Explanatory Notes regarding
Hermetics
Foreword
Hermetics is a hobby. It serves the purpose to become more
perfected. Since it is a hobby, and not a duty or necessity, you should enjoy
this activity, and if possible it should really be fun. Whosoever loves his
hobby should sacrifice every free moment to it and he should make certain to
set aside enough time to occupy himself with it. Hermetics requires an
incredible amount of patience and that can be realized with enthusiasm and
curiosity for the exercises, and you should never be discouraged.
We should
never feel disappointed on account of obstacles, instead we should be happy
about it, because they are signs that Divine Providence cares about us and
gives us the opportunity to test and temper our attributes and powers. We
should find out for ourselves through introspection how we are to overcome
these obstacles, and whatever we lack. One could compare the path of perfection
to an athlete, who improves his abilities through training, for example, for
the broad jump. He also makes the effort to eat accordingly, and whenever he
improves his jump by an inch, he rejoices. He knows that he does not become the
world champion on his first jump. But he is firmly convinced that one day he
will meet with victory and no one can convince him otherwise through negative
expressions such as: sport is a meaningless endeavor and a mere waste of time.
And that is why it is hobby it allows you spend your time in a more
meaningful manner, instead of endlessly watching television and arranging all
your activities in accordance with those programs. These kinds of things can go
so far that many people even arrange their meals in accordance with the television
programs because they fear that they might miss something, even the
commercials. As my friend, Dr. Lumir Bardon, the son of the great Master,
mentions in his reminiscences, his father did have a television, but he never
saw his father watch it.
It is of
the utmost importance to develop the power of the imagination in your childhood
years and to familiarize children with the concentration exercises, and they
should learn how to draw good examples and conclusions from fairy tales, so
that they can distinguish good from evil. The Master frequently mentioned: One
should enjoy the good and learn from the bad.
The
yearning to reach the level of perfection or to come as close as possible to
perfection is inborn. The decision to reach the level of perfection originated
in your previous life. This attribute makes its appearance during puberty. You
develop the desire to get to know yourself and to measure your powers and this
can go so far that you attempt to find your breaking point. This is almost the
same as when some players wear lead weights on their feet during a volleyball
training session you seek to overcome yourself. And that is the proper path!
If your
enthusiasm lasts until you reach a ripe old age, then the blessings are
inevitable. You must work towards filling your entire life with joy and while
you are at work never lose your humor, because you achieve more with that than
with grumpiness. You do not stop playing because you are getting older, instead
you age, because you have ceased to play. During your entire life you should
never lose the attribute of a child to view life as a great miracle. Nobody
should fail to experience the opportunity to see this miracle with his own
eyes. Life belongs to us, and that is why we should enjoy it to the fullest
extent and fill every second consciously with joy.
Through
our firm conviction we rise above everything with the certainty that we will
never be confronted by anything for which we do not have the necessary powers
to overcome.
How do we
recognize a Hermetic, may that be someone who still practices Hermetics, an
adept or a fully developed magician? Externally you will not recognize a person
as such. He lives, works, eats, sleeps, and behaves like everyone else;
however, he does it one hundred percent consciously. He uses every second for
his development and to help his fellowman, those who are in need and those which
Divine Providence has sent to him.
He
accomplishes his exercises and magical operations with joy, curiosity and
enthusiasm. Everything he undertakes in his daily life he does analogously as
if it were a magical activity may that be when he walks, or sweetens his
coffee, or adds spices or other ingredients to his food. He does so as if it
were a magical activity in accordance with the occasion and he links it with
magical numbers. He imagines that every drop is charged with a particular
attribute and he never doubts the effect. Like a child he plays consciously
with every thought, every motion, every step, and even before he falls asleep
he influences himself or others with good thoughts. And he is sincerely pleased
and enthused about the smallest successes he achieves.
Whenever
the Master and I were together, that is how we dealt with matters. He often
laughed at my silly ideas, although the subject matter was serious. Where is it
written that you should cry when you do your exercises, or that you should be
angry with yourself and assess your results in that manner? Or assess your
results with fear? No, that is not so! The Master never reprimanded me.
However, he did tell me allegorical stories about a magician who did not
consider certain things and that is when his efforts resulted in failures. Or
he told me how he had made mistakes, and what the results were and how he had
to make up for it. I did not realize in those days that this was meant for me
and that it was a warning as far as my future was concerned. He never told me
directly that I should refrain from doing certain things or that I should do
it. Whenever I asked him, he explained to me how it was done and what had to be
considered, but as far as doing it, that was left up to me. Through this I
learned not to be afraid of making mistakes, in order to learn how to
eventually do it properly through failures, through repetition and being led by
Divine Providence. Repetition is the mother of wisdom.
Therefore,
do not let yourself go and have confidence in yourself, or as the French say:
Help yourself, and then heaven will help you. You become weak only if you
lose the belief in your own powers and you direct your imagination only towards
small goals. But we do not have small goals, we have big goals! The fact that
you read these words proves that you carry within you the wish for perfection,
even though it still might be on the instinctive level. This little treatise is
a small contribution, which is intended to serve you as a guide and for your
support and in particular that you do things with joy and enthusiasm.
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