The Magnetic Power to Build Oneself
Carlos Cardoso Aveline
Partial view of a painting by Abraham Hunter
Counteract your instinctive
mind wherever it works in
disharmony with your best intention.
* In silence we strengthen ourselves. Yet having a direct experience of silence means developing enough tenacity to keep out the noises that surround it.
* The regular practice of silence has a dual character. On one hand there is silence itself; on the other hand, there is the vigilance which keeps noise away. The exercise of vigilance strengthens the will. Thus a stable magnetism is built which protects one’s path to spiritual self-knowledge.
* The Void is a door to plenitude, and disagreeable events make one stronger. It’s helpful to take a time to be alone, having set all tasks aside. By refusing to desire anything, one gathers magnetic energy. The wisdom of all time teaches us to accept events as they are and act creatively.
* The law of karma makes no exceptions: the first punishment of the liar is keeping himself away from an honest perception of the facts. Insincere people inevitably disconnect themselves from truth, due to the concrete dynamics of their dishonesty. The blessings of truth are received by those who deserve it.
* Lamentation is the mark of the heedless mind. If you see decadence around you, life invites you to be stronger than the routine of degradation. Innovate. Be reborn, and make life be born again. Decide that you are responsible for your own existence. Do your best, and win. Never try to defeat anyone. Every human being is a mirror for you, although often with distorted images. Defeat your self-limitations. Reduce your self-boycott and your ignorance. Decide to achieve the best and the highest on your own merit. Persevere.
The Magnetism of Good Sense
* Vital energy is magnetic. The task of every theosophist is to use such a force correctly, so as to increase it, keeping a reserve for occasions when a greater expenditure is needed.
* The waste of magnetic energy can be avoided by maintaining a firm attitude regarding fundamental issues and a flexible attitude towards secondary issues. It will take a clear goal and common sense to differentiate between what is important and what is not.
* A moderate attitude can endure. It is advantageous, but it must be combined with the possibility of taking strong measures. Moderation must express strength, not weakness.
* Having concentration means that there is a central point in perceptions, and that this point organizes the vitality at the various levels of consciousness and action.
* When the central goal of the individual is elevated, it remains above the oscillations and wastes that often predominate on the lower levels of life. In this case a magnetic energy can be gathered which purifies and pacifies the subconscious.
* From the purification of the subconscious mind comes personal coherence.
* Self-discipline, an essential element in the alchemical purification, is inseparable from two other factors: one is self-respect, the other is self-knowledge.
* The act of knowing oneself seems to be a paradox, because it includes both Earth and Heaven.
* Self-knowledge consists in seeing your mistakes, trying to correct them, and at the same time knowing your own spiritual soul.
* Learning from one’s failures and directly knowing sacredness are two forms of knowledge which go side by side in spite of the strong contrast between them.
The Power to Build Oneself
* Counteract your instinctive mind wherever it works in disharmony with your best intention.
* Stop useless actions or thoughts. Send a continuous current of correct ideas to your own subconscious.
* Keep your mind quiet at certain times of the day, while firmly considering the ideal of self-discipline. This way you will expand your magnetic force.
* Build new habits on the subconscious plane that are elevated and impersonal. As a result, your inner strength will gain consistency.
Living in the Territory of Calm
* A correct use of time paves the way to inner happiness.
* If you want to save time, preserve calmness. An absence of hurry allows one to act with efficiency regarding that which really makes the difference.
* Hard work is a source of bliss. A correct effort eliminates ignorance and liberates one from the causes of suffering.
* The soul of a wise man is a magic mirror reflecting the sacred potentialities present in the soul of each fellow human being.
* An externally moderate life allows us to build up our reserves of energy, which then can be used at times when a more intense effort is needed.
* Every useless tension must be avoided. The apparent “intensity” of an anxious life dissipates one’s vital energies and leads sooner or later to a great disappointment.
* Personal magnetism must be not only preserved, but increased. Into a large extent, it is one’s calm magnetic force that makes the individual effort efficient. The peaceful coexistence of the pilgrim with the inner quietness in which his soul lives is a great source of vital energy, and of discernment and common sense.
The Bliss of The Secret Doctrine
* The reading of any great work of universal literature requires a patiently systematic effort. The reader should underline and annotate the text, consult reference works and ask questions of other students. It is correct to exchange ideas, to meditate, contemplate, and see the correlation between what you learn and your own daily life.
* The work “The Secret Doctrine” (SD), for example, cannot be studied and understood without the consciousness of the student being deeply changed.
* The researcher who starts reading and studying the SD is not exactly the same person who finishes the reading, 1500 pages later – in the original English language edition. However, the change in the soul takes place from the inside out, as a result of the revolutionary expansion of horizons. The gradual improvement happens quietly, almost imperceptibly.
* The arid passages of the SD entitle the student to a better understanding of its illuminating passages, which convey in a clearer way the continuous blessing of higher studies. The hard aspect of the effort prepares the reader for the sudden illumination of the lightning.
* Each page of the book contains the probationary aspects which are unavoidable to the mind of the three-dimensional world; and at the same time it transmits the bliss and the radiance of a higher level consciousness.
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The article “Thoughts Along the Road – 75” was published as an independent item in the websites of the Independent Lodge of Theosophists on 29 May 2024. An initial version of it is part of the October 2021 edition of “The Aquarian Theosophist”, pp. 20-22.
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Read more:
* Other writings of Carlos Cardoso Aveline.
* Some writings by Jean des Vignes Rouges.
* How to Build a Theosophical Lodge (by a Master of the Wisdom).
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Print the texts you study from the websites of the Independent Lodge. Reading on paper helps us attain a deeper view of philosophical texts. When studying a printed text, the reader can underline sentences and make handwritten comments in the margins that link the ideas to his personal reality.
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Helena Blavatsky (photo) wrote these words: “Deserve, then desire”.
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