We come into this world with nothing and we leave
it with nothing, so it is pointless trying to acquire lots of
material possessions while we are here – because there is no net
gain. Our material balance sheet is always zero at the start of
our life and it is always zero at the end of our life, and no
one is ever going to change that! But it is a different story
with our spiritual balance sheet. If we end our life with a
higher level of consciousness than we began with, we can claim
success. Adding to our spiritual balance sheet by developing our
consciousness is the one purpose that remains the same in each
and every life, no matter who we are.
All living beings possess an inherent drive to
evolve, to become the highest possible expression of life and to
fully realise themselves. Personal development is the wilful
co-operation with this natural evolutionary process, but an
understanding of the processes involved is required if it is to
be truly effective. We only learn lessons and develop new
faculties through direct experience; theoretical learning does
not develop consciousness. For example, seeing the word
"fear" in
print is not the same as experiencing it firsthand – that is why
we incarnate.
During the lower stages of human development,
material ambitions and an egotistical nature are justified
because they drive us onwards and upwards. But once we have
progressed beyond the lower stages we no longer have any use for
those motives and they are gradually eliminated from our being.
Eventually we come to realise that nothing outside of us can
bring lasting peace or satisfaction, and that the only way we
can achieve these is to develop our consciousness.
Methods of
Personal Development
There are two main methods of self-development:
1. Active:
The "way of the student"
involves actively working at your own development.
Your level of
consciousness is directly related to what you choose to focus
your attention on. For example, a person who is nearing the end
of the developed stage naturally focuses much of their attention
on mental and intellectual interests, but if they are content to
limit their thinking to intellectual issues they will not
progress any further. They must actively decide to study
abstract and conceptual material (such as esoterics) in order to
attract the higher vibrations of causal matter and begin to
develop subjective causal consciousness. Examples of active
development are constant conscious awareness, living in
the now, meditation and visualisation exercises.
2. Passive:
The "way of the saint"
involves forgetting about your self entirely and dedicating your
life to serving others. Serving others means helping and
protecting those who are less developed, less experienced, less
knowledgeable or less capable than you are.
All
developing monads are dependent on energies and assistance from
the next higher kingdom, but the condition of receiving this
help is service to others. Life is give and take – we give to
those who are less developed than we are and receive from those
who are more developed than we are.
More often than not people use a combination of
the two methods or alternate between them in different
incarnations. Personality types (rays) 1, 3, 5 and 7 are
generally more inclined to the active method and types 2, 4 and
6 are usually attracted to the passive method. There are many
different paths but they all lead to the same destination; some
are more winding than others but all eventually get there.
Controlling Consciousness
To become whole we must integrate the subtle
bodies of our persona by learning to control their energies and
consciousness. Emotional conscious can only be controlled by
mental consciousness, and mental consciousness can only be
controlled by causal consciousness, etc. The main challenge
facing most people is for the mind to gain control over the
emotions and desires of the emotional body. This does not mean
ignoring our emotions or killing them off altogether; it simply
means us controlling them, rather than them controlling us. An
integrated and balanced persona is the natural result of
breaking down the automated behavioural patterns and reactions
in our subtle bodies.
The automated responses of our emotional body
give rise to all sorts of feelings about our self and others.
Learning to disregard these emotional reactions is a very
difficult but incredibly important aspect of human development,
because if we don’t disregard them and end up giving them
attention we inadvertently reinforce them. Ridding ourselves of
old patterns of behaviour is a pre-requisite for acquiring
higher levels of consciousness. We are not free unless we
determine the content of our own minds, so we must learn how to
control our attention so that it doesn’t wander aimlessly and
reinforce every thought or feeling that passes through our
subtle bodies.
Our sub-conscious continually feeds our waking
conscious with thoughts, feelings and impulses that our waking
consciousness assumes are its own. Our waking consciousness
continually feeds our sub-conscious with bad habits, illusions
and fictions. So negative thoughts and fictitious concepts are
continually recycled between our conscious and sub-conscious
minds, which reinforces our weaknesses. This vicious cycle can
be only broken through persistent awareness of our thoughts and
feelings to ensure that we only give attention to (and
reinforce) positive influences and quickly discard the negative
ones. Eventually the negative stimuli will grow so weak that
they are unable to send impulses up into the waking
consciousness.
Developing Consciousness
Consciousness develops by moving our attention
away from the activity within our subtle bodies (senses,
emotions and thoughts) and towards our soul (higher self or
second triad). Freeing ourselves from identification with our
bodies is a particularly difficult and time consuming aspect of
our evolution. It can only be achieved by refusing to pay
attention to the lowest impulses of our subtle bodies, i.e.
negative feelings, emotions and thoughts. This causes the lowest
molecular types within our subtle bodies to gradually lose their
vitality and become redundant; only then can they be replaced by
higher molecular types.
In order to progress, we must free our selves
from the automated patterns of our sub-conscious (by continually
"watching"
our consciousness) and identify more with our super-conscious
(by meditation and "living in the now").
We must also dedicate our development towards the service of
humanity, and not do it for personal gain. Caring not for our
own development and putting the needs of humanity ahead of our
own is the only way we can overcome our inherent egotistical
nature and attain enlightenment. We shouldn’t ponder over how
far we have come or how many incarnations remain, because these
things don’t matter. What is important is to make the best of
the incarnation we are in now. If we rush to achieve
enlightenment we will never get there, because we won’t have
learnt the most important lesson of all: You need to forget
about your self in order to free your self. By helping yourself
you help no one, but by helping others you also help yourself.
As we progress we must be careful not to develop
a "spiritual ego"
or think we are special because we are more advanced than
others. A spiritual ego is no better than a regular ego but is a
trap that we all fall into many times during our human
development. It’s not possible to overcome the ego by fighting
it head on because whilst our monad is centred in the first
triad we are the ego, so it would be like punching our self in
the face. The only way to overcome the ego is to transcend it;
to move up to the second triad and become our soul. In order to
achieve this (enlightenment) we must:
1. Disassociate
our self from our ego (first triad or lower self) by actively
putting the needs of others ahead of our own.
2. Identify
our self with our soul (second triad or higher self) by
mediation, contemplation, visualisation, aspiration to unity and
the development of virtuous qualities.
This dual-pronged approach gradually tips the
balance of power in favour of our higher self and helps it gain
control over the egotistical lower self.
Rapid Development
Rapid development is the reward of unselfishness
– we develop the fastest by helping others to realise the
meaning of life and live in accordance with the laws of life. In
order to help others understand we must first have an
understanding of life and the stages of human development. We
must understand the difficulties they face at each stage, their
motivations and what they are capable of grasping. Trying to
force people into accepting a particular belief system is a
violation of their freedom, so those who are content with their
current beliefs and world view must be met with loving
understanding, even if they are wrong. They will have plenty of
opportunities in future incarnations to correct their views. In
the meantime we must respect the fact that their current beliefs
are appropriate for their current level of development. Everyone
who reflects on the meaning of life gradually develops their own
belief system. Initially it will be flawed but over time,
perhaps many incarnations, it will gradually build into a system
of knowledge and description of reality that matches that of
those in the fifth kingdom – the ones who gave us esoterics.
Two additional factors contribute to rapid
development – awareness and will power. Maintaining constant
awareness of our desires, emotions and thoughts is of prime
importance because we can’t address our weaknesses unless we are
aware of them. Once we become aware of a particular issue we
will obviously need will-power to overcome it. Will-power is
also necessary to sustain our efforts over an entire lifetime or
series of lifetimes.
Every new effort gives rise to a corresponding
resistance from the persona. It may seem that when you first
start out on the path that things are conspiring to make it
difficult for you. Don’t be discouraged by this – it is just a
test to see if you are up to the task ahead. The path of the
spiritual aspirant is the one straight up the mountain whereas
the path of the normal person is the one that meanders around
the mountain. The first is much more difficult but the rewards
are far greater. Many set out on the steep path but lack the
commitment to follow it through to the end. They put in a
concerted effort at the start but give up quickly and slip back
down again. It is better to proceed at a steady and sustainable
pace because a lifetime of commitment is required if you truly
want to succeed. Don’t necessarily expect immediate results or
you may become demoralised and slip back down again. So the
tests that confront us as we begin our journey are for our own
protection; they stop us from proceeding unless we are truly
ready.
Quick Tips for Personal
Development
1. Just
as you can’t develop your muscles just by reading about
exercise, you can’t develop your consciousness just by reading
about esoterics or spirituality.
2. Unless
you change your internal life, your external life will never
really change.
3. What
you assimilate into your mind affects your mental and emotional
well-being in much the same way as your diet affects your
physical well-being.
4. Trust
life and have faith that it will provide you the experiences you
require for your continued evolution.
5. Accept
the fact that there are no accidents and everything happens for
a reason.
6. Learn
to trust yourself, your instincts, your intuition and your
inspiration.
7. Don’t
hold on to the past or worry about the future – just live one
day at a time.
8. By
helping yourself you help no one, but by helping others you also
help yourself.
9. Those
who live in accordance with the laws of life are better than
those who preach them.
10. Try
to notice every motive
and desire that passes through your consciousness. Give
conscious energy to those of a high order and discard those of a
low order.
11. You
won’t find peace and happiness by looking outside of yourself.
12. Try
to contact your higher self for a few minutes every day and
imagine how it might direct your life.
13. Remember
that you are not your body, your emotions or your mind – they
are separate beings and you (the ensouling monad) are their
master. If they are well trained they will serve you well,
otherwise they will run wild.
14. Learn
to distinguish between your wants and your body’s wants.
15. Free
yourself from addictions, e.g. alcohol, drugs, coffee, sugar,
tobacco, sex. You can still enjoy them from time to time; just
don’t let them become habitual.
16. Make
little sacrifices to help develop your will-power. For example,
give up chocolate or alcohol for a month.
17. Be
true to yourself and never pretend to be anything you are not.
If people don’t accept you for who you are, you don’t need them
in your life.
18. Don’t
be too critical because any fault you see in others probably
also afflicts you.
19. Be
unconcerned about other people’s opinions. You are free to form
your opinions and they are free to form theirs.
20. Whether
people like you or not is their business not yours, so don’t
take it personally.
21. Forgive
everyone and everything – you can’t change the past so there is
no point being bitter. It hurts you far more that it hurts them;
so why torture yourself?
22. Give
up the need to win and the need to be right.
23. Don’t
interfere in other people’s affairs, but always be willing to
help if you are asked.
24. Don’t
pass on hearsay or gossip – break that cycle of vindictive
negativity.
25. Don’t
be offended by anything because it is all part of the divine
plan.
26. Calmly
accept whatever life deals you – you probably can’t do much
about it so there is no point getting angry or depressed.
27. Remain
optimistic – if times are tough be thankful they are not worse
and be grateful that you are working off some of your karmic
debt.
28. The
only evil that can befall you is of our own making. Rather than
fearing what you are due it is better to welcome it, because at
least you will have re-paid part of your karmic debt.
29. Don’t
blame other people for your misfortunes because you alone are
responsible for your life. The one’s you blame are merely
instruments who helped to manifest your karma and destiny.
30. Accept
people for who they are – their behaviour merely reflects with
their level of development.
31. Make
allowances for other people failings rather than judging and
condemning them.
32. Try
not to judge people who are at a lower stage of development
because you were once just like them.
33. See
the good in everyone, no matter how bad they may appear.
34. Be
happy and think happy thoughts – if you don’t identify with
negative emotions they can have no hold over you and will
quickly pass.
35. Love
unconditionally – treat everyone as you would like them to treat
you, and try to treat everyone the same whether you like them or
not.
36. Be
willing to make sacrifices and put the needs of others before
your own.
37. Do
your best and you will always succeed, even if the world
considers it a failure.
38. Be
unconcerned about failure – there is no such thing as failure,
only opportunities to learn lessons.
39. Don’t
regret anything – the cyclic nature of life means there will
always be another opportunity.
40. It
takes time for noticeable improvements to manifest in your life,
so don’t be too hard on yourself if you don’t seem to be making
much progress.
41. Forget
about your self and how far you have come.
42. Thinking
highly of your self is a clear sign that you still have a long
way to go.
43. Don’t
take yourself too seriously because life is just an educational
game.
44. Maintain
an inner awareness to ascertain your motives before you speak or
act.
45. Remember
that the solution to all your problems lies within you.
46. Recognise
that all your troubles are caused by uncontrolled emotions.
Emotionality feeds a conflict but rationality brings resolution.
47. Be
honest, upright, dependable and sincere, with no hidden agendas.
48. Be
impartial in every decision you make, irrespective of any
advantage you may gain or disadvantage you may incur.
49. Always
set a good example to other people.
50. Stand
up for freedom and fight for your rights.
51. Stand
firm in matters of great importance but yield in matters of no
importance, and remember that most things in life are
unimportant.
52. If
you let go a little you will have a little peace, if you let go
a lot you will have a lot of peace, if you let go completely you
will have complete peace.
53. Don’t
conform to customs and arbitrary rules – they stifle freedom and
expression.
54. Don’t
succumb to advertising – it is nothing but mental and emotional
manipulation.
55. Ignore
public opinion – investigate things for your self and make up
your own mind.
56. Study
esoterics and apply it in order to develop wisdom, but don’t
read too much too quickly because you will dilute what you
already know.
57. Read
slowly so that you have time to fully absorb the information,
contemplate it to develop your understanding then apply it in
your daily life.
58. Remain
open minded but not gullible.
59. Be
generous and charitable – can you really justify another
spending spree when there are so many poverty-stricken people in
the world?
60. You
get what you give, not what you take.
61. Don’t
want more than you need.
62. Too
many possessions are a burden, so give away anything you don’t
need.
63. Don’t
envy other people’s wealth because it is better to have a
reasonable standard of living in all your incarnations rather
than one decadent life followed by ten poverty stricken lives.
64. Wealth,
power and fame only give you an advantage in one lifetime; a
developed consciousness gives you an advantage in every
lifetime.
65. Be
kind to everyone, without exception.
66. Stop
harming other people with negative words, feelings and thoughts.
67. Do
right for the sake of right, not for recognition or reward.
68. Don’t
just refrain from doing evil; actively do good.
69. Do
what you can (no matter how small) to make the world a better
place.
70. Remember
why you are here!
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