Cultivation of the Mind

As we have discussed, from the perspective of the Myth we describe, the principal task of the Magical Wayfarer is training his mind to manifest and act not from its outer, clouded and darkened habits but from its inner luminous foundation.

In other words, Magic is based on the idea that although the nature of the mind is Light, its manifestations are “spoiled,” distorted by habits born of wrong self-identification and by the disruption of attraction and repulsion.

Crucially, any attempt to “fix” this situation by imposing “external” concepts and constraints on the mind is doomed to fail. First, any suppression or restriction of the expression of impulses — strivings and drives — that arise in the mind only leads to the growth of the shadow, which becomes both a major drain on energy and an obstacle between incarnations. Second, everything that relies on memory, knowledge, concepts, and other functions of the brain will vanish when that brain dies, and therefore is as illusory a burden as all that is “acquired” yet has not entered the nature of the mind.

We have said that the Great Work of Magic consists precisely in the change in how the mind manifests, in shifting its self-identification from the outer layers to the deep foundation. At the same time, because of the great inertia of this “false” identification and its deep roots in habitual patterns, such a “shift” presents considerable difficulties and, contrary to modern ideas of “easy spirituality,” is hard work usually requiring many lifetimes.

It is thus that the mind must, paradoxically, be trained step by step, sip by sip, in the naturalness of manifestation; and since no contrived attainments will survive the death of the brain, this training must affect the very fabric of the flow of mind.

As we have also discussed, one can approach such a transformation in two ways: understanding and activity. Both converge on training the flow of the mind to manifest from its Shining Foundation, but this training is achieved by different methods.

The first approach involves eradicating false views and forming a ‘right view.’ It means that by reflecting, concentrating, and examining the mind’s representations and descriptions available for analysis, the mind can gradually attain greater adequacy of the theoretical and perceptual pictures — that is, align its experience with its views. Since the basis of the mind is Light, by concentrating on experience arising from that basis and bringing its worldview into alignment with it, the mind becomes accustomed to proceeding from its own, not imposed, uncontrived anchors for describing reality. Although this approach seems obvious, unfortunately, in practice our experience and our representations are usually only loosely related, and we often prefer to ignore those perceptions that do not fit familiar descriptions rather than change the descriptions themselves. Accordingly, our first task is forming honest views. As perception is purified, clarity will increase, and therefore the picture and its descriptions will change. In the “ideal” outcome, this movement will lead to pure perception of the Light and the “dissolution” of reality within it.

The second approach consists in training the mind to express itself through pure actions. Again, since the nature of the mind is Light, its natural impulse is to act for the good — that is, from love and compassion. The distorted tendency, conversely, lies in the habit of acting from selfishness, clinging, and destruction. In other words, by “catching” constructive impulses that break through from the depths of the mind and investing energy in them, we accustom it to right action and thereby establish and consolidate the contact of the “acting” layers of the mind and the luminous foundation.

It is clear that the purification and realization practices we have discussed also help establish such a stable, unclouded contact between the layers of the mind, and accordingly, fix correct self-identification.

Of course, the proper, balanced Way should include both kinds of advancement, and awareness work must be combined with practical action: neither knowledge on its own nor “good deeds” by themselves will lead to the liberation of the mind.

Magical practice for purifying the mind and transformation of the mind is thus the most powerful means of training it and, in its ideal culmination, leads to liberation and pleromization.