SIMPLY OCCULT

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 comparative studies with other 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 is that responsibility inevitably brings consequences, some good, some bad. It helps to discover the difference through experience. This is sometimes painful.

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 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 just become 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" I shall try to explain how to start out on the spiritual path. For those who want the jargon, click back to the website and download my "Keys to Kabbalah."

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

Simply Occult

Above, I listed our four States of Being. I also emphasized that we are "here, now, in a physical world in a physical body." I then went on to say that I would try to explain how to start out on the spiritual path.

In a sense, by reiterating the above, I have already done so - we start right here, in this physical world, in our physical bodies. Obvious, really: we can't begin from the Moon, can we? WHEN we start is up to us, but we begin by looking at, and learning to know the Physical State. A glance in the mirror will quickly give us some idea of how we appear, but will not show us the complete Physical State. If we think about it (which is where we begin) there is no way we can observe the Physical State in its entirety at all, yet we take it for granted.

All serious students or would-be students of things Occult are advised, urged, even, to gain at least an elementary knowledge of human anatomy and physiology. The "Adepts" of earlier centuries were partly scientists, and partly philosophers, often with religious leanings (in the spiritual sense). The alchemists were "occultists" whose successors went on to become chemists and latter-day depth psychologists.

Four easily identifiable parts of the human brain at least are involved in spiritual development, and diagrams of them can be found in popular books about the human body. The diagrams are not essential to our work, but they can help a great deal by putting things into perspective.

One of these four parts is the pituitary gland, near the centre of the brain, towards the front, often associated in occult literature with a "third eye" through which we see "clairvoyantly." (Also associated with the pineal gland). The things alleged to have been seen through this "third eye" are all too often, alas, nothing but the fantasies of the individual human imagination. [Note C.W.Leadbeater's "clairvoyant" descriptions of life on Mars].

The pineal gland IS concerned with such "seeing," but paradoxically, its function is better appreciated after the event, rather than anticipated before the event.

Let us for the moment accept the notion if there being a "third eye" through which we can see things "after another manner." What we "see" will be different in nature from what we see through our regular physical eyes, but the key ingredient remains the same. A key aphorism follows:

WHATEVER WE SEE, WE INTERPRET.

This is why ten witnesses of a road accident will give ten differing accounts of what happened.

Interpretation

Interpretation takes place in a number of ways, but involves, so far as can be established, the operation of two of the four parts of the brain already mentioned. These are the two parts of the pituitary gland, which also lies near the centre of the brain. The front part [anterior pituitary] is concerned with interpreting what we see in the outside world. The rear part [posterior pituitary] is concerned with what we see in the inside, or inner world.

The hypothalamus, which lies next to the pituitary gland, is concerned with the contacts we make with the other three States of Being described in Article 1.

Hey! (I hear you cry) - I thought this was going to be simple. It is, so we can translate the foregoing thus:

We can "see" in two ways, normally with our eyes, and, if you like, paranormally with our "inner eye." Whatever we see we interpret, wherever it comes from. The value of the technical stuff is that with practice, we can learn to follow what is really going on as we travel along our individual paths. What is more, the technical terms describe actual parts of us know to scientists, and are parts which can be proved to exist without studying a "Secret Doctrine."

The top and bottom line

How do we interpret anything we see or which happens to us? By referring to our knowledge of things, based upon our experience. If we have never experienced a wugerapnith, we won't have the faintest idea what it is, but will assign it a value as near to something we HAVE experienced as we can. And we will be wrong every time until we HAVE experienced it. [I made it up - I think].

So, to return to the nitty gritty, all our experience is interpreted on the basis of our existing and total experience to date, but we can discover the mechanisms of gaining and interpreting experience by observing what is happening within our Physical State as well as outside of it. So, let's repeat the aphorism, but add the comment that invariably accompanies it:

WHATEVER WE SEE, WE INTERPRET.

Comment: Our interpretations will always be incomplete, and sometimes totally wrong. That person we saw in the street wasn't the famous movie star, but the person who works at the supermarket checkout.

Now about the vision we had of Jesus in all his glory .....

Simply Occult - surprise - is be about learning how to see clearly.

Simply Occult

Seeing Clearly ("Clairvoyance" - ?)

Whatever we see, we interpret - but what do we "see" and how do wee see it? First of all we need to return to aspects of the Physical State concerning anatomy and physiology, together with that described as the etheric or subtle body. Firstly, though, we look at the human nervous system, together with some of the glands in the body, and their relation to the subtle body.

Most people know that our visibly physical bodies contain an extremely complicated network of nerve fibres [or fibers, in the USA]. At the base of the brain, at the back of the head, there are a great number of these which feed information directly to and from the various brain centres. For some reason known to nature, these cross over from left to right, so that, for example, the left side of the brain "controls" the right side of the body (and other functions) in right-handed people. Wherever there is a large concentration of nerve fibres, we find it often described as a "plexus" (but not in this case, where it is described differently, as the nerves do not connect with each other). Be patient, this IS relevant.

The most well-known plexus, where a great many nerve-endings - all carrying information - come together, is what we call the Solar Plexus, located just below the breast bone (the thick bony bit which the ribs join on to). A lesser known plexus is the Sacral Plexus, close to the base of the spine at the back of the body.

Among what are known as the endocrine glands (the pituitary and pineal glands mentioned before are such glands) are the thyroid gland (just behind the TOP of the breast bone [sternum] and its related parathyroid glands, of which there are two, located within the neck.

We can also add the gonads, or sexual glands [ovaries and testes], which are of a different nature, but form part of the mechanism in as much as they react to the stimulus from the nervous and glandular systems.

An Important Bit

All of the above are directly connected in one way or another with the subtle [etheric] part of the Physical State. This happens through what occultism calls the "chakras" ["wheels"] or psychic centres. Important to note is that while the physical body cannot exist without the subtle body, the reverse is not the case. If these two are separated, we will find ourselves in one of two states - having an Out Of The Body experience (OOB) or physically dead.

The Chakras

Here I intend to use this well-known term, simply because it is shorter than to keep saying "psychic centres," though I may sometimes make the distinction just as a reminder that we are trying to describe in as familiar language as possible what is "Simply Occult."

As all this is intended to be about spiritual development, we shall begin at the bottom (literally) and move upwards through the body to the higher (from the ground) centers. In my own discipline, the Kabbalah, it is emphasized that ALL parts of Creation are "Holy" - recall what I said about there being no hierarchy in the universe.

Starting from the lower end then, there are two fundamental chakras described in occult writings, one at the base of the spine, and another slightly higher. These are connected with the Sacral Plexus already mentioned, also near the base of the spine, and are concerned primarily with the organs of evacuation and reproduction - bowel movements and sexual activities. [Muladhara and Svadisthana chakras]

Next in ascending physical order are the Manipura Chakra and the Anahata Chakra, both connected with the Solar Plexus. Here it is simpler to us the occult terms, the reasons for which will become clear as we go along. Basically we can say that impressions received via the Solar Plexus from either the outer or inner worlds can travel (via the nervous system and its etheric equivalent) in one or both of two directions, either through the Manipura Chakra towards the lower centres, or through the Anahata Chakra towards the higher centres.

The best example of this is seen in sexual attraction. Feelings of love move up into the heart, and what to do with them moves down to the sexual activity department.

In the area of the Thyroid glands is to be found the Throat Chakra [the occult word is too long and hard to spell]. This is concerned with deep and lasting emotional activity, together with some of the occult experiences that enable recollection of human history and past ages.

Two more: The Ajna Chakra [so-called "third eye"] usually depicted between the eyebrows, which is connected with the Pineal and Pituitary glands, plus the Sahasrara Chakra, located OUTSIDE of the physical body, above the head, and possibly - only possibly - connected with the hypothalamus. Forgotten? miss a turn and go back to a previous bit.

[Note: some observers, including me, have located a chakra at the back of the head, close to the point but slightly above the place where the nerves to the brain cross over].

Seeing Clearly (repeat)

To do this, we first need to become more aware of what on earth (literally) is going on in our own bodies and the way they deal with the world around us and the people and creatures that are in it. But - our physical bodies are only part of the Physical State, as in every act of seeing, the subtle or etheric body is also active. In fact the subtle body is active during bodily sleep, which is how we are able to dream, leave our bodies, etc.

We may look at some approaches that can help us see and use our existing "hidden [occult] abilities ["powers" - yuk] in another article. Exciting, isn't it?

Simply Occult

Inside Out

Many approaches to the spiritual path talk in terms of an "inward" journey, or perhaps a "rising on the planes." It can of course be looked at (for the sake of convenience) in either way, but in reality the four "States" (Physical, Non-Physical, Individual and Spiritual) are present all at once at the same time in the same "place."

Jesus is reported as saying "The Kingdom of God is at hand." Whether he actually said it, or whether he even existed (a discussion which is a terrific red herring) it is a good way of putting it. Not in the sense, as in the old song, "Love is just around the corner," but in the sense that it is right here, right now. So where do we begin our spiritual path? That's right.

Within the ever-present now, however, there is, from the developmental point of view, direction from one State to another. In the "Jacob's Ladder" story in the Judeo-Christian tradition the "angels" (messengers) of "God" ("That-which IS") are seen going both Up and Down the ladder. [Repeat plug for my "Keys to Kabbalah on website].

What this means in terms of our Simply Occult approach is that in one way development proceeds from the Spiritual State to the Physical State, so that we are Spiritual FIRST and Physical LAST. In the Physical State the subtle body is the mechanism which enables the material bones and stuff of the physical body to work. Most of us have, at some time, found ourselves in that odd condition where we have woken up, and either the whole body or a part of it is completely unable to move - often an arm or a leg. Although this in unnerving or a bit frightening, we have only to wait a short while, and all is as we would usually expect it to be. The reason for this is that the subtle body is slightly and temporarily "out of phase" with its physical bit(s).

Information

When we tell someone something, we are said to "inform" them, and this term is used often in occult writings, where it is best understood in exactly the same way. The Spiritual informs the Individual which informs the Non-Physical which informs the Physical. That is to say, starting, as it were [is now and ever shall be, world without end - bit of humour intended here] from the top of the ladder, the Spiritual tells the Individual what's what and so on until the bottom of the ladder is reached and the Non-Physical tells the Physical what's what.

Climbing the ladder

What this means in practice, ie, following the spiritual path, is that if we want to get information (such as the meaning of life the universe and everything) then we can only get it from a "higher" or more "inner" level than the one from which we are asking. Being, so far as it is possible to tell, both nosey (curious) and arrogant (I know more than you do) kinds of being, we humans tend to shun many of the obvious routes to information. "What happens when we die" is a question which can quickly and easily be answered by jumping from an airplane without a parachute, but once we found out, who could we tell? (There's an answer to that folks, but it comes later). We will certainly find ourselves:

Out of the Body

When we are in the condition know as "Out of the body" we are living in our subtle bodies while the bone and muscle department of the Physical is asleep or otherwise inactive (such as in deep trance or hypnosis). Whilst in this condition, or at any stage between our regular "waking state" - there's a laugh! - and the OOB state we will find it impossible to move parts of the physical body, or if completely "out" the whole of it. This is what happens when we say in ordinary conversation, "I passed out." A very accurate description of the facts.

Where we live

It is commonly supposed that we live in our physical bodies in the Physical State, in the physical world around us. Wrong. Our physical bodies are simply the means of transporting us from one place to another in the physical world, plus the added (for some) pleasure of providing a means of making other physical bodies for some other poor bastard [sorry, "individual"] to inhabit. We have this mistaken notion because of what was said earlier - whatever we experience, we interpret. But let us each ask of ourselves, "Am I my arm, or my leg, or the sum total of my bodily parts?"

To which another intelligence might well respond with, "Who's asking?"

Who's asking, of course, is the individual human being, e.g., you or me. And an individual human being lives - wait for it - in the Individual State. This, Janus-like, looks in two directions at once, and according to the way your or my individuality interprets what we experience, so we try to describe it.

Which is what I shall try to do in due course. Comments are welcome, if laudatory or interpreted my way.

Alan Bain, Planet Earth, 1933 -.