Research on literary translation

Dear Gail:

Vision, or imagination, which I started out talking about in the last letter is perhaps the most misunderstood and misused word of all those defined, except, I guess mysticism.

In modern popular usage ‘vision of the mystic’ is used as a term of reproach and disapproval by the practical man. If he doesn’t identify it with hallucinations then it becomes a word which is quickly dismissed for it tends to signify to him something which is off-beat and not at all practical for making money which is the goal of all ordinary men.

This is a rather dangerous trend for anyone who believes in the mystical vision as a true road to God, for so many will dismiss it with a wave of the hand as belonging to the dreamy, nutty type of person. You read of this in the book by Monica Baldwin, I Leap Over the Wall to Freedom! Her experience in trying to explain her way of life as a nun was literally lost on her readers.

You will find that the more you learn the less you can speak to others about your experiences, or the spiritual life.

They don’t want this for it is beyond their senses and they live in the world of physical senses. To discuss anything with anyone of this nature will destroy your inner powers, thoughts and confidences! Some persons are destructive in nature, and will want to tear down your dreams! There is an old saying which goes like this: “To destroy a man, destroy his dreams!” The best way to do that is to use the weapon of ridicule—guns, cannons, bombs, sermons or propaganda will not do the job as effectively as ridicule! It will drive a person insane if his mate uses ridicule constantly.

Where is all this leading? Simply this that your power of

imagination is the greatest of all your powers. You can use it for success in any field. Anything about which you can dream has already been established on this earth—so if you can imagine something which is not here then you are on the way to success or failure—it depends upon how the public accepts your visions.

In this letter I am going to explain something to you which is well known in the field of spiritual psychology, but you will hardly ever hear of it in any books. Occasionally I find a book which gives the subject treatment, but generally it is glossed over and not discussed at all.

This is known in VARDAN as the ‘LAW OF REVERSED EFFORT!’ This law is a practical law of nature concerned only with man, for man is the only animal on earth that can make use of his imaginative powers! This law is concerned with the imagination. It goes like this: The more you try to put your imaginative powers upon something in concentrated effort the less you can do it. The harder one struggles to achieve some goal, the more difficulty he will have to overcome; difficulty caused, at least in part, by the strain of his effort. “You tried too hard, relax . . . take it easy, and try again . . .” are frequently heard expressions. It means to try not to force results!

Take for example when one is trying to ride a bicycle through rocks on a road, trying to avoid hitting the large ones, he is so conscious of hitting the rocks he’ll probably do so. Or if a man tries to walk across a small plank from one building to another at the tenth floor his mind would be on falling and not on the walking. You see this law is concerned with imagining and feeling! What you image must have feeling—therefore the negative imaging is more likely to be effective than the positive imaging because the negative has feeling with it!

So you see that anytime you set up an image there must be enthusiasm with it. It would be good to acquaint yourself with words—and in your reading occasionally read a book on semantics (the study of words) for this will give you a background on the meaning of words—it will broaden you to the effect of understanding people more easily—and writers whose books you are reading. Put a small dictionary (paperback will do) and a thesaurus by your bed and if necessary use it when you do not understand what the writer means when you come across certain words! I would also suggest that you take your own interpretation of what the writer said, because many times he will write completely out of his reactive mind and cannot make good sense!

While on this let me say that every field has its own vocabulary—lawyers talk to one another in a lingo that outsiders do not understand; doctors do the same; hippies and beatniks do likewise; and plumbers do also. So you will find in the field of occultism, spiritualism, mysticism and anything to do with the spirit an entirely different vocabulary than you’ve met with before. There is a dictionary on mysticism and its terminology. I don’t know whether there is one in the library, however. Problem here is—there is hardly any set level for the reader to understand different words. For example, you might have Hindu words explaining certain things in mysticism, Christian words, or other foreign language words! These could be anything and leave you as puzzled as before reading! However, you’ll find the language of the mystics to be entirely different from the usual semantics, consequently, it takes a bit of understanding to comprehend their meaning.

Back to the Law of Reversed Effort!

In order to handle this law many of the mystics have taken up a phase of concentration upon God. This is difficult—for

the mind will not be forced into doing anything—however, it can be led. The whole trick is to get the mind or Soul interested in something, then it stays with this until the cycle of action is over! E.g., concentration is not recommended for anyone who is endeavoring to become a mystic. Only contemplation and meditation! You can meditate upon something if you think about it, live it and hold it to yourself with great enthusiasm. But to contemplate on something is different—you take a line from a poem, scriptural verse or saying and keep going over it, wondering what the author meant—what it means to you—how it applies to philosophy, or looking at it in a hundred different ways but never trying to hold it, force it or keep it, simply being interested in it, that holds the attention—this is the way one beats the Law of Reversed Effort!

If you don’t want something to happen in your life, it’s best to go off and get interested in other matters. How do you do this? Start a big fight with somebody completely off in another direction which draws your interest that way!

Anything which shocks the mind out of thinking about present troubles—let it be good though!

This law of Reversed Effort is concerned with automaticity and will work out compulsion when survival is threatened. It jiggers up the idea that something is going to happen which isn’t true, but you can beat this by the above method.

More later.

Sincerely, Paul

10. Mysticism and Magic