awareness" without the knowledge that should accompany it may
bring pain to the individual and others.

The Candidate must meditate upon the "I," and recognize it--_feel_ it--to
be a Centre. This is his first task. Impress upon your mind the word "I,"
in this sense and understanding, and let it sink deep down into your
consciousness, so that it will become a part of you. And when you say
"I," you must accompany the word with the picture of your Ego as a Centre
of Consciousness, and Thought, and Power, and Influence. See yourself
thus, surrounded by your world. Wherever you go, there goes the Centre of
your world. YOU are the Centre, and all outside of you revolves around
that Centre. This is the first great lesson on the road to Initiation.
Learn it!

The Yogi Masters teach the Candidates that their realization of the "I"
as a Centre may be hastened by going into the Silence, or State of
Meditation, and repeating their first name over slowly, deliberately and
solemnly a number of times. This exercise tends to cause the mind to
centre upon the "I," and many cases of dawning Initiation have resulted
from this practice. Many original thinkers have stumbled upon this
method, without having been taught it. A noted example is that of Lord
Tennyson, who has written that he attained a degree of Initiation in this
way. He would repeat his own name, over and over, and the same time
meditating upon his identity, and he reports that he would become
conscious and "aware" of his reality and immortality--in short would
recognize himself as a _real_ center of consciousness.

We think we have given you the key to the first stage of meditation and
concentration. Before passing on, let us quote from one of the old Hindu
Masters. He says, regarding this matter: "When the soul sees itself as a
Centre surrounded by its circumference--when the Sun knows that it is a
Sun, and is surrounded by its whirling planets--then is it ready for the
Wisdom and Power of the Masters."

THE KNOWLEDGE OF THE INDEPENDENCE OF THE "I" FROM THE BODY. Many of the
Candidates find themselves prevented from a full realization of the "I"
(even after they have begun to grasp it) by the confusing of the reality
of the "I" with the sense of the physical body. This is a stumbling block
that is easily overcome by meditation and concentration, the independence
of the "I" often becoming manifest to the Candidate in a flash, upon the
proper thought being used as the subje