-
1 __ -
'...containingsomeof the mostsignificantwritingof
OUrtime...'
DIOGENES in TimeandTide
'It is a work in which intellect and
emotionarejustlybalanced.'
SPECTATOR
'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
"'"
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
1
I
INVISIBILITY OF ONESELF 3
II
QUALITY OF CONSCIOUSNESS 27
III
DIFFERENT LEVELS OF REALITY IN MANAND THE UNIVERSE
58
IV
PASSING-TIME AND TIME ITSELF 90
V
THE LIFE IN LIVING-TIME 116
VI
AEON 139
VII
ETERNITY AND THE RECURRENCE OF LIFE 165
VIII
RECURRENCE IN THE SAME TIME 185
IX
TWO PSYCHOLOGICAL SYSTEMS IN MAN 214
X
CREATION OF NOW 252
XI
RELATIONSHIP 266
XII
THE INTEGRATION OF THE LIFE 277
Bibliography
287
Index
289
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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LIVING TIME
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.
2
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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
3
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LIVING TIME
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
4
INVISIBILITY OF ONESELF
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.
5
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~""""""~,"'i""""""---"""''''''~'''~~''_'h'''''''''''''''''''~''~'',J.""'.,".""'
...""""~,,,',,, .,.,'." .",.~,""="-" _
LIVING TIME
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.
6
INVISIBILITY OF ONESELF
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'
7
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LIVING TIME
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 it- in
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
8
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INVISIBILITY OF ONESELF
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
9
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LIVING TIME
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
10
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INVISIBILITY OF ONESELF
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
11
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LIVING TIME
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
14
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INVISIBILITY OF ONESELF
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,
15
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LIVING TIME
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
16
INVISIBILITY OF ONESELF
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
17
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LIVING TIME
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
18
INVISIBILITY OF ONESELF
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
19
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LIVING TIME
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
20
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INVISIBILITY OF ONESELF
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
21
- [, ;,;;;~;::,~~r:~gg,'7~; ~;.-
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LIVING TIME
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
24
INVISIBILITY OF ONESELF
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
25
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I .. ~I
LIVIN G TIME
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?
26
l.a-
~
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I ' ,
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,
27
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LIVING TIME
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?
28
--
QUALITY OF CONSCIOUSNESS
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
29
j
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1- ---------------------~--------------~-------~"LIVING TIME
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
30
QUALITY OF CONSCIOUSNESS
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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LIVING TIME
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
32
QUALITY OF CONSCIOUSNESS
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
33
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I. -- ~
LIVING TIME
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.
34
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QUALITY OF CONSCIOUSNESS
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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QUALITY OF CONSCIOUSNESS
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
40
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QUALITY OF CONSCIOUSNESS
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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QUALITY OF CONSCIOUSNESS
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
44
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QUALITY OF CONSCIOUSNESS
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
45
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LIVING TIME
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.
46
QUALITY OF CONSCIOUSNESS
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-
47
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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.
48
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QUALITY OF CONSCIOUSNESS
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
50
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QUALITY OF CONSCIOUSNESS
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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QUALITY OF CONSCIOUSNESS
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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QUALITY OF CONSCIOUSNESS
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