Restraining the Response to the Impulses Attractive to the Vital Nature Is the First Step Towards Mastery

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A lesson in control of impulses
was described by Homer in The

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Odyssey.
The protagonist, Odysseus, is on

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his ship trying to return home
after the Trojan War.

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He approaches an area that was
home to the Sirens, whose

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alluring voices would lure
sailors to their death.

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As the ships crashed among the
rocks, he wanted to experience

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the call of the Sirens without
succumbing to their force.

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He had his crew stuff their ears
with wax and then had himself

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tied firmly to the mast so that
he could not do anything to

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steer the ship towards them.
He successfully experienced the

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magnetic force of the Siren's
call while saving his ship and

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crew from destruction.
We can learn several things from

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this.
First, that survival sometimes

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requires the ability to tune out
the forces that try to get us to

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act.
Second, even a mental knowledge

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in advance of the doom awaiting
any response is insufficient to

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prevent an individual from
reacting and responding to

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certain forces, thus
necessitating restraints that

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prevent the response from
manifesting.

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Third, some forces are so
powerful that they are

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difficult, if not virtually
impossible, to resist.

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This tale illustrates the
difficulty the seeker faces when

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he confronts the inducements and
enjoyments that the vital nature

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seeks and tries to control them.
The mother advises us that

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development of the strength to
resist these calls is something

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that can occur, but it takes
time and continued effort as one

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slowly builds up the inner
strength of resistance through

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repeated practice in exercising
restraint.

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The 1st and most important step
is to not give in to the impulse

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one way or the other, similar to
the steps Odysseus had to take

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to successfully resist the lure.
The shift to the witness

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consciousness of the nature is
an enormous aid in accomplishing

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this, as the individual creates
some amount of distance between

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his conscious awareness and the
actions of the nature, thus

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making it somewhat easier to
detach oneself from the

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enjoyments and allures that the
vital nature seeks and desires.

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The mother writes.
Quote.

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It happens only when you have
decided, Well, this time I am

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going to try not to do it and I
shall not do it.

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I shall apply all my strength
and I shall not do it.

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Even if you have just a little
success, it is much not a big

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success, but just a small
success, a very partial success.

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You do not carry out what you
yearn to do, but the yearning,

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the desire, the passion is still
there, and that produces worlds

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within but outside.
You resist.

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I shall not do it, I shall not
move.

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Even if I have to bind myself
hand and foot, I shall not do

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it.
It is a partial success, but it

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is a great victory because due
to this, next time you will be

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able to do a little more.
That is to say, instead of

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holding all the violent passions
within yourself, you can begin

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calming them a little, and you
will calm them slowly at first,

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with difficulty.
They will remain long, they will

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come back, they will trouble
you, vex you, produce in you a

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great disgust, all that.
But if you resist well and say

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no, I shall carry out nothing,
whatever the cost, I shall not

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carry out anything.
I will stay like a rock.

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Then little by little, little by
little, that thins out, thins

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out, and you begin to learn the
second attitude.

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Now I want my consciousness to
be above those things.

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There will steep still be many
battles, but if my consciousness

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stands above that, little by
little there will come a time

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when this will return no longer.
And then there is a time when

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you feel that you are absolutely
free, you do not even perceive

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it, and then that is all.
It may take a long time, it may

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come soon.
That depends on the strength of

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character, on the sincerity of
the aspiration.

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But even for people who have
just a little sincerity, if they

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subject themselves to this
process, they succeed.

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It takes time.
They succeed in the first item,

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in not expressing.
All forces upon earth tend

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towards expressing themselves.
These forces come with the

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object of manifesting
themselves, and if you place a

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barrier and refuse expression,
they may try to beat against the

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barrier for a time, but in the
end they will tire themselves

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out and not being manifested,
they will withdraw and leave you

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quiet.
So you must never say I shall

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first purify my thought, purify
my body, purify my vital, and

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then later I shall purify my
action.

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That is the normal order, but it
never succeeds.

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The effective order is to begin
from the outside.

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The very first thing is that I
do not do it, and afterwards I

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desire it no longer.
And next I close my doors

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completely to all impulses.
They no longer exist for me.

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I am now outside all that.
This is the true order, the

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order that is effective first
not to do it, and then you will

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no longer desire, and after that
it will go out of your

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consciousness completely.
End Quote.

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Reference.
Fiora window and the Mother

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looking from within.
Chapter 4, Ordeals and

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Difficulties, pages 78 to 80.