Esoteric Lesson
Some complain, for example, that they get terrible headaches, but it would be best if they did not complain at all, but simply persevered, even if it happens that their head seems to be about to burst. It is precisely through the power to persevere that one makes progress, and after a while such phenomena (which can also be unpleasant sensations of heat, hearing, or smell) cease of their own accord. Then something has been overcome, and the real experience of the etheric world begins. But esotericists are sometimes very fearful of such things, even though they know that fear is something that always wants to come to us when we go through our training, and that we must overcome it in order to become stronger and stronger. We know that our path upward leads through suffering and difficulties. Nor must we forget the truth of karma, a consciousness that must always help us to bear everything. For example, one can become ill as a result of development in a previous life, and through this struggle against the forces of illness, a degree of strength can be regained that the soul gained in a previous life. To keep going and see all difficulties in the right light is the great power that leads us upward. Also, meditating on our motto with the right feelings: E.D.N. - I.C.M. - P.S.S.R.
Cite:
GA 266c/1913-04-11/p039 · edition English