Theosophical Siftings

Aquired Habits

Vol 2, No 14

Aquired Habits
by A.I.R.
Reprinted from !"#$%R, &a', 1((( Reproduced from )Theosophical Siftings) * Volume 2 The Theosophical +ublishing Societ', %ngland

#N attempting to deal ,ith problems ,hich onl' find their solution ,or-ed out to the full on planes and in terms incomprehensible to our ordinar' senses, it ,ould seem possible that illustrations dra,n from the science of ph'siolog' should ser.e to e/plain these problems some,hat more full' than those illustrations ,hich are dra,n from ph'sical science alone0 +h'siolog' is at least the science of life, and though, ,hen pressed, ,e must admit that ,e -no, .er' little indeed of the main factors ,hich lie behind the phenomena of life1 and that, ,ith all the means of research ,hich ,e possess, ,e -no, nothing of e.en the ph'sical forces in themselves, but onl' stud' their manifestations and correlations, 'et ,e ma', at all e.ents, argue from the little ,e do -no,, and attempt to correct our conclusions b' comparison ,ith the analogies ,hich ,e can dra, from e.er' science0 The principle in.ol.ed in the )as abo.e, so belo,), is sho,n to be true in all departments of science, and has formed a most .aluable means of .erif'ing the results obtained b' pushing a theor' to its legitimate conclusion0 Thus, b' correcting the phenomena of .ital force b' those of ph'sical, ,e ma' arri.e at man' more or less 2ust conclusions0 Therefore, it is probable that b' proceeding a step further, and dra,ing analogies from ph'siolog', ,e ma' form an idea of ,hat, for ,ant of a better term, ma' be called the life of moralit', and the forces ,hereb' it is go.erned0 3' the term moral, # do not mean to con.e' an' idea of that ,hich underlies ,hat is ordinaril' -no,n as moralit', but a .er' much ,ider idea than that, namel', the force ,hich reall' lies at the base of and inspires all our motives of action0 4f course, these are indirectl' also at the root of our ph'sical and ,hat ma' be called our animate life, in ,hich ,e men are in contact ,ith the life of animals1 but at present ,e need not endea.our to ma-e a distinction bet,een man and the animals ,hich are endo,ed ,ith the ph'sical and animate life force, but in ,hom the moral life is entirel' latent, sa.e in the case of a .er' fe, of the higher species, such as dogs and elephants0 Though, e.en in these cases, it ma' be argued ,ith good sho, of reason that this )moral life) of the higher animals is the result of education0
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No,, in man and animal ali-e there are great ner.ous centres ,hich go.ern the .ital phenomena, and hence, as a consequence, the ph'sical phenomena of life0 These centres, as the' are called, are formed b' collections of ner.e cells, ,hich occup' a .er' fairl' defined area0 The' are found in the [Page 2] brain and the spinal cord for the most part, and to a lesser degree in the great .ital organs themsel.es0 $urther, there is ,hat is -no,n as the s'mpathetic s'stem of ner.es, ,ith its closel' meshed net,or- of ner.es and ganglia, ,hich lies outside, but in front of, the .ertebral column, the ,hole length of the bod'1 this s'stem is closel' connected in its ,hole e/tent ,ith the brain and spinal cord, and the branches therefrom, ,hich are -no,n as the cerebro*spinal s'stem of ner.es0 Again, to some e/tent the control of the ner.es lies ,ith the 5ill of an' man, and the actions ,hich result are termed ).oluntar'), but a .er' large ma2orit' of the processes and functions of the animal bod' are ,hat are called )Refle/)0 These )Refle/) processes for the most part ta-e place thus6 7An impression is made on ,hat are called the ner.es of sensation1 these conduct a stimulus to one of the ner.e centres abo.e mentioned, and from this centre the stimulus is reflected along a motor ner.e, and the action or function ensues0 Thus the +age 1

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Aquired Habits

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sensation is )reflected) into motion independentl' of the consciousness of the indi.idual0 +erhaps the best e/ample of a limited reflection is in the case of the e'e, ,hen, in response to the stimulus of light, the iris alone, of all the muscles in the bod', mo.es0 No,, all refle/ actions are essentiall' in.oluntar', although the' in great part admit of being controlled, modified and pre.ented b' the ,ill0 The', most of them, are directed for the preser.ation of the ,ell*being of the bod', and mar-edl' sho, ho, the ner.e centres combine and arrange in order the action of the muscles, so that the' ma' unite for this common end0 Among )Refle/) actions there is a large class called )Secondar'), ,hich require for their first performance, and for man' subsequent performances, an effort of the ,ill more or less intense, but ,hich, b' constant repetition, are habituall' and almost mechanicall' performed, and in man' cases almost ,ithout the inter.ention of consciousness and .olition1 such are reading, ,riting, and ,al-ing0 This capacit' of the ner.ous s'stem, ,hich consists in )organi8ing conscious actions into more or less unconscious ones), is that ,hich ma-es education and training possible0 #t is b' )association) of the refle/ actions frequentl' repeated in a definite order that these actions come to ta-e on a species of )automatism)0 To such an e/tent is this carried that ,e are all familiar ,ith instances of persons, ,hen in the somnambulic condition, ,riting and pla'ing the piano in a state of complete unconsciousness to ph'sical surroundings0 #n fact, )automatism) is a .er' important point in the argument0 #t is emplo'ed b' ph'siologists to indicate the origination in ner.ous centres of impulses and their conduction from those centres independentl' of the reception of a stimulus from another part0 And in this sense it is not possible in the present state of ph'siological -no,ledge, to sa' ,hat actions are )automatic)0 3ut the nearest e/amples are certainl' the functions of respiration and the rh'thmic action of the heart, ,hich ,ill be considered later on0 Suffice it at [Page 3] present that it is a .er' important point that actions, ,hich are distinctl' refle/ at the beginning, ma' be organi8ed into unconscious actions ,hich ha.e a .er' strong character about them of automatism, and that the t,o abo.e*mentioned functions are those ,hich are all at the foundation of .ital phenomena, and hence, b' the passage of time and b' education, ,ould necessaril' most nearl' approach to being automatic0 5e ma' no, consider the s'mpathetic s'stem of ner.es0 This s'stem of ner.es at first sight appears to be anatomicall' too comple/ to be understood0 #n realit', ho,e.er, it is much more simple in arrangement than the cerebro*spinal, and its comple/it' is due to the manner in ,hich each part is lin-ed to the neighbouring and distant parts and to the cerebro*spinal s'stem as ,ell0 5hen dissected out, it is found that the essential parts of this s'stem consist of a ganglion, or ner.e centre, and t,o ner.es 7 afferent and efferent 7 leading to this centre, and from it to one of the organs0 Thus the s'mpathetic s'stem is made up of an enormous number of small s'stems, and the ,hole are united into the greatest comple/it'0 3ut there is one essential difference bet,een the t,o s'stems0 #n the case of the cerebro* spinal s'stem, the ma2orit' of the actions ta-ing place under its guidance are .oluntar' actions1 in the case of the s'mpathetic s'stem, not onl' do the ma2orit' of actions ta-e place ,ithout a .oluntar' effort, but the' are ne.er controlled b' the mind sa.e under the strong e/citement or depressing influence of some passion1 or, secondaril', through some ) .oluntar' mo.ement) ,ith ,hich the in.oluntar' region of the bod' is )associated)0 3ut in this latter case the action is reall' in.oluntar'0 Thus, in e/ceptional circumstances onl' does the mind control the action of the s'mpathetic ner.es, and then onl' under undue e/citement or depression1 ,hile, for the most part, the .arious centres of the s'mpathetic s'stem, and also of the spinal cord, are refle/ centres, ,hich, sub2ect to the )inhibiting action) of the brain or more highl'*organi8ed centre possess an independent action of their o,n that, aided b' custom, habit, and frequenc' of use, almost amounts to automatism0

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#n the consideration of automatism ,e find that there is a ner.ous region of .er' great importance, situated at the top of the spinal cord and immediatel' belo, the brain, and ,hich, roughl' spea-ing, is 2ust ,ithin the s-ull, about an inch behind a line dra,n hori8ontall' through the lobe of the ear0 This region is so important that it has been e/perimentall' found that the entire brain and spinal cord ,ith this sole e/ception ma' be remo.ed and still the heart ,ill continue to beat, and the animal ,ill go on breathing0 3ut ,hen this region is in2ured, death ensues at once0 No,, the most important of the functions of the &edulla 4blongata, as the region in question is called, is that of respiration, and this one function ma' ser.e as the t'pe of automatic actions, although there is some dispute about it0 i-e all the functions ,hich are necessar' to life it is [Page 4] essentiall' in.oluntar', but its action is also, to some e/tent, under the control of the ,ill, for other,ise man ,ould be unable to spea- or to sing0 #t is argued that the act is a refle/ one o,ing to the stimulation of ner.ous fibres ,hich are distributed to the lungs1 on the other hand, it is stated that respiration ta-es place b' direct stimulation of the &edulla 4blongata b' the increasingl' .enous condition of the blood0 +robabl' both functions e/ist, but the ner.es leading from the lungs to the 9respirator' centre) ma' be cut or ma' be paral'sed b' chloroform, and still the complicated muscular mo.ements ,hich constitute respiration ta-e place in an orderl' manner0 As said abo.e, respiration can to some e/tent be controlled b' the ,ill, and the breath can be 9held) for a .ar'ing length of time, ,hich increases ,ith practice0 3ut the need of breath e.entuall' o.ercomes the strongest opposition, and e.en the most determined attempts to commit suicide in this manner ha.e failed0 Still, there is no doubt that b' practice persons ha.e increased the time during ,hich the' can hold their breath1 as in certain ,ell*authenticated cases of suspended animation1 ,hich ha.e occurred in .arious parts of the ,orld and especiall' in #ndia, and thus there is sho,n to be a po,er ,hich ma' be e/ercised in control of the natural automatism of the bod', and ,hich, so far as the bodil' frame is concerned, is independent of it0 5ere this not the case, the instances of sudden death ,hich occur through shoc-, and ,ithout in2ur' to an' part of the bod', ,ould be impossible, for there is no reason ,h' the functions of respiration and of the heart should be interfered ,ith, and the bod' ,ould go on breathing and the heart beating under the stimulus of the &edulla 4blongata0 Thus, then, it is this 9organi8ing conscious actions into more or less unconscious ones), but ,hich ma' still be under the control of some force that ,e ma' call the ,ill, ,hich is of the highest importance to the occultist, as ,ill be seen later on0 Spea-ing in terms of planes it enables a man to do t,o or perhaps more things at the same time0 Starting an original impulse to ,al- from point to point, a man ma' ta-e the necessar' steps ,ith no other guidance than the reflected sensations of one step to ma-e another, and during the time occupied his mind ma' be engaged on matters of a totall' different character0 3ut ,ai.ing these considerations and the assumption that the brain is ph'sicall' a registering 9organ of mind), it is e.ident that to a considerable e/tent the brain has the control of the bod'0 To those ,ho ha.e studied metaph'sics, the term 9personalit') is a .er' familiar one0 #n reference to the present sub2ect it ,ould seem to stand to the 9higher self) in .er' much the same relation as the bod' does to the brain 7 or rather to the brain onl' as the organ of mind1 that is to sa' that the personalit' is, on the moral plane referred to pre.iousl', the other co.ering more or less gross, of the real man ,ithin 7 the higher self0 This latter is the graduall' increasing product of ages and is added to b' the 9personalit') onl' [Page 5] ,hen it carries out the spiritual aspirations ,hich arise be'ond, but ,hich are communicated to the personalit' b' the higher self0 "onsequentl' ,e ma' compare the actions dictated b' the personalit' to those ph'sical ones ,hich are go.erned b' the lo,er refle/ centres and ,hich ha.e no concern ,hate.er ,ith the brain0

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And this brings into prominence a curious fact in ph'siolog' and patholog', that if either a ner.e centre or ner.e leading from that centre be stimulated ,ithout the impulse passing to and through that centre, the actions ,hich result are tumultuous and disordered0 This fact has a .er' important bearing b' analog' on those actions ,hich are dictated refle/l' or not b' the 9personalit') onl', for, as regards the higher self or brain, the' are found tumultuous and disorderl', and are, as a rule, not 9directed ,ith a .ie, to the ,elfare of the organism), and more especiall' of other organisms0 #t ,ould be impossible to enter on an elaborate anal'sis of ,hat the personalit' reall' is 7 and as tedious as if one ,ere in these pages to enter on a detailed description of the minute anatom' of the brain and spinal cord0 &an is a compound, in his personalit', of 9desires, passions, interests, modes of thin-ing and feeling, opinions, pre2udices, 2udgments of others, li-ings and disli-ings, affections and ambitions, public and pri.ate)0 $or the most part this personalit' constitutes the hori8on of man, and identifies him ,ith this narro,ed circle of interests0 ln other ,ords, he becomes e/ceedingl' 9Selfish)0 4f course, the circle is .er' frequentl' enlarged, as in the case of a famil', of a societ', of a church, or a state, and other indi.iduals esteem men in proportion as their circle enlarges0 No,, the enlargement of the circle to and be'ond these limits is a process of e/treme difficult', and especiall' ,hen the circle is enlarged be'ond these limits0 3ut there is also another element ,hich has to be eliminated 7 the thought of Self must not enter into the consideration at all0 That is to sa', that the personalit', as a source of moti.e, must be entirel' eliminated and destro'ed1 and this is the process ,hich occupies ages, and is accompanied b' such pain and suffering that it can onl' be faced b' the aid of a consciousness of the higher self, and that this ,or- is the onl' ,or- ,orth doing0 #t is not .er' difficult to understand ,h' this should be so difficult, and ,h' it should ta-e ages to accomplish, for ,e ha.e to remember that it is the accentuation of personalit' against personalit' 7 the competition to li.e 7 ,hich is at the base of all our modern education0 #n e.er' age the strong man has -ept his citadel against all comers until a stronger than he came, and the question is ,hether he can find a deeper and greater source of strength0 To some e/tent that has been found, for 9union is strength) 1 and the onl' problem has been amidst the clashing of personalities to ma-e union possible0 The parallel in ph'siolog' is seen in the difficult', onl' ob.iated b' long practice, e/perienced b' di.ers in holding their breath0 &urder ,ill out, respiration ,ill recommence, and the educated [Page 6] personalit' reasserts itself as the bod' insists upon the breath it is accustomed to ha.e0 3ut, again, it is possible for man to la' aside the limitations of his personalit' and merge his li.ing interests ,ith those of the ,orld in ,hich other personalities ha.e an equal right and share0 He can force himself to no longer feel separate from them, and to li.e in companionship ,ith that ,hich in them is be'ond their personalities 7 their indi.idualities, their Higher Sel.es0 3ut this is a process ,hich needs an enormous strength of ,ill and an application to ,hich most men are unequal0 The ordinar' senses ha.e to be stilled and quieted before 7 if one ma' misappl' a term 7 the sense of the higher self comes into pla', and the di.ine companionship of the higher self is felt and reali8ed0 Thus, then, the analog' of ph'siolog' is maintained6 the bodil' functions are refle/l' fulfilled, and b' long education, in some cases, automaticall'1 but are sub2ect, in proportion as another education has trained the mind and ,ill, to the brain0 %quall' so on the moral plane, the desires and tendencies of the personalit' act more or less refle/l' and automaticall' ,ithout other control0 3ut in proportion as the limitations of Self ha.e been transcended, so also is the e/tent of the po,er increased ,hich controls the personalit'0 The brain in one case, the higher self in the other, being trained and educated to send do,n impulses sufficient to control the ph'siological needs of the animal mechanism, or the desires of the personalit'0 3ut a further and 'et more interesting problem no, presents itself for discussion0 5e ha.e seen that it is rational to conclude that conscious acts are b' education organi8ed into unconscious, and that the t,o functions most important to the ph'siological health of the bod', .i80 6 respiration and the action of the heart, ha.e been rendered automatic and independent almost of an' .oluntar' conscious effort, although this control ma' be, in some instances, reco.ered0 "onsequentl', b' analog', the control on the moral +age 4

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plane ma' be .ested in the higher self, as against the personalit', b' an effort to unite the consciousness ,ith that higher self0 That is, the higher self, or brain, ,ill be able to control the ph'siological personalit', or a higher centre dominate a lo,er0 3ut a still further point ,ould seem to consist in this0 5h' should it not be possible to ma-e of the higher self a refle/ centre, and finall' an automatic one, ,hich shall control the personalit' absolutel'0 4n the ph'siological analog' it ,ould certainl' seem reasonable that this should be so0 et the personalit' send up a suggestion for action to the refle/ centre, ,hich ma' be in or belo, the le.el of the higher self, as is the case in the relati.e positions of the cerebral hemispheres and the &edulla 4blongata0 Supposing that the motor point be in the higher self, it ,ould onl' seem natural that the corresponding motion e/cited b' the suggestion of the personalit' ,ill either be in accord ,ith the higher self, and be accomplished, or ,ill be nullified0 #f, ho,e.er, the motor point be belo, [Page 7] the higher self, then the communication must be handed on in order that the higher self shall ha.e the control and the personalit' not allo,ed to e/ercise s,a'0 $inall', ho,e.er, the real importance of the argument does not rest ,ith the higher self, but ,ith the spiritual life be'ond1 or, as 9Light on the Path) states it, 9the life be'ond indi.idualit')0 et us grant for the moment that it is possible for the consciousness to be identified ,ith the higher self, and that the personalit' as militating against that better part of man, and consequentl' interfering ,ith 9the life be'ond indi.idualit',) is entirel' sub2ected and controlled b' a centre of force certainl' refle/, and, if possible, automatic, ,hich is .ested in the higher self0 5hat, then, is the consequence ; The personalit' as a source of separateness is done a,a' ,ith, and onl' used as an instrument in the same ,a' that the ph'sical bod' uses a finger0 The real life is centred in the higher self, ,hich maintains an automatic action o.er the personalit', and pre.ents it from becoming a source of mischief0 The force ,hich is .ested in the higher self or indi.idualit', is deri.ed from that united Spirit of ife ,hich is be'ond indi.idualit', and the man is left free to concentrate his attention and aspirations on that Spirit of ife, and dra, more and more of its influence through his higher self into the ,orld around him0 <ust as the ph'siological needs of the bod' are controlled b' an unconscious, in.oluntar' mechanism, so the personalit' becomes a conquered instrument, used for ends greater than it -no,s of0 &an, as man, is no longer s,a'ed b' his changing and temporar' desires, and has reached the happ' 95aters of 4bli.ion)0

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