Living Consciously: Grasping Reality

"It is necessary to possess a sense of reality to avoid being seduced by the fake reflections of the imagination which lead to error or make the individual deviate from the course of logic that illuminates every good criterion."
(Lecture given in Montevideo, March 21st, 1939 by Carlos Bernardo Gonzalez Pecotche*)

"I would like to demonstrate in the course of this lecture the direct influence of the thought on mental activities. This will illustrate how Logosophy orients the individual towards the very depths of the great human problems, and as it teaches with powerful elements of good judgment the means to behave successfully and happily in life, it also indicates where the roots of all the evils that affect humankind can be found...

As you must have observed, time is one of the elements which one must always depend on. In order to maximize the yield in every space of time, patience, tied to action, must be intelligently exercised; this means that the tolerance of time must be calculated, if possible, to the very limit of each one of the other factors that intervene in developing the task to ensure its successful accomplishment.

Patience is intelligently exercised in all the circumstances in which the individual measures the waiting period, bearing in mind the element that must respond, favorably or negatively, to the requirements of the circumstances, and by using logical discernment about the value of that which provokes the waiting period.

Conversely, patience becomes awkward and foolish if it is allowed to far exceed the time necessary to reach a conclusion or resolve an issue, and the individual, whether he be naive or gullible, continues to waste his time waiting for something that is already an impossibility. In these cases one often pretends to cover up one's inefficiency behind the traditional blame of "a mistake." This is similar to waiting for a year for a chick to hatch when it does so after twenty-one days. One can wait twenty-one days with intelligent patience for the chick to hatch, but the time that exceeds that period can be defined as a useless hope.

I will give another example: The student who studies deficiently must repeat his academic year. If he demonstrates good judgment by accepting this fact, his patience will be intelligently exercised; but if, during the year, instead of striving to excel in complying with the program he becomes careless and ends up failing the year, his patience becomes useless because he opted for idleness and stupidity.

These examples are presented with the objective of clearly illustrating in tangible form, what has been explained on mental attitudes and to help the investigator to thoroughly know the various aspects that constitute man's psychological complex and the multiple facets of his mental system.

Intelligent patience, as a mental attitude, must become very active while waiting for the results of an issue, a process of investigation, or of any event that demands a parenthesis and interrupts whatever is being done, one must strive by all means to ensure its success by using the intelligent movements that best contribute to or resolve this truce or interruption.

If this were not possible, then the time used for that purpose must shift immediately to other chores that, through different means, pursue the same finality or that can substitute efficiently the desired objective.

The person who waits, even with the best of good will and patience, as is commonly said, for his issues or problems to get resolved by themselves take the opposite route. I repeat, that which submerges the individual in a state of immobility or inhibition, waiting for time to give him what he must seek and find by his own means, is not patience. Time will always be his great friend; but he must demonstrate his friendship to this great friend not by deceiving it but by showing it that the time he takes is used in a continuous spiritual renovation which maintains perpetually this youthful vitality, where time itself ensures its constant renewal. To all those who remain as before, to those whose mental cells are asleep and do not observe the precious time that life must collect as it passes, for these people, their inner environment gradually withers until it asphyxiates the being that animates them, making its life boring and taking it to an end that I do not want to name.

I recommend to all those who listen to me, and who already know my thoughts as expressed in several writings, to observe and meditate carefully every image presented in the course of these conferences.

In order to better identify oneself with the knowledge being pursued, it is necessary to verify repeatedly the examination made of what constitutes the motive of the observation. This exercise leads to a clear understanding of what one was seeking to know.

If things are overlooked, the focus shifts to other points, and the images that were the object of attention fade and are forgotten. Later on, only blurred fragments of these images appear in memory, being frequently confused with other images.

This often happens to the person who is inconsistent in his purpose, and generally to those who lack the mental discipline which is so indispensable to maintain the completeness and clarity of the images, since they constitute the wealth of knowledge.

This is the reason why Logosophy insists on emphasizing to the sincere and active investigator the value of constantly revising his observations, avoiding every distraction that may fade the images captured in the mental area, as mentioned a moment ago, and in so doing - I repeat - one will always be able to maintain those images fresh in the mind.

In following the prescribed method which is both practical and simple, man can develop his ability to undertake any task with confidence and avoid blaming "bad luck' or others, as often occurs, for his failures or errors.

Adversity is what is always responsible for shaking vigorously the inexperienced person who abandons his tasks halfway through alerting him to his deficiencies and offering him the opportunity to correct his wrongdoing.

Finally, I would like to give advice that I hold to be of utmost usefulness and easy to apply: The individual should do everything in a serious and well-thought-out manner, never leaving things to chance. This will spare him the suffering of many failures and a subjection to fatalism which does not forgive foolishness."

*Excerpt from the book "An Introduction to Logosophical Cognition"originally published in Spanish. Official Translation.

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