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'...containingsomeof the mostsignificantwritingof OUrtime...'

DIOGENES in TimeandTide

'It is a work in which intellect and emotionarejustlybalanced.'

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'This book is throughouta triumph of clarityandgoodwriting.'

TIMES LITERARY SUPPLEMENT

'This is oneof thoserarebookswhichmayhavea lastingeffecton the reader'sthinking andgivenewmeaningtotheuniverse,to himselfandto humanlifein general.'

KENNETH WALKER in SundayTimes

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One of the leading British psychologistsof his time,MauriceNicoll (1884-1953)wasa studentofC.G.]ung,G.I.Gurdjieff and P.D.Ouspensky. At Ouspensky'srequest,he devotedthe last twenty yearsof his life topassingon the ideashe had receivedfrom his teachers.This devotion culminated in a five-volume work,

PsychologicalCommentariesontheTeachingofG.I.Gurdjieff andP'D.Ouspensky.

Also by MauriceNicoll: The New Man andTheMarkavailablefromEurekaEditions --

FIRST PUBLISHED IN 1952- REPUBLISHED IN 1998EUREKA EDITIONS - THE NETHERLANDS

AND THE INTEGRATIONOF THE LIFE

MauriceNicoll

I "~" .

FIRST PUBLISHED IN 1952BY VINCENT STUART PUBLISHERS LTD

REPUBLISHED IN 1998BY EUREKA EDITIONS

bythesameauthor

DreamPsychology

TheNewMan

TheMark

PsychologicalCommentariesontheTeachingof

GurdjieffandOuspensky

SelectionsfromMeetingsin 1953

SimpleExplanationofWorkIdeas

COPYRlGHT 1998EUREKA EDITIONS /ISOBEL SALOLE

ISBN 9072395166

All rightsreserved.No partof thispublicationmaybe repro-duced,storedin a retrievalsystem,ortransmittedin anyformorby anymeans,electronic,mechanical,photo-copying,recordingorotherwise,withoutthepriorpermissionofEurekaEditions.

CONTENTS

IntroductoryNote

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INVISIBILITY OF ONESELF 3

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QUALITY OF CONSCIOUSNESS 27

III

DIFFERENT LEVELS OF REALITY IN MANAND THE UNIVERSE

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PASSING-TIME AND TIME ITSELF 90

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THE LIFE IN LIVING-TIME 116

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AEON 139

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ETERNITY AND THE RECURRENCE OF LIFE 165

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RECURRENCE IN THE SAME TIME 185

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TWO PSYCHOLOGICAL SYSTEMS IN MAN 214

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CREATION OF NOW 252

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RELATIONSHIP 266

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THE INTEGRATION OF THE LIFE 277

Bibliography

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Index

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ThedrawingofApophisin themysticcelestialoceanbetweenthegoddessesIsis and Nephthys,on thetitlepage,is reproducedfrom The journal of The Transactionsof THE VICTORlAINSTITUTE, vol.vi, 1873.

GivemeNepentheWith thelullingeyes

Toshutawaytheworld!Tosleep,todream,

And in thisclover-scentedairSlipthroughimprisoningTime

And findmySpiritfree!Alas,notthus

ShaltthouescapefromTime.Thou wilt returnagain

And yetagainTill thouhastpaid

Theuttermostfarthing.Didst thounotknow

Timeisadebtor'sprison?Whom dostthouowe?

OwenotNepenthe.

INTRODUCTORY NOTE

PLATO SAYS thattobecomeaspectatorofTimeisacureformeannessof soul. We live in a narrow reality,partlyconditionedby our form of perceptionandpartly madeby opinionsthat we haveborrowed,to which our self-esteemisfastened.Wefight forouropinions,notbecausewe believethem but becausetheyinvolvethe ordinaryfeelingof oneselfThough we arecontinuallybeinghurtowingto thenarrownessoftherealityin whichwedwell,we blamelife, and do not seethe necessityof findingabsolutelynewstandpoints.

All ideasthathavea transformingpowerchangeoursense of reality. They act like ferments. But theynecessarilyleadus in thedirectionof affirmation.To seemorewholly,morecomprehensively,requiresaffirmation,anassentto theexistenceof newtruth. If thereis buriedin us the senseof truth, we must admit that thereis agreat deal superficialto it that fights againstit. It isalwaysmucheasiertodenythantoaffirm.

One reasonfor this is that thesoul is turnedtowardsthesenses,whileideasareinternallyperceivedasdistinctfromtheinrushof outerthings,andif thereis no feelingof theseparatenessof one'sexistence,nosenseof essentialinvisibility,and no effort madein this direction,it isunlikely that we will ever be aware of them. Platodescribedtwo godsor rulingpowers,oneouterandoneinner.Under the powerof the outer,the soul is tossedaboutin everydirectionand is like a drunkard.Turnedtowardstheworldofideas,shebeginstobecomesaneandtoremember.

In the followingpagesa numberof quotations,notes,andobservationshavebeenbroughttogetherthatreferinthemainto theinvisiblesideof things.How canwebegin

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to understandthe'invisible'?The invisiblenatureofmanandthecorrespondinginvisiblesideof theworldareheredealtwith from the standpointof dimensions(not takenmathematically)andalsofrom therelatedstandpointofhigher levels of consciousness.The question of a newunderstandingofTime,andof whatthelife meansin thelightof thisunderstanding,isdiscussed.Thepossibilityofa changein the time-sense,with a changedfeelingofoneself,entersintothisquestion.

The meaningof eternity,aboutwhich we havereallyerroneousnotions,comesunderconsideration,andfinallytheideaoftherecurrenceofthelifeisreviewed.

It is necessaryto beginwith a generalapproachwhichtakesinto reviewsomeofourordinary'notionsofthings',as derivedfrom the world that is shownto us by oursenses.In this connectionsomereflectionsabout thevisibleandinvisiblesideofpeoplemustbefirstmade.

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CHAPTER ONE

INVISIBILITY OF ONESELF

WE CAN ALL SEEanotherperson'sbodydirectly.Weseethelipsmoving,theeyesopeningandshutting,thelinesof themouthandfacechanging,andthebodyexpressingitselfasawholein action.Thepersonhimselfisinvisible.

We seetheoutsideof apersonmuchmorecomprehen-sively than the personcan himself.He does not seehimselfin action,andif he looksin a mirrorhechangespsychologicallyandbeginsto inventhimself.He appearsverydistinctandvisible,verydefiniteandcleartoeyeandtouch,althoughhe is not so to himself.We aredistinctandclearto him, appearingto haveaveryrealandsolidexistence,but to ourselvesit doesnot seemthatwe havethisrealandsolidexistence.

Becauseweseethevisiblesideofpeopleplainlyandtheyseeoursplainly,we all appearmuchmoredefiniteto oneanotherthan we do to ourselves.If the invisiblesideofpeoplewerediscernedaseasilyasthevisibleside,wewouldlivein a newhumanity.As weare,we liveinvisiblehuma-nity,ahumanityof appearances.In consequence,anextra-ordinarynumberofmisunderstandingsinevitablyexist.

Let usconsiderourmeansof communicationwith oneanother.They are limited to muscles,mainly to thesmallest.We signalby meansofmuscles,eitherin speechor gesture.To reach anotherperson, every thought,feeling,emotion,mustbetransmittedthroughmuscularmovementsandrenderedvisibleoraudibleor tangibleinthisway.Wecommunicatebadly,partlybecausewenevernoticehow we aredoing it, and partly becauseit is anextremelydifficultmatterto communicateanythingsavethe simplestobservations,without the dangerof our

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signalsbeingmisinterpreted.Also, asoftenasnot,wedonot exactly know what it is we are trying tocommunicate.Finally,nearlyeverythingof importancecannotbeexpressed.

But in ageneralsenseit is becausewecommunicatesobadlyandbecauseotherpeopleunderstandoursignalsintheir way, adding their own thoughtsand feelingstothem,thataninexhaustiblesupplyof misunderstandingsand unhappinessesarise.This is seeingthematterfromonepointofview,for if ourinvisiblesideweremoreeasilydemonstratedtoothers,newdifficultieswouldarise.

Now allourthoughts,emotions,feelings,imaginations,reveries,dreams,fantasies,areinvisible.All thatbelongstoourscheming,planning,secrets,ambitions,allourhopes,fears,doubts,perplexities,all ouraffections,speculations,ponderings, vacuities, uncertainties,all our desires,longings, appetites, sensations,our likes, dislikes,aversions,attractions,lovesandhates- all arethemselvesinvisible.Theyconstitute'oneself

They mayor may not betray their existence.Theyusuallydosomuchmorethanwebelieveforwearebothmuch more and much lessobviousto othersthan wesuppose.But all theseinnerstates,moods,thoughts,ete.,arein themselvesinvisibleandall thatweseeof theminanotheristhroughtheirexpressioninmuscularmovement.

No oneeverseesthought.No oneknowswhatwe arethinking. We imaginewe know other people,and alltheseimaginationswehaveof eachotherformaworldoffictitiouspeople,thatloveandhate.

It is impossibleformeto saythatI knowanybody,andit isequallyimpossibletosaythatanybodyknowsme.Forwhile I see all your bodily movementsand outwardappearancessoeasilyandhaveahundredthousandvisualimpressionsof you that do not existin your mind, and

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haveseenyouaspartof thelandscape,partof thehouse,partof thestreet,andhavea knowledgeof youthatyoualwayswishtoknowabout- whatimpressionyoumake,howyoulook- yetI cannotseeintoyouanddonotknowwhatyouare,andcanneverknow.And whileI havethisdir'ectaccessto yourvisibleside,to all your life asseen,you havedirectaccessto your invisibility- and to yourinvisibilityonlyyouhavethisdirectaccess,if youlearntouseit. I andeveryoneelsecanseeandhearyou.Thewholeworld might seeand hear you. But onlyyou can knowyourself

We arethus like two systemsof levers,oneworkingwith all theadvantagein onedirection,theotherwith alltheadvantagein theotherdirection.

Now to thereaderall this mayappearobvious,but Imust assurehim that it is not at all obvious.It is anextremelydifficultthingto graspandI will endeavourtoexplainwhy this is so. We do not grasp that we areinvisible.We do not realisethat we live in a world ofinvisiblepeople.We do notunderstandthat life, beforeallotherdefinitionsofit, isa dramaofthevisibleandinvisible.

The reasonwhy we do not graspit is becauseit is anidea.In thisbook,whichisaboutoneor two ideas,I meanby the termsomethingwhich hasthepowerof alteringourstandpointandchangingoursenseof things.An ideais,of course,invisibleandwemayneverhaveanyideasinthe sensethat I mean,throughoutour entireexistence.We think that only the visible world has reality andstructureand do not conceivethe possibilitythat thepsychologicalworld,or innerworld thatweknow asourthought,feeling,andimagination,mayhavealsoa realstructureandexistin its own 'space',althoughnot thatspacethatwearein touchwith throughoursense-organs.

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Into this innerspacemaycomeideas.They mayvisitthe mind. What we seethroughthe powerof an ideacannotbeseenwhenweareno longerin contactwith it.We know theexperienceof suddenlyseeingthe truth ofsomethingfor the first time. At suchmomentswe arealteredand if theypersistedwe would be permanentlyaltered.But they comeas flasheswith tracesof directknowledge,directcognition.

The descriptionof an idea is quitedifferentfrom thedirect cognitionof it. The one takestime, the other isinstantaneous.The descriptionof the ideathat we areinvisibleisquitedifferentfromtherealisationofit: onlyinthinking in different ways about this invisibility ofeverybodyandourselveswemayattracttheideasothatitilluminatesusdirectly.

Suchideasactdirectlyon thesubstanceof our livesasby achemicalcombination,andtheshockofcontactmaybesometimessogreatasactuallyto changea man'slifeandnot merelyalterhis understandingfor themoment.The preparationof ourselvesfor thepossibilitiesof newmeaning,which is more desirablethan anythingelse,sincemeaninglessnessis a disease,cannotbe separatedfromcontactwith ideasthathavetransformingpower.

Wecanthinkofanidea,in thissense,assomethingthatputsusin contactwith anotherdegreeof understandingandtakesusoutof innerroutineandthehabitualstateofindolenceof our consciousness- our usual 'reality'.'Wecannotunderstanddifferentlywithoutideas.

It iseasyenoughtosayinwordsthatweareinvisible,butjustaswesometimescatchthemeaning,forthefirsttime,ofacommonphrasethatwehaveoftenused,wemaycatchthemeaningof our invisibility,suddenly,if we repeatoftenenoughthesentence:I aminvisible.The realisationof one'sownseparateexistencebeginsatthispoint.

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It is nota 'natural'idea,becauseit is not derivedfromsensoryexperienceorperceptiblefact.While weknow itin onesensealready,it is not distinct.We know a greatdeal,onlynotdistinctly,not authoritatively,throughtheinner perception of its truth. This half-discernedknowledgeatthebackofuscannot,I believe,bebroughtintofocussavethroughthepowerof ideas.For,ordinarily,what influencesus aboveeverythingis theouter,sense-given,visibleworldofappearances.

This great sensoryworld with its noise,colour andmovement,rushing in through the open channelsofsightandhearing,overwhelmsthe faintunderstanding.If I realisemy owninvisibility,andreachfora momentanewsenseof my own existence,I amthenextmomentlost in theeffectsof outerthings.I amawareonlyof thenoisesin the street,and I cannotreachthe experienceagain. I return again to my 'natural'mind to whicheverything perceptibleappeals, and for which theevidenceof the sensesis mainly the criterionof truth.Having experiencedsomething 'inner', I find myselfbackin the'outer',andthetruth thatwasdemonstratedto me directly, as internal truth, I can no longerdemonstrateto myselfwith my naturalreason,saveasatheoryorconception.

Now I would saythat all ideasthathavethepowerofalteringus andletting new meaninginto our lives areabout the invisible side of things and cannot bedemonstrateddirectly or reachedby reasoningalone.Becausethey relateto the invisiblesideof things theyare not approachedby reasoningaccording to theevidenceof the senses.Before coming to the idea ofTime with which this book is chiefly concernedandwhich can only be understoodby getting away fromappearancesandby thinking aboutthe 'invisibleworld'

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fromthestandpointof dimensions,we mustmakesomeeffortto graspthe invisibilityof ourselves.For I believethat we neverunderstandanythingaboutthe 'invisible'worldifwedonotgraspourowninvisibilityfirst.

This demandsa certainkind of effort,the natureofwhich is similar to the effort requiredto get somerealisationof the essentialinvisibilityand unknowable-nessof anotherperson.In thisconnectionI believethatwecanneverrealisetheexistenceofanotherpersonin anyreal way unless we realise our own existence.Therealisationof one'sown existence,asa realexperience,istherealisationofone'sessentialinvisibility.

Our usualsenseof existenceis derivedfrom external

things. We try to pressinto the visibleworld, to feelourselvesin somethingoutsideus,in money,possessions,clothes,position;togetoutofourselves.Wefeelthatwhatwe lack liesoutsideus, in theworld that our organsofsensedelineateto us.This is naturalbecausetheworldofsenseis obvious.We think, asit were,in termsof it, andtowardsit. Thesolutionofourdifficultiesseemsto liein itin gettingsomething,in beinghonoured.Moreover,wedonotsupportevenahintofourinvisibilityeasilyanddonot reflectthatwhilewearerelatedtooneobviousworld,on one side,throughthe senses,we may be relatedtoanotherworld,onanotherside,notatallobvious,through'understanding'- to aworldwhichis justascomplexanddiverseastheworldgivenby sense,andwhichhasjustasmanydesirableandundesirableplacesin it.

Our bodiesstandin thevisibleworld. They standinthespaceofthreedimensions,accessibleto thesenseof sight

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and of touch. Our bodies are themselvesthree-dimensional.They have length, height, and breadth.They are'solids'in space.But we ourselvesare not in thisworldofthreedimensions.

Our thoughts,for instance,arenot three-dimensionalsolids.One thoughtis not to the right or leftof anotherthought.Yet aretheynot quitereal to us? If wesaythatreality is confinedto that which existsin the three-dimensionalworld outside, we must regard all ourthoughtsandfeelingsinside,asunreal.

Our innerlife - oneself- hasno positionin thatspacewhich is perceptibleto the senses.But while thought,feeling,andimaginationhaveno positionin space,it ispossibleto think of themhavingpositionin someotherkind of space.One thoughtfollowsanotherin passing-time.A feelinglastsacertaintimeandthendisappears.Ifwe think of time as a fourth dimension,or a higherdimensionof space,our innerlife seemsto be relatedtothis 'higher'space,or world in more dimensionsthanthoseaccessibleto our senses.If we conceiveof a higherdimensionalworldwemightconsiderthatwedonotlive,properlyspeaking,in theworld of threedimensionsthatwetouchandsee,andin whichwemeetpeople,but havemoreintimatecontactwith a more-dimensionedformofexistence,beginningwithtime.

But beforecomingto thesubjectof dimensionslet usfirst considerthe world of appearances,i.e., the worldwhichour sensesrevealto us,andmakesomereflectionson two waysof thinking, oneof which startsfrom thevisiblesideofthingsandtheotherfromthe'invisible'.

All that we seefalls on the retinaof the eye,upsidedown, as in a camera.A pictureof theworld refracted

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throughthelensoftheeyefallsonthesurfaceoftheretinawhereit isreceivedby agreatnumberofnerveendingsorsensitivepoints.The pictureis two-dimensional,like thaton a screen,upsidedown,and distributedoverseparaterecording points. Yet this picture is in some waytransformedforusintothesmoothsolidworldwebehold.'Out ofpicturesI haveimaginedsolidthings.Out ofspaceof twodimensions,aswecallit, I havemadespaceofthreedimensions'(W K. Clifford,Lecturesand Essays,Vol. I, P.260,1879,fromlecture:'PhilosophyofthePureSciences').

N owtheouterworldseemsclosetous,notasifwewerein contactwith it but asif wewerein it. Wearenotawareof beingin contactwith it only throughoursenseorganssituatedall overthecurtainof flesh.We do nothavetheimpressionof lookinginto the world through the littlelivingnerve-machinesoftheeye.Theworldmerelyseemsthere,andwerightin themiddleof it. Nor doesit seemtobeaquantityofseparateimpressions(comingthroughourvarioussenses)thatcombinebytheactionofthemindintoa compositewhole.Yetweknowthatif wehadnoeyesorcars,wecouldnotseeorhearanything.Simultaneoussen-sationscomingthroughthedifferentsenses,andcombinedin themind,giveustheappearanceandqualitiesofarose.The roseis actuallycreatedfor usout of all theseseparateimpressions;yet it is practicallyimpossibleto realisethematterin thisway.Forus,theroseissimplythere.

When weconsiderthatthepictureof theworldon theretinais two-dimensionaland that this is the sourceofcontact with the outer scene,it is not difficult tounderstandthat Kant cameto the conclusionthat themindcreatesthephysicalworld,andlaysdownthelawsofnature,owingto innatedispositionsin it thatarrangethestreamof incomingsensationsinto anorganisedsystem.The sensesmerelygiveusmessages,andout of thesewe

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createthevisible,tangible,audibleworld by someinneractionof themind,by somethingwhichis morethanthemessages.But it is extremelydifficult to persuadeourselvesthatthisisso,becausein orderto dosowemustdetach ourselvesfrom the overwhelminglyimmediateimpressionof an external reality in which we areinvariably immersed.Now this effort is of the samepeculiarnatureasthatrequiredtobringtousarealisationoftheinvisibilityofourselvesorotherpeople.

We areimmersedin appearances.This is one of themeaningsin the idea of Maya, in Indian philosophicalthought.Wearenotseparatefromtheoutsidebecausewetakeit forgranted.We aremingledwith it throughsense,andourthinkingismouldedonit - thatis,onoursenses.Two ideasappearhere:one, that we follow what thesensesshowusof theworld in ourformsof thought:two,that we take the externalas real in itself and not as amatterconnectedwith thenatureof oursenses.What do

wemeanby appearances?Let usincludein this termallthatthesensesshowus.Theyshowusaperson'sbody,theoutward appearanceof him. They do not show hisconsciousness,spiritorsoul,orhishistory,hislife,all thathe has thought,done,lovedand hated.They show uspractically nothing about him, yet we fasten on theapparentsideofhimasthechiefthing.Theyshowneithertheinvisiblesideof a personnor the invisiblesideof theworld,yet.whatwethinkofasrealandexistingwealwaysconfoundwithwhatthesensesreveal.

Let usconsiderthecompositepictureof theworld thatis built up for us internally(accordingto someolderthinkersby theactionof theimagination).What we seecomesto us throughthe mediumof light, transmittedthroughthe 'ether9 ; and what we hear,throughthemediumofsoundtransmittedthroughtheair.Touchisby

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physicshasresolvedmatterinto formsof energywe cannolongerthink,in acrudeway,ofamaterialuniverse- ofmerelumpsofmatter.It wouldseemobvious,rather,thatwe arein auniverseof energiesin differentscales,andaregivennaturallyaresponsetoafractionofthem.

I havementionedthatit is anextraordinarythingthatstimulationscomingintousthroughoursensesfromsuchwidelyseparatedsourcesin thenaturalscaleshouldfalltogethersoeasilyintocomposition.But thiscompositionisrelativelyvalid.

If agun is firedcloseat handweseetheflashandhearthereportsimultaneouslyandsoconnectonewith theother.But if thegun is firedfarawayatseaatnight,weseethevivid flashandmanysecondslaterheartheairshakenbythe report, because sound travels very slowly incomparisonwith light. Comparativelyit crawlsin themediumoftheairataboutonemilein fourseconds,whilelight flashesthroughtheetheratonehundredandeightythousandmiles a second.If we had had no previousexperiencewe might not evenconnectthe flashandthereport.At a distancethecompositepictureof theworldpresentedtousbyoursensesshowssignsoffallingapart-or rather,assuminganotheraspectin regardto time.Andeventhoughlight messagestravelsofast,whenwe lookup at theheavenswe seestarsshiningwhere,ordinarilyspeaking,forthemselvestheyarenot.Weseethemin theirpast- wheretheywerethousandsofyearsago.Theirpastispresentforus.Eventhesun,whichisclose,isnotwhereweseeit in space,becauseits light takeseightminutestoreachus.Soweseeit whereitwaseightminutesago.

We cannot,then, be certainthat what we seeis theunchallengeablerealityof things.If oursensesworkedina differentway,if wehadmoresenses,or fewer,whatwecustomarilycallrealitywouldbedifferent.Thematterhas

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beenexpressedbyKant in manypassages,in oneofwhichhesaysthatif 'thesubjectiveconstitutionof thesensesingeneralwereremoved,thewholeconstitutionandall therelationof objectsin spaceandtime,nay,spaceandtimethemselves,wouldvanish'.And if oursenseswerechangedthe appearanceof objects would change, for 'asappearancestheycannotexistin themselvesbutonlyin us.What objectsare in themselves,apart from all thereceptivityofoursensibility,remainscompletelyunknownto us.Weknownothingbutourmodeofperceivingthem- a modewhich is peculiarto us, and not necessarilysharedin byeverybeing.'

What is it in us thatbeginsto raiseobjectionsto thisview of the relativerealityof thevisibleworld? We arefirmly anchoredto what thesensesshowus.Perceptiblerealityis thestartingpointof our thought.Sense-thinkingcharacterisesthenaturalactionof themind,andwerefertosenseasfinalproof.

It isnotnecessaryto think thatappearancesthemselvesareillusions,or thatthesensesshowusanillusoryworld.They showuspart of reality.Is not thestartingpoint ofillusionratherthe takingof appearancesfor all ultimaterealityand the belief that senseperceptionis the solestandardof thereal? The seenworld is realbut doesnot

embracereality.It is built out of invisiblerealitieswhichsurroundit oneveryside.Thevisibleworldiscontainedina muchgreaterinvisibleworld(invisibleto us)andwedonotloseonebystudyingtheotherbutenlargeoneinto theother.But as our naturaleverydaylogic is so closelyconnectedwith sense-thinkingit fights against thisenlargingoftheworld,anditsactualformofunderstandingbecomesapsychologicalbarriertofurtherunderstanding.

If we could in someunknown way apprehendthetotality of things apart from the senseswe would,

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accordingtomanyearlyauthorities,perceivetheuniverseastheunity thatits nameoriginallyimplies.'If thesenseswereeliminatedtheworldwould appearasa unity' (Sufiliterature).An example of the experiencingof theuniverseasavastcoherencewill begivenlater.

Now the sensessplit up the totalityof things,andinfollowingtheirevidencewecollectanenormousquantityof littleseparatedfacts.Weforgetthattheyareallmerelylittle bits of one gigantic system.These little factsintoxicateuseasily.We donotmerelythink thatwehavediscoveredsomething,but createdit. We forgetwe startout fromanalreadypreparedand connectedworldwhichliesbehindanylittle factsthatwe candiscoveraboutit. Wetooeasilyforgetthatwestartfroma givenworld.The littlefactsseemto explainthings,to do awaywith mystery,sothat in our conceitwe beginto think in a certainway,seeinglife as a questionof innumerablelittle factsandhumanexistenceassomethingthat canbe regulatedbyfacts.An immensequantityof labouris expendedin col-lectingfurtherfacts,till it seemsasif thisgatheringof factsweregoingtoreplaceallreallifeandlivingexperience.

The searchfor factsbeganwith thestudyof theouterphenomenalworld,i.e.withscience.It madetrttthseemtobeonlyoutsideourselves- in factsaboutmatter.It soughttofind thebasicprincipleof theuniverse,to solveits riddle,to find it out, in somethingoutside- in the atom -believingthatthe'explanation'of everythingwouldthusbe foundandtheultimatecauseof theuniverseand all

that it containswould be laid bare. Everything wassubmitted to weighing and measuring, and themathematicaltreatmentofphenomenabegan.Onekind ofthinking becamepredominant,which,startingfrom the

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visible, concernsitself only with what can be termedexternaltruthandparticularlywithquantities.

Theolder,prescientificthoughtconcerneditselfmainlywithqualities.

Now regardedonly as a physicalbody man is aninfinitesimalquantityof matterin theuniverseof matter.Taken as a measurablequantity in a universe ofmeasurable"quantitieshe is ruled out of the picture.Conceivehismaterialbulk in comparisonwith theearth!He vanishes;so that thinking only quantitativelyaboutourselvesandtheuniverse,andstartingfromthevisible,demonstrable,weighablesideof things,we think in thedirectionofourownannihilationasindividuals.

Man is composedof qualitiesand thesedo not lendthemselves to measurement or to mathematicaltreatment,savefictitiously.It isimpossibletosayofaman:lethiscourage=x andhiscapacityforaffection=y andin thiswayrepresenthimin mathematicalsymbols.

With the increasingpredominanceof 'external'over'internal'truth,all thattrulybelongedto mancameto belookeduponassecondaryandunreal,andtheprimaryandreal field for investigationwasheld to lie in that whichexistedindependentlyofman'smindin theexternalworld.The transitionbetweenthe quantitativeand quali-tativestandpointsiswellexpressedinthefollowingpassage:

'Till the time of Galileo (seventeenthcentury)it hadalwaysbeentakenforgrantedthatmanandnaturewerebothintegralpartsofalargerwhole,in whichman'splacewasthemorefundamental.Whateverdistinctionsmightbemadebetweenbeingandnon-being,betweenprimaryandsecondary,manwasregardedasfundamentallyalliedwith thepositiveandtheprimary.In thephilosophiesofPlato andAristotle this is obviousenough;the remarksholdtruenonethelessfor theancientmaterialists.Man's

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soulfor Democrituswascomposedof theveryfinestandmostmobilefire-atoms,whichstatementatonceallieditto the most activeand causalelementin the outside

world. Indeed,to all importantancientand mediaevalthinkers,man was a genuinemicrocosm;in him wasexemplifiedsuchaunionofthingsprimaryandsecondaryas truly typifiedtheir relationsin the vastmacrocosm,whethertherealandprimarybe regardedasideasor assomematerialsubstance.Now, in the courseof trans-lating this distinctionof primary and secondaryintotermssuitedto the newmathematicalinterpretationofnature,wehavethefirststagein thereadingofmanquiteoutoftherealandprimaryrealm.Obviouslymanwasnotasubjectsuitedto mathematicalstudy.His performancescouldnotbetreatedbythequantitativemethod,exceptinthemostmeagrefashion.His lifewasalifeof coloursandsounds,of pleasures,of griefs, of passionateloves,ofambitions,andstrivings.Hencetherealworldmustbe(itwas thought) the world outsideof man; the world ofastronomyandtheworldofrestingandmovingterrestrialobjects'(E. A. Burtt: The MetaphysicalFoundationsofModernPhysicalScience.KeganPaul,Trench,TrubnerandCo.,Ltd.,London,1925).

Since ultimate truth and reality were sought insomethingoutsideman, 'investigationnaturallypassedinto the world of atoms.But the atom turned out toconstituteno simple,easy,& non-ethical'basisfor the'explainingaway'of theuniverse.The atomprovedto bea systemof extraordinarycomplexity,asmalluniverseinitself Searchingmore and more into small parts andseekingalwaysto explainthewholeby its parts,sciencereachedfurther mysteries.On its philosophicalside itnowbeginsto turn towardsideasthataresimilarto thosewith which prescientificthought was concerned.But

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what we haveespeciallyto notice is that the form ofthoughtwhichstartsfromthevisible,fromfact,tendstorulemanoutofthepicture.Peoplehavethedelusionthatit putshimmorestronglyintothepicture,partlybecausethey do not understandthat man is himselfessentiallyinvisible.All thatis mostrealfor him liesin his invisiblelife and,relatively,thevisibleis notnearlysorealto him,althoughthepowerofappearancesmakesit seemso.

If we startwith thevisible,thenin orderto explainitwemustpassinto itsparts.If weseekto explainmanbyhis organs,his organsby the cellscomposingthem,theatomsby electrons,we losesightof theman asa whole.Dnder the microscopethe man himself completelydisappears.

It isobviousthatwecanexplainachairbyitsparts,butthis is only one way of thinking about it, one form oftruth.The chairis alsoto beexplainedby theideain themindthatconceivedit. No quantitativeinvestigation,nochemicalanalysisor microscopicexaminationcandetectthis idea or give us the full meaning of the chair'sexistence.If weaskourselveswhatis thecauseof thechair,howcanweanswerthisquestion?

The chairexistsbeforeus asa visibleobject.Its causehas two sides.On the visible side, it is causedby thewoodenpartsof which it is made.On the invisible,it iscausedby an.ideain somebody'smind. There are thusthreeterms- idea,chair,wood.

Naturalismor scientificmaterialismlaysstresson thethird term. It laysstresson the separatematerialpartswhichenterintothecompositionof anyobject,seekinginthem for 'cause'.The idea behind organisedmatter isoverlooked.That which is manifestin time and spaceengagesits attention,and so it cannothelp looking for

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causalorigin in the smallerconstituentparts of anyorganism- andalsoinprecedingtime,i.e.in thepast.

Now themomentof theoriginof thechairin timeandspacecanbetakenasthemomentwhenthefirstpieceofwood is shapedfor its construction.A chair is begun,visibly,with thefirstpieceof wood,ahousewith thefirstbrick.But prior to thebeginningof thechairor houseintimeorspace,theideaofeitherofthemexistsin someone'smind. The architecthasalreadythewholeconceptionofthehouseinhismindbeforethefirstbrickislaiddown.

But in translatingthis ideainto visibleexpressionthesmallestpart of the housemust appearfirst in passing-time.The architectthinks firstof thewholeidea,of thehouseasa whole,andfrom thatproceedsto smallerandsmallerdetails.But in manifestationin timethisprocessisreversed.The forceof theidea,in ordertobecomemanifestin expression,mustfirstpassintothesmallestdetail,e.g.asinglebrickis thefirstpointof themanifestationof theideaofthehouse.The firstexpressionin timeandspaceofanideais onesingleelementarymaterialconstituent.Yetthe ideais alreadycompletein thearchitect'smind, butinvisiblyso.When thehouseis finishedit expressestheideain visibleform.Thehousehasgrownup,soto speak,assomethingintermediatebetweenthe first term, idea,andthethirdterm,elementarymaterialpart.When thehouseis completed(asthesecondterm),thefirst andthird terms,throughwhichtheconstructionof.the housewas effected,drop out. The ideahas foundexpressionin time andspaceandtheseparatebricksareno longerthoughtof assuch,but becomean aggregatewhich is the houseitself It is possibleto analysethehouseintothebricksandmortarwhichcomposeit; anditis alwayspossibleto saythat thebricksarethe causeofthe house. But it is inadequate,becausethe whole

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structureof thehouse,its form,andtheintegrationof itsseparateparts,havetheirultimateoriginin theideain thearchitect'smind- andthis ideais not in timeor space.Imeanthatit isnotin thephenomenalorvisibleworld.

It is obviousthatthefirstandthird term- thatis, ideaandelementarybrick- arebothcausal,andthatwemustthink of causalityin two categories.All that scientificmaterialismfindsascausalis correcton thephenomenalside,but ultimatelyinsufficient.And ideabyitselfcannotbe cause.Both the first and third termsare necessary,actingin conjunction.

In a broadsense,two typesof mind exist,one thatarguesfrom the first term andthe otherfrom thethirdterm.It isaunionofbothstandpointsthatisnecessary.

The difficultyis that,owing to thelawsof time,eventhe fullest formed and most complete idea mustnecessarilyexpressitselfsequentially,in visiblemanifes-tation, in themostelementaryform first of all. A longperiodof trialanderrormaybenecessarybeforeit canbeproperly realisedin manifestation.And it will alwaysappear(to the senses)that the first elementarymaterialstarting-point of the idea, in passing into visiblemanifestation,is itselfthecauseof all thatfollows.It looksthat way, and becauseit looks that way the modemdoctrineofevolutionhasarisen.

Considerthe plastic materialelementsof organisedliving matter- theworld of atoms,of carbon,hydrogen,nitrogen, oxygen, sulphur, and phosphorus - thismarvellouspaint-box, where valencyis the minglingpower, and from which arise an infinite diversityofcombinationsand groupingsand an endlessvarietyofproducts!This constitutesthe third term, the materialelements,out of which the world and its life arebuilt.Man hasafarmorelimitedrange- afargrosserrange- of

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date, ignoresthe fact that everypersonborn into theworldisanewstarting-point.Everypersonmustdiscoverfor himselfall that has beendiscoveredbefore.Everypersonmustfind truthforhimselfApart fromthis,whatcanweseetodayastheresultof man'sbeliefthathecanorganiselifemerelybyscientificknowledge?

From the practical side, we only see that man'sinventions increasinglytake charge of him. We seemachinesbecomingdisproportionateto humanlife. It issurelyobviousthat thedevelopmentof machineryis notthe developmentof man and it is equallyobviousthatmachineryisenslavingmanandgraduallyremovingfromhim hispossibilitiesof normallifeandnormaleffort,andthenormaluseofhisfunctions.If machinerywereusedona scaleproportionateto man's needsit would be ablessing.If peoplecouldonlyunderstandthat thelatestdiscoveryis not necessarythe bestthing for humanity,and becomescepticalof the wordprogress,they mightinsistonbringingaboutabetterbalance.What wefail tograspis that thepressureof outerlife is not necessarilylessenedby new discoveries.They only complicateourlivesstillfurther.Wedonotonlylivebybreadbutbyword.It is not only newfactsand facilitiesthat we needbutideasand the stimulationof newmeanings.Man is hisunderstanding- nothispossessionof factsorhisheapofinventionsandfacilities.Only throughhisownhard-wonunderstandingdoeshefindhiscentrein himself,wherebyhe canwithstandthepressureof outerthings.Yet it isobviousthat nothingcancheckthegeneralmomentumof eventstoday.Thereis no discernibleforcein westerncivilisationstrongenoughtowithstandit andthemodernworldhasyetto learnthatthestandpointofnaturalismisinimicalto manin thelong run.To laystressonlyon thethird term- on thevisibleandtangible- seemslogical

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enough.But manis morethanalogicalmachine.No onecanunderstandeitherhimselfor anotherpersonmerelythroughtheexerciseof logic.We canindeedunderstandverylittle throughlogic.But the tyrannyof this facultycan becomeso great that it can destroymuch of theemotionalandinstinctivelifeofman.

Contrastedwith naturalismis the older standpointwhichputsmanin acreateduniverse,partvisibleandpartinvisible,part in timeandpartoutsidetime.The universeaswe seeit is only oneaspectof total reality.Man, asacreatureof sense,knows only appearancesand onlystudiesappearances.The universeis not only sensoryexperience,but innerexperienceaswell,i.e.thereis innertruth aswell asoutertruth.The universeis bothvisibleandinvisible.On thevisibleside(thethird term)standsthe world of facts.On the invisibleside(the first term)standstheworldof ideas.

Man himselfstandsbetweenthe visibleand invisiblesidesoftheuniverse,relatedtoonethroughhissenses,andto theotherthroughhis innernature.At a certainpoint,the external,visiblesideof the universeleavesoff, as itwere,andpassesintomanasinternalexperience.In otherwords,manisacertainratiobetweenvisibleandinvisible.

Becauseof this,theouterscenedoesnotcompletehimand no outerimprovementof the conditionsof life willeverreally satisfyhim. Man has inner necessities.Hisemotional life is not satisfiedby outer things. Hisorganisationis not only to be explainedin terms ofadaptationto outerlife.He needsideasto givemeaningtohis existence.There is that in him that can grow anddevelop- somefurtherstateof himself- not lying in'tomorrow'but abovehim.Thereis a kind of knowledgethat can changehim, a knowledgeof quite a different

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qualityfromthatwhichconcernsitselfwith factsrelatingto thephenomenalworld, a knowledgethatchangeshisattitudesand understanding,that can work on himinternallyandbringthediscordantelementsofhisnatureintoharmony.

In manyof the ancientphilosophiesthis is takenasman'schieftask- his real task.Through innergrowthman finds the real solution of his difficulties.It isnecessaryto understandthatthedirectionof thisgrowthis not outwards,in business,in scienceor in externalactivities,but inwards,in thedirectionof knowledgeofhimself, through which there comes a change ofconsciousness.As long asmanis turnedonlyoutwards,aslong as his beliefsturn him towardssenseas the solecriterion of the 'real', as long as he believesonly inappearances,hecannotchangeinhimself.

He cannotgrow in this internalsense.Through thestandpointof naturalism,he cuts himselfoff from allpossibilitiesof inner change.He must relatehimselftothe 'worldof ideas'beforehecanbeginto grow.That is,he must feel that thereis morein the universethan isapparentto thesenses.He mustfeelthatothermeaningsarepossible,otherinterpretations,foronlyin thiswaycanhis mind become'open'.Theremusthavecometo himthefeelingofsomethingelse.He musthavewonderedwhathe is, what life can possiblymean,what his existencemeans.Certainkindsof questioningmusthaveoccurredin his soul. Is the meaningof existencemore than itappearsto be? Do I livein somethinggreaterthanwhatmy sensesreveal? Are all my problemsmerelyouterproblems? Is knowledgeaboutthe externalworld theonlypossibleknowledge?

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CHAPTER TWO

QUALITY OF CONSCIOUSNESS

THERE IS little doubt thatwe takeour consciousnessfor

grantedin muchthesamewayaswetaketheworldasweseeit forgranted.Our consciousnessseemsfinal.It seemstheonly kind of consciousnessthatwecanpossiblyknow.While wemaydoubtourmemory,or evenourpowersofthought,and sometimesour feelings,we would scarcelythink of doubting our consciousness.We would neverregardit assomethingthatmakesour lifewhatit is.Thefact,for example,thatour experienceseemsdividedintoopposites,into black and white, into yes or no, intocontradictions,would not seemto us to be due to thenatureofourconsciousness(ortothekindofmindwehave,whichis adirectresultof ourdegreeof consciousness)buttosomethinginherentin externalthingsthemselves.

Through someexperiences,and throughexperimentsmade on himself,William James concludedthat 'ournormalwaking consciousness,rationalconsciousness,isbut onespecialtypeof consciousness,while all aboutit,parted from it by the flimsiestof screens,there arepotentialformsofconsciousnessentirelydifferent'.

Convincedof theexistenceof otherstatesof conscious-ness,throughwhichweexperiencethingsin quitea newway,and-throughwhich we meetlife in a newway,herealisedthat no accountof the universecan ever be

regardedas final which leavesout theseother formsofconsciousness.Nor cananyviewof ourselvesbefinal if weacceptthatourpresentconsciousnessisfinal.

Consciousnessis usuallydefinedasawareness,but thisdefinition is actually inferior in meaning to theimplication of the word itself. Consciousnessmeans,

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literally,'knowing-together'.A developmentofconscious-nesswouldthereforemeanknowing'moretogether',andso it wouldbringabouta newrelationshipto everythingpreviouslyknown.For to knowmorealwaysmeansto seethingsdifferently.

But evenif we take'consciousness'merelyasmeaning'awareness'wecannotimaginethatit isallpossibleaware-ness.It mustbeadegreeofawarenessandonethroughwhichwearerelatedinaparticularwaytowhateverweknow.

Our ordinaryconsciousnessrelatesus to ourselvesandto things.During sleepthequalityofourconsciousnessischanged.It gives one sort of awarenessand relation.When weawake,thedegreeof awarenessandtheformofrelationis changed.But thoughwemayadmitthetruthof this, we do not think that still further kinds ofconsciousnessmay be possible,giving new degreesofawarenessandrelation.Nor dowethinkthatmanyofourinsoluble difficulties, perplexities, and unansweredquestionsnecessarilyexistbecauseofthekind ofconsciousnesswenaturallypossess,andthatanewdegreeofconsciousnesswouldeithercauseourawarenessof themto disappearorbringaboutanentirelynewrelationtothem.

Consciousnessis sometimescomparedwith light. Anincreaseofconsciousnessis likenedto anincreaseof light.But we shall see eventually that an increase ofconsciousnessdoes not mean only that we see withgreaterclearnesswhatwasformerlyobscure.The qualityis changed.For themoment,themanwho experiencesithimself is changed.It is not merely the quantity ofconsciousnessthatisaltered,butitsverynature.

What evidenceis there, from the physiologicalside,about levels of consciousnessin man? What doesneurologicalteachingsay?

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In his teachingaboutthe nervoussystem,HughlingsJackson,theforerunnerofEnglishneurology,conceiveditas an integratedsystemof nervouslevels,in which thehigherholdsthelowerin check.

Wemustunderstandthatthenervoussystemisnotonething,of onecomposition,auniformity.It is astructureofdifferentgroupingsof nerve-cells,fitted togetherandlinked up on the principle of scale, and apparentlypresidedover by the cortexof the brain, which itselfshowsdifferentstrataorlevelsofnerve-cells.

Jacksontaughtthatif theactionofahigherlevelin thenervoussystemisweakenedtheactivityof alowerlevelisreleased.A lower function takesthe placeof a higherfunction.The main point he emphasisedwas that wecouldneverunderstandtheactionof thenervoussystem,physiologicallyconsidered,unlesswe took into reviewthis factor of release,becausemany symptoms ofdisorderednervousfunctionconsistinphenomenaofrelease.

It is necessaryto understandclearlywhat he meant.Imaginea schoolmasterin chargeof a classof boys,andsupposethat theschoolmasterrepresentsa higherlevel,theboysa lower,andthat thewholeclassconstitutesan'integratedsystem'whichworks in a certainway.If theschoolmastergoesto sleep,the lowerlevelis 'released'-that is, the boysbeginto behaveastheylike, and thesystemnowworksin quiteadifferentway.

This isduenotmerelyto thefactthattheschoolmasteris asleep(whichJackson would havecalleda negativefactor - that is, it does not itself give rise to anymanifestationsor symptoms)but ratherto thereleaseofthe boysfrom control,with resultingdisorder.In otherwords, if a higher level of the nervoussystemis notworking,itsabsenceoffunctioncannotbediscernedin itself Itwill only be the releasedactivityof the lowerlevelthat

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will be manifestedand this only can be studied.Thefunctionof thehigherlevelwill merelybe absentanditwill beimpossibletodeduceitsnaturebecausewewill onlybeabletoperceiveandstudythereleasedactivitiesofalowerlevel.

Supposethattheschoolmasterbecomesinvisiblewhenhefallsasleepandthatweknownothingabouttheproperworkingofaclass.Weseeonlya numberofboysin astateof disorder.We can deducenothing about the properworking of the classfrom this disorder.It will remainunknowntous.

In the absenceof higher function lower functionnecessarilyappears,and this latter is of a differentorder.The higherfunctioncannotbededucedfromthelower.Ifwe think of thequestionfrom thestandpointof levelsofconsciousness,thenbeneathourordinarylevelexistsalowerlevel, of anotherorder. When the level of ordinaryconsciousnessisdisturbed,Jacksonobservedthatthereisoften a marked rise of dream-like states,which heascribedtothereleaseoftheactivitiesofalowerlevel.

Anotherqualityofconsciousnessmanifestsitself,foratthislevelthingscanbeconnectedtogetherinawaythatisimpossibleat the usual level and we are exposedtofantasticinfluences,nightmares,ete.,whichdo notexistat the higher level. When there are very remarkablecontradictionsin thepersonality,this dream-statehasatendencytoariseatanytimeandinterferewith thelife.

We haveno right to believethatour ordinarylevelofconsciousnessis thehighestformof consciousness,or thesolemodeof experiencepossibleto man.We cannotsaythat the rangeof the internal experienceof oneselfisnecessarilylimitedeitherto dream-statesor to ordinaryconsciousness.We haveto considerthe possibility,notonly that there is a level aboveour ordinary level of

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consciousness,to which we are only occasionallyawakened,but that our ordinary consciousnessbecomesintegratedintoa largersystemwhenthishappens.

From this point of view our ordinaryconsciousnesswould haveto beregardedasa releasephenomenon.Wewould haveto studyourselvesfrom the angleof beingdisintegratedand not integrated individuals. From thephysiologicalstandpointwhat canbe said,in respecttoevidence,is that thenervoussystemseemscertainlyfarfrombeingfully usedunderordinaryconditions.But thiskind of evidence,clinically speaking,is not easy tomarshal.It is necessaryto approachthesubjectfromthepsychologicalside.

There is a very old idea that man cannot find anyintegrationorharmonyofbeingaslongasheisonthelevelof asensualoutlook.As a creatureof sense,thinkingonlyfrom senseandturned'outwards'towardsvisiblelife,heremainsdeadin regardto thatwhich is himself.Nor is hequickenedbyanydemonstrationcomingfromthesensiblesideoftheuniverse.

In theolderviewsof man,whichweremuchricherandmorecompletethanarethemodemviews,manwasplacedin theframeworkofavastlivinguniverseasacreatedbeing- thatis, createdin andoutof thelivinguniverse.Sonotonlywasmanin.theworld,buttheworldwasin him.

The ideaofscaleor'degreeofexcellence'permeatedmostof the older notionsaboutman and the universe.Theuniverseisondifferentscales.And manwastakenasaverycomplexcreationhavingwithin him a scaleconsistingofdifferentlevelsof mind,consciousnessandunderstanding.Of theselevelsthesensualwastakenasthelowest.

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I will connectthesensualwith the 'materialistic'out-look of today.The point to benoticedis thatif therebepotentialdegreesof developmenthiddenasascalewithinman,noonecanrisein thisscaleofhisownpotentialbeingunlesshetranscendsthepurelysensualormaterialoutlook.

The psychologicalimplicationsbehind this view arereallyofverygreatinterestandimportance.A sensualisticor materialisticoutlook limits us psychologically,in thefullestsenseofthisword,sothatif therebehigherdegreesof consciousnesswewill beincapableof reachingthemifwe believeonly in the 'evidenceof thingsseen',or seekonly for proof from the visible,tangibleand matter-of-factsideofthings,orregardtheworldsimplyasweseeit.

What isthestandpointofmaterialism?It isnotbyanymeans so easy to define as we may think. We are'materialists'without knowingit, and 'materialism'is amuchdeeperproblemtoeachofusthanweimagine.But,in thefirstplace,fromitsstandpointwelookoutwards(viathesenses)fortheexplanationandcauseofeverything.Westartfromphenomenaasabsolutetruth.

Speakingfirstof ultimateissues,we seekproofof theexistenceof 'God'fromphenomenallifeitself.If lifetakeson an evil aspectwe think there can be no 'God'.Scientifically,weseekfor causesin thephenomenalworld.in both caseswe aredoingmuchthesamething. In thefirstcasewearelookingfor 'spirit'in visiblemateriallife.In the secondcasewe are looking for the principlesbehindphenomenain theminutestformsof matter.Asmaterialistswe look for causein theelementarymaterialparticle.We look for thefinalexplanationof themysteryof lifein minutephysiologicalprocesses,in bio-chemistry,ete.Wemightcomparethiswith lookingforthecausesof

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ahouseonlyin itsminutestructure,asif wecouldfinditsreal 'cause'in the elementarybricks of which it iscomposed,and not in the idea behind it. For, tomaterialists,theworldmustnecessarilybeidea-less.It canbenomasterpieceof art- forwhereis theartist?Neithertelescopenormicroscoperevealhisactualexistence.

If theoriginatingprinciplebehindall manifestationisnot in the phenomenalworld itself, if it lies in ideaworking via chemistry (that is, through minuteelementaryparticles)into visible form, we must, asmaterialists,ignore this factor and assumethat thechemicalprocessesbelonging to the world of atomsthemselvesestablish life. The developmentof thegermcellinto an embryo is, from this side, merelyaprogressiveseriesof chemicalchanges,startingfromtheinitial shock of conception, each chemical changedeterminedby andfollowinguponthepreviousone,andthus leadingto thebuddingup of theembryo.Lookingonly at the chemical changes we will ignore thecontrolling principle or law acting behind them.Whateverwedonotfindin thethreedimensionsofspacewe will ignore,not seeinglife as unfoldingeventsbutratherasaggregationsofphysicalmass.

Strictlyspeaking,materialismgivessenseandphysicalmatterpriority overmindoridea.In thetenthbookof theLawsPlatoputthestandpointofmaterialism,asit existedthen,clearlyenough.The materialistwasa personwhoregardednatureasselfderived.Elementaryparticlesofdeadmattersomehoworothercombinedtogetherto formtheentireuniverseand all the living beingscontainedin it.Matteraccidentallyraiseditselfup intothemostcomplexliving forms. Matter createdits laws. And Mind itselfresultedfromtheseaccidentalcombinationsof inanimatematter.'Theysaythatfireandwaterandearthandairall

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existby natureandchance.... The elementsareseverallymovedby chanceand someinherentforce,accordingtocertainaffinitiesamongthem,of hotwith cold,or of drywith moist,ete.After thisfashionandin thismannerthewhole heavenhasbeencreated,as well as animalsand

plants... notby theactionof mind,astheysay,or of anygod,butasI wassaying,bynatureandchanceonly'(Laws,889B).

From thisstandpointphysicalnatureis necessarilythefirst causeof thegenerationanddestructionof all things.Mind issecondary- anaccidentalproductofphysicalmatter.

Can we really believe that mind and intelligenceaccidentallycameoutof deadmatter?If so,thenin orderto facetheproblemsincerely,we mustgrantto originalmatter - which, chemicallyspeaking,is hydrogen-extraordinaryproperties,and assumethat all organisedbeingswerepotentiallypresentin thefirstmatterof thenebularsystem,that is, if we believethat the universe'started'atsomedistantpointin passing-time.

But thecustomarystandpointof scientificmaterialismis thatprimarymatteris dead- andtheuniverseis deadandnatureisdead- andadeadnaturecan,ofcourse,aimatnothing.It cannotbeteleological.

SincePlato's time sciencehaspassedfar beyondtheregionof the unaidedsenses.It hasturnedmatterintoelectricity,and the world of three dimensionsinto atheoreticalworldofatleastfourdimensions.It haspassedbeyond natural, i.e., sensual concepts,beyond thevisualisableand matter-of-fact.Physicists today aretryingto understandwhatwearein. What isthis'world-field'in whicheventshappen?Doesoneeventreallycauseanother?What isthisfour-dimensionalcontinuumcalledspace-time?And what,for thatmatter,iselectricity?Weare in a mysteriousand incomprehensibleuniverse.

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Nevertheless,psychologicallyspeaking,thestandpointofmaterialismprevailsandspreadsitseffectsovertheentireworld. How can we better grasp what materialismconsistsin, asregardsitspsychologicaleffect?Why canitlimituspsychologically?

Let us glanceat an entirelydifferentstandpoint.ThePlatonicview of visibleor phenomenalrealitywasthatthereis behindit aninvisibleandgreaterorderof reality.There is invisible form or figure (only mentallyperceptible)overandaboveall formor figurethatwecanapprehendthroughour senses.Theseinvisibleformsorfigures,with whichour termideacameto beconnected,arepriorin scaleto, andthereforemuchmore'real'than,anyperceptibleform or figure.Thus theworld of sense,all thatwesee,isaverylimitedexpressionofrealformand,properlyspeaking,sciencestudiesthatwhich is indicatedin thevisibleobject.'... theobjectofanythingthatcanbecalledsciencein thestrictsenseof theword is somethingthatmaybeindicatedby theworld of sense,but it is notreallyof that world, but of a higher degreeof reality'(Burnet,Platonism,p.43,1928).

The geometer,for example,studiestrianglesandfindsthat the threeinterioranglesof any sort of trianglearealwaysequalin sumto two right angles.But this is nottrueof anytrianglethatwecanperceivewith theexternalsensesbecauseit is not possibleto draw an absolutelyexacttriangle.So that 'triangle'itselfbelongsto a higherdegreeof realitythananyvisiblerepresentationof it. Thetriangleas idea - the 'ideal'triangle- doesnot existinpassingtime and space.It is not visible, but is onlyapprehendedbythemind.In asimilarway,anythingthathasthesemblanceof beauty,relationand proportionin

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thevisibleworld, asseenby uswith our organsof sight,hasbehindit beauty,relationandproportionbelongingtoahigherdegreeofreality,whichartstrivestowards,andofwhichwe maycatchglimpsesin flashesof consciousnessabovetheordinary.

But for materialisma higherdegreeof realityis notcountenanced.I think it wouldbeabsolutelyinexplicableon thebasisuponwhichmaterialismrests.Theremaybea belowbut therecannotbe an above.There can be noexistinghigherdegreeof reality.Therecanbenosuperiororderbehindthephenomenalworld,nothingprior to it inscale.For the universemustbe a mindlessproductandbodymustbeprior to mind. Therecanbe 'no thoughtwithout phosphorus'.Matter must be prior to functionanduse,andsensationpriortomeaning.

To admitahigherorderofrealitybehindknownrealityis, in fact,to reversethedirectionof materialism.For it isto affirm by an act of the mind what the sensesbythemselvesdo not directlyshow,but what,at thesametime,the sensesreallyindicate.And it is exactlyin thisthat Plato puts theturningpoint of a man'ssoul - in thisrecognitionof an existinghigher orderof reality thatexplainsthis obviouslyimperfect,suggestiveworld inwhichwelive.

If theuniversebein man(asascaleof reality)aswell asman in the universe,then if a man gives an inferiorexplanationoftheuniverseit will reactonhimself;hewilllimit himselfand remaininferior to his own potentialbeing.He is thenleft nothingelseto do but to studyadeadmaterialworldoutsidehim,outofwhichhisownlifeandhismindaccidentallycome.

If therebe energiesin us capableof seekinganother

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direction,theywill then necessarilyfind no goal. For iftherebe'thingsof thespirit',if therebehigherdegreesofconsciousnessandrealnesswithin, thenall thoseimpulseswhich in their right developmentshouldseparatemanfrom. the tyranny of outer life, and create innerindependenceof soul through the realisationof thesehigherdegreeswithin,will becomefusedwith thethingsof outerlife intoonecommonouterinfluence;for,havingno innergoal,theirgoalwill seemto lie outsidehim.Thehypnoticpowerof outerlife will thenbe increased.The'outer'will thentendto be feltfanatically, i.e. religiously.And that is perhapswhy in this ageof materialismmenseemdoomedto sacrificethemselvesmoreand moretomassorganisations,to war, to machines,to speed,togigantismand uglinessof everykind, in order to getemotionalsatisfaction.Seenfrom thisangle,theattitudeof scientificmaterialismreally increasesman's innerweakness,whichis alwaystoogreat.In all thatbelongstohimself, in all that is necessaryfor the dawn ofindividuality,it rendershim more and more impotent,giving him the illusionthathe cangain absolutepoweroveradeadmaterialworld.And with thisincreasinginnerweaknesshe seeksmoreand moreto put himselfundersomedominatingpersonality,tosurrenderhisthinking,toceasetobeamanatall.What paradoxcouldbestranger?

The emotionalattitudebelongingto materialismisnecessarilyquite different from that belonging to'idealism'.As materialistswe think we canlay barethesecretsof nature,andasoftenasnotweassumethecreditofbeingtheactualcreatorsofwhateverprocesseswehavediscovered.It is extraordinaryhow a very superficialdescriptiveexplanationsatisfiesus that we know.For

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example,by chemicalanalysiswecanfindout thequan-titative composition of a substance.Vegetation isobviouslygreenblooded.Chlorophyllisitsmostimportantconstituent.Man has red blood and haemoglobinis itschiefelement.We canfindby chemicalanalysisthattheirstructureis rathersimilarandthateachcontainssomanyatomsof carbon,oxygen,hydrogen,ete.We tendthentoassumethat we have discoveredthat they are - bydiscovering the quantity and kind of elementaryconstituentbricksin thesesubstances.But theiruse,andthe idea behind thesesubstances,belong to quite adifferent order of thinking - and this is what, asmaterialists,we tend to ignore. We ignorewhat theyrepresent,whatplacetheyhaveandwhatparttheyplayina connecteduniverse.We ignorequality;for,asmaterialists,we do not admit a connectedor intelligentuniverseinwhicheverythinghasits definiteroleor function.Comteactuallysaidthatqualitywasnopositiveentity,themostpositiveentitybeingquantity.But is notthemeaningofathingas a whole,its functionanduse,thepart it playsinthe life of man and in the life of the universe,its mostpositiveaspect?And is not the fact that,quantitativelyspeaking,differentchemicalstructuretransmitssuchaninfinitevarietyofqualities,thegreatestmysteryofall?

The mostpositiveaspectof a thing is the thing as awhole.We neverreallyexplainor understanda thingbythe merereductionof it to its elementaryparts,whileignoringits patentqualitiesandusesandpurposeswhentakenasawhole.Suchawayof'eXplaining'athinggivesusa wrongsenseof power,a conceit,a superficialityof stand-point,whichseemtometolieattheveryrootof'materialism'.

I remembermy firstcontactwith chemistryat school.Everythingseemedto becomeamazinglysimple.Every-thing was merelychemistry,merelydifferentquantities

~ ,QUALITY OF CONSCIOUSNESS

andcombinationsof elementaryparticles.A living beingwas merely a combinationof different quantitiesofatoms, of infinitely small bricks, of carbon, oxygen,hydrogen,sulphur,nitrogenandphosphorus- certainlyin vast and inconceivablequantities,but still 'nothingbut' atoms.Evenapersonwhomonelovedwas'nothingbut' aprodigiousquantityofatoms.Explanationsseemedto befascinatinglyeasyon thisbasisof quantities.Is notthistheobsessingfascinationof explainingthegreaterbythe less- the root of all obsession?It seemedasif thesecretof the universehad been handed over to me,particularlybecauseatthattimepeoplein generalseemedto be quite ignorantof chemistry.It was only when Ibeganto ponderoverthemeaningof theperiodiclaw ofthe elements- the law of the octaveas the Englishchemist,Newlands,calledit - wherebythesamesortofelementsrepeatthemselvesat regularintervals,that Irealisedthatsomethingstoodbehindall theseatomsandbehindall chemistry.Thereis law,thereis 'order',whichdeterminetheir action,their properties,their position,their affinitiesand relations.Behind theseelementaryparticlesstoodanother'world'- theworld of law,order,form and principle, that connectedall theseparticlestogetherandmadeall chemicalchangesandrelationshipspossible.But it is understandablehow anyone,who hasnot yet begunto think, canbecomeintoxicatedby thepowersthatscienceseemsto put into hishands.It seemspossibleto explaineverything,to know everything,tounderstandexactlywhyeverythingis whatit is; andthisfirst contactwith scienceproducesin somepeopleanextraordinarycontemptfor and intoleranceof anythinglike 'idealism'- that is, of a world behind this visibleworld that explainsthis visibleworld. They cannotseethatwecannotreallyknoworunderstandorevenexplain

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anything,simplythroughthe methodof science- andthat all our explanationsarenothingbut descriptionsofprocessesthatremainamystery.

The 'natural'manoftheeighteenthcenturywritersandthecarnal-mindedorsensualmanoftheancientwriters,istheoutwardturned,sense-boundandsense-mindedman.But we all havethis 'natural'manasa particularpart ofour being. Today,this side of human psychologyisintensifiedby the marvelsof science,whose generalstandpointhas reachedthe masses.Intellectually,weappearto haveonly what Paul called'themind of theflesh'.And evenif we vaguelybelievein realitieshigherthan thosewe can contactwith our senses,the 'naturalman' in us hauntsus with the idea that such higherrealities,if theyexistat all, will eventuallybeprovedbysomegrandscientificdemonstration- orfinallydismissed.

But canwe supposethat any demonstrationof higherrealities- I meanonethatcouldsomehowappealto thesenses- could ever take us off the sensuallevel ofunderstanding?Nothing that can be demonstratedtothe senses,no scientific discoveryof any sort, nodemonstrationthat can beprovedto us, will everlift usfromthatlevelofunderstanding.Why isthisso? Perhapswehaveneverreallyconsideredthequestion.

If therebepotentialdegreesofhigher'reality'withinusnothing comingfrom the sideof the senseswill aloneopenthem.We donotunderstandthiseasily.Yet is it notobviousthat man himselfis not changedby discoveriesinphenomena?No matterhowfarweinvestigatetheminutesideof thephenomenalworld wewill neverescapefrommaterialism,howeversubtlyit maybepresented.We canneverprove,discoveror realisemind throughsense.An

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extraordinarydiscovery,suchasthatofwirelesstelegraphy,doesnotchangeusin ourselvesin theslightestdegree.Wemerelygetusedto it andexpectmore.The qualityof ourconsciousnessundergoesnot theslightestchange.A senseof themiraculousdoesnotleavenit - in fact,thecontraryhappens.Webecomemoreblind,morebored,moresure.Ifa changein consciousnessis possibleit doesnot seempossiblethatit cancomefromthephenomenalside.

Suppose,even,it werepossibleto proveto the sensesthe existenceof a 'deity'- what would be the result?Supposea deitycouldbe demonstrated.It would meanthatall thatsideof thingswhich theinnerspiritof manmustsearchafterandseekto apprehendindividually,asself-revealedand self-realisedtruth, would becomeamatterofsensoryandgeneralevidence.Wereadivinitytoappearin the sky the whole inner constructionof manwould be violatedand renderedsterile.Man would be

coercedthrough his sensesin just what belongsto hishighestandmostindividualissues.The deepestthemeinthedramaof invisibleandvisiblewouldbeanticipatedinthe mostwretchedway,and our situationwould be farmoreintolerablethanit is.

Fromthisanglewecanperhapsseewhy all argumentsin favourof higherintelligencethatreachout ultimatelyto externalsensoryproofs- as Paley'sargumentfromdesign,theallegedexistenceof spirits,proofby externalmiraclesandmagic- when brought too closeto us, asevidence,profoundlyrepelus.

Outer cannotcoerceinner.Indeed,in all suchmatters,outer 'proof of the marvellousdoesnot help us. Themiraclesofthemodernworldin physicalsciencehavenothelpedustoreachdeepervalues.An increasein therangeof known or expectedphenomenaobviouslydoesnotawakenman'sspirit.

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Life is sufficientlymiraculousalready- onlywedo notnoticeit. If we catcha glimpseof its mystery,we bordermomentarilyon new emotionsand thoughts,but thiscomesfromwithin,asamomentary,individualawakeningofthespirit.

EckhartsaysthatweareatfaultaslongasweseeGodinwhatis outsideus.It is notamatterof senseorof sensoryevidenceor of collectivedemonstration.He is not theprodigiousandterrifyingwhirlwind,nor earthquake,norfire.As longaswehavethisexternalviewa hindranceliesin ourselves,and we fail to understandsomethingoftremendousimportance.Why is this so?Apparentlywecannotbeginfromouterproof,fromthephenomenalside;throughoursenseswe cannotreacha necessary'place'ofunderstanding,though,whetherwe know it or not, oursense-mindednessis always trying to do so. 'Wherecreaturestops,thereGod begins.'All theliberatinginnertruthandvisionthatweneed,apartfromoutertruthandfactsaboutthingsis,Eckhartsays,'nativewithinus'.It isaninternalmatter,toberealisedfirstasbeingin us.Yetit isfarmoredifficultto understandwhatthismeansthanweimagine,forwearebornandnurturedin sensation,andsocannothelpthinkingsensually.Sensation- thesensory- isourmother;andsheisverydifficulttoovercome.Our incestwith matter is universal.The most important andconvincingevidenceforusremainstheoutwardevidenceofthesenses.Weseeoursalvationlyingin thatkindoftruth,andtherefore,now-a-days,insomegreatdiscovery,insomefresh facts. We cannot comprehendthe psychologicalsignificanceofsuchastatementas:'Wearesavedbyhope;but hopethatis seenis nothope;forwhohopethfor thatwhichheseeth?'(Romans8.24).

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One point, then, about materialism,as regardsitslimitingeffectuponman,wouldseemtoliein theattitudeit takestowardstheexistenceof higherdegreesof reality.Man'sreasonistakento becapableof attainingto acom-pleteknowledgeof thelawsandthenatureof all things.His consciousness,whileit iscapableofincludingmoreandmorefacts,is not regardedascapableof attaininga newquality.Higherdegreesofconsciousnessandhigherdegreesoftruthandentirelynewformsofexperienceareexcluded.

Wesee,then,thatsuchaviewcertainlydoesnotincludescale.Scalemustnecessarilyimplyanaboveanda below,ahigheranda lower,andalsoa specialwayof connectingthingsondifferentlevelsof reality.Materialism,havingnosenseof scale,cannotthereforeadmiteitherthatwhichisgreaterthanmanorthatwhichisgreaterinman.

But is thesolemodeof experiencingor understandinglifebywayofthemethodofscience?Is notsciencemerelyonemodeof experience?And arewe to believethatthequality of our ordinary consciousnessis so fine thatfurtherstatesofconsciousnessareinconceivable?Are not

furtherstatesofconsciousnessmostlikelyto bethekeytotheunderstandingof thecomplexitiesandcontradictionsthat havearisenin the realmof physics?The syntheticpowerbelongingto our ordinaryconsciousnessmaywellbeofsuchakindthatit isunabletoassimilateintoawhole

thevariousseparatefindingsofscientificresearch.If we arguein this way,it would meanthat scientific

materialismis limitingto thepsychologicaldevelopmentof mansimplybecauseit takestheconsciousnessof manfor grantedand thereforedoesnot concernitself withproblemsas to how man can reacha higher state ofdevelopmentin himself- bywhatmethods,bywhatkindof knowledge,work, ideas,effortsandattitudes.With allthis latter we seeat once that what is usually called

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'religion'hasalways,on its inner side,concerneditself.The so-calledgapbetweenscienceandreligionseemstolie exactlyat thispoint.Man cannotunderstandmorebecausehe is in a stateof inner disorganisation.The qualityof hisconsciousnessis too separativeand coarse.Yet he startsout in hisinvestigationsof theuniversewithoutanyideathathewill beunabletopenetratebeyondacertainpointbecausehe himselfis an unsuitableinstrumentfor thispurpose.He thinks only that he is limited by a lack ofscientificinstrumentsof sufficientprecision,or by a lackofdata.He thinkstherefore'outwards'andstrivesonlytoovercomethe'outward'difficulties.

All that ancientreligion and philosophyconcerneditselfwith, and all that greatart hasreachedafter,willseemto him to have no possibleconnectionwith thedifficultieshe experiencesin attainingfinal knowledgeand ultimatetruth. The finerqualitiesof consciousnessand the new meaningand interpretationsthat art andreligionhavesoughtto reachwill not seemto beof anyimportancetohim;norwill hesuspectthattheinevitablecontradictionsthat he is boundto find awaitinghim attheendof his investigationsresultfromthequality ofhisownconsciousnessandhisowninnerdisorganisation.

For Platotheworld is notonlyoursensationof it, asitmustbeif manismerelyin theworld.Theworldisalsoinman, so man can know from 'within' as well as from'without'. The ideas behind all discerniblereality aretouchedby man throughthe existencein him of innatenotions.These'innatenotions'in thesoulof manhaveastheirtrueobjecttheIdeaswhicharethearchetypesbehindall temporalmanifestation.So, while our knowledgeisdevelopedby worldly experience,it containselementswhicharenotderivedfromexperience.In itscontactwith

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the sensibleworld, which containsimperfectrepresen-tationsofthe'eternal'Ideas,thesoulisawakenedingreaterorlessdegreetoanawarenessoftheIdeasthemselves.Thisawarenesscomes,not from the side of the senses,butinternally,fromthesideof themind.The soulrecollectstheIdeas throughperceivingthe manifoldobjectsof natureintowhichtheIdeasarereflected.Thesoulstandsbetweenthesensibleworld andtheworld of Ideas- betweentwoordersof 'reality';and becomingawareof this shetakesfrom the world of sensibleobjectsall thoseimpressionswhichremindherof ahigherorderof reality,notgivingtosensiblenaturethat which doesnot belong to it, butextractingfromit thatwhichbelongstoan orderaboveit. Soherwhole modeof experiencingtemporallife and gainingimpressionsbecomesquite differentfrom the mode ofexperiencebelongingtothesoulthatis'gluedtothesenses'and seesall as outsideher, attributingthe first causalprincipletophysicalnatureitselfFortheawakenedsoulallis reallywithin. The real world is within, and is onlyapprehensiblewithin.And a manwhosesoulhasreachedthispositionisnolonger'natural'orsensualman,althoughall that senserevealsto him is immeasurablyintensified.He seesclearly- withincreasingclearness- becausehehasbecomeameeting-pointof twoworlds,onereachedwithinandthroughhimself,andtheotherreachedwithout,andthroughhissenses.

How arevisibleobjectsrepresentationsof ideas? HowdotheeternalIdeasenterthethree-dimensionalworld inpassing-time?Platosuggeststhattheyenterthroughthemostminute- throughthedimensionless.'It isevidentthatgeneration takes place whenever a principle (arche,originatingprinciple)attainstotheseconddimensionandcomingasfar as the third, arrivesat sucha stateas to

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becomeanobjectof sensation'(Laws, 894A).This seemsto meanthathethoughtthatthehigherworldenterstheknownworld throughits finestdivisions.But it mustbeclearlyunderstoodthatPlato'ssuggestionconcerningthesourceofgenerationisnotarefinedmaterialismaidedbyatheoryof dimensions.Originatingcauseis for him quitedistinctfrom any matter that we can reachexternallythroughscientificresearch.Ideaentersinto manifestationthroughwhatfOr oursense-perceptionis dimensionless.Let usconceiveanillustration.

Ideaentersasseed.The seedis theelementarymaterialconstituentorthirdterm.Betweenthefirstterm,idea,andthethirdterm,seed,theregrowsupflower,animalorchildassecondterm.Only in onesenseis theseedcause.Theseedisfertilebecauseofthefirstterm,idea,whichis nihil,nothing, dimensionless,invisible in the phenomenalworld. If thematerialorganisationof theseedbe faulty,theideatowhichit isconjoinedwill beunableto manifestitself in spaceand passing-timerightly.The spermaticpowerisreallyin theidearatherthanin theseed,andflowsasacurrentthroughtheseedwhentherightconditionsfornurtureexist.Yet,thinkingnaturally,weseethefull causeof aflower,orananimalor childin theseedalone- in theminute speckof organisedmatter.And in the caseofsterilehybridswethinkratherofastateoftheseedthanoftheconfoundingof two distinctideas,eachof whichcanonlymanifestitselfin anappropriateseed.

In consequenceof the quality of our consciousness,which gives us an outward direction,we cannot seeourselvesdistinctly.Wetaketheeffectsofouterlifeuponusas 'ourselves'.We can scarcelydiscernour statesandmoodsapartfromwhatappearto betheiroutsidecauses.Governedby our sensesrealityappearsto beoutsideus.

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Sensuallywedonotrealisetheinvisibilityofourselvesandothers, for this is not a matter of 'perceptualconsciousness'.Our outwardnesspreventsour reachingofinner harmony.There is nothing in ourselvesso muchmorereal that it is capableof isolating us from thecontinualeffectsoftheworldthatisenteringviasense.Wearecontrolledby thesense-givenscene- and so we areoutsideourselves.But we imaginethatwe arecontrolledbyourreasonandsetfirmlyin ourselves.

Speakingof the conditionsof higher consciousness,Ouspenskyremarksthat'it is necessarythatthecentreofgravityofeverythingshalllie formanin hisinnerworld,inself-consciousnessand not in the outer world at all'

(TertiumOrganum,p. 331). He is speakinghereof self-consciousnessasthefull consciousnessof I - of a stateofconsciousnessin whichthecentreofgravityofourbeing-thatis,I - is in ourselves.With ourpresentconsciousnesswe are,asit were,fusedwith theworld andcontinuallydistractedby its changes.And the form of our thought,whichisbaseduponwhatthesensesshowus,is 'natural'-thatis, it followstheworldof senseandpassing-timeandis groundedin the evidenceof thingsseen.To get thecentreof gravityof our beinginro ourselves,to becomepossessedof aninternalsenseofI in placeof thecontinualreactionsof the moment to which we say I, another'reality'of all thingsin generalis necessary.Our naturalconceptsare not sufficientto changethe quality ofconsciousnessor to get thecentreof gravityof our beinginto ourselves.Man mustnot onlyovercomethesensualview of life by theoreticalthinking but he must lookwithin- awayfromthesenses- andbecomeanobjectofstudyto himselfAnd hemustgetbeyondmerelysensibleknowledgeandevenrationalknowledge.

Eckhart observesthat therearethreekinds of know-

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ledge:'The first is sensible,the secondis rationaland agreatdealhigher.Thethirdcorrespondsto ahigherpowerof the soul which knows no yesterdayor today ortomorrow.'

Eckhartisreferringto aphraseusedbyPaul:'Praythatyemaybeableto comprehendwith all thesaintswhatistheheight,breadth,lengthanddepth.'He ispointingtoastateof consciousnesswheretime,asweknowit, vanishesandthereis no 'yesterday'or 'tomorrow'.Not onlydoesachangein the senseof I belongto a higherqualityofconsciousness,but the naturalconceptof time derivedfromoursensorycontactwith theworlddisappearsandanew knowledgeor senseof time takesits place.Whathighermathematicstouchestheoretically(in relationtodimensions)isperceivedbydirectcognition.

From this point of view higher mathematicslies inbetweenthe understandingbelongingto our ordinaryconsciousnessandtheunderstandingbelongingtoahigherlevelof consciousness.This is how I understandPlato'sviewthatnumbersdifferfromideas,andoccupytheintervalbetweenideasandsensibleobjects.The Ideasbelongto ahigherdegreeof realitythan do sensibleobjects,and inbetweencomenumbers.But wemustunderstandthattoarrivetheoreticallyattheconclusionthattheworldisfour-dimensionalis quite differentfrom the realisationof itthroughanactualchangein thetime-sense.

..Wehaveconsideredthreeof thefactorslimiting tothe

developmentof consciousness:first, thequestionof oursensualismandthenecessityfor overcomingthesensoryand literal point-of-view with which the attitude ofmaterialismisconnected;second,theneedforchangeinthesenseof I; third, theneedforanewunderstandingoftime.The fourthfactorrelatesto thequalityof our love.

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Let ustouchonthatbrieflybeforecontinuingthesubjectoflevelsofconsciousness.

Our loveis little elsethanselflove.The morewestudywhatself-loveisthemoredoesit becomeapparentthatitputs, paradoxically,the centreof gravity of our beingoutsideourselves.Or, putting the matterin the reverseway,becausethecentreofgravityis outsideourselves,weonly know,broadlyspeaking,self-love.Self-lovealwaysrequiresaudience,eitherimaginedoractual.

Perhapsthe simplestway to beginto understandthenatureof self-loveis to studyit fromthesideof falsityofaction.Whateverwe do from self-lovewe do in a false

way,from a conceit,from the standpointof producingsomeimpression.We arenot reallydoing what we aredoing. We are not doing it from ourselvesbut from acuriousrelationshipofourselvestoothers,ortotheideaofothersandourselves.

The greatwriterson self-loveoften take the subjectback to the central point of attack in Christianpsychology- to thePhariseein us,who doesall things'tobeseenofmen'.The criticism,I suggest,is directedagainstthe lack of any realpsychologicalstartingpoint withinourselves.We probablytakethisPhariseetoo concretely,imaginingweknowthekind ofpeopleto whomthetermcanverywell be referred.I will takeit asreferringto adifficultythatexistsin everyone,andonethatis afeatureofourformofconsciousness.U7e havenoreal1.Wehavenoreal selfconsciousness.Our love of self is not love ofanythingreal.So we cannotact from anythingreal inourselvesbut only from a continualmirror-likeprocesswithin us which is not self-initiatedbut automatic.Sothat, in consideringwhat puts the centre of gravityoutsideourselveswe havenot only the factordueto the

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sensesturning us outwards,making us seeall as lyingoutsideus,butalsotheemotionalfactorof the'self-love'.

In IndianthoughtbondagetoMaya is,fromoneangle,bondagetothesurroundingobjectsofsense.Not onlyourpassionto possessobjectsis meant,but thateverythingoutsideus affectsus or has power over us. We arecontinuallydistracted,just as a dog is distractedbyeverythinghesees,hears,or smells.The tumultof sense-impressions,the riot of thoughts, the surgings ofemotionsand imagination,the throngingsof desires,have nothing central betweenthem to steadythem.Betweenthatwhich is pouring in fromoutsidethroughthe senses,and that which is going on within, nothingpermanent intervenesto subject all these randomactivitiesto order, to bring them into alignmentandproduceapointofconsciousnessbetweeninnerandouter.The self-lovedisportsitselfin thischaos,glancingatitselfin themirrorofeveryactivity.

Speakingof thechaoticinnerstateof man,Ouspenskyremarksthatthefirstaimthatanindividualcanhave,asregardshis own development,is 'to createin himselfapermanent "I", to protect himself from continualstrivings,moodsanddesireswhichswayhim now in onedirectionandnowin another'(A New ModeloftheUniverse,p. 244,KeganPaul).But wemustclearlygraspthatsuchastatewouldmeananewstateoftheindividual.It wouldmeana newquality of consciousness.It would meantheattainmentof a higherdegreeof realitywithin. SuchapermanentI could not be a derivativeof the self-love,which is changingits directioneverymoment,tryingoneverycostumeas it were,and admiringitself in everypossiblepose.Foreverythingrelatingto theself-love,andthe passionfor approvaland self-approval,canhaveno

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stabilityin itselfThe creationof apermanentI musttakeplacesomewherebeyondthesphereofself-love.It mustbebrought into existencethrough a seriesof actswhichcannotbe initiatedby self-loveandsocannotstartfromtheadmirationofoneselfAnd for thisreasonmanythingsarenecessarybeforesuchactscan bese(f-initiated.Thewholestandpointmustchange.The standpointof mate-rialismor sensualismcannotprovidetherightbasisfromwhichto start.Only therecognitionthattherearehigherdegreesof reality,and theemotionsthatsucha recognitioncanrouse,canbeginto givetheright startingpoint.For suchemotionsdonotliein thesphereoftheself-love.

In theChristianpsychologicalsystemmanyinterestingthings are said about 'love of neighbour',which areusuallytakenin asentimentalway- thatis,fromthesideof the self-love.But the consciousdiscriminationof one'sneighbourimpliesanactualdevelopmentofconsciousness.

The qualityof ourordinaryloveis socolouredby self-lovethatweareunabletofeeltherealexistenceof others,to feelthem,savemomentarily.They arelittle morethanassociationswith our self-love.In connectionwith thisSwedenborgsaysthatour self-lovedemandsasits mainobjectafavourablereflectionof ourselvesin others.Thatis its goal.If we believethis reflectionexistswe feeljoy.This joy changesto dislike, self-pityor hate,onceweimagine the reflection is unfavourable.This is ourordinary'love'.It cannotbecomedifferent- savemomentarily-becausethequalityofourconsciousnessmakesthisimpossible.

To see anotherperson, apart from our subjectivenotionsand images,to realiseanotherperson'sactualobjectiveexistence,is exactlyone of thosemomentaryand genuineexperienceswhich give us hints of furtherpossiblestatesof consciousness.For then, during onemoment,weawakentoentirelynewandwonderfulforms

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of experience.But falling backwe forgetthem,becausean inferior levelof consciousnesscannotreproducetheexperiencesbelongingto ahigherlevel.It is notsomuchthatweforget,butcannotremember.

I will connecttheself-lovewith a definitepsychologicaldirection.The old conceptionof twopathsthatmancanfollow,asrepresentedoriginallyin theancientPythagoreanY, is usuallyinterpretedasreferringto virtueandvice,asconventionallyunderstoodaccordingto periodandlocalcustom.'WheretheSamianY directsthy stepsto run, toVirtue's narrow Steep and Broadway Vice to shun'(Dryden).This is thesuperficialexplanation.But it mayhaveoriginallyreferredtotwopossiblepathsin life,onerealandonesham:alongtheshamdirectionletusimaginetherelies the greatspectacleof life, with all its honoursandrewards.Its motivepoweris thegratifiedandungratifiedself-love,its governingfearthelossof reputation.Alongthispathwe all seek,in someformor another,audience.Usuallyweseekopenapproval.Connectedwithit isaveryremarkableperpetual-motionmachine.Thegreatareflatteredby the homageof their inferiors,and the inferiorsareflatteredby therecognitionof thegreat.Thus themachi-neryturnsunceasinglyin thismutualself-satisfaction.

Bernard de Mandeville saw in this machinerythedriving forceof everyform of society.He distinguishedthis aspectof self-loveasself-liking.It is thepassionofself-liking,hesays,which isgeneratedin childrenin thenurseryby the chorusof praisewhich surroundsthem,that is not only the foundationof all societybut is thesourceof honourandshame,throughwhichtheappetitesof peopleareheld in check,and men and womenaremadevirtuous,though not in any realsense.Throughthe passionof self-liking people may imitate all thevirtuesof theChristianlife. He said,indeed,that there

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arenoChristians- whichrousedthegreatestindignation.Along this shampath life is chieflya dressing-up,an

emptiness,a make-believe,in which we seekto be likesomethingratherthan really to be something.In thissense,~hen,nooneis reallydoingwhatheappearsto bedoing,andnothingis whatit pretendsto be.Everythingis governedby thecomplicatedreactionsof thegratified,thewounded,or the expectantself-love.Thus no oneis'pure'inheart- thatis,theemotionsarenotreal.

The generalcauseis thatno onehascreatedhimselfNoone has real existencein himself We only attain to afictitiousselfexistence.And if wearefrankwith ourselves,we know that we feelemptyor locked-in.We do notknowwhatto do.Throughtheincessantmirror-actionofthe self-love,we are alwaysturned outwards,towardsaudience,awayfromthedirectionofse/fexistence.So,we areturned outwards not only by our sensesand sense-mindedness,whichcanbe saidto belongto our naturalconstitution, but also by the infinite psychologicalramificationsofourself-love.

When the self-loveis woundedor when we feelourreputation is damagedor lost, we feel depreciated,'inferior'or annihilated.Actually,sucha stateof affairsmightberegardedasastarting-pointfor somethingnew.But in lifethisdoesnothappen.

The starting-pointfor some entirely new state ofoneself,abovewhatlifeproduces,canneverlie alongthedirectionof whatisgenerallyapprovedor applauded,forit will thenonly administerto theself-love,whichis thepoint of danger.For nothing, says Swedenborg,canproducesucha brilliant effectupon oneselfasthe fullygratifiedself-love.Foritsdelight,hesays,reachestoeveryfibreof thebody,andis feltfarmoreintenselythanis thegratificationof anyof thephysicalappetites.So alsoare

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the effects of wounded self-love equally intense.Swedenborgdefinesthefirststepbeyondself-loveastheloveofuses.Anyonewhocanbesimpleenoughto takerealpleasurein whathedoes,andbegenuinelyinterestedinwhatheworksat,obviouslymovesastepbeyondself-love.

We mustimaginearangeof consciousexperiencelyingabovethatwhichweordinarilyknow.Interveningbetweenit andwhatweordinarilyknow is a discontinuity,a gap.Wecannotbridgethisgapsavethroughlendingourselvesto ideas,views,andwaysof takingthingsthatultimatelybelongtothehigherrangeofconsciousexperience.

Remaining'sensual',the gap is not bridged:takingthingsin theordinaryway,retainingour ordinaryviewsandnaturalideas,we neverattainthepotentialin us.Allsystemsof 'religion'havethisattainmentin view.But notunderstandingthe doctrineofpotentiality,which regardsmanasa seed,we takeall thatweclassas'religion'in amoral way,as somethingmerelyurging us to be good.And the moreobscuresideof religion- the hints thatbelongto its internalmeaningand esotericside- weusuallyentirelyignoreorcontemplatewith idlecuriosity.We certainlyseenosciencein that.But if therebeahigherrealityof oneselftheremustbean actualscienceof thathigherrealityof oneself- a sciencehigherthan anyweknow and one which will comprehendin itself all theordinaryformsof knowing,suchasbelongto philosophy,artandthesciences.

And havingthisviewin mind- that thereis a higherscienceof man- we canperceivethatobservationof thefollowingkind probablyfindsits placejustin thishigherscience.Boehmesaid that we could comeinto a newrealityof our being and perceiveeverythingin a newrelation'if we canstandstill fromself-thinkingandself-

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willing andstopthewheelof imaginationandthesenses'.Theseareplain psychologicalinstructions.But in whatsensepsychological?Not as we understand'psychology'today.For whatpossiblemeaningcantheyhavefor usifwedenythepossibilityof anyqualitativechangetoman?If therebe no 'higherreality'thereis no sensein suchinstructions,nopsychologicalmeaning.

And if, to obtaina higherrealityof oneself,thecentreofgravityof one'sbeingmustbein oneself,thenthisqualitativechangeinbeingwill clearlyremainimpossibleaslongasweareturnedonlyoutwards.The centreof gravityof oneselfmustnotlieoutsidethroughtheactionof self-loveandthesenses.It mustnotlieoutwardsin thisforeignworldwhichwe canneverdirectlyreach,but within, in this invisibilitythatisthebeginningofoneselfandcanbecomesomething,andthroughwhichwecanreach'neighbour'.And for thisto happena qualitativechangeof standpointis necessary,andawillingnesswhichstartsfromaconvictionthatthereis somethingelsethatis essentialfor us.For we canonlybeginfromourownwillingnessandourownconviction.

I believethat as long aswe think that the world, asdisplayedtooursenses,containsallthatweneed,andholdsthekeyto our happiness,thenwe mustalwaysgo in thewrong direction.We must overcomethat degreeofmaterialismto beginwith, that kind of sensualunder-standing,andwith it alsoovercometheeffectof all thoseevidencesinwhichthesensualmanwithinusfindssomuch

complacentcomfort- as,forexample,in theoutwardsoli-darity of a religiousor a politicalmovement,or in theincreaseof its organisedand outward form. We mustunder-standthatwe canrestuponnoproof- suchasthesensualunderstandingwill seekand accept.The extra-ordinaryconfusionthatariseswhenweconfoundthetruthofideaswith thetruthofthesensesmustdisappear.Wecan

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no longersaythatwe will believe'providedwe havetheproof; orthatwecannotbelieve'becausethereisnoproof.A man'sunderstandingmustnotstopatthatpointwherethingscan no longerbe satisfactorilydemonstratedandprovedtoeveryone.Wehavecompre-hensionfarabovethesensoryfield,andexperiencesquiteapartfromit. Faithandbeliefbelongto ordersof understandingquitedistinctfromsensualunder-standingand sensoryproof The greatestinitial

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