Chapter XI
1907 original work, Global Grey full HTML transcription
Chapter XI
That the ordinary strenuous methods of working causes the system to lose a great deal of energy can be easily understood; but that almost just as much energy is lost through the ordinary methods of resting, may seem difficult to believe; nevertheless, it is the truth.
The cause of this strange phenomena is found in the fact that no part of the system can rest until conscious action is completely withdrawn from that part. The average person when trying to rest tries to place himself in a restful attitude by consciously acting upon himself to make himself quiet. Therefore, instead of withdrawing conscious action, he continues to apply conscious action, and consequently fails to secure the attitude of rest.
Before any part of the system can rest, complete inactivity must be secured for that part; but so long as consciousness acts upon that part, complete inactivity is impossible, and consciousness continues to act upon everything that we are conscious of. It will therefore be readily understood that by trying to make yourself quiet, you will prevent yourself from becoming quiet.
The art of resting is consequently based upon the ability to withdraw conscious action from any part of the system when desired, and to become wholly unconscious of any plane of action when desired. This is something that anyone can do without any effort whatever.
True rest is not promoted by trying to do nothing, but by proceeding to do something else. To do nothing is impossible; therefore, to try to do nothing is to resist nature; and to resist anything is to lose power.
The conscious ego never stops action; it always acts upon something. While awake, this action is directed upon the objective personality; while asleep, it is turned upon the subconscious. Therefore, if you want conscious action to cease in one part of being, you must direct that action to some other part. You can not stop the act itself. The secret is to give that action something else to do.
When you wish to rest one group of muscles, go and exercise another group. When you wish to rest one part of the brain or mind, think of something entirely different. When the whole brain needs rest, go and take some physical exercise that requires no constructive thought. Such exercise will rest the brain more quickly and far better than to lie down and think about how tired you feel.
When the entire body needs rest, read an entertaining book, or listen to quieting music, or think about something which takes you entirely away from physical existence. To enter the loftiness, the beauty and the silent life of spiritual thought will recuperate the body in less time than any other method that can be employed.
When you wish to rest any one faculty or function, do not try to force consciousness away from that faculty or function. Simply direct your attention elsewhere, and become thoroughly interested in the new object of your attention. Consciousness will then follow, and all action be completely removed from the part that is to rest.
When you wish to rest the entire outer personality, go to sleep; but do not go to sleep in the ordinary way. To go to sleep properly is a fine art, and one that will prove most profitable when mastered.
When we go to sleep, we enter the subconscious mind and carry on a form of activity in that state that is absolutely necessary. Everything that we have received during the waking state is carried into the subconscious when we go to sleep, and while we sleep, these things are made a part of ourselves.
During sleep we build character, ability, desires, motives, states of consciousness, etc., always employing the material that we have gathered during the waking state just preceding.
During the waking state we gather material; during sleep we take that material and rebuild ourselves. It is, therefore, of the highest importance that we gather the. best material possible, and promote the subconscious reconstruction under the best conditions possible.
All construction, however, requires energy; therefore, all the energy generated in the system should flow into the subconscious during sleep. This is accomplished by going to sleep with a definite purpose in view. A definite purpose in consciousness, as it passes into the subconscious will produce a mental tendency towards the subconscious, and all the active energy in the system will follow that tendency.
Every form of restless or disturbed sleep is produced by a portion of the active energy remaining in the outer personality during sleep. This condition, however, will be entirely removed by employing the method just mentioned. Therefore, to secure a sleep that is sound, peaceful, restful and recuperative to the very highest degree, we should go to sleep with a definite purpose in view. This purpose should form itself into a clear conception of what we wish to develop, and should be filled with a strong but gentle desire to promote that development.
Through this method, perfect rest for mind and body will be secured; a great deal of energy will be saved from loss, and subconscious development will be more thoroughly promoted.
From the foregoing it is therefore evident that the art of resting is mastered by giving the conscious ego something definite to do in another part of the system, while those parts which have been acted upon, are to rest. In this connection it is well to remember that at those moments when the conscious ego has nothing definite to do, all the energy generated in the system at the time, is lost. Consequently, during those moments when we are not engaged in regular constructive work, we should turn attention upon those latent faculties or talents which we wish to develop. Wasted time means wasted energy; both are prophets of failure.
The belief that we are resting and recuperating during those moments when we are generally inactive, is not true. General inactivity is impossible. What is called general inactivity is simply the scattering of forces, letting all the energies slip away, because they are not directed into something constructive.
Energy is being generated in the system constantly and if this energy is not given constructive work, it will scatter and disappear. Therefore, when we are through acting constructively in one line, we should immediately turn to another. Every moment should be devoted to some constructive work either on the physical, metaphysical or spiritual planes. To devote certain regular hours to these three planes, alternately, every day is of the highest value, because such a practice will not only give regular rest to each plane but will employ constructively all the energy of the system every moment of existence. The result will be the higher development of the whole man— the one perfect goal we all have in view.