“There are certain centers in the mental being of Man from which may come light regarding the existence of the Absolute and higher order of Beings. In fact, from these centers come to man the part of his mental ‘feelings’ that he calls ‘the religious instinct’ or intuition.’ Man does not arrive at that underlying consciousness of ‘Something Beyond’ by means of his intellect—it is the glimmer of light coming from the higher centers of the Self. He notices these gleams of light, but not understanding them, he proceeds to elect elaborate theological and creedal structures to account for them. The work of the intellect, however, always lacks that feeling that the intuition itself possesses. True religion, no matter under what name it may masquerade, comes from the ‘heart’, and is not comforted or satisfied with these intellectual explanations.” ~William Walker Atkinson
Higher Centers
While Mr. Atkinson says this “light” that makes us believe in the Absolute, and in worlds and beings beyond the physical, is a mental faculty, he does says it is from higher centers. It is not, he quickly points out, coming from the intellect. While the intellect is certainly useful on the material plane, it knows nothing of the Spiritual, the “Something Beyond”. This faculty is not in the brain-mind at all, but is coming from the spirit and soul. Even in those of us who have not bothers to awaken those faculties, they seem to seep through a little anyway. When we do awaken those faculties, intentionally or accidentally, they will seep through even more.
Theological Structures
Mr. Atkinson says that the intellect, unable to truly understand the spiritual, makes elaborate theological structures to “account for them”. While that is often true, not all theology comes about in that way. Some very enlightened groups of the past designed ceremonies to help man awaken his Spiritual Faculties and reach higher levels of consciousness. Some of the oldest theologies are based on those ceremonies. Over time, however, over-jealous priests and others have tried to “improve” them and usually doing the opposite. Nevertheless, at the core of many ancient theologies are ceremonies that can help awaken the soul. Even in their altered forms of today, they still may offer some limited benefit.
Something Beyond
True religion, Mr. Atkinson tells us comes from the “heart”. That he puts “heart” in quotes tells us he does not mean the physical organ that pumps blood. He is talking about the energy centers generally called chakras, and the soul itself. The heart chakra is often associated with spiritual things, but it is really a balanced flow of energy through all the chakras that brings about enlightenment.
That “Something Beyond”, being a reference to both the spiritual worlds beyond the physical plane and the beings that dwell in them, can only be understood by our spiritual faculties. The human spirit and soul must be awakened through use of the light of the Spiritual Sun. Only they can understand the Something Beyond.
If you want to understand electricity, you could take a roll of electrical wire and put it on a scale. The scale would show you exactly how much the wire weighed. You could write down that number and even put it in a book about electricity, but you actually have learned noting about that energy by weighing the wire. Likewise, you can learn almost nothing about the spiritual worlds by intellectual studies. While reading books is certainly useful, they can only tell you that there is a “Something Beyond,” and the methods use to communicate with those levels. But only the awakened spiritual faculties can actually communicate with those levels.
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