In Search of the Miraculous

it. Or it would be still more exact to say that any note of any octave may at the same

time be any note of any other octave passing through it.

"In the present instance sol begins to sound as do. Descending to the level of the

planets this new octave passes into si; descending still lower it produces three notes,

la, sol, fa, which create and constitute organic life on

earth in the form that we know it; mi of this octave

blends with mi of the cosmic octave, that is, with the

earth, and re with the re of the cosmic octave, that is,

with the moon."

We at once felt that there was a great deal of meaning

in this lateral octave. First of all it showed that organic

life, represented in the diagram by three notes, had two

higher notes, one on the level of the planets and one on

the level of the sun, and that it began in the sun. This last

was the most important point because once more, as with

many other things in G.'s system, it contradicted the

usual modern idea of life having originated so to speak

from below. In his explanations life came from above.

Then much talk arose about the notes mi, re, of the

lateral octave. We could not, of course, define what re

was. But it was clearly connected with the idea of food

for the moon. Some product of the disintegration of

organic life went to the moon; this must be re. In regard

to mi it was possible to speak quite definitely. Organic

life undoubtedly disappeared in the earth. The role of

organic life in the structure of the earth's surface was indisputable. There was the

growth of coral islands and limestone mountains, the formation of coal seams and

accumulations of petroleum;

the alteration of the soil under the influence of vegetation, the growth of vegetation in lakes, the "formation of rich arable lands by worms," change of climate due to the draining of swamps and the destruction of forests, and many other things that we

know of and do not know of.

But in addition to this the lateral octave showed with particular clarity how easily

and correctly things were classified in the system we were studying. Everything

anomalous, unexpected, and accidental disappeared, and an immense and strictly

thought-out plan of the universe began to make its appearance.

Chapter Eight

AT ONE of the following lectures G. returned to the question of

consciousness.

"Neither the psychical nor the physical functions of man can

be understood," he said, "unless the fact has been grasped that they can

both work in different states of consciousness.

"In all there are four states of consciousness possible for man" (he emphasized the word "man"), "But ordinary man, that is, man number one, number two, and number three, lives in the two lowest states of consciousness only. The two higher states of

consciousness are inaccessible to him, and although he may have flashes of these

states, he is unable to understand them and he judges them from the point of view of

those states in which it is usual for him to be.

"The two usual, that is, the lowest, states of consciousness are first, sleep, in other words a passive state in which man spends a third and very often a half of his life. And

second, the state in which men spend the other part of their lives, in which they walk

the streets, write books, talk on lofty subjects, take part in politics, kill one another, which they regard as active and call 'clear consciousness' or the 'waking state of

consciousness.' The term 'clear consciousness' or 'waking state of consciousness'

seems to have been given in jest, especially when you realize what clear

consciousness ought in reality to be and what the state in which man lives and acts really is.

"The third state of consciousness is self-remembering or self-consciousness or consciousness of one's being. It is usual to consider that we have this state of

consciousness or that we can have it if we want it. Our science and philosophy have

overlooked the fact that we do not possess this state of consciousness and that we cannot create it in ourselves by desire or decision alone.

"The fourth state of consciousness is called the objective state of consciousness In this state a man can see things as they are. Flashes of this state of consciousness also occur in man. In the religions of all nations there are indications of the possibility of a state of consciousness of this kind which is called 'enlightenment' and various other

names but which cannot be described in words. But the only right way to objective

con-

sciousness is through the development of self-consciousness. If an ordinary man is

artificially brought into a state of objective consciousness and afterwards brought back

to his usual state he will remember nothing and he will think that for a time he had lost consciousness. But in the state of self-consciousness a man can have Hashes of

objective consciousness and remember them.