Self-Surrender And The Astral Body

[QUOTING]

So it is critical for every candidate to bring about the correct order and regulation in the magnetic system of his microcosm. This must be the highest aim of the pupil's way of life. By means of the lipika, the magnetic system, the astral fire of his astral body is brought into a particular motion, and this affects every vehicle of the personality and every aspect of his life.

This is how it works: the astral substance set in motion flows into the liver and brings the blood into a certain condition through which the person will live and act. In this way, he often finds that he is forcibly conditioned. He lives in accordance with the astral fire flowing into his liver. Through this force, all his nerve centres are connected with each other. One might well say that the entire nerve ether is extracted directly from the astral fire, from the astral body. The nervous system, and in particular the nerve fluid, causes considerable difficulties in your body and in your life, for instance the unwholesome inclination to sympathy and antipathy.

The astral nerve fluid also determines the state and quality of the endocrine system. All the endocrine organs burn, work exclusively on and through the astral fire. Furthermore, it determines all your moods. In short, your entire nature, your character, your attitude towards life and also the state of your will, stem from the condition of the astral body. Thus the astral body governs your entire life-state.

Your way of life must therefore be aimed at bringing about various fundamental changes in your astral body. Therein lies the key of your life. If you do not succeed in doing so, all your efforts will in fact be in vain. So what would your way of life be? There are various reformative aspects in your life. The primary one is and must be self-surrender. If you were to forget self-surrender, I-lessness, even the most assiduous efforts to fulfill all aspects of life-reform would be in vain.

Where does self-surrender, the crucifixion of one's own will, begin? It begins with the I, the bodily consciousness, the result of everything that seethes and boils in your astral body; it begins with the end product of the astral anarchy which manifests itself in your life. It must begin with the I. As a result of long experience, the I discovers that things are not as they should be, that there is something wrong with his life, that he keeps on encouraging difficulties and confusions in his life, until he finally understands the words: 'He who is willing to lose his life for My sake, shall gain the Kingdom, the New Life". He who is not willing to lose the life of his I, he who is not willing to enter self-surrender to the living-soul, will certainly not enter the immortal life of the soul.

If this is truly realized, if the necessity of this warning is understood, the way to self-surrender lies open, the mystical and gnostic, practically applied self-surrender to the True Soul, to the Rose of the Heart. This Rose, which makes itself known in the heart, at the top of the right heart ventricle, is the mathematical centre of the microcosm and at the same time the central heart of the astral body. The Rose must bloom; the unfoldment and blossoming of this Rose is the rebirth of the Soul.

In the heart of the Rose, in the centre of our astral system, lies the primordial idea of the Father, the  Logos, the primordial principle of our existence, God's Eternal Idea regarding us, His creatures. That is why the practical, gnostic human being dedicates his consciousness, his I-being, the end product of the astral chaos, to the Rose. When the Rose  has been awakened once again, when once again it can radiate Power, a new, pure astral current arises which fills his entire life. Then, for the first time in his state of existence, the morning, Aurora, dawns.

As soon as self-surrender and its results are approaching completion, as soon as the meeting at the Jordan between Jesus the Lord and John the Baptist can indeed be celebrated, the Soul will bloom, the Soul-Rose will come to life, and at the same moment the Spirit will descend upon it like a dove. Then the gospel words will be heard:

'This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased'.

From "The Clock and The Globe" - Esoteric Analysis of the Alchemical Wedding of Christian Rosycross - Jan van Rijckenborgh

[QUOTING]

In the symbolism of the holy language, 'John the Baptist' is the nature-born man, the candidate who "makes straight the paths" as he calls out for deliverance by the Gnosis. The 'Jesus-man' represents the candidate whose divine-spark has been awakened. The river Jordan represents the blood fluids. The dove is the universal symbol for the Divine Spirit.

When the Johannine-man and the Jesus-man meet at the river Jordan for the Baptism, this symbolizes that the power of the Gnosis has entered the heart and is now streaming throughout the blood. The candidate is ready to begin his walk on the Path of Return, assisted by the mighty astral power of the Gnosis and over-shadowed by the Comforter, the divine Spirit.

Shortly thereafter, John the Baptist is beheaded...the nature-born man, his task of preparation complete, ceases to hold sway over the system. It is now the reborn Soul that takes charge of the task of purifying the system and re-uniting with the divine Spirit.

None of this can take place, however, without the surrender of the self to something Higher.

Those who have ears to hear, let them hear.

~ g
.

The Neglected Astral Body

[QUOTING]

Where do the psychological stimuli governing man come from?

You already know the answer: from the desire body, the astral body, from the subconscious, the sphere of the desires, from the feelings, the psyche; from the aspect of being in which hereditary factors and karmic influences exert their effects. You are familiar with all these effects of your own wishes and desires, since ever and again you find them in you.

However, do you also know the desire body or astral body itself? Do you know that body in the same way as you know the physical body?

In fact we can state with certainty that you do not know the astral body, that you literally know nothing at all about it; that you haven't even the most elementary conception of how to control that body, of how to steer and guide it.

If we put it like that, it is not to insult you, but only to show you how things really are, and that is of the greatest importance, because you need to learn to know and control your astral body, just as you do your physical body. You need to take just as much care of your astral body as you do of your material body. That is why the Universal Brotherhood draws attention so emphatically to these things.

You begin every morning by washing and dressing your material body. You take care of your hair, your nails, your teeth. Then you nourish your body with food and drink. You know what it needs and you give it rest at fixed times. If you feel a pain that doesn't fade straight away, you take precautions. What don't people do to cultivate and care for their bodies? These things are carried to absurd lengths!

But what do you do for the daily care of your astral body? The very idea is strange to you! It would never even enter your head to smear your so well-cared for physical body with dirt or mud. Dogs sometimes do that with pleasure. Why? Because they are not yet completely conscious in the material body. Their consciousness is only partially in-dwelling.

But did you know that as regards your astral body you are just the same as a dog? If your dog comes home covered in dirt you notice immediately and put him straight in the bath. But if you come home with a dirty astral body no-one notices it , not even you. Well...later maybe, but only when it is too late.

That is a highly dangerous situation! While you are busy manicuring your fingernails, just so they have the right shape and look nice and shiny, a carload of filth can be emptied over your astral body. Often you only notice it later! And that is extremely serious, for through this astral pollution all four bodies of your personality are damaged. Not only the material body but also the etheric and mental bodies share in the astral body's troubles. If your children come in dirty from the playing fields, you probably tell them off, but wouldn't your astral appearance at that moment be even less appetizing, in fact?

Do you see the enormous problem posed by your ignorance of these things? It is a problem faced by all mankind! That is why, nowadays, people speak so much about the psyche, about psychiatrists and psychological help. That is why people want to take psychological tests and have psychiatric examinations.

However, the word "psyche" means precious little, for when people use it they are only thinking of all those things that lie below the level of consciousness.

In this way, a new danger arises, because of all the psychological methods that have sprouted in the brains of speculators and immoral people, and which are let loose on mankind under the guise of science.

Everything that you are afraid of in life, all your sorrows, all your troubles, all those terrific tensions, everything you do or don't do, is caused by the fact that you have neither knowledge or control of your astral body.

It is the task of the Spiritual School to help you gain control over your astral body in a liberating sense, and as a result, to bring you pure happiness, the inexpressible joy of true healing from all the results of suffering, sickness and death. The Alchemical Wedding of Christian Rosycross sets out the path to this imperishable happiness in its entirety. It is the path to liberation through the imitation of Christ in deed and reality.

From "The Need For Astral Purification" - Esoteric Analysis Of The Alchemical Wedding of Christian Rosycross - Jan van Rijckenborgh

[END QUOTING]

The astral body can be likened to a pool of water. In order to effectively assist the transfiguration process, the astral body must be calm and unruffled, like an undisturbed pool of water. Unfortunately, most humans have a very disorganized and hyper-active astral body. This is due to:

a. a person's wrong or fear-based thinking
b. a person's contact with other humans who have disorganized astral bodies
c. a person's reaction to the astral influences of aeons and negative groups

Anytime we have a thought that supports or rejects something ("I like ice cream", "I don't like Harriet"), we arouse a focus of astral energy in our astral body. If the thought is of a low vibration, it will manifest itself as a low-vibrating focus in the astral body. Since the ethers that build our etheric body are extracted from the astral body, this low-vibrating astral focus will result in a slow-moving, low-vibrational focus in the etheric double as well.

As the etheric double is the matrix from which the physical body is formed and maintained, any malformation in the etheric body will manifest itself in the physical body as cysts, clots, cancers, headaches, nerve pain, abdominal pain, etc.

This is why detachment and indifference to natural stimuli are constantly emphasized. When the human can remain detached, being neither for nor against any particular stimuli, the astral body is not subjected to unnecessary fluctuations or disturbances. A calm astral body can more effectively assimilate the transforming energies of the Gnosis that are bearing down upon all of humanity at this very minute.

By providing a calm, receptive astral body, we will be working with these beneficial radiations, rather than against them. When that happens, a natural healing takes place, not only in the physical body, but in the etheric, astral and mental bodies as well. Mankind has forgotten that true and lasting healing occurs from the inside-out, not from the outside-in.

We do not have to react to every little thing. In fact, it is best that we learn not to.

We do not have to act upon every thought that enters the mind. In fact, it is best that we learn to monitor and control our thinking.

Having the four bodies of the personality at their highest level of health is of utmost importance in the transfiguration process. We accomplish this not by exercising or "eating right", as those things only benefit the physical shell. We accomplish this by calming the astral body, controlling our thoughts and developing a cool indifference to the thousands of random impulses that bombard us every hour of every day.

~ g
.