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New Era Community (1926) - 248:
The denier of evolution can withdraw into hermit life and dream about the delights of regress. But life itself, reality itself, will indicate new, incontestable manifestations. Only the judicious mind of a realist places these manifestations into a scientifically conceived, orderly scheme. All the near-sighted mystics and the petty conventional literati will be in the place of the ignorant. The banner of the newly realized energy is being raised. Each new acquisition must fill every heart with joy. The thinking of the community member must throb at the possibilities of new, useful studies of reality. Hierarchy (1931) - 414:
414. What thorns people weave into their wreaths of life! What strength people dissipate to counteract those principles upon which life itself is maintained! How many unnecessary thorns surround people, transforming their lives into regress! People will not understand the higher Wisdom if they do not first of all understand the law of Hierarchy - that upon which the entire life is founded; that by which the world progresses; that upon which evolution is built; that upon which the best steps and pages of history have been constructed. Thus, humanity cannot evade the great law of Hierarchy. Self-destruction is the only direction along which those bereft of the understanding of Hierarchy proceed; thus, the thorns directed against Hierarchy turn into a dark path. Thus, the great law of Hierarchy must be safeguarded as a leading principle. Supermundane - The Inner Life - Book 1 (1938) - 219:
"If people realized the law of uniqueness, they would speedily advance in self-perfectment. The dead intellect whispers that each day is a repetition of the previous one. One constantly hears such complaints, but each moment is different. Your consciousness can never return to its previous state; even in cases of a degenerating consciousness, it will regress, but not in the same way. Infinity exists in both macrocosm and microcosm. Even a song cannot be repeated exactly, because the conditions will be different each time. If you return to a city where you have not been for many years, everything will appear different. Your consciousness will never be able to duplicate the previous state. Some people feel distressed when they think about unrepeatability, but a wise man will rejoice, for he senses motion." Supermundane - The Inner Life - Book 2 (1938) - 370:
The wisdom of folklore should always be remembered; it will lead to a practical application of the Teaching, rather than a superficial reading. Many people read all the books, but remain without knowledge. Sometimes such unreceptive readers even regress, and prove to be worse off than if they had been illiterate. People should try to understand exactly what has been assimilated from their reading, and what can be useful in its application to their lives. Let them ask themselves what negative habits they have successfully overcome, and write down those paragraphs from the books that have influenced their minds in a beneficial way. How can one expect harmony amidst the uproar of disharmony if the smallest habits remain untouched and unchanged? Thus, do not forget to warn friends against the dangers of petty habits.
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