[Drifter]

[quote=Profpat;37031]Hi everyone;

Drifter;
Thank you for those links and interest and help. I now have some readings for this weekend.

Consider this Profpat;

and I ask your forgiveness for my banter Sir,

The self assumption of the thinking mechanism is to justify it's own existence is The Grandest illusion of all. (who was it that first coined the phraze, "I'd rather rule on Earth that serve in Heaven"?)

In man five ‘powers’ exist, which are the agents of perception---that is to say, through these five powers, man perceives material things.
These are;
sight, which perceives visible forms;
hearing, which perceives audible sounds;
smell, which perceives odors;
taste, which perceives foods; and
feeling, which is all parts of the body and perceives tangible things.
These five powers perceive outward existences.

Man has also ‘spiritual ‘powers’: These are;
imagination, which conceives things;
thought, which reflects upon realities;
comprehension, which comprehends realities;
memory, which retains whatever man imagines, thinks and comprehends.

The intermediary between the five outward powers and the inward powers is the ‘sense’ which they posses in common---that is to say, the sense which acts between the outer and the inner powers, conveys to the inward powers whatever the outward powers discern.
It is termed the ‘common faculty’, because it communicates between the outward and the inward powers and thus is common to the outward and inward powers.

For instance, sight is one of the outer powers; it sees and perceives this flower, and conveys this perception to the inner power—the common faculty---which transmits this perception to the power of imagination, which in turn conceives and forms this image and transmits it to the power of thought; the power of thought reflects and, having grasp the thought, conveys it to the power of comprehension; the power of comprehension, when it has comprehended it, delivers the image of the object perceived to the power of memory, and the memory keeps it in repository.

The outward powers are five: the power of sight, of hearing, of smell, of taste and of feeling.
The inner powers are five; the common faculty, and the powers of imagination, thought, comprehension and memory.

‘Common sense’ as defined by Abdul l baha.

I mean there are three realms of "Consciousness" or Being no? The Gross, Subtle and Casual?
The Gross Realm or the territory of the ego.
The Subtle Realm, that of Spirit and Matter.
The Causal or Divine/Universal.
And

THE FOUR METHODS OF ACQUIRING KNOWLEDGE

There are only four accepted methods of comprehension -- that is to say, the realities of things are understood by these four methods.

The first method is by the senses -- that is to say, all that the eye, the ear, the taste, the smell, the touch perceive is understood by this method. Today this method is considered the most perfect by all the European philosophers: they say that the principal method of gaining knowledge is through the senses; they consider it supreme, although it is imperfect, for it commits errors. For example, the greatest of the senses is the power of sight. The sight sees the mirage as water, and it sees images reflected in mirrors as real and existent; large bodies which are distant appear to be small, and a whirling point appears as a circle. The sight believes the earth to be motionless and sees the sun in motion, and in many similar cases it makes mistakes. Therefore, we cannot trust it.

The second is the method of reason, which was that of the ancient philosophers, the pillars of wisdom; this is the method of the understanding. They proved things by reason and held firmly to logical proofs; all their arguments are arguments of reason. Notwithstanding this, they differed greatly, and their opinions were contradictory. They even changed their views -- that is to say, during twenty years they would prove the existence of a thing by logical arguments, and afterward they would deny it by logical arguments -- so much so that Plato at first logically proved the immobility of the earth and the movement of the sun; later by logical arguments he proved that the sun was the stationary center, and that the earth was moving. Afterward the Ptolemaic theory was spread abroad, and the idea of Plato was entirely forgotten, until at last a new observer again called it to life. Thus all the mathematicians disagreed, although they relied upon arguments of reason. In the same way, by logical arguments, they would prove a problem at a certain time, then afterward by arguments of the same nature they would deny it. So one of the philosophers would firmly uphold a theory for a time with strong arguments and proofs to support it, which afterward he would retract and contradict by arguments of reason. Therefore, it is evident that the method of reason is not perfect, for the differences of the ancient philosophers, the want of stability and the variations of their opinions, prove this. For if it were perfect, all ought to be united in their ideas and agreed in their opinions.

The third method of understanding is by tradition -- that is, through the text of the Holy Scriptures -- for people say, "In the Old and New Testaments, God spoke thus." This method equally is not perfect, because the traditions are understood by the reason. As the reason itself is liable to err, how can it be said that in interpreting the meaning of the traditions it will not err, for it is possible for it to make mistakes, and certainty cannot be attained. This is the method of the religious leaders; whatever they understand and comprehend from the text of the books is that which their reason understands from the text, and not necessarily the real truth; for the reason is like a balance, and the meanings contained in the text of the Holy Books are like the thing which is weighed. If the balance is untrue, how can the weight be ascertained?

Know then: that which is in the hands of people, that which they believe, is liable to error. For, in proving or disproving a thing, if a proof is brought forward which is taken from the evidence of our senses, this method, as has become evident, is not perfect; if the proofs are intellectual, the same is true; or if they are traditional, such proofs also are not perfect. Therefore, there is no standard in the hands of people upon which we can rely.

But the bounty of the Holy Spirit gives the true method of comprehension which is infallible and indubitable. This is through the help of the Holy Spirit which comes to man, and this is the condition in which certainty can alone be attained.