| Distorting..................8 | |
| At first you are unaware that you are distorting. You are even less aware why. As you | 70 QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS |
| anything to anyone. When you seek mastery by distorting the attribute of power, you do so for | 84 LOVE, POWER, SERENITY AS DIVINE ATTRIBUTES AND AS DISTORTIONS |
| laws and conditions of the little ego, thereby distorting the greater laws. Out of need and weakness | 132 THE FUNCTION OF THE EGO IN RELATIONSHIP TO THE REAL SELF |
| the other levels can affect the body by distorting it, creating all sorts of symptoms and, when | 193 RÉSUMÉ OF THE BASIC PRINCIPLES OF THE PATHWORK: ITS AIM AND PROCESS |
| and no longer project it onto others while distorting reality in order to be able to do | 202 PSYCHIC INTERACTION OF NEGATIVITY |
| up your stake in hiding, projecting, denying, and distorting; it grows from giving up an attitude that | 202 PSYCHIC INTERACTION OF NEGATIVITY |
| other person responsible. You did this either by distorting reality or by using something that was partly | 202 PSYCHIC INTERACTION OF NEGATIVITY |
| frustration with hate, then you are constantly confused, distorting reality, and blind to the magnificence of Creation | 240 ASPECTS OF THE ANATOMY OF LOVE: SELF-LOVE, STRUCTURE, FREEDOM |
| Distortion..................289 | |
| not only locks the door, but causes a distortion in the soul which then can elicit the | 4 WORLD WEARINESS |
| like to discuss in this connection. Through the distortion in the soul, which I can call the | 6 THE HUMAN ROLE IN THE SPIRITUAL AND MATERIAL UNIVERSES |
| With this help you can remove any emotional distortion. Some of my friends have already experienced the | 7 ASKING FOR HELP AND HELPING OTHERS |
| or they may be the symptom of a distortion in the soul that can be traced to | 7 ASKING FOR HELP AND HELPING OTHERS |
| into existence by itself; it is only a distortion of something that was once divine. You can | 20 GOD: THE CREATION |
| what happens to others does not matter. This distortion may serve people's lowest instincts. It is your | 23 QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS |
| is because in your own way there is distortion in your soul which tends, perhaps, to cause | 25 THE PATH: INITIAL STEPS, PREPARATION, AND DECISIONS |
| there is no fault that is not a distortion of something good and pure. Try this as | 31 SHAME |
| I will then show you the harm the distortion does, what is connected with it, and what | 32 DECISION-MAKING |
| -- and to retain a positive attitude. The distortion is in the struggle of self-will against accepting | 37 ACCEPTANCE, RIGHT AND WRONG WAY -- DIGNITY IN HUMILITY |
| to deny that hardship can exist is a distortion of a healthy and positive attitude. To find | 37 ACCEPTANCE, RIGHT AND WRONG WAY -- DIGNITY IN HUMILITY |
| and struggling -- and refusing life's lessons. Another distortion of a divine attribute concerns dignity. Dignity is | 37 ACCEPTANCE, RIGHT AND WRONG WAY -- DIGNITY IN HUMILITY |
| concerns dignity. Dignity is a divine aspect. Its distortion is pride. How often do we notice human | 37 ACCEPTANCE, RIGHT AND WRONG WAY -- DIGNITY IN HUMILITY |
| yourself into having thoughts that are not true. Distortion is never the right way. The way must | 37 ACCEPTANCE, RIGHT AND WRONG WAY -- DIGNITY IN HUMILITY |
| reeducation of your emotions, long-conditioned to follow a distortion, takes time, effort, and patience. So, as one | 38 IMAGES |
| exists in you and you are living in distortion and illusion since all images are just that | 52 THE GOD-IMAGE |
| feels deflated and lifeless. This indicates that the distortion about God has progressed to a considerable degree | 52 THE GOD-IMAGE |
| to an extreme that must be wrong. This distortion usually happens quite deliberately, although unconsciously. One seeks | 52 THE GOD-IMAGE |
| force in its wake. It is merely a distortion. They are not two separate forces. It is | 52 THE GOD-IMAGE |
| no matter how much you know that the distortion is wrong, the knowledge is actually of no | 53 SELF-LOVE |
| decisions is a prerequisite to healthy living. The distortion in the mind and soul contributes to the | 53 SELF-LOVE |
| pure form as well as in deviation and distortion. I will discuss these principles from the psychological | 55 THREE COSMIC PRINCIPLES: THE EXPANDING, THE RESTRICTING, AND THE STATIC PRINCIPLES |
| an inner life, this attitude shows the same distortion. It is true that no introspection and an | 55 THREE COSMIC PRINCIPLES: THE EXPANDING, THE RESTRICTING, AND THE STATIC PRINCIPLES |
| a truth. In the case of self-responsibility, such distortion can happen by associating this concept with unhealthy | 56 CAPACITY TO WISH -- HEALTHY AND UNHEALTHY MOTIVES IN DESIRE |
| the layers of falsity and half- truth, of distortion and confusion, can the great Universal Truth, as | 56 CAPACITY TO WISH -- HEALTHY AND UNHEALTHY MOTIVES IN DESIRE |
| hardship you yourself created by your ignorance or distortion of truth. In order to be happy, you | 59 QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS |
| tested and go through hardships is also a distortion, no less monstrous than the first. God is | 60 THE ABYSS OF ILLUSION -- FREEDOM AND SELF-RESPONSIBILITY |
| with a direct view as to what is distortion and what is truth. With a teaching or | 61 QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS |
| weak, but other attributes. It may be a distortion of love that causes the weakness. Or, the | 66 SHAME OF THE HIGHER SELF |
| all know, is nothing but ignorance. It is distortion. No one is wicked or bad or malicious | 66 SHAME OF THE HIGHER SELF |
| an unhealthy current and may add to a distortion, so that the distortion is fortified by the | 67 QUESTION AND ANSWERS |
| may add to a distortion, so that the distortion is fortified by the good quality. In such | 67 QUESTION AND ANSWERS |
| fortifies a bad one, but becomes also a distortion in itself. If we focus our attention on | 67 QUESTION AND ANSWERS |
| the person's reaction to you. That is a distortion. At first you are unaware that you are | 70 QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS |
| Actually, this is endearing, but people, in their distortion, are ashamed as much of these endearing and | 70 QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS |
| only when you recognize your own unconscious childish distortion about love will you be able to sense | 72 THE FEAR OF LOVING |
| it is really just that and not a distortion, as for instance inertia, cannot be a hindrance | 72 THE FEAR OF LOVING |
| image of God, because it would be a distortion. ANSWER: They cannot create an image of God | 78 QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS |
| will now understand that such overeagerness is a distortion, because the urgency of your need is not | 80 COOPERATION, COMMUNICATION, UNION |
| A one-sided love is its own proof of distortion and deviation. In order to avoid that, you | 80 COOPERATION, COMMUNICATION, UNION |
| as righteous and holy, and vice versa. The distortion of truth into falsehood is part of the | 81 CONFLICTS IN THE WORLD OF DUALITY |
| the supposed safety in sameness. Stagnation is a distortion of the timeless element of being. You may | 81 CONFLICTS IN THE WORLD OF DUALITY |
| you first have to go through your own distortion, in which death seems bleak and frightening. Only | 81 CONFLICTS IN THE WORLD OF DUALITY |
| not the kind that arises out of the distortion of power. Simultaneously, the submissive type may also | 84 LOVE, POWER, SERENITY AS DIVINE ATTRIBUTES AND AS DISTORTIONS |
| as a rigid, one-sided solution. This is a distortion of the divine attribute of love. The idealized | 84 LOVE, POWER, SERENITY AS DIVINE ATTRIBUTES AND AS DISTORTIONS |
| threat as it did while you were in distortion. It will not diminish your worth in your | 84 LOVE, POWER, SERENITY AS DIVINE ATTRIBUTES AND AS DISTORTIONS |
| circumstances. QUESTION: You have shown us how the distortion of these attributes manifests. You have also shown | 84 LOVE, POWER, SERENITY AS DIVINE ATTRIBUTES AND AS DISTORTIONS |
| serenity. Now my question is: Is there a distortion of this unification itself where one believes one | 84 LOVE, POWER, SERENITY AS DIVINE ATTRIBUTES AND AS DISTORTIONS |
| that they are mutually exclusive, because of the distortion. Every person has to find in their work | 84 LOVE, POWER, SERENITY AS DIVINE ATTRIBUTES AND AS DISTORTIONS |
| represents an acquisitiveness. This may come from a distortion of the power to have and to possess | 84 LOVE, POWER, SERENITY AS DIVINE ATTRIBUTES AND AS DISTORTIONS |
| and to possess. It may come from a distortion of love: If I cannot have love, I | 84 LOVE, POWER, SERENITY AS DIVINE ATTRIBUTES AND AS DISTORTIONS |
| two basic human instincts as they appear in distortion: the instinct of self-preservation and the instinct of | 85 DISTORTIONS OF THE INSTINCTS OF SELF-PRESERVATION AND PROCREATION |
| are psychological disturbances and immaturities, where there is distortion and unreality, these instincts become warped and no | 85 DISTORTIONS OF THE INSTINCTS OF SELF-PRESERVATION AND PROCREATION |
| soul movements. The soul movement of this particular distortion is a tight holding down of a force | 85 DISTORTIONS OF THE INSTINCTS OF SELF-PRESERVATION AND PROCREATION |
| the entire personality. It depends on where the distortion exists and to what degree. The restriction prevents | 85 DISTORTIONS OF THE INSTINCTS OF SELF-PRESERVATION AND PROCREATION |
| ideas and feelings as long as the basic distortion is not changed. It all amounts to an | 85 DISTORTIONS OF THE INSTINCTS OF SELF-PRESERVATION AND PROCREATION |
| is connected with the instinct of procreation. In distortion, when psychological difficulties are not consciously dealt with | 85 DISTORTIONS OF THE INSTINCTS OF SELF-PRESERVATION AND PROCREATION |
| into a wrong channel, thereby generating poison. In distortion, the following tendencies come into being, again according | 85 DISTORTIONS OF THE INSTINCTS OF SELF-PRESERVATION AND PROCREATION |
| craving motion I described in this lecture, the distortion of the instinct of procreation, causes the other | 85 DISTORTIONS OF THE INSTINCTS OF SELF-PRESERVATION AND PROCREATION |
| is too grabbing. On the other hand, the distortion of the instinct of self-preservation, creating the restrictive | 85 DISTORTIONS OF THE INSTINCTS OF SELF-PRESERVATION AND PROCREATION |
| still bring you safety and security through the distortion of the instinct of self-preservation, as well as | 85 DISTORTIONS OF THE INSTINCTS OF SELF-PRESERVATION AND PROCREATION |
| as well as happiness and pleasure through the distortion of the instinct of procreation. This is always | 85 DISTORTIONS OF THE INSTINCTS OF SELF-PRESERVATION AND PROCREATION |
| as they appear in harmony and also in distortion. I should now like to continue with this | 86 THE INSTINCTS OF SELF-PRESERVATION AND PROCREATION IN CONFLICT |
| instincts combat one another, and also the particular distortion that each instinct causes when the soul is | 86 THE INSTINCTS OF SELF-PRESERVATION AND PROCREATION IN CONFLICT |
| instinct causes when the soul is disturbed. A distortion results from adopting a particular attitude and rigidly | 86 THE INSTINCTS OF SELF-PRESERVATION AND PROCREATION IN CONFLICT |
| the individual -- are warded off. But in distortion the dangers are imagined and unrealistic. When a | 86 THE INSTINCTS OF SELF-PRESERVATION AND PROCREATION IN CONFLICT |
| will help you master life. In general, the distortion of the instinct of self-preservation leads the soul | 86 THE INSTINCTS OF SELF-PRESERVATION AND PROCREATION IN CONFLICT |
| the other, this pleasure is not forthcoming, the distortion of the procreation instinct becomes conducive to the | 86 THE INSTINCTS OF SELF-PRESERVATION AND PROCREATION IN CONFLICT |
| better. Satisfaction becomes even less possible as the distortion increases. The two primary pseudo-solutions, present to some | 86 THE INSTINCTS OF SELF-PRESERVATION AND PROCREATION IN CONFLICT |
| strength in the human soul, and since the distortion of one invariably causes distortion of the other | 86 THE INSTINCTS OF SELF-PRESERVATION AND PROCREATION IN CONFLICT |
| and since the distortion of one invariably causes distortion of the other, both pseudo-solutions will be found | 86 THE INSTINCTS OF SELF-PRESERVATION AND PROCREATION IN CONFLICT |
| This is a very good question. Any conflict, distortion, or illusion interferes with creative processes, the search | 87 THE NEXT PHASE ON THE PATH; QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS |
| addition to the separation and loneliness that this distortion generates, there is the added yoke of feeling | 87 THE NEXT PHASE ON THE PATH; QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS |
| such terminology may be used when finding a distortion or wrong conclusion. It is true that certain | 87 THE NEXT PHASE ON THE PATH; QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS |
| you may believe, but of false religion. This distortion is promoted by giving to falsehood the appearance | 88 RELIGION: TRUE AND FALSE |
| For none of you are free of the distortion of spirituality; namely, its use as escape, as | 88 RELIGION: TRUE AND FALSE |
| They are convinced they do not have any distortion in this respect. They do not connect certain | 88 RELIGION: TRUE AND FALSE |
| unhealthy passivity is as much an indication of distortion as an unhealthy overactivity, haste, pressure, and compulsion | 91 QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS |
| become quite frantic when you have discovered a distortion and are not yet able to let go | 92 REPRESSED NEEDS - RELINQUISHING BLIND NEEDS - PRIMARY AND SECONDARY REACTIONS |
| reason missing. You have to accept that this distortion spoils things for you, rather than bringing you | 92 REPRESSED NEEDS - RELINQUISHING BLIND NEEDS - PRIMARY AND SECONDARY REACTIONS |
| by the afflicted part of your soul. The distortion, in combination with the general misconceptions, increases the | 94 SIN AND NEUROSIS -- UNIFYING THE INNER SPLIT |
| you see and experience that this is a distortion, you will eventually grow out of it. As | 95 SELF-ALIENATION AND THE WAY BACK TO THE REAL SELF |
| always, you first have to fully experience the distortion before you can come out of it. The | 95 SELF-ALIENATION AND THE WAY BACK TO THE REAL SELF |
| a variety of inner sources. One is a distortion of goodwill. With this comes the urgency of | 96 QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS; COMMENTS ON LAZINESS AS SYMPTOM OF SELF-ALIENATION |
| aggressiveness, asking yourself whether it is not a distortion of hurt. Then own up to the hurt | 97 PERFECTIONISM OBSTRUCTS HAPPINESS -- MANIPULATION OF EMOTIONS |
| by adding his or her own, but different, distortion to the whole picture. It may be a | 99 FALSIFIED IMPRESSIONS OF PARENTS: THEIR CAUSE AND CURE |
| much the better. I still say, however, that distortion of truth affects you, and therefore it ought | 99 FALSIFIED IMPRESSIONS OF PARENTS: THEIR CAUSE AND CURE |
| will it take for people to correct any distortion of truth, not only of this particular one | 99 FALSIFIED IMPRESSIONS OF PARENTS: THEIR CAUSE AND CURE |
| organically and naturally, it perceives the truth. No distortion exists here. But it is also possible that | 99 FALSIFIED IMPRESSIONS OF PARENTS: THEIR CAUSE AND CURE |
| a free admission of the worst fault or distortion will bring forth acceptance, while a defense against | 101 THE DEFENSE |
| immaturity. In other words, the result of inner distortion produces what is called sin. The common denominator | 102 THE SEVEN CARDINAL SINS |
| urge per se is sinful lust is utter distortion. As I have often said, sexuality is a | 102 THE SEVEN CARDINAL SINS |
| question. If real love is greater than the distortion, it will not dissolve the distortion, but the | 106 SADNESS VERSUS DEPRESSION -- RELATIONSHIP |
| than the distortion, it will not dissolve the distortion, but the weight of love will be greater | 106 SADNESS VERSUS DEPRESSION -- RELATIONSHIP |
| it. And there is the unhealthy version, the distortion, in which one wishes merely to vegetate and | 108 FUNDAMENTAL GUILT FOR NOT LOVING -- OBLIGATIONS |
| after having recognized in all its depth a distortion or a negative attitude in themselves. If all | 112 HUMANITYS RELATIONSHIP TO TIME |
| be true. You then understood how this hidden distortion destroyed so many possibilities for fully living, for | 113 IDENTIFICATION WITH THE SELF |
| to change quickly. As with any other inner distortion we have been concerned with on this path | 113 IDENTIFICATION WITH THE SELF |
| national, religious, and political groups. In this psychological distortion, even minority groups, rebelling against the majority, can | 113 IDENTIFICATION WITH THE SELF |
| whom you depend. In this hidden using, the distortion of your imagined love can be found. You | 113 IDENTIFICATION WITH THE SELF |
| you are aware of and properly evaluate the distortion, the true picture can be assimilated into the | 115 PERCEPTION, DETERMINATION, LOVE AS ASPECTS OF CONSCIOUSNESS |
| Every inner problem you uncover is always a distortion of higher reality. When you are governed by | 116 REACHING THE SPIRITUAL CENTER-STRUGGLE BETWEEN LOWER SELF AND SUPERIMPOSED CONSCIENCE |
| life force. It consists rather of ignorance, blindness, distortion, and lack of awareness. Ignoring truth, it must | 125 TRANSITION FROM THE NO-CURRENT TO THE YES-CURRENT |
| of the parties, I know I am in distortion. I wish to be in possession of the | 126 CONTACT WITH THE LIFE FORCE |
| out with unrealistic self-appraisal. This selfish form of distortion automatically brings about a distorted form of other- | 127 EVOLUTION'S FOUR STAGES: AUTOMATIC REFLEXES, AWARENESS, UNDERSTANDING, KNOWING |
| one so that it becomes an unhealthy childish distortion, the other will follow suit. The same holds | 127 EVOLUTION'S FOUR STAGES: AUTOMATIC REFLEXES, AWARENESS, UNDERSTANDING, KNOWING |
| aspects. They strive toward healing the place where distortion exists, toward restoring and filling the places of | 129 WINNER VERSUS LOSER: INTERPLAY BETWEEN THE SELF AND CREATIVE FORCES |
| as it comes from the source -- without distortion, without imaging, without limiting? Is that the way | 131 INTERACTION BETWEEN EXPRESSION AND IMPRESSION |
| terms. This striving may lead them to the distortion of an over-developed ego. It is a dead-end | 132 THE FUNCTION OF THE EGO IN RELATIONSHIP TO THE REAL SELF |
| this only after you have shed the childish distortion of this knowledge that is flawed because of | 132 THE FUNCTION OF THE EGO IN RELATIONSHIP TO THE REAL SELF |
| to struggle for survival and subsistence. It was distortion and misconception that have brought you to this | 132 THE FUNCTION OF THE EGO IN RELATIONSHIP TO THE REAL SELF |
| what I spoke of in this lecture: one distortion creates an opposite distortion. Because your ego is | 132 THE FUNCTION OF THE EGO IN RELATIONSHIP TO THE REAL SELF |
| in this lecture: one distortion creates an opposite distortion. Because your ego is underdeveloped in the areas | 132 THE FUNCTION OF THE EGO IN RELATIONSHIP TO THE REAL SELF |
| capacity is hindered by such grave impairments and distortion that the overall life is disturbed, disharmonious, unfulfilled | 133 LOVE: NOT A COMMANDMENT, BUT SPONTANEOUS SOUL MOVEMENT OF THE INNER SELF |
| or conflict, come about. The particular duality or distortion of the unifying principle of mobility in relaxation | 135 MOBILITY IN RELAXATION-SUFFERING THROUGH ATTACHMENT OF LIFE FORCE TO NEGATIVE SITUATIONS |
| intellectual approach, you should easily see that the distortion of mobility and relaxation is the primary duality | 135 MOBILITY IN RELAXATION-SUFFERING THROUGH ATTACHMENT OF LIFE FORCE TO NEGATIVE SITUATIONS |
| your own psychic forces, you will find this distortion of movement where you stagnate because non-movement seems | 135 MOBILITY IN RELAXATION-SUFFERING THROUGH ATTACHMENT OF LIFE FORCE TO NEGATIVE SITUATIONS |
| moment you can acknowledge this confusion and the distortion of your personal cosmic forces, you will, by | 135 MOBILITY IN RELAXATION-SUFFERING THROUGH ATTACHMENT OF LIFE FORCE TO NEGATIVE SITUATIONS |
| evil. Real destructiveness is, therefore, not only a distortion of truth and of the constructive universal powers | 135 MOBILITY IN RELAXATION-SUFFERING THROUGH ATTACHMENT OF LIFE FORCE TO NEGATIVE SITUATIONS |
| and of the constructive universal powers, but a distortion that must be permeated with the powerful life | 135 MOBILITY IN RELAXATION-SUFFERING THROUGH ATTACHMENT OF LIFE FORCE TO NEGATIVE SITUATIONS |