Musings of a Master Mind (book preview)

“And Jesus stooped and made a figure on the ground…” People don’t like to bend over. In general, people have a reluctance to stoop. It isn’t pleasant for a person to do hard things. A human being is a creature that likes to do everything the easy way. Everyone looks for the easy path; no one looks for the hard one. In this regard, Americans hold the record—they like everything to be done in a hurry. And in this regard, everyone has become American: people all over the world are in a rush.

A German professor once offered a definition of what becomes of people who hurry. An American student went to a distinguished professor of philosophy in Leipzig and said, “Professor, don’t you have some short course in philosophy—one I could finish in five or six months?” The professor replied, “Listen, my friend: when God wants to create a pumpkin, He needs only six months. In half a year a large pumpkin can be made. But when He wants to create a great oak tree, He needs a hundred years.” So if you hurry, you’ll create a pumpkin—or a watermelon—but if you work at something for a long time, you’ll create a great oak tree, something lasting.

Many of you want to grasp the truth all at once—to have it become clear in a short time. And you want to grasp love quickly as well.

There are many schools in the world that offer methods for a successful life. In America there is an esoteric school that shows ways to get rich quickly. Every science has its exceptions; every law has its exceptions. The main claim of that esoteric school is this: when a person wants to become rich, he should first picture that desire in his mind. He should mentally set a number—how rich he wants to be—hundreds of thousands of dollars, or a million, two, three, and more—up to one hundred million. Then, three times a day—morning, noon, and evening—he must insist that this wealth come from somewhere. You do not know from where the sum will come, but by thinking that way, it will come from somewhere. The author wrote a book giving different methods for easy wealth. A certain gentleman became a follower of this teaching. Typically, its followers are those in financial trouble; the rich do not become devotees. The ones who are struggling join to set their affairs straight. This gentleman fixed it in his mind to gain US$200,000 somehow. But the money didn’t come at the time he had set, so he grew angry. He left New York and headed west. He stopped in a small western town, and that day there was a great earthquake that destroyed almost the whole town. A large beam fell from a building and broke his leg. He passed out. When he came to, he felt that his leg was broken—but right next to him he saw a check for US$200,000. Now, I don’t take this example literally, as if to say that whatever you ask of the Lord you will receive—but your leg will be broken. It doesn’t mean your leg must necessarily be broken, but you will still have to pay with something. So ask for what you want, but don’t set a deadline for when you must receive it; don’t insist like some general. Do you know how bad it is to learn to give orders? Later you have to unlearn commanding.

One of our brothers, Elias Stone — who has since passed into the other world — used to tell this story. He was a clerk at the Singer company. One day a gentleman walked in and asked, “Do you know who I am?”

“I don’t.”

“I am reserve colonel So-and-so.”

“I didn’t know — now I do. But do you know who I am?”

“I don’t.”

“I am reserve corporal Elias Stone.”

They shook hands — both in the reserves: one a reserve colonel, the other a reserve corporal.

Now, you who are listening to me are also in the reserves — not yet on active duty. If you were on active duty, whatever you said would come to pass. But since your words do not yet come to pass, you remain in the reserves. Those in the reserves must wait until their party comes to power. So it is with you: until you understand the great laws of nature, you stay in the reserves. You might hold the rank of reserve general, colonel, or corporal — it’s irrelevant. Once you understand nature’s laws, you will be on active duty, and whatever you say will happen. There is nothing in the world that has not already happened.

An old Bulgarian once sent his son to study in Paris. From time to time the son wrote affectionate letters to his father, asking for money — for tuition, books, and various needs. One day the father received a letter from his son but, not knowing how to read, took it to a butcher he knew and asked him to read what the boy had written. The butcher, a rough man with a harsh voice, began to read: “Father, send me money — I need it.” “Just look at that son — does one write so rudely to a father? I won’t send him a thing. He’ll amount to nothing.”

A day or two later, the man took the same letter to a baker he knew, a gentle fellow, and said, “Please read this letter from my son — let me see what he wants.” The baker began to read: “Dear Father, please send me a sum — I need it for fees, for books…” “Yes, that’s how one should write — gently, to a father. My son has changed.”

The same law holds in nature. As long as we carry a poor attitude toward her — while we fail to understand her, and try instead to command her — she will oppose us. Here is the law: so long as a person asks without love, he is a general who knows only how to give orders. Demand from nature that way, and in the end she may give you what you want — but she will make you pay dearly for it. Approach her instead through the law of love, and she can give you everything.

I say: the success of the world is due to love. You say things don’t get done with love. No—things are done precisely with love. God created the world out of love for us, for all people. He created it because His love for people was greater than their sins. If He had no love for human beings and for all creatures, He would by no means have created a world for beings who would cause Him so many troubles. As God has troubles, so will you. But just as God overcame all difficulties and annoyances through His love and long-suffering, so will you overcome them. There is no other way. So now, with your long-suffering you will overcome your difficulties and create your world. There is nothing that has not come about in this way. Everything a person has determined to do according to the law of love has been done. In love there is nothing impossible. If a person fixes in his mind to accomplish some work with love, he will inevitably succeed. It is impossible not to succeed. When you set love in motion, it will carry the work through. But if you do not make love a condition in your life, things are almost never achieved—and even if they are achieved, they will be lost again.

I will not give you many examples. It is enough to point to the historical fact of Adam and Eve, the first students in an esoteric school. They were accepted there as students but did a deed without love. They saw what a person can do by force. Everything people do today—the wars—comes from the science of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Eight thousand years have passed, according to the biblical reckoning, in which people have tried to straighten out the world by force. All of you have tried this doctrine, and I see that lovelessness has ruined the world; it has spoiled what is beautiful.

I see a young man, a university graduate, fall in love with a young, beautiful woman, also a university graduate. They “die” for each other out of love. It is good to die out of love: at night he dies, and in the morning he comes to life—he dies at night and revives the next day. If people died without love, they wouldn’t be revived. I would like people to die out of love, because if they die without love, there will be no one to revive them. These young people marry, and then—for the sake of a single meal—their love is spoiled.

Years ago the Turks had a custom: if a wife brought her husband an empty glass, he would leave her, whatever the love between them. It was not permitted for him to ask for water and for her to lift an empty glass. The glass had to be full of water. So then, if you speak an empty word to someone, things will go wrong—they will spoil. Speak no empty words to anyone. Every word you say must be full. And when are words full? When they come from the spring of love.

A Bulgarian with a higher education married a young, beautiful girl. One day she decided to cook beans. She put them on the stove and went about her other tasks. Meanwhile the mother-in-law saw that the beans had cooked, stirred them, and added salt. After a while the sister-in-law came into the kitchen, saw that the beans were ready, and she too added salt. Finally the beloved wife came in, saw the beans were cooked, and added salt. The husband came home and they sat down to eat. He tasted the beans, smiled, and said… It turned out three people had cooked the beans and all three had salted them. The beans were oversalted. The mother-in-law asked her son, “Aren’t the beans bland? I salted them.” Then the sister-in-law asked, “Aren’t the beans bland? I already salted them.” The beloved asked the same question. “You’ve salted them well—there’s a lot of love in them.” I say: it’s enough for one person to salt the beans. In science today there is too much salting. One comes and salts you; a second comes and salts you; a third comes and salts you—and so you become very salty. I say, it isn’t good for a person to be over-salted. Even in love, there are limits. Love is a great science, and toward it you must be very careful and delicate. It is the most delicate realm in which a person should begin. Love tolerates no violence, no sin, no suspicion, and no anger. Have as much faith as you like, but love tolerates no unbelief. You may have hope, but love tolerates no despair. These things have no place in love.

So I say: when you enter love, you must arm yourselves with every virtue. You say you love someone—how do you love him? To love someone, you must see all their virtues. We love a tree for its fruit. We love a learned person for his books. We love a musician for his performance. We love a painter for his paintings. We love a sculptor for his statues. You must always love a person for something. And why do we love God? For what He has created—for what He has given us. Not only did He create the world, but He arranged everything most wisely. Whatever need anyone has, He has provided in abundance. Many do not realize this and complain that they lack this or that. Someone complains that he has no child. But children are not born at every moment. A cat, for example, can give birth every six months. I won’t raise that topic now, because if I do, it will become a whole subject in itself. What is happening in the world now is not birth. When people say a woman is pregnant, that is not birth—it is carrying a certain burden. They say, “The woman is pregnant.” Later they say, “They brought the child.” Birth happens without pain.

So the life people lead today is full of many ailments they carry. Sometimes you set out to think about love, and from that “love” a string of unpleasant things ensues. I have heard all kinds of fine recommendations about women—here in Bulgaria and everywhere. In America, in England, in Germany—everywhere they speak ill of woman; and in Bulgaria they say, “If she’s a woman—she’s a snake; just make sure she’s not a venomous one.” No, one cannot think like that. Where is the mistake? The mistake is in the man, because he thinks he “gave birth” to the woman. But God took only two ribs from him and made the woman. Those ribs only caused Adam mischief, so God took them out so they wouldn’t hinder him. That was the thirteenth rib. Woman is very energetic, because she’s made from the thirteenth rib. That is to say, God took material from Adam and made the woman from it—but Adam did not give birth to her. Then God breathed life into her. Adam’s mistake was that he considered Eve his daughter, and so he said, “She is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh.” No—woman is not a possession of man. When I speak like this, women smile. But women have the same mistake, because they think the man is their property. Neither woman is man’s property, nor man woman’s. Man and woman are servants of God. A woman should rejoice that she was taken from a fine place in the human being—she was taken from an angelic place. She should rejoice that she was not made from the animal part of man, but from his spiritual nature—from the angelic part of the human being. Woman separates the animal from the human. What is woman? Woman is the boundary between the animal and the human life. I speak of woman as she is now, because, as the esoteric account says, God created man and woman in His image and likeness. We’ll leave that question aside for now; someday you will study it—it is a deep question. Scripture says man is the head of woman. That means man taught woman to think. And woman taught man to feel. Woman bears within herself the intelligent heart, and man—the intelligent mind. You will ask, “Is the mind higher or the heart?” That is not the question. What matters is who fulfills their service better. Whoever fulfills his duty well always stands higher than the one who does not fulfill it well. Do not think that if the spirit does something unwise it will stand very tall. In nature the following law exists: what is done well stands tall.

Now, this question is a little obscure, but since you are interested, it should not be discussed at length. People often say to me, “How will you resolve this question when you yourself are not married?” Why, you are not married either. I have not yet met a married person on earth. In my view, a married person is one who has never cast an evil glance at his beloved nor scolded her—one who has always turned toward her with a loving look and sweet words. That is what “beloved” means. You will say a person can be out of sorts. In my view, what matters is a person’s inner disposition. I have made many experiments in this respect: sometimes I give myself a serious outward look, while inwardly I am in very good spirits. Whoever sees me says, “The Teacher looked at me very sternly.” I ask: when the weather clouds over and the wind begins to blow, does that mean God is angry? You do not understand the language of nature. When it starts to thunder and crash, does that mean God is angry with you? No. Through an earthquake God frees certain souls or elements that have long been buried deep in the earth; God breaks the layers in order to free certain souls or elements. That is how precious stones are found. When the sky sometimes grows overcast and it rains, God’s purpose is to water the plants and refresh them. For whom were the oceans and seas created? For the fish, not for man. Dry land was created for animals to walk upon, and for man to cultivate. Since God has distributed all the work among the animals, to Adam—as the most intelligent being—God said, “I give you authority over all the animals, to rule them—but with love.” Evil lies not in authority itself, but in authority without love. Every authority without love is violence. Every knowledge with love is a blessing. When things are done from the impulse of love, they are always in place.

You want a key for how to set your life right. Apply love. Those of you who lack patience should go to a bank window where money is exchanged and acquire patience there. Everyone is in a hurry there—each wants to finish his business quickly—while you must treat everyone kindly, with the greatest patience. In this respect the whole world is an educational institute by which you must be educated. If one of you were appointed teacher of unruly students, how would you teach them? Do you know how many pranksters there are among pupils—in Bulgaria and everywhere? In the Varna high school there was a good man, a Czech named Emper, about a meter and a half tall, broad-shouldered. He taught descriptive geometry. Because he was very exacting, the students looked for ways to get even with him. Knowing he had a great fear of frogs, they put about ten frogs in the lectern. One day he entered the classroom, lifted the lectern lid to check who was absent, immediately slammed it shut, and ran out—ten frogs jumped out. He left the class, and that spoiled the lesson. Later, when he had calmed down—or in the next hour—he came back, smiled a little, and the students sat meekly as if nothing had happened. He turned to them and said, “Please, don’t put frogs in the lectern. By nature I have a kind of organic aversion to them and cannot endure them. Anything else you like—but no frogs.” And that was the end of it. He didn’t punish any of the students. Such things happen in our lives as well.

“And Jesus stooped and wrote a figure on the ground…” Everyone should write. What should you write “on the ground”? Write the hard questions. Writing is thinking. To solve a problem, you have to work it out: is it addition, subtraction, division, or multiplication? Which rule does love follow? That’s for you to develop. We need a new understanding of love. You say, “We should love one another.” That’s the old formula. Stop repeating it. Now we must proceed to love.

When you wish to know and apply love, act like that student of antiquity who went to his teacher to ask about love. He told the teacher he wanted to hear about the two great commandments: love of God and love of neighbor. When the teacher began to speak, the student said, “That first commandment is difficult—don’t tell me anything about loving God, because I cannot go to Him now. Explain something about the second commandment.” When the teacher began to speak on the second commandment, the student said, “Please give me a little time. I’ll be back soon.” He went out into the world to find his neighbor and to test love, and after two years he returned to his teacher and said, “Now begin to speak to me.” To “test your neighbor” means to test whether the law of love works. I say: the time has come to apply the law of love. Someone asks, “Who will order me?” If some person gives him an order, he says, “Is he going to order me?” There must always be someone in the world who gives orders—without orders things don’t work. Now the cold has come to give orders: firewood, coal, warm clothes—all this must be supplied. Every crack must be sealed. Don’t ask why the world was made this way; think rather: since the cold has come, what must be done now? The cold is preaching that we need a warm room, warm clothes, coal and wood, hearty warm food, and so on. Cold is the lovelessness in the world. This shows we live in a world without love. What does this world need? Warmth—love. The cold shows Europe’s condition. Why has the state this year changed—why the temperature? Because there is war in the east and in the west, and others are preparing for war. Cold shows that if people fight, there will be cold and snow—nothing else. And the trees will bear no fruit. If you make war, you will all shiver and freeze—that is what Nature says. But how will the world be convinced by Nature’s words? We say, “Let the Lord convince it.” Now we— you—all Christians, all esoteric societies, all religious and spiritual societies—want by force to unite into one and work together. Yet all live in complete discord—each thinks only of himself, each lives for himself—and as a consequence these misfortunes arise in the world. If all people of awakened consciousness united, the face of the world would change at once. Not only some people must be good; all societies and all nations must be good. And if the world could be fixed so easily, everything would already be going well.

“And Jesus stooped and made a figure on the ground…” What did He write? He wrote: so long as people have hard hearts and live without love, the world will never be set right. How will the world be set right? And He wrote on the ground: when people prepare their hearts to receive love and act in accordance with it, the world will be set right. That is what Christ wrote on the ground. If you say that Christ did not speak or write this, then I say it now. I tell you plainly now; I am not writing it on the ground. If all of you begin to act according to love, the world will be mended today. What will you say to that? I’m telling you now: that settles it—none of you can excuse yourselves. Even if the earth were to turn upside down, you cannot excuse yourselves. What does it cost you to apply love? In the beginning God told Adam the same thing, but Adam did not understand and said, “Let me first test this law.” God told Adam, “Without love things do not happen.” “Let me verify that law.” And he did. We have a long experiment behind us. What has the world given? The whole world—that is, the whole earth—has become a tomb of rational beings. All of this is the result of lovelessness. Lovelessness exists not only among people, but among plants and animals, in the water and in the air—everywhere. Here and there love appears. It is not that people have no love, but they keep love for themselves. I see the mother hen take her chicks under her wings—that is love. I see the little bird carry food in its beak for its young—that too is love. But today love is very limited; it is not yet that great divine love. Your love is beautiful, but having learned this human love, you must now study Divine Love. After you have done what is needed for your companion, for your children and your close ones, you must say: “Lord, I have finished what concerns my companion, my children, and my kin; now tell me what I must do for Your love.” If your wife wants to keep you back for some task, you will say, “I have finished my duty toward you; now I have a work to do for the Lord. When I see you need me, I will come back.” Thus a person will serve both the Lord and his household. People today want to free themselves from serving God under the pretext that they have obligations to the state and to their home. Someone says he is a civil servant and cannot serve God until he retires. No—you will serve God and your post at the same time. What do we see in the world? When they retire, they depart for the other world. This philosophy—that only after retiring can one serve the Lord—is a dangerous philosophy. Everywhere, esoteric students suffer from lovelessness, for all serve only themselves. Everywhere you will see ambition, pride, and misunderstandings among people. They cannot be reconciled. If a third party steps in to reconcile two people, they still cannot be reconciled; no reconciliation is possible. There must be consciousness among people. Each must answer: do I act with love or without love? And in the soul of each one a desire must be born to serve the Lord out of love. For how will you appear before the Lord? Perhaps some of you will be called to the Lord this very year. You do not know your life; you are not one hundred percent sure. One day, as you are walking, you may see that a car has run you over—and that is that. A car recently veered onto the sidewalk and crushed a prominent Bulgarian. One of our brothers was recently struck by a tram and his head was injured. Afterwards he said, “How strange—how did this happen? I prayed so much that morning; I read many prayers.” Be thankful you prayed—if you hadn’t, it would have been worse. In the world we live in, we have many enemies that bring us all sorts of misfortunes. To be delivered from them, you must pray and apply in your life love for God. Therefore, when you get on a car or a tram, you must love the driver; feel goodwill toward him. When you love them, they will feel goodwill toward you and will take you safely to your destination—one hundred percent. In this law I have had no exceptions. Not long ago we were in a car that was going slowly. A friend said, “Let’s tell him to go faster.” “Don’t disturb him—the terrain doesn’t allow for fast driving.” When we reached the open plain, he increased the speed. Now you also want to make your car go very fast. No—God will not fulfill that wish, because if your car goes too fast, it may overturn somewhere.

When you rise in the morning, open your hearts and give thanks to the Lord. And even if you do not know Him, act as a little girl once did. One day she wrote a letter to the Lord and addressed it: “To the Lord Jesus Christ, in the other world.” The letter said: “Lord, my mother and father have died. There is no one to care for me. Tell people somehow to help me.” She addressed the letter and went home, hoping for some reply. When they received the letter, all the postal clerks gathered and read it. Seeing the child’s great faith, they decided each to give what he could. Soon they had collected a considerable sum. From that day on, the child’s affairs were set in order. You will say the child was foolish. No—the child was wise. Where is the Lord? In your mind. Send your thought to the Lord and wait for an answer. All those clerks did what they could, and the child’s situation improved. You may say, “Is this the time for such things?” People have given me many pieces of advice—do this, do that—but human workings do not succeed. Once I made an experiment with a sick man, and it gave a good result. He came to me and told me about his illness. I gave him one medicine; it had no effect. I gave him a second and a third; again no effect. Then I said, “Go home—I will give you no more medicine. You will get well without any.” “How so?” “Go at once—I’m telling you you will get well. When you recover, come tell me—then come to me.” He went away displeased that I had sent him off. A month later he came and said, “Thank you very much—I recovered.”

So now I say to you: you need nothing but love. Set love as the foundation of your life and all your affairs will be set in order. If you place the law of love as the basis of your life, you will have health, money, cheerfulness, bread—you will have everything. That is what Christ wrote. And I tell you: the world will be set right by love. This is the will of the Reality.

Let’s start with a few simple principles of spiritual science for cleansing the consciousness. These aren’t mere suggestions—they’re essential directions that lead the soul upward:

Don't want what you don't need!
Never think about tomorrow!
Don't idealize the past!
Don't think the future itself contains everything!

Once the consciousness is cleansed, something remarkable happens: the true and enduring knowledge, inscribed since time immemorial, begins to emerge. This knowledge is not new—it is the wisdom the individual has worked to acquire in past lives and must now strive to uncover. When someone studies, works, and makes efforts in life today, these efforts represent the spirit's endeavor to reclaim its original knowledge that was lost to oblivion.

This aspiration lies at the heart of all sciences, arts, and crafts. Once a person cleanses their consciousness, they can achieve remarkable things—becoming a musician, a scholar, or any respected figure—within a single year. Such a person first knows how to shape their head, and at the same time, their entire body.

Thought shapes the head; feeling shapes the heart and lungs; action shapes the stomach, bones, and muscles. Thus, when the will weakens, the stomach, bones, and muscles weaken; when feeling weakens, the heart and lungs weaken; when thinking weakens, the brain weakens. When someone’s cerebral system weakens, we notice that they become nervous or a bit feebleminded—in other words, their mental activity no longer functions as it once did. Since ancient times, it has been said: As you think, so you become. If a person thinks in a divine way, events unfold in a divine way. If he thinks in a human way, his life proceeds accordingly. If he thinks in an animalistic way, outcomes take on that same character. Whichever way you think—that is what you become. This is an inexorable law of the world.

People say: You become like those with whom you associate. This doesn’t mean you will become like them in form or content; rather, the direction of your mind, heart, and will takes on a different expression. Whatever thought a person links themselves to will make its imprint on the brain; whatever desire they join themselves to will make its imprint on the heart.

Now I will offer you a few more guidelines. Imagine that you’re poor—without a penny in your pocket—but you desire to become wealthy. Travel the world—in your mind if you must—to England, America, France, Germany, seeking out the rich and befriending them. You may argue, “How can I travel from country to country when I don't have a cent?”—but you can do all of this mentally. Alternatively, acquire portraits of the world’s leading billionaires and study them. If you aspire to be a painter or a musician, do likewise: obtain portraits of ten great artists or composers, place them on your desk, and each morning as you wake up, gaze upon them and tell yourself, “I too wish to become a popular artist like you.” As you form this connection, it won’t be long before those figures “come alive” for you. If you cannot buy a portrait, ask a local painter-friend to render one in oil. Study it deeply and forge that link. And if even that is beyond you, then each night before you sleep, pray to dream of a renowned person and to converse with them. Dreaming of a great soul is even more potent than meeting them in waking life. Many people dismiss dreams as mere amusements—but often dreams are more real than our waking hours. Through them, one sometimes gains far more than ever possible in ordinary, waking life.

Dreams are symbols, or formulas, through which Nature speaks to us. When we say “nothing is hidden in life,” we’re referring to Nature’s language. She uses symbols and impressions.

In the language of Nature, the most important thing is that you know how to breathe. That is the essential point. Once you have learned to breathe, then go on to resolve all questions. If you have not learned to breathe, whatever you do, all your skill will evaporate. What use is wealth to you, what use is knowledge? Where will you keep that knowledge? Both a person’s knowledge and health depend on the life that comes through breathing. With every inhalation you receive life.

Breath, thought, and love are connected. They are on the same scale and almost no one breathes properly. They take in air only into the upper part of the lungs. Due to this shallow breathing, they lack the strength to expel the air fully, and some impure air remains in the lungs, causing internal congestion.

If one wants to regulate their circulation, they must breathe deeply, retain the air in the lungs for a while, and then exhale it slowly. Breathing should also involve the abdominal muscles, which help build pressure and expel the air.

Proper breathing renews a person and frees them not only from physical discomfort but also from psychological suffering. It is good to begin inhaling through the left nostril while counting slowly from 10 to 15. Then close the left nostril and hold the breath for 30 to 40 seconds, and after that exhale slowly and rhythmically. When inhaling through the left nostril, the right one should be closed. While holding the breath, both nostrils should be closed. Do this exercise three to four times a day.

These exercises* are necessary for everyone—especially for those engaged in intense mental work. They are beneficial for both the healthy and the sick. It is preferable to perform them outside, in fresh air, rather than indoors. And ideally, one should practice alone, without being watched by others.

Whoever breathes properly gradually brings harmony into their life and renews themselves. If a person does not breathe correctly, if their pulse is not rhythmic, they will not be able to attain harmony. But once they do attain a certain level of harmony, no external circumstances or influences will be able to throw them off the track of their inner balance. Breathing is the process of taking in life. Once you take in life, knowledge will come. Once knowledge comes, freedom will appear in the world.

There is a kind of knowledge that is especially needed by people today. To access it, one must develop their intuition. Intuition will guide a person in many of life’s situations. When your intuition is developed, you know when to speak and what to say, what action to take, what lesson to pursue, and when. But for one whose intuition is undeveloped, there is confusion. He doesn’t know how to speak or what to bring into a conversation. A friend might visit him, and he’ll begin speaking on irrelevant or awkward topics, leaving both unsettled. Afterward, he might think, “That’s not how I meant for things to go.”

To have intuition is to sense what another needs and to offer it with wisdom. When speaking to a philosopher, speak in his language. It is necessary for every person to cultivate this inner faculty. Intuition is given by God so that one may perceive things from afar—before they happen.

The conditions for developing intuition are given freely. But the results—those must be earned through effort and inner work. As intuition develops, a person becomes less reactive, more calm and steady. They gain inner joy and peace of spirit. They no longer admit foreign influences into their consciousness—no negative thoughts in the mind, no bitter emotions in the heart.

True intuition allows no room for gossip or idle words. A person led by intuition closes their ears to the noise of the outer world and enters the stillness of their own heart. There, they take up a cloth and begin to wipe the surface clean—clearing away what others have said, and preparing a space for only divine truths to be written.

[Continued in the second edition]

* Safety notice: If you have any pre-existing medical condition or health concerns, consult a qualified healthcare professional before attempting these breathing exercises. Stop immediately if you experience dizziness, faintness, chest pain, breathing difficulties, or other concerning symptoms.

“To love someone is to melt away their shell and help them step out of it into freedom.”

You may hear someone say they love—or have come to love—another person, imagining that this love began the very moment they met. If they think this way, their love is temporary and fleeting; we call it ‘mayfly love,’ after the insect that lives only a single day.

As long as a person remains trapped in mayfly love, they are bound to stumble into comic, dramatic, and even tragic situations. They declare their love to someone, only to find that the beloved has already turned their affection toward another, and jealousy erupts. This is one such comic-dramatic plot.

True love, however, is never jealous and never insists on its own rights. Whoever truly loves never regrets loving, even when that love is not returned.

Modern people love one another—yet they suffer. Why? Because they doubt Love itself. Both lover and beloved harbor doubts, and the instant doubt enters, stress follows. Doubt shows that love is not pure—that self‑interest has crept in.

One who loves selflessly never doubts; they are simply grateful to love. The moment they love, they become rich, content with existence. Pure, selfless love is love for all. In loving one person, you love everyone through that person. If your love awakens love in others, rejoice—you have become a channel through which Love manifests.

Love calls forth love. It is impossible to love someone and receive no answer. Tens or even hundreds of years may pass, yet one day that person will recognize the love you had for them. Love is the only force that never loses. If someone ignores your love, it matters little; the day will come when they value what you offered and return it with interest.

To believe that loving costs you anything is a profound illusion; one may lose everywhere and in everything except in Love.

Thus, if you love one, you must love all—this is the true measure of Love. When you warm yourself by a fire, countless others can share its heat. Would you hoard the warmth for yourself alone?

Human jealousy has a single redeeming feature: in spurring us to love, it can inspire others to do the same. If you love someone, do not demand that they love only you. Should anyone claim they love only you, know they deceive both themselves and you. Why should a father not love another’s daughter as his own, or a mother another’s son as her own?

If you cannot love more than one person, you remain in love’s elementary grade, for love grows by degrees.

There is always some inner or outer reason for loving a particular person or object. You love the sun for its light; you love the diamond because it refracts that light so brilliantly. Everything you love hides within itself some divine quality. Only the divine is truly loved and valued—wherever you recognize it, whether in stones, plants, animals, or people, you honor it.

Today many complain that they have lost their love. How can one avoid losing it? Do not cross Love’s sacred fence. Stand too close and you burn; stand too far and you freeze. Do not blame anyone outside yourself for your burning or freezing. If you grow too hot, step back a little; if too cold, move closer.

Be grateful that you have a fire and give thanks to the trees that sacrifice themselves for you.

Everyone's task is to manifest their love and ascend to Love's highest level. A woman must love both woman and man as herself; a man must love both man and woman as himself. A woman’s love brings gentleness and warmth; a man’s love brings light. Warmth and light together create strength. When a person unites the warmth of the heart with the light of the mind, they become strong and beautiful.

Someone may say they cannot love—impossible! Why? Because loving is like eating. Can a person live without eating? No. As one cannot live without food, so one cannot live without love. When someone says they cannot love, they mean only that they cannot love as God loves. Each being transmits as much Love as it can receive: the mosquito as a mosquito, the fly as a fly, the human as a human.

One who misunderstands Love claims to die from love and for love. What kind of love kills? Christ sacrificed Himself for humanity out of Love, yet He did not die—He rose again. In Love there is no death; Love resurrects, not destroys. Do not peer at Love through keyholes; look through its windows and doors to behold it in its fullness. Learn from those who love selflessly, so that others may one day learn from you.

People have filled countless books—and endless comedies, dramas, and tragedies—with love, yet still have not understood it. Humanity needs new comedies, dramas, and tragedies in which the hero is not mocked, but the distorted expressions are; in which the divine within does not suffer, but the human does; in which good does not die, but evil does. That would be a genuinely new comedy, drama, and tragedy.

It is said that Love does not seek its rights, yet at the same time, it never loses them. Love is capital that is never lost. Anyone who believes they were deceived in love will, in the end, receive their principal back with interest. Just as life emerges from fire and returns to its source, so the capital invested in Love invariably returns to its source.

People often speak of the great divine love, yet not everyone understands it. Until you do, cherish the love you already have. Strive toward new love without abandoning the old. The new love is the daughter; the old love is the mother. The old love burns; the new love resurrects.

How do you recognize one who has been burned? Outwardly they appear frightened; whatever you tell them about Love, they no longer believe—they have lost faith. To preserve faith in Love, avoid the destructive love that burns a person. If you encounter such love, treat it as actors treat sorrow on stage: they portray grief without grieving, die onstage yet remain alive.

Therefore, be actors in your own lives as well: grieve without being overcome; love without being consumed; rejoice without losing yourself in your joy. Remember that everything earthly is temporary. Yet, having come here to learn, make use of both the transient and the eternal. Do not cling to the transient, lest you suffer. Why grow attached to wine that may sour at any moment? Why chase the kind of love that burns everything in its path?