CHAPTER IX
Summary
9.1) Recapitulation
Let us conclude by recapitulating in outline form what we have learned
by this patient examination of a large body of unusual data:
1) We have found that there are useful paradigms which may help to explain some of these remarkable effects:(page 357)
a) The Pribram-Bohm Hologram Model: "Our brains mathematically construct concrete reality by interpreting frequencies from another dimension, a realm of meaningful patterned primary reality that transcends time and space." Mystic experience is nothing but an occasional glimpse of the reference beam, thus dissolving the hologram.2) The effects of increasing order are discontinuous, emer-b) The Two-Fluid Model Near Zero-Order State: When a system is near total order, there is not enough disorder to go around, so it breaks into two sub-systems, one of which is "normal," containing both order and disorder, and the other of which is exceptional, in containing total order, as a result of which, microscopic order becomes macroscopic.
c) As Einstein said, time, space, and personality are the three illusions to be overcome in that order.
d) Our apprehension of numinous meta-events is received through periodic vibrations caused by tuned resonance in the right hemisphere.
e) The three-fold body of Buddha (all that is) consists of a realm of essence (void), a realm of potentiality, and a realm of manifestation.
f) Photon-quenching in the visual octave allows the sheltering of animal life from tulpoid forces.
g) Prigogine's theory of Dissipative Structures represent the manner in which Bohm's implicate components of reality become explicate, that is, how increasing order develops in complex structures.
gent and integrative. Discontinuous means that there is a sudden, sharp escalation into a higher state. Emergence means the onset of some higher power or ability not previously seen. Integrative means that the new operations have some holistic, boundary-breaking synergic quality which binds together in a single Gestalt, aspects which before were not seen capable of such unification.(page 358)The human being has both material and psychological powers and abilities that we do not know fully. But it is now possible to construct a taxonomy of some of these powers and abilities (Table II-1). These paranormal powers are not miraculous, but simply expansions of presently known abilities. At this time such powers are best glimpsed in geniuses and saints.
4) The construct of man's possession of an etheric (or vital energy) body in the realm of potentiality is useful in explaining the origin of pranic energy, which appears as an associated vitalizing fluid. Pranic energy (also called "od" by Reichenbach and orgone by Reich) also appears to give rise in the medium to ectoplasm, a silver-gray sticky viscous ropy substance half-way between the etheric and the physical worlds, hence, sometimes visible and sometimes not.
5) The effects of most aspects of physical mediumship appear to be accomplished through the use of ectoplasm extruded through the natural orifices of the entranced medium. These effects include both psychokinesis and materialization.
6) Evidence that the realm of all potentiality (the etheric) is outside of time and space is given by the remarkable data of telepathy and precognition. Our time and space-bound personalities are not able to intuit this transcendence as we have to think in tensed verbs. The mathematical operation of integration over space and time offers some intuition for escape from this prison.
7) The remarkable aspects of fire-walking and psychic heat appear to indicate that pranic energy exchanges between the physical and psychic realms must take place, hence, the conservation of energy law must be further extended.
8) The regnancy of mind in the creation of bodily conditions is seen clearly in the stigmata of some saints.
9) Prana (od or orgone energy), while not the same as electromagnetic energy, has a "big-brother" relationship to it. In addition it is polarized, released through the fingertips, related to breath, can be passed by touching, comes originally from the sun, and is absorbed by water and plant life.10) Saintly development appears gradually to free the body from the routine performance of the five animal functions of sex, eating, sleeping, excretion, and breathing; it also confers powers at the time of death.
11 ) Levitation constitutes clear evidence of the regnancy of a transcendent order of reality - (the reference beam in the hologram paradigm) and that sensory reality is but the virtual image imprinted on the brain, and subject to sudden perceptual changes under the proper conditions of order.
12) In the siddhis, commencing with levitation, what we are seeing is a taxonomic progression of the transcendence of the Cosmic spirit in man, which involves a cleansing and renewing of various sensory modalities and functions first in the body (powers), and then in the mind (abilities) to accommodate a new order of reality.
13) There appear to be three kinds of spiritual healing:
a) prototaxic, (somatic), laying on of hands, (4.4)
b) parataxic, (emotions), agape-love, (4.7)
c) syntaxic, (cognition), orthocognitive, (4.6)
(page 359)
14) Empery (dominion) over self, others (healing), and nature is one of the abilities of the enlightened individual.15) Higher abilities (jhanas) are successive graces, outlined by saints and Hindu yogis, as noted in Table VI-4.
16) There is a relationship between genius (possession by genii), precocity (early manifestation of extraordinary powers), and reincarnation. Geniuses tend to be "old" reincarnates, and their precociousness attests to "remembering" of past powers. Genius requires both high abilities in the left hemisphere, and easy access to the right.
17) It is possible to construct a taxonomy of altered states of consciousness, Tables VI-1, 2, 3, 4).
18) Form is the devolution of cosmic substance caused by inattention to cosmic bliss.
19) The Buddha (which we take to mean "All that Is") has
a three-fold body:a) an aspect of essence (void),The relation of these three is the relation of a function to its first and second derivative.
b) an aspect of potentiality, and
c) an aspect of manifestation.20) The entire gestalt forms a single pattern, uniform, ordered and beneficent.
9.2) Unsolved Problems and Needed Research
Despite the fact that this book has addressed itself to a serious attempt
to explain, or at least develop paradigms for understanding psychic phenomena,
candor compels us to admit to many unsolved problems where further research
is necessary. Some of the most important are as follows:
1) The question of complete isomorphic representation by the physical realm of action in the etheric realm. Assuming that the etheric realm is the realm of action, and that events in the physical world are the results of such action, do effects in the physical world duplicate exactly actions at a higher level, or is it merely an illusory matter of "saving the appearances?" If the former is true then it will someday be possible to construct a paraphysics which will explain in scientific terms each paraphysical operation (such as materialization and dematerialization for example). If the latter is true, then such explanations will fail, since they will be found to be like so many irrational dreams, which seem reasonable when we are dreaming them, but are seen to be irrational when we awake.(page 360)2) The nature of pranic energy. (This question is, of course, a special case of No.1.) If pranic energy is basically etheric, how does it get transformed into physical effects which involve electromagnetic properties including magnetism, ionization, etc. If it is basically physical, how can it be transmitted through leaded walls? If the misassumption lies in considering it either one or the other, how can it be both at the same time? This research (which can build on the work of Reichenbach, Reich, Burr, Coblenz, and many others) is badly needed, comparatively easy to do, and a priority item in a large funded program.
3) The desirability and ethics involved in the deliberate cultivation of the siddhis. This issue is probably the biggest moral dilemma opened up by this book. The use of the universal psychic laws of the universe for personal advantage is magic, and has been proscribed by an imposing number of saints and holy men. At the same time there are others, equally qualified, who perform such siddhis, teach them to their disciples, and see no objection to them. The issue is not so much the use of psychic power by a saint, but a question of timing in whether they are deliberately developed while the aspirant still retains enough of the "little selfish ego" to misuse them for personal gain. This book is able to give no definitive answer to this dilemma, and the author confesses to unease about it.(page 361)4) The nature and properties of ectoplasm. (Another special case of No. 1.) In particular, it would be useful to have various levels of materialization (such as invisible, but exerting a force, invisible to eyesight, but obscuring infra-red rays, visible as a cloudy substance, visible as a solid substance, etc.) explicated in more detail. We need to know whether ectoplasm is produced in the lungs by the action of breathing on prana? Under what circumstances is it stable and permanent (if any), or does it always dissolve away? These are some examples of unsolved questions.
5) The location of the "radio set" in the brain, with respect to sending and receiving psychic impressions and telepathy. Is it localized in the brain at all? If so, is it in the limbic region, the raphe system, the area in the right hemisphere corresponding to Broca's in the left, or some other spot in the body? We also need to know the chemistry, if any, involved.
6) The Properties of Unbonded Water. Ordinary water is nearly 100% hydrogen bonded (see Sect. 4.5 for explanation). Holy water or magnetized water is water whose hydrogen bonding is reduced only a few percent from that. What might be the curative and other properties of water not hydrogen bonded at all?
7) Waterman declares (see Section 5.3) that the way of psychic development is through lucid dreams and out-of-body experiences. Is this, in fact, a general method of deliverance, or is his thesis due to idiosyncratic characteristics?
8) Evidence from Wilber (1978), Zukav (1979), and Eastern sources suggests that existence is but Shakti's dance of maya (illusion), wherein things are created, preserved, destroyed, and then recreated in the twinkling of an eye. This idea is not so far-fetched as it may seem at first. If our consciousness is like being connected up to the terminal of a cosmic time-sharing computer, each one of us may believe he or she has continual consciousness when what we have is only a series of very short operations interspersed with longer "down" intervals. The concept of "microgeny" suggests that things go from essence to potentiality to manifestation, and back again in accordance with the very rapid and continuing permutations of the gunas. This concept is hardly yet a theory, much less a paradigm, but it contains advantages which suggest that it should be further explored.(page 362)9) Evidence from Zukav (1979:271) and other sources suggests that there may be a fundamental "mis-alignment" between logical models of reality, and the experiential reality they are supposed to represent. The concept states that the complete isomorphism may be impossible because symbols and models follow Aristotlean rules of thought, ("Things are either A or not-A"), and experience may be more complex. We need a lot more inquiry into conditions where logical models may suffice, and conditions where they do not do so completely. It may be that only certain classes of experience are impervious to logical modeling, and that these classes have characteristic properties or distinguishing marks. Further investigation of this area would be useful.
10) The work of Prof. Burr at Yale on bioenergetic forces seems unduly neglected. There is recent evidence that small electric charges with small potentials between two portions of pathological living tissue may be helpful in the regeneration process. Indeed, it is further possible that the magnetic effects of laying-on-of-hands healing may induce such electrical results. This whole area needs much further investigation.
11) The concept of non-locality. Certain recent discoveries in physics, specifically in electron-spin, suggest either that information from one particle is transmitted to another at greater than the speed of light or that the two separated particles are connected in some hyper-
space. If everything is somehow connected to everything else, telepathy needs no further explanation. More scientific investigation here is desirable.(page 363)12) Science differs from art in being capable of measurement and prediction. To become a true science, psychic science needs units and yardsticks which will allow measurements to be expressed in intellectually negotiable form.
13) We have called attention in at least two places (Sects. 3.1 and 4.5) to "photographic-visual anomalies," that is to exceptional events where the camera and the eye saw different percepts, - one seeing something, and the other nothing. We hazard the guess that the easiest explanation for this effect is that the two systems are employing light of significantly different wavelengths. But this supposition leads to a very interesting conclusion: some "things" may be "real," (visually manifest), at certain wavelengths and not at others. This possibility and related experiments deserves a great deal more attention than it so far has received. It may be that "reality" of a visual kind "creeps up" from the lower end of the electromagnetic spectrum, - (after all, our bodies are nearly translucent to x-rays).
14) If one reinspects some testimony on early abnormal powers in Section 2.4, and also the precocity of genius in Section 5.2, a neat puzzle comes into focus. Is the early manifestation of exotic powers (as in eidetic imagery) an example of an ephemeral vestige of an archaic ability which will inevitably fade with the fuller development of the modern ego (left-hemisphere dominance), or do these unusual powers fade in most persons simply because they are neither reinforced nor cultivated by society and education? The answer to this conundrum is important and easily feasible to answer through research.
15) One of the more obvious differences between the numinous and the ordinary state of consciousness, between art and science, between the right hemisphere and the left, is that the former can handle non-categorical constructs, and the latter can only handle categorical. It may be, however, that this inability to do with a concept that has several levels of meaning is a fatal weakness of left-hemisphere logic. The complementarity
principle of physics (light as both waves and photons) shows how necessary it may be to create a non-categorical calculus of thought. Hence, the full understanding of these numinous regions may have to wait upon the construction of such a meta-lingual system.
9.3) Epilogue
Finally, we would like to end these essays by appending a general statement
of belief, taken from earlier work (1975:380ff). Nearly a century ago Evelyn
Underhill in closing her famous treatise on mysticism (1911:378) said:
"In mysticism, I believe, lies the essence of the religious life. Without
the mystical element, religion is external and strengthless." We would
suggest that the intervening years have only served to alter the statement
slightly: "In mysticism, I believe lies the essence of life itself; - for
it is science, in the meanwhile, that has so notably advanced the mystic
view. In keeping with these sentiments we offer the following:1
"1) It should now be clear that the object of existence is the union of the individual mind with the General Mind. In order to achieve this we must escape from three illusions as one does in awakening from a dream. The first is the illusion of the reality of time, the second is the illusion of the reality of space, and the third is the illusion of the reality of the separate self. There are three aspects to this quest, as there are three modes or levels of action. The first aspect is the freeing of the mind from the tyranny of percepts; the second is the escape into the eternal now, and the third is the loss of sense of self through the diffusion of the ego in developmental process. Since the three illusions are properties of the normal state of consciousness, liberation comes only through an altered state of consciousness.(page 364)"2) The level of this liberation may be either prototaxic, parataxic, or syntaxic, through what we have popularly called trance, art, or creativity. At each level one escapes in some measure from the physical world, from time, and from self. The prototaxic vehicle which accomplishes this is trance. As we have seen, it produces spectacular liberation from the ordinary laws of physics, from time, and from selfhood, but at the price of the loss of conscious cognition and memorability, and the outletting of psychic energy at the kinesthetic level
instead of at an aesthetic or cognitive one.(page 365)"This disvaluing of the prototaxic manifestation of the numinous element in people is not that it is evil, but that it fails to meet the full potential of the human being. It is as de Condren suggested some centuries ago 'the receiving of the effects of God and his holy communications in a very animal and carnal way.'
"3) The parataxic solution offers a bridge between prototaxic and syntaxic, containing some elements of both. Its highest outlet is in art where it offers an aesthetic ASC as a temporary freeing of the artist from physics, from time, and from selfhood. It has the advantage that there is feeling and some cognition involved though at an iconic (image) representation, rather than the author of the art. Nevertheless, the production of art objects means that the parataxic mode has social value in utility and beauty, in addition to increased individual benefit.
"The domain of the numinousium contains an infinity of event-like elements, real in their realm, but only potential in ours (see Table X, Trance,Art, Creativity). From out this multiple infinity a single chain of events is realized in our space time, by the reifying action of those conscious minds involved with the events. We speak of 'event-like elements' in the numinousium rather than 'events,' for since that field transcends time as we know it (as ever growing later), our concept of an event as something that occurs in time, and our concept of one prior event causing a subsequent one, are merely the traces of a meta-event-like element which exists in the eternal now, and 'which never was' (in our reality), but 'is always happening' (in the eternal now). It is like the pattern in a textile made by the skillful weaving of the warp and woof by a master-weaver. All the thread colors are in all parts of the textile, but only those colors selected by the pattern of the weaver show forth on the surface.
"4) Whereas prototaxic man is insulated from the numinous element by the necessity to enter an altered state of consciousness (wherein he generally loses consciousness, will and memorability) in order to contact it, and whereas parataxic man is in a kind of semi-conductor position in which there is a fail-safe precaution built in on the energy discharge so that (at best or worst), he produces
only images, syntaxic man, with his knowledge of orthocognition and its derivative power, acquires corresponding responsibility. For his conscious mind is in contact with the numinous element (or to put it the other way, it has reached the conscious level at last through his mind). Consequently, he has literally become a co-creator, and whatever he thinks, is liable to become an event in our space-time. With this awesome power goes the responsibility to purify his desires to the extended aspects of his environmental self, and to wish for nothing except that which is good and beneficial to others and to mankind.(page 366)"5) We should become more aware of the curious symbiotic relationship between the ego and perceptual intake. The conscious ego appears to owe its stability to a narrow range of perceptual inflow; while the environment appears to owe its stability to continued cognizance by the totality of conscious egos. If perceptual intake is restricted, or expanded beyond certain limits, the normal state of consciousness, as we know it is replaced by an altered state in which cognitive function is much reduced. A fish swimming in the sea regards the ocean as fixed and given; so we regard the normal state of consciousness. But it appears that in reality this normal state is a very 'special state' which has been contrived in order for us to attend to perceptual events in space/ time. Any considerable interference with that perceptual intake will shift consciousness into another state or mode. Such considerations suggest that not only is our normal state of consciousness a recent and specialized development, but that it is uniquely related to, and sustained by, the perceptual universe. If the rule works as well backward as forward, one wonders if the perceptual world of experience is not somehow related to and sustained by the collective consciousness which designs and observes it.
"6) Let us look at the development of consciousness, that most significant aspect of life. Consciousness has an irresistible tendency to form; for every level of consciousness therefore, there is a vehicle, of which the physical body is only one example. Satprem (1968:307) quotes Sri Aurobindo on this journey of consciousness:
(page 367)If a spiritual unfolding on earth is the hidden truth of our blirth into matter, if it is fundamentally an evolution of consciousness that is taking place in nature, then man, as he is, cannot be the last term in that evolution; he is too imperfect an expression of the spirit. Mind itself is too limited a form and instrumentation; mind is only a middle term of consciousness; the mental being can only be a transitional being.
"The ordinary consciousness in the physical body tends to altered states of consciousness, and seems (as in the case of sleep) to require these intervals for proper rest and restoration.Tart (1971 :3) says in this regard:
One of the most persistent and unusual aspects of human behavior.... is man's dissatisfaction with the ordinary state of consciousness and the consequent development of innumerable methods of altering it.
"The succession of conscious states is toward higher integration, not toward lower dissociation, toward more control of the environment, rather than less, and toward more grand perceptions of beneficence rather than toward the opposite. This principle is one of those facts (like the existence of the stars) which would be considered remarkable if we did not take it for granted. The process of integration in growth has the complementary virtues of being obvious in fact and transcendental in implication. It restores man from a reactive creature, differentiated in time, to an integrated part of the noumenon. As Eliade 1969:199-200) says:
The idea of yoga.... is to live in an eternal present, outside of time. The man, liberated in life, no longer possesses a personal consciousness .... but a witnessing consciousness, which is pure lucidity and spontaneity.
"7) Regarding the three illusions:
a) The percepts of waking and dreaming (and hence all physical reality) are equally illusory, being governed by the generalized preconscious. This does not mean that the ordinary world of physical reality is without laws, but only that its supposed laws represent special cases of more general cosmic laws.
b) The consciousness of the ego as being bound in time and space and as being in one point in that space
time is equally illusory. It is a kind of fiction invented to give the experience of cognition and development, and hence the scenario of life is a self-designed dream.
c) The idea of the ego itself as a separate bit of consciousness is also an illusion. Human life is but the history of the growth, development, and diffusion of this illusion. In order to encourage the gradual transformation of this process it is useful to encourage the enhancement of self-concept from its initial narrow sense of 'my body' to its ultimate broad sense of 'my world,' passing through the intermediate stages of my possessions, my loved ones, my work, my associations, and my creations.
"The physical world is of course not unreal, but it is only a special case of the larger vivency of the collective unconscious into which our individual egos are launched to gain the experience of cognition and will in a time and space-bound world. We are held prisoner in this restricted space-time with its physical laws by our sense of ego, reinforced by what we call the 'normal' state of consciousness. (Actually it is a very special state of consciousness in which intelligence is particularized.) But even in our ego-consciousness we can escape the restrictive laws of the physical world into the larger laws of the metaphysical world by passing into an ASC.
"8) Lama Govinda (1966:17) points out that (since the syntaxic mode embraces the lower modes as well) '. . the essential nature of words is neither exhausted by their present meaning, nor is their importance confined to this usefulness as a transmitter of thought' - for they express at the same time qualities which are not translatable into concepts. He continues, - that it is precisely this parataxic quality in poetry and oratory which stirs us so deeply. This statement by the lama is indicative of the fact that the three cognitive modes are 'epigenetic' in Erikson's sense - that is, each succeeding one builds on the previous, and contains it, although emphasizing a new and emergent aspect. He again senses this hierarchy in stating (Ibid) 'if art can be called... the formal expression of reality ... then the creation of language may be called the greatest achievement of art.'(page 368)
"The same intuitive grasp of the hierarchy of the three modes is evidenced by Satprem (1964:60) in his biography of Sri Aurobindo when he declares, speaking of growing enlightenment: 'Once in possession of these . . . the seeker begins to know ... things as they are, for he no longer catches the external signs, gestures, all that immured dumb show, nor the veiled face of things, but the pure vibration in each thing . . .'"Satprem (1964:55 says further:
(page 369)'The task of the apprentice yogi ... is finally to become conscious in what men call death, for to the degree that we have been conscious in our life we shall become conscious in our death.He (1964:103) quotes Sri Aurobindo as saying:
Matter is the starting point of our evolution; enclosed in it consciousness has gradually evolved; so the more consciousness emerges, the more it must recover its sovereignty and affirm its independence.
Finally he (1964:178) paraphrases Sri Aurobindo in stating:
Our sole problem is to lift ourselves to even higher planes by an individual evolution and our single life to transcribe and incarnate materially the truth of the plane to which we belong.
"In a dream the perceptual events seem to be real, but actually are illusory, permuted about by unconscious forces, and the lucid dreamer knows that this is so, and that he is dreaming; in our normal state of consciousness, the percepts also seem to be real, but actually are equally illusory, being controlled and permuted by the collective unconscious, and the enlightened man like the lucid dreamer knows that this is so, and that he, too, is, in reality, in a dream. The dream state is to ordinary every-day 'reality' as that reality is to ultimate reality; each state is the dream-state of the one above it."It appears that those who have successfully practiced the disciplines of the psychedelic stage and have reaped its enormous benefits fall into three classes. Curiously enough these categories are best delineated by
another triple paradigm (Bruner's classification of concept formulation):(1) enactive (when the learning is in the muscles);
(2) iconic (when the learning depends on signs [icons]; and
(3) symbolic (when the learning has been completely integrated as a concept).
"in the first two states, when the learning is less than fully complete symbolically, it can be approximated in the first instance through a system of body training (Hatha-yoga), and the following of ritual (such as Zen or alpha wave biofeedback), and in the second instance by recourse to icon-like archetypes which stand in the place of a concept which is too vague for complete cognitive formulation, but which indicates by a shadowy presence its substantive nature."In the final instance, full psychedelic power is obtained, orthocognition is established, and the juncture of the conscious mind and the numinous element which presents itself as the collective preconscious brings not only creativity and serendipity, but literally the positive control of all aspects of man's self-concept from body-image outward to complete altruism. This 'heaven on earth' 'Omega point' is a literal re-establishment of the pristine Adamic estate, at present glimpsed only in ecstasies and visions. It is contained, of course, within the 'durative topocosm' which exists throughout time, and waits only on man's developing mind to again bring it to physical manifestation. It is in this concept, that psychology comes to aid man in understanding what was formerly called 'the mystic path' in a more modern and useful way.
"Our egos are ephemeral, transitory events, which develop (like
waves), effloresce, and diffuse, carrying back with them to the Spirit
which originated them the precious experience of rational consciousness.
This individualized process is carried out in eight stages of development,
discovered by Erikson:
In stage 1, the ego is absent;
in stage 2, it rises and differentiates;
in stage 3, it explores love of self and parents;
in stage 4, it stops trying to make people and starts trying to make things;
in stage 5, it reaches its zenith of separatism in the adolescent identity-crisis;
in stage 6, it begins diffusion in love of the beloved and in creativity;
in stage 7, it further diffuses in parental succorance, and psychedelic experiences;
in stage 8, it sets in illumination, knowing that its destiny is to transcend self;
in stage 9, it is again absent.
(page 370)
"The central issue in the development of man is the relationship between the generalized impersonal mind (which we call the preconscious) and the particularized conscious manifestation of it (which we call our individual consciousness). Each of these aspects of intelligence brings to their psychedelic union its own peculiar and characteristic powers, and each needs the support of the other. The generalized mind, which exists in a hypnotized impersonal state has genie-like powers over the environment including ourselves, but lacks conscious will and personality. The particular conscious mind has the regnancy of individual will, consciousness, and rational thought, but lacks the generalized powers, which can only be wisely and usefully released in a union of the two (which we call the psychedelic state).
"In the unitive state, these two aspects are joined; and as in a closed electrical circuit, the current flows, empowering the human consciousness with quasi-divine authority, and humanizing the impersonal preconscious with the rationalizing of human conscious evaluation in place of the dark archetypes of the collective subconscious. To be sure, not all these methods are of equal value, for some allow for much more rational control than others, and it is this rational control of the process which is the continuum on which they should be evaluated.
"To the extent that each individual human mind shares in the generalized preconscious, it becomes a creator, just as the generalized preconscious is. Therefore, every human has the potentiality of creation, not just of ideas but of actual reality; and from this it follows that whatever people believe in, becomes real in an existential sense. The enormous implications of this concept (which among other things solves the problem of the origin of evil) are extremely important for each of us to understand, so that we do not, by negative thoughts, add to the sum total of evil in the world, but instead contribute to its opposite - the good.
"The numinous element appears in the process of becoming, in the process of manifesting, in the process of building toward what is to us a future event of perfection. All that precedes that dawn is prologue, including the dream world in which we live, for this can be conceptualized as no more than the numinous element trying out different facets of its power and energy through the medium of our individualized lives, much as a concert artist tries out themes before a symphony concert. But that rehearsal is a
(page 371)
necessary part of its evolution, for when housed in us, it is able,
if but in the blink of a man's lifetime, to blend its awesome power with
the personal element which it alone lacks: it is able in a finite life
to become complete and to pre-figure the 'far-off Divine event' of the
poet, when all having been brought to perfection, the All will fully cognize
the All. Thus each individual life is part of an eternal prologue in which
the numinous element is being perfected and completed to a new and more
glorious dawn. Thoreau, that rustic seer, said of this process, 'That day
is yet to dawn, for the sun is only a morning star!"'
ADDENDUM: Siddhis are produced by a sanayama or 3-fold simultaneous use of concentration (samadhi), meditation (dhyana), and fixity (dharama). The first two produce an increase in order which flows thru the whole system. But fixing the attention on a particular part produces an inflow of order from the whole system to the specific part. One could say that order in general is lessened to produce more order in one spot. (The analogue would be that of a hydraulic ram which uses the fall of a lot of water over a small height to produce the raising of a small amount to a considerable height. The amount of order introduced into the small subsystem is so large that it produces a siddhi in line with theory in Chapter 1. The kind of siddhi depends on the particular sanayama employed which fixes total order on some specific object or body part.
(page 372)