Edmond Bordeaux Szekely, in “The Teachings of the Essenes from Enoch to the Dead Sea Scrolls” (page 81), wrote:

“The natural law that two things cannot occupy the same space at the same time was clear to them, and they knew a person cannot think of two things simultaneously. Therefore if the mind is filled with positive, harmonious thoughts those that are negative and inharmonious cannot lodge in it. Positive, harmonious thoughts must be introduced into the subconscious to replace all inferior ones, just as the cells of the body must constantly be replaced by food, air and water as the old cells are broken down. This was a part of the task accomplished by the Essene Communions: introducing morning, 12 noon, and night superior currents of thought and feeling into the thinking and feeling bodies.

The subconscious can be regenerated by a diet of good and harmonious thoughts and feelings administered all during the day; but, especially at those moments of borderland consciousness when its receptivity is at its best.

It is known that when a person is fully conscious the subconscious mind does not easily accept a purposeful suggestion. And when in a subconscious state cannot of course influence the subconscious consciously. But there are moments when the consciousness is only half submerged in the subconscious, moments such as occur just before going to sleep, just after awaking from sleep, and sometimes when in a state of reverie such as is occasioned by beautiful music or poetry.

The subconscious is dynamic, ever changing, even as are the cells of the body, and it is constantly being fed by the experiences and impressions it receives from the conscious mind.

The subconscious has been defined as the totality of an individual’s experiences from birth to the current moment. Every dynamic new experience changes it; and it can be consciously changed according to the degree of the intensity of the impression put into it. The more intense the impressions, the more lasting will it be in the subconscious.

Certain other factors were known by the Essenes to govern the acceptance by the subconscious mind of a thought or a feeling. One was that if the conscious mind does not accept the thought as a reality and a possibility, the subconscious will also reject it.

Another was the necessity of projecting the thought to the subconscious without effort, spontaneously. If an effort is made, the fully conscious state is evoked and the subconscious cannot be reached. To act spontaneously and without effort requires complete relaxation of mind and body. This was part of Essene practice.

The accomplished the first step in relaxation by releasing the tensions or contractions of one group of muscles after another over various parts of the body. The second step was shallow breathing. This lessens the oxygen transport in the lungs and thus decreases the activities of the nerves and other parts of the organism since activity and relaxation cannot occur at the same time. The third step was to avoid thought. For man today this is generally not easy. One way of accomplishing it is by imagining, in total darkness and silence, the darkness of black velvet, and thinking of nothing else. Through these three steps the Essenes brought a kind of semiconscious into which a new thought or feeling could be readily introduced into the subconscious.

The thought introduced in this way should be rhythmic enough to maintain the state of relaxation and semi-consciousness. And it should have sufficient power to penetrate into the subconscious and be completely accepted as reality. The preconditions of consciously placing thoughts and feelings in the subconscious mind were perfectly met in the practice of the Essene Communions.