William Atkinson - The Essential Works of William Walker Atkinson - 50+ Books in One Edition

The philosophic mind, considering the great questions underlying Life, soon is brought in contact with what has been called the Divine Paradox. He finds himself forced to recognize apparently conflicting aspects of the same thing—finds two equally satisfactory answers to the same question, either of which would suit were it not for the other. This state of affairs places the philosopher in the position of being able to answer any great question relatively by either “Yes,” or “No.” And yet if the Center is once recognized, the philosopher sees not only that neither answer is strictly correct (speaking from the absolute position), but that both answers combined give the only approach to a correct answer. One is forced to answer: “It is and it isn’t.” The explanation is partially understood when we remember that no absolute truth can be conveyed in relative terms. This Divine Paradox confronts the novitiate entering the Path. Do not let it frighten you off—it is terrible only in appearance—when you know it well you see that it is a friend and a helper.

This Divine Paradox confronts us when we come to consider the question of the growth, development and unfoldment of Man. One set of thinkers will contend that Man grows and develops only by causes external to himself—that he is a creature of heredity, environment, circumstances. Another school will teach that his growth is entirely from within, and that external causes have no effect whatever upon him. Both will confront you with splendid arguments, striking illustrations and examples, and for the moment you are almost convinced, until the other side of the question occurs to you. Then you are torn with contradictions, and unless you recognize the Divine Paradox, you will finally be forced into the position of saying: “I do not know.”

There are two general causes operating in the development of the Ego—one internal, and the other external. These causes are, from the relative position, conflicting; from the absolute, one. Neither of these relative causes determines or controls the development of Man. There is a constant play or reaction of these two forces. The internal urge meets with numerous obstacles, hindrances, barriers and obstructions, which, apparently, turn aside the Ego from its path laid out for it by the Power Within. And yet, the inner force urges forward and either surmounts, overcomes, climbs over, undermines, or passes around the external obstacle. It might, at first glance seem like the old proposition of “the irresistible force coming in contact with the immovable body”, which proposition is beyond the understanding of the mind of man, but the comparison is not exact, because whilst the two forces continually play one upon the other, the inner urge modified by the external hindrances is in the end victorious, and the plant of Life rises toward the sun. The mighty river on its way to the ocean, was forced to turn this way and that way—forced to bend here and tunnel there—but in the end the ocean was reached, and the water of the river reached home at last.

I wish to say here that my philosophy teaches me that in the final analysis the internal force and the opposing obstacle will be seen as but different manifestations of one thing, and that in the apparent inharmony is to be found the highest form of harmony. In speaking of relative things, one must use relative terms in order to be understood at all. In fact, if one wished to speak solely from the absolute position, he would find no words to express himself, and would be forced to remain mute. I say this now, in order that I may not be misunderstood later. For the purpose of delivering my message, I must assume that this inner force, urging toward unfoldment, is the prime factor in man’s advancement, and that the external forces playing upon that inner force are in the nature of obstacles. I trust, however, before we are through with each other, to cause you to see that both are vital factors in the development of Man.

One feature of this process of unfoldment is most necessary to remember, and that is that the final, or ultimate, effect or product, is practically the underlying cause of the unfoldment itself. The blossom or the fruit urging for expression, causes the seed to sprout, the plant to grow a stalk, put forth leaves and fulfill all the laws of its growth. The potential oak within the acorn, eager for expression, causes the entire growth and development of the tree. In the lowest form of Life was to be found the potential Man, urging for expression and development through millions of years. Man the effect, was Man the cause. The last to appear, in point of time, was the first in point of cause. And in Man of today nestles the potential Higher Man of the future, and perhaps beyond him in ascending order beings as much superior to Man as man is to the lowest form of life known to science. Verily, “the first shall be last, and the last shall be first”, in more senses than one.

In looking at a growing plant, or flower, one is apt to be impressed at the ease and naturalness of the growth—at the absence of effort or pain, and we may wonder why this process is not carried out in the higher forms of development. We wonder why Man cannot develop his Ego in like manner, without all the pains of growth, struggle and effort. Alas, we are blind. Could we but look at the plant through a sufficiently large and strong microscope, we would see there a continual tearing down and building up—destruction—effort—pain— tearing asunder—discarding—replacing. Change—change always. But the plant, true to the instincts of nature, does not needlessly oppose the laws of its growth, and pain is reduced to a minimum, and may even afford a certain sense of pleasure (for pain and pleasure are not so far apart), but Man seems to oppose each step of growth, and holds himself in, fearing the change and prolonging and intensifying his pain. Poor Man— but he is learning.

We will have more to say about this process of unfoldment in other parts of this book, and will leave the subject for the present, in order to take up the different forms of Man’s unfoldment. Carry this in your minds, however, that there is Something Within, pressing forth for development and unfoldment. And that Something is that which will in the end appear as the divine flower upon our plant of Life. It is not a thing foreign to us—not something from the outside—but is the Higher Self, which will one day be what we mean when we say “I”. At present the “I” is our consciousness of the highest stage of our present development. Your “I” of today, is far different from your “I” of ten years ago, and your “I” of ten years from now will be far different from your “I” of today. And when we realize that this process is to be continued throughout ages, our reasoning powers fail us for the moment—we cannot grasp this wondrous truth, pregnant with such marvelous possibilities.

Table of Content

Consciousness in the lower animals—Mere sensation at first; almost automatic—Growth— Lower form of Consciousness—The development of Self-consciousness—Definition of Simple Consciousness and Self-consciousness—The first conception of the “I”—“I” on the physical plane—An animal happiness—All his troubles before him—The mental plane—“I” as the intellect—Worshiping Intellect as God—Different forms of mental development—Psychic development—Man’s suffering begins when he reaches the mental plane of development— Dissatisfaction and anxiety—Hemmed in at all sides—The eternal “Why”—No answer to the demands of the intellect—The only possible avenue of escape.

IT IS important to understand something about the growth and development of consciousness in Man—the unfoldment of the “I” consciousness within him.