8. Hod

Our talk is entitled Mind, Mortal and Immortal.

And as you know, when we speak about mind in the Western Mystery Training System, we're referring to more than one phase of the expression of consciousness. Consciousness. If you will look upon the Qabalistic tree of life, you will see that each of the ten circles in actuality, at least you may not see it yet, but I hope you'll see it, each of these ten sefiris, as they are called, these emanations of the Most High, these activities of the power or consciousness of deity actually express a specialization of what we may call the absolute mind.

The absolute mind being something none of us can at all comprehend with what we call the intellect because intellect in itself automatically by the very terms of what it is excludes the possibility of understanding absolute.

In other words, we cannot understand the word absolute nor can we have any real concept of this meaning with our intellects. Now this is something aspirants first hear it that disturbs them because so many human beings identify themselves with their intellects and therefore when we identify ourselves with our intellects the idea that we are unable to comprehend the divine or the higher with the intellect becomes something disturbing indeed. However, if I point out to you that on the Qabalistic tree of life, the area that is assigned to the workings of the intellect, the activities of the intellect, is the orange Sephirah, which is called splendor.

And if I remind you that everything below the yellow Sephirah, beauty, is assigned to the personality powers or to the personality expressions. And then if I remind you further that our personalities are something we have or we own, we are not our personalities as I'm sure you realize and will try to realize it more fully, we will try to see what is the difference between mind from one level to the other and where are they correlated so that we can better understand what is meant in Qabalah by mind, mortal and immortal.

Now, that blue Sephirah that you see called mercy is actually assigned to what we call the higher mind. In astrology, the higher mind is called the ninth house and it is assigned to such functions as philosophy, religion, and philosophy and religion in terms of what we inherit, incidentally, from the past as well as what we have in the present.

So that abstract thinking is certainly more in alignment with philosophical ideas is, and concrete thinking would therefore be assigned to things that are not basically philosophical in structure. So again, astrologically, what is called the lower mind is assigned to the third house of Gemini, and Gemini, incidentally, is discrimination, and that is key in tarot series, it's assigned to key six, the lovers. And remember, discrimination has to do with being able to tell the difference between this and that. That's why we have Adam and Eve, who, eating of the apple, suddenly knew the difference between this and that, which some people still sorrow over, and other people have learned to rejoice that, after all, perhaps it's worth the pain to know the difference between this and that, which means the pair of opposites, good and evil. Without the ability to know the difference between this and that we wouldn't know the difference between a night sky or a day sky for example we'd have no way of experiencing it whatsoever without the awareness of the this and the that or the pair of opposites which then of necessity has to include things like all knowledge which would be the absolute mind, and ignorance, which is its opposite.

In other words, for the sake of manifestation, the one life, the absolute mind, the all consciousness, has to take on the appearance of ignorance in order for there to be the experience of variations, or this and that, of light and dark, of night sky and day sky, of good and evil then, so that those who sit down and analyze consciousness at all are able to analyze it only because they have reached that point in their evolution, and that means they are human beings. They have reached that point in their evolution where having eaten of the fruit of the tree, and remember this is the tree of life, having eaten of the fruit of the knowledge of good and evil, have actually evolved to the point where they have the kind of consciousness that can differentiate, that can start learning how to use that extraordinary aspect of human consciousness, which we call the intellect, splendor, on the tree of life shown by the orange Sephirah.

So the ability and capacity to experience all of the infinite and extraordinary and mysterious and magical variations which we certainly experience. Although some of us don't think of it as being very magical or wonderful, unfortunately not yet, but let's try together to experience it as much as we can, at least this morning, maybe we can take it out with us. And in moments that appear dark suddenly this splendor of the intellect may suddenly burst upon us and we'll start recognizing the miracle and magic of the ability and capacity to no variation that is the miracle of having been able to go through all of those phases of evolution that must include going through through a phase of ignorance, or many phases of many ignorances, might be more the point, in order to arrive at the magical ability capacity to experience manyness. Now, what is the mortal mind of us? Let's analyze this a little bit more about the intellect.

What was your intellect like when you were 12 years old? And tell me about your intellect, if you've reached it yet, those of you who reached 16.

Think a moment. What is this intellect? This intellect is an instrument. Instruments are there for a purpose, and we're supposed to utilize it for the purpose that the divine has grown it for. But the intellect, remember, is very dependent on its expression.

It's very dependent on all of the other phases of the activity of personality. There's no such thing as an intellect by itself.

Try to express the intellect if you cut out the brain, God forbid. Where's the intellect? I mean, as long as the Lord of the Universe is manifesting via the body, where's the intellect if you cut out the brain? So you see the intellect is dependent on something that we call a brain whatever that is and on the other hand we think of aspects of our mind as being tied up with other portions of our being but what we seem to forget is that an An instrument, despite its very obvious specific function, is never the person, for example, who has built the instrument, never, nor is it ever the product.

In other words, the instrument isn't the product. You use an instrument to build a product, like manufacture something.

So the instrument is used as something with which to accomplish something.

And it is therefore being, it is an instrument.

But we, in delusion, because remember, manifestation requires a limitation, we have associated ourselves, we have identified ourselves with that instrument, which is an instrument of limitation for special purposes. But by identifying ourselves with this instrument of limitation, we keep ourselves in that area of ignorance where there isn't the slightest chance that we're going to experience who and what we are, not while we're in that. Only when, if you choose to call it karma, choose it that, growth, evolution, only when we finally have come to a point where the intellect, due to the impact it has had continuously with its own ignorance and had repercussions from its own ignorance, only when the intellect finally comes to this point where it is, you might say, just about knocked out curious as this may seem only then do we reach a point where we're able to have some kind of flash of what the intellect is all about and splendor, which is assigned to the function of the intellect is at the receiving end of what?

Of the divine soul because divine soul is assigned to understanding the cosmic mother and the cosmic mother remember is called the forever pure and undefiled as well as the cosmic womb the sphere of the activity of Saturn which means it is the principle of limitation and so as the principle of limitation we have the the manifestation of limitation via the intellect. The intellect is an instrument to hold something in a limitation.

Now, if you don't know what I'm talking about, think for a moment. When you concentrate on a book, now, it's your intellect that is the instrument that's holding your mind's stuff together. To concentrate it on the book. When you are watching TV, now you may be watching junk, nevertheless, most of the time, what else is there?

Nevertheless, it is the intellect that is the focusing, the attention. The minute you focus your attention, you are limiting. Limiting you are taking the absolute or that portion of the absolute mind which is has been put within the framework of your beingness and you are limiting it into an area for what purpose to either grow to evolve or to gather in junk I mean the intellect when we're not using it to discriminate can take in junk just as marvelously and perfectly and splendorously as it can anything else. It's a fabulous instrument and it is therefore it isn't the intellect that is the real director. The real director, what we're going to do with the intellect, is the self. So again we can think of the intellect as being like a possession of the self it's an instrument that we use but certainly we cannot think of the intellect as being something immortal otherwise you should still have the intellect that you had at age three and at age 12 but you sure don't we can start seeing that the intellect is the instrument that god uses for limitation but then we have to to understand what is limitation now when limitation is something we are not using consciously and deliberately it of course becomes an instrument for evil as witness those that get caught up in the mob kind of spirit but then when we reach that point in our own evolution where our intellect has become sharp, and you know it becomes sharp due to the fact that it gets itself into more trouble.

That's why you see the path of the devil pours into it from the central ego. You notice that?

So the intellect is devilish. As a matter of fact, what else can it be when it's the instrument to give us the ability to be separative? But at the same time, the ego beauty is what qabalah calls the separating influence so it is the true ego seated in the hearts of men that is the image making power of man that is really the separating influence and it is that way in the same way that it decides gee if I'm glorious as a sun reflected in one mirror gee look how much more dazzling I am if I reflect myself in a thousand and mirrors and what is and what is it that mortal mind is the illusion and the delusion that it alone is reflecting the light the limitless light that is before even the I am that I am which mind cannot remotely comprehend but super conscious mind which every one of us has in some latent sense or other since we haven't evolved the ability to fully function in it super conscious mind however that we can experience once we come to the realization that we are not the intellect and that we're going to I have to go to work and consciously use this intellect to help us attain the higher states of mind.

That's why you see, you can see that mercy, the blue Sephirah, and splendor, the orange Sephirah, are on a line.

It goes through beauty, the sun, the ego, but notice it's a reflection. The higher mind reflects itself into splendor and splendor the intellect being an instrument is just using a portion of it we with our intellects our personalities are specialized in instruments but there's only the one power there's only the one consciousness the absolute consciousness which is God that actually is the power that is the or develops these specialized expressions I said from my point of view in order to bedazzle himself with all the beauties you know lots of people have the idea that aspiration has to be a grim thing well it's grim as long as we're in a state of separation and and subject to the devil blessed blessed devil there because without the devil how would we ever start really working and yearning towards the angel the devil forces us to the limitation and ignorance they have the idea aspiration has to be a grim thing the truth of the matter is it has to be grim only as long as we're still in the state of consciousness where we make it grim and keep it grim.

The truth of the matter is, if every reflection, whatever it is, is that one sun, that dazzling splendor, which expressing in this specialized way, expresses in the differentiated kind of mind, which may be mortal mind, but it is still the divine, my mortal mind may change, and let's hope to God it does. If my intellect becomes frozen, God help all of us that are sitting here. And if your intellect becomes frozen, God help you. God will. Thank God for that. Because nothing else does eventually. But the point is, the intellect in itself is a changing, growing thing as an instrument. But that which has grown this instrument, that which uses it. Is something so vastly beyond that surely the limited expression, once it has reached the recognition that it is radiating and mirroring that blindingly glorious sun, it can afford to sparkle with the laughter. And indeed, could that not be perhaps one of the most specific and sole purposes for the development of manifestation of these specializations so that there can be the laughing, chuckling, interacting joy.

And so in this laughing, chuckling, interacting joy, what is it we have to do? We have to come to see that everything that we consider mortal is just that part of the divine that is in its changing, growing aspects.

But in the mind remember in the higher mind is the memory memory resides in the mercy part therefore everything we've ever been we remember I am that I am before Abraham was I am there's only one I am so what do you want to worry I mean why do you have to worry only because you're still caught up in the devil why Why remain caught up in the devil? It's not necessary. Only in human beings is there the possibility to get out of the inevitable and inexorable pain which is part of the limitation of manifestation and necessary. Because it is pain that does drive us.

What it drives is to finally bring that intellect of ours to try to analyze what life is all about and what everything is all about. The analytical faculty but when you become a spiritual aspirant I have news for you you don't need you need all those pains like a hole in the head if you think you need a hole in a hip and you need the pains you come to the point where you have to start using that mortal mind that that analytical faculty, to work with it. Because it says in this system of training that we call alchemy, the true alchemy, that we attain to the perfect stone of the wise by the work of the sun, that's Tiphareth beauty, and the moon, that's Yesod foundation, that is the conscious and subconscious minds with the aid of mercury, splendor. That is the analytical intellectual faculty with the aid of. So when we start bringing our intellectual analytical faculty to bear on trying to find out why we have manyness, using our intellect for analysis instead of tearing down.

But when we take the same intellect that has to be used to analyze accurately, and instead of that, we start analyzing by opening the intellect to influx from the higher mind, by opening it to the influx, say, from the channel of the hangman that comes down from the upper spheres. That hangman, incidentally, means not only reversal of consciousness and mirroring that which is above, but that also has to do with stabilizing. We have to, after analyzing and using our intellectual faculties to try to analyze and comprehend as much as possible, we then learn how to, you might say, freeze the intellect when necessary. Now please remember that, when necessary. In solving any problem, we take the intellect, we analyze, we work it over, we chew and chew and chew it over till it's come to the limit of our analysis. Once we've done that, then we're able to hold that mind like a mirror still skill to receive whatever else it is that the intellect itself can't do because it isn't on its level then the inpouring from the higher mind comes and we have our realization pure goodness absolute complete and pure goodness untouchable glory of god goodness and untouchable glory of god incidentally is one of the terms given to splendor so this mortal mind my darlings may not be the true us but it is an untouchable glory of god that we should love use properly and out of it we come to see the immortality aspect of ourselves of the higher mind we come to love that lower mind so-called in everybody we come to love the fact that it is because every single human being and every living creature has this variation this difference that that makes this manyness that the divine can reflect itself in, and these garbs are fantastic, absolute miraculous beingness and manyness.

Who can get bored? How can you permit yourself to be bored? Haven't you seen?

Look.

Look with my heart, because it's in your heart.

I share this light, this splendor with you, because you have it otherwise how could it be shared we bring our light out so that you too can recognize it within yourself it's in all of us you cannot die your mind is not the intellect you want it to change each you want to use it for why the reasons it has been built so that we can start appreciating these manynesses and when we're in the face of anyone who's different instead of disliking them say thank you God thank you God for black and white and red and brown or whatever in the races I mean these terms are so foolish they're variations of the glorious garments of God thank you God for all the fantastic myriad languages.

Every language carries its subtlety of meaning which gives God that much more manynesses, its myriad reflections of that splendor, that glorious splendor. So now you see what the splendor of God begins to be.

The immortality of your being is building itself on house of mirrors magic mirrors so all the myriadness of every incarnation you've been can be enjoyed by you as long as you're the enjoyment of everything else and in the final analysis that's God's enjoyment never a time you were not and never a time you will not be let's shine