THE TREE OF LIFE

THE GREAT MOTHER (2)

L esso n Sixteen

M ere recognition of the Indwelling P resen ce m entioned at the conclusion of L esson

Tw elve is not enough. "Not everyone that saith unto m e, ' Lord! L o rd!' sh all e n te r the
kingdom .” So the second le tte r of the word Beth, ’H o u se ,' is Yod, the " h an d ."

F rom your T a ro t studies you have le a rn e d that the occult significance of Yod has to
do with the physiological p ro c e s s e s which build the p h y sical house of p e rso n a lity . Thus
the Yod in r ' 3 rem inds us that we m u st do the Will of the F a th e r, and th is m eans we
m ust know the W ill. U nless we know it, we cannot do it.

When we put o u rse lv es in an attitude of rec ep tiv ity to the M aste r P re se n c e , a s shown
by the uplifted hand of the M agician, we begin to re c eiv e the hig h er pow er, and then we
m ust d istrib u te it in w ork of the rig h t s o r t. The recep tio n is one of lig h t-fo rc e , p ic ­
tu re d in Key 9 as the radiance stre am in g from the H erm it’s la n te rn . The H erm it is a
sym bol of the M a ste r of the H ouse, o r of Yekhidah, seated in K e th er.

The path of the le tte r Beth p ro ceed s fro m that p rim a ry c e n te r of Will and L ife. T hus
the H erm it is re p re se n te d as an old m an, o r a s the "W hite H ead ,” standing alone.

The light of h is la n te rn is the fo rc e the M agician d raw s down from above. T h is light
e n te rs the p e rso n al field a s intuition; and thus we find that Binah, at the low er end of
the path of Beth, is said to be Intuition, the e ss e n tia l pow er of the Divine Soul, N esha-
m ah, nCtfJ.
The num ber of m w i is 395, and th is num ber is re p re se n te d also by H a-Sham ain,
d' d " the h e a v e n s." Intuition is re a lly the op eratio n , in the field of p e rso n ality , of
the C ausal Intelligence which e sta b lish e s the whole cosm ic o r d e r . The m echanical a s ­
p ects of th is o rd e r a re physically v isib le to us in the re g u la r m ovem ents of the heav en ­
ly b o d ie s. F rom th is apparently m echanical re g u la rity m an has developed h is whole
conscious conception of Law . The O rd er of N ature is the only Kingdom of H eaven. F a il­
u re to g ra sp th is tru th has m ade the sim ple p ra c tic a l d o ctrin e of the New T e stam en t a l ­
m ost u s e le s s to the m a jo rity of human b e in g s.

Heaven is the re a lm of c a u se s, and when we u n d erstan d that th is re a lm of c au se s is

ju s t as tru ly within us a s it is over our heads in the sky, we have the key to all the m y s ­
te rie s of the Kingdom of H eaven. If we m aintain the attitude of expectant recep tiv ity to ­
w ard what seem s to be above u s, we sh all com e in tim e to know that it is within u s, and
within all m en . As we do so, we sh all receiv e d ire c t in tim atio n s of the p a rtic u la r a p ­
plication of p rin c ip le s to the special w ork which is o u rs to do, a p o ssib ility of the L ife-
pow er to e x p re ss as an ex tern alize d , tangible re a lity . Man is not only the "house" of
God, ev ery one of us is also a "hand” of God.

T hus the le tte r-n a m e fi1 Beth, ends with T av , the le tte r we found c e n tra l i n the
w ord 1DD, K e th er. Read again what is said of it in L esson T en . Review also w hat­
e v e r you m ay have concerning th is le tte r and its re la tio n to Key 21. H ere we w ish to
em phasize the notion that T av re p re s e n ts the A d m in istrativ e In tellig en ce. T hat is to
say, the pow er dw elling in the "tem p le of h o lin ess in the m id s t." The pow er at the
-2- THE TREE OF LIFE: 16

C en ter of the house of p erso n ality is the pow er which a d m in iste rs the whole b u sin ess
of our liv e s .

A ccording to the Q abalistic d escrip tio n of th e A d m in istrativ e In tellig en ce, it is the

pow er which d ire c ts the o p erations of the seven p la n e ts. T h ese p lan ets a re the int e ­
r io r s ta r s , the seven c e n te rs of fo rce within the hum an body which co n tro l the functions
of the e n tire organism .

When a human being puts ev ery d etail of his p e rso n al life under the d irectio n of th is
C en tral A dm inistrative P rin cip le, he speedily d isco v e rs how adequate th at pow er re a lly
is . Nothing is im possible to it. No problem is in so lu b le. M ore than th is, the p erso n al
organism its e lf begins to experience the benefits of the op eratio n of th is C en tral D ire c ­
ting P re s e n c e .

Health im p ro v e s . U nderstanding deepens. Action becom es e ffic ie n t. Skill is d e ­

veloped. The consequence is an e v e r-in c re a s in g com m and o v er e x tern al conditions
and c irc u m sta n c e s . When the full p o ssib ilitie s of what we a re now d iscu ssin g a re r e ­
alized , the physical organism its e lf begins to be tra n sfo rm e d little by little , until th e re
is developed from the c o rru p tib le body of the n atu ral m an the in c o rru p tib le body of the
sp iritu a l m a n .

T his new kind of p erso n al vehicle is physical a s well a s m e ta p h y sic a l. The tr a n s ­

m utation is not by any m eans lim ited to the su b tle r v eh icles, though it does effect som e
m odification of the e th e ric and a s tr a l b o d ie s . What o ccu rs is th at the p e rso n al con­
scio u sn e ss o ffers no obstacle to the fre e operation of the P rin cip le of Em bodim ent which
is located in Binah.

When that p rin cip le has unobstructed play in the field of a p a rtic u la r human p e r s o n ­
ality , the effect produced is that the m an can m ake fo r h im self a body suitable fo r any
physical environm ent w hatever, w hether h e re on e a rth , o r elsew h ere in the u n iv e rs e .
Thus in the system of R osicrucian G rad es, the G rade attrib u te d to Binah is nam ed M a-
g is te r T e m p li, M a ste r of the T em p le. T h is nam e re f e r s to the p e rfe ct adaptability to
any s o rt of environm ent which is e x p re ssed by a p e rso n whose co n scio u sn ess o ffers no
obstruction to the fre e w orking of the cosm ic P rin cip le of E m b o d im en t.
Such a co n scio u sn ess is m eant when it is said that the le tte r Beth re p re s e n ts the
twelfth Path on the T re e of L ife. T his Path is nam ed "Intelligence of T ra n s p a re n c y ."
It will be explained in detail in our co u rse on the T h irty -tw o Paths of W isdom . H ere, we
need only point out that tra n sp a re n c y is the quality which p e rm its fr e e , unobstructed
p assag e to lig h t. In re la tio n to m an’s p e rso n al self-c o n sc io u sn ess, th is in d icates that
the highest function of th is conscio u sn ess is to c le a r the way fo r the influx of light from
ab o v e.

Again, the twelfth Path of W isdom is said to be "the so u rce of vision in those who b e ­
hold a p p a ritio n s." T h is does not re f e r to clairv o y an t v isio n s only, though it does in ­
clude them . The "ap p aritio n s" a re a ll the v ario u s ap p earan ces in m an ’s sp h ere of s e n ­
sation, w hatever m ay be the plane w hereon they a re m an ifested .

The pow er of sight, considered a s a function of co n scio u sn ess, is an in te rio r pow er

 THE TREE OF LIFE: 16 - 3 -

of the o b s e rv e r. Many of o u r e a rly le sso n s in seeing have been fo rg o tte n . We do not

e a sily re a liz e that vision is f a r m o re than m e re ly an o p eration of e y e s, optic n erv es
and b ra in c e lls re a c tin g to lig h t. V ision is p rim a rily a m en tal p o w er. Hence ev ery
human being se e s in his environm ent what he h as learn ed to look fo r . The m o re p e r ­
fectly he e x p re s s e s the s p iritu a l pow er of v isio n , deriv ed fro m the potency of M e a s u r­
ing Intelligence e te rn a lly p re s e n t in the P rim a l W ill, the m o re tru ly do the a p p earan ces
in h is environm ent c o rre sp o n d to actu al r e a lity .
H ere we approach the g re a t s e c re t in the p ic tu re of the M agician, the s e c re t of the
tra n sfo rm in g and tra n sm u tin g pow er of atte n tio n . By using attention in a c ts of concen­
tra tio n , we can see our environm ent with the ey es of U n iv e rsal M ind. T hat Mind knows
no a fflic tio n . T hat Mind has no f e a r s . When its p u re vision of the G reat W ork flows
down from su p erco n scio u sn e ss into our a c ts of conscious p e rc ep tio n , we sh a re its b lis s ­
ful, f e a rle s s observ atio n of the w heelings of the v ario u s c y cle s of m a n ifestatio n .

A tru e m agician does not rem odel h is world by p e rso n al v o litio n . He d isc o v e rs the
tru th that the re a l w orld does actually c o rre sp o n d to h is h e a r t’s d e s ir e . The re a l w orld,
a s the U n iv ersal Mind se e s it, is a w orld in which ev ery activity w orks tow ard the e x ­
p re ssio n of fre e d o m . It is a w orld in which ev ery chain of cau se and effect lead s to the
production of a beautiful r e s u l t . Your w orld, the one you a re looking a t, may o r m ay
not, at the p re s e n t m om ent, seem to be such a w orld a s th is . Yet the a p p earan ces of
fa ilu re , of d is e a s e , of inharm ony, of lack , o r u g lin ess, of fu tility , begin to d isap p ear
when you le a rn to e x p re s s the m agical v isio n .

The tra n sfo rm in g vision of an adept in the p ra c tic e of the Way o r Method leading out
of delusion, enables him to see things a s they re a lly a r e . He builds h is house of life
in accordance with p a tte rn s laid out by the G rand A rch itect of the U n iv e rse . His a c ts
a re potent because the pow er e x p re sse d in them is not m e re ly the p h y sical and p sy c h i­
c al energy of h is own p e rso n a lity , but is actu ally the p h y sical and p sy ch ical energy of
the whole u n iv e rs e . The A ll-Pow er finds e x p re ssio n in the le a s t of his thoughts, w ords,
and d e e d s .

The co n scio u sn ess co rresp o n d in g to the tw elfth Path is the e sse n c e of a ll m agical
p o w er. It is the path of attention, d ire c tin g the energy of su p erco n scio u sn e ss into s p e c i­
fic m anifestation in the subconscious le v e l. The la tte r includes all the fo rm s and fo rce s
in m an’s environm ent, which begins with h is p h y sical body, and extends, without any
b re a k in its continuity, down to the field of the m in e ra l K ingdom . M agic is the aw aken­
ed perception of th is fact in the cosm ic o rd e r, com bined with action which is in harm ony
with the p e rc ep tio n . When we see the w orld a s it is seen by the tru e I AM, seated in
K ether, we understand what we se e , and fo r u s, things actu ally a re a s we see th e m .
P rac tic e holding th is m agical attitude in y o u r ev ery thought, em otion, word and deed.