Franklin Merrell-Wolff - Pathways Through To Space: A Personal Record Of Transformation In Consciousness

Pathways through to Space

A Personal Record of Transformation in Consciousness

FRANKLIN MERRELL-WOLFF

With an Introduction by JOHN C. LILLY, m d.

DEDICATED

To those who, having found she emptiness of Hie external, hunger for the Life that is Everlasting

By coincidence, I was loaned a copy of the first edition of this book by Patricia Olds, the librarian of the Institute of Electronic and Electrical Engineers, at one of my workshops in New York City in the Fall of 1971. She saw the deep basic interlock between this book and my own work. I read it in the one weekend available and became excited enough to start (a) looking for my own copy (found with the help of Samuel Wriser, Inc ); (b) looking for the author; and (c) looking; for the publisher and/or the copyright owner. The author wrote of his transformation of consciousness in 1936 at an estimated age of 49; about 35 years had passed; I was not too sure he was still alive and loaned my copy to Arthur Ceppos of The Julian Press, Inc., who had just published my The Center of the Cyclone. He shared my enthusiasm and helped initiate the hunt for the author. We both drew a blank.

A year passed By this time I was back at Esalen Institute, Big Sur, California, giving a workshop. Unexpectedly a couple approached me and said, We understand you are looking for Merrell-Wolff. A hit surprised, I said, Yes, that is true. They had heard he was alive and would send his address. A weak later Toni and I received his address, and drove down the East side of California Sierra Nevada mountains to Lone Pine in the shadow of one of the highest of the U.S. mountains. Mt. Whitney Dr. Wolff was not listed in the phone book. The post mistress said he had a post box. but she was not allowed to tell us his address. I wrote Dr. Wolff a card and gave it to her to mail to him.

Just then a man came into the post office and the postmistress said, You know where Di Wolff lives, and you can tell Dr. Lilly where to go. I cannot. The man drew us a map.

We drove out of town (3700 ft.) to about 6000 ft up the flank of Whitney. The road became very narrow and just as we gave up, a house appeared at the end of the road. I went and knocked. A sprightly elderly man with a Van Dyke and a twinkle in his eye opened the door. I said. Dr. Wolff? He said, Yes. I said. I have read Pathways Through to Space and would like to talk with you about it. Can we arrange a time? He said, Come in. Anyone who finds this door finds it open.

In the ensuing discussion of four hours with Dr. Wolff, his wife, Tom and myself, and one of Dr. Wolffs disciples, we covered quite a bit of ground, ranging from the Bodhisatva vow to ones hold on the vehicle and why one bothers to remain on this planet. We discussed the possible republication of Pathways.

At one point Dr. Wolff accepted a copy of The Center of the Cyclone in exchange for another copy of Pathways. He noted that Center had been recommended to him by one of his students who promised to bring him a copy. With a twinkle in his eye he said to his wife, Please tell so-and-so that I now have the hook he recommended; the author delivered a copy personally.

Dr. Wolff presented me with his later book, The Philosophy of Consciousness Without an Object mimeographed in 1970 for his students.

I very strongly felt that the time for the republication of Pathway had arrived I presented the point of view that literally hundreds of thousands of young adults were now ready for the ideas, experiences, and philosophy expressed therein, and emphasized the fact that there are thousands of people where there were only a few hundred in 1944 who are in need of confirmation of their own experience, and in need of a showing of a pathway basically jnana, or the head trip route to higher states. Dr Wolffs own experiences in his transformation and recognition are written simply and have an awesome power to transform those who are ready for his deeply moving help.

In my own reading of this book, I found I was precipitated into states, spaces, universes of very high orders so frequently that the reading of it took several weeks. Each time I read it now, the experiences begin anew and I have found the same phenomenon when reading his Philosophy of Consciousness without an Object. Opening either book practically at random and reading awhile alters my state of consciousness into highly regarded and delightful regions. (Other than Center there are only two other hooks with this power over me: Olaf Stapledons The Star Maker [Dover] and G. Spencer Browns Laws of Form [Julian Press]).

As I lecture and give workshops, I find increasing numbers of people with mental properties similar to mine and Dr. Wolffs; persons who can he programmed into higher states of consciousness

by the right reading material. These are the new, increasingly numerous, audience for these books.

I am grateful that these persons will now be able to share in Dr. Wolffs truly great work and in his profound experiences.

John C. Lilly, M.D.

Los Angeles, California
January, 1973

It is now more than thirty six years since the precipitation of the inner events which led to the writing of this volume. It may be said now that the value of this unfoldment remains as high as it ever was. It is true that I would place tins treasure far above anything which may be obtained in the ordinary world field, in whatever domain, such as achievement in government, in business, in science, philosophy, mathematics or the arts. All these stand as values far inferior to these greater values which come from Fundamental Realization.

It remains true to my present state of consciousness that I would say that no accomplishment, in the world field, can be effective in solving the wrongness which is so evident in that field, without the insight and resources which are derived from Fundamental Realization. Therefore, it follows that all the efforts of man to solve his own problems, make life richer, and free it from the manifest evils which we see all about, is ineffective in the sense of achieving an effective resolution. As we look at the report recorded in the pages of history, we see the evils which were there in the past are still here today, and even find that those evils have become, if anything, greater than they were before.

As we advance in our scientific knowledge we not only implement the powers of good that may be in the world but we also implement the powers of evil, with the result that the old difficulties, the old wrongnesses, return again, if anything, in amplified form. Therefore, if we are to resolve in any durable way these difficulties that call for the function of Redemption it is necessary that more and more of this human whole should attain the perspective and the resources that come from Enlightenment.

The traditional solution to the wrongness has been in the form of a retreat from the world field, but it is here suggested that this is not the only possible way. There may be such a thing as transforming the very field of outer action to such an extent that that field itself becomes redeemed and transformed with the result that noble purpose is not distorted into ignoble effects. The task before us as religious in the deepest meaning of that word. But as we look upon the record of traditional religion it must be judged that traditional forms of religion have faded egregiously. This applies to all the religions that we know, less to some than to others, but so far the record of traditionalistic religion is one of essential failure. As it appears to me, that which is needed is a seeking for the ultimate Attainment on the part of as many people as possibleAttainment which is the very Essence of the religious search.

Furthermore, the seeking of this Attainment is not simply for the sake of ones own individual Redemption but for the sake of the Redemption of humanity as a whole and, in addition, of all creatures whatsoever, however humble they may be He who forgets his own Attainment and his own Redemption in seeking for the Attainment and Redemption of all creatures, is following the Path which is must certain to involve that very Attainment and Redemption for himself. The motive should always be the good of all creatures, not ones own private good.