Very few human beings achieve identification with their higher Self, for the amount of work involved is huge. This is why certain Initiates abandon everything and retire to a forest, a cave or the desert so as to free themselves from all distractions and everything that might absorb their energies and turn them from their goal.
I do not recommend withdrawing from the world
But conditions are different here in Europe and, apart from very exceptional cases, this is not something I recommend. It is one thing to make a retreat for a short time in order to work better afterwards, but to decide to withdraw from the world for the rest of one’s life and never be available to give others the help or comfort they need seems to me to be very selfish. It is preferable to achieve a balance between the material life and the spiritual life.
Eastern exercises can destroy the balance of Westerners
Many Eastern spiritual masters have come to teach in the West – there is no point in naming them – but the exercises they teach their disciples have often destroyed their health or their psychic balance.
These exercises are excellent in themselves and have long been practised in the monasteries of Mongolia, Tibet or India, so these teachers see no reason why they should not teach them also in Europe and America.
Very few Westerners have achieved truly sublime results
But Westerners need other methods. Many of them have gone out of their minds or become the victims of grave sexual disorders because of the inner tornadoes triggered by these exercises; they were incapable of controlling them and had not learned how to use them.
There are thousands of different exercises and practises in use in the East, but I have rarely met a Westerner who has achieved a truly sublime result by using them.
Omraam Mikhaël Aïvanhov
Sèvres, 17 January, 1971
Complete Works, Volume 17, Know Thyself – Jnana Yoga Volume 1
This advice is aligns exactly with our Gnostic teachings.
Sex is a most difficult desire to balance with discipline and intelligence while offering us the most potential for transformation if we are able to balance it.
Working from within our western society rather than rejecting it is accepting that we find ourselves in exactly the right place to work, exactly in accordance with the objective laws of vibration or cause and effect. Everything is already perfectly just and the key to our freedom is understanding from within ourselves the situation we find ourselves in. This of course involves sincerely accepting ourselves as we are and taking on humbly the task of building up our inner resources with warmth, discernment and discipline over the appetites of the body.
As the master states this is best done from within the situation we were attracted to by our own vibration which characterises us.
Thanks so much Terry for this confirmation and very insightful illustration
This is also confirmed by the Rosicrucian Teachings. It was very hard for me to accept it personally, as I have been working hard to make a progress with Eastern breathing exercises. I have been taught these by very spiritual Indian person for a reason of healing, mostly. It was hard for me to give them up, so I researched this topic extensively and it was confirmed all the same by a couple of other trustworthy teachings/traditions. I was convinced in the need of different approach for Westerners and stopped practicing these exercises. I am now happy to be developing along the lines that are closer to my genetic make up.
Thank you dear Luba, good to have your confirmation too. Breathing exercises are important in the Master’s teaching though. You can check this link for a description of the method he recommended. https://with-omraam.com/blog/breathing-key-to-the-rhythms-of-the-universe-part-13/
Thank you for the link, John and for the reminder about the importance of the breathing exercises! I came to think that the danger of some of these exercises is not as much in their nature but rather in being introduced too early in one’s path. When the initiate is ready, he can do them safely and this is what Masters know regarding the right timing for everything. The exercises in the link are apparently safe for everyone, as the Master has recommended them for all his followers. Thank you and many blessings.