494 ROSICRUCIANCOSMO-CONCEPTION
We have seen that concentration is focusing thought
upon a single object. It is the means whereby we build a
clear, objective, and living image of the form about which
we wish to acquire knowledge.
Meditation is the exercise whereby the history of the
object of our investigation is traced and, so to say, entered
into, to pick out of it every shred of evidence as to its
relation to the world in general.
These two mental exercises deal, in the deepest and
most thorough manner imaginable, withthings. They lead
up to a higher, deeper and more subtle stage of mental
development, which deals with the verysoul of things.
The name of that stage is Contemplation.
CONTEMPLATIONIn contemplation there is no reaching out in thought or
imagination for the sake of getting information, as was the
case in Meditation. It is simply the holding of the object
before our mental vision and letting the soul of it speak to
us. We repose quietly and relaxed upon a couch or bed—not
negatively, but thoroughly on the alert—watching for the
information that will surely come if we have reached the
proper development. Then theForm of the object seems to
vanish and we see only theLife at work. Contemplation will
teach us about the Life-side, as Meditation taught us about
the For m-side.
When we r each this stage and have b efore us, say, a tree
in the for est, we los e sight of the For m entir ely, and s ee only
the Life, which in this case is a group spirit. We shall find,
to our astonishment, that the group spirit of the tree includes
the various insects which feed upon it; that the parasite and