Human beings are so accustomed to working superficially that it is now very difficult to convey an idea of what it means to work with thought

Human beings are so accustomed to working superficially that it is now very difficult to convey an idea of what it means to work with thought, and of the extraordinary possibilities this work yields, which no other activity can provide. Take this example: when iron or copper are extracted from ore, tons and tons of ore are needed to obtain a certain quantity of metal. What is left is the gangue, or earth, which must be disposed of. In the same way, to obtain a few litres of rose essence, wagon-loads of petals are necessary. But a litre of this rose essence is so precious that it is worth a fortune. And what is the purpose of these analogies? They serve to help you understand that generally speaking our work consists in moving tons of gangue, the crudest of materials, whereas the mind allows us to extract the quintessence from it. As long as you are unable to work with thought to control your energies and direct them toward higher regions, everything you obtain will only resemble wagon-loads of ore, which burdens you needlessly. This state will continue until such time as you learn to extract its quintessence.