DIFFICULTIES
Under this head we propose to cite a few of the obstacles to be met
with in the process of inducing the psychic vision, and some also
which may be expected in connection with the faculty when
induced.
Putting aside the greatest of all obstacles--that of constitutional
unfitness--as having been already discussed in preceding pages,
the first obstacle to be avoided is that of ill-health. The importance
of a moderate and sustaining diet in regard to psychic development
cannot be too strongly urged. All overloading of the stomach with
indigestible food and addiction to alcoholic drinks tends to cloud
the spiritual perception, It depletes the brain-centres, gives the
heart too much work, and overthrows the equilibrium of the
system. Ill-health follows; the mind is centred upon the suffering
body, spiritual aspiration ceases, and the soul folds its wings and
falls into the sleep of oblivion. The consciousness of man works
from a centre, which co-ordinates and includes all the phenomena
of thought, feeling, and volition. This centre of consciousness is
capable of rapid displacement, alternating between the most
external of our bodily functions and the most internal of our
spiritual operations. It cannot be active in all parts of our complex
constitution at one and the same moment. Hence it follows that
when one part of our nature is active another is dormant as
happens in sleeping and waking, dream-life being that wherein the
centre of consciousness hovers between the body and the soul.
With these considerations in mind it will be obvious to every one
that a condition in which the consciousness is held in bondage by
the infirmities of the body is not one conducive to psychic
development. The constitution need not be robust, but it should at
all events be free from disorder and pain. Some of the most
ethereal natures are associated with a delicate organism, but while
the balance is maintained the soul is free to develop its latent
powers.
It is advisable not to sit for crystal reading, or indeed for any order
of psychic exercise, immediately after or before a meal. The body
should be at rest, and the mind contented and tranquil. Again, the
attitude of the seer should not be too expectant or over-anxious in
regard to the production of the vision. Let the development take its
natural course. Do not force the young plant in its growth or it will
come to a premature end. Take time, as Nature does. It is a great
work, and much patience is needed. The acorn becomes the sturdy
oak only because Nature is contented with small results, because
she can afford to wait and is never in a hurry to see the result of
her operations. And because she is patient and careful in her
beginnings, her works are wonderfully great and complete in their
issues. Above all, they endure. Whoever breathes slowest will live
the longest. This is an Eastern saying which voices a fundamental
truth.
The vision is produced. The faculty of clairvoyance has become
more or less under the control of the mind. New difficulties arise,
and, of these, two will be conspicuous. The first is that of
time-measure, and the other is that of interpretation. The former is
peculiar to both orders of vision, the _direct_ and the _symbolic_.
The difficulty of interpretation is, of course, peculiar to the latter
order of vision.
Time-measure is, perhaps, the greatest difficulty encountered by
the seer. It is sometimes impossible to determine whether a vision
relates to the past, the present, or the future. In most cases,
however, the seer learns by experience how to distinguish, and
frequently it will be found that an intuitive impression of
the period involved comes with the vision itself. In our own
experience the foreground, middle distance, and background, mark
off the present, the approximate, and the distant future. In tracing
the succession of events, we have found it convenient to think of
time-measure at the outset, bending the sight upon, each month or
year separately and in succession, noting the visions that arise with
each in order. And as regards the past or future, we distinguish
between them by an intuitive sense rather than by any other
means, and very rarely is this sense deceived, for it is part of the
psychic faculty we had in training.
Therefore, if the vision appears in the foreground and, as it were,
at the feet of the seer, then it may be taken as relating to the
present or a quite recent date. In the same way, the middle distance
indicates the near past or future, and the background denotes the
more distant past or future. The other difficulty we have
mentioned is that of interpretation of such symbols as may arise.
The following pages will indicate some of the symbols and their
meanings. The rest must be left to the intuition of the seer.