The Mahdi Times The Mahdi Times Issue #26 January 2015 | Page 114

and who have foregone the
ecstasy of Absorption by
THE ALL, in order to help
the race on its upward
journey along The Path.
But, they belong to the
Universe and are subject to
its conditions - they are
mortal - and their plane is
below that of Absolute
Spirit.
Only the most advanced
Hermetists are able to
grasp the Inner Teachings
regarding the state of
existence and the powers
manifested on the Spiritual
Planes. The phenomena is
so much higher than that
of the Mental Planes that a
confusion of ideas would
surely result from an
attempt to describe the
same. Only those whose
minds have been carefully
trained along the lines of
the Hermetic Philosophy
for years - yes, those who
have brought with them
from other incarnations the
knowledge acquired
previously - can
comprehend just what is
meant by the Teaching
regarding these Spiritual
Planes. And much of these

Inner Teachings is held by
the Hermetists as being too
sacred, important and even
dangerous for general
public dissemination.
The intelligent student may
recognize what we mean by
this when we state that the
meaning of "Spirit" as used
by the Hermetists is akin to
"Living Power", "Animated
Force", "Inner Essence",
"Essence of Life", etc,
which meaning must not be
confounded with that
usually and commonly
employed in connection
with the term, i.e,
"religious, ecclesiastical,
spiritual, ethereal, holy,"
etc, etc. To occultists the
word "Spirit" is used in the
sense of "The Animating
Principle" carrying with it
the idea of Power, Living
Energy, Mystic Force, etc.
And occultists know that
that which is known to
them as "Spiritual Power"
may be employed for evil
as well as good ends (in
accordance with the
Principle of Polarity), a fact
which has been recognized
by the majority of religions
in their conceptions of