Organic Alchemy

Out of Print...ORGANIC ALCHEMY is based on talks and discussions held in Europe and America in the summer of 1974. These talks were delivered to a group of young men and women who were living together, actively involved in self-exploration. Therefore the topics relate to actual living situations, and for that reason are in the nature of a practical guide to self-exploration rather than mere academic discussion. Similar topics were dealt with in The Ultimate Transformation in the preceding year, and here the form is similar but the content is different. The same question asked in a different context or setting undergoes a change, and so, of necessity, needs a new answer every time. Not only do the questions and answers change, but when the questions are asked intelligently, the questioner also undergoes a transformation. To bring about a radical transformation of the human mind, the totality of the mind has to be understood. First of all, the conflict between the conscious and the unconscious has to be eliminated. This is the stage of psychic transformation, and it may involve a processor or a technique. When the deepest recesses of the unconscious are explored and understood, this integration releases a tremendous energy. If this energy is not misused, the spiritual transformation that follows is an effortless and timeless event. In some cases the spiritual transformation occurs flrst,without a complete unfoldment of the psychic content. For many persons the development of this psychic sensibility may not be important, because conflict can end even in its absence. But for the sake of completeness, the psychic sensibility which is an activity within the field of the known or the relative, is still important. Organic alchemy thus has two stages. The first is the transformation of the 'nigredo' into 'albedo', which can be likened to the psychic transformation. At this level of transformation, although there is sufficient power and happiness, there is not a complete enlightenment. The second stage, the transformation of the 'albedo' into 'rubedo', is a truly complete transformation in which the ego disappears completely. In this state not oniy is there power and supreme bliss but also total understanding.