A Series of Lessons in Raja YogaAtkinson, William Walker
Religion
A Series of Lessons in Raja Yoga
Atkinson, William Walker
Yoga; Yoga, Raja
Many other writers have given us examples and instances of the operation
of the out-of-consciousness planes of thought. One has written that when
the solution of a problem he had long vainly dealt with, flashed across
his mind, he trembled as if in the presence of another being who had
communicated a secret to him. All of us have tried to remember a name
or similar thing without success, and have then dismissed the matter from
our minds, only to have the missing name or thought suddenly presented to
our conscious mind a few minutes, or hours, afterwards. Something in our
mind was at work hunting up the missing word, and when it found it it
presented it to us.
A writer has mentioned what he called "unconscious rumination," which
happened to him when he read books presenting new points of view
essentially opposed to his previous opinions. After days, weeks, or
months, he found that to his great astonishment the old opinions were
entirely rearranged, and new ones lodged there. Many examples of this
unconscious mental digestion and assimilation are mentioned in the books
on the subject written during the past few years.
It is related of Sir W. R. Hamilton that he discovered quarternions one
day while walking with his wife in the observatory at Dublin. He relates
that he suddenly felt "the galvanic circle of thought" close, and the
sparks that fell from it was the fundamental mathematical relations of
his problem, which is now an important law in mathematics.
Dr. Thompson has written: "At times I have had a feeling of the
uselessness of all voluntary effort, and also that the matter was working
itself clear in my mind. It has many times seemed to me that I was really
a passive instrument in the hands of a person not myself. In view of
having to wait for the results of these unconscious processes, I have
proved the habit of getting together material in advance, and then
leaving the mass to digest itself till I am ready to write about it. I
delayed for a month the writing of my book 'System of Psychology,' but
continued reading the authorities. I would not try to think about the
book. I would watch with interest the people passing the windows. One
evening when reading the paper, the substance of the missing part of the
book flashed upon my mind, and I began to write. This is only a sample of
many such experiences."
Berthelot, the founder of Synthetic Chemistry has said that the
experiments leading to his wonderful discoveries have never been the
result of carefully followed trains of thought--of pure reasoning
processes--but have come of themselves, so to speak, from the clear sky.
Mozart has written: "I cannot really say that I can account for my
compositions. My ideas flow, and I cannot say whence or how they come. I
do not hear in my imagination the parts successively, but I hear them, as
it were, all at once. The rest is merely an attempt to reproduce what I
have heard."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account