“A transcendental genius obeys the laws which govern all other forms of genius, in being susceptible of culture: and, indeed, cannot develop to its full powers without an educative process of some kind. This strange art of contemplation, which the mystic tends to practice during the whole of his¹ career—which develops steps by step with his vision and his love—demands of the self which undertakes it the same hard dull work, the same slow training of the will, which lies behind all supreme achievement, and is the price of all true liberty. It is the want of such training—such ‘supersensual drill’—which is responsible for the mase of vague, ineffectual, and sometimes harmful mysticism which has always existed: the dilute cosmic emotion and limp spirituality which hang, as it were, on the skirts of the true seekers of the Absolute, and bring discredit upon their science.

“In this, as in all other and lesser arts which have been developed by the race, education consists largely in a humble willingness to submit to the discipline, and profit from the lessons of the past. … Each new and eager soul rushing out towards the only end of Love passes on its way the landmarks left by others upon the path to Reality.” ~Evelyn Underhill

Transcendental Genius

We are not all geniuses as measured by the standard education system, but anyone following a spiritual path is demonstrating above-average intelligence. And those who follow a genuine spiritual path will often discover that their intellect improves as well. It is not unusual for those having spiritual training to discover that they now score ten or fifteen points more on an I.Q. Exam. Not that it is necessary for spiritual growth, but it is a fortunate side effect. It also helps you deal with those opposed to spiritual development as they usually rely on intellect to make their point.

An Educative Process

While there are some today who will deny it, no one becomes spiritually awakened and developed overnight. That is actually a good thing because the revealing of too much reality before a person is ready to handle it has driven some people insane. But there are different ideas of what kind of an educative process is needed. It is probably ideal to have a spiritual adept take you under their wing and teach you individually. Unfortunately, there are few advanced adepts available to do that. The second best option is to attend a school that has an advanced mystic or spiritual adept leading it or at least was founded by such a person. Pythagoras ran such a school which is why I chose a drawing of him teaching to illustrate this article. Cosolargy is one such school and teaches some things that none of the others teach.

While reading spiritual books is a good way to start, but you cannot rely on them for your entire spiritual education. One reason is that the books never contain everything you need to know. Another is that you might misunderstand some of the things the books say, especially when they are said in allegorical terms, as they often are. A third reason is that you have no one you can ask questions of when you have difficulties. A fourth is that a teacher can help you know where you are in your spiritual quest, and what you need to do next. And fifth, working as part of a community developing together helps you grow and gives you some protection from the dark forces and beings that try to prevent us from developing our spiritual Self.

Whole Career

Ms. Underhill tells us that the mystic spends his whole career studying and learning more about the realm of spirit. That education is never complete. The idea that you can spend a few days studying a form of meditation and you are done is complete nonsense. In the ancient mystery schools, the students generally stayed for many years, often their entire life. That wasn’t because they were slow learners, but because the spiritual development process is one of gradual development. Any school that claims otherwise is, frankly, a fraud.

A Humble Willingness to Submit

Underhill is also correct in saying that the successful spiritual student must have humility and a willingness to submit. That is another reason why the process takes years. Few of us have such humility. In our modern world of commerce and competition, we are discouraged from showing humility. It is considered a weakness. Yet we must submit to the Beings of Light, to God, to the Greater Good, if we are to be fully successful in our spiritual quest, and that requires humility. So we start learning the basics of spiritual development, and also to develop humility and love (also very important) gradually. As we advance, we develop more and more love and humility. Those who fail to do so—and I have met some of those—never develop beyond a certain point. So practice your spiritual techniques, but also work on developing humility, discipline, and love.