← Home
Tertium Organum (P.D. Ouspensky) · 182 of 225 · tr. Nicholas Bessaraboff and Claude Bragdon

Chapter XXII (part 10)

But it does not bear fruit presently; and, though it blossoms, they fall off; also many a cold wind, frost and snow, puff upon it, before it comes to any growth and bearing of fruit. Boehme's books are full of wonderment before these mysteries with which he was confronted. I was as simple concerning the hidden mysteries as the meanest of all; but my vision of the wonders of God taught me, so that I must write of his wonders; though indeed my purpose is to write this for a memorandum for myself. . . . Not I, the I that I am, know these things: but God knows them in me . If you will behold your own self and the outer world, and what is taking place thereon, you will find that you, with regard to your external being, are that external world. The Dialogues between Disciple and Master are remarkable (Disciple p. 283 and Master should be understood to refer to the lower and the higher consciousness of man). The Disciple said to his Master: How may I come to the supersensual life, that I may see God and hear him speak? His Master said: When thou canst throw thyself but for a moment into that where no creature dwelleth, then thou hearest what God speaketh. Disciple —Is that near at hand or far off? Master —It is in thee. And if thou canst for a while but cease from all thy thinking and willing, then thou shalt hear the unspeakable words of God. Disciple —How can I hear him speak, when Ii stand still from thinking and willing? Master —When thou standest still from the thinking of self, and the willing of self; "When both thy intellect and will are quiet, and passive to the impressions of the Eternal Word and Spirit; And when thy soul is winged up, and above that which is temporal, the outward senses, and the imagination being locked up by holy abstraction," then the Eternal hearing, seeing, and speaking, will be revealed in thee; and so God "heareth and seeth through thee," being now the organ of his spirit; and so God speaketh in thee, and whispereth to thy spirit, and thy spirit heareth his voice. Blessed art thou therefore if that thou canst stand still from self-thinking and self-willing, and canst stop the wheel of imagination and senses; forasmuch as hereby thou mayest arrive at length to see the great salvation of God, being made capable of all manner of Divine sensations and heavenly communications. Since it is naught indeed but thine own hearing and willing that do wonder thee, so that thou dost not see and hear God. Disciple —Loving Master, I can no more endure anything should divert me, how shall I find the nearest way to him? Master —Where the way is hardest there walk thou, and take up what the world rejecteth; and what the world doth, that do not thou. Walk contrary to the world in all things. And then thou comest the nearest way to him. ______ Disciple —. . . Oh how may I arrive at the unity of will, and how come into the unity of vision? Master —. . . Mark now what I, say: The Right Eye looketh in thee into Eternity. The Left Eye looketh backward in thee into time. If now thou sufferest thyself to be always looking into nature, and the things of time, it will be impossible for thee ever to arrive at the unity, which thou wishest for. Remember this; and be upon thy watch. Give not thy mind p. 284 leave to enter in, nor to fill itself with, that which is without thee; neither look thou backward upon thyself . . .
§ Ask Guru about this passage →
Themes
Apophatic Theologytheology

Describing the divine only by negation—God transcends all positive categories and concepts; the via negativa.

God's words are described as unspeakable and found where no creature dwelleth.

All passages →
Birth Of Word In Soulanthropology

Eckhart's signature doctrine that the Father eternally begets the Son in the ground of the soul; the human interior as the actual site of the divine generative act, distinct from inner_light's static indwelling.

God speaks in the spirit and whispers to it, revealing the Eternal Word within.

All passages →
Body As Obstacleanthropology

The material body viewed as a prison, tomb, or source of error that hinders spiritual knowledge and return.

The outward senses and imagination must be locked up to allow divine communication.

All passages →
Childlike Innocenceanthropology

The infant or child as symbol of the unfallen, undivided spiritual state; return to primordial simplicity.

The author describes himself as simple concerning the hidden mysteries.

All passages →
Correspondencecosmology

The Hermetic axiom that the structure of the cosmos is reflected at every scale — 'as above, so below; as within, so without' — making each level a legible map of the others.

The structure of the self is presented as a reflection of the external world.

All passages →
Detachment Gelassenheitpraxis

Eckhart's Abgeschiedenheit/Gelassenheit — radical letting-go of will, image, and grasping that opens the soul to God; distinct from inner_silence (quietness) and from material renunciation, and adjacent to Sufi tark and Buddhist non-grasping as a practice rather than a metaphysical claim.

[auto] The text emphasizes standing still from self-thinking and self-willing as a path to salvation.

All passages →
Divine Hiddennesstheology

The supreme God's radical concealment beyond ordinary knowledge or perception; the Hidden Father.

The mysteries are described as hidden and known only by God within the person.

All passages →
Fana Annihilationsoteriology

Sufi self-effacement in God — the via by which the lover is unmade as a separate ego and recovered as God's act; specifies the practice/event rather than mystical_union's resulting state.

Self-thinking and self-willing must be stopped for God to speak in the individual.

All passages →
Gnosis Direct Knowledgesoteriology

Salvation through direct experiential knowledge of the divine nature, not through faith, ritual, or moral works alone.

[auto] The passage emphasizes salvation through direct experiential knowledge of the divine nature, such as seeing and hearing God directly through inner silence.

All passages →
Hidden Sayingssoteriology

Esoteric teachings reserved for those ready to receive them; outer meaning conceals an inner liberating truth.

[auto] The text refers to hidden mysteries and unspeakable words of God that are revealed only through specific inner states.

All passages →
Inner Lightanthropology

The divine spark or luminous quality residing within the human person, potentially recognisable through introspection.

The vision of God's wonders is taught through an internal illumination rather than external study.

All passages →
Inner Silencepraxis

The practice of stilling the mind and speech to open receptivity to divine knowledge or presence.

[auto] The central method described is ceasing all thinking and willing to stand still from self-thinking in order to hear God.

All passages →
Kingdom Withinanthropology

The claim that the divine realm is present inside the individual, accessible without external mediation.

[auto] The Master explicitly states that the way to God is not far off but is in thee, and God knows things in me.

All passages →
Living Godtheology

The divine conceived as active, present, and dynamic—not an abstract principle but a personal responsive reality.

God is depicted as actively speaking, hearing, and seeing through the human vessel.

All passages →
Logoscosmology

The divine reason, word, or ordering principle through which the universe was created; mediates between the transcendent God and the material world.

[auto] The passage references the Eternal Word and Spirit as the medium through which divine communication occurs.

All passages →
Meditationpraxis

Disciplined inward attention — sitting, focused, or open-awareness practice — as a stand-alone term that umbrellas active_contemplation, inner_silence, and dhyana-style sitting.

Holy abstraction and locking up the imagination are prescribed practices for revelation.

All passages →
Microcosm Macrocosmcosmology

The human being as a small-scale image of the entire cosmos; the body, soul, and intellect mirroring the structure of the heavens and the divine — distinct from correspondence in that it makes the human the privileged mirror.

[auto] The passage explicitly states that the individual's external being is identical to the external world.

All passages →
Mystical Unionsoteriology

The merging of the individual soul or self with the divine, transcending personal identity.

[auto] The text describes the merging of the individual with the divine where God hears and sees through the person as an organ of his spirit.

All passages →
Paradox As Teachingethics

Using apparent contradiction, reversal, or riddle to destabilise ordinary understanding and induce insight.

The statement Not I... know these things: but God knows them in me presents a paradoxical identity.

All passages →
Poverty Of Spiritanthropology

Eckhart's radical reading of Matthew 5:3 — the saint as one who wants nothing, knows nothing, and has nothing, having emptied even the will and the self with which to receive God; distinct from renunciation_of_wealth (material poverty).

Stopping the wheel of imagination and senses implies an emptying of self.

All passages →
Return To Sourcesoteriology

The soul's journey back to its divine origin, reversing the fall into matter through stages of purification or illumination.

The journey involves walking contrary to the world to arrive at the great salvation of God.

All passages →
Self Examinationpraxis

Daily review of thought and action as spiritual practice.

The text commands the reader to behold their own self and watch their mind.

All passages →
Self Knowledgesoteriology

The recognition of one's own true divine nature as the primary path to liberation; 'know thyself' as soteriology.

The instruction to behold one's own self is linked to understanding the outer world and divine mysteries.

All passages →
Spiritual Ascentpraxis

A staged journey of the soul upward through heavenly realms or levels of being toward the divine source.

The soul is described as being winged up above the temporal to reach salvation.

All passages →
Theosis Deificationsoteriology

The doctrine — central to Eastern Orthodox and Maximian theology — that the human person is progressively transformed into a partaker of the divine nature by grace, not merely justified or united in passing ecstasy.

The human becomes capable of Divine sensations and acts as an organ for God's spirit.

All passages →
Unity Of Beingtheology

The doctrine that all existence is ultimately one substance or one divine reality; non-duality as a theological claim.

The goal is described as arriving at the unity of will and the unity of vision.

All passages →
Wu Weipraxis

Effortless action aligned with the spontaneous flow of the Dao; non-coercive, non-striving conduct that yields results without forcing — the sage acts without acting.

Ceasing from willing and thinking aligns with the concept of non-striving action.

All passages →
Related passages · 15 parallels
christian_mysticism|Pseudo-Dionysius: The Mystical Theology|Chapter III-b
Now in the former treatises the course of the argument, as it came down from the highest to the lowest categories, embraced an ever-widening number of conceptions which increased at each stage of the descent, but in the present treatise it…”
Shared concept: Apophatic Theology — Describing the divine only by negation—God transcends all positive categories and concepts; the via negativa. (derived)
christian_mysticism|Pseudo-Dionysius: The Divine Names|Chapter 5, Section 1a
131 CHAPTER V Concerning ” Existence “ and also concerning ” Exemplars .” I. Now must we proceed to the Name of “Being” which is truly applied by the Divine Science to Him that truly Is. But this much we must say, that it is not the purpo…”
Shared concept: Mystical Union — The merging of the individual soul or self with the divine, transcending personal identity. (derived)
neoplatonism|Select Works of Plotinus|Select Works, Section 426
Section 10 10. We have shown the inevitability of certain convictions as to the scheme of things: There exists a Principle which transcends Being; this is The One, whose nature we have sought to establish in so far as such matters lend them…”
Shared concept: Logos — The divine reason, word, or ordering principle through which the universe was created; mediates between the transcendent God and the material world. (derived)
christian_mysticism|Meister Eckhart's Sermons (Field translation)|IV-b
No, they are certainly not; for the work of the angels is the will of God, and the will of God is the work of the angels; their service to us does not hinder their joy nor their working. If God told an angel to go to a tree and pluck cater…”
Shared concept: Poverty Of Spirit — Eckhart's radical reading of Matthew 5:3 — the saint as one who wants nothing, knows nothing, and has nothing, having emptied even the will and the self with which to receive God; distinct from renunciation_of_wealth (material poverty). (derived)
christian_mysticism|Pseudo-Dionysius: The Divine Names|Chapter 2, Section 1n
200 Redemption is a work performed by the whole Trinity through the Second Person. (So, too, is Creation. Cf. p. 65, n. 2). 201 i. e. We strive to distinguish the two planes of Being in God. Cf. Athan. Creed: “Neither confounding…”
Shared concept: Theosis Deification — The doctrine — central to Eastern Orthodox and Maximian theology — that the human person is progressively transformed into a partaker of the divine nature by grace, not merely justified or united in passing ecstasy. (derived)
taoism|Tao Te Ching|Chapter 63
(It is the way of the Tao) to act without (thinking of) acting; to conduct affairs without (feeling the) trouble of them; to taste without discerning any flavour; to consider what is small as great, and a few as many; and to recompense inju…”
Shared concept: Wu Wei — Effortless action aligned with the spontaneous flow of the Dao; non-coercive, non-striving conduct that yields results without forcing — the sage acts without acting. (derived)
neoplatonism|Select Works of Plotinus|Select Works, Section 489
Section 11 11. Similarly any one, unable to see himself, but possessed by that God, has but to bring that divine- within before his consciousness and at once he sees an image of himself, himself lifted to a better beauty: now let him ignore…”
Shared concept: Kingdom Within — The claim that the divine realm is present inside the individual, accessible without external mediation. (derived)
christian_mysticism|The Life and Doctrines of Jacob Boehme|Chapter 2 (part 3)
This other will is the sensitivity and conceivability of the primordial will, by means of which that which is nothing finds itself to be something. By so doing the inconceivable causeless will issues by means of that which it has eternally…”
Shared concept: Living God — The divine conceived as active, present, and dynamic—not an abstract principle but a personal responsive reality. (derived)
christian_mysticism|The Life and Doctrines of Jacob Boehme|Chapter 7 (part 5)
13.) Man can attain real similarity to God and perfect beatitude only by decisively willing to put his will into the Son, as the Heart or Light of the Father. "God has the eternal and unchangeable will to generate His Heart and his Son, an…”
Shared concept: Birth Of Word In Soul — Eckhart's signature doctrine that the Father eternally begets the Son in the ground of the soul; the human interior as the actual site of the divine generative act, distinct from inner_light's static indwelling. (derived)
taoism|Tao Te Ching|Chapter 28
Who knows his manhood's strength, Yet still his female feebleness maintains; As to one channel flow the many drains, All come to him, yea, all beneath the sky. Thus he the constant excellence retains; The simple child again, free from all s…”
Shared concept: Childlike Innocence — The infant or child as symbol of the unfallen, undivided spiritual state; return to primordial simplicity. (derived)
hinduism|Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, Book III|Sutra 7
This threefold power, of Attention, Meditation, Contemplation, is more interior than the means of growth previously described. Very naturally so; because the means of growth previously described were concerned with the extrication of the sp…”
Shared concept: Meditation — Disciplined inward attention — sitting, focused, or open-awareness practice — as a stand-alone term that umbrellas active_contemplation, inner_silence, and dhyana-style sitting. (derived)
renaissance_hermeticism|The Heroic Enthusiasts, Part II (Gli Eroici Furori)|First Dialogue-m
Thus everything has an impetus towards its beginning retrogressively, and progressively towards its end and perfection, as Empedocles well said, and from which sentence I think may be inferred that which the Nolan said in this octave: The s…”
Shared concept: Spiritual Ascent — A staged journey of the soul upward through heavenly realms or levels of being toward the divine source. (derived)
christian_mysticism|Meister Eckhart's Sermons (Field translation)|PREFACE-a
“ Meister Eckhart ,” who has been called the “Father of German thought,” was a Dominican monk, and one of the most profound thinkers of the Middle Ages. He was born about 1260 A.D. in Thuringia, and died at Cologne 1327 A.D. In 1295 he w…”
Shared concept: Detachment Gelassenheit — Eckhart's Abgeschiedenheit/Gelassenheit — radical letting-go of will, image, and grasping that opens the soul to God; distinct from inner_silence (quietness) and from material renunciation, and adjacent to Sufi tark and Buddhist non-grasping as a practice rather than a metaphysical claim. (derived)
neoplatonism|Iamblichus: On the Mysteries|Chapter XXI
Is, therefore, what you add in the third place more true; viz. “ that there is a certain mixed form of hypostasis, consisting of our soul and divine inspiration externally derived ?” Consider this then more accurately, lest we should be dec…”
Shared concept: Inner Light — The divine spark or luminous quality residing within the human person, potentially recognisable through introspection. (derived)
renaissance_hermeticism|The Heroic Enthusiasts, Part II (Gli Eroici Furori)|First Dialogue-g
Wherefore not only can we never discourse about things divine, but we cannot even think of them without detracting from, rather than adding to the glory of them; so that the best thing to be done with regard to them is, that man, in the pre…”
Shared concept: Inner Silence — The practice of stilling the mind and speech to open receptivity to divine knowledge or presence. (derived)