The Influence of the Blood on our State of Being, Part 1

Hypoglycaemia and distress

When our blood sugar level is normal the spirit feels "good in its skin", we are energetic, dynamic and engaging. But whenever the glycaemia drops, the person feels exhausted and unwell. Not only is his energy gone, but also his view of the world is altered. His recent rose coloured world becomes grey or even quite black. A person in this state of hypoglycaemia becomes anxious and is afraid of all kinds of things that are not perceived as frightful by others. Simple questions become serious problems to resolve, if not mountains to climb.

And then, just as suddenly as his outlook became darkened, very rapidly- by balancing his glycaemia – his perception of the world will be just as beautiful and simple as before.

Another well-known situation that alters a person’s state of being by modifying the composition of the blood, is the one prompted by the consumption of alcohol. When someone drinks too much and becomes drunk we say, «he is not in his right mind». But not being in one’s right mind simply means to perceive and to act differently than usual, or in other words; with a different awareness of reality. This awareness is again slowly altered as the level of blood alcohol decreases, therefore when the blood composition returns to normal.

Vitamin and mineral deficiencies in the blood

The nutritional discoveries show us daily how the presence or absence of a vitamin or a mineral alone can influence our outlook on the world.

A study made with volunteers who were fed a balanced diet but that was completely deprived of vitamin B1 showed that at the end of three months, all of the volunteers had become irritable, depressed, and worried that something terrible was going to happen to them. Some of them even felt that life was no longer worth living and contemplated suicide.

The experience ended after six months without informing the volunteers of the outcome in order to avoid the placebo effect with the reintroduction of vitamin B1. Within a few days the volunteers returned to being joyful and clear headed. They were friendly, cooperative and full of initiative.

Magnesium is also a very educational example. A slight magnesium deficiency causes irritability, nervousness, sensitivity to noise, over excitement and anxiousness. A greater deficiency can be even more disturbing, so much so in fact, that the subject is disorientated, incredibly agitated, boisterous, aggressive and subject to hallucinations. This irritable and violent behaviour will quickly disappear as soon as the organism is supplied with the missing magnesium needed to re-establish a normal blood radiation.

Celebrity Cult, Part 2

Two sides of the coin
Just as the power of a thought-centre can help a human being to success, and if need be turn him into a big star, it can also cause him problems. The thought-centres nourished by thousands or millions of admirers can exert considerable pressure on the star and may influence him in a way that is not very constructive.

If the “image” of a star is formed naturally in the course of his career, then the picture the public has of him is more likely to correspond to his true personal characteristics. He will then feel the power of the thought-centre as useful, since it supports his efforts and broadens his potential.

Where a “star image” is, however, artificially created, the one concerned will in time feel it as something foreign, with which he cannot fully identify. He may feel restricted by this image, as if pressed into an ill-fitting mould, from which he will have a great deal of trouble freeing himself. The incessant inflow of new energies, produced by the admirers of the artificial “ideal”, holds him under the pressure of this form and forces him to adjust to the pre-formed image. Thus there are stars who have suffered their whole life under a certain enforced role. And many have a problem to remain themselves, and not be crushed by the ideal they are supposed to embody. In this way it can happen that a star can change from a person manipulating the masses to one manipulated by them.

The influences of thought-centres, as they develop with the celebrity cult, can also affect the admirers, who do remain connected with the centres. They often lose a part of their personal independence and freedom of choice under the influence of certain perceptions. Sometimes this influence is so large that the celebrity is finally imitated: The admirers dress like him or her and do their hair the same, adopt the same attitudes, use the same language, show similar preferences, and so on. Through this wrong identification they lose a part of their individuality. They stop developing their own personality and copy an imaginary pre-formed “image” that is subject to laws and rules imposed by others.

Why do we seek idols?

The meaning of his existence lies for each human in developing his spiritual abilities, becoming conscious of himself, and finally returning fully conscious to Paradise, his spiritual origin. For us it is therefore a matter of progressing from an unconscious to a conscious state. In this we are subject to the Law that the less conscious always imitates the expression of enhanced, higher consciousness. This serves us as a model and helps us through awakening slumbering abilities to become more self-conscious.

However, the principle of emulation has justification in the development of the human spirits only at the beginning. In becoming increasingly conscious we must decide by our free will the form we will give our own development. Each individual developing his abilities in his own way enriches mankind, whose wealth results from the diverse contributions by each member of the community.

What takes place on the scale of the development of mankind reappears on the small scale of individual human life. The child - which as yet is not in charge of its free will - possesses the imitation instinct in order to develop. Taking the parents or others in its surroundings as model, it learns and makes progress. At the end of youth, however, imitating should stop. Equipped with free will, the young adult can decide for himself what direction and which goals he wishes to attain. He can of course still be motivated by the examples of others, but he should not be content with simply imitating these uncritically.

This fact also shows the natural limitations to the adulation of stars: An “absolute fan” no longer lives his own life. In an extreme case, the highs and lows in the life of the idol become more important than the actual developments in his own life.

It is quite legitimate to value a personality for what he offers in his activity, and it is in the nature of the human being to look for useful examples that can stimulate his own conscious development. However, it is always a mistake to turn another human being into a “demi-god”. This can block not only the “fan”, but — by way of the power of the thought-centre — also the “star” in his personal development. The enthusiasm of the masses is always accompanied by a loss of individuality.

In addition, the worship of the “gods” of the stage, screen and sport and so on is also in principle out of place, as soon as a human being strives for something higher and more perfect. For the only perfect goal for our inner orientation can only be He, of Whom the first Commandment reminds us: “I am the Lord, thy God! Thou shalt have no other Gods but Me!”

Celebrity Cult, Part 1

Power of the crowd

During a political rally, the speaker climbs on the podium, snatches the microphone and addresses the crowd. The latter, at first only in anticipation, soon begins to nod in agreement, applauds, finally becomes “inflamed” and rises up to proclaim their approval with enthusiasm. The “current” sometimes flows so well between the audience and the speaker that by the time he has them “in his palm” he can manipulate the masses as he sees fit — for good or ill, as history teaches. The variety of individual opinions goes out the window. As if under a spell, the crowd suddenly stands “as one man”.

How is such a thing possible? Looked at superficially, it might be assumed that the speaker possesses abilities surpassing those of the crowd. Actually, however, his own power is of no account, being no greater than those of his listeners. If he is able to dominate the crowd it is because he - usually subconsciously - uses the power of his audience for his own purposes.
This process is readily explained by the concept of “thought forms”.

Our thoughts do not exist in the material sense, since they are neither visible nor tangible. In the otherworldly, fine-material domain, however, every thought takes on a form as soon as it is sent out by the individual. The form corresponds to the thought content and achieves greater power the more intensively it is felt and the more frequently it is “nurtured”. The fleeting form arising from a superficial thought therefore dissolves and vanishes quickly again, since it is not sustained by any power. On the other hand, recurrent, perceptive or emotional thoughts develop powerful forms. These influence the surroundings, and always also the person from whom they originated. Every human being remains connected with his fine-material products.

Thought forms are never alone, however. According to the law of the attraction of homogeneous species, they group - according to similar kind - into grid-like thought-centres. The power of such a thought-centre is enormous, because it encompasses the totality of individual thoughts of similar kind. The power grows with the number of people attached and the intensity of the perceptions, all of whom “energize” these thoughts.

During an address, the speaker therefore forms with the assistance of the thought energy of his listeners a powerful thought-centre, on which he lavishes fine-material energy through personal persuasiveness. He may also make use of certain slogans. The influence or resonance of such thought-centres on the thinking of the crowd can finally become so great, that deeds arise from it, which the individual of himself would never have achieved. Similar fine processes happen with a so-called “star”.
Becoming a star

In the case of movie or pop-stars and other idols, thoughts are not concentrated on a political ideal but on a person. This focus can follow from a natural development or also the result of a purposeful action.

In simple terms one can distinguish two types of “stars”: To the one group belong those who gradually became famous on the basis of their talent, and throughout their career show qualities, for which they are respected or admired. The thought centres connected with them have formed slowly and are borne on the waves of enthusiasm aroused along the way in the public.

To the other group belong “stars” with whom the thought centre does not accompany the development of the career as a natural consequence but precedes it. The artist concerned becomes a “star” due above all to an “image” artificially created for commercial reasons and whose pulling power is usually supported by intense marketing campaigns.

Such “manufactured stars” are no rarity today. Television programmes, newspapers, magazines, posters, movies or videos lend themselves exceptionally well to calling a certain picture to mind, “preserving” the “image” of the star and inciting the public to ever new raptures.

Naturally, the “star image” must correspond to some need of the public, must fulfil an ideal, a dream, a longing. Otherwise, the thought-centre would receive no inflow of energy. There is not only the ideal image of the star, who embodies all that is superlative and succeeds in everything, but sometimes it is also the abnormal, outrageous, the provocative that - especially in the eyes of the youth - seem “ideal” in a star.

In whatever way a man becomes a star, he is surrounded by the “aura” of a powerful thought-centre, which raises him above his peers. Not for nothing is there a saying of the “star” which has arisen and shines upon the masses.