A MASTER OF THE TEMPLE
The result of these practices on Frater V.I.O. was a
marked one. For one thing, the cutting of his arm during
the first practice in the control of speech-resulted in a sub-
conscious wariness, for during the second—the details of
which I have not recorded—he noticed that although the
object of the practice was the control of the body by not
crossing the legs, yet the attempt of the legs to drop into
their old habits often had the effect of making him suddenly
more careful in his speech, thus showing that there was an
underlying connection in his subconscious mind resulting
from his former work. These practices may then be said to
have a cumulative effect, which makes them all the more
valuable in helping towards the general control of body and
mind.
But what is of still greater importance as far as Frater
V.1.0. was concerned, they evidently had the effect—height-
ened perhaps by a letter from his Neophyte—of causing him
to make a fresh and more determined effort to perform the
Mystical Exercises for a definite period and with regular-
ity, according to his original A..A.. instructions. From
January 30th, 1911 to April 30th of that year, he kept a sci-
entifically tabulated diary and during the prescribed three
months he never missed a day in the performance of his
appointed task.
His results, during this period, were perhaps not of a very
startling nature, but, as any true Student learns, it is the
long and continued “grind,” the determined effort to carry
out the work in hand or task set, in spite of every obstacle
that may arise, that really counts when it comes to lasting
results. It is the Will that needs training, and the accom-
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