xperiences may contradict the old.

Thus we have enumerated those five qualities of the soul which the occult
student in regular training, should acquire; control of the trend of his
thoughts; control of the impulses of his will; equanimity in sorrow and
joy; positiveness in his judgment of the world; and impartiality in his
view of life. After giving consecutive periods of time to the acquiring of
these qualities through continued practice, the student must go still
further, and bring all these qualities into a harmonious whole within the
soul, to achieve which, he will have to practice the exercises in twos and
twos together, or three and one, simultaneously, so as to bring about the
harmony desired.

The exercises indicated above are thus given out by occult teaching
because if faithfully carried out, they not only produce in the occult
student what we have called above direct results, but they lead indirectly
to much else that is needed on the path to the higher worlds. He who
practices these exercises sufficiently will, while doing so, become aware
of many a lack and many a failing in his own soul-life, and he will at the
same time find in them the very means necessary to give strength and
security to the intellect, to the emotional tendencies and to the
character as well. He will assuredly need many additional exercises,
according to his capacities, temperament, and character; these, however,
will present themselves if the above be frequently carried out. Indeed,
one will notice that the already indicated exercises, indirectly,
gradually yield that which at first does not seem to be in them. A person
endowed with but little self-confidence, for instance, finds in the course
of time, that by persistent practice the needed confidence in himself has
come about. And it is the same with many other soul qualities.(28)

It is a matter of significance that the occult student is capable of
raising these capabilities to ever higher degrees; and he must succeed in
so controlling his thoughts and feelings that the soul will have power to
maintain complete inner quietude for certain periods of time--periods
during which he can keep out of his mind and heart all those things that
in any way concern the outer everyday life, its joys and sorrows, its
pleasures and cares, even its tasks and demands. At such a time nothing
should be allowed entrance into the soul except what the soul itself
admits. An abjection may easily be made