“The reason why it is possible for four bodies to exist is that the human ORGANISM, that is, the physical body, has such a complex organization that, under certain conditions, a new independent ORGANISM can grow in it, affording a much more convenient and responsive instrument for the activity of consciousness than the physical body. The consciousness manifested in this new body is capable of governing it, and it has full power and full control over the physical body. In this second body, under certain conditions, a third body can grow, again having characteristics of its own. The consciousness manifested in this third body has full power and control over the first two bodies; and the third body possesses the possibility of acquiring knowledge inaccessible either to the first or to the second body. In the third body, under certain conditions, a fourth can grow, which differs as much from the third as the third differs from the second and the second from the first. The consciousness manifested in the fourth body has full control over the first three bodies and itself. Fragments: Two

“But on the fourth way knowledge is still more exact and perfect. A man who follows the fourth way knows quite definitely what substances he needs for his aims and he knows that these substances can be produced within the body by a month of physical suffering, by a week of emotional strain, or by a day of mental exercises — and also, that they can be introduced into the ORGANISM from without if it is known how to do it. And so, instead of spending a whole day in exercises like the yogi, a week in prayer like the monk, or a month in self-torture like the fakir, he simply prepares and swallows a little pill which contains all the substances he wants and, in this way, without loss of time, he obtains the required results. Fragments: Two

“The advantage of the separate individual is that he is very small and that, in the economy of nature, it makes no difference whether there is one mechanical man more or less. We can easily understand this correlation of magnitudes if we imagine the correlation between a microscopic cell and our own body. The presence or absence of one cell will change nothing in the life of the body. We cannot be conscious of it, and it can have no influence on the life and functions of the ORGANISM. In exactly the same way a separate individual is too small to influence the life of the cosmic ORGANISM to which he stands in the same relation (with regard to size) as a cell stands to our own ORGANISM. And this is precisely what makes his ‘evolution’ possible; on this are based his ‘possibilities.’ Fragments: Three

The moon is the weight on a clock. Organic life is the mechanism of the clock brought into motion by the weight. The gravity of the weight, the pull of the chain on the cogwheel, set in motion the wheels and the hands of the clock. If the weight is removed all movements in the mechanism of the clock will at once stop. The moon is a colossal weight hanging on to organic life and thus setting it in motion. Whatever we may be doing, whether it is good or bad, clever or stupid, all the movements of the wheels and the hands of our ORGANISM depend upon this weight, which is continually exerting its pressure upon us. Fragments: Five

The next lecture began precisely with the words: “Know thyself.” “These words,” said G., “which are generally ascribed to Socrates, actually lie at the basis of many systems and schools far more ancient than the Socratic. But although modem thought is aware of the existence of this principle it has only a very vague idea of its meaning and significance. The ordinary man of our times, even a man with philosophic or scientific interests, does not realize that the principle ‘know thyself speaks of the necessity of knowing one’s machine, the ‘human machine.’ Machines are made more or less the same way in all men; therefore, before anything else man must study the structure, the functions, and the laws of his ORGANISM. In the human machine everything is so interconnected, one thing is so dependent upon another, that it is quite impossible to study any one function without studying all the others. In order to know one thing, one must know everything. To know everything in man is possible, but it requires much time and labor, and above all, the application of the right method and, what is equally necessary, right guidance. Fragments: Six

“In order to find a way of discriminating we must understand that every normal psychic function is a means or an instrument of knowledge. With the help of the mind we see one aspect of things and events, with the help of emotions another aspect, with the help of sensations a third aspect. The most complete knowledge of a given subject possible for us can only be obtained if we examine it simultaneously with our mind, feelings, and sensations. Every man who is striving after right knowledge must aim at the possibility of attaining such perception. In ordinary conditions man sees the world through a crooked, uneven window. And even if he realizes this, he cannot alter anything. This or that mode of perception depends upon the work of his ORGANISM as a whole. All functions are interconnected and counterbalance one another, all functions strive to keep one another in the state in which they are. Therefore when a man begins to study himself he must understand that if he discovers in himself something that he dislikes he will not be able to change it. To study is one thing, and to change is another. But study is the first step towards the possibility of change in the future. And in the beginning, to study himself he must understand that for a long time all his work will consist in study only. Fragments: Six

First of all G. drew attention to the constant misuse of the words “instinct” and “instinctive.” It transpired from what he said that these words could be applied, by rights, only to the inner functions of the ORGANISM. The beating of the heart, breathing, the circulation of blood, digestion — these were instinctive functions. The only external functions that belong to this category are reflexes. The difference between instinctive and moving functions was as follows: the moving functions of man, as well as of animals, of a bird, of a dog, must be learned; but instinctive functions are inborn. A man has very few inborn external movements; an animal has more, though they vary, some have more, others have less; but that which is usually explained as “instinct” is very often a series of complex moving functions which young animals learn from older ones. One of the chief properties of the moving center is its ability to imitate. The moving center imitates what it sees without reasoning. This is the origin of the legends that exist about the wonderful “intelligence” of animals or the “instinct” that takes the place of intelligence and makes them perform a whole series of very complex and expedient actions. Fragments: Six

Some of those present said that during attempts at self-observation, what they had felt particularly strongly was an incessant flow of thoughts which they had found impossible to stop. Others spoke of the difficulty of distinguishing the work of one center from the work of another. I had evidently not altogether understood the question, or I answered my own thoughts, because I said that what struck me most was the connectedness of one thing with another in the system, the wholeness of the system, as if it were an “ORGANISM,” and the entirely new significance of the word to know which included not only the idea of knowing this thing or that, but the connection between this thing and everything else. Fragments: Seven

“These twelve ‘hydrogens’ represent twelve categories of matter contained in the universe from the Absolute to the moon, and if it were possible to establish exactly which of these matters constitute man’s ORGANISM and act in it, this alone would determine what place man occupies in the world. Fragments: Nine

“All matters from ‘hydrogen’ 6 to ‘hydrogen’ 3072 are to be found and play a part in the human ORGANISM. Each of these ‘hydrogens’ includes a very large group of chemical substances known to us, linked together by some function in connection with our ORGANISM. In other words, it must not be forgotten that the term ‘hydrogen’ has a very wide meaning. Any simple element is a ‘hydrogen’ of a certain density, but any combination of elements which possesses a definite function, either in the world or in the human ORGANISM, is also a ‘hydrogen.’ Fragments: Nine

“This kind of definition of matters enables us to classify them in the order of their relation to life and to the functions of our ORGANISM. Fragments: Nine

“Altogether in examining the ‘table of hydrogens,’ it must always be remembered that each ‘hydrogen’ of this table includes an enormous number of different substances connected together by one and the same function in our ORGANISM and representing a definite ‘cosmic group.’ Fragments: Nine

“The ‘table of hydrogens’ makes it possible to examine all substances making up man’s ORGANISM from the point of view of their relation to different planes of the universe. And as every function of man is a result of the action of definite substances, and as each substance is connected with a definite plane in the universe, this fact enables us to establish the relation between man’s functions and the planes of the universe.” Fragments: Nine

After the ‘hydrogens’ G. at once went further. “We want to ‘do,’ but” (he began the next lecture) “in everything we do we are tied and limited by the amount of energy produced by our ORGANISM. Every function, every state, every action, every thought, every emotion, requires a certain definite energy, a certain definite substance. Fragments: Nine

“The study of the working of the human ORGANISM shows this to be quite possible. Fragments: Nine

“The human ORGANISM represents a chemical factory planned for the possibility of a very large output. But in the ordinary conditions of life the output of this factory never reaches the full production possible to it, because only a small part of the machinery is used which produces only that quantity of material necessary to maintain its own existence. Factory work of this kind is obviously uneconomic in the highest degree. The factory actually produces nothing — all its machinery, all its elaborate equipment, actually serve no purpose at all, in that it maintains only with difficulty its own existence. Fragments: Nine

“The work of the factory consists in transforming one kind of matter into another, namely, the coarser matters, in the cosmic sense, into finer ones. The factory receives, as raw material from the outer world, a number of coarse ‘hydrogens’ and transforms them into finer hydrogens by means of a whole series of complicated alchemical processes. But in the ordinary conditions of life the production by the human factory of the finer ‘hydrogens,’ in which, from the point of view of the possibility of higher states of consciousness and the work of higher centers, we are particularly interested, is insufficient and they are all wasted on the existence of the factory itself. If we could succeed in bringing the production up to its possible maximum we should then begin to save the fine ‘hydrogens.’ Then the whole of the body, all the tissues, all the cells, would become saturated with these fine ‘hydrogens’ which would gradually settle in them, crystallizing in a special way. This crystallization of the fine ‘hydrogens’ would gradually bring the whole ORGANISM onto a higher level, onto a higher plane of being. Fragments: Nine

” ‘Learn to separate the fine from the coarse’ — this principle from the ‘Emerald Tablets of Hermes Trismegistus’ refers to the work of the human factory, and if a man learns to ‘separate the fine from the coarse,’ that is, if he brings the production of the fine ‘hydrogens’ to its possible maximum, he will by this very fact create for himself the possibility of an inner growth which can be brought about by no other means. Inner growth, the growth of the inner bodies of man, the astral, the mental, and so on, is a material process completely analogous to the growth of the physical body. In order to grow, a child must have good food, his ORGANISM must be in a healthy condition to prepare from this food the material necessary for the growth of the tissues. The same thing is necessary for the growth of the ‘astral body’; out of the various kinds of food entering it, the ORGANISM must produce the substances necessary for the growth of the ‘astral body.’ Moreover, the ‘astral body’ requires for its growth the same substances as those necessary to maintain the physical body, only in much greater quantities. If the physical ORGANISM begins to produce a sufficient quantity of these fine substances and the ‘astral body’ within it becomes formed, this astral ORGANISM will require for its maintenance less of these substances than it required during its growth. The surplus from these substances can then be used for the formation and growth of the ‘mental body’ which will grow with the help of the same substances that feed the ‘astral body,’ but of course the growth of the ‘mental body’ will require more of these substances than the growth and feeding of the ‘astral body.’ The surplus of the substances left over from the feeding of the ‘mental body’ will go to the growth of the fourth body. But in all cases the surplus will have to be very large. All the fine substances necessary for the growth and feeding of the higher bodies must be produced within the physical ORGANISM, and the physical ORGANISM is able to produce them provided the human factory is working properly and economically. Fragments: Nine

“All the substances necessary for the maintenance of the life of the ORGANISM, for psychic work, for the higher functions of consciousness and the growth of the higher bodies, are produced by the ORGANISM from the food which enters it from outside Fragments: Nine

“The human ORGANISM receives three kinds of food 1. The ordinary food we eat 2. The air we breathe 3. Our impressions Fragments: Nine

“It is not difficult to agree that air is a kind of food for the ORGANISM But in what way impressions can be food may appear at first difficult to understand We must however remember that, with every external im pression, whether it takes the form of sound, or vision, or smell, we receive from outside a certain amount of energy, a certain number of vibrations, this energy which enters the ORGANISM from outside is food Moreover, as has been said before, energy cannot be transmitted without matter If an external impression brings external energy with it into the ORGANISM it means that external matter also enters which feeds the ORGANISM in the full meaning of the term Fragments: Nine

“For its normal existence the ORGANISM must receive all three kinds of food, that is, physical food, air, and impressions The ORGANISM cannot exist on one or even on two kinds of food, all three are required But the relation of these foods to one another and their significance for the ORGANISM is not the same The ORGANISM can exist for a comparatively long time without a supply of fresh physical food Cases of starvation are known lasting for over sixty days, when the ORGANISM lost none of its vitality and recovered very quickly as soon as it began to take food Of course starvation of this kind cannot be considered as complete, since in all cases of such artificial starvation people have taken water Nevertheless, even without water a man can live without food for several days Without air he can exist only for a few minutes, not more than two or three, as a rule a man dies after being four minutes without air Without impressions a man cannot live a single moment If the flow of impressions were to be stopped in some way or if the ORGANISM were deprived of its capacity for receiving impressions, it would immediately die. The flow of impressions coming to us from outside is like a driving belt communicating motion to us. The principal motor for us is nature, the surrounding world. Nature transmits to us through our impressions the energy by which we live and move and have our being If the inflow of this energy is arrested, our machine will immediately stop working Thus, of the three kinds of food the most important for us is impressions, although it stands to reason that a man cannot exist for long on impressions alone Impressions and air enable a man to exist a little longer Impressions, air, and physical food enable the ORGANISM to live to the end of its normal term of life and to produce the substances necessary not only for the maintenance of life, but also for the creation and growth of higher bodies. Fragments: Nine

“The process of transforming the substances which enter the ORGANISM into finer ones is governed by the law of octaves. Fragments: Nine

“Let us take the human ORGANISM in the form of a three-story factory. The upper floor of this factory consists of a man’s head; the middle floor, of the chest; and the lower, of the stomach, back, and the lower part of the body. Fragments: Nine

“Physical food is H768, or la, sol, fa of the third cosmic octave of radiations. This ‘hydrogen’ enters the lower story of the ORGANISM as ‘oxygen’ do 768. Fragments: Nine

” ‘Oxygen’ 768 meets with ‘carbon’ 192 which is present in the ORGANISM. From the union of O768 and C192 is obtained N384. N384 is the next note re. Fragments: Nine

‘Re 384 which becomes ‘oxygen’ in the next triad meets with ‘carbon’ 96 in the ORGANISM and together with it produces a new ‘nitrogen’ 192 which is the note mi 192. Fragments: Nine

“At the given place in the ORGANISM “where mi 192 ought, apparently, to come to a stop there enters the ‘second food’ — air, in the form of do 192, that is, mi, re, do of the second cosmic octave of radiations. The note do possesses all the necessary semitones, that is, all the energy necessary for the transition to the next note, and it gives as it were a part of its energy to the note mi which has the same density as itself. The energy of do gives mi 192 force enough, while uniting with ‘carbon’ 48 already in the ORGANISM, to pass into ‘nitrogen’ 96. ‘Nitrogen’ 96 will be the note fa. Fragments: Nine

“Fa 96 by uniting with ‘carbon’ 24 present in the ORGANISM passes into ‘nitrogen’ 48 — the note sol. Fragments: Nine

“The note sol 48 by uniting with ‘carbon’ 12 present in the ORGANISM passes into ‘nitrogen’ 24 — la 24. Fragments: Nine

“La 24 unites with ‘carbon’ 6 present in the ORGANISM and is transformed into ‘nitrogen’ 12, or si 12. Si 12 is the highest substance produced in the ORGANISM from physical food with the help of the ‘additional shock’ obtained from the air. Fragments: Nine

“Do 192 (air) entering the middle story of the factory in the character of ‘oxygen’ and giving part of its energy to mi 192 unites in its turn at a certain place with ‘carbon’ 48 present in the ORGANISM and passes into re 96. Fragments: Nine

“The third octave begins with do 48. “Impressions enter the ORGANISM in the form of ‘oxygen’ 48, that is, la, sol, fa of the second cosmic octaoctave Sun-Earth. Fragments: Nine

“Do 48 has sufficient energy to pass into the following note but at that place in the ORGANISM where do 48 enters, the ‘carbon’ 12 necessary for this is not present. At the same time do 48 does not come into contact with mi 48 so that it can neither itself pass into the next note nor give part of its energy to mi 48. Fragments: Nine

“Mi 48 passes to fa 24; fa 24 passes to sol 12; sol 12 passes to la 6. La 6 is the highest matter produced by the ORGANISM from air, that is, from the second kind of food. This however is obtained only by making a conscious effort at the moment an impression is received. “It is necessary to understand what this means. We all breathe the same air. Apart from the elements known to our science the air contains a great number of substances unknown to science, indefinable for it and inaccessible to its observation. But exact analysis is possible both of the air inhaled and of the air exhaled. This exact analysis shows that although Fragments: Nine

the air inhaled by different people is exactly the same, the air exhaled is quite different. Let us suppose that the air we breathe is composed of twenty different elements unknown to our science. A certain number of these elements are absorbed by every man when he breathes. Let us suppose that five of these elements are always absorbed. Consequently the air exhaled by every man is composed of fifteen elements; five of them have gone to feeding the ORGANISM. But some people exhale not fifteen but only ten elements, that is to say, they absorb five elements more. These five elements are higher ‘hydrogens.’ These higher ‘hydrogens’ are present in every small particle of air ‘we inhale. By inhaling air we introduce these higher ‘hydrogens’ into ourselves, but if our ORGANISM does not know how to extract them out of the particles of air, and retain them, they are exhaled back into the air. If the ORGANISM is able to extract and retain them, they remain in it. In this way we all breathe the same air but we extract different substances from it. Some extract more, others less. Fragments: Nine

“In order to extract more, it is necessary to have in our ORGANISM a certain quantity of corresponding fine substances. Then the fine substances contained in the ORGANISM act like a magnet on the fine substances contained in the inhaled air. We come again to the old alchemical law: ‘In order to make gold, it is first of all necessary to have a certain quantity of real gold.’ ‘If no gold whatever is possessed, there is no means whatever of making it.’ Fragments: Nine

“In order to understand the analogy between man, the human ORGANISM, and the universe, let us take the world as we did before in the form of three octaves from the Absolute to the sun, from the sun to the earth, and from the earth to the moon. Each of these three octaves lacks a semitone between fa and mi and in each octave the place of this missing semitone is taken by a certain kind of ‘shock’ which is created artificially at the given point. If we now begin to look for an analogy between the three-story factory and the three octaves of the universe, we ought to realize that the three ‘additional shocks’ in the three octaves of the universe correspond to the three kinds of food entering the human ORGANISM. The ‘shock’ in the lower octave corresponds to physical food; this ‘shock’ is do 768 of the cosmic three-story factory. The ‘shock’ in the middle octave corresponds to air. It is do 192 of the cosmic factory. The ‘shock’ in the upper octave corresponds to impressions; it is do 48 of the cosmic factory. In the inner work of this cosmic three-story factory all three kinds of food undergo the same transformation as in the human factory, on the same plan and in accordance with the same laws. A further study of the analogy between man and the universe is possible only after an exact study of the human machine and after the respective ‘places’ of each of the ‘hydrogens’ in our ORGANISM has been established exactly. This means that to proceed with any further study we must find the exact purpose of each ‘hydrogen,’ that is to say, each ‘hydrogen’ must be defined chemically, psychologically, physiologically, and anatomically, in other words, its functions, its place in the human ORGANISM, and, if possible, the peculiar sensations connected with it must be defined. Fragments: Nine

“The study of the work of the human ORGANISM as a chemical factory shows us three stages in the evolution of the human machine. Fragments: Nine

“The first stage refers to the work of the human ORGANISM as it has been created by nature, that is to say, to the life and functions of man number one, number two, and number three. The first octave, that is, the octave of food, develops in a normal way to mi 192. At this point it automatically receives a ‘shock’ from the beginning of the second octave, and its development goes on consecutively to si 12. The second octave, that is, the air octave, begins with do 192 and develops to mi 48 where it stops. The third octave, that is, the octave of impressions, begins with do 48 and stops there. Thus seven notes of the first octave, three notes of the second, and one note of the third octave represent a complete picture of the work of the ‘human factory’ in its first or natural stage. Nature has provided only one ‘shock,’ that is, the ‘shock’ received from the entrance of the second octave which helps mi of the first octave to pass to fa. But nature did not foresee and did not provide for the second ‘shock,’ that is, the ‘shock’ that would help the development of the third octave and thereby enable mi of the second octave to pass to fa. A man must create this ‘shock’ by his own personal efforts if he desires to increase the output of the fine hydrogens in his ORGANISM. Fragments: Nine

“The second stage refers to the work of the human ORGANISM when a man creates a conscious volitional ‘shock’ at the point do 48. In the first place this volitional ‘shock’ is transmitted to the second octave which develops as far as sol 12, or even further up to la 6 and so on, if the work of the ORGANISM is sufficiently intense. The same ‘shock’ also enables the third octave to develop, that is, the octave of impressions which in this event reaches mi 12. Thus in the second stage of the work of the human ORGANISM, we see the full development of the second octave and three notes of the third octave. The first octave has stopped at the note si 12, the third at the note mi 12. Neither of these octaves can proceed any further without a fresh ‘shock.’ The nature of this second ‘shock’ cannot be so easily described as the nature of the first volitional ‘shock’ at do 48. In order to understand the nature of this ‘shock’ it is necessary to understand the meaning of si 12 and mi 12. Fragments: Nine

“The effort which creates this ‘shock’ must consist in work on the emotions, in the transformation and transmutation of the emotions. This transmutation of the emotions will then help the transmutation of si 12 in the human ORGANISM. No serious growth, that is, no growth of higher bodies within the ORGANISM, is possible without this transmutation. The idea of this transmutation was known to many ancient teachings as well as to some comparatively recent ones, such as the alchemy of the Middle Ages. But the alchemists spoke of this transmutation in the allegorical forms of the transformation of base metals into precious ones. In reality, however, they meant the transformation of coarse ‘hydrogens’ into finer ones in the human ORGANISM, chiefly of the transformation of mi 12. If this transformation is attained, a man can be said to have ‘achieved what he was striving for, and it can also be said that, until this transformation is attained, all results attained by a man can be lost because they are not fixed in him in any way; moreover, they are attained only in the spheres of thought and emotion. Real, objective results can be obtained only after the transmutation of mi 12 has begun. Fragments: Nine

“The third stage in the work of the human ORGANISM begins when man creates in himself a conscious second volitional ‘shock’ at the point mi 12, when the transformation or transmutation of these ‘hydrogens’ into higher ‘hydrogens’ begins in him. The second stage and the beginning of the third stage refer to the life and functions of man number four. A fairly considerable period of. transmutation and crystallization is needed for the transition of man number four to the level of man number five. Fragments: Nine

“The moving center works with ‘hydrogen’ 24. ‘Hydrogen* 24 is many times quicker and more mobile than ‘hydrogen’ 48. The intellectual center is never able to follow the work of the moving center. We are unable to follow either our own movements or other people’s movements unless they are artificially slowed down. Still less are we able to follow the work of the inner, the instinctive functions of our ORGANISM, the work of the instinctive mind which constitutes, as it were, one side of the moving center. Fragments: Nine

“A great deal of energy is also spent on work which is completely unnecessary and harmful in every respect, such as on the activity of unpleasant emotions, on the expression of unpleasant sensations, on worry, on restlessness, on haste, and on a whole series of automatic actions which are completely useless. As many examples as you like can be found of such unnecessary activity. First of all there is the constantly moving flow of thoughts in our mind, which we can neither stop nor control, and which takes up an enormous amount of our energy. Secondly there is the quite unnecessary constant tension of the muscles of our ORGANISM. The muscles are tense even when we are doing nothing. As soon as we start to do even a small and insignificant piece of work, a whole system of muscles necessary for the hardest and most strenuous work is immediately set in motion. We pick up a needle from the floor and we spend on this action as much energy as is needed to lift up a man of our own weight. We write a short letter and use as much muscular energy upon it as would suffice to write a bulky volume. But the chief point is that we spend muscular energy continually and at all times, even when we are doing nothing. When we walk the muscles of our shoulders and arms are tensed unnecessarily; when we sit the muscles of our legs, neck, back, and stomach are tensed in an unnecessary way. We even sleep with the muscles of our arms, of our legs, of our face, of the whole of our body tensed, and we do not realize that we spend much more energy on this continual readiness for work we shall never do than on all the real, useful work we do during our life. Fragments: Nine

“In order to regulate and balance the work of the three centers whose functions constitute our life, it is necessary to learn to economize the energy produced by our ORGANISM, not to waste this energy on unnecessary functions, and to save it for that activity which will gradually connect the lower centers with the higher. Fragments: Nine

“Thus we see that our ORGANISM has the different kinds of fuel necessary for the different centers. The centers can be compared to machines working on fuels of different qualities. One machine can be worked on oil residue or crude oil. Another requires kerosene; a third will not work with kerosene but requires gasoline. The fine substances of our ORGANISM can be characterized as substances of different flash­points, while the ORGANISM itself can be compared to a laboratory in which the combustibles of different strengths required by the different centers are prepared from various kinds of raw material. Unfortunately, however, there is something wrong with the laboratory. The forces controlling the distribution of combustibles among the different centers often make mistakes and the centers receive fuel that is either too weak or too easily inflammable. Moreover, a great quantity of all the combustibles produced is spent quite uselessly; it simply runs out; is lost. Besides, explosions often take place in the laboratory which at one stroke destroy all the fuel prepared for the next day and possibly for even a longer period, and are able to cause irreparable dam­age to the whole factory. Fragments: Nine

“It must be noted that the ORGANISM usually produces in the course of one day all the substances necessary for the following day. And it very often happens that all these substances are spent or consumed upon some unnecessary and, as a rule, unpleasant emotion. Bad moods, worry, the expectation of something unpleasant, doubt, fear, a feeling of injury, irritation, each of these emotions in reaching a certain degree of intensity may, in half an hour, or even half a minute, consume all the substances prepared for the next day; while a single flash of anger, or some other violent emotion, can at once explode all the substances prepared in the laboratory and leave a man quite empty inwardly for a long time or even forever. Fragments: Nine

Finally having decided to try to put together everything I thought on the subject, I took man as the Microcosmos. The next cosmos in relation to man I took as “organic life on earth,” which I called “Tritocosmos” although I did not understand this name, because I would have been unable to answer the question why organic life on earth was the “third” cosmos. But the name is immaterial. After that everything was in ac­cordance with G.’s system. Below man, that is, as the next smaller cosmos, was the “cell.” Not any cell and not a cell under any conditions, but a fairly large cell, such as for instance the embryo-cell of the human ORGANISM. As the next cosmos one could take a small, ultramicroscopic cell. The idea of two cosmoses in the microscopic world, that is, the idea of two microscopic individuals differing one from the other as much as does “man” from a “large cell,” is perfectly clear in bacteriology. Fragments: Ten

“In addition, there is in the ORGANISM a large accumulator which feeds the small ones. The small accumulators are connected together, and further, each of them is connected with the center next to which it stands, as well as with the large accumulator.” Fragments: Eleven

“Having become reconnected with the first accumulator the center begins to draw energy from it, while the second accumulator becomes connected with and draws energy from the large accumulator. But this time the first accumulator was only half full. The center quickly exhausts its energy, and in the meantime the second accumulator has succeeded in getting only a quarter full. The center becomes connected with it, swiftly exhausts all its energy, and connects once more with the first accumulator, and so on. After a certain time the ORGANISM is brought to such a state that neither of the small accumulators has a drop of energy left. This time the man feels really tired. He almost falls down, he almost drops asleep, or else his ORGANISM becomes affected, he starts a headache, palpitations begin, or he feels sick. Fragments: Eleven

“This means that the center has become connected directly to the large accumulator. The large accumulator contains an enormous amount of energy. Connected with the large accumulator a man is literally able to perform miracles. But of course, if the ‘rolls’ continue to turn and energy which is made from air, food, and impressions continues to pour out of the large accumulator faster than it pours in, then there comes a moment when the large accumulator is drained of all energy and the ORGANISM dies. But this happens very seldom. Usually the ORGANISM automatically stops working long before this. Special conditions are necessary to cause the ORGANISM to die exhausted of all its energy. In ordinary conditions a man will fall asleep or he will faint or he will develop some internal complication which will stop the work a long time before the real danger. Fragments: Eleven

“There are two incomprehensible functions of our ORGANISM inexplicable from the scientific point of view,” he said, “although naturally science does not admit them to be inexplicable; these are yawning and laughter. Neither the one nor the other can be rightly understood and explained without knowing about accumulators and their role in the ORGANISM. Fragments: Eleven

“‘Hydrogen’ si 12 is the ‘hydrogen’ which represents the final product of the transformation of food in the human ORGANISM. This is the matter with which sex works and which sex manufactures. It is ‘seed’ or ‘fruit.’ Fragments: Twelve

” ‘Hydrogen’ si 12 can pass into do of the next octave with the help of an ‘additional shock.’ But this ‘shock’ can be of a dual nature and different octaves can begin, one outside the ORGANISM which has produced si, and the other in the ORGANISM itself. The union of male and female si 12 and all that accompanies it constitutes the ‘shock’ of the first kind and the new octave begun with its help develops independently as a new ORGANISM or a new life. Fragments: Twelve

“This is the normal and natural way to use the energy of si 12. But in the same ORGANISM there is a further possibility. And this is the possibility of creating a new life within the actual ORGANISM, in which the si 12 has been manufactured, without the union of the two principles, the male and the female. A new octave then develops within the ORGANISM, not outside it This is the birth of the ‘astral body.’ You must understand that the ‘astral body’ is born of the same material, of the same matter, as the physical body, only the process is different. The whole of the physical body, all its cells, are, so to speak, permeated by emanations of the matter si 12. And when they have become sufficiently saturated the matter si 12 begins to crystallize. The crystallization of this matter constitutes the formation of the ‘astral body.’ Fragments: Twelve

“The transition of matter si 12 into emanations and the gradual saturation of the whole ORGANISM by it is what alchemy calls ‘transmutation’ or transformation. It is first this transformation of the physical body into the astral that alchemy called the transformation of the ‘coarse’ into the ‘fine’ or the transformation of base metals into gold. Fragments: Twelve

“Completed transmutation, that is to say, the formation of the ‘astral body,’ is possible only in a healthy, normally functioning ORGANISM. In a sick, or a perverted, or a crippled ORGANISM, no transmutation is possible.” Fragments: Twelve

“But this is only one aspect of it. Another aspect consists in the fact that, when the energy of the sex center is plundered by the other centers and spent on useless work, it has nothing left for itself and has to steal the energy of other centers which is much lower and coarser than its own. And yet the sex center is very .important for the general activity, and particularly for the inner growth of the ORGANISM, because, working with ‘hydrogen’ 12, it can receive a very fine food of impressions, such as none of the ordinary centers can receive. The fine food of impressions is very important for the manufacture of the higher ‘hydrogens.’ But when the sex center works with energy that is not its own, that is, with the comparatively low ‘hydrogens’ 48 and 24, its impressions become much coarser and it ceases to play the role in the ORGANISM which it could play. At the same time union with, and the use of its energy by, the thinking center creates far too great an imagination on the subject of sex, and in addition a tendency to be satisfied with this imagination. Union with the emotional center creates sentimentality or, on the contrary, jealousy, cruelty. This is again a picture of the ‘abuse of sex.’” Fragments: Twelve

I began a series of experiments or exercises, making use of a certain experience in this direction that I had acquired earlier. I carried out a series of short but very intensive fasts. I call them “intensive” because I did not take them at all from the hygienic point of view but tried, on the contrary, to give the strongest possible shocks to the ORGANISM. In addition to this I began to “breathe” according to a definite system which, together with fasting, had given me interesting psychological results before; and also “repetition” on the method of the “prayer of the mind” which had helped me very much before to concentrate my attention and to observe myself. And also a series of mental exercises of a rather complicated kind for the concentration of the attention. I do not describe these experiments and exercises in detail because they were, after all, attempts to feel my way, without having exact knowledge of possible results. Fragments: Thirteen

I felt so much in this word that for some time I did not hear myself what I was saying. But after I had collected my thoughts I saw that they were listening to me and that I had explained everything I had not understood myself on the way to the meeting. This gave me an extraordinarily strong and clear sensation as though I had discovered for myself new possibilities, a new method of perception and understanding by giving explanations to other people. And under the impetus of this sensation, as soon as I had said that examples or analogies of the transition of the forces 1, 2, 3 and 1, 3, 2 must be found in the real world, I at once saw these examples both in the human ORGANISM and in the astronomical world and in mechanics in the movements of waves. Fragments: Thirteen

that is, in one case x between mi and fa, and in the other between sol and la, where it is not necessary. “The apparent placing of the interval in its wrong place itself shows to those who are able to read the symbol what kind of ‘shock’ is required for the passage of si to do. “In order to understand this, it is essential to recollect what was said about the role of ‘shocks’ in the processes proceeding in man and in the universe. “When we examined the application of the law of octaves to the cosmos then the step ‘sun-earth’ was represented in this way: “In relation to the three octaves of radiation it was pointed out that the passage of do to si, the filling of the interval, takes place within the ORGANISM of the sun. It was pointed out in the cosmic octave in relation to the ‘interval’ do-si that this passage is accomplished by the will of the Absolute. The passage fa-mi in the cosmic octave is accomplished mechanically with the help of a special machine which makes it possible for fa, which enters it, to acquire by a series of inner processes the characteristics of sol standing above it, without changing its note, that is, to accumulate, as it were, the inner energy for passing independently into the next note, into mi. Fragments: Fourteen

“Exactly the same relationship is repeated in all completed processes. In examining the processes of nutrition in the human ORGANISM and the transformation of the substances taken into the ORGANISM, we find in these processes exactly the same ‘intervals’ and ‘shocks.’ Fragments: Fourteen

“But it must be understood that, just as in many chemical processes, only definite quantities of substances, exactly determined by nature, give compounds of the required quality, so in the human ORGANISM the ‘three kinds of food’ must be mixed in definite proportions. Fragments: Fourteen

“The final substance in the process of the food octave is the substance si (‘hydrogen’ 12 in the third scale), which needs an ‘additional shock* in order to pass into a new do. But as three octaves have taken part in the production of this substance their influence is also reflected in the final result by determining its quality. The quality and quantity can be regulated by regulating the three kinds of food received by the ORGANISM. Only in the presence of a full and harmonious conformity between all three kinds of food, by a strengthening or weakening of the different parts of the process, is the required result obtained. Fragments: Fourteen

“Therefore before even thinking of influencing practically the inner processes it is essential to understand the exact mutual relationship of the substances entering the ORGANISM, the nature of the possible ‘shocks,’ and the laws governing the transition of notes. These laws are everywhere the same. In studying man we study the cosmos, in studying the cosmos we study man. Fragments: Fourteen

“All that has been said about the octaves of radiation and about the food octaves in the human ORGANISM has a direct connection with the symbol consisting of a circle divided into nine parts. This symbol, as the expression of a perfect synthesis, contains within itself all the elements of the laws it represents, and from it can be extracted, and by its help trans­mitted, everything that is connected with these octaves and much else besides.” Fragments: Fourteen

G. returned to the enneagram many times and in various connections. “Each completed whole, each cosmos, each ORGANISM, each plant, is an enneagram,” he said. “But not each of these enneagrams has an inner triangle. The inner triangle stands for the presence of higher elements, according to the scale of ‘hydrogens,’ in a given ORGANISM. This inner triangle is possessed by such plants, for example, as hemp, poppy, hops, tea, coffee, tobacco, and many other plants which play a definite role in the life of man. The study of these plants can reveal much for us in regard to the enneagram. Fragments: Fourteen

“The process of evolution, of that evolution which is possible for humanity as a whole, is completely analogous, to the process of evolution possible for the individual man. And it begins with the same thing, namely, a certain group of cells gradually becomes conscious; then it attracts to itself other cells, subordinates others, and gradually makes the whole ORGANISM serve its aims and not merely eat, drink, and sleep. This is evolution and there can be no other kind of evolution. In humanity as in individual man everything begins with the formation of a conscious nucleus. All the mechanical forces of life fight against the formation of this conscious nucleus in humanity, in just the same way as all mechanical habits, tastes and weaknesses fight against conscious self-remembering in man.” Fragments: Fifteen

“When we talked before about the octaves of food in the three-story factory we saw that ‘all the finer ‘hydrogens’ needed for the working, the growth, and the evolution of the ORGANISM were prepared from three kinds of food, that is, from food in the strict meaning of the word — eatables and drink, from air which we breathe, and from impressions. Now let us suppose that we could improve the quality of food and air, feed, let us say, on ‘hydrogen’ 384 instead of 768 and breathe ‘hydrogen’ 96 instead of 192. How much simpler and easier the preparation of fine matters in the ORGANISM would be then. But the whole point is that this is impossible. The ORGANISM is adapted to transform precisely these coarse matters into fine matters, and if you give it fine matters instead of coarse matters it will not be in a position to transform them and it will very soon die. Neither air nor food can be changed. But impressions, that is, the quality of the impressions possible to man, are not subject to any cosmic law. Man cannot improve his food, he cannot improve the air. Improvement in this case would be actually making things worse. For instance ‘hydrogen* 96 instead of 192 would be either very rarefied air or very hot incandescent gases which man cannot possibly breathe; fire is ‘hydrogen’ 96. It is exactly the same with food. ‘Hydrogen’ 384 is water. If man could improve his food, that is, make it finer, he would have to feed on water and breathe fire. It is clear that this is impossible. But while it is not possible for him to improve his food and air he can improve his impressions to a very high degree and in this way introduce fine ‘hydrogens’ into the ORGANISM. It is precisely on this that the possibility of evolution is based. A man is not at all obliged to feed on the dull impressions of H48, he can have both H24, H12, and H6, and even H3. This changes the whole picture and a man who makes higher ‘hydrogens’ the food for the upper story of his machine will certainly differ from one who feeds on the lower ‘hydrogens.’” Fragments: Sixteen

The short fast of which I spoke was also accompanied by special exercises. In the first place G. explained at the beginning of the fast that the difficulty in fasting consisted in not leaving unused the substances which are prepared in the ORGANISM for the digestion of food. Fragments: Seventeen

“These substances consist of very strong solutions,” he said. “And if they are left without attention they will poison the ORGANISM. They must be used up. But how can they be used up if the ORGANISM gets no food? Only by an increase of work, an increase of perspiration. People make a tremendous mistake when they try to ‘save their strength,’ make fewer movements, and so on, when fasting. On the contrary it is necessary to expend as much energy as possible. Then fasting can be beneficial.” Fragments: Seventeen

When I told G. about this experiment he said that without general work, that is, without work on the whole ORGANISM, such things could only succeed by chance. Fragments: Seventeen

I felt that there was very much material in the enneagram. Points 1, 2, 4, 5, 7, 8 represented, according to the “food diagram,” different “systems” of the ORGANISM, 1 — the digestive system; 2 — the breathing system; 4 — the blood stream; 5 — the brain; 7 — the spinal cord; 8 — the sympathetic system and the sex organs. According to this the direction of the inner lines 1428571, that is, the content of fraction 7, showed the direction of the flow or distribution of arterial blood in the ORGANISM and then its return in the form of venous blood. It was particularly interesting that the point of return was not the heart but the digestive system which indeed is the case since venous blood is first of all mixed with the products of digestion, it then goes to the right auricle, through the right ventricle, then to the lungs to absorb oxygen, and from there goes to the left auricle and then the left ventricle and then through the aorta into the arterial system. Fragments: Eighteen

“Right exercises,” G. said once, “which lead direct to the aim of mastering the ORGANISM and subjecting its conscious and unconscious functions to the will, begin with breathing exercises. Without mastering breathing nothing can be mastered. At the same time to master breathing is not so easy. Fragments: Eighteen

“The transition of breathing from the control of the formatory apparatus into the control of the moving center can never be attained by amateurs. For this transition to take place the ORGANISM must be brought to the last stage of intensity, but a man himself can never do this. Fragments: Eighteen

“The fundamental idea of this method consists in the fact that certain movements and postures can call forth any kind of breathing you like and it is also normal breathing, not ‘inflation.’ The difficulty is in knowing what movements and what postures will call forth certain kinds of breathing in what kind of people. This latter is particularly important because people from this point of view are divided into a certain number of definite types and each type should have its own definite movements to get one and the same breathing because the same movement produces different breathing with different types. A man who knows the movement which will produce in himself one or another kind of breathing is already able to control his ORGANISM and is able at any moment he likes to set in motion one or another center or cause that part which is working to stop. Of course the knowledge of these movements and the ability to control them like everything else in the world has its degrees. A man can know more or less and make a better or a worse use of it. In the meantime it is important only to understand the principle. Fragments: Eighteen