“There is within us an immense capacity for perception, for the receiving of message from outside; and a very little consciousness which deals with them. It is as if one telegraph operator were placed in charge of a mutitude of lines: all may be in action; but he can only attend to one at a time. In popular language, there is not enough consciousness to go round. Even upon the sensual plane, no one can be aware of more than a few things at once. These fill the center of our field of consciousness: as the object on which we happen to have focussed our vision dominates our field of dight. The other matters within the field retreat to the margin. We know, dimly, that they are there; but we pay them no attention and should hardly miss them if they ceased to exist.

“Trancendental matters are, for most of us, always beyond the margin; because most of us have given up our whole consciousness to the occupation of the senses, and permitted them to construct there a universe in which we are contented to remain. Only in certain states—recollection, contemplation, ecstasy and their allied conditions—does the self contrive to turn out the usual tenants, shut the ‘gateays of the flesh,’ and let those submerged powers which are capable of picking up messages from another plane of being have their turn. Then it is the sense world which retreats beyond the margin, and another landscape that ruches in. At last, then, we began to see something of what contemplation does for its initiates.” ~Evelyn Underhill

Capacity for Perception

It is true that we have a great capacity for perception. It is also true that there are many things that exist beyond our physical perception and are completely invisible to them. But Ms. Underhill makes a mistake that was common for the time: she confuses consciousness with the conscious mind. The conscious mind is part of the physical mind, and is limited, as Underhill says. Consciousness, on the other hand, is not limited at all.

Focussed Vision

One reason our capacity for perception is limited is that we focus only on one thing or a small number of things. This makes sense to a large degree in a purely physical world, because we want to experience mostly the things that most interest us, endanger us, or are simply in our way and we need to go around them. Unfortunately, once we have learned to focus our vision and other senses in that way, we do it constantly. In so doing, we miss out on a lot of things that are, as Underhill puts it, pushed to the margins and ignored. That is one reason why Gene Savoy, Sr. taught us to practice unfocusing our eyes so we see more, not only on the physical level but to help us start seeing beyond the physical with our spiritual faculties.

Filters

In addition to focussing, we have beliefs, concepts, and ideas of what is real and what isn’t. This causes us to see things differently than others who may have different filters. One example of this is the way members of certain Churches will see the face of Jesus in every water stain, or blob of rust that vaguely resembles a human face. None of them have ever seen the actual face of Jesus, yet every time they see these vague shapes, they just know it is him.

Trancendental Matters

Underhill refers to everything spiritual when she uses the expression, “transcendental matters”. She says these matters are always being pushed “beyond the margin” of our conscious mind, and that is true. She adds that we perceive these things only when we are in “certain states,” and gives some examples. But here, we are really talking about something different than the focusing of the conscious mind. Spiritual things can only be perceived by our spiritual senses, and to do so, we must awaken and develop those senses. That is what we are doing when we practice the techniques taught in Cosolargy. Another part of it is that there are many levels of consciousness, and we are only aware of things happening at our current level, and below. We need to develop higher levels of consciousness to see more of the reality that is largely hidden from us. The Cosolargy techniques do that as well.

“Though I have said that we are one with God and this is taught us by Holy Writ, yet now I say that we must eternally remain other than God, distinct from Him. …

“And therefore I say further: that from the face of God, or from our highest feeling, a brightness shines upon the face of our inward being, which teaches us the truth of love and of all virtue: and especially are we taught in this brightness to feel God and ourselves in four ways. First, we feel God in his Grace; and when we apprehend this, we cannot remain idol. For like the sun, by its splendor and its heat, enlightens and gladdens and makes fruitful the whole world, So God does to us through His Grace. He enlightens and gladdens and makes fruitful all who desire to obey Him. If, however, we would feel God within us, and desire to have the fire of His love ever more burning within us, we must, of our own free will, help to kindle it in four ways: we must abide within ourselves, united with the fire. And we must go forth from ourselves toward all good people with loyalty and love. And we must bo beneath ourselves, betaking ourselves in all good works. And we must ascend above ourselves with the flame of this fire, through devotion, and praise, and fervent prayer, and must ever cleave to God with an upright intention and with love.” ~John of Ruysbroeck

One With God, Yet Individuals

When they are told that the goal of spiritual development is to unite with God, many people think this means that their individuality will be lost in doing do. In fact, there are some spiritual schools that teach that we lose our identity as we become one with God, comparing it to a drop of water that flows into the ocean where it mixes in and can never be separated again. But others teach that it is more like a brick being added to a brick wall. The brick is part of the wall but still retains its individuality.

A Brightness Shines

A brightness does shine on us from God, but not directly. God’s Light illuminates the Spiritual Sun and it is that Sun than shines down on us with God’s Light. And it shines on our outer being as well as our inner one. It shines on all beings, but most are unable to absorb it, so it just passes through them like neutrons. But for those who seek this Brightness of God, it awakens and nourishes the spirit and helps us develop higher levels of consciousness.

Four Ways

The Four Ways listed by Ruysbroeck may not be the only ways to keep us close to God, but they are certainly part of it. First, he says we must seek to unite “with the fire.” In other words, to be one with the Light, one with God, one with Heaven. In Cosolargy, we know that the best way to do this is to practice our solar techniques faithfully and regularly. Then we must, as Ruysbroeck puts it, “go forth from ourselves toward all good people”. In Cosolargy, We are taught to keep the teachings secret, just as was done in the mystery schools of the past, yet we can still reach out to others, inform them of what is happening, what the Awakening is all about, and invite them to join Cosolargy. Don’t be disappointed, however, if your friends and relatives are not ready to see the Light, and turn down your suggestion. The Light will come to them when they are ready, not before, but as the old saying goes, it helps to plant seeds. Third, we must, as Ruysbroeck says, go beneath ourselves to continue to labor in the world of matter. We remain part of the material world while developing our spiritual side, so we must continue to function in that world, and not withdraw from it. We function in it but avoid becoming attached to it, or to anything in the world of matter. And finally, we ascend above ourselves to “pray” or communicate with the Beings of Light and With God. This is the way to truly know God.