Mother's Chronicles (Book 2)

5

Rue Lemercier

Mirra's life flowed along, breaking into new banks.

Her intimate mingling with the artists was opening up many new vistas; but her personal life also went on gathering both rich or poor harvest —the variegated experience of life.

The next year, after her marriage with Morisset, she gave birth to her only child, a son, Andre. He was born on August 23, 1898.

After their marriage, the Morissets, we already know, were living in Rue Lemercier. The street is in Paris' 17th arrondissement. They had rented a first-storey flat in N°15. The house had a large garden at its back and, in the middle of the garden, a big studio with a glass roof. A foot-bridge linked the flat to the studio and reaching the studio became a staircase

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which led down to ground level.

Now, very soon after Andre's birth, Mirra fell ill. "My floating kidney," wrote Mirra to Andre in 1925, "dates from very soon after your birth." She had to lie in bed for several months. Even then Mirra never wasted her time; she started 'educating' herself.

Once, in 1963, "dates from very soon after your birth." She had to lie in bed for several months. Even then Mirra never wasted her time; she started 'educating' herself.

Mother expounded: "Quite simply it's a lack of education. If you educate yourself you remember very well. There are small holes in the consciousness —holes —so when you pass through a hole, you forget." Mother then cautioned : "Only it takes a lot of time to educate oneself; you shouldn't be in a hurry, you shouldn't be busy. I did it at a time when I was confined to my bed for five months. I had nothing to do; one can't read all the time —during those five months I read almost eight hundred books ... no, nine hundred and fifty! But the eyes get tired. So for the rest of the time —one

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can't sleep either when one is lying in bed all the time —I educated myself. That's when I learned to have completely conscious nights. But it is a training."

That is not the only thing that Mirra learned. She had not forgotten her gifted Red Indian friend who had come to France with Buffalo Bill. So she spent another part of her time doing exercises to develop other faculties. Mother was telling Satprem that if we developed our inner senses we could know infinitely more things than we ordinarily do; even physically, just using our inner senses.

Satprem asked, "But what is the method?"

Mother replied: "Oh, the method is very easy. There are various rules. It depends." She gave an example: "For the subtler senses, the method is to create an exact image of what you want." Mother then told him how she had 'educated' herself when she was afflicted with the floating kidney, while living in Rue Lemercier. "You practise seeing through an object.... Here's an example: I was once bedridden for a long time —several months —and I found it quite boring. I wanted to see. I lived in a room and it led to another small room, which in turn led to a kind of

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bridge." This small room was a drawing room which could be reached either through the flat or through the studio. "In the middle of the garden, the bridge changed into a flight of stairs, and went down to a spacious and beautiful studio built in the middle of the garden. I wanted to go and see what was happening in the studio —for I was getting bored in my room! So I stayed very still, closed my eyes, and gradually sent out my consciousness, little by little, little by little. I did this day after day, doing the exercise regularly at a set hour." She created for herself an exact image of the studio, and practised. Her persistence paid off. "After some time, I sensed physically, distinctly, that my vision was moving: I followed it and saw things going on downstairs of which I knew absolutely nothing. Later I would verify; in the evening I would ask, 'Did it happen like this? Was that how it was?'

Through sheer intensity of concentration, months of patient and stubborn practice, Mirra got a response. She obtained an extension to one of her physical senses.

Then, one by one, Mirra took up the education of her other senses.

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