List of Panels 11
Figures 12
Notes on the English Translation 21
Foreword 23
Prologue 25
Chapter 1 Foundational Principles and the Divine Flux 35
The Principle of Gravitation 36
The Principle of Opposites 37
The Principle of Causality 38
The Principle of Legitimate Rights 39
The Principle of Connection 42
The Principle of
In Vivo Practice 47
The Principle of Acceptability 48
The Principle of Divine Generosity 49
The Principle of Exception 49
The Divine Flux 49
Chapter 2 Sound Reason and the Rational Love of Truth 53
Sound Reason 55
The Rational Love of Truth 57
Chapter 3 Truth, Essence-Bearers, Divine Light, Living Real Divine Truths 63
Truth 63
Essence-Bearers 64
Divine Light (Light of the One) 65
Living Real Divine Truths 67
Chapter 4 The Quintessence of Religions 75
Chapter 5 Divine Guidance 79
Chapter 6 In Vitro Practice and In Vivo Practice 87
Chapter 7 The Pragmatist and the Idealist 91
Chapter 8 Our Real Self
Commentary on Figure 1 97
Fig. 1a – Body or Soul: Which Is Our Real Self? 98
Fig. 1b – Representation of the Human Soul Proper and Its Psyche 99
Chapter 9 The Functional Structure of the Human Soul Commentary on Figure 2 105
Fig. 2a – Structure of the Primate Psyche 106
Fig. 2a – Structure of the Human Psyche According to Freud 108
Fig. 2b – Functional Structure of the Human Soul Derived from the Teachings of Ostad 109
1) The Conscious Self 109
2) The Psychological Veil 110
3) The Total Unconscious 110
4) The Three Functional Membranes 11
5) The Metabrain 113
Chapter 10 The Reduced Self and Spiritual Amnesia
Commentary on Figure 3 119
Fig. 3a – Our Real Self (Our Soul) 120
Regular Self-Consciousness 120
Fig. 3b – The Reduced Self 121
Spiritual Amnesia 123
For What Purpose Are We Here? 126
Where Do We Go After This World? 129
Why Believe In An Accounting? 132
Chapter 11 The Psyche and the Human Soul
Commentary on Figure 4 135
Fig. 4a – The Human Psyche 135
1) The Conscious Self 136
2) The Psychological Unconscious 137
Fig. 4b – The Human Soul Proper (The Psychical State) 145
Chapter 12 The Exercise of Attention-Dialogue
Commentary on Figure 5 147
Some Preliminary Observations 148
The Exercise of Attention-Dialogue 150
1) The Attention Phase 151
2) The Dialogue Phase 156
3) Conditions for the Exercise of Attention-Dialogue 160
Spirituality in Practice 165
Chapter 13 The New Medicine of the Soul
Commentary on Figure 6 169
The Fundamental Stage 173
The Advanced Stage 165
Chapter 14 The Inner Conflict, the Imperious Self, Self-Mastery, Natural Spirituality
Commentary on Figure 7 187
1) The Inner Conflict 188
2) The Imperious Self 191
3) Self-Mastery 195
4) Natural Spirituality 203
Chapter 15 The Sound Development of Thought
Commentary on Figure 8 207
Conditions for the Sound Development of Thought 209
The Impact of a Sound Development of Thought on the Evolution of the Conscious Self 216
1) The Conscious Self of Newborns (Fig. 8a) 217
2) The Conscious Self of Adults (Fig. 8b) 217
3) The Conscious Self of Those Who Are Subjugated By Their Imperious Self (Fig. 8c) 218
4) The Conscious Self of Those Who Are Spiritually Awakened (Fig. 8d) 220
Chapter 16 Constant Attention and Perfect Attention 227
Constant Attention 227
Perfect Attention 229
Chapter 17 Journey Toward the Origin 231
Chapter 18 And God? 239
Chapter 19 Recommendation 249
Chapter 20 A Few Key Practical Points 253
1) How Can We Examine and Mend Our Faith? 254
2) How Can We Develop Our Sound Reason? 254
3) How Can We Cultivate Our Humanity? 255
Epilogue 259
Select Bibliography 263
