this fell task it shows itself in cunningly devisedcruelties and tortures.

When love of life becomes love of my life, it sees all other life as competitive. This forcethen readily turns to a struggle for existence; shows itself in suppression ofcompetitors; maintenance of caste by force; and other devices of this kind.We should remember that the man in whom love of life is dominant, enjoys life flowing


21/27

21

through him. He is animated by the life flowing through him. For that man, it is never hislife. He may use it, but it is not his.It enters the body when he is born, and when he dies it departs. But life itself goes on.It is whole. It is one. It animates all things. This is the love of life that Instinct knows about.Clearly, this is love of life as a whole, as distinct from my life, and it is characteristic of theemotional parts of these principles that they are equipped to consider things in theirwholeness. Thus, love of knowledge is concerned with knowledge of the whole; love of

truth is concerned with the whole truth; love of life with the life that animates all things.

ME vitiates the emotional power of the three great principles and turns it destructive.We have to thank two things for our relative freedom from extreme disorders in theemotional parts of these principles:

first we must thank the restraining power of tradition and law,

second we must thank the simple fact that the emotional parts of the three greatprinciples flow weakly in us, so that we gain only a whiff of their destructive power;but we must watch for these whiffs, and see them for what they are.


22/27

22

the enemies in the three great principles

The enemies in the three great principles available to us all arise from inattention.

The enemy of reasoning is mechanical thinking, thinking in twos, circling thought, and aflat mechanical view of the universe.All these are rooted in habit, and gain their strength from mere repetition. This repetitivepower is considerable for they respond to accustomed stimuli quite automatically.To see mechanical thinking, one has to stop it. One has to exercise control over thesemechanical processes, and not let them run away with us like a bolting horse startled by ashadow.Mechanical thinking is always based on a fallacy. Thus, we think of pleasant andunpleasant, wet and dry, hot and cold, and completely forget the third point.

The enemy of feeling is emotional involvement in everything and everybody. It is a stateof captured attention, begetting imaginings and lying. Let us ask ourselves, in all sincerity

how often and for how long do we lie to ourselves, deliberately deceiving ourselves? Howmuch of our emotional energy is eaten up in vain justifications and excuses?Emotional involvement reduces everything to a narrow, personal level. It overthrowsjudgement, confuses the mind, and leaves us helpless to know, what is good or what istrue.

The enemy of movement is idle repetition, and of all idleness the worst is idle talk. Whatenergy is wasted in this; how friends are torn to shreds; vain criticism made a pedestal fora foolish critic; and every kind of foolishness is uttered, and in uttering is impressed uponthe mind.The only way to discover the depths to which idle chatter sinks is to stop it. Stop it, and

see what it is doing.No thing we do is so damaging to ourselves and others as unnecessary talk. Let usconsider.There are of course the obvious examples of talking for talkings sake, which we allrecognise.

But what about talking when no one is listening. There may be someone standing beforeus but if he is not listening to what is being said, there can he no point in continuing theconversation. At this stage further speech is useless and quite unnecessary.

There are two ways of not listening:

a man may not be listening because he is thinking of other things quite removedfrom the subject of the conversation;

or he may not be listening to what is being said in the sense that he is furiouslyrehearsing what he intends to be his next contribution to the conversation.

In either case our continued talk can be serving no useful purpose. In order to discoverwhether a man is listening or not requires the exercise of attention.

To speak as though we know something we do not know is to lie. Why do we findourselves compelled to lie in this way, and would you not agree that this is alsounnecessary?

Certain valuable lessons emerge from this enquiry.


23/27

23

The first is that in order to know what we are saying, we have to be present andlistening to our own voice at the time of speaking. This requires the exercise ofattention. That is, to be here now.

Second, in order to know that what we say is being received, also requires theexercise of attention, so that we know not only something about ourselves, but alsosomething about the other person. Again, this is only possible when we are herenow.

And thirdly, in any conversation there are only two profitable activities talking orlistening. When we recognise any aspect of our talk as unnecessary, the rightaction is to stop and listen.

Only with practice shall we discover the full power of listening. When anyone is speakingto us, let us make it a rule that we listen. By listening the mind is stilled, the noisy innerconversations, which swamp the incoming impressions, are silenced, and in this silencesand stillness the attention very naturally expands to its full range.

Let us use these habits of unnecessary talking, in which we all share, to wake us up. Theycan act as alarm clocks, bringing us to ourselves, showing us where we are, silencing themind, and giving us power to let go of these useless things.

exercise:

Here is a simple device for us to practice whenever we remember. If we find we are aboutto repeat something we have said before then do not speak it again without firstconsidering whether it is really necessary if it is not necessary then remain silent.

This is the way in which the power consumed by useless habits can be turned toadvantage. If we learn to recognise unnecessary talk whether it be merely talking fortalkings sake, talking as though we know what we do no know, idle justification, or furiousinner conversations engendered by some imaginary offence and recognise it at the timeof speaking, we shall find that the very energy which is being consumed in theseunnecessary performance will serve to wake us up, still the mind, and power the attention.

Thus the energy we need for inner development is at hand and flowing. Through the actionof watchfulness, it is transformed from the power of self-destruction to the power neededfor self-creation.


24/27

24

Ordinary

IntellectHigher Intellect

Feeling Higher Feeling

Moving

Sex

Instinctive

figure 6 : higher Centres

Higher intellect is the seat of consciousness, all else its reflection. It is the creativeprinciple in man, his true self, and it knows all about him.We have no direct knowledge as yet. It is by far the most powerful centre. Manydescriptions of its potency come down to us from men whose work proclaims theirknowledge.

Next in power are higher feeling and sex.

Higher feeling unites, cleanses, make whole and conscious. It is the union in one newwhole of all the emotional powers in man, in which love of knowledge, love of truth andlove of life become one, the love of wisdom. It is the seat of philosophy and its constantaim is to attain the higher self in which wisdom is found.


25/27

25

figure 7 : ME and the higher Centres

In ordinary men, intellect is cut off from higher intellect, and feeling from higher feeling.The barrier, which excludes ordinary men from these higher powers, is ME and theconfused working of the ordinary powers.The barrier provides the resistance against which work may be done. No resistance, nowork; work is necessary to strengthen the powers and prepare them for the greatawakening.It is the work of philosophy to lead men to open that door in the heart where entrance maybe made. Behind this barrier lies the treasure, which is the goal alike of philosophy andreligion.

While these higher powers remain thus closed against us, we are ruled by sex, by far the

most powerful intelligence working in us. Sex does far more than ordinarily realised;procreation is only a small part of its work.

Ordinary

IntellectHigher Intellect

Feeling Higher Feeling

Moving

SexInstinctive


26/27

26

It is the energy-source for the whole machine. It sends the woman in search of a homeand the man in search of a career. It is the power in courage, fortitude, sustainedendeavour, battle; but it easily turns destructive. It is the strength of recklessness, vaultingambition, the accumulation of vast riches, the crushing of competitors, and the trampling ofnations underfoot.Beware of its flooding. When the power of sex floods into the other parts, it sets the heartracing and knocks the head silly, so that we imagine, say and do things, which we know at

the time, but just too late, are disastrous.Alternately, at the bottom of its cycle, it hangs on us like a leaden weight, pulling us intounreasoning depression.This false working of sex with its overwhelming power may be brought under control, byridding ourselves of those follies, which render it dangerous.This is done by work on the mind and the body. It is done by attention; by hearing what welearn in these discussions and putting it into practice.

When our ordinary feeling is nourished and strengthened and cleansed of impurities, itrises in power above instinct and movement, until it attains the power of higher feelingitself. When this happens, the gate in the heart opens, and a man becomes conscious.

Then may he enter into higher powers, into the so-called fourth room.

This strengthening and cleansing begins in the reasoning principle. When it is clear andsilent, detached and watching, it may guard the heart against the power of thought andexcitement. It may nourish the heart by seeking out food for it. It may bring order into themoving parts.In this way, through the watchman, we begin to cleanse and purify feeling.When this is done, the gate will open. When feeling is pure, the gate will open.


27/27

The Exercise

Our practice is to bring the body into view, let the mind fall silent, and open awarenesswide, and try to hold this silent open awareness for a few minutes; and to repeat this twoor three times every day.We must bring the body into view to know that we are; let the mind fall silent so that wemay a little hear and see; open awareness wide to know where we are; all three at once.

This practice puts the watchman in place, so that both the outer and inner worlds are heldin observation. Practised regularly each day when we may be quiet, it enables us to cometo ourselves at odd moments during the day and see our situation as it really is.

As we see a little beneath the surface in ourselves, seeing the inner confusions and howthey may be stopped, we see behind the faade of others also; we see there what wehave seen in ourselves; no more, no less. Sight becomes insight.At these rare moments when we look to ourselves, we see others as mirrors of ourselves;

remember that. They show us, in themselves, what we may see in ourselves; no more, noless.Remembering that they mirror what we may see in ourselves, we do not judge them; for injudging them, we judge ourselves. Instead, they remind us sharply what we need to do inthat very moment. We need to come to ourselves, bring our body into view, let the mindfall silent, and give them attention, wide and open; and behold, by this effort, they will dothe same. Thus faithfully are we mirrored.

man - a tri cerebral being

Documents