More on Control of Consciousness
The Way of Man.(6.24) Control of Consciousness.
(6.24.1) There are many ways of facilitating the control of consciousness, preventing thoughts from wandering, replacing unwelcome thought associations. You may have some construction at hand which you are working at, or an unsolved problem, or some sort of task, or direct your attention to your Augoeides or, if you are too tired to keep your attention fixed, you can use a mantra.
(6.24.2) “Meditation” consists in “thinking the matter over”, analysing it methodically and systematically until all its elements have been clarified so that you know what it all is about, which otherwise seldom is the case. What the outcome is, is “another story”, and depends on individual understanding, knowledge, and power of judgement.
(6.24.3) The esoterician is recommended not to look back. That is a good exercise in control of thought. Every retrospect involves associations belonging to stages that should be regarded as overcome. Such things strengthen the power of the past and can drag you down to a lower level of consciousness. Even if it need not have a debasing effect on the experienced man, it nevertheless brings about vibrations in his envelope, vibrations that need to be counteracted with new, unnecessary “corrections”. That is in any case an unnecessary expenditure of energy.
(6.24.4) A good exercise in liberating the self from its dependence on its envelopes of incarnation is to become an “observer”, to observe the thoughts of the mental envelope, the feelings of the emotional envelope, and all manner of physical reactions. That is an efficient method of becoming impersonal and achieving control of thought. It also increases your attention to the behaviour and modes of reaction of other people for your purpose of studying man.