The arcane formulas or mental alchemy
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| The arcane formulas or mental alchemy- |
from the introduction
In the Cosmic Will, there is but One Life in which, and by which, is manifested the Many." You have also seen that Egohood is evolved and earned — not given as a universal birthright or general natural right of the race.
As Aphorism XIII has informed you: "The Ego is evolved from the Personal Sell Every living thing possesses a Personal Self, but, even among men, many fail to reach Egohood. Egohood is earned, not bestowed as a universal natural gift. Many personalities are born, but few are evolved." Egohood is the state of Realization of the Ego — the Perception and Realization of the I AM. As an old English writer once said: "Whether we try to avoid it or not, we must face this reality some time — the reality of our own good — that which makes us say 'I,' and in saying 'I' leads to the discovery of a new world."
The average person is surprised, incredulous and even indignant when to be is informed that very few of the races really have this awareness or consciousness of the I AM within them. He will insist that he is fully aware of the existence of the "I" and cannot imagine that anyone can have the audacity to dispute the proposition. But a little self-examination will reveal the fact that he has but the first glimmering of Self-Consciousness, which is far from being the Consciousness of Egohood,
The average person is surprised, incredulous and even indignant when to be is informed that very few of the races really have this awareness or consciousness of the I AM within them. He will insist that he is fully aware of the existence of the "I" and cannot imagine that anyone can have the audacity to dispute the proposition. But a little self-examination will reveal the fact that he has but the first glimmering of Self-Consciousness, which is far from being the Consciousness of Egohood,
We have no desire or intention of entering into an extended metaphysical inquiry in these pages, but we must point out to you what Egohood is not, as the first step toward showing you what it is, and how it may be acquired.
The very elementary life-forms have merely the consciousness of "something outside" evidenced in sensation or feeling. The atoms manifest a faint degree of awareness (consciousness) of other atoms, which is evidenced in attraction and repulsion.
There is in chemical affinity a higher degree of elementary consciousness. The crystals manifest a still higher degree in their activities of building-up form. The cell forms of the lowest animal and plant life show an awareness of objects of food and of other forms which seek them for food — and consequently, they move toward the first, and away from the second.
Rising in the evolutionary scale we find constantly increasing degrees of consciousness. Among the higher animals and the lower forms of men, we find what science has called "simple consciousness," by which is indicated that awareness of outside objects, is accompanied by a greater or lesser degree of reasoning regarding them.
Rising in the evolutionary scale we find constantly increasing degrees of consciousness. Among the higher animals and the lower forms of men, we find what science has called "simple consciousness," by which is indicated that awareness of outside objects, is accompanied by a greater or lesser degree of reasoning regarding them.
The dog, horse, and other higher animals give us a typical example of this form of consciousness, to which degree is but little surpassed by the less developed of the human race, many of the latter not having advanced further in the scale. Simple consciousness may be described as a state of knowing, but not knowing that one knows. It is a consciousness of outside things received through the senses, and also of the physical sensations arising in one's own body.
Author: William Walker Atkinson
Publication Date: 1909
Author: William Walker Atkinson
Publication Date: 1909