Alice Bailey - Esoteric Psychology (Master D.K)
the foundation of the new psychology must inevitably be built upon the premise that this one life is not man's sole opportunity in which to achieve integration and eventual perfection. The great Law of Rebirth must be accepted and it will then be found to be, in itself, a major releasing agent in any moment of crisis or any psychological problem case.
The recognition of further opportunity and a lengthened sense of time are both quieting and helpful to many types of mind; its interpretative value will be found illuminating as the patient grasps the fact that behind him lie points of crisis wherein it can be demonstrated by his present equipment that he achieved integration, thus guaranteeing to him victory in his present point of crisis and of difficult conflict. The light which this throws on relationships and environment will serve to stabilise his purpose and make him comprehend the inevitability of responsibility.
When this great law is understood in its true implications and not interpreted in terms of its present childish presentation, then man will shoulder the responsibility of living with a daily recognition of the past, an understanding of the purpose of the present, and with an eye to the future. This will also greatly lessen the growing tendency towards suicide which humanity is showing.
It will be apparent to you, therefore, that the time element can enter into the problem most helpfully and it is here that a real understanding of the Law of Rebirth, or of the Law of Opportunity (as I would prefer to call it) will be of definite usefulness. Above everything else, it will bring into the attitude of both psychologist and problem case, the idea of hope, the thought of fulfillment and of ultimate achievement.
It will also be essential that the psychologist of the future should arrive at a recognition and an admittance of the inner structure of the human being—of his emotional vehicle, his mind body and their close inter-relation through the medium of the vital or etheric body which serves ever as the linking web between the dense physical body and the other bodies.
The soul and its triplicity of energies (life itself, expressing will or purpose, love and intelligence) work through the seven major centres, whilst the mind body and the astral body work through many other centres, though possessing also within themselves seven centres which are the transmitting counterparts of those found in the etheric body.
The integrations which evolution eventually effects are carried out through the medium of all these centres. Through the heightening of vibration, through the swinging into activity of the centres, and through the subsequent and consequent development of the human response apparatus, new avenues of approach to reality, new qualities of awareness, new sensitivity to that which has hitherto been unrecognised, and new powers begin to open up.
Each man is, therefore, within himself, a hierarchy, a reflection of a great chain of being—the Being which the universe expresses.
Psychology has to recognise eventually:
1. The fact of the soul, the integrating agent, the self.
2. The Law of Opportunity or Rebirth.
3. The nature of the inner structure of man and its relation to the outer tangible form.
It is interesting to note that practically all the teaching given anent rebirth or reincarnation has emphasised the material phenomenal side though there has always been a more or less casual reference to the spiritual and mental gains acquired in the school of life upon this planet, from incarnation to incarnation. The true nature of the unfolding awarenes and the growth in the inner consciousness of the true man have been little noted; the gain of each life in added grasp of the mechanism of contact, and the result of increased sensitivity to the environment (which are the only values with which the self concerns itself), are seldom, if ever, stressed.
Details of living conditions, statements about possible material situations, descriptions of places, clothes, and of personality human relations are imaginatively displayed, and the "recovery of past incarnations" has usually been the so-called recovery of dramatic episodes which feed the innate sense of individuality of the reincarnating man, and usually feed his vanity as well. This curious presentation has been due to several things.
First of all, to the fact that the world of illusion is the dominating factor as yet in the lives of the best of men; secondly, that the point in evolution has been such that the writer or speaker has not been able to view the life cycle from the angle of the soul, detached and undeluded, for had he done so, the material phenomenal descriptions would have been omitted and probably not even perceived, and only the values—spiritual and mental—and those matters which concern the group interior life would have been emphasised.
The methods used to present this age-old doctrine of rebirth, and the false emphasis laid upon the form aspect to the exclusion of the soul values, have brought about a bad reaction to the whole subject in the minds of intelligent people and of the scientific investigator. Yet, in spite of this, real good has been accomplished, for the whole theory has been seeping steadily into the racial consciousness, becoming an integral part of it and, therefore, moving on to popular and finally scientific recognition.
In considering the inner structure of man and those factors which produce the outer appearance and quality and condition it, thus producing the resultant behaviour and conduct, psychologists will have to study the following subjects, beginning with the lowest aspect and expanding their ideas to include the highest possible. These might be grouped and listed as follows:
1. The outer response apparatus, acting under impulses received from the outer environment and the inner subjective realms. These come, according to the esoteric theories, via
a. The brain, from whence certain aspects of the nervous system are directed and controlled, first by mental influence and then by conscious soul direction.
b. The endocrine or glandular system, acting under impulses entering the physical body via the seven centres in the etheric body; of these centres, the glandular system is simply the externalisation, or physical counterpart. The glands condition the man through the blood stream, being in their turn conditioned by the centres.
c. The solar plexus, directing and controlling certain aspects of the nervous system, and which is in large part the instinctual or animal brain.
d. The heart, the centre of life.
2. The vital or etheric body. This is the major energising factor and is an exact replica or counterpart of the outer form, being the true intermediary between the inner worlds and the outer man. The nadis (lines or threads of force) underlie every nerve in the human body and the centres which they form at certain points of intersection or juncture are the background or motivating agency of every ganglion or plexus found in the human body. Certain of these centres, major and minor, are of unique evolutionary importance. These are as follows:
a. The head centre is the seat of soul energy, or the centre through which the conscious, spiritual man functions.
b. The heart centre is the seat of life, of the highest principle which expresses itself through man.
c. The solar plexus centre is the seat of the instinctual life, of the animal soul, and of the highly developed emotional nature.
d. The centre at the base of the spine is the major integrating centre and comes into functioning activity when two major fusions have been effected: that of the fusions of the three bodies into one coordinated personality, and when soul and body are at-oned.
3. The emotional or sentient body, which is often called the astral body. From this vehicle emanate the desires, impulses, aspirations and those conflicts of duality which so oft afflict and hinder the disciple. It is the seat also of the creative, imaginative life of man. It also possesses centres of force which are counterparts of those to be found in the etheric body, but for the majority of people it is energised mainly from the world of illusion and from the astral plane. It is from this plane of illusory awareness, that the advanced man has to learn to withdraw himself.
4. The mind nature, which works through four centres and only four.
5. The soul itself, or the true spiritual man, the self in manifestation, working through or seeking to work through, its phenomenal appearance, the fourfold lower man.
Subconscious
I use the term subconscious to signify the entire instinctual life of the form nature, all the inherited tendencies and innate predispositions, all the acquired and accumulated characteristics (acquired in past incarnations and frequently lying dormant unless suddenly evoked by stress of circumstance) and all the unformulated wishes and urges which drive a man into activity, plus the suppressed and unrecognised desires, and the unexpressed ideas which are present, though unrealised. The subconscious nature is like a deep pool from which a man can draw almost anything from his past experience, if he so desires, and which can be stirred up until it becomes a boiling cauldron, causing much distress.
Conscious
The conscious is limited to that which the man knows himself to be and have in the present—the category of qualities, characteristics, powers, tendencies and knowledges of all kinds which constitute a man’s stock in trade and of which he is definitely aware or of which the psychologist is aware. These are displayed in his window for all to see, and they make him what he apparently is to the outer onlooking world.
Super-conscious
By the super-conscious, I mean those potencies and knowledges which are available but which are as yet uncontacted and unrecognised and, therefore, of no immediate use. These are the wisdom, love and abstract idealism which are inherent in the nature of the soul but which are not yet, and never have been a part of the equipment available for use. Eventually, all these powers will be recognised and used by the man. These potencies and realisations are called in The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali by the interesting name of "the raincloud of knowable things." These "knowable things" will eventually drop into the conscious aspect of a man's nature and become an integral part of his intellectual equipment. Finally, as evolution proceeds and the ages pass away, they will drop into the subconscious aspect of his nature, as his power to grasp the super-conscious grows in capacity. I might make this point clearer to you if I pointed out that just as the instinctual nature is today found largely in the realm of the subconscious, so in due time, the intellectual part of man (of which he is at this time becoming increasingly aware) will be relegated to a similar position and will drop below the threshold of consciousness. The intuition will then take its place. For most people, the free use of the intuition is not possible, because it lies in the realm of the super-conscious.
All these movements within the realm of consciousness,—from the subconscious to the immediately conscious and from thence to the super-conscious—are essentially crises of integration, producing temporary situations which must be handled.
