The
Mode of Awakening the Intuition
There are many ways in which the intuition
can be drawn into activity, and one of the most useful and
potent is the study and interpretation of symbols.
Symbols are the outer and visible forms of
the inner spiritual realities, and when the facility in discovering
the reality behind any specific form has been gained, that
very fact will indicate the awakening of the intuition.
First ray people belong to what is called
the "Destroyer Ray" and the power of the first aspect,
which is the power to bring to an end, flows through them.
They will have a tendency to destroy, as they build, through
a wrong direction of energy, through over-emphasis of energy
in some particular direction, or through misuse of energy
in work with themselves or others. Many first ray people have
the tendency to pride themselves on this and hide behind a
plea that, being upon the first ray, a destructive tendency
is unavoidable. Such is not the case. Builders, such as second
ray people always are, have to learn to destroy, when prompted
by group love and acting under the Will or first ray aspect.
Destroyers have to learn to build, acting ever under the impulse
of group love and utilizing the power of attachment in a detached
manner. Both groups, builders and destroyers, must ever work
from the standpoint of reality, from the inner nucleus of
truth and must "take their stand at the center."
The study of symbols tends to bring this about
and, when carried out with faithfulness and diligence, will
produce three effects:
1.It trains in the power to penetrate behind
the form and to arrive at the subjective reality.
2.It tends to bring about a close integration
between soul-mind-brain, and when that is brought about, the
inflow of the intuition and, consequently, of illumination
and truth becomes more rapidly possible.
3.It will put a strain upon certain unawakened
areas in the brain and arouse into activity the brain cells
there found, and this is the first stage in the experience
of the aspirant. With the majority of true aspirants, the
center between the eyebrows is awakened, whilst the center
at the top of the head is vibrating very gently, but is not
in full functioning activity. This higher center must be awakened
more fully before aspirants can measure up to their full opportunity.
In the study of symbols, I would urge upon
you the necessity always to put before yourselves the goal
of arriving at the underlying concept of any symbol studied.
This concept will ever be synthetic. It will not be detailed
and in sections. You may have to arrive at this concept through
a study of detail and through arriving at the significance
of various sections or parts of the symbol under consideration.
When, however, your analysis is completed, you must not rest
satisfied until you have summed up the meaning of the symbol
in some synthetic idea, concept, meaning or name.
-
Alice A. Bailey
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