ACT VIII, SCENE II: Adepti seated at table in library.

Solator: Brother N. N., I feel that it is an excellent time to review with our younger members the goal of our Fraternity. If we have your permission, Cognitor and I will proceed.

Brother N. N. nods his head in agreement.

Solator: Let us begin with a discussion of the states of consciousness provided for living forms in our particular Ray of Cosmic Manifestation. These states are nine in number; eight contained within the Great Octave of Mortal Life plus the One Hidden Note of the Unknown and Unmanifest God.

These states of consciousness were allegorically represented in the ancient Egyptian Teachings both by the Ennead of Anu and by Temu and the Ogdoad of Khemenu.

The zeroth state of consciousness, embodied in the first Do note of the Great Octave, is deep sleep without conscious action or ordinary dreams. Deep sleep is the state in which the sleeper is no longer engulfed by the Veil of Maya; a state in which he or she is without impelling desire or conflict. In deep sleep, man returns to the primordial condition of serenity and bliss; immersed within the formless, spaceless, timeless realm of pure Being. Within this state the different modes of conscious manifestation are not annihilated, but exist only in potential. Though deprived of sufficient awareness, the soul personality retains enough of a connection with its body so to be able to return to mundane existence upon awaking via the Silver Umbilicus.

Deep sleep provides a potential opportunity for the soul personality to return to undifferentiated Being; a period of duration in which the soul personality resonates with the Source of the Essential Life Force allowing necessary re-equilibration and regeneration.

It is important to understand that this return to fundamental Being is passive, taking place only through abandonment of all manifestations of individuality–will, attention and conscious awareness. Although this state has properties reminiscent of Cosmic Realization, in actuality, it is the polar opposite. Deep sleep is the state of pure, unconscious, manifested Being; while Cosmic Illumination, the final Do of the Great Octave, is the state of an actualized Individual consciously returning to the state of pure Being.

Within the state of deep sleep, it is possible for the developed student to perform Work for the Masters. Such Work efforts constitute an extension of the daytime activities of an esoteric school into the night. Oftentimes, the only information the student retains of these experiences are from reports of persons having archetypal dreams during which they appeared. This level of consciousness is quite high, encompassing the note Si of the Great Octave.

A. Minor: So this is what happens when Brother N. N. appears to me whenever I have a difficult choice to make. I thought he was only teasing when he said, “it was news to him”.

Brother N.N.: Maybe next time you will believe me!

All the Adepti laugh.

Cognitor: The first state of ascending consciousness, the note Re of the Cosmic Keyboard, is the simplest tier and includes all the fundamental laws by which the physical universe congeals and breathes. This consciousness, this Vital Life Force, controls the very formation and expression of matter at all levels, eventually manifesting as the sensorial, stimulus-response patterns of simple life forms called “beasties” by our men of science. These unicellular organisms respond quickly to perturbations in their immediate environment. They are attracted to and unconsciously move towards the organic chemicals required for metabolism using extensions of their protoplasm. Likewise, they are repulsed by certain stimuli harmful to their continued existence. This consciousness serves to adapt simple forms successfully to their niche in Nature, aiding the designs of general evolution.

The second tier of consciousness, contained within the note Mi, occurs by evolution and refinement of a physical nervous system. Given sufficient neural tissue, an animal becomes aware of its environment and its own bodily appendages. The nervous system is able to convert and combine many worldly sensations into specific mental pictures. These associations can be stored within the circuitry of the animal brain. Higher animals, such as dogs and cats, are aware of their external worlds and their own independence. They are aware of what is pleasant and what is unpleasant. However, this awareness is not cognizant particularly of itself. Man’s faithful friend, the canine, does not know it knows. Simple consciousness exists solely in the present without the notion of Time.

Between the notes Mi and Fa is the interval separating man from animal. The Cosmic forces of evolution motivated by the “Great Desire To Be” contained within Itself, sufficient energy to bridge this gap, resulting in the birth of an I-ness separate from that of the surroundings. This new state is man’s normal waking state.

This third state appears whenever a man moves from the zeroth or fourth states into the state where he speaks, eats, acts, thinks and fantasizes. It is less passive and more subjective than sleep; in it, man makes a distinction between himself and not himself, between his body and other objects, objects which he knows by their temporal and spatial qualities and usefulness. Men think they are consciously awake in this state. They think they have an I; but this is a serious error, for this I is only the false I of the automatic self, Advocatus spoke of earlier.