CHAPTER IV

INSPIRATION
'T^HE description of the power of Imag- ^ ination has shown us how the occult student, by its means, leaves the region of outer sense-experiences. This is the case in a much higher degree with Inspiration. Here ideas are much less dependent upon what may be called an outside stimulus.. The individual must find within himself the power which enables him to form ideas concerning things. He must be inwardly active to a far greater extent than is the case with regard to outer knowledge. For the latter he simply yields himself to impressions from with- out, and these give rise to ideas within
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him. This kind of surrender ceases when we come to Inspiration. Henceforward the eye does not supply colours, the ear sounds, and so forth. The whole content of ideas must, in a sense, be produced by individual activity, and by purely spirit- ual and psychic processes. And the manifestation of the higher, the real world must be impressed upon what the man has created by his inner activity.
A peculiar contradiction seems to be involved in such a description of the world of higher cognition. The indi- vidual must, in a certain sense, be the creator of his own ideas; yet obviously his ideas should not be solely of his own creation, but the processes of the higher worlds should be expressed through them, just as the events of the lower world are expressed through the perceptions of the eyes, ears, and other organs.
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Such a contradiction is, however, inevi- table in any description of this mode of cognition. For this is exactly what the occult student must achieve on the path of Inspiration: he must attain by his inner activity to something to which in ordinary life he is compelled from with- out. Why do not the images of ordinary life take an arbitrary course? Because the individual has to correct his attitude towards outward objects by means of the ideas they give him. All choice on the part of the ego is suppressed because the objects say: We are thus, or thus. The objects themselves decide how they shall be understood ; the ego has nothing to say in the matter. The man who will not adjust himself to the objects, misunder- stands them and will soon be made to feel how little success he has had in the world. This necessary attitude of the individual
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to the things of the outer world may be designated in cognition as “self -less.” The individual must maintain a selfless attitude towards things; and the outer world is his instructor in this selflessness. It deprives him of all illusions, fancies, and illogical opinions, and of everything non-essential, by simply putting the cor- rect image before his senses.
If any man would prepare himself for Inspiration, he must first develop his inner nature to such a point that this selflessness is natural to him, even when uncompelled from without. He must learn to create inwardly, but in such a way that the ego plays no arbitrary part in this creation. The difficulties which have to be taken into account in attain- ing such a degree of selflessness, become more apparent the more we consider what powers of the soul are specially
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required for Inspiration. We recognise three fundamental powers in the life of the soul, — Idea, Feeling, and Will. In ordinary cognition by the senses, ideas are induced by outward objects; and these externally-stimulated ideas will de- termine the direction taken by feeling and will.
For instance, a man sees an object which gives him pleasure and he begins to long for the thing in question. Plea- sure is rooted in feeling and through feel- ing the will is roused, just as feeling was awakened by the image of the thing. But the external object is the tiltimate cause of the image, the feeling, and the will. Take another instance. A man sees an occurrence which frightens him. He rushes away from the scene of the event. Here, too, the outward incidents are the primary cause; they are perceived by
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means' of the senses; images are formed; they give rise to ideas; the feeling of alarm springs up; and WiU — expressing itself in running away — ^is the result. In Inspiration there is no longer an outward object of this kind. The senses are no longer needed in order to perceive. There- fore they cannot be the cause of ideas. From this side no influence is exercised upon feeling and will. Yet it is precisely from these two, as from their native soil, that in the Inspirational mode ideas spring up inwardly, and, so to speak, grow. And if the native soil is healthy, the ideas that spring up will be true; if unhealthy, they will be errors and illusions.
As certainly as Inspirations, rooted in healthy feeling and w'ill, may be a revela- tion from a higher world, so certainly do mistakes, delusions, and errors concern-
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ing a higher world, spring from disorderly feeling and will.
On this account occult training sets itself the task of pointing out the way by which a man may make his feelings and the impulses of his will healthily produc- tive for Inspiration. As in all matters of occult training, we have here to deal with the intimate regulation and fashioning of the life of the soul. First of all the stu- dent must develop certain feelings which are very little known in ordinary life. Some of these feelings may here be indi- cated. One of the most important con- sists in an increased sensitiveness with regard to the “true” and “false,” and the “right” and “wrong.” It is quite true that the ordinary person has similar feelings. But they must be cultivated by the occult student to a very much higher degree.
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Let us suppose that a logical error has been made by some one. Another sees the mistake and puts the matter right. Let us realise how large a part is played by the judgment and understanding in such a correction, and how slight is the feeling of pleasure at what is true and repugnance to what is false. Observe that we are not by any means maintain- ing that the pleasure and corresponding repugnance are not there. But the degree in which they are present in ordinary life must be immeasurably raised in occult training. The student must direct his attention quite systematically to the life of his soul ; and he must carry this training to such a point that a logical error is a source of pain to him, in no way falling short of physical pain; and on the other hand what is “right” must afford him real joy and pleasure.
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Thus, where another only brings his judgment and understanding into play, the occult student must learn to live through the whole gamut of emotions, from grief to enthusiasm, and from pain- ful suspense to transports of delight in the possession of truth. In fact, he must learn to feel something like hatred for what the “normal” man looks upon coldly and dispassionately as “incorrect.” He must develop such a love of truth as bears quite a personal character, — as personal and as warm as that which the lover feels for the beloved.
We hear, indeed, a great deal in our “cultured ” circles about the love of truth ; but what is meant by this is not to be compared with what the occult student must attain in this direction through quiet inward work in his soul. As a test, he must continually and patiently put before
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him this or that "true” thing and this or that “ false” one, and concentrate upon it, not merely for the sake of training his judgment to distinguish dispassionately between "true” and "false,” but in order to acquire a completely personal relation to it all. There is no doubt that at the beginning of such training the student may fall into what may be called over- sensitiveness. An erroneous opinion uttered in his hearing, an inconsistency, etc., may cause him almost intolerable pain.
Care must therefore be taken during training with regard to this matter; otherwise there would be great danger to the psychic equilibrium. If care is taken that the character be steadfast, storms may occm in the life of the soul and yet the man may have the power to conduct himself harmoniously towards the outer
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world. It is a mistake in this respect to allow the occult student to be brought into opposition to the outer world, so that he finds it unbearable, or even wishes to flee from it. The higher world of feel- ing should not be cultivated at the expense of well-balanced work and activity in the outer world; therefore a strengthening of the power of resistance to outward im- pressions must counterbalance the inward elevation of the life of feeling.
Practical occult training directs the student never to undertake the above- mentioned exercises for developing the realm of feeling without at the same time schooling himself in such a way that he will learn what life demands from men in the way of toleration. He must be able to feel the keenest pain if a person gives utterance to an erroneous opinion, and yet at the same time be perfectly tolerant
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towards this' person, because the thought in his mind is equally clear, that “this person is bound to judge in this way, and his opinion must be reckoned with as a fact.”
It is, of course, true that the inner nature of the occult scientist comes to be more and more involved in a double life. Ever richer experiences are lived through in his soul in the course of his pilgrimage through life, and the other world grad- ally becomes more and more independent of what this outer world has to give. And it is just this double existence that will be most fruitful in the genuine prac- tice of life. What results from it is s\^'ift- ness of judgment and unerring certainty of decision. While one who is a strang- er to such schooling must go through long trains of thought and be driven backwards and forwards between reso-
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lution and perplexity, the occult scientist will swiftly review the conditions of life and discern hidden relations not seen by the ordinary gaze. Often he needs much patience in order to enter into the lengthy methods by which something is made clear to another person, while his own comprehension is swift as an arrow.
Hitherto we have spoken only of the qualities which must be developed in the life of feeling in order that Inspiration may begin in the right way. The next question is : — How do the feelings become productive, so as to bring forth true ideas belonging to the world of Inspiration? If a man desires to know what answer Occult Science gives to this question, he must be made acquainted with the fact that the soul -life of man has always a cer- tain store of feelings over and above those that are aroused by sense-perceptions.
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The individual feels far more than any- thing compels him to feel. But in ordi- nary life this excess of feeling is turned in a direction which occult training must change for another.
Take, for instance, a feeling of fear or anxiety. In many cases it is quite easy to see that the fear or anxiety is greater than it would be if it were in true propor- tion to the corresponding outward event. Let us imagine that the student is work- ing energetically on himself with the object that he may not in any case feel more fear and anxiety than is justified by an outward event. Now a given .amount of fear or anxiety always involves an ex- penditure of psychic force. This force is actually lost when fear or anxiety is pro- duced. The student really saves this force when he denies himself fear, anxiety, or other wasteful feelings. And it remains
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at his disposal for some other purpose. If he repeats the process often he will acquire an inner store of this continually husbanded psychic force; and he will soon find that out of such economies of feeling will spring the germs of those ideas which will give utterance to the revelations of the higher life. Such things cannot in the ordinary sense be “proved”; one can only give the occult student advice to do this or that, and if he carries out the instructions he will presently see the indubitable results.
From a casual view of what has just been described, it might easily appear self-contradictory to say that on the one hand an enrichment of the world of feel- ing is necessary, — since feelings of pleas- ure or pain are to be excited by what otherwise arouses only intellectual judg- ment,— and that on the other hand it is
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economy of feeling that is spoken of. This contradiction at once disappears if it is borne in mind that the saving should be made in those feelings which are aroused by the outer senses. WTiat- ever is saved in that direction serves as an enrichment in the matter of spiritual experiences. And it is altogether just that the feelings thus economised in the sense- world of perception should not only be set free in another sphere, but should prove creative in that sphere. They provide the material for those ideas by which the spiritual world is revealed.
Of course it would not be going very far if we were to remain content with only such economies as have been indica- ted. Much more is necessary if great results are to be attained. A larger store of the force which begets feeling must be conveyed to the soul than is possible by
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this means alone. For instance, we must, as a test, submit ourselves to certain outward impressions and then wholly deny ourselves the feelings which would arise in a so-called “normal” condition. We must confront an occurrence which “normally” stimulates the soul, and absolutely forbid ourselves to be excited by it. This can be done either by actu- ally experiencing such an event, or by experiencing it only in the imagination. The latter process is even better for an occult training that is to bear fruit.
As the student is initiated into the power of imagination, either before his preparation for the inspirational mode or simultaneously with it, he should actually be in a position to represent an occturence to his mind as powerfully as if it were taking place before him. If, therefore, by long inward labour the
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student subjects himself more and more to the influence of objects and events and yet denies himself the normal feelings corresponding to them, the ground will be prepared for Inspiration in his soul. Let it be incidentally noted here that he who is describing such a training for Inspiration has the fullest justification for it, though many objections might be made to his account of it from the point of view of our present-day culture. And not only can objections be made, but people may smile in a superior way and say: “But Inspiration cannot be pedanti- cally taught ; it is a natural gift of genius.”
Yes, it may certainly seem almost laughable, from the standpoint of modem culture, to discuss so fully a development which that culture will not admit to be capable of explanation; but such culture does not realise how little it is able to pur-
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sue to their logical ends its own processes of thought. Any one who required a dis- ciple of this culture to believe that some more highly developed animal had not slowly evolved, but had appeared sud- denly, would speedily be told that no cul- tured person in the modem sense of the term could believe such a miracle. Such a belief would be “superstition.” Yet such a person is the victim of gross super- stition in matters of spiritual life, even according to his own way of thinking. That is to say, he will not allow that a more perfected soul must also have evolved slowly, — that it could not have arisen suddenly as a gift of nature. Of course, externally, many a genius appears to have been bom suddenly “out of nowhere” in some mysterious way; but it only appears so on accotmt of material- istic superstition ; the occult scientist
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knows that the condition of geniiis, which arises in a man’s life as if out of nothing, is simply the result of his training on inspirational lines during a former life on earth.
Materialistic superstition is bad enough on theoretical ground; but it is far worse in a practical region such as this. As it assrunes that in all ages genius must “fall from heaven,” it will have nothing to say to any “occult nonsense” or “fantastic mysticism” as a preparation for Inspira- tion. In this way the superstition of the materialist retards the real progress of humanity. He does not trouble himself about the latent faculties evolving in man. In reality it is often precisely those who call themselves progressives and liberal thinkers who are the enemies of real for- ward development. But this, as already said, is only an incidental comment.
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necessary with regard to the relationship of Occult Science to present-day culture.
Now the soul powers which are stored up in the student’s inner nature by the
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self-denial of the normal feelings indicated
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above, would undoubtedly be transmuted into Inspiration even if no further aid were given them. And in the soul of the occult student there would arise true images of events taking place in the higher worlds. Progress would begin with the simplest experiences of super- sensible events, followed gradually by those of a higher and more complicated aspect, if the student continued to live inwardly in the prescribed way.
But, as a matter of fact, such occult training would be quite impracticable to-day, and when a man has set himself seriously to work it is never carried through to its conclusion. That is to say,
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if the student wished to develop out of his inner nature everything that Inspira- tion can give, he could undoubtedly “spin out” from within himself eveiy^- thing, for example, that has been said in my other works about the nature of man, the life after death, the evolution of humanity and of the planets, and so forth. But such a student would need an immeasturably long time for all this. It would be as if a man should wish to weave the whole of geometry out of him- self, without regard to what has already been achieved in that field before him. Certainly in theory it is quite possible for him to do so; but to carry it out in practice would be folly. Nor is this the method of Occult Science; — the facts which have been won for hxunanity by inspired predecessors have been handed down through a teacher. Such tradi-
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tion must in fact furnish the basis for individual Inspiration.
That which is being given out to-day in lectures and writings from the domain of Occult Science may well furnish such a basis for Inspiration. There is, for in- stance, the teaching about the various component parts of man (physical body, etheric body, astral body, etc.), the knowledge concerning life after death until a new incarnation, and much else which has been published under the title, “From The Akdshic Records” (see Atlantis and Lemuria). That is to say, we must clearly grasp the fact that Inspiration is needed for the discovery and experience of the higher truths, but not for the understanding of them. What has been communicated in Atlan- tis and Lemuria could not at first be dis- covered without Inspiration. But when
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once communicated it can be understood by the ordinary reasoning faculty. No one should assert that facts are there stated which cannot be logically imder- stood without Inspiration. People do not find them incomprehensible because they themselves are not inspired, but because they wiU not think enough about them.
Further, when a man receives the truths so communicated, they awaken Inspiration in his soul by their own power. If we wish to participate in such Inspira- tion, we must not merely receive the knowledge in a logical and matter-of-fact way, but must lay ourselves open to be carried by the flight of ideas into all kinds of emotional experiences. And why should not this be possible? Can the feel- ings remain passive when there passes before the spirit’s gaze the overpowering
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process of the development of the earth from the Moon, Sun, and Saturn? or when the infinite depths of human nature are penetrated by the knowledge of man’s etheric, astral, and yet subtler bodies? We might almost say it is ill with him who can contemplate unmoved such structures of thought. For if he no longer regarded them dispassionately, but experienced all the tension and relax- ation of feeling, all the climaxes and crises, all the advances and retreats, all the catastrophes and dispensations which they render possible, then indeed the ground would be prepared for Inspiration in his soul. True, the necessary emotional life corresponding with such communica- tions from .a higher world can only be fully unfolded by exercises of the kind indicated above.
Reports of such a world will appear
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but arid notions and dull theories to one who directs all his emotional forces towards the outer world of sense. He will never be able to understand why the heart of another man is warmed by the hearing of what is imparted by Occult Science while his own inmost being remains cold. He will even say: “ But all that is for the intellect and reason; I want something for my emotional nature.” He does not say to himself that it is his own fault if his heart remains cold.
Many people still undervalue the power of what lies hidden in these communica- tions which can come only from a higher world. And in this connection they over- rate all kinds of other exercises and prac- tices. ‘ ‘ Of what use is it to me / ’they say , “to hear from others what the higher worlds look like? I want to look into them
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for myself.” Such persons, for the most part, lack the patience to concentrate themselves again and again upon such re- ports from higher worlds. If they did so, they would see what kindling force lies in these bare reports, and how one’s own Inspiration may be awakened by hearing an account of the Inspiration of others.
It is true that other exercises must supplement mere learning if the student wishes to make rapid progress in the ex- perience of the higher worlds; but no one should underestimate the very great importance of such learning. And in any case, no hope can be held out of making rapid conquests in the higher worlds by any exercises whatever, \mless the student resolves at the same time unremittingly to ponder over the communications which have been given, in their proper order, from a competent source, as to
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the events and beings of the higher worlds.
Now that such communications are being made in lectimes, literature, etc., and the first indications are also being given as to the exercises leading to knowledge of the higher worlds (as, for instance, in my book. The Way of Initi- ation),' it has become possible to learn something of what formerly was im- parted only in strictly guarded occult schools. As has already been said, it is owing to the special conditions of our time that these things are and must be published. But we must once more em- phasise this point, — that although facili- ties have been given for the acquisition of occult knowledge, trustworthy, guid- ance by an experienced occult teacher is not at present to be dispensed with.
The Inspirational mode of Knowledge
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leads to the actual experience of processes in the invisible worlds, — ^as, for instance, the evolution of man and of the earth and its former embodiments ("Moon,’' "Sun,” and "Satirm”). But when in these higher worlds not only processes but beings have to be taken into account, then the Intuitional mode of Knowledge must enter in. That which occurs through the agency of such beings is dis- cerned by Imagination as in a picture; laws and conditions are discerned by Inspiration; but if the beings themselves are to be approached. Intuition is needed.
We. shall speak later of the way in which Inspiration is organised in the world of Imagination, — ^how it penetrates that world as a spiritual music and there- by becomes a means of expression to the beings who are to be recognised by Intui- tion. Intuition itself will also then be
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treated of. We wotdd only point out here that what is known in Occtilt Science as “Intuition” has nothing to do with what often receives that name in popxilar speech. A more or less uncertain notion is there put in contradistinction to a clear understanding logically arrived at through the intellect. Intuition in Occult Science is nothing vague or uncertain, but a lofty method of cognition, full of the most luminous clearness and indu- bitable certainty.