This is as true of
all other desires that enslave us. The desire for
alcoholic stimulants merely illustrates the principle
involved. Any desire from which one wishes to be free
may be escaped by the same method. But one who would
free himself from the desire-nature should not make the
mistake of creating a feeling of intense hostility
toward the thing he seeks to escape; for hatred is also
a tie. He should merely reach a position of complete
indifference. He should think of it not with settled
hostility, but with slight repulsion; and if he does
that daily, mentally dwelling upon the pain and
humiliation it causes, he will find the ties loosening,
the desire weakening.
Desire is a force that may be beneficial
or detrimental, according to its use. As we may
eradicate a desire so may we create a desire. How, then,
may one who seeks the highest self-development use
desire, this propulsive force of nature, to help himself
forward? He should desire spiritual progress most
earnestly, for without such desire he cannot succeed.
Therefore if the aspirant does not have the ardent
desire for spiritual illumination he must create it. To
accomplish this let him again call imagination to his
assistance. Let him picture himself as having his power
for usefulness many times multiplied by occult
development. He should think of himself as possessing
the inner sight that enables him to understand the
difficulties of others and to comprehend their sorrows.
He should daily think of the fact that this would so
broaden and quicken his sympathies that he would be
enormously more useful in the world than he can now
possibly be and that he could become
a source of happiness to thousands.
Let him reflect that as he gets farther
along in occult development and in unselfishness and
spirituality he may have the inestimable privilege of
coming into contact with some of the exalted
intelligences that watch over and assist the struggling
aspirants on their upward way. He should daily recall
the fact that he is now moving forward toward a freer,
richer, more joyous life than he has yet known and that
every effort brings him nearer to its realization. Thus
dwelling on the subject in its various aspects he
creates the ardent desire that serves to propel him
forward.
If he feels that these things make an
ideal a little too high for him at present he may reach
that point by degrees. He may at first dwell in thought
upon the personal satisfaction that would come from the
possession of astral sight. Let him reflect upon what it
would mean to be conscious of the invisible world; to
have all its wonders laid open before him; to be able to
consciously meet the so-called dead, including his own
friends and relatives; to be able to have the positive
personal proof that we survive the death of the physical
body; to be able to become one of the "invisible
helpers" of the world; to have available the priceless
advantages of the astral region and to bring the
consciousness of all this into the physical life.
That is certainly something worth all the
time and effort required to attain it. Thus thinking
constantly of the widened life and added powers it would
confer, the desire to move forward in self-development
will be greatly stimulated. But the student should
always keep it in mind that the real purpose of
acquiring new powers is to increase his capacity for
service to the race, and that he who falls short of that
ideal walks upon dangerous ground.
