Third lecture given by the Master Beinsa Douno in the Youth Esoteric class at 7: 00pm, on Wednesday, October 18, 1922, in Sofia.
Secret prayer
The papers on “The Distinguishing Marks of Life” were read.
I will now give you a mental exercise. You will all take out your notebooks or pads and you will write down the title of the exercise: ”Mental Observation”. The exercise is not hard, but it is not easy either. During the exercise, your stomach needs to be at peace.
Exercise: hold your left hand up, spread your fingers, your palm is facing your face, and the index finger of your right hand is placed on the index finger of your left hand (their tips are touching). Observe the thought, which passes through your mind at that moment, and note it down, shortly, with two or three words. It is possible that no thought passes through your mind – this should not bother you. You will observe whether your thought is pleasant or not, whether it is negative or positive. If it is negative, mark it with a dark dot; if it is positive – with a light dot. You will be sincere in your observations, noting things as they are in reality without getting embarrassed. For instance, you are travelling from Sofia to the village of Dragalevtzi. You encounter all types of things on both sides of the road, left and right. In order to give an accurate description of the road, you will note everything as you saw it, without any feeling of embarrassment. Do not think that if you state a known fact as it is in reality, you will look bad. This fact does not represent yourself; it is something separate from you.
As you place your index fingers together so that their tips are touching, you will concentrate your thought for a minute. After that you will place your index finger on the middle finger of your left hand and you will again concentrate for a minute; you will observe what thought passes through your mind. Then you will place your index finger on the fourth finger of your left hand, then on the little finger, and lastly on the thumb. You will hold your index finger on each finger for a minute, observing your thoughts as before, and noting them in your notebook. As you do this exercise, you will notice that there is a specific, cosmic energy coming out of each finger. Each finger is a channel for a particular energy, a specific current. When the index finger goes through all the fingers of the left hand, you will put your hands together so that only the tips of your fingers are touching. In this position of your hands, you will think good thoughts. Make this exercise twice a day – morning and evening at no predetermined hour, but mainly after you have finished the work you have planned. This is the first part of the exercise.
Figure 1
The second part of the exercise differs slightly from the first one, but mainly: the right hand is held up, fingers spread out, palm facing the face. The index finger of the left hand supports the index finger of the right hand, but this time at the middle of the finger, no longer at the tip. In this position of the fingers, you will concentrate your mind for about ten to twenty seconds. After that, the middle finger of the left hand will support the middle finger of the right hand and you will once again concentrate your mind. Then the fourth finger of the left hand will support the fourth finger of the right hand and so on. You will concentrate your mind for ten to twenty seconds when supporting each finger. While holding all your fingers in this position, you will raise your hands above your head, concentrate your mind for some time, and then bring your hands down. You will do that three times, then bring your hands down, but this time separated from one another.
You will do this exercise for a week – this means a total of fourteen times. When you do this exercise, you will observe how your consciousness manifests itself and the extent to which that consciousness is awake and expanded. Take this exercise seriously. Do it when you are by yourself, not in front of people, so that they do not spoil it. If somebody sees that you are holding one of your fingers up, they will say, “This person is calculating something.” When they see that you are holding two fingers up, they will wonder what it is that you are doing.
The two arms of man were formed under different circumstances: the right arm – during the involution* of man, whereas the left one – during the evolution. Hence, as man had been coming down from the Invisible world, most of the energy had been passing through his right arm. However, this energy had first passed through the left half of the brain, then – through the heart, and lastly – through the mind.
You will be very careful when you do this exercise, and you will observe what changes take place in your consciousness. It is possible that there are no changes – this should not discourage you. The exercise is interesting in itself, without expecting much from it. Such movement of the fingers is no less than music. In the future it will be possible to create such an esoteric instrument that could be played with. The given exercise has a practical application. When you are feeling down and risk losing your balance, practise this exercise a few times until you restore your normal state. You have to reflect on your thoughts while touching each finger. When you touch your index finger, you will tell yourself, “I have to be noble in all my deeds!” When you touch your middle finger, you will tell yourself, “I have to be just, to reason correctly about all things in Life!” When touching the fourth finger, you will tell yourself, “I have to love science and art!” When touching the little finger, you will tell yourself, “I have to be correct in all my business deals, to comply with all the laws of the material world!” Thus, you will put yourself as a master in relation to your objective mind and you will say to it, “Listen, I want that you be a noble, just, reasonable servant, do not lie to me or steal from me, and close your deals in the right way. If you do not follow these conditions, I will fire you.” This is how you will converse with yourself, with your objective mind. When it realizes that it has a good, reasonable master, the objective mind is always ready to listen. There are two minds manifested in a person, but the Higher† mind has to dominate the objective mind. It is the objective mind that dominates in animals, which is why they are cruel. It is the subjective mind that dominates in the herbivorous. The Bible‡ calls these two minds “the two men” – man of Flesh and man of Spirit, always cohabitating.
Figure 2
When you do the exercise, you will also think about the planets, which correspond to each of the fingers. The thumb, for example, is influenced by Venus, the index finger – by Jupiter, the middle finger – by Saturn, the fourth finger – by the Sun, and the little finger – by Mercury.
Once you complete both parts of the exercise, you will do the following movement of the fingers: you will place the right index finger on the tip of the left little finger and you will bring the index finger down the hand, to the wrist; from there you will bring it up to the tip of the fourth finger; from there again down to the wrist and up to the tip of the middle finger; from the tip of that finger, the index finger goes down to the wrist and then up to the tip of the left index finger; from there down and up to the tip of the thumb. This way the right index finger covers all the planets, going through Mars – of war, and the Moon – of the imagination. The fingers of the hand have to spread apart.
When you do the exercise, it is good to note the exact hour, minutes and seconds when you started it. This exercise requires great precision because it is connected with time and space. It is preferable that you do that according to the sun clock. Those who are sensitive may do the exercise the moment the first sun rays appear on the horizon. It is then that you will have excellent results. Whoever is sensitive can turn their backs to the east and feel when the first sun rays appear. Exactly at that moment, they will feel slight, pleasant warmth in the Solar plexus§. The spine is capable of perceiving the warmth of the first sun rays since it is connected to the sympathetic nerve system.
Someday we could do the following experiment: in the morning before sunrise, the whole class will go out in the open, turn their backs to the east and concentrate. Everyone needs to be blindfolded at the time in order not to watch. I will watch when the first sun rays appear. I will be asking you from time to time if the Sun has risen. Those, who are sensitive and have sensed that slight warmth in the Solar plexus, will immediately say, “The Sun has risen!” Everyone can do these experiments on their own, testing their sensitivity. Sometimes you sense that warmth, but you doubt whether the Sun has risen or not. Every doubt causes a split of consciousness. If the consciousness is split, you then lose your inner impressions.
* The English reader may need a detailed interpretation of the term Involution as used by the author in his works. Involution here is used as the “opposite” of evolution. The translator has not met this term in English before. The translator has met the term Devolution, but that means “decentralization”, “delegation”, which appears different that the intended meaning of the author.
† Higher mind = “vissh um” from Bulgarian. It could also be translated Supreme mind. A matter of consistency with other translations.
‡ The translator cannot guarantee the exact wording of references from the Bible.
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