Fellowship Of Isis Centre of Isis and Sophia of the Stars Paper II Visualization This months work involves another

r very basic e ercise that of concentratin! upon a simple ima!e first e ternally and then transferrin! this to an internal ima!e which is held in the "minds eye# This type of concentration is attemptin! to promote a state of one$ pointedness of mind# This one$pointedness creates within the mind a focusin! of consciousness of clarity% lucidity and potential ener!y and can result in an altered state of consciousness wherein the separateness between the viewer and the ob&ect dissolves and the normal boundaries of time and space disappear# This practice on its own is one of the ei!ht "limbs of yo!a and is called in the 'ast (harana# The creation of mental ima!es is an activity that we are all en!a!ed upon throu!hout our lives thou!h we may not be aware of the process unless it is actually focused upon# )s youn! children we learnt to reco!nize different elements in our e ternal environment and subse*uently internalized a vast catalo!ue of ima!es# +ater on these became connected in our minds with sounds in the form of speech and then as words in readin! and writin!# ,ou may have memories of this learnin! process from your own childhood or have observed it in children# )s we master lan!ua!e it distances us from the ori!inal ima!e and the process becomes lar!ely unconscious and very much speeded up# It certainly is possible to notice this ima!e$makin! and connectin! in action% for e ample% when we evoke memories% daydream% read a novel or otherwise stimulate this function# )lso our dreams consist of created ima!es# -or some the ability to create mental ima!es is so well developed that they need only shut their eyes to see *uite clear pictures# .thers do not e actly see the ima!e or scene but have a stron! sense of it and know what it looks like# Visualizin! is a skill which we all have as with psychic faculties mentioned in Paper I it is often been suppressed by environmental factors# Practice and patience will develop the ability# If you are lucky enou!h to be able to visualize at will this paper can serve as an opportunity to enhance your concentration and the ability to sustain a mental ima!e# Please do not be discoura!ed if you find it difficult to ima!e as re*uested or even to hold your attention on the ima!e e ternally# )t times the holdin! of the mind even for a few seconds can be e cruciatin!# The mind is often likened to a lively monkey movin! as it does so rapidly from thou!ht to thou!ht# +ast month% if not previously% you no doubt e perienced a taste of the mercurial nature of your mind when you focused your attention upon rela in! and breathin! e ercises# This flittin! from one thin! to another !oes on subliminally all the time and this "stream of consciousness is further confused by the fact that in our modern society we are constantly bombarded with visual and auditory stimuli# /hen we make the effort to switch off and open to our inner world these ima!es often !et replayed# ) prime e ample is the tune that replays mantra$like in our heads after bein! heard on the radio# /ith your work throu!hout the months ahead it is very important to be aware of your attitude and not to create a false division between your will and your mind# /hen you attempt to control your mind by force the results obtained are usually ne!li!ible and while it is certainly necessary to continue with re!ular practice this firmness of purpose needs to be tempered with love# ,ou will have resistances and times when very little appears to be happenin! in your meditations and trainin! but these "dry periods are actually part of the process and an inte!ral part of development# 0ein! aware of these cycles can aid you in comin! throu!h these fallow

+evel 1 Paper 2 33 Pa!e 2 periods# There is a potent formula within the mysteries encoded in the "word of power I#)#.# which represents the initials of the '!yptian deities Isis3)pophis 4Set53.siris# It is essentially a formula of the process of meditation# To *uote from a ma&or writer on the sub&ect6 7In be!innin! a meditation practice% there is always a *uiet pleasure% a natural !entle !rowth% one takes a lively interest in the work8 it seems easy8 one is *uite pleased to have started# This sta!e represents Isis#9 This phase is sooner or later succeeded by the period of )pophis wherein resistances mount up% depression and a detestation of the work at hand arise# There are little or no insi!hts !ained and it is often here where people will !ive up on a particular practice or course of trainin! because they feel it is not workin!# The temptation is to be!in somethin! new in order to re!ain the comfortable area of the Isian phase# The problem with this is that until one has !one throu!h the )pophis sta!e which is a death the rebirth phase cannot be entered into# The final sta!e has been described thus6 7It is followed by the arisin! not of Isis% but of .siris# The ancient condition is not restored% but a new and superior condition is created% a condition only rendered possible by the process of death#9 In alchemical terms the first matter of the work was taken throu!h various sta!es where the basic substance went throu!h a period of death and stillness 4the black dra!on5 and came throu!h this to pure !old# In the course of ones life spiritually these cycles can be seen on a lar!er scale than month to month practices# The references within mystical writin!s to the "(ark :i!ht of the Soul describes a condition which is universal on the Path at some sta!e of development# In a sense these sta!es as described% whether encountered with each new e ercise or within the lar!er framework% will have relevance as you encounter them# .nto this months e ercise6 for this work in concentration the su!!estion is that you use very simple !eometric shapes# /ithin the /estern ;ystery Tradition the ancient symbols of the Tattvas have been used as an aid to concentration since the late 1<th Century# This is merely a su!!estion however% it is perfectly allowable for you to use alternative symbols and colours to represent the elements# -or e ample the Platonic solids% thou!h re*uirin! more visualisin! skill as they are three$dimensional% have been associated with the five elements of 'arth% )ir% /ater% -ire and Spirit 4)ether5# These mathematical solids% thou!h ascribed to Plato% were "borrowed by him from the teachin!s of Pytha!oras# It is not known whether Pytha!oras developed these himself or wrote about what was until then held within the mystery schools# 'soteric tradition holds that sacred !eometry and mathematics were part of the secret teachin!s of the '!yptian mystery schools and may well have been derived from )tlantean sources# =owever it was these early philosophers who have left written records that have survived# -or the initial part of the e ercise you will need to either cut out of coloured paper or paint the symbol to concentrate upon# 'ither way these should be put on a neutral coloured back!round# If you do choose to work with the Solids% pictures can be found throu!h your local library *uite easily and also the dice used for the popular role$playin! !ame "(un!eons and (ra!ons are miniature solids# ,ou will note in the chart followin! that the attributes to the elements fi!ures in both systems# /e will be over the course of months be workin! with various symbol systems and associations# Those of you with e perience of astrolo!y% tarot and the like will have already encountered this type of thinkin! with the attributin! of *ualities and meanin!s to symbols# The four elements are not to be confused with the elements of chemistry but can be re!arded as states of ener!y and bein!# 'lement Tattvic Ima!e Platonic Solid PS Shape Su!!ested P#S# Colour

+evel 1 Paper 2 33 Pa!e > 'arth ,ellow S*uare Cube ? s*uare faces @reen )ir 0lue Circle .ctohedron A trian!ular faces ,ellow /ater Silver Crescent Isosohedron 2B trian!ular faces 0lue -ire Ced Trian!le Tetrahedron D trian!ular faces Ced Spirit 0lack .val (odecahedron 12 penta!onal faces ;ulti$coloured or :eutral /hether you work with one of these symbols or devise your own !eometric shapeEcolourE element our su!!estion is that you work with one per week 4so that there wil1 be F weeks work on this paper as a minimum5 and so one element per week# /e would su!!est that you attempt to spend some time compilin! attributes and *ualities of these elements from your own back!round in readin! and perhaps meditation work to enrich your understandin! of their meanin!# It is possible to use these symbols as doorways into inner realities and this type of work will be en!a!ed upon a little later on the course# ,ou may find that ima!es spontaneously come to you as you concentrate upon the symbol which relates to the element# These should be noted but not elaborated on at this point# /hen you do lose your concentration point upon the symbol &ust% as with the rhythmic breathin! and rela ation% draw your attention back firmly but !ently to the ima!e# The techni*ue itself is very simple6 sit as you did in Paper Is meditation and place at eye$ level the card with the selected ima!e on it# It is ideal to do this on a blank wall so that you are not overly distracted by the surroundin!s but obviously individual environments will dictate where placed# There will need to be li!ht in the room% thou!h dim or muted li!ht is best rather than !larin!# )fter your preliminary rela ation and breathin! &ust focus your attention on the ima!e and basically stare at it# )fter a short time allow your eyes to close and you will probably find you have an "after$ima!e that will continue for some seconds# ,ou can use this to create an inner ima!e of the symbol which you continue to concentrate upon# ,ou will probably find you have to move for some time between the outer symbol and the inner created one# .ne way of aidin! this process is su!!ested by the writer 'rnest 0utler and consists of usin! a paper or cardboard tube throu!h which to !aze throu!h% usin! ri!ht and left eyes alternatively# )s you hold the symbol in the field of vision thus% throw your eyes sli!htly out of focus which apparently brin!s the symbol within the head# This de$focusin! is a psycholo!ical trick which% as you persist with it% you pick up the knack of brin!in! a clear ima!e within your head# 0utler describes this as bein! analo!ous to the knack of learnin! to balance on a bicycle once !ained it is increasin!ly simple to brin! the visual ima!e inside# Gntil the point where the ob&ect concerned is seen clearly with the eyes closed# If you find you can do this creation of the mental ima!e it is possible to !o on to another phase where you dispense with the e ternal ima!e and put in its place a neutral coloured surface# Then create and sustain the mental ima!e% open your eyes sufficiently to see the blank surface 4be it a piece of card or bare wall5 and then pro&ect the mental ima!e onto the screen# )!ain there is a knack to this practice and it should always be done with the will of the practitioner# )ny involuntary pro&ections should be resisted# This is a *uite advanced e ercise for most so do not be discoura!ed if you find your work only centred on the initial part of concentration on the e ternal ima!e and brin!in! it inside to the "mental screen# ')CT= )IC /)T'C -IC' SPICIT

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+evel 1 Paper 2 33 Pa!e D T=' T)TTV)S I Copyri!ht6 Centre of Isis and Sophia of the Stars 1<A?