Let us resume our look at our habitual mental machinations. An immense amount of suffering is caused by an undisciplined imagination. The failure to control lower passions, especially sexual desire, is the result of an undisciplined imagination, not a weak will. Even though a strong desire is felt, it is creative thought that brings about action. There is no danger in merely seeing or thinking about the object of desire. However, when a person imagines giving in to their desires and allows those desires to strengthen the mental image, then the danger begins. It is important to realise that there is no power in objects of desire on their own unless and until we indulge in imaginations which are creative. Once this happens, a struggle is certain to ensue.
In this struggle, one may try to rely on what they think is their will and attempt to resist the results of their own imaginings through frantic resistance. Few have learned that anxious resistance inspired by fear is very different from will. The will should instead be employed to control the imagination in the first instance, thus eradicating the cause of our troubles at their source and origin.
As we shall see in a later presentation, the materials that we gather during this lifetime are worked up into mental powers and faculties in the after-death life, which will find further expression in our future lives. The mental envelope of the next incarnation depends on the work we are doing in our present mental envelope. Karma brings the harvest according to our sowing; we cannot isolate one life from another nor miraculously create something out of nothing. As it is written in the Chandogyo Upanishad, “Man is a creature of reflection; that which he reflects on in this life, he becomes the same hereafter.”
To combat and change habits of thought, a process which involves ejecting from the mental envelope one set of mental particles and replacing them with others of a higher type, is naturally difficult at first, just as it is usually difficult at first to break physical habits. But it can be done, and as the old form changes, right thinking becomes increasingly easy, and finally, spontaneous.
There is hardly any limit to the degree to which a person may recreate themselves by concentrated mental activity. As we have seen, schools of healing, such as Christian Science, Mental Science, and others, utilise this powerful agency in obtaining their results, and their utility largely depends on the practitioner’s knowledge of the forces they are employing. Innumerable successes prove the existence of the force; failures show that the manipulation of it was not skilful or could not evoke sufficient energy for the task in hand.
The expression of thought is the manifestation of Creativeness, which is part of the human triplicity. In Christianity, will represents God the Father, love represents God the Son, and thought or creative activity represents God the Holy Ghost. Thought is what creates and carries out the decrees of the will. If the will is the King, then thought is the Prime Minister.
Occultists use this creative power to accelerate human evolution. Eastern Yoga applies the general laws of mind evolution to speed up the evolution of a specific consciousness. Concentrated thought on any idea builds that idea into the thinker’s character. Thus, a person can create any desired quality in themselves through sustained and attentive thinking or meditation.
Knowing this law, a person can shape their own mental envelope as they wish, similar to how a bricklayer can build a wall. The process of building character is as scientific as developing muscular power. Even death does not stop the work, as we shall see in later presentations.
In this work of improvement, prayer may be used with great effect, as seen in the life of the Brahman. The entire life of a Brahman is essentially one continuous prayer. Although more elaborate and detailed, it is somewhat similar to the practice in some Catholic convents where novices are instructed to pray every time they eat, so that their souls may be nourished by the “bread of life”; every time they wash, so that their souls may remain pure and clean; and every time they enter a church, so that their lives may be a continuous service. The life of a Brahman is similar, except that their devotion is on a larger scale and extends into much greater detail. It is undeniable that one who sincerely and earnestly follows these instructions will be deeply and continuously affected by such actions. The mental envelope has a unique characteristic in that it grows in size, as well as in activity, as the individual grows and develops. The physical envelope has remained largely the same in size for many ages; the emotional envelope grows to some extent; but the mental envelope, as well as the causal envelope, expands enormously in the later stages of evolution, emitting vibrant, multicoloured lights of intense brilliance when at rest, and emitting dazzling flashes when in high activity.
In individuals who are not yet highly developed, it can be challenging to discern the mental envelope as it is not well evolved. Many people struggle with clear thinking, particularly in the Western world when it comes to religious beliefs. Everything seems vague and unclear. However, for esoteric development, such vagueness and lack of clarity are not acceptable. Our concepts must be precise and our thoughts well-defined. These qualities, among others, are vital for the life of an aspirant.
Moreover, it’s important for students to understand that each person perceives the external world through the lens of their own mind. This can be likened to viewing a landscape through coloured glass. A person who only sees through red or blue glasses would be unaware of the distortion caused by these lenses on the true colours of the landscape. Similarly, individuals are often unaware of the distortions created by their own minds. It is in this obvious sense that the mind has been referred to as the “creator of illusion.” Therefore, it is the responsibility of an occult student to purify and develop their mental envelope, eliminating biases and prejudices so that they reflect truth with minimal distortion due to defects.
Finally, it’s worth briefly discussing an individual’s impact on animals to complete our examination of the mental envelope, its actions, and reactions.
When a person focuses affectionate thoughts on an animal or makes a deliberate effort to teach the animal something, there is a direct and intentional transfer of emotional or mental energy from the person to the animal. However, this kind of interaction is relatively rare. Most of the impact occurs without conscious volition from either side, simply due to the continuous and inevitable influence of their close proximity.
The nature and characteristics of the person play a significant role in shaping the destiny of the animal. If the interaction between them is primarily emotional, it’s likely that the animal will mainly develop through its emotional experience, and the eventual individuation from the group soul will result from a sudden outpouring of affection that reaches the higher spiritual aspect of the animal, leading to the formation of the self-aware monad in the 4th Kingdom of Nature. If the interaction is primarily mental, the emerging mental capacity of the animal will be stimulated, and the animal will likely individualise through the mind. The passage into the 4th Kingdom of Nature will occur in the next chain, not this one. We should be aware that how we treat, especially our domestic pets, will help shape their character in the future. Consider that if you chain your dog to make it aggressive so that it guards your premises.
Additionally, if a person is intensely spiritual or possesses a strong will, the animal will likely individualise through the stimulation of its will.
Individualisation can occur through three normal methods: affection, intellect, and will. However, it is also possible to individualise through less desirable means such as pride, fear, hate, or lust for power. For example, a group of around two million monads individualised in the Seventh Round of the Moon Chain entirely through pride. They possessed little qualities other than a certain cleverness, and as a result, their causal bodies showed almost no colour but orange. You remember those guys.
The arrogance and unruliness of this group have caused constant trouble throughout history, both for themselves and for others. Some of them became the “Lords of the Dark Face” in Atlantis, while others became world-devastating conquerors or unscrupulous millionaires, often referred to as “Napoleons of finance”. Some individuals, driven by fear and cruelty, became inquisitors during the Middle Ages, and others who torture children exist even today.
We have examined habit formation and how it affects our mental envelope. In the next series of presentations, we will examine the envelope’s faculties.