Psychic Education
The Mother:
We give the name "psychic" to the psychological centre of our being, the seat within us of the highest truth of our existence, that which can know this truth and set it in move ment. It is therefore of capital importance to become con scious of its presence in us, to concentrate on this presence until it becomes a living fact for us and we can identify our selves with it.
In various times and places many methods have been pre scribed for attaining this perception and ultimately achiev ing this identification. Some methods are psychological, some religious, some even mechanical. In reality, everyone has to find the one which suits him best, and if one has an ardent and steadfast aspiration, a persistent and dynamic will, one is sure to meet, in one way or another
— outwardly through reading and study, inwardly through concentration, medita tion, revelation and experience — the help one needs to reach the goal. Only one thing is absolutely indispensable: the will to discover and to realise. This discovery and realisation should be the primary preoccupation of our being, the pearl of great price which we must acquire at any cost. Whatever you do, whatever your occupations and activities, the will to find the truth of your being and to unite with it must be al ways living and present behind all that you do, all that you feel, all that you think.
Every human being carries hidden within him the possi bility of a greater consciousness which goes beyond the bounds of his present life and enables him to share in a higher and a vaster life. Indeed, in all exceptional beings it is al ways this consciousness that governs their lives and organises both the circumstances of their existence and their individual reaction to these circumstances. What the human mental con sciousness does not know and cannot do, this consciousness knows and does. It is like a light that shines at the centre of the being, radiating through the thick coverings of the exter nal consciousness.
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It is through this psychic presence that the truth of an indi vidual being comes into contact with him and the circumstances of his life. In most cases the presence acts, so to say, from behind the veil, unrecognised and unknown; but in some, it is perceptible and its action recognisable and even, in a very few, the presence becomes tangible and its action fully effective. These go forward in life with an assurance and a certitude all their own; they are masters of their destiny. It is for the pur pose of obtaining this mastery and becoming conscious of the psychic presence that psychic education should be practised. But for that there is need of a special factor, the personal will. For till now, the discovery of the psychic being and identifica tion with it have not been among the recognised subjects of education, and although one can find in special treatises use ful and practical hints on the subject, and although in excep tional cases one may have the good fortune of meeting some one who is capable of showing the way and giving the help
that is needed to follow it, most often the attempt is left to one's own personal initiative. The discovery is a personal mat ter and a great determination, a strong will and an untiring perseverance are indispensable to reach the goal. Each one must, so to say, trace out his own path through his own diffi culties. The goal is known to some extent, for most of those who have reached it have described it more or less clearly. But the supreme value of the discovery lies in its spontaneity, its ingenuousness, and that escapes all ordinary mental laws. And that is why anyone wanting to take up the adventure usually first seeks out some person who has successfully undertaken it and is able to sustain him and enlighten him on his way. Yet there are some solitary travellers and for them a few general indications may be useful.
The starting-point is to seek in yourself that which is in dependent of the body and the circumstances of life, which is not born of the mental formation that you have been given, the language you speak, the habits and customs of the envi ronment in which you live, the country where you are born or the age to which you belong. You must find, in the depths of your being, that which carries in it a sense of universality, limitless expansion, unbroken continuity. Then you decentra lise, extend and widen yourself; you begin to live in all things and in all beings; the barriers separating individuals from each other break down. You think in their thoughts, vibrate in their sensations, feel in their feelings, live in the life of all. what seemed inert suddenly becomes full of life, stones quicken, plants feel and will and suffer, animals speak in a language more or less inarticulate, but clear and expressive; everything is animated by a marvellous consciousness with-
out time or limit. And this is only one aspect of the psychic realisation; there are others, many others. All help you to go beyond the barriers of your egoism, the walls of your exter nal personality, the impotence of your reactions and the in capacity of your will.
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You wrote to me that it is not easy to come in contact with the psychic being. Why do You consider it difficult? How should! begin?
I said "not easy", because the contact is not spontaneous
— it is involuntary. The psychic being always has an influ ence on the thoughts and actions, but one is rarely conscious of it. To become conscious of the psychic being, one must want to do so, make one's mind as silent as possible, and enter deep into the heart of one's being, beyond sensations and thoughts. One must form the habit of silent concentra tion and descent into the depths of one's being.
The discovery of the psychic being is a definite and very concrete fact, as all who have had the experience know.