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Fiery World - Book 1 (1933) - 81:
81. Sincere striving for self-perfection is not egoism, but has universal significance. The thought about improvement does not concern oneself alone. Such thought carries within itself the flame needed for many kindlings of hearts. As fire, when brought into a place filled with inflammable substance, will unfailingly ignite it, so fiery thought pierces space and infallibly attracts seeking hearts to itself. Fiery World - Book 1 (1933) - 337:
337. Why do the Fiery Beings seldom appear to Earth-dwellers? For this also there is a scientific explanation. The Sublime One said, "Touch me not." Thus simply was pronounced the essence of relation between the Fiery World and the earthly one. To the earthly senses the Fiery World is like a powerful dynamo. The earthly body is consumed by contact with a Fiery Being; proximity alone is enough to stop the heart of the incarnate one. A lighted torch should not be brought into an inflammable dwelling. Even the most mundane physician knows how much electric force a human heart can withstand, and the intensity of common electricity is not to be compared with that of the fiery forces. The manifestation of Fohat itself may not always be visible. How rarely, then, can the Radiant Guests appear! Being undisciplined, people either become terrified or try to touch, and thus are consumed. Let us not forget that fear can burn away the heart. Even in white magic, during positive invocations, the invoker encloses himself in a circle in order to protect himself from the fiery currents. Of course, the heart that recognizes Fire can gradually assimilate it. Fiery World - Book 1 (1933) - 638:
638. It is said, "Do not enter Fire in inflammable garments, but bring a fiery joy." In this indication lies the entire prerequisite for communion with the Fiery World. Verily, even the garments of the Subtle World are not always suitable for the Fiery World. So, too, the joy of ascent must transcend any earthly joy. It must shine, and by its Light be a beacon to the many. Who, then, can deride joy and Light? The mole does not know the attraction of light; and only an evil spirit does not understand what joy is! When you rejoice at flowers, when you seek in thought to penetrate into their wondrous structure, into the creation of a small seed, when you value the fresh fragrance, you already have contacted the Subtle World. Even in the flowers of Earth, in the plumage of birds, and in the wonders of the heavens, one can find that very joy which prepares one for the gates of the Fiery World. Chiefly, one must not be dead to beauty. Where can one find a better setting than beauty for devotion, for aspiration, for indefatigability. Amidst earthly conditions one must learn to find that which is applicable to all worlds. There will be no time for deliberation at the moment of crossing into the Subtle World; the illumination by joy can and must be instantaneous. Thus, consciousness is actually preserved by joy. But one must not lose even an hour here on Earth in learning to rejoice at each flower.
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