The Secret Doctrine, Vol. 3 of 4 The Synthesis of...

Psychic vision, however, is not to be desired, since Psyche is earthly and evil. More and more as Science advances, the psychic will be reached and understood; Psychism has in it nothing that is spiritual. Science is right on its own plane, from its own standpoint. The law of the Conservation of Energy implies that psychic motion is generated by motion. Psychic motion being only motion on the Psychic Plane, a material plane, the Psychologist is right who sees in it nothing beyond matter. Animals have no Spirit, but they have psychic vision, and are sensitive to psychic conditions; observe how these react on their health, their bodily state.

Motion is the abstract Deity; on the highest plane it is Arûpa, absolute; but on the lowest it is merely mechanical. Psychic action is within the sphere of physical motion. Ere psychic action can be developed in the brain and nerves, there must be adequate action which generates it on the Physical Plane. The paralyzed animal that cannot generate action in the physical body, cannot think. Psychics merely see on a plane of different material density; the spiritual glimpses sometimes obtained by them come from a plane beyond. A Psychic's vision is that of one coming, as it were, into a lighted room, and seeing everything there by an artificial light: when the light is extinguished, vision is lost. Spiritual vision sees by the light within, [pg 543] the light hidden beneath the bushel of the body, by which we can see clearly and independently of all outside. The Psychic seeing by an external light, the vision is coloured by the nature of that light.

X. saying that she felt as though she saw on three planes, H. P. B. answered that each plane was sevenfold, the Astral as every other. She gave as an example on the Physical Plane the vision of a table with the sense of sight; seeing it still, with the eyes closed, by retinal impression; the image of it conserved in the brain; it can be recalled by memory; it can be seen in dream; or as an aggregate of atoms; or as disintegrated. All these are on the Physical Plane. Then we can begin again on the Astral Plane, and obtain another septenary. This hint should be followed and worked out.