The New Personality

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What do we understand by "person" or "personality"? The personality is that part of the human manifestation which consists of the physical body, the etheric body, the astral body and the mental body. These four aspects together are also indicated in the bodily figure. The personality or bodily figure includes a part of the soul, which is the earthly soul, or blood-soul. We will explain these aspects, as well as the soul-figure and the consciousness, in greater detail later on. What we want to point out now is that the personality, the bodily figure bound together by the earthly soul, is not acceptable to the Spiritual School any more than the soul-figure and the spiritual-figure. The personality, no matter how hard one tries, can never be the basis for a life in the Divine world order.

The personality is structurally not in a condition that is in harmony with the personality of the Original Man. The difference is not the degree of  'density', nor is it a matter of difference in vibration. There is a structural, anatomic-organic difference. As a consequence, the personality cannot enter the Kingdom of God, for "flesh and blood cannot inherit the Kingdom of God". This is scientifically impossible.

That is why it is said to everyone who wishes to approach the Spiritual School: "except that a man is born of water and of the spirit, he cannot enter the Kingdom of God". The word 'water' stands for the Original Cosmic Substance or Root Substance, in the same sense as it is used in Genesis: "The Spirit of God moved on the face of the waters", whereas the word 'Spirit' refers to the divine spirit-nucleus (g: the divine-spark), the universal center of consciousness, which must be 'raised from the dead'. The words of Christ refer to the necessity of the resurrection of the Original Man, if there is ever to be a re-entry into the lost Fatherland.

The Original Man is now bound to an earthly personality which was not included in the Divine Plan, which enables him to express himself in the dualistic, material world. But he is and remains of this nature and shares in its transitory character in the uninterrupted death and decay of all that comes into being. Therefore, this personalty is also mortal. It may not and cannot maintain itself. Now this is the Great Mystery:  the spirit born of God that sighs and suffers in this fallen world and is chained to the rocks of duality is obliged, for the sake of its liberation and return to obedience to God, to build another, heavenly, Original personality.

This new personality is built within the old or dualistic personality. Sometimes it is called the heavenly body, or sometimes the True New Man. Those who possess such a reconstructed personality are eligible for initiation. Initiation is the building of the structure and potential of this new personality and its expansion and exploration. This process develops under the protection and guidance of the Spiritual School.

He who is conscious of the new personality will say, as Paul does in 2 Corinthians 5: "for we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed with our house which is from heaven". For others, Paul expresses the hope that they, too, may be found 'clothed' and not 'naked' at the death of the physical body.

There is no question here of an automatic, natural development, but of a development that must be attained through a great exertion, 'in fear and trembling'. When one has built this eternal tabernacle, then in him the words of Revelations 21 are fulfilled: "and I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men". Not until then will he possess the Personality that truly is the temple of the Holy Spirit.

From "What Will Be Initiated?" - Elementary Philosophy of the Modern Rosycross - Jan van Rijckenborgh

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This is the sole duty and responsibility of every human presently alive in the physical world. You are an image-bearer of God who has been given a combination of vehicles specially-designed to assist you in accomplishing a Great Work. While enfleshed, it is your task to awaken your sleeping Divine-spark, locate the true Path of Liberation, effect a fundamental reversal of life and walk through the oh, so narrow Gate that leads back to the Original Kingdom.

If the physical life ends without your having taken at least the very first steps on the Path of Return, you can consider your incarnation to have been a failure.

~ g
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More On The Atmospheric Revolution

This post is a follow-up to The Atmospheric Revolution, July 1, 2012.

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One should also not overlook the fact that metals and stones become "fatigued" much more quickly than was formerly the case. Present atmospheric concentrations have a strong oxidizing and disintegrating tendency. In our time, the ultraviolet and thus disintegrating cosmic rays, in combination with concentrations of inert gases of the same polarity, will put an end to much that has always been regarded as ageless. They are also responsible for irregularities and deviations in engines and instruments.

In this respect, the disease which has affected the Notre Dame, that beautiful Gothic monument in Paris, provides us with an extremely instructive lesson. The walls, stones and sculptures of the Notre Dame and several other large French churches and monuments, have been affected by a process of rapid decay called the stone plague (g: also known as stone decay). Great lumps of pulverized and totally porous stone fall off, and no matter what precautionary measures are taken, it seems that the disease cannot be checked. Even new stones which are inserted for repair soon share the same fate. As a result, should no effective counter-measure be found, the fate of these buildings, which have hitherto defied the centuries, is sealed.

One may wonder why so many French churches are falling victim to this disease. The cause lies in the fact that certain remarkable atmospheric constellations are gathering over France, which are connected with future events in Europe.

As for the Notre Dame, there is an additional cause which places the new cosmic influences in a special light. The Notre Dame is a masonic edifice. That does not mean that this Gothic cathedral was built by freemasons linked with a Spiritual School, but by ecclesiastical prelates who used magic to captivate the public to an even greater extent than was already possible  by means of ordinary church practices.

The Notre Dame was built by an archbishop who practiced occultism for the benefit of the church. He is responsible to the French people for the three magically powerful "roses" placed in both the transepts and above the organ loft. These three "roses" work collectively upon the three corporeal structures of those who are present in the church and, when seen with etheric sight, they have a distinct, rotating, clockwise movement from left to right.

These influences cause the public to become strongly bound to the power-field of the church. At the same time they bring the building, with the help of which they occur, into an atmosphere which makes it highly susceptible to the disintegrating ultraviolet activity in the atmosphere.

We considered it essential to give this explanation regarding air crashes and the stone plague  as an introduction to what will be discussed in the following chapters, in order to spur the reader on to deeper reflection on the atmospheric revolution which is currently spreading with so much power. All the kingdoms of nature will be affected by this agitation "in the clouds of heaven". In the Spiritual School all these activities are stirring the pupil to wakefulness; they are stimulating him to serious investigation and driving him to a way of life which counteracts the passion for destruction and links him with the healing and constructive forces of structural rebirth, which seek to lead him into a New World.

As a result of the atmospheric revolution a great drama is being enacted in world history, a drama in which air catastrophes and the decay of cultural monuments will be mere incidental phenomena. Among other things, the atmospheric forces will have a disrupting effect on the bodies of all those who continue to cling to their earthly nature. By influencing, among other things, the endocrine glands, these forces will confront physicians with tremendous problems. A few examples may serve to illustrate this.

The activity of the two adrenal glands which formerly had such a soothing and tranquilizing effect upon  human emotions, will be seriously disturbed and will increase, for example, the incidence of diabetes. A diminishing of the spleen activity will be responsible for an increase in the various forms of anemia.

Infant mortality will result from an alteration in the activity of the thymus gland. Apparently an overwhelming number of disorders of the thyroid gland have already attracted the attention of the medical profession. The increasing number of congenital malformations is related to the pituitary, while an alarming increase in symptoms of insanity draws attention to the pineal gland.

This is anything but a reassuring picture, but it is certain that a new revolutionary, spiritual orientation and a way of life in conformity with it, can reveal to the person concerned a powerful and entirely different group of vital forces. The coming times will teach us that it is of no use to stand aside, speculating and contemplating, and that man is forced to make a positive Choice in life. Thus the atmospheric revolution bears, for some, the signature of death, whereas for others it opens the gateway to a Higher Good.

The Spiritual School of the Rosycross awakens its pupils to the genesis of a new spiritual consciousness and to a regenerative encounter with the forces of Christ in the clouds of heaven.

"The Atmospheric Revolution" - The Great Revolution - Jan van Rijckenborgh

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Below are pictures of the South, North "rose" windows of Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris.

Don't stare.

~ g

Prayer - Conclusion

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We also want to draw your attention to the magic of the Roman Catholic prayers. Much is achieved and maintained in the Catholic church by means of prayer. They are addressed not to the Lord of all life and His hierarchy but to the Roman Catholic god on the other side of the veil. That is why all kinds of prayer books are used, filled with set prayers designed to maintain the binding between the masses of the Roman Catholic god. An entire pantheon of saints is maintained for the same purpose. The faithful are given some Our Fathers to recite, to be counted off on the rosary. By all these practices, those who pray are worked up to a great intensity of prayer. In this way, the Roman Catholic organizations in the reflection-sphere, who maintain the entire flock, are invoked.

One also thinks of prayers for the dying by means of the system of "in memoriam" cards. By these prayers the departed are seriously hampered if they try to free themselves from the grip of the church, because such prayers have the effect of re-animating the sacrament of extreme unction.

The priests exhort the church-going masses to pray often. This is quite understandable, for what is at stake is the unity of the church, maintained through the magic of public worship, the sacraments and prayer. It will be clear how dualistic this magic power is and how it debases prayer.

In Protestantism there is also much praying, but since it has no hierarchy in the reflection-sphere due to its dis-unity, it is a helpless prey for numerous forces in the reflection-sphere. The Roman Catholic hierarchy is active in this field and with more success than many could imagine. The Roman Catholic hold also exists in the General Synod.

Generally speaking, there are four things which motivate man to maintain his dualistic self-preserving nature. These are love, wealth, power and fame. He is driven by "love" in his sexual life and his love for possessions, his children, his own person, family, nation, tribe and race. The desire for wealth expresses itself in such things as striving to earn money, providing for old age, application to all kinds of studies, the development of ambition and the desire to see one's children get on in the world.

The craving for power expresses itself in such things as the desire to command respect, the manner in which people try to attain their objectives and the illusion of wanting to be "somebody".

The craving for fame finds expression in the great value that people attach to various national historical events and the high esteem they have for military glory, the system of orders of the knighthood, sports honors and so on.

Man's prayers are attuned to these motives and all kinds of dualistic miseries from within and without lead him, in his distress, to pray for his own preservation.

For the spiritually advanced and understanding person such motives have not the least significance. He prays for the spiritual welfare of his being. His prayer is aimed at the well-being of mankind and arises from altruism and not from selfishness. He prays for love, encompassing all things and all beings; for spiritual riches, so that he can help to liberate mankind from its distress; for glory so to become and be such that his life announces God's glory by his deeds.

The true magic invocation, the true prayer of the pupil, abides by the law never to ask anything for oneself. It is the complete surrender to the Divine Command: "Seek first the Kingdom of God and all things shall be added unto you". It is self-surrender with absolute faith in the Divine guidance.

Moreover, the pupil will realize that the quality and power of his prayers depend on his inner state with regard to consciousness, soul and body. Therefore, he will "live the Life" with all the strength that is in him.

From "Prayer" - Elementary Philosophy of the Modern Rosycross - Jan van Rijckenborgh

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Prayer - Part I

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Prayer is something that has degenerated considerably. For many it is only a habit based on the idea: "If it doesn't do any good, at least it will do no harm". For many, prayer is a mystical act kept up out of a certain reverence for something that has been handed  down from generation to generation. But nobody knows anymore what really happens or should happen.

In protestant life there is much praying. There are ministers who even develop prayer records. However, these do not impress the congregation very much but rather, arouse feelings of boredom, unless they attract attention by their emotionalism. Exceptions to this are rare. Countless people have given up prayer because they consider it nonsense.

Rosicrucians also pray. However, for them there is no question of acting out of mystical emotionalism or to express feelings of reverence, and certainly not out of habit. In this respect they have broken radically with tradition. The prayer of the Rosicrucian is based on the knowledge of a conscious process, for prayer is a magic invocation and every prayer is heard, although not in the sense imagined by the masses.

When we pray, we are thinking, willing and desiring. It is an activity of the whole human triangular fire and this results in creation. When we pray, we desire something that we grasp with our reason, supported by a certain feeling and rendered active by the spoken word. That is the creative fiat, the magic prayer. This process can be analyzed scientifically and it is easy to understand that the quality of prayer, the nature of the desire, motives, mentality and psychological state at that moment are decisive for the result.

There will be a result, because magic invocation travels as a force, a vibration, a creative unity, to  a sphere with which it corresponds in quality. Prayer then attracts forces from that sphere and the result will be in accordance with it. If man invokes God, Christ or the Holy Spirit out of his lower primitive state, prompted by a selfish desire, he will logically attract selfish forces, because he himself has invoked them by the black magic of his prayer. He invoked the "god", the force of his primitive imagination and it is this "god' who reacts. So there is always an answer to every prayer, although it is not always to our liking and corresponding to our intention. The well-known commandment warns against this kind of magic: "You shall not make yourself any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or on the earth or in the water under the earth".

It is said that a pyramid arises when we pray which vibrates and is coloured in conformity with our inner quality. Therefore, prayer can be something highly dangerous, for all misunderstood prayer turns against us. Such magic always results in the attainment of the unexpected. In practice it often happens that first of all we spoil things and get ourselves in a mess and then, when we see no solution to this self-created predicament we start to pray: "Oh, God, help us". Even the invocation "Oh, God". will turn against us. God is no servant of our animal or primitive state. It will be clear how undesirable this magic is.

End Part 1

From  "Prayer" - Elementary Philosophy of the Modern Rosycross - Jan van Rijckenborgh

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Ether Parasites - Conclusion

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The Archetype

When a microcosm, tied to the Wheel of Birth and Death, prepares for a new manifestation in matter, he forms an archetype within the limits of his karma, a matrix in which  a certain vitality is contained for the future earthly existence. The force that flows from the archetype represents the potentialities of life. When this force is used up, when the '"candle of life" has burned away, death inevitably follows. If a rational use is made of this force and a correct attitude of life is observed, life will last longer, within the framework of the potentialities which have been granted. In case of a stupid, irrational use, life will be shorter.

If a person is forcibly removed from his body, as happens during war or as the result of an accident, it may be that death coincides with the normal death of the archetype, but it can still be premature death, striking while the archetype still has some vitality left. In this case, reincarnation follows promptly, within the vitality of the old archetype, and the new personality will usually die in childhood, or at least at an early age. This procedure is necessary because of the existence of the old archetype, whose remaining vitality must be used up.

Suicide

When death is caused by suicide, the consequences are terrible. The archetype is still fully active, but its potential is no longer used, due to the loss of the material body. The suffering will be horrible and without any possibility of release through reincarnation; there is no chance of entering the sphere of transition; one cannot achieve purification and there is no possibility of elevation to a heavenly sphere. Consciousness is all there is; mental and moral experience of the deed repeated over and over again; terror and remorse without relief. The only possibility of salvation is that relatives or friends, prompted by love, bring about a binding with the poor wretch, willing to take upon themselves his or her rejected karmic burden. Suicide always increases suffering on earth.

Why do we mention all this? Because many earth-bound spirits incite people to commit suicide and murder and all kinds of other horrible crimes. Their motives will now be abundantly clear: the forces which the archetype continues to radiate also contain a constant flow of ether vibrations, transmuted on behalf of the material body which no longer exists. What a splendid source and supply of nourishment for vampires...

Now we have arrived at the question: how can we rid ourselves of mediumship? How can satanism be fought? How can we cure humanity of this scourge? The answer is: by consciously changing and ennobling our way of life, from below upwards; by self-freemasonry, free from all authorities; by guarding against persuasion in whatever form and by rejecting all spiritualistic influences; by striving for first-hand Knowledge in an objective attitude of life; by fundamental reversal and by letting ourselves be guided by an ever-growing, all-embracing love for mankind, knowing that "though we have all things and have not universal Love, we have nothing and are nothing".

From "Spiritualism" - Elementary Philosophy of the Modern Rosycross - Jan van Rijckenborgh

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Perhaps the foregoing may offer some insight into such matters as the reasons behind sudden infant death syndrome, or fatal childhood diseases. Life is a continuity. There is no "death". Because man looks at life from the outside-in, he sees only tragedy and despair. When we gain much-needed insight such as that offered above and endeavor to look at life objectively, we begin to see the workings of the Plan.

In the matter of suicide, Max Heindel once said, "there is no skipping school". The suicide attempts to get away from life, only to find himself alive as ever and in a much more miserable state. The fact that so many are urged to consider and execute this rash decision by unseen denizens of the lower realms of the reflection-sphere only adds to the ignominy of the deed.

Man in his relentlessly mis-guided self-focus, sees only one side of the coin when it comes to explaining his existence. It is imperative that we obtain insight into the workings of the Invisible Worlds in order to craft a full, complete picture of how things are and how things come to be. Only then can we accurately identify the forces that are arrayed against us and take rational, informed measures to overcome them.

~ g
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Ether Parasites - Part III

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Satanism

One might ask whether these entities, who are so set on remaining earth-bound, cannot satisfy their appetites with ethers that volatilize through the efforts and activities of the many who direct themselves to the higher planes; or with ethers liberated in the ordinary earthly life-processes. There are indeed thousands who try this and there are also hordes of elementals that parasitize in that way.

There are countless entities in the sphere of transition who use this method. For instance, if their earth-binding is mainly due to dipsomania (def: insatiable craving for alcoholic beverages), they will haunt bars and other places imbued with alcoholic vapors to satisfy their appetites. Tens of thousands of others suffer from nicotine addiction, which is even more dangerous than dipsomania. They, too, can be found in the drinking places and in houses where there is much smoking, and especially in the smoking carriages of trains. Many of these entities stay near human beings to get the food they long for by means of this vulture-like practice.

There is hardly a photograph which, on keen observation, does not show several elementals. A photographic plate is often more sensitive than the human eye. On photographs, taken immediately after the death of a relative, we often see an impression of the deceased who was not yet ether-free and still had a tie with the earth. Of course, such a phenomenon is not lasting.

Parasitism in the form of vulture-like practices is only a temporary phenomenon with these wretched creatures. They are not sufficiently bad, conscious or cunning and besides, they do not possess enough higher ethers to be able to maintain themselves. They are only loathsome, dirty like vermin.

Further investigation shows that a good deal more cunning and quite different methods are necessary for permanent residence in the intermediate sphere. For entities who aim at this it is a question of "to be, or not to be". Their fear of hellish spheres is so terrible and their longing to prolong their lives is so dynamic that they have no scruples at all about what they do to maintain themselves by gaining ethers. The activities of the Nazis, their horrible bestiality, their incomprehensible cruelty and their lust for murder were, quite literally, derived from and inspired by satanism. Satanism can have such a grip on a human being or nation that it incarnates, so to speak.

Satanism is now stronger than ever before and hangs over the world like a dark cloud. As a result, spiritualistic activities are more powerful and widespread than ever before. Hundreds of thousands have been caught by it and theoretically the situation could be called hopeless as far as present-day humanity is concerned.

Conditions in the intermediate sphere are so chaotic, the grip on all living beings is so intense, such terrible advantage is taken of the decency still left in many people and the demons are with us so directly and in such numbers that ten years ago we would have considered it an impossibility. So many of the finest people have been caught by satanism that we must say that the prince of darkness has established his kingdom on earth; that satanism rules this world.

There may be those who think that we are exaggerating, but these things and these dangers cannot be exaggerated. What may seem to be the greatest exaggeration and the boldest fantasy is no more than a simple indication of a dreadful realty.

How does satanism work? To understand this we must begin with the fact that the etheric body of every man and woman is different in nature and vibration. This means that an entity in the intermediate sphere cannot simply usurp strange ethers. He will certainly try, but he will not be able to keep them for any length of time because they volatilize readily on account of his own differing vibration formula. So, to succeed in this he resorts to an extremely cunning process of over-shadowing. He must try to take possession of a being that lives on earth with whom he has a certain degree of polarity so that, after a few months or years, a suitable balance in vibrations will be established. He will then be able to vampirize the required ethers, literally draining them off and will live at the expense of his victim, who leads a miserable existence.

He associates with accomplices and in this way controls entire groups, drawing off ether and phosphorous forces, which he assimilates by way of a medium. In this way such entities keep their spiritualistic groups just as a farmer keeps pigs, hens and cows and lives on what they produce.

Sometimes there are accidents, when the controlling entities penetrate so deeply into the being of their victims that they dislodge them completely. The result is lunacy, from which most controls shrink since they could not very well use such a strange body, for then they would also lead a miserable life. In other cases, however, such entrances are forced for fear of being expelled from the sphere of transition, or for fear of colleagues, or on account of a fight between several entities who are controlling the same medium. Anything is possible with them.

There are still a number of problems and questions on this subject to discuss, such as the nature of the mystifications, the organization of satanism, the causes of suicide, the general nature of murders, the cause of bestial actions and the influence on religion and occultism. Above all, the way of curing satanism and the way of fighting it need to be discussed.

End Part 3

From "Spiritualism" - Elementary Philosophy of the Modern Rosycross - Jan van Rijckenborgh

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From earliest youth onwards, every child is drilled to accept that "there are no such things as ghosts". This is a part of the clever mis-education of humanity that eventually results in countless numbers of adult human beings stumbling blindly through life struggling against forces we have been instructed to disregard as fantasy.

This writer has an acquaintance who is consistently depressed and has contemplated suicide on several occasions. Even after explaining the nature of the reflection-sphere and the reasons behind her emotional distress, she continues to play hostess to dark thoughts and emotions. She is obviously being over-shadowed by some fairly persistent reflection-sphere entities and has been since childhood. The only thing that has been able to give her pause was when this writer explained to her that those who commit suicide will face an even greater suffering when they transition to the reflection-sphere, due to the fact that the archetype from which the physical human was constructed still exists and cannot be dissolved prematurely. Perhaps there will be a short post on this in the future.

The point is that almost all psychological and emotional maladies experienced by humans can be explained by some sort of over-shadowing or outright possession by earth-bound entities inhabiting the lower realms of the reflection-sphere. They hover about us, constantly seeking an opportunity to prod us into performing the specific actions that will release ethers of the specific vibration quality that they require. If you think you are alone where you are right now, you are not. Your demons are with you, and will remain with you until you first gain insight into what is really going on and then take the steps to purify your thinking, willing and desiring.

Steady and constant purifying work, if successful, will raise the vibration of one's etheric, emotional and mental bodies to levels higher than these earth-bound entities can match. You will become useless to them. They must then flee from you and try to locate a new victim, a new host to parasitize.

It may be helpful to remember these things the next time one encounters an impulsive desire to drink, smoke, consume narcotics, argue, fight, indulge in promiscuous or self-harming behavior, depressive thoughts, etc. There are entities on the other side of the veil just waiting for you to make that move and who are more than willing to assist you so that they can gorge themselves on the ethers you will give off. The split-second you entertain such thoughts or desires, discarnate entities of like-vibration will instantly flock to your side, prepared to "fan the flames", as it were. Try to keep that visual in mind.

These points are not meant to inspire fear or dread. They are designed to provide the reader with much-needed insight into the extent that mankind has been enslaved. Fear/ignorance is like a dark room. Knowledge can be likened to a candle. Once this candle is taken into the dark room of fear/ignorance, we can see where everything is and what must be done to avoid danger. No longer ignorant, fear dissolves. We now see clearly and can navigate the Path that lies before us with some measure of confidence.

~ g
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Ether Parasites - Part II

 

The After-Death State

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As soon as a human being dies, a temporary splitting takes place in the etheric body. Normally, the two lower ethers stay behind with the material body, while the two higher ethers remain temporarily with the departed, although some of the two lower ethers are often taken along. The more earth-bound an individual was during his material existence, the more directed towards the earth he was (which does not imply that he was bad but only normally biological), the more lower ethers will be gathered around the deceased.

In this condition the deceased goes to the sphere of transition, the intermediate sphere which is often described as the sphere of purification or purgatory. It consists of the three lower spheres of the desire-world, the kama-loka of Eastern philosophy. You should bear in mind that the remnants of the etheric garment of the deceased keep him bound to the earthly sphere, since the etheric body of man is also built of and maintained by material and powers of this sphere.

It will be clear that since the deceased has left the etheric plane, the remnants of the etheric garment cannot be maintained; they decompose, they volatilize; the deceased cannot maintain them. This is of the utmost importance, for as soon as the remnants have also disappeared the time comes for the human being to assimilate his knowledge of his true state-of-being. Only then does he come to true insight with regard to himself, and then he departs for the heavenly or hellish domain, according to his state-of-being. Everyone can now readily understand that the possession of ethers after death causes a strong tie with the earth.

When a human being finds his earthly tie undesirable, when he is no longer interested in it but on the contrary wants to get rid of it as soon as possible, he will do nothing to hold back the process of volatilization of his ethers. However, if it is the other way round, if his interest is directed towards the earth and he wants to maintain his tie with it at any cost, he will do anything to check the process of volatilization. He will try to replenish every loss of ether to increase his ether supply, and in this way he will artificially prolong his sojourn in the sphere of transition.

It is in these things that we find the cause of spiritualism and all related phenomena, such as satanism, earth-bound spirits and so on. It stems from the many thousands of entities in the sphere of transition who are out for ether robbery, parasitizing and exploiting the earthly sphere. That is spiritualism: robbery of some of the lower ethers, but mainly of the two higher ethers.

Of  course, these things require a thorough study and serious consideration because they concern a real horror, a danger which practically no one can escape. All of us are victimized to a greater or lesser extent by these hordes of ether parasites. Many of our less pleasant and less virtuous characteristics grow to proportions far beyond our real state-of-being because they are deliberately aroused by these entities. The base feeling of jealousy is one example, for every act of jealousy is at the expense of the light ether of the person who develops it. It is the same with the activity of opposition, intentional, conscious opposition, for whatever reason it may be. Such an activity costs light ether but more especially reflecting ether, since it is the thinking capacity that prevails.

Such lower activities can be stirred far beyond their normal proportions by the powers from yonder side, to the extent that self-control becomes impossible. It is this ether-bleeding that forms food for the lurid entities that we have been describing here.

It is the same with passion, perversity, melancholy and -- not to be forgotten -- intellectual excesses. They are accompanied by ether explosions at the cost of a great quantity of ether. All forms of psychological abnormality are largely to be explained from the activities of ether parasites.

End Part 2

From "Spiritualism" - Elementary Philosophy of the Modern Rosycross - Jan van Rijckenborgh

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Invisible forces are arrayed against incarnate humanity, who for the most part have no idea that they are being victimized. How many of our thoughts are really our own? How many of our impulsive and sometime inexplicable actions are driven by forces that cannot be seen with the naked eye? This is why the seeker must obtain insight into his or her true state-of-being. Recognizing the reality of the invisible worlds and the activities of some of the desperate entities that reside there is huge step in that direction. Once one knows who his enemies are, one can take proper and effective measures to disarm them.

Where are our thoughts and feelings really coming from? Why that thought? Why that emotion? We must endeavor to always think soberly before we speak or act. This must become habit. Never speak or act impulsively. We must be on guard constantly, lest our poorly-policed thoughts and desires drag us to places we really do not wish to go. Ultimately, this allows us to be used as a nourishing source of ether-food by the opportunistic, desperate, hungry denizens of the regions beyond the veil.

Deception abounds in the reflection-sphere. The more one knows about the shenanigans taking place there, the better prepared one will be for the traps and pitfalls that will surely be encountered along the Path of Return.

~ g
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Ether Parasites

The Ethers

 

[QUOTING]

At death the material body and the greater part of its etheric double remain on this side of the veil, where they are subject to the process of decay. The consciousness, with the rest of the body, departs for yonder side. We will now discuss this subject in connection with one of the worst scourges of mankind, that is spiritualism.

The etheric body consists of four different kinds of ether, known as

chemical ether,
life ether,
light ether and
reflecting ether.

g: the above are ranked from lowest to highest

The material body is maintained by means of these four ethers. All organic and sensory functions, all brain activities and emotional activities are performed by means of these ethers.

organic : chemical ether
sensory : life ether
emotional : light ether
thought : reflecting ether

A distinction should be made between the two lower ethers and the two higher ethers, for the lower ones are coarse in vibration while the higher ones are finer. The etheric substance by means of which we think has a very fast vibration, whereas the ethers from which the cells of our body are built have a comparatively slow vibration.

Many of those who have studied these matters have the mistaken idea that having a great deal of the two higher ethers is an indication of spirituality in a person, while a great measure of the lower ethers indicate coarseness. However, this is quite untrue. From a spiritual point-of-view, light ethers and reflecting ethers can be infinitely coarser, more disastrous and bestial, and at least more dangerous, than the lower ethers; just as the higher being, man, is a thousand times more dangerous than the lower being, the animal.

We sometimes speak of bestial passions. However, the passion of animals is purely functional; animals express themselves within the limits of their instincts and of their group-spirit. Human passions however,  are definitely bad. Many people with etheric sight are beside themselves with admiration when they observe a certain activity of the higher ethers in an individual, when they see an individual with much light ether and reflecting ether at work.  But the devil, too, can appear to us as an angel of light.

Reflecting ether is primarily a thinking ether. The worst people are often endowed with a tremendous thinking capacity and have a considerable amount of reflecting ether. All emotional activities, from the lowest to the highest, require light ether.

In general it can be said that the two lower ethers are required for ordinary bodily functions and that, whenever man appears or plays a part in life as a thinking or emotional being, the two higher ethers are required. It is therefore incorrect to say that to possess a great deal of the higher ethers means that an individual is spiritually cultured. It only proves that the person in question takes an active part in life, regardless of whether this is in a positive sense or not.

The ethers give no indication of the spiritual quality or spiritual advancement of an entity; methods of testing whether the spirits are of God have nothing to do with ether activity. Neither can the colors of the ethers teach us anything, for with the aid of the will we can make our ethers any colour we like.

Moreover, there are still so many mystifications in this matter that it is most emphatically advised to distrust every suggestion and reject any apparition unconditionally. The true pupil is given other methods of acquiring discrimination.

End Part 1

From "Spiritualism" - Elementary Philosophy of the Modern Rosycross - Jan van Rijckenborgh

[END QUOTING]

The take-away from the above is that we can discern nothing about an entity from viewing its aura. A glowing aura of magnificent color and light intesity does not ensure purity, godliness, angelic origins, etc. If one should happen to view or be approached by such an entity, caution is advised. Without elementary knowledge of such things, one can easily be deceived.

~ g
.

What Is Gnosis?

[QUOTING]

The human being can become conscious of the living reality of the Gnosis through the Spirit-spark hidden in his heart.

In Greek, Gnosis means Knowledge, Knowing, and is a vitally necessary experience, a Spiritual Path by which the true human Spiritual essence becomes conscious and active. Hence, Gnosis is primarily a very alive and relevant reality, and not a faith in a philosophical or religious system or knowledge in the sense of information.

Nor is Gnosis solely a religious movement of the past. The living reality of the Gnosis can be transmitted to a human being through the Spirit-spark, which lies hidden in his heart, yes, it is this Spirit-spark, the true human essence itself; it is the Spiritual World, God, in which this Spirit-spark is embedded.

Knowledge

If this Spirit-spark, or Light-spark, of which the ancients spoke, is activated in the heart of a human being, such a person is first deeply touched. He is awakened by the Power of the Gnosis, of the Spirit. More powerfully than ever, he suddenly sees his life and the world in which he lives with other eyes. He gains self-knowledge.

On the one hand, he recognizes the transient aspect of his existence and his being: his life controlled by I-centrality in a world controlled by I-centrality. On the other hand, he discovers the Imperishable aspect of his existence: he experiences himself as an Imperishable being. He feels that he has originated from a Spiritual World and that he is destined to live consciously in this Spiritual World. He becomes aware that he can only grow toward this Destination, if he gives up his I-centrality and lets his True Self blossom forth. The perishable aspect of his existence must put itself at the service of the Imperishable aspect. This inevitably results in a new mode of life. A process of inner change begins.

In The Gospel of Truth we can read:

"Hence, if one has Knowledge, he is from Above. If he is called, he hears, he replies, and he turns toward Him who called him. He desires to please Him and he finds rest. He who is thus going to have Knowledge knows whence he came and whither he is going. He knows it as a person who, having become intoxicated, has turned from his drunkenness, and having come to himself, has restored what is his own".

Gnosis as Liberation

The Gnostic experiences the Gnosis as Liberation: he is liberated from the delusion that this transient world is the true world. This is why the Gnosis is the Doctrine of Redemption, which grants the seeker liberating insight. Contrary to the idea of many authors, Gnosis is optimistically thinking and experiencing. For the Gnostic possesses the Inner Knowledge of the Divine-spark in his being, of the True Self that stems from the Original Light-field of the Divine World and will return to it. The person who devotes himself to this Return, will be taken up in the process of Transfiguration, in the process of the healing of the living, Immortal Soul.

That is why the ancient Gnostics said:

"Man is a fallen god", who does not belong in this world. His original fatherland is the Other World, which does not belong to the visible universe. This is a fundamental Truth, an ancient Truth, which is as old as humanity itself: the Truth of the two separate nature-orders. The human being with his microcosmic Light-spark wanders through the world of good and evil and is constantly tormented by its Opposites.

One of the most important experiences to which the path of the Gnosis leads, and which is beckoning as the Shining Goal at the end of the Great Quest, is peace, the return to true equilibrium in and with God. This is not peace in the sense of sitting on the couch after a tiring day. This peace means that we achieve harmony with the Divine movement flowing from the Gnosis. Whoever places himself in this Flow, can no longer be touched by evil. He is raised above himself into the Other One. Good and evil have been dissolved in the One that is God.

From "What Is Gnosis" - Gnosis As Inner Religion - Jan van Rijckenborgh

[END QUOTING]
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Alcohol, Nicotine and the Path

[QUOTING]

A pupil of the Spiritual School will be a vegetarian, because animal cells obstruct and even make impossible the task he has to fulfill: the methodical demolition and annihilation of the old nature and the re-vivification of the Divine nature. Vegetarianism is therefore a fundamental condition for admission into the School of the Rosycross.

The human organism consists of cells of which there are various groups. Cell groups of the same kind together from one specific organ. Each cell is a little world in itself, a complete microcosm. Each has its own metabolism. Cells are fed by forces attracted by cell nuclei, while other values leave the cells after having performed their tasks. Cells also die and are completely replaced by new ones. These strange processes, which to material science are still almost impenetrable mysteries -- as is the problem of the maintenance of the brain cells, for example -- are clear to esoteric science, which teaches that without any exception, it is dangerous for human beings to use the cells of animal bodies for food.

There are three levels on which this damage can make itself felt: the spiritual, moral and material levels, causing spiritual, psychological or physical defects. For instance, to eat fish fosters perversity; horse meat, passion; to eat beef fosters stupidity and contentiousness, pork fosters cruelty, brutality and overconfidence, to eat mutton fosters falseness and to eat fowl fosters idiocy.

Nations and individuals who eat a great deal of any of these meats clearly show signs of it. Every cell is a power center, suitable only for the organism to which it belongs. Any foreign cell in the body will therefore cause damage in some way or other. Apart from physical, psychological or spiritual defects, a meat diet brings about a strong binding with the earth.

As man in his Fall sank ever deeper into the material life-field, he adapted his food to his state of life. Some esotericists maintain that this change in diet has taken place under divine guidance, but that is quite wrong. Just as man himself was the cause of his Fall, so he himself always chose his foods accordingly. Seven phases can be distinguished:

1. the fruit diet, composed of the produce of the vegetable kingdom;
2. the vegetable diet;
3. the addition of the products of living animals;
4. the addition of the flesh of killed animals;
5. the addition of alcohol, which causes befuddlement of the mind;
6. the addition of nicotine, which causes degeneration of the auric sphere and the nerves, that is, the consciousness;
7. the addition of synthetic foods and synthetic medicines, which cause disturbances in the vital body through mineralization of the life-ethers.

In passing through these seven phases, mankind has now sunk to the bottom of this stratum. Via these seven phases his entire bodily figure has become degenerated, diseased and miserable, simply through the effects of food and stimulants.

If we add all the other causes of our downfall and consider the material, moral and spiritual interactions we will realize how matters stand with us. There are esotericists who claim that man has reached the deepest point in his descent and that his ascent has now set in. However, we say that there is a still deeper downfall into other strata of the earth. Whether there will be an upward path, a rising out of this darkness, depends on each individual's personal decision. The crystallizing and degenerating foods which are so harmful will not be taken away from mankind. Therefore, every individual will have to renounce them as a result of a personal decision.

To be able to make such a decision, one must be ripe for it. No one can be talked into it. Those who make it do so primarily because they are urged by Remembrance, which has been guided and purified by the Hierarchy. Their decision is supported by an attitude of life which is as broad as possible so that nothing can be omitted. For the candidate on the Path of Liberation it is necessary to free himself from narcotics. In this way he liquidates the fifth, sixth and seventh phases of his Downfall.

It is well-known that alcohol dulls the mind. However, even the smallest quantity has a strong effect on the pineal and pituitary glands. Alcohol drives out man's positive consciousness and makes him open to all kinds of negative forces and influences.

Nicotine brings about an immediate degeneration of the respiratory system, the heart sanctuary, the blood, the sex organs and the nervous system. Tobacco is a Mars-herb. This Mars-narcotic affects the iron in the blood, its red pigment, the sex organs, the motor nerves, the left hemisphere of the brain, the muscular movements, the astral body, the motor segment of the spine and the rectum. It irritates and causes explosive, excessive and violent reactions. These are the pathological properties of this Mars-narcotic. Anemia, sexual desires, nervous disorders, infantile paralysis, spinal diseases,  hemorrhoids and rheumatism are among the consequences of the use and mis-use of nicotine. What alcohol brings about only partly, nicotine does continually; it makes the entire being dependent on earthly powers and earth-bound spirits. It makes man, the Prodigal Son, satisfied with his hog-slop.

Apart from some specific characteristics, the other narcotics have a similar effect to that of alcohol and nicotine.

The synthetic substances contained in foodstuffs and drugs cause dehumanization of the vital body (g: etheric double). They cause it to lose its individual vibration and to show increasing similarity to the planetary ether. In this way, man becomes like a mineral, which is the worst form of crystallization and materialization. In this way, the chain is closed.

The candidate who has freed himself from the fifth, sixth and seventh phases  of his descent will now also take leave of the fourth phase, that of eating the flesh and products of dead animals. Once this phase has been overcome, there exists an elementary basis for the Great Purpose of pupilship. In the further development of his eating habits, the candidate will exercise the greatest possible discretion so as not to fall into extremes.

Generally speaking, the diet should be composed of fruits and vegetables and other edible plants, certain herbs and products of the herbivorous animals. The diet should be adapted to individual needs and great caution should be exercised in laying down rules for others. We should not force our own eating habits on others, for one person may well need more proteins, carbohydrates, fats or mineral salts than another.

From "Attitude of Life and Nicotine, Alcohol and Other Narcotics" - Elementary Philosophy of the Modern Rosycross - Jan van Rijckenborgh

[END QUOTING]

~ g
.

Day-Life, Night-Life, New Life

A recent series of posts discussed why it is necessary for the candidate on the Path to ensure that his or her day-life is lived in a soul-directed manner. When the focus of our day-time activities are rooted in selfless service, non-conflict, non-judgment, non-criticism and genuine love for mankind the overall quality of the astral body is charged to a high vibratory level. Because like attracts like, upon falling asleep this level of vibration will enable the sincere candidate to enter the New Field of Life during the hours of sleep. Here, the astral body is bathed in the beneficent radiations of the gnostic Light. Recharged in this way, the candidate returns to waking life astrally strengthened, ready to serve humanity and execute the will of the Logos.

It is of extreme importance to live life in this manner, constantly aimed at the Gnosis. The day-life should lead one seamlessly into a sleep-life steeped in the New Field of Life, then back again to a waking life reinforced and rejuvenated in the Gnosis.

No one knows when his or her present journey here in physical manifestation will end. When our time arrives and we transition from the material-sphere, it is our vibration that will determine where we will go next. If we are earth-focused, we will head off to the natural reflection-sphere where dissolution of the personality and a return trip on the Wheel of Death and Rebirth await. Conversely, if we transition after awakening our Divine-Spark, having endeavored each day to build the New Soul Body, we will not head off to the ordinary reflection-sphere but will instead journey to a Realm of Light, prepared for those who find the Path and sincerely choose to walk that Path while in the physical. There will be no dissolution of the personality, no forced return to the material-sphere, only a continuation of the glorious process of Transfiguration that was begun while on earth.

In reality, our life on earth is a sort of dress rehearsal. Everything we do here, every thought, every act, every emotion will combine to determine our state-of-being at the moment of transition. It is critical that we begin walking the Path in earnest while in the physical, as Transfiguration requires that the candidate begin the process in possession of all of his or her vehicles: physical, etheric, astral and mental.

THIS is why your incarnation is so important. THIS is why life is so "precious". It is because you have only a few short earth-years to locate Truth, recognize it and, in faith and longing, use that Truth to awaken That Which Sleeps Within.

You have been afforded insight. You may even possibly possess a true yearning for salvation. What must now follow is self-surrender and a conscious, voluntary new attitude of life. These are four of the five steps of the fivefold gnostic Path.

The fifth and final step, is Liberation.  The key is to begin the process right here, right now. Make the fundamental reversal in your way of living. Go, "sell all that you have", and follow the Path that leads to True Life.

"In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to Me, that where I am you may be also. You know where I am going and you know the Way"  John 14:2

"This is the guide that leads to Freedom: you must give up the body before it dies and overcome the life of conflict; then, if you have won that victory, you will return to the Highest" Corpus Hermeticum

May you be led to The Good End.

~ g
.

From Below Upwards

[QUOTING]

The Great Work of Liberation must be done from below upwards if it is to be truly redemptive. It cannot be done by starting from above. If this were possible, this Work would have been completed centuries ago.

It has to be realized from below-upwards because inner liberation is a matter of awareness, and therefore of self-liberation. Liberation from above, from outside, would not give man inner liberation but would bind him to his liberator. In this way, a new, different kind of dependence would be created. Man will only be free when he possesses the Light inwardly, when he has made free the way for the Light within himself. So, from below upwards, sufficient people must yearn for the Light; ask for the Light, seek for the Light; have true love of mankind; know inwardly about the True Way, and be willing to give up the separate "I", the cause of all darkness.

These people will have to be drawn from those with remembrance. Therefore, all those who at present move in the various esoteric fields of existence must be aroused to this Work. For this purpose, the Brotherhood of the Golden Rosycross makes its call sound ever more strongly.

From "The New World Brotherhood and the Dangers of the Church" - Elementary Philosophy of the Modern Rosycross - J. van Rijckenborgh

[END QUOTING]
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Vibration and Transfiguration

trans·fig·ure [trans-fig-yer]

1. to change in outward form or appearance; transform.

2. to change so as to glorify or exalt.

[QUOTING]

The astral field of the Living Body of the young Gnosis is characterized, outwardly, by color and vibration. The color of this field can best be defined as gold, mixed with violet; not a reddish or bluish violet, but a constant, very special color producing a golden violet luster.

Gold is the color of the reborn state of the Soul. That is why we speak of the Golden Rosycross, and sing of the golden wonder-flower. It is ancient knowledge that gold, as to its luster and vibration, is associated with the reborn state. Only think of the ancient art of painting. Pure violet is the basic color of the New Spectrum of Soul-Mankind, in which the reborn Soul, the golden wonder-flower, can be taken up into a New State of Life.

You may have wondered why we spoke in previous chapters of an astral field of the nature-of-death and of a newly-constructed astral field of the Living Body of the Spiritual School. Perhaps you thought it too earthly to visualize the two fields existing adjacent to each other, yet separated and protected in different ways. No doubt you will think differently if you bear in mind that it relates to vibration.

The sidereal or astral substance has a vibration range in the Seventh Cosmic Domain (the Cosmic Physical Plane) of about 450 trillion to 700 trillion cycles-per-second. These are some of the figures given by the Universal Doctrine. Within this vibration range, the different astral phenomena, forms and activities connected with the Seventh Cosmic Domain manifest themselves. Expressed in colors, they are bright red, the lowest vibration, up to bluish-violet, the highest vibration possible in the dualistic life-field. The radiations connected with all this have, according to the Universal Doctrine, a wavelength of 666 to 428 nanometers (a nanometer is one billionth of a meter). The fastest vibrations have the shortest wavelengths.

As soon as the limit of vibration is exceeded in a negative sense, when a slowing down or a weakening aspect occurs that continues below the limits of the Seventh Cosmic Domain, breaking, crushing, explosion and the death of dissolution follows.

As soon as these boundaries are exceeded in a positive manner, that is, upwards in the direction of the Sixth Cosmic Domain (the Cosmic Astral Plane), this domain is entered and a new shape appears: the Soul-Man. The transition from the Seventh into the Sixth Cosmic Domain irrevocably involves Transfiguration. This is a scientific necessity.

If a personality -- a microcosm -- is maintained by a constant vibration, as a consequence of which its vehicles remain concentrically within each other, a special vitality is added and life maintains itself via the available possibilities of the personality. If the personality weakens, it involves a slowing-down of the life-vibration. At a given moment, it is slowed down to such a degree that the personality cannot maintain itself in the body any longer and dies. In short, this is the cause of bodily death.

The other possibility is that we are touched by a Field of a higher vibration than usual. The issue is whether we can respond to it. If we react positively, this Field increases in vibration by means of a process. Because of this increase in vibration beyond that of the dualistic, the microcosm and the auric being change, as well as the personality. In other words -- transfiguration. At a given moment transfiguration is a scientific necessity for man.

In the first case the result is death by dissolution; in the other, death by Rebirth; two kinds of death in the dualistic sphere of life. But what an immense difference! The one death signifies countless repetition, chained to the wheel of birth and death. The other death you will experience only once. When you die this death, you will arise in Eternal Life.

From "The Reality of Liberation" - The Egyptian Arch-Gnosis, Vol. 1 - Jan van Rijckenborgh

[END QUOTING]

This is what is behind the constant call to raise one's vibration. This is the reason behind the necessity for purification of the thought-life and the desire-life. Thoughts and desires of an earthly nature are of a low vibration and resonate only with duality, the nature-of-death. When the thought-life and the desire-life are elevated in a gnostic sense, the candidate is in effect reaching upwards, vibrationally, instead of downwards. We know that like attracts like. Therefore, at a given point, those who continue to vibrate at a higher level can and will be taken up into a Higher Sphere of Life.

Because the vibrations of this New Field of Life are in the terahertz range, it is outside of the ability for the physical human to perceive. The entities and activities of this Field are invisible to dualistic man. Thus, those few who are able to achieve transfiguration while in the physical effectively "disappear" from the view of physical man. This is why the grave of the Christ was found "empty". And did He not promise that we would do greater things?

Those who are unable to transfigure while in the physical will retire after "death" to Shamballa, where they will continue the process of transmutation to its ultimate and victorious conclusion.

Transfiguration is a scientific fact that the aeons of this nature have worked tirelessly for ages to suppress and keep away from mankind. The archons and aeons of the reflection-sphere do not wish to lose their prey, their nourishment, their sustenance. The process itself should not be difficult to understand. It is a matter of being aware of the science behind the process, gaining insight into the forces arrayed against us and making the decision to walk -- in humble self-surrender -- the Path that leads to Final Liberation from the nature-of-death.

"Truly I say to you, he who puts his faith in Me will do the very works which I do, and he will do greater things than these" John 14:12

~ g
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A Key To The Path

[QUOTING]

The New Faculty

We said that our being and its activities -- initially the mentality -- are imprisoned in the nature-of-death via the astral sphere. How then is it possible that our desires and thoughts go out to the Gnosis? Do you realize that this is a vital question? It is vital too, to consider the gnostic life. Hence, the emphasis by which we draw your attention to it.

A keen interest in the Gnosis is not to be explained from ordinary consciousness, for our dualistic state is guided by the nature-of-death. How then, do these other, non-dualistic thoughts and feelings arise in us? They can only have come to us from outside by breaking into the system and propelling the mentality into another direction. If you recognize this situation as your own, you are engaged in drawing the consciousness up from the liver-spleen system into the heart; only such a consciousness is able to assimilate gnostic influences. The heart becomes open for the Gnostic Radiations; they mix with the blood, penetrate via the blood circulation into the head sanctuary and have a remarkable influence on the mentality, causing thoughts to arise which do not correspond with the horizontal line of ordinary life. In this way, the Gnosis breaks into the system and renders it a New Faculty. At first, perhaps, only as a thought-flash, after which an impulse of the will and the desire goes out, wanting to seize the Salvation hidden in the Gnosis.

When the Gnosis awakens thoughts in you which are neither born out of karma, the lipika, the astral sphere, nor out of the blood of nature, but of God, then, from that moment on, you can listen to the voice of the Soul, or mystically stated, the voice of God. Then you are connected with the New Astral Field., with the Gnosis, with the Universal Gnostic Chain.

Now you can prove for yourself whether you possess something of all this. If so, rejoice with us, for you have the Key to the Path in your hands, in your system. Indeed, with the New Faculty, you can stop thoughts which emanate from the natural self and give them a different direction, in accordance with the demands of the Path.

If you are unable to do this, you may absorb intellectually what we tell you and perhaps be able to repeat it literally, but it is of no use to you; nothing will change in you. You need to use this New Faculty immediately, even if you possess only the first aspect of it, to take hold of your thoughts and give them another direction. If you succeed, you may rest assured of getting will and desire under control. In other words, you are able to control your activities according to the demand of the glorious New Influence in your life.

Self-sanctification, self-liberation, the Path of Healing begins with your thought-life. Whoever is not able to begin with this has to wait until the consciousness has been drawn up from the liver-spleen system into the heart.

However, if you possess the New Faculty and do not make use of it, you will ruin the process of your pupilship. Therefore, keep in mind the warning of the Great Ones: five minutes of ill-advised thinking -- uncharitable thoughts full of criticism, envy, hate, etc., can undo the work of your pupilship.

This is why a practical re-direction of thought is urgently necessary for all those who want to go the Path. This is the intellectual education to which you need to submit in the Spiritual School. The way to self-liberation is purification of the thought-life; to think truly. Do see the significance of this, as your self-revolution should begin in this way. Whoever begins the purification of his thoughts begins to break the ties between the personality-system and the lipika and, accordingly, the astral sphere. These ties make us into harlequins, as it were, because they induce us to act in accordance with the impulses emanating from the astral sphere. When one begins to change the mentality in the power of the Gnosis, then one is gradually freed from this fatal influence.

In the meantime, the heart opens increasingly, you become alienated from the nature-of-death and its astral sphere and the gnostic forces enter your system in great waves. Your New Faculty becomes more vigorous and through this self-sacrifice you transfigure your astral body quickly. Thus, you are placed before a completely new beginning.

Now ask yourself once more: does the profound longing to approach the Gnosis, to enter the New Life, really exist in me? Is this longing genuine? If your reply is a firm 'yes', then you have already entered the New Beginning and received the New Faculty. Only then can we speak successfully and with good reason of the Soul-life in the New Astral Field.

Finally, consider this: Do not worry about dreams of a dualistic nature, which could make you think that you have had no participation in the New Astral Field during the night. Disregard this uneasiness; a great many dreams, if not all, are due to the unloading of the brain-cells, especially those of the memory-center. For instance, if you have a strong imagination and have been thinking about banalities, letting yourself go, then the brain-cells charge themselves with many forces. During the sleep of the body the brain-cells discharge and cause dreams which to high degree are confused and fragmentary, having affinity with your day-dreams.

Another example is that, possibly, you have been very busy with your social responsibilities, so that you fall asleep dead tired. Then the brain-cells are over-charged and when they discharge at night they produce several dreams . Therefore, don't worry about it, don't pay attention to your dreams, even if they seem to be important. Just enclose them in the silence of your being and soon you will know what to think and expect of them.

From "The Practical Education of Thought" - The Egyptin Arch-Gnosis, Vol. 1 - Jan van Rijckenborgh

[END QUOTING]

Thought ... the ox that draws the cart. As a man thinketh...

It is thought that conditions the astral ethers permeating the microcosmic respiration-field. The astral ethers are extruded to build the etheric double and the etheric double vitalizes the dense physical body. Following this movement of energy, it should be obvious that what we are begins with our thought-life. Our personality-system -- specifically the physical body -- is in essence, crystallized thought. We are what we are because of our thinking.

You might want to think about that. Pun intended.

The above is exceedingly simplistic, but based on Universal Law and as such, authentic and true. It is why the candidate who wishes to make significant progress along the Path of Return must recognize the relationship between thought and the astral body, astral body and the vital body, vital body and the physical body. Using the Key given -- re-direction of thought and the purification of thought-life -- one can begin to successfully remove many of the heavy stones that block the way of all who walk the Path.

~ g
.

The Awakening Of The Soul II

[QUOTING]

Self-Sanctification

Many millions of people are standing before this Gate; throughout the ages people have been yearning for a true, liberating life. The result is that these millions have also created an aeon, which the gnostic writings call the 'thirteenth aeon'. Between this thirteenth aeon and yearning man an interaction came into being, because of which the fire of desire became ever greater and the realization of the state of confusion increased.

Mere yearning for salvation is not sufficient; the astral self will continue to reside in the astral sphere of the nature-of-death during the nocturnal hours and will return from it the next morning robbed of its light-force in such a way that the disorder is greater than ever before. This is the reason for the ever-recurring penetential songs of the Pistis Sophia.

So we understand that, next to yearning for salvation, self-purification is also necessary. One who truly desires to be sanctified will try to do everything possible and even everything impossible to approach this sanctification. You will realize the logic of this. A vigorous self-activity should always prove that the fire of yearning for salvation is chastening. This self-activity will always emanate from the heart and will influence the entire state-of-life. That is why in the School of the Rosycross the necessary purification of the heart is always discussed.

You know of the dismal, negative cravings of those who keep crying for help and praying for assistance for anything and everything in the household of duality. However, man should understand that to reach true Salvation he will have to sacrifice himself and his entire state-of-being. Next to yearning for salvation, the self-sanctification needs to develop.

The Birth of the Soul is, in the first place, the birth of a new astral being. A Soul-being is an astral being that, after having been born, communicates to the blood, the nerve-fluid, the internal secretions and the mental faculty. As soon as something of this new Soul-being enters you a new quality comes into existence. A new Force then circulates through your entire being and influences all your normal human faculties.

The fourth step lies entirely within your reach: to hand over the guidance of your life to the new possibilities within you. That is, you surrender no longer to your ordinary nature, but let the Soul rule your life. A completely-equipped new astral body will reveal itself and the old desire-being will disappear.

In this phase, you are already engaged in Transfiguration. To the same degree that the new development continues, you are dying to the astral sphere of the nature-of-death and at a given moment you no longer even have access to it. You will find no place for your new astral self there. Then the new astral field of the Living Body opens: the stranger in the earthly regions is welcomed into his New Home.

Our previous discussions were particularly meant to explain that such a New House exists, especially-prepared for the young Gnosis through the exertion of many. Consequently, there is no question of a speculation on a 'future' salvation or perhaps an 'imminent' liberation. No, a Home of Liberty exists and everyone can enter it, if only you are willing to use the required Keys and to face the Consequences.

The condition is the possession of the True Soul, demonstrated during your daily-life, a life of consistently applied, practical pupilship, borne by the unmistakable love of mankind.

Every Soul-born man, after having completed his daily tasks, should place his life completely in the sphere of the Soul and consequently, before going to sleep not be pre-occupied with the aspects of duality. In this way the sleep of the body becomes the soberness of the Soul. He who goes to sleep Soul-directed awakens the Soul, makes it conscious. The vibration of the astral self, when going to sleep, determines the nocturnal life and the ensuing day-life.

Those who enter the New Astral Field prepared in this way experience daily, with ever-greater clarity, that the sleep of the body means the awakening of the Soul, involving a true Seeing, and posits a new development that is crowned by the new state-of-consciousness, called in the holy language the 'unfading Crown of Glory'.

From "The Awakening of the Soul (II) - The Egyptian Arch-Gnosis, Vol. 1 - Jan van Rijckenborgh

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With these last several posts, you have been offered an important Key. This Key, if diligently applied, will assist and enable the growth of the New Soul that is struggling to be re-born within you. The Divine-Spark has been awakened. It now wishes to complete a divine metamorphosis that it comes by naturally. We can aid this mighty development by putting into practice what we have learned:

By day, live a Soul-directed life. By night, during sleep, bathe in the purifying light-force of the New Astral Field.

A final note: by the "love of mankind", we mean everyone, even those whom one may believe it is alright to "hate" or "not-like". "Love of mankind" means exactly that. The I-being could never love in this way, as it sees itself as separate from all others and "loves" based on what is best for the "I". The Soul-being knows no other way to Love, as it recognizes the sublime truth of the Oneness of Humanity.

~ g

The Awakening Of The Soul

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Escape from the Aeons of Nature

The subject to which we now turn relates to such new aspects in the development of the pupil that we think a short summary is needed.

We discussed the meaning of the 72nd verse of Hermes' Pymander, in which, among other things, is written: "The sleep of the body had become the soberness of the Soul, the closing of the eyes the real Seeing, the silence had become for me as a pregnancy of the Good and the proclaiming of the Word resulted in fruitful Works of salvation".

We asked ourselves: "Where does the tenuous part of the personality stay during sleep and what happens to it?" We saw that the nocturnal man, if we may so express it, resides in the astral sphere of duality during the nightly hours and we examined its nature.

The astral sphere has a strong imaginative faculty. Thoughts, desires, feelings and objects of the will project themselves in it. It is clear that the astral sphere of duality has become polluted and complicated to a high degree because of the reflection-sphere life and the general conduct of mankind. It i all delusion and fatal to any gnostic life, as the astral material is extraordinarily magnetic. Everything that does not agree with its nature is removed from the tenuous personality entering the astral sphere. That is why we read in the Pistis Sophia that she was continually deprived of her light-force.

The astral sphere of normal life is full of unholy forces, the aeons, which can be defined as natural forces.

The word 'aeon' means not only an immeasurably long period of time, but is also used to indicate formations of unholy forces of nature. With the help of this conception it becomes clear what aeons are with respect to the astral sphere. Aeons are astral forces, astral activities which have been formed throughout long periods of time and which have become very powerful; for instance, projections of human desires and thoughts which were fed to such an extent that finally they were propelled to life in the astral sphere.

Suppose we form a certain image. We agree to maintain this image throughout the years, to impress it on our children and on all those who are willing to come along with us; that our artists will draw, paint or carve it and that our poets will chant it. So you can imagine how aeons are formed in the astral sphere.  They are projections of constant currents of human desires and thoughts, which are finally vivified to such an extent that they begin to dominate mankind. These aeons, which increase in force because they are continually fed by mankind, deprive each gnostic-directed person who enters the astral sphere, of his or her light-force. Normally, this happens to every candidate as soon as he or she falls asleep.

Important consequences result for all those who take their pupilship seriously. Among other thing, there is a logical and compelling demand that they withdraw from the astral sphere of the nature-of-death. If one ascertains that he experiences the disastrous influence of this sphere every time he enters it during the nocturnal hours, the following question is obvious: "how can I protect  myself against these influences and in what way can I become free of them?" This is the first consequence.

The second is that he directs the subtle part of the personality to another astral field in which those pollutions and dangers do not occur. You will no doubt agree that these are elementary demands from which no one can escape. Without their fulfillment each gnostic pupilship is an illusion.

Once cannot force oneself into this; should we try for one or more days we would not be able to sustain it. It would be a struggle with the prospect of certain defeat. In the first place, it is necessary to draw the nucleus-principle of the I-being out of the liver-spleen system and up into the heart. This can happen only when one is ready for it, when at last the course of life causes one to reach a dead-end in matter, in the nature-of-death; when you discover that for a man who moves on the horizontal plane there is no prospect of Deliverance.

The man in the liver-spleen system, in the solar plexus, is the stone-hard, I-central man who clings to matter and consequently expects everything from it. However, the moment will come, sometimes after many lives in the microcosm, that he reaches a dead-end in the nature-of-death and finds that his existence is a circle without end. However, as long as he lives out of the liver-spleen system and, consequently, in self-maintenance and I-centrality, pupilship in a Spiritual School is completely useless. Only he who is able to draw the consciousness up into the heart will surmount his natural instincts. Only then does one begin to see the world as it really is.

A new desire, a yearning for true, essential liberation, which in the holy language is called yearning for salvation, then emanates from the astral self. Only this desire opens the heart of man for the Gnosis, for the light of the Holy Grail, the consequence being that the Rose is touched. Because of this yearning for salvation, the pupil will stand before the Gate of an entirely new state of Life.

From "The Awakening of the Soul (II) - The Egyptian Arch-Gnosis, Vol. 1 - Jan van Rijckenborgh

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You have to want it.

The forces arrayed against those who wish to walk the Path are formidable and considerable. This blog refers to aeons over and over and over because it is important for the reader to realize that we are being victimized and controlled by invisible forces that are difficult to detect or escape. These forces must be unmasked so that man can gain much-needed insight into the true nature of his imprisonment and begin to want to do something about it.

To effect this attempt at liberation, it is imperative that one must be completely through with duality, even the so-called "good" parts of it. If we do not detach from everything that duality dangles in front of us, we will inevitably stumble and fall due to weaknesses brought about by our lingering attachments.

After gaining insight into the true nature of the human condition, the candidate must yearn for salvation with his or her entire being in order to continue attracting the forces of the Gnosis to him or her. There can be no compromise. We cannot have a foot in both worlds. This is the gnostic meaning behind the statement made by the Christ that "no man can serve two masters". Either we serve the aeons of this nature and bathe in the polluted astral sphere of this nature-order or we reach out for the safety of the Thirteenth Aeon, the Great Mixing Vessel sent for the salvation of all those who will choose Liberation during this Time of the End.

~ g
.

A Stranger On Earth IV

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The Soul-Directed Life

When a man lives from the Soul he is conscious of the great love and goodness of the Gnosis every moment of the day. When you are Soul-born and take part in the Gnosis, nothing can happen to you; then, nothing can cause you sorrow; then, according to the Bible, not a hair on your head shall be harmed. To be allowed to take part in a Life-field in which there is nothing of the disintegration of duality, in which there is no enmity, in which the fiery tongues of hatred, criticism, slander and conflict are entirely lacking, gives an experience of unlimited joy -- of which many Soul-men have borne testimony throughout the history of mankind.

For each Soul-born man it is necessary to end the day in this way. When, after completing the day's work we retire to our bedroom for the night's rest, our thoughts and our considerations must not be allowed to dwell upon the many aspects of duality, for duality is always a scourge. It usually tends to sadness and the urges of the "I" of nature. No, having arrived at the end of the day, we write Pymander's blessing in ourselves. We allow the intense current of gnostic blessing to go through us, to permit Pure Joy to fulfill us, even during those hours which, dualistically speaking, there would be ample reason to worry and complain.

If in this way we have brought ourselves in harmony with the Living Salvation of the Gnosis and our respiration has acquired the quiet rhythm of inner satisfaction and thankfulness, we can fall asleep like a child, entirely directed towards the True Light. Then, the sleep of the body becomes the soberness of the Soul, that is, the complete awakening of the Soul in its own world, the gnostic astral field.

The sleep of the body, as we said, should not start in a general, dualistic inclination, even if it is of an innocent nature -- but in complete Soul-inclination. If you live daily out of the Soul, if you subordinate every thing else to the Soul-inclination, it will be relatively easy; the Soul-consciousness is nourished and the Soul awakens in the field destined  and prepared for it. It is almost an axiom that: he who goes to sleep Soul-inclined, awakens the Soul, makes it Conscious. After what has been explained, you will see the great significance and the enormous advantage of this.

What is especially important is the inclination, the vibration of the astral self, when the body falls asleep. This determines our entire nocturnal experience. Whoever knows of this will have experienced that man awakens as he went to sleep. A brooding man will say, when talking about his cobwebs: "I go to bed with it and wake up with it". That speaks for itself! But he himself calls it into being; it is his faulty inclination that keeps him imprisoned in this way. The vibration of the astral self when falling asleep is the same as when you awaken. It is a destined inclination that places you in surroundings during sleep that are similar to those when you arise.

If a person is of a worrying disposition and feels justified in being angry with someone else, the following happens: after a day of sulking and brooding, his body is exhausted and he goes to bed. In the reverie-state just before sleep, he dwells once more on all his troubles and sorrows  and on the one who has angered him; in this state-of-mind, he falls asleep.

The next morning when he awakens, his consciousness will be occupied with much the same situation. His bodily vitality has been partially restored and the body is charged with new vitality. But as soon as the image of his enemy returns, the burning pain of everything that keeps his anger alive flows into his emotional being. And with his new vitality he decides: "Today I'll do this. If he says this, I'll say that. I'll take this or that attitude towards him". Consequently, upon awakening in that state, he is prepared again for the fight. The same struggle starts anew and so he never gets rid of the enmity!

However, the same law can be applied in a liberating sense. He who goes to sleep Soul-inclined sends the Soul to the Home of the Souls, prepared for him in the School. Like attracts like.

Now, when going to sleep you should not ask yourself anxiously, "Am I sufficiently Soul-inclined tonight?" And don't worry about whether you have employed the right method. You should change the center-of-gravity of your day-life! Your entire day-life should be in the sign of the Soul, in a life of service. Then in the evening too, before going to sleep, you will be Soul-directed and feel a great thankfulness. As soon as you fall asleep, the Soul will enter the astral field of the School in a state of soberness, with a quality of consciousness that conforms with the level of Soul development the pupil has attained.

Of course, there is a difference in Soul development. There are a variety of matured Souls, maturing Souls and newly-awakened Souls among pupils. But whatever your Soul-development may be, it is certain that, as soon as you go to sleep Soul-inclined, the Soul will direct itself to the Home of Souls, the gnostic astral field. It will be there immediately in the state-of-consciousness that corresponds with your level of Soul development. Everything experienced in this situation, the Soul brings back into the body as a Treasure, in the morning. In the meantime, the body has recovered its vitality and you are ready to direct the New Attitude of Life to greater glory. You will have the strength not only to Think about it, to Yearn for it, but to break through to the Deed. A more powerful new faculty will fill your entire being and the Process of Transfiguration will accelerate accordingly.

You will no doubt see the imperative Truth of all this and you will realize that you yourself have the responsibility and the means for your gnostic development. Your fate is in your own hands. In duality, man is the plaything of the Fate that governs him; in the Gnosis he has his fate in his own hands.

The Path of the Gnosis does not require any heavy methods that are difficult to understand; neither breathing or other exercises, nor countless prayer instructions. It requires that you stand in the Soul-directed life. This is the Key to your salvation.

If you see this clearly and elevate yourself to a true Soul-directed life, the life of the Soul-born man, you will always write Pymander's Benefaction in your heart and look forward in measureless Joy to the daily hour of the Awakening of the Soul. Once you have experienced this it will never leave you. Such an experience is not like dualistic joy -- giving rise to shouting, soon to pass away as the dying of a single sunbeam in a heavy cloud. No, it is a constant Joy, a perpetuating sense of Salvation replenishing the serious pupil completely.

From "The Awakening Of The Soul (I)" The Egyptian Arch-Gnosis, Vol. 1 - Jan van Rijckenborgh

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Here we are given profound instruction. The Key to growing in the Gnosis and moving forward on the Path lies in the life-focus of the candidate. During our day-life we should profess our Soul-directedness via our deeds, our acts of selfless service to all those whom we may come across. With our astral body charged in this way, we enter the sleep-state where we are immediately taken up, not to the ordinary astral-realms of the natural reflection-sphere, but to the gnostic astral field that has been prepared for all those who walk the Path in sincerity, humility and steadfastness. Here our reborn New Soul is nourished, with astral ethers of a pure, unsullied nature.

The dreams we have are no indication of where our reborn Soul has traveled during the hours of sleep. Our dreams are a result of the brain having to discharge certain energies and are more often than not, a confused and veiled mess. Pay them no attention. What we bring back from our nightly stay in the gnostic astral field will be etched into the new Soul as impressions that will stay with us as we once again take up our Soul-directed day-life.

JVR does not speak idly when he reminds us that we hold our fate in our own hands. No magical incantations, mantrams or spells are required, nor intermediaries or priests. No amount of money needs to exchange hands.

By day, live in the sign of the Soul, live Soul-directed. By night, bathe in the restorative, replenishing, pure ethers of the Gnostic Astral Field. Each day and night, you will grow stronger in the Gnosis, each day the construction of the New Soul will reach a higher level.

May you intuitively understand and, more importantly, immediately begin to apply in your life that which has been offered.

"The sleep of the body becomes the soberness of the Soul, the closing of the eyes, the real Seeing; the Silence becomes as a pregnancy of the Good for him and the proclaiming of the Word will result in fruitful works of salvation" -- Corpus Hermeticum

~ g
.