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Within His skull exist daily thirteen thousand myriadsof Worlds, which draw their existence from Him, and by Him are upheld.
I.R.Q. iii. 43.
 
 

0. Let the Practicus study the textbooks of astronomy,travel, if need be, to a land where the sun and stars are visible, andobserve the heavens with the best telescopes to which he may have access.Let him commit to memory the
principal facts, and (at least roughly) the figures ofthe science.

1. Now, since these figures will leave no direct impressionwith any precision upon his mind, let him adopt this practice "A".

A. Let the practicus be seated before a bare square table,and let an unknown number of small similar objects be thrown by his chelafrom time to time upon
the table, and by that chela be hastily gathered up.

Let the Practicus declare at the glance, and the chelaconfirm by his count, the number of such objects.

The practice should be for a quarter of an hour thricedaily. The maximum number of objects should at first be seven. This maximumshould increase by one at
each practice, provided that not a single mistake ismade by the Practicus in appreciating the number thrown.

This practice should continue assiduously for at leastone year.

The quickness of the chela in gathering up the objectsis expected to increase with time. The practic need not be limited to aquarter of an hour thrice daily after a time, but increased with discretion.Care must be taken to detect the first symptoms of fatigue, and to stop,if possible, even before it threatens. The practised psychologist learnsto recognise even minute hesitations that mark the forcing of the attention.
 

2. Alternating with the above, let the Practicus beginthis practice "B". It is assumed that he has thoroughly conquered the elementarydifficulties of Dharana, and is able to prevent mental pictures from alteringshape, size and colour against his will.

B. Seated in the open air, let him endeavour to form acomplete mental picture of himself and his immediate surroundings. It isimportant that he should be in the
centre of such picture, and able to look freely in alldirections. the finished picture should be a complete consciousness ofthe whole fixed, clear, and definite.

Let him gradually add to this picture by including objectsmore and more distant, until he have an image of the whole field of vision.

He will probably discover that it is very difficult toincrease the apparent size of the picture as he proceeds, and it shouldbe his most earnest endeavour to do so. he should seek in particular toappreciate distances, almost to the point of combatting the laws of perspective.
 

3. These practices "A" and "B" accomplished, and his studiesin astronomy completed, let him attempt this practice "C".
 

C. Let the Practicus form a mental picture of the Earth,in particular striving to realize the size of the Earth in comparison withhimself, and let him not be
content until by assiduity he has well succeeded.

Let him add the moon, keeping well in mind the relativesizes of, and the distance between, the planet and its satellite.

He will probably find the final trick of the mind to bea constant disappearance of the image, and the appearance of the same upona smaller scale. This trick
he must outwit by constancy of endeavour.

He will then in add in turn Venus, Mars, Mercury and theSun.

It is permissible at this stage to change the point ofview to the centre of the Sun, and to do so may add stability to the conception.

The Practicus may then a the Asteroids, Jupiter, Saturn,Uranus and Neptune. The utmost attention to detail is now necessary , asthe picture is highly complex, apart from the difficulty of appreciatingrelative size and distance.

Let this picture be practised month after month untilit is absolutely perfect. The tendency which may manifest itself to passinto Dhyana and Samadhi must be
resolutely combated with the whole strength of the mind.

Let the Practicus then re-commence the picture, startingfrom the Sun, and adding the planets one by one, each with its proper motion,until he have an image
perfect in all respect of the Solar System as it actuallyexists. Let him particularly note that unless the apparent size approximateto the real, his practice is wasted. Let him then add a comet to the picture;he may find, perhaps that the path of this comet may assist him to expandthe sphere of his mental vision until it include a star.

And thus, gathering one star after another, let his contemplationbecome vast as the heaven, in space and time ever aspiring to the perceptionof the Body of Nuit; yea, the Body of Nuit.

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