The development of meditation can nevertheless be anticipated in outline by those who have direct insight into the peculiar contours of the mind of the individual, in the same way that a person who has thorough acquaintance with the details of the constitution of the solidified crust of the earth may, in general, expect the outburst of a volcano in one region rather than another. General lines of meditation can be anticipated When the surging powers in the bowels of the earth are trying to burst out, they are bound to take the line of least resistance, and their actual passage will be dependent largely upon the nature of the surroundings with which they are confronted. The difference between volcanic forces and the spiritual urge is that the former are unconscious, while the latter is a conscious phenomenon. Intelligence plays an important part in the course of meditation, and it is this intelligence which is kindled by the Master by giving to the aspirant a few simple suggestions about what kinds of things he has to do or expect in his meditations.
Meditation has often been misunderstood as a mechanical process of forcing the mind upon some idea or object. Intelligent meditation sustained by interest Most people naturally have an aversion to meditation because they experience great difficulty in attempting to coerce the mind in a particular direction, or to pin it down to one particular thing. Any purely mechanical handling of the mind is not only irksome but is bound ultimately to be unsuccessful.
The first principle which aspirants have to remember is that the mind can be controlled and directed in meditation only according to laws inherent in the make-up of the mind itself, and not by means of the application of any mechanical or semi-mechanical force.
