Intelligence

In this, the sixth part of our occult studies course, we examine the true nature and functions of intellect, instinct and intuition, which together make up the collective mental quality we call INTELLIGENCE.

You can find full details about our occult studies course by clicking the link above.

Intellect

Let us begin our study of Intelligence by considering Intellect. What is it? Where do we keep it? Where does it come from? Where does it go to in the end? We ourselves haven't the slightest idea what it looks like. It might be triangular, square, oblong, or even round—like a hollow circle! There seem to be slight indications that people do possess intellect sometimes, but these occasions are so rare that we often wonder if intellect exists permanently, or only appears through spontaneous generation in special instances of dire need for heavenly guidance. We know of many scholarly books in which science goes into lengthy explanations about intellect but none of them tell us what it really is. Is intellect caused by thinking, or does thinking bring about a state of intellect? Science does not have the answer. Some people are very offended when it is suggested that animals think, forgetting that they themselves are animals, some only one step above sheep. Such will say that animals cannot think and only respond to stimuli. We don't know about you, but we have met plenty of people in the pub who respond pretty quickly when asked: "What's yours?" We suggest that the difference is one of degree, not of kind. Those of you who own pets will probably agree with us. Have we not all seen the cat weighing up the pros and cons of pouncing on the canary because it knows its mistress has strictly forbidden it to catch birds? If thinking and acting upon thoughts requires intelligence, then animals certainly have it.

But thinking alone does not make intelligence, or perhaps we should say there can be no thinking without generalisation. We need speech, or at any rate, words, and the vocabulary must include abstract terms. It is said by most psychologists that we think in pictures, not words. This may be true, but only partly so, for thought and language are closely connected as behavioural science teaches us. But is this not also true of thought and action without words? Or action without many words, like the conversations we may overhear on a Saturday night out: "Yeah?" says one reveler. "Yeah!" (smack)! replies another as he thumps his interlocutor. Is this an example of thought and action equalling intelligence? Many people are unaware that a large part of comparative psychology is derived from the study of animal behaviour because their actions resemble those of humans. This prompts us to ask if there is much difference between an animal hunting for food or a 'B list' celebrity digging for gold? Perhaps animals aren't so dumb after all!

Many people call those who succeed in acquiring wealth, fame and power intelligent. Others say that the pleasures we derive from art, poetry and music don't pay the bills. Mary Shelley was a gifted writer, but lived in grinding poverty after the death of her famous husband. Who derived more intelligent pleasure, Mary from her creative writing, or the Kardashians and their ilk from their celebrity lifestyle? Is the bliss of one a higher order than the other? We seem to be getting deeper and deeper into a maze of questions as we develop this theme. Let us try again.

For the biologist the amoeba is just as admirable as the whale. If the whale is called the higher animal of the two we mean that it is a more complex creature. For this reason you might assert that Mary Shelley's bliss was of a higher order than the Kardashians, but we should say that Mary had a higher order of intelligence. Please do not confuse this question with 'morality', we are trying to discover what is meant by 'intelligence.' The dictionary defines intelligence as: "the ability to learn or understand." We should say it is on account of a better memory. Wikipedia dodges the question entirely by stating that: "Numerous definitions . . . about intelligence have been proposed . . . with no consensus reached by scholars." Some of these 'scholars' say that: "intelligence is the ability of the organism to adapt itself adequately to new situations." But does that not come under the heading of "adaptability"? For these reasons we do not think that science will ever succeed in establishing definite laws that will cover every possible contingency. The amount of intelligence a person has comes from a source that has yet to be investigated by science. Intelligence is a hereditary possession but it is not transmitted through the parents—as a glance at our friends and relatives will quickly show! No, it is an attribute of the lower self, made up from the accumulated experiences of our personalities in previous incarnations and preserved by means of the Higher Mind memory.

Although a child is seldom able to give full expression to its thoughts—except for those rare prodigies like Mozart who come into incarnation with great talents and a body and lower self capable of expressing these talents in an exceptional manner at a very early age—it has from birth, complete memory, complete intelligence and a complete moral sense, exactly as it had when it ended its previous incarnation. Only it has to spend many years undergoing a slow process of gradual unfoldment, adjusting all the while to new circumstances and conditions, before it can utilise these inherited qualities. According to the state of its previous evolution, so it will have more or less intelligence, which is the sum total of the experiences of its many personalities, to which it can add in its new life according to its willingness and capabilities.

So we have now answered the four questions we posed at the beginning of this article, namely: What is intelligence? It is the experience we gain during life on earth. Where do we keep it? It is added to the accumulated experience retained in the memory of our Higher Self which is a higher order of memory than that contained in our physical brains. Where does it come from? It comes from the facts we have learned in connection with the material contacts of the outside world—as opposed to the inner life of the Higher Self. Where does it go to in the end? It is added to the memories already contained in the Higher Self and makes them more complete after each incarnation.

Instinct

Let us now consider our second theme—Instinct. We would begin by saying that both instinct and intelligence are mostly attributes of the lower self of man, animal or plant, and we might even add of crystals too. All crystalline forms flow together in certain definite ways. Each crystal moves in a different manner, but all obey certain established laws. This movement might be caused by attraction, magnetism, electricity, or natural selection, or by the laws of cohesion and adhesion. No matter what terms we use, the fact remains that all crystal forms seem to be governed by a kind of instinct—definitely material—that makes them behave as they do. The same can be said of plants which will instinctively turn to the light and, in the case of runner beans, actively seek out supports for their vines. The habits of molluscs are very similar in that they cling and grip, adhere and take root whenever they find a place congenial to their natures. We may observe the same behaviour in microorganisms which attach themselves to host cells in the human body. It is the same in insects too. Next time you are in your garden just watch the bees and ants going about their business, providing yet more evidence of the marvels of instinct.

Or visit the zoo and see how a handful of nuts divided between monkeys or children will cause both to go through exactly the same movements such as looking, approaching, elbowing, grasping, cracking, munching, swallowing, and holding out their hands for more! We know what goes on in a child's mind from our own experiences as children, and we know what goes on in a monkey's mind from observation. In both cases the instincts are the same. Man has many instincts in common with the lower animals, such as a child's or kitten's movements to ward off danger, and the parent's affection which preserves the offspring during the first defenceless period of its life. There is also the same distrust of strangers; in man a memory of the primeval jungle where every stranger is a potential enemy.

We saw an example of this only the other day in a prosperous residential London suburb, where we heard a woman berating someone on her doorstep. When we drew near we beheld a smartly-dressed woman scolding a small inoffensive-looking man who had a large parcel standing at his feet. Occasionally he tried to mumble a few mild remonstrations, but the woman kept on shouting at him in a shrill voice, telling him he ought to be ashamed to knock at her door, that he had no business dragging her down from her study where she was in the middle of an "online Zoom meeting", to offer her "cheap rubbish" for sale and that "parasitical scum like you should be locked up!" After she stormed inside and slammed her door we asked the poor gentleman what he was trying to sell. He showed us some pathetic packs of greetings cards and said it was the only way he knew of trying to make a living since he had lost his job.

This unprovoked attack by this female on a poor, broken individual shows us how near some human beings still are to the inhabitants of the jungle, notwithstanding the thin veneer of so-called 'culture' that such people pride themselves on. Such behaviour typifies fear and resentment of the stranger, who may have designs on her offspring, her food, or her cave—in this case a very expensive-looking Georgian town house! Fear, curiosity, suspicion, hunger, aggression and mating are all instincts of self-preservation, attributes of the physical part of man or animal we refer to as the 'lower self'—our earthly personality. The body and lower self want to live forever if they only could and will do the most desperate things to prolong their existence. It is only when the noble qualities of the Higher Self predominate that we find generosity, unselfishness, kindness and love. One of the most common instincts is that which prompts you to blame others for your own mistakes. If you do this with real determination it usually works, and it then gives you a wonderful feeling of comfort and righteousness. We mostly try this on the webmaster who looks after this site for us and sometimes it works!! Then there is the "business instinct", which is derived directly from the monkeys and cuckoos, who have truly mastered the art of acquiring property in unconventional ways!

The great Ammonius Saccas, the chief founder of the Neoplatonic school of philosophy, taught that "human knowledge had three ascending steps: opinion, science and illumination. That the means, or instrument of opinion was sense, or sensory perception; of science, dialectics; of illumination, intuition, or divine instinct. To the last, reason is subordinate; it is absolute knowledge founded on the identification of the mind with the object known." Ammonius here differentiates between what he calls "natural" instinct, such as that which warns animals of danger, and "divine" Instinct with a capital 'I', which is a faculty of the Higher Self, and should more correctly be called Intuition. It has further been said that reason only develops at the expense and loss of natural instinct, which slowly rises on the soil of sophistry and finally shuts out man's spiritual perceptions of which intuition is the most important. H. P. Blavatsky wrote: "instinct is the universal endowment of nature by the Spirit of the Deity itself; reason (or intellect) the slow development of our physical constitution; an evolution of our adult material brain." As always, this peer among occultists, explains intellect and instinct in one line.

Intuition

We have now arrived and are slowly leading into the final subject of this article; namely, Intuition. Instinct and Intuition are closely associated attributes of all living things. We should regard Intuition as the connecting link between the Higher and lower selves and instinct the connecting link between the lower self and the body of any living creature. This forms an ascending scale in which the instincts are guided by intelligence which, you will remember, is the accumulated experience of the lower self. In the case of man he can in this way acquire all knowledge by attuning with the Divine Mind of God. Thus, Wisdom from above, percolating through its various mediums of communication to the objective, material, world, slowly transforms the organism until all material forms have been transcended and evolved into such a state of spiritual perfection that they will be released from earthly bondage. This applies to minerals, plants and animals, as well as man. A continuous crescendo, of ever-evolving consciousness.

There is no human being born without some rudiment of intuition, and the Scots call it 'second sight'. In intuition God has provided us with a defence mechanism that will warn us every time we receive wrong teachings, provided we don't allow false 'teachers' to throw a spanner into our machinery of defence. Intuition is known under many names. It reveals the spiritual by means of thought, whilst the material is known by the perception of the physical senses. The German philosopher Karl von Hartmann called it magical knowledge, as did Schopenhauer. Others have called it the unerring guide of the seer. The great Initiates of the past all employed this faculty and taught it to their students. Iamblichus says: "There is a faculty of the mind which is superior to all which is born or begotten. Through it we are enabled to attain union with the superior intelligences, to being transported beyond the scenes of this world, and to partake of the higher life and peculiar powers of the heavenly ones."

Intuition allows us to perceive and understand real facts with absolute certainty, in ways in which mere instinct and unaided intellect never can. Instinct and intellect enable us to see the appearance of things, but Intuition enables us to perceive things as they really are, and not as they appear to our physical senses and cold reason. It is to intuition that we owe the Bible and many other sacred texts of all times, as well as many of the greatest discoveries of science. If we study the lives of the truly great scientists such as Newton, Kepler, Einstein and others, we see that they all received their great insights in a sudden, blinding flash of illumination. This is intuition and there can be no truly great science, art, literature or music without its guiding light.

Instinct, intellect and intuition are the three "Great I's" that animate the Temple we dwell in on earth and each has its role to play in the acquisition of knowledge and understanding on the path to the Light. But it is the work of the true occultist and mystic to go within and help themselves freely to all that is contained within their own Higher Selves in order that they may learn to control their Intellects, Instincts and Intuitions with WISDOM. In our seventh occult studies course article we shall examine the ASTRAL WORLD, in order to discover what it is and what it is not, so adding to our store of wisdom by the intelligent use of our intellect and intuition.

Published 12 March 2013 — © Copyright occult-mysteries.org. Updated 10 June 2023.

Search our website

The Temple you dwell in

Before we can understand the spiritual part of man, we need to know something about the material body—the wonderful temple in which the Higher Self resides on earth

Many Occult Schools make a grave mistake when they tell their students that the physical body is only a lump of worthless clay, to be left behind like a suit of worn out clothes when we die. Science tells us that the body consists mostly of water, plus a little salt and a few other unimportant ingredients. We should like to see any scientist take a couple of buckets of water, wine, or even coca-cola, and some chemicals, and construct a living body from them! It simply cannot be done.

There is no doubt that the ancient Egyptians had a great deal of veneration for the body. They knew it for what it is; the dwelling-place of the Higher Self. They did everything they could to preserve life, and after life they preserved the body by means of a highly scientific process and magical ritual. Their scientific methods have never been surpassed and it was not until comparatively recent times that science began to re-discover some of the secrets of embalming used in ancient Egypt.

The ancient Egyptians, in common with many other peoples and nations, did not believe in death being the end of man's existence. In fact they avoided the words 'dead' and 'death' in every way. Instead they talked about "he who is yonder", "the weary one", and death itself was spoken of as "putting into port", "having been blessed" and "passing on"—a phrase we still use today! Everything was done to prolong life and avoid extinction, both on earth and yonder.

From the earliest times, the Egyptians used medicines, surgery and treatments of all kinds to maintain the health and well-being of the body. There were a host of remedies for rheumatic complaints and the diseases of women as we can read in the Ebers Papyrus, whilst the Edwin Smith Papyrus describes the treatment of appendicitis, infantile paralysis, mastitis, tuberculosis, gout and a host of other diseases.

As we proceed through history we find many great men of science, such as Galen, Hippocrates, Paracelsus, Pasteur and Samuel Hahnemann, the founder of homeopathy, making public their discoveries—or perhaps we might say, rediscoveries—of the secret principles which govern the Temple of the Higher Self; principles which were perfectly known ages before in ancient Egypt. Today we find that the science of medicine has risen far above the guesses and quackery of the Middle Ages, or perhaps the guesses simply cover a wider field. But science is still as far away as ever from a complete understanding of this strange structure—the body.

That the theory of evolution is not entirely a modern one is proved by the writings of Anaximander (flourished about 570 B.C.), who said that the first man sprang from a different kind of animal. Heraclitus stated that "Nature loves to hide". This is still true today, for the further science penetrates into the manifold mysteries of the body, the more surprises it encounters and the more wonders it beholds.

Meanwhile, scientists evolve one theory after another to explain creation and evolution, only to reject them after a lesser or greater time. Yes, the men in white coats guess and disguise their guesses with long and learned sounding words and phrases; each word or phrase another screen that hides the Light of God, obscuring the truth and leading us into a deeper maze of yet more guesses.

The fact of the matter is that you cannot dissect creation with a scalpel, boil it in a retort, or bombard it with protons in a particle accelerator to discover its secrets. "Nature loves to hide." For the secret of creation and the Temple you dwell in is a secret of the SPIRIT that cannot be solved by material means, no matter how many hypothetical "Higgs bosons" scientists postulate! Material science is one of the greatest achievements of the human INTELLECT, and we have discovered what that is in our main article on your left; namely, the development of our accumulated animal intelligence.

Unless a scientist is a truly spiritual man, who uses his intuition, he cannot have any inkling of these secrets. If only the scientists would learn to contact the within of their Higher Selves—the inner chamber of our temple, lit up by the lamp of God's spirit—a microcosm so vast that it contains all creation, all wisdom, and all the light they could possibly require, they would find that there is no secret of the universe that is hidden from them; if they persist.

But we do not expect to be believed by the great majority who have not yet learned to go direct to the source of Truth in this way. You cannot tell others of the inner visions, the symbols, the beings you may meet in that great inner world within the Temple of your body. These messages are for YOU only, and no other person in the world can possibly understand them, much less interpret them for you. This, by the way, demolishes the popular notion of "dream interpretation" which so many occult students take so seriously!

You can read more about the different types of dreams and what they really are and mean in the 9th of our Astral Conversations articles. We discuss the wonders and mysteries of the human body and health and disease in more depth elsewhere on our website. See further reading list below.

occult mysteries