Chapter 3 – Awakening the Third Eye

3.1 What is the third eye?

The third eye is the gate that opens to the space of consciousness and to the inner worlds. It is also the main organ through which the body of energy can be awakened and governed. So, practically, the third eye acts as a ‘switch’, which can activate higher frequencies of the body of energy and thereby lead to higher states of consciousness.

From a therapeutic point of view, it has been my experience over the years that many clients get better when they connect with their third eye, whatever the nature of their problem. Due to its function as a switch, as soon as it is activated the third eye tends to set into motion several circulations of energy. This automatically results in correcting a number of physical and emotional disorders, a process that could be described as a kind of self-acupuncture. Moreover, even the beginning of third eye awakening tends to put people in touch with more profound aspects of themselves, which in itself has a major healing action. Of course, I am not suggesting that it is enough to connect with the third eye to heal everything, but still the potential of this centre is so enormous that I would not be surprised if in the coming decades, more and more ‘third eye therapies’ were developed.

From a spiritual point of view, in both the Christian and Hindu traditions one finds texts that compare the body to a temple. If we were to develop the analogy, we could compare the third eye to the temple's portal. By crossing the portal one goes from the profane to the sacred, from the stage where one reads and thinks about spiritual life to the stage where one starts experiencing it. The third eye has always been regarded by those who seek to know themselves as a most precious jewel, hence the precious stone placed on the forehead of statues of buddhas.

In this chapter we will describe how to begin to establish a connection with the third eye (practice 3.2). Then we will cover a technique of meditation (3.7) through which the third eye can be further explored and developed.

3.2 First opening

Preliminary advice for the opening practice

This opening practice is designed to give you a first ‘thread’ to the third eye, by awakening a certain feeling between the eyebrows. It is designed to be practised only once, or a few times within a short period of time. Then the work on the eye will be continued with the meditation technique indicated below (3.7), and with all the other practices of the book.

A good way to start is to choose a day when you don't have anything else to do, at the beginning of a weekend for instance, and to focus intensely on the practices. After this strong initial imprint it will be easier to follow the rest of the techniques. You can either do the practices alone or with friends, which will make the energy more intense. The best day of the month to start is the one preceding the Full Moon. However you do not have to worry too much about the calendar. The important thing is to do it, rather than wait for the perfect time.

Preferably wear light-coloured clothes (white is best). Avoid wearing black.

Remember that you are dealing with subtle perception. The vibration should not be expected to feel like a dagger in your forehead. Even if you can only perceive a faint little tingling or pressure between the eyebrows, that will be enough to start the process. All the other practices in the book will contribute to enhancing and developing the perception.

Remember, no imagination, no visualisation. Let things come to you. A certain tiny vibration is already present between the eyebrows in everybody. The purpose is to reveal this natural vibration, in order to cultivate it later on.

Read the instructions given in the following section carefully a few times before putting them into practice.

Preparation

Choose a quiet room where no one will disturb you for at least an hour. You do not have to be alone, you can implement this practice together with friends. But there should not be anyone in the room who is not practising with you.

Light candles around the room.

Take off your shoes.

Undo your belt, tie, or other restrictive clothing. Take off your watch.

Lie down on the floor, on a carpet, blanket, or thin mat. The arms should not be crossed but should lie by your side. It is preferable to have the palms facing upwards.

The legs should not be crossed.

Close your eyes. Keep your eyes closed until the end of the practice.

Relax for 2 or 3 minutes.

Do 5 or 10 minutes of humming sound (section 2.4).

Phase 1

Become aware in the throat. Start breathing with the throat friction, as explained in the last chapter (section 2.1).

Become aware of the vibration generated in the larynx by the friction.

Be just aware, without any particular concentration. Flow with the energy. If some movements take place in your body or in your consciousness, let them happen.

Continue for 5 to 10 minutes, breathing with the friction, aware of the vibration in the larynx.

Phase 2

Maintain the throat friction.

Instead of placing your awareness in the larynx, now become aware in the area between your eyebrows. Do not concentrate. If you ‘grasp’ the area between the eyebrows with too tight a focus, the process can't unfold. Flow with the energy. Follow what comes spontaneously. If the breath naturally changes and becomes more intense, then follow the breath. But make sure that you maintain some friction in the throat throughout these first 5 phases of the practice.

Remain ‘just aware’ between the eyebrows, breathing with the throat friction, for about 5 minutes. Time precision is not relevant for this practice, so there is no need to look at your watch.

Phase 3

Place the palm of your hand in front of the area between the eyebrows. The hand does not touch the skin, it is about 3 to 5 centimetres (1 or 2 inches) away.

Note that the hand does not touch the skin. For a few minutes, stay lying on the floor with the eyes closed, breathing with the throat friction, aware between the eyebrows, and the palm 1 inch in front of this area.

Phase 4

Keep your hand in front of you or put it back by your side, as you prefer.

Remain with your eyes closed, breathing with the throat friction, aware between the eyebrows.

Start looking for a vibration between the eyebrows. It can take different forms: either a clear vibration or a tingling, or even a rather blurry pressure, a weight or a density between the eyebrows.

Do not try hard. Remain vacant, let things happen. Note that your eyes remain closed during all phases of this practice.

Phase 5

As soon as the faintest feeling of vibration or tingling, pressure, pulsation, density or weight is perceived, proceed as follows: start connecting the throat friction with the feeling between the eyebrows.

Connecting means being aware of both the friction and the vibration (or density, or pressure...) between the eyebrows at the same time. As you proceed, the link between the friction energy and the third eye will be perceived more and more clearly. The vibration will change as you combine it with the friction. It will become more subtle, and yet more intense at the same time.

If vibration or tingling is felt in some other part of the body, for instance the whole of the forehead, the arms or even the whole body, do not pay any attention to it. Just remain aware of the vibration (or density, or pressure...) between the eyebrows.

Continue this phase for about 10 minutes, building up the vibration between the eyebrows by connecting it with the throat friction.

Remember, no imagination, no visualisation. Just flow with what comes.

Phase 6

Stop the throat friction.

Do not focus on the vibration any more.

Remain with your eyes closed, just aware between the eyebrows for another 10 minutes or more.

Be extremely still, feeling the energy around you. The more motionless you become, the more you can tune in.

Observe if any feeling of light or colours can be perceived between the eyebrows.

Tips, tricks and traps

• Do not concentrate or ‘grasp’ the area between the eyebrows, just keep a very gentle focus in the area. Grasping would only block the process. Do not try to ‘do’, let things happen.

• Focussing between the eyebrows just means being aware of this area, and not directing your eyeballs as if trying to look at this area. If you were to implement such movements of the eyeballs, it would create a tension that could only disturb the natural course of the experience. So the eyeballs are not directed in any particular direction. Same throughout the book.

• A common experience, in the beginning, is to feel vibration (or pressure, density...) not only in the area between the eyebrows, but also in other parts of the forehead or the face. If this happens don't pay attention to it, just focus on the vibration between the eyebrows, connecting it with the throat friction. With practice, everything will fall into place.

• If you practise with friends, make sure you are not touching each other, in order to avoid inappropriate transfers of energy.

• If the experience becomes too intense, all you have to do is open your eyes and you will be brought back to your normal state of consciousness.

First opening, synopsis of the practice

Lie down and relax.

1) Throat friction + awareness in the larynx 

2) Throat friction + awareness between the eyebrows 

3) Same as 2) + palm of the hand in front of the third eye 

4) Throat friction + looking for vibration, tingling, pressure, density... between the eyebrows 

5) Connecting the throat friction with the vibration between the eyebrows 

6) Motionlessness – connecting with the energy around you

3.3 Various experiences

In Chapter 10 you will find a summary of the most common experiences encountered when starting to work on the third eye according to the principles and techniques developed in this book. As far as this first opening is concerned, the only things that matter are the vibration (or tingling, or density...) between the eyebrows, and the light, if you happen to perceive it. The best attitude is to pay no attention to any other manifestations that may occur while implementing the practice.

When dealing with the third eye and with etheric energy, especially in the beginning, minor manifestations may take place, such as tingling or even twitching, here and there in the body, or images flashing back to your consciousness. Let them come and let them go, for they do not mean much. Just follow the technique as if nothing was happening.

It may be that the vibration, tingling, density or light you will feel between the eyebrows will be quite intense, but it really does not matter if they happen to be faint or blurry. As we will see later, the intensity of the energy can vary greatly from one day to the next for the same person, so it may just be that you have attempted the ‘first opening’ on a low intensity day. However faint these qualities may be, they are a first thread, and a systematic technology will be gradually introduced in the book to transform them into a clear perception of the third eye.

3.4 Experiential references

vibration ~ etheric (life force)

colours, light ~ astral purple light ~ astral space

As you practise the various techniques working on the third eye, you will encounter mainly 3 types of experiences between the eyebrows: 1) vibration, 2) colours and light, 3) purple light. Roughly speaking, the first one indicates an activation of the etheric layer, the second indicates the astral, while the perception of the purple light indicates that a connection has been made with the astral space (the terms etheric and astral will be developed further on in this book).

Of course these indications are far too simplified to be completely exact. But from an experiential point of view they provide helpful references to allow you to find your way in the beginning.

1) Vibration, tingling, a feeling of pressure, weight, or density, all have the same significance when felt between the eyebrows. They indicate that something is being activated in the etheric part of your third eye.

The etheric body is the layer of life force, equivalent to the prāṇa of the Indian tradition and the qi of traditional Chinese medicine. (The third eye is not a physical organ, it is predominantly etheric and astral.)

The vibration (or any of its equivalents, such as tingling, pulsing, pressure, density...) is the sensation by which the etheric is perceived. Whenever you feel it somewhere in your body, it indicates that the etheric layer is activated in this area. So the perception of the vibration between the eyebrows is nothing other than a perception of the etheric part of the third eye.

Since tingling, pressure, density or weight have more or less the same significance, to simplify I shall refer to all of them by the same word: vibration. Therefore, whenever you read ‘vibration’ in this book, it refers to any or all of these different forms. For instance, “Build up the vibration between the eyebrows,” means: build up the modality that is most natural to you – vibration, pressure, density, or their equivalent. Anyway after some time the vibration will be perceived as all of these simultaneously. There are different levels of vibration, just as there are different levels of etheric energy, some more subtle than others. The intensity of the vibration may vary from one day to the next. Apart from quantitative variations, it is also the quality of the

vibration that tends to vary naturally from one day to another. Consequently it is important not to cling to any modality but to flow with what comes each day. After some time the experience will become more stable and the energy movements will be more under your control.

2) The second type of experience that can take place between the eyebrows is that of (non-physical) lights of various sorts, from a vague haze, cloud, or glow, to colours and organised patterns. These various manifestations can be regarded as equivalent, and indicate that something is being activated in the astral part of your third eye. To simplify, I will refer to all of them by the term ‘light’. So each time you read ‘light’ in this book, it means all or any of these: haze, colours, light patterns, shining dots or anything that glows. Choose the one that comes most naturally to you and let it be gradually refined into a more and more brilliant light.

The astral body is the layer of mental consciousness and emotions. The equation ‘(non-physical) light = astral’ is not absolute, for certain high frequencies of light come from far above the astral layer. But as you will quickly learn to recognize, the lights and colours that commonly appear between the eyebrows when you ‘switch on’ your eye are a clear indicator that the astral part of the third eye is being activated.

3) The purple light is often perceived as the background of the other lights or colour patterns. It gives the feeling of an expanse or of a space that extends in front of your third eye. The deeper you contact the purple light, the more you perceive it as a space that is not only in front of you but all around you. This space corresponds to what esotericists call the astral space.

This space of consciousness is not always perceived as purple, but also as dark blue or even black. What matters most is the feeling of space, whatever the colour of darkness perceived. I will therefore use the word ‘space’ for the dark expanse at the background of the third eye, regardless of its colour.

Note that the perception of the purple space is quite simple, and that many people have experienced it (in particular during childhood) without realizing its real nature.

3.5 If you are not feeling any vibration at all

Here are a few indications for those who might not seem to feel any vibration between the eyebrows while implementing the exercises.

It is possible, and not uncommon, that the vibration is there but you are not registering it. Maybe you are expecting something extraordinary, or very intense. Maybe it is too simple. This vibration has always been between your eyebrows and you never paid any attention to it.

Maybe you are blocking the process by trying too hard. Make sure you do not concentrate, let things happen. Don't look for the vibration, let it come to you. Continue with the practice, insist, but in the spirit of letting go.

There is another reason you may not feel any vibration at all: it may be that you are getting light instead of vibration. Remember our simple references:

vibration ~ etheric

light ~ astral

If you are perceiving light in any form (from a simple blurry whitish haze to the wonderful purple of the space, through various types of colours and patterns), then you are already in the astral, hence no longer in the etheric. You can't (in the beginning anyway) be outside and inside a house at the same time. Consequently, if you are getting light, it is quite possible you have bypassed the level of the vibration. In that case, just go on with your practice with the light instead of the vibration. In the scheme of our meditation technique (section 3.7), go from phase 2 to phase 3. Don't worry about the vibration, connect the throat friction with the light.

After implementing these practices with hundreds of students at the Clairvision School, I have never seen one who did not manage to feel the vibration after a bit of practice. Follow the Oxyrhynchus Sayings of Jesus, where it is advised that those who seek do not cease until they find, “and when they find they will be astonished.” Persist, persist, persist... and everything will come.

3.6 More about the third eye

A useful hint is to consider the eye as a patch or a 50 cent coin on the forehead. In reality, the third eye is more like a pipe or a tunnel, going from the area between the eyebrows to the occipital bone at the back of the head.

The tunnel of the third eye

All along the tunnel are a number of centres of energy, through which one can connect with different worlds and areas of consciousness. This explains why different systems may ‘locate’ the third eye in different places: each of them chooses a different centre along the pipe, or even a structure of energy adjacent to the tunnel, as a reference point.

Another important point to keep in mind is that the third eye is not physical. The grossest part of the third eye is a structure of energy belonging to the etheric body or layer of life force. The etheric body has many connections with the physical body and therefore the third eye, being the ‘main switch’ of the etheric body, is also closely connected to certain structures of the physical body, for instance the pituitary and pineal glands.

However it would be over-simplified to say that the third eye is the pineal gland or the pituitary gland, as stated by certain books. As explained before, the tunnel of the third eye is not physical. It impacts its energy on a number of structures of the physical body, including the frontal sinus, the optic nerves and their chiasma, the nerves of the cribriform plate of the ethmoid bone, the pituitary and pineal glands, some of the nuclei at the centre of the brain, the ventricles of the brain, and others. It would be far too simplistic and limiting to pick one of these physical structures and label it ‘third eye’. Once more the third eye is not physical, it is an organ of energy. It may have some privileged connections with certain physical structures, but it cannot be limited to any of them.

In the beginning, do not worry about any other part of the tunnel, just remain aware between the eyebrows. One has to start somewhere, and this particular centre between the eyebrows has the great advantage of creating a protective energy all around you in your aura as soon as you activate it. Other centres of the ‘pipe’ will be introduced later.

So in this book, whenever we talk about ‘the eye’, we mean the area between the eyebrows. That does not mean the area between the eyebrows is the whole third eye, of course. But in the early stages of our training it is the area we will use and develop as the main switch, the place to remain aware of permanently. If you get sensations in other areas of the head, don't try to suppress them, but don't pay attention to them either. Keep your focus between the eyebrows.

3.7 Third eye meditation

Let us now start our main technique of meditation. The initial stages of this meditation process are not intended to project you into spectacular states of transcendence, but to work at building up the third eye systematically and later on to achieve true inner silence. As will be discussed in Chapter 9 on awareness, one of the principles of our approach is that one cannot fight mentally against the mind. One cannot force the mind into being silent. But one can build a structure beyond the mind, from which the mind can be mastered. In that sense the third eye can be compared to a control tower, similar to that of the 20th hexagram of the I Ching. The first phases of this meditation process aim at structuring the third eye and imprinting it as tangibly as possible into your system.

Phases 4 and 5 deal with the inner space and the mysterious vortices. During the first weeks of your practice, to simplify you may decide to bypass phase 5 (the vortex), going straight from the phase on the space to the ‘non-technique’ or meditation proper, when you remain ‘just aware’ above the head.

Preparation

Remove shoes, belt, tie and watch.

Sit cross-legged on the floor or on a chair with your back straight. You do not have to be on the floor but your back should be very straight. If you sit on a chair it is preferable not to lean back against it, so that you allow a free flow of energies.

Meditation phase 1: the larynx of energy

Close your eyes. Keep your eyes closed until the end of the meditation.

Start breathing with the throat friction (section 2.1). The friction breathing generates a vibration in the throat. Become aware of the vibration in the larynx. Use the friction to intensify the vibration in the larynx.

The vibration in the throat is made of two parts: one physical, created by the mechanical action of the breathing, and a more subtle one, like a tingling, that can still be perceived when you stop the breath.

Use the throat friction to intensify the non-physical tingling.

Adjust the position of your spine. Look for the absolute uprightness. Align the neck with the rest of your back in quest of a perfectly straight posture. Make sure that the head, the neck and the rest of the back are in a straight line.

Watch how the vibration in the larynx and the flow of energy in the throat can be enhanced by getting as close as possible to a perfectly vertical posture.

Cultivate stillness.

Meditation phase 2: vibration in the eye

Keep on breathing with the throat friction, but drop the awareness of the throat. Become aware of the vibration between the eyebrows.

Connect the vibration in the eye (i.e. between the eyebrows) with the throat friction.

If you are not too sure of what ‘connecting’ means, just remain aware of both at the same time: the throat friction, and the vibration between the eyebrows. Very quickly, it will become clear that a certain interaction takes place between the throat and the eye. That is what is meant by connecting.

Phase 2 consists of using the throat friction as an amplifier, to cultivate and build up the vibration in the eye.

If you have the choice between heavy density and subtle tingling, rather go for the tingling. Avoid grasping. Keep the experience light.

Meditation phase 3: light in the eye

Maintain the throat friction. (The eyes remain closed till the end of the meditation.)

Drop the awareness of the vibration. Instead, start looking between the eyebrows for a fog or a haze, a glow, or any form of light or colour. All of these can be regarded as different modalities of the ‘light’ which of course, in the context of this book does not refer to physical light but to spiritual light, perceived with your eyes closed.

Remember, no imagination, no visualisation – just awareness of what is in front of you.

As soon as you perceive any of these modalities of light (fog, glow, colour...) even very vaguely, connect it with the throat friction. Just as in phase 2 you were connecting the friction with the vibration between the eyebrows, you are now connecting the friction with the light. Instead of amplifying the vibration, you are now working at amplifying the light.

As you go on practising you will perceive brighter and brighter parts of the light. Gradually drop the awareness of the hazier parts to focus on the most shining ones. Connect your amplifierfriction with the most luminous part of the light.

A common experience is that of tiny shining particles of light, spread in the space in front of you and drifting in various directions. As you connect the friction with these luminous particles, some will enter you and go straight into your heart, feeding it with a precious energy.

Meditation phase 4: awareness in the space

Remain in the eye, between the eyebrows.

Instead of focussing on the light itself and on its shining particles, become aware of the background of the light. The darkness or the purple light at the background of all the colours will give you the feeling of a space, extending in front of you.

The space may appear purple, dark blue, or even just dark. More than the colour it is the feeling of expanse that matters.

Just remain aware in the space. Let yourself be absorbed in it. At this stage the throat friction can be decreased or even dropped. Start breathing with the friction again if the mind goes wandering with thoughts.

Meditation phase 5: spinning in the space

Start spinning into the space in front of you, spiralling forwards and clockwise, as if you were falling forwards into a tunnel.

Spin as if you were caught in a vortex.

The vortex is there, in the space, waiting for you. Do not try to make up a spiralling movement. Rather let yourself be caught by the vortex and carried by its natural motion.

As you go on spinning, the qualities and colour of the space will sometimes change, as if you were projected into a completely different area. Just acknowledge the various feelings and continue with the vortex.

From time to time, or even constantly if you wish, you may use the throat friction to amplify the vortex effect.

Non-technique

Drop any awareness of the breath, of the eye, of the space...

Just become aware above the head.

Doing nothing, looking for nothing, being ‘just aware’.

Not even aware of yourself – just aware.

Remain extremely motionless.

Practise the art of losing control.

Let the awareness take over, above the head.

Coming back and finishing the meditation

Become aware again between the eyebrows.

Listen to the sounds outside.

Become aware of your body. Take a few long inhalations. Take as much time as you wish to come back fully, and then click the fingers of the right hand and open the eyes.

Tips, Phase 1 (Vibration in the Larynx)

• It does not matter if in the beginning you find it difficult to separate the physical vibration from the non-physical one. It is enough to get a vague sense of the vibration, both physical and non-physical, for the process to follow its course. Anyway, by trying to be too precise your mind would probably get in the way and block the process.

All that is related to the vibration will probably become clearer after reading Chapters 4, 6 and 8 and practising the channel release techniques.

• In the beginning it may be helpful to place your hand close to your throat, about 1 inch away, to enhance the feeling of energy in this area. Later on, this won't be necessary.

• For this practice as for any work on the larynx of energy, it is crucial for the neck to be as vertical as possible.

What obvious differences can one observe between the bodies of animals and those of human beings? A major one is that the human spine is vertical while animals live mostly in a horizontal position. Similarly, while animals have a larynx, it is not vertical. This gives us a clue about the importance of verticality for the larynx to achieve its cosmic status in connection with the Spirit. Another clue can be found by perceiving what happens when you implement the first phase of the meditation: as soon as you reach a perfectly vertical position of the neck, a sudden enhancement of the vibration takes place in your larynx.

Tips, phase 2 (vibration in the eye)

• The larynx of energy acts as an amplifier and a giver of shape. By connecting the area between the eyebrows with the friction coming from the throat, you work at building up the third eye. In terms of experience, the intensification of the vibration in the eye that takes place as soon as you connect it with the friction indicates that the action of the larynx is taking place.

• As explained before, the vibration can also be felt as a tingling, a pressure, a density... This phase works at building the etheric layer of the third eye.

Tips, phase 3 (light in the eye)

• In the beginning, connecting the light in the eye with the throat friction just means feeling the two simultaneously. Then it automatically happens that an exchange takes place between the two, by which the energy generated by the throat friction is communicated to the part of your (third) eye that perceives light. In practice the experience is quite simple: the friction seems to ‘feed’ the light, to make it more tangible and brighter, which is another example of how the larynx can be used to ‘give shape’.

• Most of the students who think they can't see the light actually see it but don't recognize it. You have to accept that in the beginning, the feeling of light may be faint, like a blurry whitish haze for instance. And yet this faint glow is the first thread. Use the amplifying effect of the larynx to develop it. Practise, practise, practise... and the humble glow will turn into an illumination.

Tips, phase 4 (the space)

• A common experience when reaching perception of the purple space, is that of an immense feeling of relief in the heart, as if a huge weight had suddenly been lifted. As soon as you contact the inner space, your heart feels immensely lighter. Some explanations for this will be found in section 3.10.

Tips, phase 5 (the vortex)

• The clockwise direction should not be taken as systematic and compulsory. As always, you have to follow the energy of the instant, and that may sometimes make you spin backwards and anticlockwise. Nevertheless, when no particular wind takes you backwards, it is preferable to move forwards and clockwise.

• The vortex is both a vortex and a tunnel at the same time. It is preferable not to have fixed expectations as to what it should look like. Let the perception arise by itself gradually.

• Spinning in the space leads to an elaborated science of the vortices, through which one can travel far in space and time. This introduces a form of travelling in which the purpose is not to project yourself outside your body, but to go so deep inside that there is nothing left to get out of. The vortex effect that leads from one space-time to another is used intensively in ISIS, the Clairvision techniques of regression.

• Approach the vortex with great respect and wonder, as you would approach an archangel aeons older than you, and it will take you into extraordinary mysteries.

Thoughts during meditation

If thoughts arise during meditation do not pay attention to them, just follow the process. You will soon notice that a strong vibration between the eyebrows tends to quieten the mind and significantly slow down its continuous flow of thoughts. So no need to fight mentally against the thoughts. Just don't focus your attention on them. Each time you get distracted by a thought, simply go back into the eye and continue the exercise. Persist in the process, and as the third eye develops, thoughts will automatically become less and less of a problem. Past a certain level of development the third eye gives the capacity to get completely out of the mind and thus out of the thoughts at will.

Often, when the level of thoughts becomes disturbing, one can quieten them down by intensifying the throat friction, which has the action of reinforcing the vibration in the eye. But remember that in our meditation, the purpose is not to make the mind silent – a notoriously hopeless exercise – but to build the third eye.

Once this is achieved, thoughts won't matter any more.

Synopsis of the third eye meditation

Preparation: sitting with your back vertical

1) Throat friction + vibration in the larynx 2) Throat friction + vibration between the eyebrows 3) Throat friction + light between the eyebrows 4) Space 5) Spinning in the space: the vortex

Non-technique: just awareness above the head Suggested times for each phase:

• For a 30 minute meditation: 5 minutes for each of the 5 phases, plus 5 minutes above the head.

• For a 60 minute meditation: Phase 1, 5 minutes. Phase 2, 10 minutes. Phase 3, 10 minutes. Phase 4, 10/15 minutes. Phase 5, 15/20 minutes. 5 minutes above the head.

• For a 10 minute meditation: take roughly 2 minutes for each phase.

Do not neglect phase 1, even when short of time, for it is an essential part of the process.

3.8 More humming/buzzing

This technique uses the humming sound we practised in section 2.4. Sit with your back straight and become aware in the throat. Repeat phases 1, 2 and 3 of the third eye meditation, using humming/buzzing instead of the throat friction. Then let yourself be immersed in the space, as in phases 4 and 5, using humming sound from time to time to penetrate deeper into the space.

Tip

• These humming sounds provide a powerful way to project yourself into the space. Don't hesitate to have recourse to them whenever you are disturbed by thoughts or mental activities during your meditation.

3.9 How to organize your practice

During the first days of your practice do as much meditation as you can, repeating the first opening practice (section 3.2), and using the third eye meditation (3.7), as well as its equivalent with the humming sounds (3.8) and any other techniques you may pick up from the rest of the book. This strong initial imprint will make it easier to follow the rest of the process.

Then a good way to proceed is to spend some time every morning practising the third eye meditation (3.7) and other exercises. For instance, meditate for 20 or 30 minutes, then practise the channel release exercises (Chapters 4, 6 and 8) for 10 minutes, then the techniques on seeing (Chapters 5 and 7) for 10 minutes, then the techniques on protection (Chapters 18 and 20) for 10 minutes. Do a night practice (Chapters 13, 14, 15) every evening before going to sleep, and possibly in the afternoon or early evening, for instance if you are tired after coming home from work.

If you have more time it is certainly possible, and beneficial, to devote longer periods to the exercises. Yet it should be clear that the Clairvision techniques have been designed for those who live in the world. They do not invite you to withdraw from your activities, but to start performing them with a new awareness, as will be discussed in Chapter 9.

To succeed, the secret is not so much to spend long hours meditating but to incorporate more and more of these practices into each of your daily activities. The cornerstone of our method is to maintain a permanent awareness in the eye (between the eyebrows) whatever you are doing (apart from sleeping). This does not refer to the light or the space, which are to be kept for meditation times. But by permanently keeping an awareness of some vibration between the eyebrows, you will achieve a double purpose. On the one hand you will gradually become more present in your actions, and centred; on the other hand your third eye will be nurtured by your awareness and develop into a powerful centre of energy. So all the techniques of this book are to be regarded as occasions to cultivate a new awareness. The first and main benefit of our techniques of vision is that to implement them you have to remain aware and present between the eyebrows. If you are short of time, you can very well follow the process indicated in this book by meditating (technique 3.7) only 5 to 10 minutes every morning and incorporating the other practices into your daily routines. But these 5/10 minutes of morning meditation are essential for the development of your third eye. If your schedule is such that your practice time is in the evening and not in the morning, still try to keep the 5/10 minutes of morning meditation at any cost, for they secure a reconnection of your eye, which completely modifies your energy for the whole of the day.

Whatever format you decide to adopt for your practice, remember that this part of the path has to do with building – subtle body building. The more you practise, the quicker the building will be achieved.

3.10 The mysteries of the space

While practising ISIS, the Clairvision techniques of regression, it is not uncommon to re-experience the condition of the embryo during the very first days that follow conception. The foetus can be felt ‘bathing’ in the purple space. The purple space is all around it, like a sea. The embryo is very tiny and the space around is felt to be immense. This space is no different from the purple space that you perceive in your eye, in the fourth and fifth phases of the third eye meditation.

To the embryo the space is outside, all around itself. But to us, the same space is inside. To enter the space we have to withdraw inside and go through the portal of the third eye. In the Upanishads, a human being is compared to a city with ten gates. Nine of these gates lead outside and only one leads inside. The nine external gates are the two eyes, the two ears, the two nostrils, the mouth, the anus and the generative organ. The tenth gate is the third eye, or ājñā-cakra, which does not open into the external world but into the inner space.

So what was outside for the embryo is now inside for us. During the embryological processes that build up the foetus, an internalization of the astral space has taken place. It is a fascinating reversal, through which the inside becomes the outside and the outside becomes the inside. And at death the opposite takes place: the individual reintegrates into the space. This leads us to a deeper understanding of the word ‘existence’, used to describe the period of life on Earth. In Latin, ex means out, and sistere means to take position. Existence therefore means to take position out, that is, to exit from the space. Existence is the temporary exit from the space that we experience between birth and death.

Now you can understand the feeling of relief in your heart when you immerse yourself in the purple space during meditation. It is as if your heart was suddenly relieved of all the pressures of incarnated life, all the troubles of existence – enough to make you feel much lighter! One of the results of initiation is to establish a permanent connection with the space without losing any of one's anchorage on Earth. One can then enjoy the peace of the cosmic space and at the same time, remain fully involved in one's daily activities. Past a certain level, the joyful lightness forever stays in your heart, whatever may be happening outside.

Yet let it be very clear that the purpose of the Clairvision style of work is not to take you out of incarnation into some happy-floaty paradise, but to prepare you for a work of alchemy, transformation of the very substance of your bodies. The purpose is enlightenment here and now, in the middle of the cosmic mess of modern life. Paradoxically, connecting with the space creates an inner freedom that allows you to be more fully in the world.

Chapter 2 – The Mysteries of the Larynx

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. John 1:1 And he had in his right hand seven stars: and out of his mouth went a sharp two-edged sword. Revelation 1:16

2.1 Throat friction

This practice consists of breathing with a friction at the lower part of the back of the throat, while keeping the mouth slightly open. The friction is generated during both inhalation and exhalation. It creates a ‘wind’ type of sound. There is neither humming nor buzzing, nor any form of chanted sound. The sound is roughly the same while inhaling and exhaling. If you can, try to make it a low-pitched sound; it will be easier to sustain over long periods of time. But before giving more indications and tips on the throat friction, let me make a few points extremely clear. Don't try to start a quest for the perfect throat friction. Just do a ‘kind of’ friction sound and let it adjust itself with time. If you try to do it too perfectly you will probably end up doing it all wrong. (The same applies more or less to all the techniques of this book.) By being too finicky your mind is likely to get in the way. So just breathe with some vague friction in the throat and everything will be fine! Just read the indications given below, and then you can come back to this section in a few weeks to find out more precisely where your friction is taking place and adjust the details.

Throat friction, tips and traps

• If you wish to have an immediate demonstration, you can visit the Clairvision School's Internet site (section: Clairvision Knowledge Bank), where you will find sound files of throat friction. But again, keep in mind that any vague friction sound will be enough to carry you through the exercises of Awakening the Third Eye.

• It does not matter whether you are breathing through the nose or the mouth, or both at the same time, but the mouth should remain slightly open. In this position the lower jaw is loose and relaxed, which generates a certain condition of energy and can be enough in itself to induce a slightly altered state of consciousness.

The friction comes from area L (for larynx)

• The throat friction is more comfortable and more efficient when it comes from the back of the throat, not from the mouth and palate [area M on the figure – M for middle of the mouth] nor from the area close to the teeth [area F – F for front of the mouth].

If you were to produce your friction from the middle [M] or the front [F] of the mouth, the sound would be higher-pitched and somewhat shriller or even whistly. Experiment and compare each one.

• The correct friction comes from the larynx and the lower pharynx, meaning the lower part of the back of the throat [area L on the figure]. Then the (correct) sound is lower pitched, deeper and more internalised than if it came from the front of the mouth.

• Another possible mistake would be to generate your friction from the upper pharynx (nasopharynx), meaning at the back but at the top of the throat, behind the inner nasal cavity [area N on the figure]. In that case, which is incorrect, the friction would resonate more in the nasal sinuses than in the throat.

• Often when performing the throat friction you can feel a tiny but distinct vibration in the larynx by gently touching your Adam's apple with your fingers. (The Adam's apple is the external protuberance of the larynx, in the upper part of the middle of the throat. It is more marked in men than in women.) In the beginning this vibration under the finger is often felt more clearly during inhalation than exhalation, even though the same sound is produced during both.

• How deep should the breath be? Its depth and rhythm should be as normal. Slightly deeper breathing may be implemented in the beginning, in order to generate a clearer friction. But you do not need to hyperventilate: this technique does not aim at creating the type of breathing used in rebirthing. Our purpose is to activate the energy of the larynx through friction. The emphasis is not on breathing but on awakening the larynx of energy.

• The purpose of the throat friction is to reinforce your connection with the ‘energy’, a term that may sound vague in the beginning but will become more and more meaningful as you keep working on your third eye. As you become more accustomed to this friction practice, you will only have to tune into the flow of energy around you and the right intensity of the breath will follow automatically. Depth and rhythm will vary, for it is the nature of energy to vary, and it is our purpose to learn to flow with the energy.

• The energetic action of this friction breathing will be greatly enhanced if your neck is straight and vertical, in line with the rest of the spine. The more perfectly upright your neck is, the more power is released in the larynx. This can be experienced as a sudden intensification of the vibration that sometimes takes place when slightly moving the neck, thereby coming closer to the perfect uprightness.

• The mouth is only slightly open, but still it is important to make sure that it remains open, and more precisely that the lower jaw is relaxed so that the upper and lower teeth do not meet. When you have become familiar with the vibration between the eyebrows (introduced in the next chapter), come back to this point: try to practise the throat friction with your mouth tightly closed, and then with the mouth slightly open, alternating the two positions to feel the difference in your energy. You will notice that as soon as the lower jaw is relaxed and slightly dropped, a completely different condition of your energy is generated in which the connection with the vibration is enhanced and a general opening is favoured.

Note also that this slightly open position of the mouth is not taken to force you to breathe through the mouth instead of the nose. Breathe through the nose, the mouth or both at the same time, as feels most natural to you.

• Beginners sometimes feel that this technique makes their throat dry or slightly irritated. If so, produce the friction lower down in the throat. Beginners often make the friction higher up in the throat, closer to the palate, which is irritating to the throat. In any case, by practising for a few minutes several times a day this inconvenience will soon be overcome. (High quality honey can also be used as a soother and awakener.) With practice this friction can be maintained effortlessly for hours.

After a few days of practice the throat friction adjusts itself naturally and all irritating sensations disappear.

• It should be emphasized that the focus of this technique is on the larynx, not on the breath. In no way can it be regarded as a practice of hyperventilation, since the intensity of the breath is just your normal one. It is not even a breathing exercise as such, since it is only the mechanical action of the air on the larynx that is used, without especially trying to connect with the process of respiration. The friction is used to create a stimulation of the vibration in the larynx, but at a later stage of the practice it becomes possible to awaken the same vibration in the larynx without making use of the breath.

• Why is the protuberance of the larynx called Adam's apple, and why is it more marked in men than in women? It is said that when Adam tried to swallow the piece of apple of the tree of knowledge, it remained stuck in his throat!

2.2 Purposes and effects of the throat friction

The throat friction is a sound of energy. It quietens the mind and when mastered, instantaneously induces a ‘tuned-in’ state of consciousness.

One of its main actions is to amplify any psychic phenomena. The way we will use the throat friction in the following chapter will be to connect it with the area between the eyebrows to strengthen your awareness of the third eye. In later practices the throat friction will be connected with different structures of the body of energy to help reinforce them.

What does ‘connecting’ mean? It is a feeling that is easier to experience than to describe. Suppose you are trying to connect the throat friction with the area between the eyebrows, for instance. In the beginning there is a simultaneous awareness of them. Then a resonance automatically takes place between the two. The area between the eyebrows seems to vibrate together with the throat friction. Then a ‘mixing’ takes place. The throat friction combines with the feeling between the eyebrows. There is a communication of energy between the larynx and the third eye. That is what is meant by ‘connecting’.

There follows a simple but essential experience: the perception of the third eye quickly becomes more distinct and tangible. This result is clear and instantaneous. The effect of the throat friction is to ‘give shape’, make things more substantial. Therefore, whenever you connect the throat friction with a chakra or any other organ of energy the organ becomes more perceptible. The larynx makes things manifest, it reveals them.

A similar effect will be observed when working on auras. You first have to build up the inner space and engage the process of seeing. Then some exercises will show how your perception of nonphysical halos and auras is instantaneously boosted when combining throat friction and vision (see Chapters 5 and 7). The lights and colours will appear significantly ‘denser’ and more tangible. The throat friction can also be used to establish a linkage between different structures of energy. Not only can you connect the friction to the third eye or any other organ of energy, but you can also enhance the connection between different organs of energy, and link them through the friction. For instance in the chapters on channel release you will work at establishing a linkage between the energy of the hands and that of the third eye. And in the chapters on protection you will learn to connect the third eye with belly energies.

As you advance along this path you will discover several other miraculous functions associated with the larynx. For instance, the larynx of energy is a wonderful purifier: it can digest all kinds of toxic energies. It also plays a major role in the metabolism of the nectar of immortality. I recommend that you do not treat the throat friction as routine, but regard it as a sacred quest for the mysteries of the larynx.

2.3 The mysteries of the larynx

One finds in the Sanskrit literature some surprising stories about the voice. The rishis, or seer-sages of ancient India, were said to have many extraordinary abilities called siddhis. One of them was the vac-siddhi (vac = voice), by which whatever the rishi said would come true. Sometimes just by uttering a word, a rishi could materialise a whole army and change the course of history. It followed that the spoken word was regarded as sacred and unalterable, which was not without its problems at times. For instance in the Mahābhārata, the longest poem in the recorded history of humankind, the five Pāṇḍava brothers attend a tournament where one of them gains the most beautiful princess as a wife. Returning home, the brothers announce to their mother, the virtuous Kunti, “We have brought back a treasure.” Then rather unfortunately the mother exclaims, “Good, let it be shared between the five of you,” after which the princess has to become the wife of the five men, taking turns with each, and supposedly without being partial to any of them.

The creative power of the voice is clearly expressed in Sanskrit, where vac, voice, is often regarded as a synonym for śakti, which is the creative energy, the power of manifestation. In various trends of ancient Greek philosophy one finds a similar concept in the logos. The primary meaning of logos is ‘word’, but it also means creative principle. Later, in the gospel of John (originally written in Greek), it is also the term logos which is used to characterise the creative principle by which the creation was manifested: “In the beginning was the logos (Word), and the logos was with God, and the logos was God.” (John 2:1) Note that the first book of the Old Testament also presents a picture in which, at various stages of the genesis of the world, God uses the power of the Word to create: “And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.” (Genesis 1:3) “And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.” (Genesis 1:6) “And God said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature...” (Genesis 1:24), and so on.

In my epic novel, Atlantean Secrets, you will find startling descriptions of the mysterious power of the voice cultivated by Atlantean initiates, through which they could influence nature, perform healings, and accomplish a whole range of miraculous feats. Rudolf Steiner in his teachings has also left many indications related to the power of the voice. An aspect he has particularly developed is the polarity between voice and generative organs, for which he describes many consequences as far as the evolution of humankind is concerned.

Apart from Steiner's indications, certain simple facts show that there is a connection between the voice (and therefore the larynx) and sexual energy. For instance, it is when the sexual organs develop, at puberty, that the male voice changes pitch, due to the action of the male hormone testosterone. In women, alterations of the voice can also be observed following menopause. In astrology, the voice organ is related to the sign of Taurus and the sexual organs to Scorpio. The polarity between the sexual organs and the larynx is indicated by the opposition between the two signs.

Taurus is ruled by Venus, Scorpio by Mars. Venus and Mars form a couple, with dialectically opposed functions.

Taurus-Scorpio axis on the zodiac

Another connection between voice and organs of generation can be found in ancient Hebrew, where one of the words for voice is yediah, coming from the root yadah, meaning to know. And it is certainly no coincidence that the biblical way of referring to sexual intercourse is yadah, to know. For instance: “And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bore Cain...” (Genesis 4:1) In acupuncture the point qi chong (Stomach 30), located on the side of the pubic bone, has among its symptoms: sore throat after sexual intercourse. One can find several other connections in traditional Chinese medicine between sexual energy and throat. For instance, among the organs it is the kidney that is said to be the storehouse of sexual energy. And in the throat one finds the tonsils, which also have the shape of a kidney. When there is a release of ‘fire’ by the kidney, it may result in an inflammation of the pharynx (pharyngitis) or of the tonsils (tonsillitis). But let us return to Steiner and look at his views on the future of the voice organ. Steiner considered that in the trend of human evolution, the importance of certain body parts is slowly waning while some other organs will play a more and more essential role in the future. The sexual organs belong to the first category, while the larynx definitely belongs to the second.

Steiner has often mentioned that around the middle of Lemuria (the epoch that preceded Atlantis), a critical event took place in the occult history of humankind. Until then the libido of human beings was still directed entirely towards procreation, so that each human being was able to generate offspring of its own. In other words we were all hermaphrodites. One single being could give birth to another being without having to be fecundated by anyone. Note that the concept of primordial human beings as hermaphrodites is found not only in Steiner but also in several myths of various traditions.

Then Steiner describes how, in the middle of cataclysmic alterations of planet Earth, human beings lost half their procreative energy. They stopped being hermaphrodites: the sexes were separated. Each human being retained only half of the procreative energy and from then on had to find someone of the other sex in order to have a child. What happened to the other half of the procreative energy, the one that was no longer available for procreation? According to Steiner, it was redirected towards a different function: catching the Ego, or Higher Self. Until then human beings had been living like blobs, completely disconnected from their Ego. And it was by the redirection of half of their sexual force that they established the beginning of a connection with the Ego. They became spiritual beings.

Such a vision suggests quite an interesting way of looking at the relation between sexual energy and spirituality, and at sexuality in general. For example it presents the sexual instinct as a quest for the ‘lost half’. And at the same time it suggests that the lost half is not ultimately to be found outside, in a union with another being, but in a full communion with one's own Spirit. It also suggests that the sexual energy and the energy that allows us to connect with the Spirit are of fundamentally the same nature, and that the latter is nothing other than a refined and redirected form of the former. This conception fits quite well with the Taoist systems of inner alchemy, in which one works at refining and transmuting the sexual energy in order to generate the embryo of immortality, the subtle body in which the fullness of the Higher Self can be experienced permanently.

But let us return to the voice. Steiner describes how, after human beings had half of their sexual energy redirected (around the middle of the Lemurian epoch), some new organs appeared in the human body. The larynx was one of them. This establishes a direct connection between the transformed and spiritualised sexual energy and the larynx: as long as the hermaphrodite's sexual energy was 100% directed towards procreation, the larynx could not appear. Once part of the sexual energy was refined in order to start ‘catching’ the Spirit, the larynx started to develop. Now, if we try to understand the present function of our larynx, we see that through the voice we express our thoughts and our emotions, which is a way of giving them a more defined form. As soon as you start practising the exercises given in the first chapters of this book, you will realize that the throat friction makes the third eye more tangible, as if shaping it. You will tune into your third eye, and as soon as you start implementing the throat friction, the third eye will immediately be perceived more clearly and more intensely.

Steiner predicts that in the future of humankind, the larynx's capacity to give form will become extreme, and the creative power of the word will manifest even in the physical plane: just by saying a word, the corresponding object will be materialised. Even though staggering if one measures its implications, this concept is after all no different from the vac-siddhi or creative power of the word which, according to the Sanskrit texts, the ancient Indian rishis had mastered. This suggests that human beings are gradually gaining the capacity to create, similar to that of the Elohim in the Old Testament. In other words it presents human beings as creative gods in the making – a theme that runs through the whole of the western esoteric tradition, starting in Genesis when, Adam having eaten of the tree of knowledge, the Elohim exclaim: “Behold, the man is become as one of us.” (Genesis 3:22) All these considerations on the larynx lead one to think that there may be some symbolic meaning behind the fable that Adam's apple was the piece of the Chapter 2 – The Mysteries of the Larynx 27 fruit of the tree of knowledge that remained stuck in his throat. Interestingly, Steiner foresaw a crucial step in the long-term evolution of the larynx: the sexual force having been completely transmuted, the procreative function will no longer be implemented from the sexual organs but from the larynx. Human beings will then have gained the capacity to speak their children out.

Another of Steiner's visions which is quite consistent with several other sources of the western esoteric tradition, is that with the final transmutation of the sexual energy into the creative power of the voice will come the end of death: physical immortality. The end of the sexual organs means the end of the separation of human beings into two sexes. In the gospel of Philip, one of the most exciting of the Gnostic gospels, it is unequivocally stated that if ‘the woman’ had not been separated from ‘the man’, she would not have to die with ‘the man’, and it is the separation of the sexes that caused the beginning of death. The same text further indicates that as long as Eve was in Adam, there was no death. It is when she was separated from Adam that death began. If ‘the man’ becomes whole again, it will be the end of death.

This can be put in parallel with the gospel of Thomas, in which Jesus tells his disciples that it is by making the two one that they will become the sons of man, and move mountains by saying, “Mountain, move!”

Then the ‘lost Word’, on which the Masonic tradition is based, will have been recovered, and the Temple rebuilt forever. The alchemists often defined their art as a way of speeding up the natural processes of evolution of nature. For instance they considered that all the metals were on their way to becoming gold, and that by transmuting base metals into gold one does nothing other than achieve within a short time what nature would otherwise take a long time to accomplish. I will have several occasions in this book and others of the Clairvision Corpus to come back to the inner significance of the gold of the alchemists. According to them, their gold was ‘no common gold’. At this stage we could use this concept of ‘speeding up’ to define inner alchemy: inner alchemy aims at achieving now, transformations that humankind will only complete much later in its natural course of evolution.

The throat friction is designed to achieve an alchemical transformation of the larynx and start tapping from its creative power. In particular, in the Clairvision style of inner alchemy the larynx is used extensively to give shape and to ‘densify’ various structures of the body of energy, as you will start experiencing with the practices of Chapter 3.

2.4 Humming sound and the magic of bees

Sit in a meditation position, with your back extremely straight. Become aware of the cervical part of the spine, in the neck, and aim for a perfectly vertical position aligned with the rest of the back.

Keep your eyes closed.

Become aware in the larynx.

Start chanting a continuous humming, buzzing sound, making your throat vibrate. Make the sound while both exhaling and inhaling. Make short inhalations and long exhalations.

Remain aware of the physical vibration generated in your larynx by the buzzing.

Continue the practice for a few minutes. Then remain silent and motionless for a few more minutes, just feeling the vibration in the throat.

Tips

• This technique can be quite intoxicating. If practised long enough, it induces a slightly exhilarating altered state of consciousness. The effect is strongly reinforced by being aware in the third eye at the same time, according to the principles developed in the next chapter. • One way of practising this exercise is to make your humming sound resemble the buzzing of a bee. Then the practice becomes the bhrāmarin technique of Hatha-yoga. If this proves difficult, don't worry. Any humming sound will do, provided you create a tangible vibration which you can feel when placing your fingers on the protuberance of the larynx.

Bees, who are great experts in humming/buzzing sounds, are highly alchemical little creatures. Their connection with the sexual energy of plants is easy to observe. For instance, they help many plants to reproduce, by carrying pollen (the plant equivalent of semen) from one to another. They take the nectar from the reproductive parts of plants and turn it into honey.

Honey is a remarkable substance in many ways. It keeps for years without any preservation process – a very long time, especially if you compare it to the lifespan of a worker-bee, which is about one or two months. So the bees take a sexually-related product and turn it into a non-perishable substance. This of course reminds us of the alchemical processes by which the sexual force is transmuted and which result in the formation of the body of immortality. On a simpler level, royal jelly, another product of the hive, is highly sought after and regarded as a substance of longevity.

Honey, interestingly enough, has always been considered an excellent remedy for the throat, and bees a symbol of eloquence. In Hebrew one of the words for voice is dibur, coming from the root daber that gives the verb ledaber, to speak. And bee is dvora, coming from the same root. (The name Deborah comes from the Hebrew dvora, bee.)

Chapter 1 – Principles and Method of the Work

1.1 Do not force, do not concentrate, just be aware
Any authentic spiritual work has finding the Self as a primary
aim, and the Clairvision techniques are no exception. The essential
purpose of the process is to ‘be more’. It is common to hear that
human beings are only using a small fraction of their potential.
Their lives are confined within a limited range of thoughts,
emotions, sensations and other modalities of conscious existence,
and yet in most cases they remain completely unaware of these
limitations. Plato's myth of the cave, even though formulated 24
centuries ago, remains perfectly relevant: if you have always lived
inside a dark cellar, to you this cellar is not a cellar, it is the
whole universe. You can't even conceive of the wonder waiting for
you if you were to step out and walk in the real world. The work
suggested in this book is all about stepping out of the cellar and
starting to behold the magnificence of the world as seen from the
third eye.
In India, the coconut is considered to be of deep symbolic
significance and is used in fire rituals (yajñās) because it has ‘three
eyes’. Two of these are ‘blind’, meaning they can't be pierced to
reach the milk, while the third one, in the middle, opens to the
inside of the fruit. Similarly, the third eye is fundamentally the
gate that leads to the inner worlds. Therefore this eye allows you
to know yourself to a depth that surpasses all conventional
methods of psychotherapy or any method based on analysing with
the discursive mind.
Developing the third eye is a direct way of expanding your
conscious universe and discovering your essential values, so that
you may fathom your own mystery. Moreover, it is simple. Simple
does not necessarily mean easy, but this work does not require
complicated theories or lengthy discussions. Its direction is
essentially experiential, for the purpose is clearly to be more. And
being is the most simple thing in the world. A constant
preoccupation while writing this manual was to relate theory to
experience and to give techniques and keys to enable you to
perceive for yourself.
13
The first three chapters are devoted to getting into the main
aspects of the practice. The remaining chapters are more or less
independent of each other, so that it is quite possible to read them
in the order that feels most natural to you.
Before starting the first technique let us give some basic advice
regarding the principles and method of the work.
You should not be confused by the fact that our purpose is a new
clairvoyance, or vision of the Self. Truly, the Self is already there,
waiting for you in the background of yourself. You are not going
to ‘build’ the Self and its vision, you are going to reveal them or
rather allow them to reveal themselves. Spiritual development is
certainly a fight, but the main weapon in this fight is letting go.
In this perspective of opening it is not appropriate to concentrate,
to try hard or to force. If you were to do so, what would happen?
You would operate from your ordinary mind, meaning that
fraction of yourself with which you presently think – the
discursive mind that goes on talking in your head all the time. You
have been conditioned from an early age to do everything from
the mind. Therefore if you try to ‘do’ the perception business, you
are likely to remain caught in your talking mind – a layer which
is notoriously unfit for any form of spiritual perception.
Stop doing. Be fully aware, but just aware. Allow what is hidden in
the depths to come through and be revealed to your consciousness.
Don't do anything, let things happen. Flow with what comes.
In the physical world when you want something you have to strive
for it. But in the spiritual worlds everything is reversed, as on the
other side of a mirror. If you want something you have to let it
come to you. It is a new skill which has to be developed. It could be
called ‘active letting go’ or ‘creative letting go’. It is the capacity to
be transparent and to let states of consciousness be revealed
through you.
Just be aware, and everything will happen.
1.2 No creative visualisation, no imagination, just
awareness
In the context of the Clairvision techniques it is advised that you
never try to visualise or imagine anything. If images, lights,
spiritual beings or anything else comes to your vision, that is fine.
But don't make them up, don't try to induce them. Do not actively
visualise any pattern into your field of consciousness.
Chapter 1 – Principles and Method of the Work
14
One of the reasons is: suppose an angel comes to you, truly. If you
have been trying to visualise angels every morning for a few
months how will you know whether it is a true angel or one that
you have made up.
The problem is not to get into the perception of images or lights.
If you put the techniques into practice, visions will come. The real
problem is, once these visions come to you, how to discern what is
real from what is a fancy of the mind. So the advice is: be
spontaneous! Never plan or try to attract a vision. Just practise
the techniques and then see what comes. This will make it much
easier to reach the stage where you can rely on your vision.
This approach should not be understood as a criticism of the paths
that use creative visualisation or imagination. There are many
ways. What is true in the context of one particular system of
development does not necessarily apply to others. In the Clairvision
style of work the motto is “just awareness”.
1.3 Trust your experience
Something good to remember is that when there is nothing to
believe, there is nothing to doubt either! Since you are not trying
to make anything up, don't waste your time worrying about
whether you are really seeing what you are seeing. Trust your
experience.
Keep on practising according to our sober principles and your
clairvoyance will flourish, growing in precision and reliability. As
perceptions start repeating themselves it will become easier and
easier to trust them.
1.4 Don't analyse during an experience
Do not try to analyse as soon as something happens. Otherwise you
will lose your perception immediately, because you will be caught
straight back into the discursive mind. One of the keys to
perception lies in the cultivation of a superior form of stillness,
the capacity not to react when something takes place inside.
Once the experience is over you will have plenty of time to analyse
it. Anyway, it is not necessarily by analysing or discussing an
experience that you will derive the most benefit from it.
Experiences of consciousness are like seeds. It is when you ponder
on them silently, and digest them, that they will mature into
greater realisations.
Chapter 1 – Principles and Method of the Work
15
1.5 Psychic protection
Ordinarily, most people are psychically unprotected, for two main
reasons. Firstly they are not able to see when a negative energy is
around them and when caution is required. Secondly they have not
been trained to seal their aura to make it impermeable to external
influences if needed.
Being the organ of subtle perception and intuition and the main
switch of the body of energy, the third eye offers true answers
to these two problems.
Firstly it allows you to detect when your energetic environment is
such that prudence is needed.
Secondly it should be clear that our method does not only teach
you how to open your eye but also how to close your aura. From
the very first techniques the vibration in the third eye will begin
to awaken a higher density of protective energy in your aura. This
is not based on positive imagination or autosuggestion but on the
tangible perception of a vibrating energy all around you. Not only
during meditation will you be able to awaken this protective
energy but also in the most varied situations of your daily life,
such as taking a bus, walking in a busy street or dealing with your
boss or employees.
More systematic methods of sealing the aura will be developed at
length in Chapters 17, 18, 20 and 21 on protection. The capacity to
detect ley lines (Chapter 12) will also be of great help in
establishing a sound protective environment.
1.6 Practise, practise, practise...
I don't think much will be gained just by reading the 22 chapters
of this book. Whether you are young or old, healthy or sick, the
key to success in your spiritual quest lies in three words: practise,
practise, practise... It is certainly not necessary to withdraw from
activity and meditate all the time in order to reach a high level of
spiritual practice. You can follow this book without devoting more
than ten to twenty minutes daily to meditation exercises. But a
number of practices will be suggested that are designed to be
implemented during your daily activities. Try to make them
habits, and to incorporate this work as much as possible in your
natural way of life.
After exploring many different ways of self-transformation one
often comes to the conclusion that it is not so much the method
or the style of work that matters, as far as realisation is
Chapter 1 – Principles and Method of the Work
16
concerned. What makes all the difference is your capacity to
persist along a path. Looking at the lives of a number of great
masters, one discovers that they did not necessarily start at a high
level. Sometimes they had to face far greater obstacles than those
you may find on your way. But they persisted, persisted,
persisted... to the point where no obstacle could resist and huge
enlightenments opened to them. ‘Supernatural persistence’ is one
of the most essential qualities a seeker can develop. The people who
seem to get into high states of consciousness without having to go
through any spiritual discipline are usually people who have gone
through long and intense processes in their former lives.
Whatever level you may be at, it is by constant attention to all the
aspects of the practice that success will come to you.
“Those who say they will die first and then rise are in error. If
they do not first receive the resurrection while they live, when
they die they will receive nothing.” (The Gospel of Philip,
Tranlated by Wesley W. Isenberg, in The Other Bible, Harper and
Row, 1984, p.96)
1.7 Why delay?
Start the practices as you read the book.
In terms of self-transformation, tomorrow means never.
Whatever can be done, do it right now.
Wasted time is known by God.
1.8 Play with the techniques
If so many sages have striven towards spiritual enlightenment, it
is because it is the greatest fun one can have on Earth. If your
views on spirituality are grim and austere, then you are
completely missing the point. The most enlightened masters I have
met were men and women who laughed a lot. So please, be really
serious with the Clairvision techniques: play with them. If you can
get as involved and serious as a child who is playing (and if you
persist) then your chances of success are great.
1.9 Remain relative
One of the fascinating discoveries that results from understanding
the writings of highly enlightened people is that they have seen
the world in completely different ways.
In the Indian tradition for instance, take the Jnanis and Sri
Aurobindo. In the works of Sri Aurobindo, the world is presented
Chapter 1 – Principles and Method of the Work
17
as the progressive incarnation of a divine perfection. Death is a
mockery, and the Work aims at physical immortality through an
enlightenment of physical matter. To the Jnanis, on the other
hand, incarnated life is a fatal mistake. Actually to the Jnanis the
whole universe is a mistake, a sort of transient, foul and
nauseating emanation. And the only purpose of life is to take a
one-way ticket out of it as quickly as possible.
Sri Aurobindo was universally acclaimed in India as one of the most
enlightened yogis of all time. But do not think that the Jnanis are
shallow. A jnana-yogi such as Nisargadatta Maharaj, to take a recent
example, has deeply impressed his generation, East and West, by
the immensity of his states of consciousness.
There is no easy way around this fact: depending on where you are
looking from, you see the universe and its finality completely
differently. Please ponder upon this, for it seems to me one of the
best antidotes for dogma. Whatever your views are, don't make
them a prison. Always leave space to change your mind and your
system of the world.
To the people who wish to engage in the Clairvision style of work,
I particularly recommend two main bodies of writings: those of
the Gnostics, and those of Rudolf Steiner. The reasons for this
choice are that they both arose from vast enlightenments, they
are full of wisdom and practical information regarding the path of
inner alchemy and the western esoteric tradition, and last but not
least... they are totally irreconcilable on a number of key points! If
you want to operate with the two systems, you have no choice but
to remain relative as to the value of mental conceptions.
Once more, it is not what you believe or what you have read that
will change your spiritual life, it is what you can experience
directly. Hence the work suggested in this book, which aims at
giving you the capacity to tune in and reach your own perception
of spiritual worlds.