"Ninety-eight percent of the troubles, worries, fears, etc. which seem to plague us are due to the lack of proper differentiation between levels of functioning. We simply do not understand each other structurally."
"When a person is a real devotee on the path of development, he is more desirous of purification than any other thing. To me that is the mark of a real devotee--to desire to be free from hindrances which prevent further advancement. To one who is a devotee the practice of differentiation brings terrific advantages in seeking higher levels of attainment."
"By understanding the demarcations between levels, one can eliminate semantic blockages. This one methodology is more effective than any other I know."
"You will see for yourself how valuable this teaching is when you begin to apply it for yourself. When these levels become so real to you that you can apply them to every facet of your lives, then the value will become clear."
"I must begin by saying that it is absolutely impossible for me to describe this world of energy symbolized by Fire. (Is that a dogmatic statement?) So far as my limited vocabulary is concerned the term remains forever on the unspeakable level."
"Each individual is an epitomization of cosmic forces, so when we learn the functional levels of the human state we are also learning the structure of the universe. We are learning the four divisions of any sphere or field--whether it be a given culture as a whole, a civilization, or the cosmic process itself."
"The individualizing process is a drama which everyone will go through, if he has not already begun. (There are exceptions, of course, but they only prove the rule.) This process possesses the highest order of drama from rude beginnings in objective identification when the individual's consciousness first opens, to the sublime culmination when the individual becomes not only conscious of Be-ing, but attains a complete identification with the deepest essence of Self."
"In the initial stages we are dependent. We tend to look outward to authority (the priest or preacher). We are looking for someone to guide us and direct us. That is appropriate at a certain stage."
"We use the tools and the helpers available. But we make the grade on our own."
"John the Baptist symbolizes that force in the individual which lifts him above the waters."
""As we buried unto death, so we shall be resurrected in His likeness." As we are buried, we are submerged in feelings, thinkings and desires of the psychic nature. We strive to rise above the psychic waters and the character in the allegory that symbolizes the struggle is John the Baptist. As that process is accomplished one gets above passions, desires, jealousies, reactions, etc. It is like deliverance from the animal nature."
"The qualities (gunas) which cannot be utilized in the new structure must be separated from the qualities that can be used. Along with many beautiful desires for refined feelings and aspirations, we have also built in many desires and thoughts which are like chaff and should be thrown to the wind. And we must fan out all that is not usable.
But, we cannot lift ourselves up by the boot straps. We cannot do the job alone. We can invoke the latent powers, the potential energy, and once awakened, those powers and energies are like fire. They burn off all the chaff. Those powers are awakened in the 'higher' centers of our individualized selves. That fire resides in the heart and core of each of us. Once awakened, it throws all the elemental entities and forces to the periphery. The desire forces, thought forces, and feeling forces, which cannot be utilized in the higher structure of the Real Self, begin to panic and burn. They cannot tolerate the fire. They fear incineration, so they move out fast, stirring up as much turmoil as they can. That process is called purification. John the Baptist warns us that after he is finished the purificatory process begins."
"The sweetest hours of your life, your most quiet moments, the times of ineffable peace are so fine and delicate that we soon put them out of our minds as unimportant. For so long a time we have become accustomed to a more tempestuous and stormy frequency. We are conditioned to coarseness, so we overlook subtlety. But that refined frequency is Fire, and we have all felt it without giving it any value. That is the most dynamic force which an individual can experience. The power on that level is greater than on all other levels combined. We cannot adequately describe it. We only talk about it."
"Eventually the dawn comes. Sometimes we only notice the Fire by its strange effects in our lives. Have you ever met a new person in your life, struck up an acquaintance, and then discover that the new person fears you? That is one of the effects of the Fire. You may feel kind and warm toward the person, but the effect he, or she, experiences is fear. If that person is filled with destructive conditions the entities that are fed on that destruction will bolt and try to run away. The entities which feed off negative conditions in the consciousness will not stay near the Fire very long.
When the Fire is kindled you will become a storm center, stirring up entities in everyone you meet. If they only knew the value of the purificatory period they would stay and receive a marvelous healing. But, fear comes in and drives them away."
"All hell breaks loose when a Teacher comes into our lives. He does not willingly take on all that blame and fear. The Teacher is a storm center beyond our comprehension. The Teacher stands in the Fire and is quiet and still. The Teacher becomes the eye of the storm."
"If an individual understands nothing else about this teaching, about the structure and function of ensemble of forces, about the centers or the energy which functions in the centers, he can still accomplish the completion of his individualizing process. The completion of the process is the awakening of the Fire. Anyone can enkindle that Fire by learning to be still. With no knowledge of the structure , of function, or the effect in his own members of the force he activates, an individual can accomplish his own awakening by remembering one simple rule: ALL AN INDVIDUAL'S FORCES WILL FLOW TO THAT LEVEL UPON WHICH HE SUSTAINS CONCENTRATION.
Once my son came to me and asked me to tell him a few words what the greatest secret was. I replied in one word: CONCENTRATION."
Concentration is the secret of secrets, but do not overlook another word in our simple rule: SUSTAINED CONCENTRATION. We are not talking about fifteen minutes now and again. We are talking about concentrating on a single focus week in and week out, month in and month out. You must hold to your center like a dog to a root.
If you need to demonstrate this rule in your own life, go ahead and focus on something you want to create. Work up great confidence in yourself; it is justified. Anything is possible within the range of your potentials. Nothing can stop you, not the doubts and laughter of your friends and loved ones, nothing. Even if everyone thinks you are crazy, you can do anything, if you focus your attention and hold it. Your forces will flow into configuration and your desire will take form. The only limit to what I am saying is your basic state and your ability to concentrate.
This is not a mental formulation. On the mental level this rule is worthless. But, if you apply it on the feel-know level, nothing can stop you. The amazing thing is that no knowledge of structure and function is necessary to accomplish your purposes. Our mental pride balks at that, but we do not need intellectual understanding to accomplish this. The mental understanding is helpful in preventing confusion, in restoring perspective, but follow the rule first, and then add the mental roadmap if needed.
When we try to describe the symbol Fire we are forced to face the limitation of the intellect. Practice and meditation are more valuable here than intellectual concepts. If I want to leave you with the idea of Fire, I must leave you with a practice. Be still. Sustain concentration on the subtlety of the Real Self. That is the way to understand the baptism by Fire."
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