From the Contents of Esoteric Classes

108. EL, Helsinki, 4-5-'12

An independent way of thinking has a purifying effect on the blood. Clear thoughts purify the lymph. Noble feelings purify the bile. Pure, honest intentions ennoble the streams in senses and nerves.

What we meditate on is less important than how we meditate. The further we get, the greater the danger is that bad spirits will try to make nests in us. There's an occult remedy for this. We must imagine a rod with one black and one white snake wound around it. Of course, it's not enough to just stare at this image, but we shouldn't speculate about it very long either, since that would bring us out of our meditation. When we get further, we, as it were, feel that we're divided up into a variety of beings who worked on us previously, but if we surrender ourselves to this feeling too early, it can become an obstacle. For hostile spirits interfere who want to draw out to them and we get into an illusory world instead of the spiritual one. An effective occult remedy for this is to imagine a black cross with seven red roses. New life springs from the dead cross.

It's better to read a book 25 times than to read 5 books 5 times. When we raise ourselves to the hierarchies we are taken hold of, and this leads to egotism if it's not offset by a love for all beings. If we don't develop courage and selflessness we lose our self when we're taken hold of by even the best higher beings. We can dare to make the leap over the abyss if we're filled and permeated by the Christ principle. Spiritual beings take hold of us and use us to work in the world, just as we use our eyes, etc.

When we think about the moon something contracts and hardens in us. We feel the spirit working in us when we look at the sun. Sunrays are the effects of high spirits' deeds.

We must imagine the higher I and get to the point where this I looks upon our ordinary ego like an object that confronts it.