Listen to violinists tuning their instruments: they must do it with absolute precision, neither higher nor lower than the fundamental tone to which all the other instruments are tuned. If they fail to do this correctly, they will not be accepted in the orchestra.

For each sphere of our life there are fundamental tones to which we must tune our thoughts, feelings and actions. The tone we must strive for is that of the divine presence within us, which harmonizes all our contradictory tendencies. It is these contradictory tendencies that create so many difficulties both in ourselves and with others.

We could compare a human being to an apartment block of several floors, in which the tenants living side by side are all different from each other and come forward one by one to have their say. Mean and generous, subtle and crude, sincere and dissembling, intelligent and stupid, trusting and suspicious, kind and cruel, optimistic and pessimistic, wise and silly… they all exist in one and the same person.

Many people confess they don’t understand themselves, let alone others. Just because the human being expresses itself through a single body, people tend to think they are each inhabited by a single entity, and yet everyday life continually proves otherwise.

This mixture of disparate elements that go to make up each human being remains an enigma even for philosophers and psychologists. And yet it is explained quite simply by the fact that, in this life or in previous lives, a human being has attracted different entities. So you shouldn’t be surprised to see someone displaying contradictory tendencies. And as regards yourself, you must observe yourself attentively at all times to discern exactly which entity is speaking or acting through you.

Just because you know how to conduct yourself with kindness and wisdom at certain moments, it doesn’t mean you are impeccable the rest of the time and that others should always approve of you. Be careful; don’t be too sure of yourself! On the other hand, just because you have made some mistakes, it doesn’t mean you are incapable of acting correctly. Your first task is to gain a clear view of yourself and then to find the fundamental tone to which you will tune your different tendencies. You will only be able to find this tone by striving to reach the summit.

When you have inwardly breathed the pure air of a summit, if only for a few minutes, you will understand what I am talking about. The word ‘summit’ symbolizes all that is most elevated in human consciousness. And what represents the summit for one person may not be a summit for another. For some, the summit will be the modest goal of giving up smoking; for others it will be overcoming fear, selfishness, laziness, impatience, greed or anger… This is a daily work. Each of you must give yourself a summit to attain and, once you have attained it, aim for a higher summit. This is how you will find the fundamental tone and enter into harmony with all beings.

In reality, there is summit beyond summit to infinity. Each region has its own summit, which constitutes the region immediately above it on the cabbalistic Tree of Life. Yesod is a summit for Malkuth , Hod a summit  for Yesod , Netzach for Hod , and so on, all the way to Kether and beyond, for there are also summits beyond Kether.

Omraam Mikhaël Aïvanhov

Izvor Book 242, The Wellsprings of Eternal Joy (Read an extract or download as an eBook via this link)
Chapter 14 Always reach for new heights