William Walker Atkinson Quotes Page 3

“In the degree that Man realizes the existence of the Indwelling Spirit immanent within his being, so will he rise in the spiritual scale of life.

This is what spiritual development means — the recognition, realization, and manifestation of the Spirit within us.

Try to remember this last definition — that of spiritual development. It contains the Truth of True Religion.”

“Just as a man has two parents, and four grandparents, and eight great-grandparents, and sixteen great-great-grandparents, and so on until when, say, forty generations are calculated the numbers of ancestors run into many millions — so it is with the number of causes behind even the most trifling event or phenomena, such as the passage of a tiny speck of soot before your eye.

It is not an easy matter to trace the bit of soot back to the early period of the world's history when it formed a part of a massive tree-trunk, which was afterward converted into coal, and so on, until as the speck of soot it now passes before your vision on its way to other adventures.

And a mighty chain of events, causes and effects, brought it to its present condition, and the latter is but one of the chain of events which will go to produce other events hundreds of years from now.

One of the series of events arising from the tiny bit of soot was the writing of these lines, which caused the typesetter to perform certain work; the proofreader to do likewise; and which will arouse certain thoughts in your mind, and that of others, which in turn will affect others, and so on, and on, and on, beyond the ability of man to think further and all from the passage of a tiny bit of soot, all of which shows the relativity and association of things, and the further fact that 'there is no great; there is no small; in the mind that causeth all'.”

“Knowledge without Use and Expression is a vain thing, bringing no good to its possessor, or to the race. Beware of Mental Miserliness, and express into Action that which you have learned. Study the Axioms and Aphorisms, but practice them also.”

“Mastery consists not in abnormal dreams, visions, and fantastic imaginings or living, but in using the higher forces against the lower—escaping the pains of the lower planes by vibrating on the higher.”

“Next above the Plane of Ethereal Substance comes the Plane of Energy (A), which comprises the ordinary forms of Energy known to science, its seven sub-planes being, respectively, Heat; Light; Magnetism; Electricity, and Attraction (including Gravitation, Cohesion, Chemical Affinity, etc.) and several other forms of energy indicated by scientific experiments but not as yet named or classified.

The Plane of Energy (B) comprises seven sub-planes of higher forms of energy not as yet discovered by science, but which have been called "Nature's Finer Forces" and which are called into operation in manifestations of certain forms of mental phenomena, and by which such phenomena becomes possible.

The Plane of Energy (C) comprises seven sub-planes of energy so highly organized that it bears many of the characteristics of 'life', but which is not recognized by the minds of men on the ordinary plane of development, being available for the use on beings of the Spiritual Plane alone — such energy is unthinkable to ordinary man, and may be considered almost as 'the divine power'.

The beings employing the same are as 'gods' compared even to the highest human types known to us.”

“No event 'creates' another event, but is merely a preceding link in the great orderly chain of events flowing from the creative energy of The All.

There is a continuity between all events precedent, consequent and subsequent. There is a relation existing between everything that has gone before, and everything that follows.

A stone is dislodged from a mountain side and crashes through a roof of a cottage in the valley below. At first sight we regard this as a chance effect, but when we examine the matter we find a great chain of causes behind it.

In the first place there was the rain which softened the earth supporting the stone and which allowed it to fall; then back of that was the influence of the sun, other rains, etc., which gradually disintegrated the piece of rock from a larger piece; then there were the causes which led to the formation of the mountain, and its upheaval by convulsions of nature, and so on ad infinitum.

Then we might follow up the causes behind the rain, etc. Then we might consider the existence of the roof. In short, we would soon find ourselves involved in a mesh of cause and effect, from which we would soon strive to extricate ourselves.”

“Nothing stands still – everything is being born, growing, dying – the very instant a thing reaches its height, it begins to decline – the law of rhythm is in constant operations.”

“On the Seven Minor Planes of the Great Spiritual Plane exist Beings of whom we may speak as Angels; Archangels; Demi-Gods. On the lower Minor Planes dwell those great souls whom we call Masters and Adepts.

Above them come the Great Hierarchies of the Angelic Posts, unthinkable to man; and above those come those who may without irreverence be called 'The Gods', so high in the scale of Being are they, their being, intelligence and power being akin to those attributed by the races of men to their conceptions of Deity.

These Beings are beyond even the highest flights of the human imagination, the word 'Divine' being the only one applicable to them. Many of these Beings, as well as the Angelic Host, take the greatest interest in the affairs of the Universe and play an important part in its affairs.

These Unseen Divinities and Angelic Helpers extend their influence freely and powerfully, in the process of Evolution, and Cosmic Progress. Their occasional intervention and assistance in human affairs have led to the many legends, beliefs, religions and traditions of the race, past and present.

They have super-imposed their knowledge and power upon the world, again and again, all under the Law of The All, of course.”

“One of the old Hermetic Masters wrote, long ages ago: "He who grasps the truth of the Mental Nature of the Universe is well advanced on The Path to Mastery."

And these words are as true today as at the time they were first written. Without this Master-Key, Mastery is impossible, and the student knocks in vain at the many doors of The Temple.”

“Rather follow the example of the wise, which the same authority states, "use Law against Laws; the higher against the lower; and by the Art of Alchemy transmute that which is undesirable into that which is worthy, and thus triumph.”

“The All creates in its Infinite Mind countless Universes, which exist for aeons of Time.

And yet, to The All, the creation, development, decline and death of a million universes is as the time of the twinkling of an eye.”

“The All is Infinite Living Mind — The Illumined call it Spirit!”

“The All must be Infinite, for there is nothing else to define, confine, bound, limit; or restrict The All.

It must be Infinite in Time, or Eternal — it must have always continuously existed, for there is nothing else to have ever created it, and something can never evolve from nothing, and if it had ever 'not been', even for a moment, it would not 'be' now.

It must continuously exist forever, for there is nothing to destroy it, and it can never 'not-be', even for a moment, because something can never become nothing.

It must be Infinite in Space — it must be Everywhere, for there is no place outside of The All — it cannot be otherwise than continuous in Space, without break, cessation, separation, or interruption, for there is nothing to break, separate, or interrupt its continuity, and nothing with which to 'fill in the gaps'.

It must be Infinite in Power, or Absolute, for there is nothing to limit, restrict, restrain, confine, disturb or condition it — it is subject to no other Power, for there is no other Power.”

“The differences between different manifestations of Matter, Energy, Mind, and even Spirit, result largely from varying rates of Vibrations. The higher the vibration, the higher the position in the scale.”

“The Hermetic teaching does not imply a real duality — The All is One — the Two Aspects are merely aspects of manifestation. The teaching is that The Masculine Principle manifested by The All stands, in a way, apart from the actual mental creation of the Universe.

It projects its Will toward the Feminine Principle (which may be called 'Nature') whereupon the latter begins the actual work of the evolution of the Universe, from simple 'centres of activity' on to man, and then on and on still higher, all according to well-established and firmly enforced Laws of Nature.

If you prefer the old figures of thought, you may think of the Masculine Principle as God, the Father, and of the Feminine Principle as Nature, the Universal Mother, from whose womb all things have been born. This is more than a mere poetic figure of speech — it is an idea of the actual process of the creation of the Universe.

But always remember, that The All is but One, and that in its Infinite Mind the Universe is generated, created and exists.”

“The Hermetic Teachings go much further than do those of modern science. They teach that all manifestation of thought, emotion, reason, will or desire, or any mental state or condition, are accompanied by vibrations, a portion of which are thrown off and which tend to affect the minds of other persons by 'induction'.

This is the principle which produces the phenomena of 'telepathy'; mental influence, and other forms of the action and power of mind over mind, with which the general public is rapidly becoming acquainted, owing to the wide dissemination of occult knowledge by the various schools, cults and teachers along these lines at this time.

Every thought, emotion or mental state has its corresponding rate and mode of vibration. And by an effort of the will of the person, or of other persons, these mental states may be reproduced, just as a musical tone may be reproduced by causing an instrument to vibrate at a certain rate — just as color may be reproduced in the same way.

By a knowledge of the Principle of Vibration, as applied to Mental Phenomena, one may polarize his mind at any degree he wishes, thus gaining a perfect control over his mental states, moods, etc. In the same way he may affect the minds of others, producing the desired mental states in them.

In short, he may be able to produce on the Mental Plane that which science produces on the Physical Plane — namely, 'Vibrations at Will'.

This power of course may be acquired only by the proper instruction, exercises, practice, etc., the science being that of Mental Transmutation, one of the branches of the Hermetic Art.”

“The Hermetists claim that the Master or advanced student is able, to a great degree, to escape tile swing toward Pain, by the process of Neutralization before mentioned. By rising on to the higher plane of the Ego, much of the experience that comes to those dwelling on the lower plane is avoided and escaped.

The Law of Compensation plays an important part in the lives of men and women. It will be noticed that one generally 'pays the price' of anything he possesses or lacks. If he has one thing, he lacks another the balance is struck.

No one can 'keep his penny and have the bit of cake' at the same time. Everything has its pleasant and unpleasant sides. The things that one gains are always paid for by the things that one loses. The rich possess much that the poor lack, while the poor often possess things that are beyond the reach of the rich.

The millionaire may have the inclination toward feasting, and the wealth wherewith to secure all the dainties and luxuries of the table while he lacks the appetite to enjoy the same; he envies the appetite and digestion of the laborer, who lacks the wealth and inclinations of the millionaire, and who gets more pleasure from his plain food than the millionaire could obtain even if his appetite were not jaded, nor his digestion ruined, for the wants, habits and inclinations differ.

And so it is through life. The Law of Compensation is ever in operation, striving to balance and counterbalance, and always succeeding in time, even though several lives may be required for the return swing of the Pendulum of Rhythm.”

“The Hermetists go still further in this matter. They teach that before one is able to enjoy a certain degree of pleasure, he must have swung as far, proportionately, toward the other pole of feeling.

They hold, however, that the Negative is precedent to the Positive in this matter, that is to say that in experiencing a certain degree of pleasure it does not follow that he will have to 'pay up for it' with a corresponding degree of pain; on the contrary, the pleasure is the Rhythmic swing, according to the Law of Compensation, for a degree of pain previously experienced.”

“The Infinite Mind of The All is the womb of Universes.”

“The latest word of science is that the atom is composed of a multitude of corpuscles, electrons, or ions (the various names being applied by different authorities) revolving around each other and vibrating at a high degree and intensity.

But the accompanying statement is made that the formation of the atom is really due to the clustering of negative corpuscles around a positive one — the positive corpuscles seeming to exert a certain influence upon the negative corpuscles, causing the latter to assume certain combinations and thus 'create' or 'generate' an atom.

This is in line with the most ancient Hermetic Teachings, which have always identified the Masculine principle of Gender with the 'Positive', and the Feminine with the 'Negative' Poles of Electricity (so-called).”

“The legends of the Fallen Angels have a basis in actual facts, as all advanced occultists know.

The striving for selfish power on the Spiritual Planes inevitably results in the selfish soul losing its spiritual balance and falling back as far as it had previously risen.

But to even such a soul, the opportunity of a return is given — and such souls make the return journey, paying the terrible penalty according to the invariable Law.”

“The lips of Wisdom are closed, except to the ears of Understanding.”

“The man who enjoys keenly, is subject to keen suffering; while he who feels but little pain is capable of feeling but little joy. The pig suffers but little mentally, and enjoys but little — he is compensated.

And on the other hand, there are other animals who enjoy keenly, but whose nervous organism and temperament cause them to suffer exquisite degrees of pain. And so it is with Man.

There are temperaments which permit of but low degrees of enjoyment, and equally low degrees of suffering; while there are others which permit the most intense enjoyment, but also the most intense suffering.

The rule is that the capacity for pain and pleasure, in each individual, are balanced. The Law of Compensation is in full operation here.”

“The masses of people are carried along, obedient to their environment; the wills and desires of others stronger than themselves; the effects of inherited tendencies; the suggestions of those about them; and other outward causes; which tend to move them about on the chess-board of life like mere pawns.

By rising above these influencing causes, the advanced Hermetists seek a higher plane of mental action, and by dominating their moods, emotions, impulses and feelings, they create for themselves new characters, qualities and powers, by which they overcome their ordinary environment, and thus become practically players instead of mere Pawns.

Such people help to play the game of life understandingly, instead of being moved about this way and that way by stronger influences and powers and wills. They use the Principle of Cause and Effect, instead of being used by it.

Of course, even the highest are subject to the Principle as it manifests on the higher planes, but on the lower planes of activity, they are Masters instead of Slaves.”

“The Master does this consciously, and by the use of his Will, and attains a degree of Poise and Mental Firmness almost impossible of belief on the part of the masses who are swung backward and forward like a pendulum.”

“The office of Gender is solely that of creating, producing, generating, etc., and its manifestations are visible on every plane of phenomena.

It is somewhat difficult to produce proofs of this along scientific lines, for the reason that science has not as yet recognized this Principle as of universal application. But still some proofs are forthcoming from scientific sources.

In the first place, we find a distinct manifestation of the Principle of Gender among the corpuscles, ions, or electrons, which constitute the basis of Matter as science now knows the latter, and which by forming certain combinations form the Atom, which until lately was regarded as final and indivisible.”

“The part of the Masculine principle seems to be that of directing a certain inherent energy toward the Feminine principle, and thus starting into activity the creative processes.

But the Feminine principle is the one always doing the active creative work — and this is so on all planes. And yet, each principle is incapable of operative energy without the assistance of the other.

In some of the forms of life, the two principles are combined in one organism. For that matter, everything in the organic world manifests both genders — there is always the Masculine present in the Feminine form, and the Feminine form.

The Hermetic Teachings include much regarding the operation of the two principles of Gender in the production and manifestation of various forms of energy, etc., but we do not deem it expedient to go into detail regarding the same at this point, because we are unable to back up the same with scientific proof, for the reason that science has not as yet progressed thus far.

But the example we have given you of the phenomena of the electrons or corpuscles will show you that science is on the right path, and will also give you a general idea of the underlying principles.”

“The student of Comparative Religions will be able to perceive the influence of the Hermetic Teachings in every religion worthy of the name...”

“The vibration of Spirit is at such an infinite rate of intensity and rapidity that it is practically at rest — just as a rapidly moving wheel seems to be motionless. And at the other end of the scale, there are gross forms of matter whose vibrations are so low as to seem at rest.

Between these poles, there are millions upon millions of varying degrees of vibration. From corpuscle and electron, atom and molecule, to worlds and universes, everything is in vibratory motion.

This is also true on the planes of energy and force (which are but varying degrees of vibration); and also on the mental planes (whose states depend upon vibrations); and even on to the spiritual planes.

An understanding of this Principle, with the appropriate formulas, enables Hermetic students to control their own mental vibrations as well as those of others.

The Masters also apply this Principle to the conquering of Natural phenomena, in various ways.

"He who understands the Principle of Vibration, has grasped the sceptre of Power," says one of the old writers.”

“There are beings with powers and attributes higher than Man has ever dreamed of the gods' possessing. And yet these beings were once as you, and still lower — and you will be even as they, and still higher, in time, for such is the Destiny of Man as reported by the Illumined.”