Three Cosmic Principles: The Expanding, The Restricting, And The Static Principles

By The Pathwork Guide

Greetings. God bless all of you, my dearest friends, blessed is this lecture. In great joy we resume this working season before us. Let me express the hope that all my dear friends will continue in their endeavors and their efforts. If you do, then you cannot help but reap the fruits in the form of losing the inner burden that you still may carry within yourself. It is my task to bring you special blessings and a special strength for the year to come so that you may find the energy necessary to overcome all possible resistance in certain phases of your development; so that you may make the best of each phase, whatever it may be.

It is appropriate that we start the new working season with a subject dealing with three cosmic principles. They exist in the entire universe. They exist in nature. They govern and influence everything that has ever been created and everything that will ever be created. There is no branch of human science where these principles cannot be found. And they penetrate and form the human soul as well. In other words, they exist on all levels and in all forms, from the most subtle to the coarsest.

I will now concern myself with discussing these principles from the psychological point of view, so that you can benefit from it in your work. These principles exist in their pure form, as well as in their deviation and distortion.

Let us consider these principles separately in their positive aspects and in their negative aspects. The principle of expansion in its pure and harmonious form is creativity, it is growth, it is building, it is forward movement, it is search, it is activity. It is the outgoing quality necessary to find the other you. Therefore, it requires unselfishness. In other words, the lack of egocentricity. It is the search for union or the search for anything outside the self. I am quoting just a few aspects in each category. You can surely enlarge the list.

In its negative aspect the principle of expansion is aggression, hostility, war, which is the result of the deviated principle of expansion on the material level. It is over-activity, it is quarreling, it is destructiveness, it is cruelty, it is impatience, it is thoughtlessness.

The principle of restriction in its positive aspect is equilibrium, balance. It is the principle that balances the outgoing quality -- thus causing harmony -- and that prevents the outgoing movement from getting out of control. It represents introspection, inward movement, caution, patience, thoughtfullness. It also represents self-search, in contrast to the search for "another you" that is contained in the principle of expansion. You cannot find and understand the soul of another person unless you first find and then understand yourself. You can never penetrate the wall separating you from your fellow creatures before you have penetrated the wall that separates you from your innermost self. Thus you can see how the principle of expansion and the principle of restriction have to work in harmony and have to complement one another so that more harmony can be created in the soul. In order to grow out of the confining walls of your ego -- so that expansion can be harmonious and healthy -- you first have to find and then make use of the introspective quality in you. And you have to to use it properly. If the outgoing force is unrestricted, even if it is used in a constructive way, then growth cannot occur harmoniously. All healthy growth is organic, slow, and steady. And for this the principle of restriction must be at work. Unchecked growth cannot be assimilated. Therefore, it is more harmful than it is constructive. So the principle of restriction also stands for assimilation. Unassimilated growth must eventually turn harmful. Therefore, only assimilated step-by-step growth is organic, healthful, and constructive. Thus, if the outgoing person does not learn to cultivate his restricting forces, then he will never really succeed in finding what he searches for. His expanding forces must turn destructive unless the other two principles are at work as well.

In its negative sense, the principle of restriction stands for aggression; for going backwards instead of forward; for holding up progress; for going in the wrong direction (backward movement); for dishonesty; for hypocrisy; for cowardice; for avarice; for selfishness; for egocentricity; for separateness.

The static principle in its positive aspect stands for preservation. At first sight it may seem the same as the restricting principle, but it is not. The restrictive principle is movement -- either inward or backward -- while the static principle is rest, the state of being, timelessness, passivity in the healthy sense. Healthy growth occurs in three distinct stages: first outward movement -- the search for the other, putting the ego behind; then inward movement -- searching for the self, assimilating all that has been absorbed by the outward movement and applying it properly to the self; and then rest, preservation, the gathering of new momentum in the preparation for the new cycle. The static principle is essential in the rhythm of progress, for without it fruition cannot take place. If you observe the growth of plants, then you will notice this same threefold rhythm, and therefore you will become more aware of this ever-recurring cycle.

The static principle in its negative aspect means stagnation, putrification, lifelessness, inertia.

It is important to realize that every soul is governed by these three principles. No created being in the entire universe is uninfluenced by it. All three principles must work together harmoniously. They must sustain one another, they must complement one another, and they must further one another if the person is to be harmonious. In the disharmonious person these three principles will be at war with one another. In other words, they will contradict one another. Each created being is predominantly one of these three principles. But that does not mean that in perfection you represent only one of them to the exclusion of the other two. That cannot be. Although each perfectly created being has its basic characteristic of one of these principles, the other two must be harmoniously blended in. They must sustain one another, they must help one another, and they must further one another. To the degree that the entity deviates from divine harmony, to that degree these three principles will clash, they will contradict one another, they will not be understood properly, they will be misapplied by overemphasis, and the one is not used entirely constructively, but is unwittingly used in a destructive way. Further harm is often done to the self by suppressing its true nature. In other words, by not being aware of what the true personality is in this respect. For example, you may have an unconscious misconception that your true nature -- representing one of these three principles -- is bad. As a result of this image, you neglect to grow, to cultivate, and to purify that in you which is strongest. Thus it festers underneath. Forces that could be put to constructive use are instead inverted by suppression, and therefore affect you adversely, while you over-cultivate a part in you that needs no further emphasis. In less severe cases, an over-emphasis is put on that which you truly are, while you neglect the other forces that need cultivation and harmonious blending with your particular strength.

If you consider the work that you have done so far with yourself from the point of view of these three cosmic principles, which belong to the most important principles in the universe, then it must open new vistas about yourself; it must give you further clarification about who you are and what you are. You will understand yourself -- and therefore others -- better by finding out whether you over-emphasize that in you which is predominant at the expense of the other two forces that need cultivation and purification. I might add that it is possible that both happen to some degree in one and the same person. On the one hand you may suppress your predominant nature and on the other hand you may over-emphasize it. Both happen unconsciously and out of wrong conclusions. So find out where you deviate from these three principles in their perfect form. In other words, in what way and why this happens. What misconceptions are responsible for it? This outlook should help you a great deal, my friends. It might also give rise to new questions, which I will be happy to answer.

Two of these principles, the expanding and the restricting ones -- although, perhaps, called by different names -- humanity is quite familiar with these days. But it is not often that the third principle is recognized. It is ignored how important it is that all three blend together and are interdependent. The importance of the static principle is of particular significance. In its positive aspect it represents the ultimate goal, the highest stage that one can reach: the state of being, the state of timelessness, the state of motion in motionlessness. It is the final stage of evolution. While the static principle in its negative aspect is the most hindering for human development. This fact should lend itself for interesting speculation and meditation, my friends. Where stagnation exists, there progress cannot occur. Thus, backward movement -- the principle of restriction in its negative aspect -- is better than no movement at all. Because if you move backward long enough, then you must come to a point when you finally realize that the direction you have taken is wrong and bitter and dark. Therefore you will have the incentive to turn around. In any kind of motion or movement things change. Even if they change for the worse, by this very fact you will desire to change your direction, depressive as the state you find yourself in may be at the time. Besides, the momentum of your motion, wrong as it was so far, makes it easier to keep on moving until you find the right direction. But in the negative static state -- in stagnation -- there is no movement. Without movement, there can be no progress and there is no growth. Since you are conditioned to be motionless, it is extremely difficult to summon the strength that you need to set yourself in motion. And you may not even realize the necessity of it because in that state it does seem hopeless. You are under the impression that nothing ever changes. And nothing can ever change because you continue to stand still. In other words, you remain in the same predicament. That reinforces your wrong impression that no change is possible.

No human being is in the static state in all facets of his personality. Some people are to a strong degree, while with other people it applies to certain parts of their personality only, manifesting particularly strongly at certain times. It is up to you to find out in what respect it applies to you. Do not expect that anything applies to one person completely.

QUESTION: I understand that these principles exist in varying degrees in everybody. But I would like to know if any connection between the three exists, such as the degree and direction of the expansive and a certain degree and direction of the restrictive principle; do they combine and produce a certain degree and direction of the static?

ANSWER: You mean that one influences the other? (Yes). Nothing in the human soul is separated. Every quality, every reaction, every attitude or tendency must influence everything else in the soul. Sometimes more directly and more obviously, while in other instances the connection is more indirect and subtle, and therefore not easily noticeable. You have found that out already in the work that you are doing. As I said, these three principles are interdependent. If you deviate in one respect in one principle, then the other two will be influenced by that. Let us say that your over-emphasis is on the principle of expansion -- it works positively and negatively in you. In this over-emphasis -- causing a negative effect -- a deviation of the expansive principle, the effect must also be on the other two, where in this respect a neglect and an underdevelopment -- and therefore a deviation in another sense -- occurs regarding the other two principles. Everything is connected in the law of cause and effect. It is like a photograph. On the negative the objects are black and white, while on the positive it is the other way around. Perhaps this analogy will give you some idea. At any rate, as a result of this work in self-search, the more you progress, the more you find how one thing causes and influences another. What at first was a mass of isolated information about yourself begins to tie in with all the rest as you progress, so that you gain one overall, comprehensive picture. This has to be experienced. In other words, it cannot be conveyed in words. Many of my friends have experienced this, at least occasionally.

One further word on the subject of this lecture. As a demonstration of how these principles are misunderstood. I would like to give you an example that is typical. Many people say, "if I constantly thinking about myself, then I become selfish. It is better to think of other people instead of concentrating so much on myself." It is true that there are people who think too much of themselves. In other words, who are egocentric. They never think of others. They only concern themselves with their own problems. This wrong attitude, as well as the quoted objection, are both an expression of the misunderstood, and therefore misapplied, principle of restriction and introspection. If it is correctly understood, then introspection is used for the purpose of breaking down the wall between the self and others. By the same token, a person may say, "by being so extroverted I neglect my own spiritual nature. One cannot and should not live so much on the surface, in the outer world. To find God, then I have to retire from the outer world and lead an inner life." Again it is the same thing. It is true that no introspection and an over-emphasis on the outgoing quality hinders progress. This imbalance is an expression of the misunderstood and misapplied principles we are discussing here. A further proof of ignorance regarding these cosmic principles is when Eastern teachings are misunderstood in the following way. People who have heard something about Nirvana -- the state of being, the passivity in this respect -- often try to attain this state forcefully. That is, long before they can possibly be organically ready for it. Such a person is unaware that he unconsciously encourages his tendency to stagnate, clothing it with good motives. This shows both ignorance and a misunderstanding of the harmonious blending together of these principles if harmony is to be reached and the real state of being finally attained. But this cannot happen by forceful means and by special exercises. It is the product of the labor of development.

QUESTION: Would it be possible, for instance, that a person has a relatively healthy expansive principle and a relatively healthy restrictive principle, and yet a comparatively unhealthy static one? Or in another combination?

ANSWER: Then the word "relative" would have to be very flexible. Because it is impossible that a great degree of deviation exists on the one hand and a minimum degree on the other. But it is true that the degree of deviation may be stronger in one respect than in the other, also due to the basic characteristics of the person. (But there would still be a certain connection between these three principles?) Oh, absolutely. When you take this subject into consideration in your work, then you will find that there must always be a certain parallel. In other words, when you deviate in one way, then you may find exactly the opposite in the other way. In a mirror, the right side is on the left and the left side is on the right. Or it is like the analogy of the photograph. I know this is hard to grasp, but you will eventually find out exactly what I mean, although this may not happen overnight. Incidentally, do not try to force this new knowledge into your work. Remain aware of it, think about it, then one day it will really become a part of your knowledge that you can then use constructively. Knowledge has to grow naturally, never forcefully. Relaxed awareness and the cultivation of this awareness without pressure will eventually bring about the realization that this knowledge is really yours. When this is the case, then you will verify what I tried to convey to you here. I know that it is difficult to put into words.

QUESTION: Since these principles have to go through the religious mythology, in what way is it expressed in the Trinity of different religions? For instance, the Brahmic Trinity or the Christian Trinity?

ANSWER: It cannot be said that the symbol of the Trinity represents only these three principles. Many of the universal and cosmic principles come in threes. Hence three stands for many things. Furthermore, let it be understood that as far as these three principles are concerned the perfect representation of each does not mean that the others are absent. Each represents one harmonious whole, although with a harmonious predominance of one. Let us take the example of man and woman. When they finally merge into one being -- in the final state -- then that does not mean that while they are separated the male is exclusively male and the female is entirely female. As you well know, in each female the male is represented and in each male the female is represented. In the harmonious person both are integrated. In other words, the male and the female qualities do not battle with one another, but sustain, complement, and help one another. None is ousted. Only the deviation or the over-emphasis is smoothed out. Certainly there is a predominance of one, but not to the exclusion of the other. It is exactly the same with the subject of these principles. Therefore, each part of the Trinity represents all three with a predominance of one. Which principle is represented in each part of the Trinity should be easy enough to find out for you. (Well, the Father principle in the Creation is clearly expressed. It is said in the gnostic teachings that in the Father we are born, in the Son we die. In other words, it is a certain...(?) represented in the Christ Principle.) It is quite right. The Father is the Creator, therefore He stands for the principle of expansion. The Son has come to earth. He has been incarnated. Incarnation is restriction, an apparent going back, although for the good purpose of going forward. While the Holy Ghost represents the static principle, the state of being. (Yes, it is the equilibrium. At the same time it is the reunion.) Exactly, certainly.

QUESTION: Now, one more question, please, with regard to breathing. Is the exhalation the natural restriction?

ANSWER: Exhalation is expansion; inhalation is restriction (backward movement). And then there is -- which often is either ignored or forgotten -- the third principle. There is the moment in which you hold. (That is done in the Yoga exercises. The holding is the most important.) Exactly. But not only in particular exercises. Even in normal breathing, when one is completely unaware of it, this moment -- representing the third principle -- is the most important part of breathing. It does not make any difference that this moment is short, but it is the element that gives rhythm and harmony to the breathing. And when any kind of a trance occurs, be it a mediumistic one or any other kind, then it happens through the holding and the non-breathing part that must be extended to accomplish a trance. This same threefold rhythm exists in the whole universe. It must eventually be found in your inner growth. It happens already to some degree, although you are unaware of it. When you make an effort to go forward, an effort to use your energy, and an effort to search for truth, then that is expansion. And when the necessary time comes to assimilate what you have learned and to apply it to yourself -- in other words, when you search within yourself -- then that is restriction. You cannot develop without both outgoing and ingoing movements, and then without assimilating the two. To speak practically, you cannot develop by living alone. In other words, you cannot develop without the world bringing out of you what in you needs to be changed. Without outer help, then these elements would remain sleeping in you, and thus you would remain ignorant of what you really are, at least in part. Without going outward, then no material would be given to you to point in the direction of your inner disharmonies. And then comes the time of fruition, when you actually do not seem to go anywhere. These periods will depress you while you are still at the beginning. These will be the times of heaviness and of apparent hopelessness. The further you are advanced, the more you know yourself, the more you have properly assimilated and come to terms with the knowledge you have gained, then the happier the times of fruition will be for you, until the next period of effort and of the outgoing movement is to start again. But you will not be called upon to make a decision by yourself when to change from one phase into the other. Your personality has found its own cosmic rhythm, and follows the stream quite naturally. Then you will be aware of this rhythm and you will follow it without compulsion and without resistance. (That is what is called the activity of rest, as against dullness and laziness.) Yes, quite true.

QUESTION: There is so much discussion and speculation and investigation, it seems, by scientists regarding whether or not the universe is physically expanding or contracting or static. Is there an answer to that?

ANSWER: It is constantly in movement. But rhythmic and harmonious movement contains motionlessness, like the instant in breathing when you do not breathe in order to do so rhythmically. The different schools of thought on this subject have just perceived a part of the universe in one aspect, while ignoring the others. Thus the truth is that the universe is expanding, contracting, and static. The same applies even to inanimate objects. They only appear to be static, but they are not, as your atomic scientists will confirm. I have told you many times that everything in creation is in constant movement. This may seem to contradict the statement that the highest form of existence, the state of being, is static and therefore apparently without motion. It is no contradiction, my friends, although I realize it is extremely difficult for you to understand. In the highest realm constant movement in all directions exists simultaneously with the static state. There is no movement in movement. And there is movement in no movement. This may sound utterly paradoxical according to human logic, but it cannot be explained any other way. This, too, can be understood only by experience.

QUESTION: Is the static sort of halfway in between expansion and restriction?

ANSWER: It cannot be measured in such terms as "half-way in between." It is a philosophical concept. It is a principle or a part of a threefold principle, where one follows the other rhythmically and naturally. If you imagine it as a cycle, a circular motion, then you will come closer to the truth. In a circle there is no beginning and no end. One is an integral part of the other.

QUESTION: I wonder if you can clarify to some extent the connection or the disassociation between the subconscious and intuition.

ANSSER: If you distinguish intuition from insight, then we might say that intuition is the highest form. Intuition is never wrong. An instinct can be wrong. It can be harmful, for it can come from the lower nature of the personality. Therefore, intuition comes from the superconscious, if you want to be technical about it. Intuition has the further distinction of being conscious. The moment it is intuition, then it must be conscious, while an instinct may remain unconscious. It may be an urge, an impulse that is not formulated and of which one is unaware. While an intuition must be conscious, otherwise it would not be an intuition. It is a message from the superconscious into the consciousness. Subconscious forces help to bring it about. The subconscious direction that you are taking as a whole influences you to be able to have certain intuitions. Does that answer your question? (Yes, but perhaps I need a little clarification of the difference between the subconscious and the superconscious.) Well, I think our friends here will be amply qualified to answer that question so that we can use the time here for something else. Would you, Walter, perhaps explain it afterwards?

QUESTION: Yes. May I ask a question, although I don't think it is permissible. Science is now agreed that in the millions of Milky Ways and in the billions of stars there must be life similar to our own planet. If this is so, does the Fall and subsequent Plan of Salvation hold true for other worlds?

ANSWER: Of course. It is one whole. The plan of salvation includes the entire creation. The earth sphere is but one part of it. Whether or not you find life in the same or similar forms on other planets has nothing to do with it. Even if the outer form of life is similar -- although it is not exactly the same, but that is besides the point -- the purpose and the stage of development on each sphere is a different one. (There are no other planets in those millions of planets which have the same life as we have?) Not exactly the same. Conditions are always adapted to need. And each sphere has a different need for development. Each sphere is a different area of the personality.

QUESTION: May I ask the difference and distinction of obligation as against gratitude? I mean that apart from the element of freedon and compulsion.

ANSWER: Gratitude has nothing to do with obligation. I do not speak of compulsion either. If you make a contract with a person and, due to this contract, you are obligated to fulfill certain conditions, then this is your obligation. It has nothing to do with gratitude on either side. (I don't mean it in that way. I mean it in the way that there are people who feel that if they get any favor, then they feel obligated instead of being grateful.) In that moment either a compulsive element or any other number of sick or deviated reactions must exist. In a case like this, then one must look deeper in order to find the reasons. For instance, there are people who cannot receive. They may be capable of giving, but when it comes to receiving, then they feel humiliated -- therefore often unduly obligated. Yet, there is not necessarily a compulsion there. Not in the strict sense of the word. That would be using a label, and we must try to stay away from any labels, but rather dig out what goes on underneath. Find out why the person feels that way. Where is the misconception? There must be a wrong conclusion somewhere. You will probably find the wrong conclusion that to receive means to be humiliated. But find out why. In other words, what brought this misconception into existence, what led to it? That will show where the obstruction lies, and therefore how it can be dissolved. It is not necessarily a compulsion, but even if it is, then it is not enough to know that. Any word can become a label if it is supposed to furnish the final answer. Whether it is the word pride or the word compulsion or whatever it may be. It may be a danger to just call it by any name and then let it go at that. That will never get you any further. The person still cannot help it. In cases like this the only way this is to find where the misconception is, where the wrong idea is. There must be one.

On this first occasion of our reunion there are many of our spirit friends here who try to bless you, each of you individually and all our friends who are away, with the strength of truth so that you will find the way out of your distortions and of your confusions. At least for the moment, they stand directly in your way. The rest can follow later. Receive this divine strength of truth and of the clarity of vision. Let this blessing be particularly dedicated to this purpose. And so I bless you in the Name of God, in the Name of Jesus Christ, in the Name of the Holy Spirit World. Be in peace, be in God.

September 11, 1959