Theos-Talk Archives (August 1998 Message tl00071)

SIMPLY OCCULT (1)

In these short articles I hope to put into plain English the elements
involved for individual development on the spiritual path.

Although coming from a Kabbalist perspective, serious students who
wish to do so will be able to make comparitive studies with other
theosophical approaches and be able to confirm that there is a direct
relationship between them.

Two things I wish to make clear (please note for future reference, and if
appropriate, your own work):

1.  I give the Teaching as I have received it.  Do not believe a word I
say - check it out for yourself from your own experience.  Teaching is
NOT experience, only a series of signposts.

2.  Following the Rosicrucian tradition, everything I offer in these
articles is given freely and placed in the public domain.  Should anyone
alter or adapt my writings, then I ask them to state that they have done
so, indicating where, how, and why.

Introductory Remarks

Individual development is just that - development. We all develop in
ways suitable to our needs and natures.  This has nothing to do with
"evolution" or "progress," and no one is superior or more "advanced"
than anyone else.  Some of us may know a little more than others, but
that does not make us in any way superior than others, nor does it
entitle us to tell others what to do  or how to do it.

There is no hierarchy in the universe in the sense that any intelligence
"rules" over the life or lives of any other intelligence, other than artificial
constructs of such a kind developed by human beings for personal
advantage, often under the guise of "humanitarian" concerns.  Everything
simply IS - what we do with it is our own responsibility.  The important
thing here is that responsibility inevitably brings consequences, some
good, some bad.  It helps to discover the difference, often as a result of
painful experience.

The Structure of the Individual Human Being

Each of us has a fourfold structure; ie., in this physical world we are
composed of four "elements" or states of being.  None of these is
"better" or "worse" than any other, except subjectively.  They are simply
different, with different attributes.

These four may be described as follows:

1.  The Physical State, as in arms, legs, livers, etc.  This includes a
physicality with which science has problems, and which is sometimes
described as the "etheric" or "subtle" body.

2.  The Non-Physical State, often badly labelled as "astral" or "soul"
state.  It does not require a physical body.

3.  The Individual State, or "higher self" or "true soul." It too does not
require a physical body, nor does it require the Non-Physical State as
described in "2" above.

4.  The Spiritual State, or Essence.  it requires none of the other three,
and is our true and original State of Being.

Where We Are

Where we are is here, now, in a physical world in a physical body.  This
body contains ALL four of the above elements at one and the same
time.  If we lose any one of them we become either insane or dead -
with the exception of the Physical State.  If we lose that, we become
just dead.  We are not, however, thereby destroyed, as we continue to
BE in the remaining three States.  We can never, though, lose the
Spiritual State.

What we call development is simply a transition - in awareness and/or
consciousness - from one State to another.  We do not need to go
anywhere to do this, for all four States are right here, wherever we are,
right now.

In "Simply Occult (2)" I shall try to explain how to start out on the
spiritual path.  For those who want the jargon, go to the website listed
(http://www.nellie2.demon.co.uk) and download my "Keys to
Kabbalah."

For those who have already started, please be patient.  I'll get to the
exciting bits in due course.

Initially, I am placing this first article on the mailing lists TI-L, THEOS-L
and the website already mentioned, where I shall make a DIRECTORY
link to a folder labelled Simply Occult.

After this I shall post *only* to TI-L and the website, to avoid the
irritating consequence of getting the same posting from more than one
source.  I suggest therefore that theos-l susbscribers who have not yet
done so take out a subscription to TI-L by sending an e-mail to
listproc@vnet.net with no subject header and the single line

subscribe ti-l <name>

Alan Bain, 13th August, 1998.
---------
THEOSOPHY INTERNATIONAL: Working for a New Age:
http://www.nellie2.demon.co.uk/
E-mail: TI@nellie2.demon.co.uk