Thoughts On The Etheric Double

ether

1. the ether; the hypothetical medium formerly believed to fill all space and to support the propagation of electromagnetic waves

Sandwiched between our astral body and our physical body is what's known as the etheric double, or vital body. This is the vehicle that vitalizes and animates the physical body. It is an exact copy of the physical body. It may be better to state that the physical body is an exact copy of the etheric double. The etheric double cannot be seen with the physical eye. To get an idea of the relationship between the physical body and the etheric double, think of a glove lying on a table. It resembles a hand in that it has five fingers. However, it is motionless, still. It is not until one puts a hand into the glove that it "comes alive", that it moves, grasps and gestures. Using this analogy, we can say that our physical body is the glove, our hand is the etheric double.

One of the major functions of the etheric double is to absorb, transmute and distribute prana,  the Life Force, the vital energy that emanates from the Sun. Without this vital energy, the physical body could not "live". This prana is absorbed by the spleen chakra, which acts as a "distribution center". There, the pranic force is first specialized and then shipped to the other six main chakras. All of the chakras then transmit these energies along countless nadis, which act as highways for bringing the vital force to the farthest reaches of the physical body. 

It should be said that it is not the physical body that is vitalized, but the etheric double. Remember, it is an exact duplicate of the physical body. Thus, we have an etheric stomach, an etheric brain, etheric lungs, etc. The dense physical body is more like a covering for the etheric double. It is composed of chemical elements that are bonded together primarily through this vital energy, the life force. At death, the life force is withdrawn; the molecular bonds are released and the chemical elements begin to disperse. This dispersal is called decay. The etheric double lives on for a time, but that subject is beyond this basic discussion. 

The main function of the physical body and its organs is to sense impacts from the outside world and then transmit those impacts to the etheric double, or vital body. The etheric double then passes these impressions on to the astral (feeling, desire) and mental (thought) bodies for processing.

The etheric double uses the human nervous system to transfer the sensed impacts from the physical body to the higher bodies. The impacts from the objective world are sensed as vibrations of varying frequencies. The human sense organs (eyes, ears, nose, mouth, skin) transfer these subtle vibrations via the nerve fibers to subtle sensors in the astral body, like a relay system. The astral body, being the vehicle of feeling, desire and emotion, makes a decision regarding how it feels about the sensed impact(s) and then relays that feeling, desire or emotion to the mental body, where the mind makes a decision as to what action it wishes to take regarding the sensed impact(s).

It is of utmost importance that the etheric double be kept in the best condition possible. The majority of the illnesses we experience are a result of an imbalance or blockage of one or more force centres in the etheric double. Illness works from the inside out, not vice-versa, as our "brilliant" doctors and scientists want us to believe. Inharmonious vibrations will throw the vital body out of kilter. This is why we are urged to not drink alcohol, eat corpses or inhale smoke. Alcohol is a product of fermentation. Fermentation is simply a fancy word for decay. Animal corpses are, by definition, dead flesh. These too, are in a process of decay. Smoking serves to harden the etheric vehicle, making it less responsive and impairing its function.

The etheric double is a living vehicle, energized by the Sun's Life Force. It is the unseen force behind the active phenomena of the dense, physical body. One cannot supply this living, vital entity with dead, decaying, low-vibrating energies and expect to live a long, healthy life. It is impossible. Life cannot be nourished by death. Period. Yet man, in his stubborn ignorance, continues to eat, drink, feel and think the very things that will serve to bring him pain, suffering and ultimately, an early demise.

The etheric double is critical to what is about to take place on this planet. We are advised to familiarize ourselves with its nature and its function. (True) knowledge is power.

~ g