ARCANE SCHOOL CONFERENCE

New York 2 & 3 May 2015

Keynote:
Let the group onward moveout of the fire, into
the cold, and toward a newer tension

ARCANE SCHOOL CONFERENCE

OPENING ADDRESS SATURDAY MAY 2, 2015

The Way of Release

Christine Morgan
Let the group onward move out of the fire, into the cold, and toward a newer tension. This is a
challenging keynote, if ever there was one, so weve got our work cut out for us this weekend. The
keynote is from the rules for group initiation rule one specifically, which concerns passage out of
the burning ground and into a clearer light.
So what are the initial impressions that these words convey? For those who feel theyre passing
through a burning ground a sense of future relief maybe? An image that comes to mind is the
transition that occurs at the end of a scorching summers day. As the heat and light dissipate, so do
the surroundings give way to a new perspective. In the cool night air, the canopy of stars emerges.
There is a feeling of inner expansion as thoughts turn away from the concerns of the day to the
mystery of the countless points of light burning in the overarching darkness.
Similarly, after the personality has experienced all that life in the physical world has to offer, there is
a feeling of being overheated burnt out, depleted. Accordingly, the daily concerns lose their appeal
and the cold light from a new world within starts to glimmer on the horizon of consciousness. As the
inner search continues, innumerable spiritual lights are sensed radiating deep within the universal
mind. These lights lead the aspirant out of the heat of the personality life towards the cold fire of the
Solar Angel. This however, all takes place without divorcing him from daily living. Everything is
interconnected and the function of the inner life of searching is not in order to escape the known
world, but to touch and apply the energy of the soul realms to it, in cooperation with the forces of
evolution.
As the psychologist Christopher Bache wrote even as the self-dies, a deeper form of individuality is
being liberated[for] it is not individuality itself that is the illusion but a sense of being isolated
from the whole". The techniques of esoteric training lead step by step into this community of
consciousness or at least thats what it says on the tin! At times many of us may feel that we are
experiencing the rage of a burning ground experience but not having much success in passing out of
it. Perhaps that's not surprising though as the whole of humanity is passing through a world burning
ground at this time and, as part of humanity, we should expect to be included in this.
The pain and sorrows of the world are shared by all, the instantaneous transmission of worldwide
events is resulting in a community of suffering, awakening compassion in millions of hearts. Its
difficult to watch the natural disasters, the desperate refugees and migrants, terrorism and the
despoiling of the earths resources without feeling deep sadness and despair within. Its tough to
engage with the chaotic energies of modern life without getting sucked into the maelstrom. But these
are the times we are living in a time when tremendous forces are pouring into the planet and
concurrently stimulating good and evil. Its an ordeal alright, but also a time of unprecedented
opportunity. People of goodwill in their hundreds of thousands are getting stuck in and serving in
some way; the challenge for esotericists is to do likewise and serve humanity through the direction of
energy in meditation. Having this goal in mind changes the perspective of spiritual training. Passing

through our own individual burning ground has to be for one aim only the aim of becoming better
equipped to help humanity as a whole pass through the world burning ground and into a clearer light.
Inevitably Arcane School students will pass through burning grounds because the training
accelerates spiritual unfoldment. The training enables regular impacts on the student, lighting up the
fires of aspiration and burning up all the dross. Common sense and moderation must be practised,
keeping in control of the process and not allowing it to become a spiritual drama. Feeling engulfed in
the flames of a burning ground can kindle the glamours of fanaticism and self-absorption. The
unwary aspirant can become engrossed with his own psychological pain and the heat of the
purificatory fires then becomes the all-absorbing theme of the personality whereas the personality
itself should be lost to sight in the glory of the One."
There are many different burning ground experiences, and as the name suggests, they are all related
to psychological heat. The rule associated with this keynote uses the idea of temperature to indicate
different stages of group consciousness. The fire that burns at the heart of the group life esoterically
tempers each disciple and proceeds to burn up all hindrances. It tempers the mind like steel, firing
it with the strength and resilience of the group will. At the same time the heat causes a rising up
within each disciple, elevating him into a new found state of freedom. This elevation corresponds to
The Law of Expansive Response, about which an ancient stanza says:
Above the clouds of earth, a sign shines forth.... Only the eye of vision sees this sign Only an
understanding of the law which elevates and lifts can teach the man of fire and son of water to
enter into mist. From thence he climbs on to the mountain top and there again stands free. It is
a freedom, triple in its kind, which greets the man who passeson to the burning ground of
sacrifice. The sun augments the fire; it dissipates the mist and dries the earth. And thus the
work is done.
In this way consciousness expands and rises towards the causal body and later identifies with the
Triad. Just as the air above a physical fire expands and rises through the transmutation of the
elements within it, so the fire at the heart of the group life transmutes the elements of thought raising
the mind into the realm of universal love.
It is right spiritual temperature that governs this process. The temperature of something varies
according to the kinetic energy of its particles, and its interesting that the term degrees of freedom
is often used in physics to describe this rate of motion the more energy the particles have, the more
they dissociate themselves from one another, to where a substance may undergo transfiguration such
as ice into water, water into steam etc. Similarly, increasing degrees of freedom are achieved by
the disciple as the fire of the Solar Angel, and later the Monad, causes rapid vibration in the vehicles
of consciousness. The point of transfiguration and a rising out of the personal self culminates in more
expansive states of consciousness.
When this takes place through group initiation, we have the dichotomy of the group moving into the
cold while simultaneously, the group love permits the warmth of energetic moving out. The
group has risen into a more energised state of consciousness through increased vibration and now has
to stabilize in the pure cold light of reason that emanates from the buddhic plane. As it does so, the
warmth of the group love and compassion radiates out to fire the world with the spirit of
relationship and likewise to stimulate human consciousness towards new degrees of freedom.
We learn that a consideration of the purpose of heat, when divorced from moisture, results in the
ability to use the dry alchemical fires to aid the evolutionary process. The moisture of the astral
body, which expresses itself through the emotional nature, does not enter into esoteric work. Instead
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it is the dry fires of Agni, Lord of the mental plane fanned by the airy love of Indra, Lord of the
Buddhic plane, that burn the disciple up in joy and bliss. For those advanced initiates who specialise
in this particular path of work, it culminates in the passage through a triple burning-ground that is
found "upon the mountain top, being kept alive and flaming by all the winds of heaven," and which
results in the destruction of the causal body. It is a beautiful image to hold in the minds eye and
serves to elevate the collective group consciousness to fleetingly touch the nature of a future reality.
These are just a few of the ideas and imagery that flows out of the keynote which is meant more than
anything to stimulate our imagination and powers of creative visualisation. We should never
underestimate the power of these two faculties, and what the Arcane School group is contributing in
service to the world through their use. Discipleship groups who respond predominantly to the second
ray of Love-Wisdom are developing in particular the creative imagination. In the Tibetans words:
Those sons of men who at this time search for the heat of the love nature of the human unit and
who add to that search a cultivation of a vivid imagination and an intense power to visualise are
working towards responsiveness to heat and a knowledge of rhythm.
The willingness to dedicate the use of the creative imagination to work with the energy that pours
through the group heart is true sacrificial work. Paradoxically, for those whose will-to-love is strong
enough to comply with the rhythm of group life and work, it leads to true freedom - in the Tibetans
words, Obedience lies ahead, with freedom in its hand." The entire circle of the ashram, its inner
and outer service, is governed by complete and utter freedom. It is by our limited ideas of this
freedom and a grudging or partial response to it, that we hold ourselves back from fully experiencing
it. Group love is truly sacrificial and where it exists, the hold of the little will lessens and the
consciousness is lifted into the light of the fiery jewel that burns bright with loving purpose at the
heart of the group.
Rule One speaks of the group both standing with focused intent within the fire of mind, yet
moving into the cold and toward a newer tension. There is no real paradox here though, as it is
from a point of intense stillness at the centre of the ones being that forward spiritual motion takes
place. While the petals of both the individual and the group egoic lotus vibrate ever more rapidly,
within the central jewel a point of stillness is found. It is at this point of stillness where the spiritual
tension steadily grows. Here the mounting tension forms a laya point in one of the planetary veils a
door of initiation that the group has, in fact, created through its own concentration, and through
which it is occultly ejected into a new dimension of awareness.
Such is the journey of a discipleship group coming under the Laws of Group Elevation and
Expansive Response. Spiralling ever onwards into new fields of awareness within the body of a
Heavenly Man, disciples approach the heart of the spiritual sun, the source and moderator of spiritual
temperature throughout all the planes of the solar system, our true home. We move as one band of
brothers into the airy expanses of the mind, evoking compassion in others and an ever growing willto-love that can fire the entire world with the spirit of relationship.

******

Group Consciousness and Existential Refuge

Michelle Pearce
Group consciousness is foundational for achieving our keynote for the year. In many respects group
consciousness is budding all around us in a diversity of forms. The Tibetan predicted that the pull to
group consciousness by the impact of the Aquarian energies combined with the direct impact of the
Shamballa Will upon humanity could cause some powerful and possibly disruptive groups. Groups
can be motivated by selfish harmful purposes as well as by goodwill and unity. It is obvious that we
have groups of both kinds in the world today. The largest group is arguably what we call the NGWS,
that worldwide group of men and women motivated by human need and goodwill, by a vision of
harmony and unity, and by the soul urge to serve the greater whole in selfless ways. Within the large
group we find a multitude of smaller groups who have identified specific goals or ways to bring
goodwill into human civilization.
The most self-focused and dogmatic groups strive to be at the center of everyones attention, often
promoting fear through violent public displays broadcast for millions to see. What Im talking about
here are organized groups like ISIS rather than the mass protests that are occurring rather
spontaneously. Energy follows thought and these displays of violence and torture create fear and
draw attention thus feeding energy to the group identity and purpose. But, in the long run, despite the
power they have to control emotional forces through fear, their displays are awakening the heart
center of humanity as their harmful ideals and methods pull at the heart and minds of billions of
good-hearted people. These groups are the dweller to the Presence of the NGWS. In a very real way
they are the natural result of increasing light and loving unity beginning to take hold in the world.
They thus create a great crisis of opportunity for thinking men and women of goodwill everywhere
in the world by bringing to light the significance of goodwill and focusing the need and demand for
right relations.
In the middle of this spectrum of group consciousness between the polar opposites of groups of
goodwill and groups of separatism are the many shared realities within corporate organizations and
social groups of all sorts. Each group has some central idea, purpose, or desire that is the magnet that
attracts its members and around which they function in cooperation and collaboration. This idea of
relative shared realities is not a new idea. It is at the heart of social psychology and anthropology.
Shared realities can be fluid, they can shift and change as focus and purpose changes. They are
characterized by shared awareness and shared ideas, beliefs, and identifications.
The subway is a wonderful laboratory for the observation of the fluidity of awareness, shared
realities, and group behaviors. There are people who are focused inwardly with a book or listening to
music with headphones and dyads or small groups engaged in conversation. Each small group or
individual is creating a psychic world defined by thoughts and focused awareness. When something
suddenly happens that draws the awareness of everyone in the subway car to the same thinga sick
person, a disruptive loud person, significant overcrowding or delay then everyone focuses attention
on the same event and interaction opens up as one community. Yesterday on a shuttle bus rushing to
meet the morning train, we encountered construction completely blocking the road. As the driver
contemplated what to do, everyone had the same thought at the same moment, all stated together,
4

well walk from here. No problem. Unexpected events provide opportunity for a united focus.
Though the events are most often tragic, the united purpose, the experiencing of united thoughts and
purpose is both uplifting and affirming.
Through large groups of open-hearted people united in purpose, the energy of compassion flows. It is
experienced as inspiration, livingness, goodwill and right purpose and expressed as right relations
and loving understanding. The Law of Compassion is a basic truth inherent in the nature of divinity
and is the foundation of brotherhood and the expression of the inner unity (EH p. 288). Through
that great law working out in human groups, right relations and loving understanding are achieved.
The important observation is that each group or created reality has some shared purpose, or idea that
is a focal point or magnet around which the group activity and interplay occurs. For the AS, that
focal point is the Teachings given in the books by Alice Bailey and the shared purpose is selfless
spiritual group service. The teachings rightly engaged with leads to shared experiences and through
which a great field of thought substance is formed for the reception and expression of energy and
ideas. It is also important to recognize that this teaching is meant to be a tool for group development,
group experience and group service. Its power is that it has the magnetic capacity to attract the souls
who are feeling the pull of the Law of Attraction and the need to evolve into group consciousness
and group service.
When we engage with them with discipline, with an open mind and a willingness to experiment with
its practical application and use, then we gradually find the soul of all life, experience it, and
ultimately become a part of a group field of subtle energetic substance expressive of the highest
levels of human potential and inherent divinity--energies desperately needed by humanity today.
Through the group can flow what each individual needs to be of greater service and what humanity
needs to move forward into a better future. As a whole and as a group the disciples and world servers
are called on to appreciate the current crisis and the opportunity that exist. (Externalizations of the
Hierarchy p. 305). It is the demand of humanity that will evoke the potency of the Avatar of
Synthesis and the return of the Christ that will speed the world crisis to its conclusion, but it is
entirely the decision of the world disciples and aspirants whether the demand is strong enough.
Identification with this serving group and its responsibilities is often a process of transformation, and
like identification with any group, can be a rocky path as by its very nature it often precludes
identification with other groups. Identification as a Christian precludes identification as a Muslim.
Identification as a victim of human violence precludes identification as an empowered creative soul.
Identification with certain groups, purposes, and ideals doesnt always preclude identification with
other ideals, there can be overlap; however, group identities often inform each other. Someone
identified with a liberal oriented parenting group, for example, would not also be identified with a
fundamentalist-parenting group. Identification as a soul and with a soul group is a process that
disrupts the very fabric of the personality life with its particular group life, ideals and identifications.
Aspirants on the spiritual path inevitably experience existential conflicts and crises. These crises, as
we know, are quite necessary as places of opportunity and instability through which one becomes
aware of the possibility for a reorientation and subtle change in direction needed to move into deeper

soul identification and group consciousness. This transformation almost always involves confusion
and discomfort as the inner psychic field becomes unstable in preparation for a shift.
For the Buddhists, the idea of refuge offers great solace, strength, and the courage to be both selfless
and fearless. In a paper posted online on the nature of refuge, Khenpo Kartha Rinpoche states that
everyone needs some sense of refuge, protection and stability; refuge is not merely literal and
general worldly protection, but is concerned with certain existential realities that continue to confront
us. Taking refuge is the beginning of the sane spiritual path.
Through study, meditation, and service Arcane School students find, align with and take refuge in
their souls as places of very real qualities, energies, and a new fresh state of consciousness. Many
then go on to discover their ashramic soul groupgroups united by quality, service and purpose.
Both offer places for existential refuge during the difficult and rocky parts of the spiritual path. The
soul group is a place where the inspiration, selflessness, courage and fearlessness needed to serve
with stability, strength, and joy is found. The group life is the eye in the center of the storm from
which we can serve with clarity, power and loving understanding.
Recognition of the group can also inform the group mind and assist the group to move forward, to
tighten up its striving, and move together to a point of higher tension, despite the surrounding world
being filled with distractions, cross-currents, and crises. It isnt peace that the world needs, but
change. It takes a united group to be able to move forward into the clear cold loving reason of our
highest potential in a way that it becomes a real and tangible quality and state of consciousness from
which we can help humanity. What the group needs is united focus and directed purpose that leads to
more skillful striving rather than over-striving in wrong directions or the flagging of tension that is
inevitable when the group loses its united focus.
Perhaps as a group we can contemplate if now is the right time to recognize more consciously and
intentionally the nature of the group. Perhaps we can recognize that the service of each individual is
the natural expression of the group lifealive with the aspiration to selflessly serve, motivated by
the will to good, and embodying the Law of Compassion. There is a hint in the teaching that should
be very helpful for us in this regard. It states that: the manifestation of the ego on the mental plane
(or the causal body) is not the result of energy emanating from the permanent atoms as a nucleus of
force, but is the result of different forces and primarily of group force (p. 480 R&I).
It is easy to think of ones soul as an individual soul moving forward on the spiritual path through an
individual effort. But it seems the truth is something far different and that the idea of being a person
separated from everyone else is simply an illusion of the personality identified with a physical body.
Psychology has come to recognize that the personality is formed within a group, typically a family
group, but also a larger surrounding community that is an interconnected social network.
The idea of personality unconditioned by group life and forces is an illusion. I can only be a victim
when someone else is an abuser. You are the peace-maker only if someone else is a terror-maker. If
the personality is formed as an integral part of an interconnected whole, then certainly the inherently
group conscious soul is as well. We know consciousness expands and becomes more interconnected
and group conscious as it evolves. If the ego or soul body is in fact the product of group forces, then
true spiritual achievement occurs not from individual effort but from group effort. How is it that we
6

can recognize this more consciously and thus engage more fully with it? We need a new vision of
ourselves as group life and consciousness, achieving as a group, and serving as a group.
Our group has developed some identifiable qualities, qualities that include: seeking, striving,
sacrifice, sensitivity, selfless service and significant spiritual strength. These qualities are our
heritage as a shared group consciousness. An integral part of our group life is centered on the will to
good that is the impulse from which we serve and that provides a focal point so that the little human
wills in the group can synthesize with the group spiritual will strengthening both the individual and
the group purpose and life. Each soul so synthesized through the identification of his or her spiritual
will and purpose with the groups will and purpose creates exponentially greater life, power, and
purpose. And through the synthesis into the group will the quality of refuge is found. In a great
dynamic spiral of service the group uses its attained qualities and achievements to evoke what it
needs to continue to lift itself into greater spiritual identification, synthesis, and service.
Many students have expressed over the past year a sense of renewed purpose, new life and energy.
Recognitions, thoughts and attitudes such as these lift the group into greater awareness and onward
into the group quality of clear cold loving reason. As the group achieves release into the clear cold
reason it becomes a refuge for not only the group members striving and serving in the world but for
the entire group of disciples and world servers at the heart of the NGWS, and for humanity as a
whole, a refuge sorely needed to bring courage, strength and fearlessness so that the group disciple
perceives the crisis and opportunity and assists humanity with a powerful invocative demand for
what is needed to move forward into a more united and harmonious future.
From a place of clear cold loving reason current needs are seen accurately and with spiritual strength
and fearlessness the invocative demand to meet those needs is made, a demand that must be met.
*****
Student Panel: Learning to Work from a Point of Spiritual Tension
Tension, when focused rightly, is the great releasing Power. So many disciples focus tension wrongly
and release energy in the wrong direction andfrom the wrong location. Right tension is brought
about first by correct orientation; this necessitates a true sense of values and freedom from those
minor preoccupations which produce extension instead of tension.
*****
A Students Experience of Spiritual Tension
Suzanne Lorge
In my two years as a student of the Ancient Wisdom, the externals of my life have changed quite
rapidly and permanently. This in and of itself is not remarkable; major life changes happen to us all.
As a relatively new student of the Arcane School, however, as these life changes happened, I felt
called upon to respond to the external, objective world in a way that was new and unfamiliar to me,
to be of service through study and meditation even as some hindering glam

ours were growingor seemed to be growingin strength around me. Because I was meditating
practically every single day and reading the Alice Bailey books during these changes, I was able to
start developing a calm center from which I could navigate the fine line between glamour and reality.
To be clear, I aspired to navigate this fine line, and sometimes I was able to do so successfully and
sometimes not, most often not. I am not being overly self-critical here. Until I began my esoteric
studies, I did not even understand that this is the primary challenge of being humanto bring all
aspects of my being under my minds control in order to facilitate the evolution of humanity. By this
I mean that if I can radiate more light and do less harm, I am helping to raise the collective vibration
of our human kingdom.
I have trouble finding the words to describe the experience of working from a place of spiritual
tension like this. I can liken it to getting a new pair of glasses. These new glasses reveal to me many
small, quiet things that have always been there but that I had never noticed before. For instance, after
Id been studying awhile I became aware of a connection that I feel to all things in my environment,
no matter what their importance in my personal life might be. Even if I have no direct connection
personally to a person or a plant or an animal, I can feel connected to them nonetheless. Ill be riding
the train and notice that a particular person had a very strong, kind presence, or Ill be watering my
plants and notice that these plants are robust, living things that respond immediately to moisture, or
Ill be walking in the park and notice some bugs working very intently and purposefully on some
type of insect-world task. The more I paid attention to the people and things in my immediate
environment, the less I could deny that something is driving everything around us. Everything
around us is in motion, full of unseen energy. And the more I sought to understand these unseen
energies, the more joy Id feel. I now understand that these people, plants and animals are in the
process of performing acts of service in the world, and somehow I had been given the glasses that let
me see this.
Similarly, these glasses reveal that other things that had seemed important to me were actually of
little consequence and perhaps even a bit clownish. Regarding human accomplishments, for instance,
I dont react anymore in the way that I have been socialized to react when I read about or encounter
someone or something that exudes a lot of glamourI more often than not just feel a little bit tired
from it. And its easier now to see through the veil of illusion that surrounds most human endeavors.
This growing ability to see through the veil of glamour is no less true than for my own veil of
glamour, during the Evening Review. During the Evening Review I have many disappointing
moments when I realize how motivated I am by glamour-filled desires. I still find it easy to get
caught up in the temptations of the astral planecompetition at work, the sadness and elation of
romantic tales, the longing for material comforts. But today, I am much less tempted by the astral
plane than I was two years ago, and I can say that many of the astral temptations that have heretofore
driven me in this incarnation have fallen away. They have fallen away because as a student I am
becoming more aware of the spiritual responsibilities that I bear in this incarnation. From that place
of responsibility, every thought, word, and action comes under scrutinymy own scrutiny. No one
is telling me what is right or wrong or meting out punishment if I do not follow some set of rules.
Not only am I responsible for my choices, but I am responsible for determining whether or not these
choices are in alignment with the spiritual plan for my lifewhich, I believe, fits into an even larger
and more glorious plan for humanity.
So, this is a tall order. And in the day-to-day, I can only manage the small pieces of this larger
undertaking. For instance, when I buy something now I ask myself, what is the effect of my purchase
on the world at large? Does this purchase direct my personal energy toward a more spiritual end or
toward a more personally selfish end? When I go to work each day I ask myself, is this where I
should be? Is this where my desire to serve is leading me? In what way am I being called to serve
8

here, right where I am, today? And then finally, are my thoughts, words, and actions not only
harmless and appropriate to the reality of the situation, but are they in response to a higher call to
service?
Before I became a student, my idea of sacrifice and serving humanity was to go to jail or on a hunger
strike for a cause, or to fight crime and oppression, or to join a monastery and pray for the world
from a distance. These can all be acts of service, certainly, but so far, I have not been called to serve
in this way. So far, I have been called to adjust my daily thoughts and behaviors, to be generous and
giving with my time and money, to think before I speak, to remain silent and wait for guidance,
rather than acting just to act or speaking just to speak. No grand gestures. I believe, though, that
oftentimes the smallest gesture has the grandest impact.
*****
Learning to Work from a Point of Spiritual Tension
Lee Smith
Our topic afternoon, Learning To Work From A Point of Spiritual Tension, is a deeply subjective
process that varies with each of us according to our individual compositions for we each have our
different physical, astral and mental bodies which make up our personality vehicles. Some of us find
ourselves easily emotional and readily laugh or cry at the drop of a hat, while others of us remain
rather aloof and detached regardless of the circumstances. We each, in fact, have our own often fluid
points of tension as we proceed through our daily lives, from family to work to friends, before we
end each day.
How do we as students in the Arcane School review our individual constitutions and find a point
of spiritual tension from which we can work?
How can the group onward move- out of the fire of the mental plane as we leave the personality
behind, into the cold fresh air of the buddhic plane and toward a newer tension, as expressed in our
keynote for 2015? In essence, how can we each and all make our subjective life more objective?
Our individual lives and upbringing have a lot to say about that, for they greatly condition our
response. I myself, for example, was born in Cedar Rapids, Iowa in 1945. Around age 6 my family
moved to Illinois where, in 1955, I met a young Chinese boy whose family had escaped from
Mainland China by fleeing first to Hong Kong and then finally re-united with his farther, who had
years earlier established a hand-laundry in Glen Ellyn Illinois. Larry Goon and I became best friends
immediately, and with that friendship I began my life-long journey into Asian studies. Both my heart
and my head became immersed in all things Oriental!
From 1964 through 1970 I attended The University of Illinois where I majored in Asian Studies. I
learned Japanese and, when I met and married a girl from Medan, Sumatra, I took a year of
Indonesian. Now that I think about it, my whole college career was my way of responding to the
Vietnam War for I also studied Buddhism and was deeply impressed with Dr. Edward Cones studies
of the Heart of Perfect Wisdom The Prajnaparamita Hrdaya. As I sounded the Mantra: Gate, Gate,
Paragagte, Parasamgate, Boohi-Svaha!
I could actually feel my Brahmarandra and heart
pulsate! I was beginning to find my individual point of Spiritual Tension.
9

Later, as a new student in the Arcane School in the early 1980s, I found the daily meditation routine
to be quite Spiritually Galvanizing, for my morning meditation began my days with a definitely
heightened spiritual awareness which is hard to describe. There was a potent current of etheric
energies coursing from my head downwards, from the inside-out, which was deeply calming.
Through it I became one with everything. Its stimulation remained for about an hour or so as I
showered, ate breakfast, and then drove to work--but, as I neared work--I could literally feel my
spiritual stimulation dissipate. As I would park my car, walk into the building, and sit down at my
desk, I found I could counter this dissipation by silently sounding and deeply reflecting upon The
Great Invocation.
As the years passed by, my spiritual routine at work became less subjective and more objective: I
placed the Golden Lotus postcard of the Great Invocation in a lucite holder in a prominent position
on my desk; I would softly sound the noontime recollection ay my desk (and also the five oclock
mediation if was working late) and as a result over the years coworkers became aware of the
Arcane School and even wished me well as I took annual leave to attend the conference. I could
literally feel my spiritual life strengthen.
However, recognition and approval of ones spiritual life from others does not in itself help one to
learn to work from a point of spiritual tension it merely improves the environment in which that
work proceeds. The Key, The Tibetan tells us, is INTENSITY. Intensity, or working from a point
of tension, brings in the flood-tide of revelation, and it is then possible for a disciple to learn on a
short day what might otherwise take months or even years to learn. Right tension is brought about
first by correct orientation, he goes on to tell us, you would find it of value to discover where your
extensions are and then retreat inward to the point of tension from which you can consciously and
effectively direct soul energy( DINAI, 734-35).
This, the Tibetan concludes, is the true esoteric work each has to discover that point of spiritual
tension for himself (IBID).
The further I progressed in The Arcane School, the more I found myself drawing diagrams,
especially The Constitution of Man, for there I found what I might call an etheric skeleton upon
which I could visually place the many deep comments of the Tibetan and thereby make sense of
them. Without realizing it as such, through the intensity I mustered-up in drawing a diagram and then
applying particular quotations to its various parts. I was in fact creating and learning to work
through my own individual point of tension. For the diagrams greatly simplified and clarified my
thoughts on the Ageless Wisdom. When those diagrams were applied to the mantras we all sound
regularly, then the innate and palpable strength of those mantras increased greatly; after all, the
Etheric Skeleton of the constitution of man is, in fact, the etheric body of you, me, and each and
every human being. When our collective etheric body is visually recognized, and when matric
sounds are applied in rhythmic progression throughout our body, how can we not be deeply,
consciously impressed as our point of spiritual tension palpably heightens!
Among your program material you will find a blue envelop with an orange card inside. It is a card I
designed in 2007 and shared at a previous Arcane School Conference. It is entitled The Manifesting
Monad Expressing Itself through the Affirmations of the Disciple, and it shows a diagram of the
10

constitution of man within the orange background of Our God is a Consuming Fire of the logic
plane expressing itself through the blue triangle of the monad upon his own plane all the way down
through the barely perceptible violet-colored physical permanent atom on its own plane. The
Affirmation of The Disciple is thus an affirmation plane-by-plane that we actually are Divine.
What we have to do is to consciously realize our continuous and unbroken expression of our divinity
as we progress from the formless working into the worlds of form via The Affirmation of the
Disciple. As we do so, we will be making our subjective life ever more objective, for we will each
and all In Our Own Place be learning to work from our own point of Spiritual Tension.
Please keep these thoughts in mind as you, at home, first visualize the constitution of man and then
sound The Affirmation of the Disciple. For I think that you too will find your point of spiritual
tension does indeed heighten.
*****
Working from a Point of Spiritual Tension
(Due to extenuating circumstances this talk was not delivered at the conference)
Ginny Deangelis
Working from a Point of Spiritual Tension is both the easiest and the most difficult dynamic facing
every disciple. It is achievable quite simply through intuitive visualization. For example, you see me
as a human being. I see me as a soul living within the form of a cross and functioning within a field
of souls.
This simple visual technique allows me to immediately connect vertically and serve horizontally on
the physical and material planes. It also serves as a constant reminder of my childlike philosophy,
Happy thoughts equal a healthy body. Over the years, Ive annoyed a lot of people with my
incurable optimism; but this simple four-word mantra really works.
There are many other mantras, but we dont have the time to go through them right now. So, let me
give you a second mantra that is quick, powerful, and effective: I am my soul, my soul knows only
goodness, and only goodness comes to me. This mantra encourages acceptance of ALL outer events
as living expressions of Light and Love, ever moving towards highest good.
Now lets review: with these two mantras, I have established direction and connection to the One
Source and Ive ensured optimum performance within the mental/physical vehicles.
Not so hard, right? Now comes the enduring challenge the great nemesis each of us must face and
the lifeblood of our very humanity: the emotional vehicle.
My Grandmother was a remarkable woman for many reasons not the least of which was her
endless patience and tolerance with my incessant questions of why? She raised me to believe in
and to embody a simple, straightforward life approach. The only disease on Planet Earth is fear, born

11

of ignorance, and violence is never the answer, especially emotional violence. Fear, anger, apathy,
and guilt are all distorted expressions of reactive emotional violence.
Facing truth, speaking truth, embracing truth is the herculean challenge confronting each of us,
especially when you question whose truth?
As living souls, we are under contractual obligation to work within our planetary limitations,
including the endless stream of illusions, in order to effect evolutionary changebut this is not the
same as buying into them. Example: sympathy versus empathy. A sympathetic ear may provide a
momentary band-aid stroke in a difficult situation; but it will bring no long-term relief simply
because it cannot see clearly the significance of the experience. Empathy, on the other hand, allows
us to connect with our brother or sister and aid them in effecting necessary change. This is a hard
lesson to learn, but it cultivates within the disciple a deeper understanding of non-personality and
develops a wider outreach of service.
Right use of the emotional vehicle becomes the key that unlocks the door leading to the spiritual
pathway the source of true, enduring joy.
I have learnt only one clear way to disarm emotional demons, and believe me I am willful enough
to have tried all other avenues. The only approach that works is non-violence, disarmed of all
weaponry (mental, physical, and emotional), and stripped naked of all defenses.
It requires willingness, acceptance, and obedience. There is no guarantee of understanding only an
acutely increased and heightened awareness. In Foster Baileys book, Reflections, youll find a
beautiful mantra that addresses this very purity of intention. Ill leave it to you to discover, based
upon the aphorism of seek and ye shall find.
In review, we identified location as the center of the cross, we have established direction as
vertical attention with horizontal outreach, now comes focus. God thinks in equations and
equations are Universal. So our focus is universal, not personal.
DK calls pain, all pain, the smashing of the form and the reaching of the inner fire. Smashing is
a guy thing. I would say dismantling; a kinder, gentler way. But the goal remains the same:
reaching the inner fire which is the true residence of spiritual tension. The initial contact can be
terrifying. Over time, this place of residence becomes your true home.
In esoteric terms, tension always precedes crisis and crisis is viewed through a lens of opportunity. In
the beginning, the opportunity is to become accustomed to living in two different realities: the notself and the Self. Your ability to adapt will be tested at every turn.
Once rooting and stability is assured, you will realize that this finely-tuned point of balance at the
center of the cross has become a portal into worlds beyond. Your test then becomes the power of
choice: will you walk the narrow razors edge leading to the Group? Or will you wander down
highways and byways of self-delusion, spiritual pride, and eventual downfall?
12

As many of you already know, Mabel Collins book, Light on the Path, is a timeless primer on this
very test. There is another Mabel Collins book that will aid you immeasurably when you join the
Inner Group. It is called When the Sun Moves Northward and I have practiced this program, in
conjunction with Arcane School work, for many years. It speaks to the fellowship of group work on
subjective planes in ways that are remarkably attuned to DKs work.
In a very real sense, we are all followers of those who have come before and forerunners of those yet
to be. So let us tread mindfully and intentionally into the footsteps which beckon. In the words of
Teddy Roosevelt, which seem to carry an other-world meaning and are uncannily appropriate, Walk
softly and carry a big stick. Thank you and times up!
*****
Towards an Age of Lighted Reason
Steve Nation
Let the Group onward move out of the fire, into the cold, and toward a newer tension.
In any point of tension, energy is being generated, held for future use, and focused A point of
tension is a storehouse of power.
The definition of tension as a storehouse of power lies at the core of our group work throughout the
three Arcane School conferences this year. In order to assess the quality or note of tension held by a
group we need to be able to imagine with some degree of reality and definition how things might
appear through the eyes of the Soul. Only through this perspective of altitude can we begin to
comprehend something of the role any particular storehouse of power might be playing in the
evolution of consciousness.
So, with this in mind, can we together imagine ourselves now as if we are part of the group mind that
is the Arcane School, on the periphery of the ashram, preparing ourselves to explore the newer
tension that humanity as a whole is headed towards? Imagine a future when, as is prophesied, the
tension of mind and heart at the center of intelligent thought and activity is characterized by the
quality of lighted, inclusive reason, of intuitive perception. What would such a tension in the mind of
the Group of World Servers look like? How would it be different from the field as we know it
today? And how would this affect the culture and civilization?
History records one Age of Enlightenment in Europe when secular reason and analysis replaced the
dominant pattern of mythical and religious thinking within the intelligentsia. Reason is defined by
Websters Dictionary as the power of the mind to think and understand in a logical way; the proper
exercise of the mind, or intelligence. It was this faculty of logical, deductive reasoning that was
empowered, overshadowed, stimulated in cultural and intellectual circles in Europe during the late
17th and 18th centuries and it changed the course of history.
Over the centuries that followed the enlightenment there was a shift in the cultural life away from the
power of established authorities and dogmas. Educated individuals finding the truth through
research, experiment and rigorous analysis became thought leaders and sources of innovation in
every field of life. Education itself became a value. Assumptions about the divine order were
questioned and submitted to testing.
13

Consider the electrical tension of the mind that this era of Enlightenment represented. It is as if the
ancient injunction of the Buddha, To Be a Lamp Unto Yourselves, took a hold of the small fraction
of the population of Europe that was educated. As a result of this electrification of the mind a whole
new world was born.
Now we are in process of transitioning into a new Enlightenment. This is happening in part at least
because true reason and experimentation has lost much of its authenticity in the dominant institutions
of the corporate post-industrial complex. Science and inquiry is too often fueled by investors who are
looking for short-term profits and too often restricted by unproven and unquestioned dogmatic
assumptions. More importantly the logic of the old patterns of knowledge is unable to respond to the
challenges of interdependence.
The Enlightenment of the 17th and 18th centuries ushered in an Age centered on the exploration of a
world of separated entities. Knowledge was the knowledge of separation; the part over and above
and beyond the whole. Today the quest for knowledge is becoming preoccupied with the knowledge
of relationships between separated parts; understanding whole systems, environments and ecologies.
We are approaching an age where the mind is grappling with the mysteries of interdependence and
wholeness. This is most obvious in the climate debate but it is also the case in medicine, science,
the humanities, politics, economics and international relations. There is a recognized need to see the
whole picture and to base policy and action around this vision of the whole.
So as we visualize the state of tension of the mind of the group of intelligent people of goodwill in
the future we need to be looking at vertical ways of thinking in which clear rational thought is
informed by intuition illumining the spirit within the form and revealing all the vital, living
relationships existing between part and whole.
It is through this quality of lighted reason that the New Group of World Servers is in process of
demonstrating, and of learning how to demonstrate the Glory of the One.
In the ageless wisdom understanding, intuitive perception is the result of an alignment between the
conscious awareness of the individual and the love petals of the soul which carry the Triadal energy
of buddhi or divine, reasoning love. Buddhic energy brings direct knowledge, or reason that is
imbued with love, understanding and wisdom.
Intuitive reason and logical, rational reason are not mutually exclusive, although they represent
different epistemologies, different ways of knowing and different approaches to knowledge.
In A Comprehensive Dictionary of Psychological and Analytical Terms intuition is defined as direct
and unmediated knowledge and immediate or innate apprehension of a complex group of data.
Intuitions occur to a person without any known process of cogitation or reflective thinking. There is,
in the words of the Dictionary of Psychology, immediacy to the process.
The Jungian psychologist, James Hillmans classic book The Souls Code: In Search of Character
and Calling presents a clear outline for a psychology that includes the intuition and other aspects of
Soul as a positive dynamic factor. Drawing on the stories of influential individual servers he makes
an important point about intuition and the way it works:
It does not advance by thought, step by step; intuition is clear, quick, and full. Like a
revelation it comes all at once, and fast. It is quite independent of time just as myths are
timeless, and fall apart when we ask of them temporal questions such as "When did this
occur?" [pp. 98-9]

14

But as psychology affirms, and as we ourselves will know, what we may think is an inspired
intuition might not be a case of direct knowledge at all. Sudden insights may be wrong, they may
come from selfish, hidden or illusory notions, they may lead to fixations bearing no relation to the
Real or the Good, Beautiful and True - so flashes of insight need to be tested with common sense,
logic and rational argument.
Alice Bailey adds that a characteristic of Intuitive knowing is that it brings us into touch with ideas
that carry the DNA of the Plan these are ideas that reveal future possibilities and carry an impulse
to help bring those possibilities into fruition. Recognition of the Plan brings with it a dynamic willful
energy for human sensitivity to the Plan is all about recognizing what can be done now to help
move forward towards the future world of sharing and right relations. What is possible and
achievable now, in todays world, and with todays circumstances?
If we want to help bring an idea into expression in the world we have to draw on all the creative
faculties of mind logic, reason, strategy, learning how to work with cooperators and so on. The task
is to take what we know intuitively to be true, those few kernels of truth that we actually know
within ourselves, and adjust these truths to the world need at the time in which we are living
speaking, writing and actively working with the idea in such a way that the essential life at the core
of the idea, its divine seed, is exposed for all to see while the details of its application change and
adapt depending on the circumstances.
It is this balanced approach, ensuring that direct knowledge is in fact direct, and working with this
knowledge in ways that truly serve the needs of the time that constitutes the future possibility of a
Coming Age of Lighted Reason. The physicist, Arthur Zajonc, speaks of the urgent need for an
Epistemology of Love as a replacement for the outmoded Epistemology of Separation Meditation as
Contemplative Inquiry: When Knowing becomes Love, p. 179.
Separation still dominates knowledge in the halls of learning, the professions and sciences. But the
new way of knowing is strongly in process of emerging. It is already very much alive and active in
those same halls of learning, professions and sciences. We can see it in phenomena like the
Mindfulness movement; like the initiatives in Contemplative Education spreading throughout the
universities in this country; like the Presencing movement in organizational life or like the
Interspiritual New Monastic Movement in theological and religious circles.
In order to resolve the problems of our time we need to be able to see and understand something of
the wholeness of life; we need to be able to identify the livingness flowing through inter-acting,
interdependent organisms, organs, creatures, species, peoples, nations and cultures binding them
together into whole systems, hierarchies and orders of creation.
An Age of Enlightened Reason can be expected to be characterized by giant leaps in our
understanding of intuitive perception and in the role that intuition plays in new knowledge. For
example, revelations often come following years of work when a body of knowledge and
understanding is built up in a specific field. From this depth of knowledge about detail as well as
patterns of relationship, what we might call enlightened scientific teams trying to solve a particular
problem can begin to enter into the life, the livingness of the object of their investigation, creating an
invocative tension that leads ultimately to a moment of unusual intuitive insight exemplified
perhaps by the astronomer Fred Hoyle who reported that he had been working on and struggling with
a problem of quantum mechanics. Driving alone he was reflecting on the problem, cogitating and
trying to think it through when, he writes, my awareness of the mathematics clarified, not a little, not
even a lot, but as if a huge brilliant light had suddenly been switched on. How long did it take to
become totally convinced that the problem was solved? Less than five seconds.
15

DK refers to a Touch of Enlightenment that the Soul brings to the purified personality when Soul
and Personality are in process of fusing and uniting a light is engendered on the mental plane
which fadeth not away [EP II, p. 269]. This is the light which we can except to condition a future
Age of Lighted Reason. It will produce simplification, merging and synthesis in the mind EP II, p.
391.
In the Alice Bailey book, Esoteric Psychology, Volume II, [pp. 393 96] there is a passage on
inclusive reason which helps us understand something about the quality and tension of mind that is
emerging amongst intelligent thinkers in the Group of World Servers. This is a mental capacity
which enables the detail of the sensed Whole to be grasped in meticulous entirety. Imagine a future
where more and more of us are able to see the detailed unity of life, in all its diverse levels and layers
of expression; to see and understand the beauty in relationship and the divine pattern of nested
hierarchies. As the mind of thinking servers moves into a tension of inclusive reason the synthetic
detail of the manifested Life is already beginning to be revealed we can expect it to become the
basic understanding around which a new Age of Light, a new Enlightenment, takes shape.
*****
The Soul and the Smart Machine: A Spiritual Future and Artificial Intelligence

Evert Boer
Cold Metallic Era
When we picture a computer, the phrase cold and calculating comes to mind. This is probably
because we realize instinctively that a machine does not really have emotions, empathy, compassion
or love. It is true that a computer can be programmed, currently, to emulate human emotions, but it
does not really feel. In fact, a computer does not really think as a flesh and blood human does
either. Alan Turing, a British pioneer in computer science credited with the idea of artificial
intelligence, created a Turing Test wherein a computer could be said to think if a human
interrogator could not differentiate between its responses and that of a human. To date, no artificial
intelligence program has passed this test.
Definitions
Before considering the service that smart machines and artificial intelligence are currently providing
and how they might be used in the future for the common good of the whole, a few definitions may
be beneficial. Intelligence is defined as the ability to acquire and apply knowledge and skills. In a
computer, we are really talking about the software or set of computer instructions (algorithm) that
enables this ability. This software is currently created by humans rather than occurring naturally,
which is basically the definition of artificial. In contrast to an emulation of general human
intelligence, or AI, smart machines are limited or specialized systems that are programmed to
perform tasks traditionally conducted by humans in an effort to boost efficiency and productivity. An
example of a smart machine would be what we call a robot that can be found on different assembly
lines, such as in the automobile industry.
How Will AI Be Used In Service To The Whole?

16

Currently there are a number of smart devices in use in the medical field. These include smart
implants that utilize onboard information processing components. The most common and widely
used implants are the pacemakers and defibrillators to improve heart function and the cochlea
implants for extremely hard of hearing or deaf individuals. Auditory brain stem implants and cochlea
implants use electrode arrays to stimulate neurons in the cochlear nucleus complex in the lower brain
stem or within the cochlea. A visual prosthesis can create a sense of image through the electrical
stimulation of neurons in the visual system. Researchers are investigating and experimenting with
motor neuroprosthetics to help restore movement for people with motor disabilities. Applications
could include traumatic brain injury, paralysis, and spinal cord injuries. An early success of Artificial
Intelligence in medicine was in medical diagnoses utilizing rules based systems. As more and more
data is collected, analyzed and collated, accuracy will undoubtedly increase.
In the future transportation will increasingly become safer. We already have examples of smart cars
that utilize rear view alarms, blind spot monitoring, anti-lock braking systems, parking assistance,
etc. The future could well see robotic or self-driving cars and automated highway systems (AHS)
that would construct magnetic lanes to guide the vehicles. Highway computers could supervise
traffic and guide the cars to avoid collisions.
Because of the enormous and ever growing storage capacities and processing speeds in todays
supercomputers, the use of large and increasingly complex data sources and compilations have
allowed scientists and forecasters to create and use models that attempt to predict, with escalating
accuracy, weather forecasts as well as detecting and documenting climate trends. This ability to
forecast droughts, floods, and other weather phenomena will be important to determine where aid is
required and to direct resources to mitigate the consequences and avoid the disasters which are
becoming increasingly common due to climate change.
In Alice Baileys book, The Problems of Humanity, the topic of sharing the worlds resources is
presented as a necessity for the well-being of the whole and as a possibility in the new age. I quote
from the chapter entitled International Unity, There was a timea hundred years or more ago
when a just distribution of the world's wealth would have been impossible. That is not true today.
Statistics exist; computations have been made; investigation has penetrated into every field of the
earth's resources and these investigations, computations and statistics have been published and are
available to the public. The men in power in every nation know well exactly what food, minerals, oil
and other necessities are available for worldwide use upon just and equitable lines. It is in this just
distribution of the worlds resources that the uses of big data and forecasting models made possible
by super computers could excel while smart machines and transportation systems could automate the
process.
Robots can work in situations and environments too dangerous for humans. Besides exploring Mars,
defusing bombs, checking the structural integrity of buildings for first-responders, they can be used
in situations like the Fukushima nuclear disaster in Japan.
The Tibetan has indicated that in the golden age which lies ahead, the masses will be faced by the
problem of leisure, a leisure which smart machines could certainly play a role in creating as they take
over the drudgery of grueling labor and long hours. He further indicates that servers on Ray V, the
17

ray of concrete knowledge or Science are rapidly coming into prominence. They are, and I quote
knowingly and unknowingly, leading men into the world of meaning, and their discoveries will
eventually end the present era of unemployment, and their inventions and improvements, added to
the steadily growing idea of group interdependence (which is the major message of the New Group
of World Servers) will eventually ameliorate human conditions so that an era of peace and leisure
can supervene. The operative word is can because the result of the tensions generated will depend
on Humanitys reaction to the possible revelations of the spiritual meaning and significance behind
the inventions or ideas materialized into the form side of manifestation.
Will It Have A Liberating Or Imprisoning Effect On Human Consciousness?
Whether Artificial Intelligence and smart machines will have a liberating or imprisoning effect on
human consciousness will depend upon mankinds reactions to and use of these tools, and whether
they indeed remain tools. There are a number of different schools of thought regarding the threat that
artificial intelligence might pose to the existence of humanity. They range from philosopher,
cognitive scientist and logician Noam Chomskys assertion that artificial intelligence is nevertheless
just a program or algorithm written by a human and that the idea of a singularity often mentioned
by futurists is science fiction, to dire warnings of the existential threat, rivaling climate change and
nuclear war, that artificial intelligence represents.
So what exactly is this singularity that is predicted and warned about by even luminaries such as Bill
Gates, the founder of Microsoft, Stephen Hawkins, physicist, and Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla motors?
Singularity is defined as a point in time when intelligent machines will greatly exceed human
intelligence. This singularity is predicted mainly on the basis of Moores law, which observes that
over the history of computing hardware, the number of transistors in a dense integrated circuit
doubles approximately every two years. This law is named after Gordon Moore, co-founder of Intel
Corporation and has basically held true from his first formulation in 1965 to the current day. This
doubling eventually reaches exponential growth that result in an intelligence explosion causing the
singularity.
In one scenario, intelligent machines will achieve a form of self-awareness, or experience something
similar to the individualization through which animal-man became a human being. Elon Musk
compared this eventuality as akin to summoning the demon, an interesting observation as the
Tibetan described the true black magician as a soulless entitya being in whom the Ego isas we
understand the term todaynon-existent. The overriding concern expressed by Stephen Hawkins
and Bill Gates is that artificial intelligence would take off on its own and redesign itself at an everincreasing rate. Humans, who are limited by slow biological evolution, couldnt compete and would
be superseded."
Other futurists see a developing danger--even without considering whether artificial intelligence
would become self-aware--by virtue of what computers can and will be able to do, as opposed to
what they might or might not be. Computers far outstrip us in capabilities such as focus, patience,
processing speed and memory. We have already seen the results of automated computer trading that
caused a massive fluctuation in the stock market. Artificial Intelligence, linked to the Internet,
programmed to integrate and analyze data from many sources, connected to other computers, could
18

make human research and technological development obsolete and rapidly come to dominate our
world in one way or another.
Because the initial programming is done by humans in these ever more complex programs, errors are
unavoidable in these algorithms which can cause unexpected and extremely consequential results,
since a computer will follow instructions to the letter at lightning speeds even if unexpected disasters
are the effect.
To mitigate these dangers presented by super intelligent machines, institutions are already starting to
consider how to program friendly AI which does what we want even as they continue to improve
their intelligence. This would of necessity include firmware as well as software and require
cooperation between countries and corporations involved in AI research. Unfortunately, currently
the field is dominated by those invested in increasing the power of AI rather than considering safety.
Humanity must remain the masters of this technology. The mantram of unification states it best:
Let the Soul control the outer form, and life and all events.
Social Challenges and Moral Dilemmas
One of the very real social challenges due to the ever increasing capabilities of computers and their
complex algorithms is the seductive nature of this technology. An example is Internet Addiction
Disorder or more commonly called Problematic Internet Use. For some people cyber relationships
and communications have become more important than real face to face, person to person
communication and interaction. Other individuals have traded actual living and enjoyment of nature
and the real world around us with virtual reality. Adventure games have frequently replaced real
outdoor activities requiring exercise and physical contact with plants, trees, animals, rivers, oceans,
awe inspiring scenery and natural beauty.
Another very real concern is privacy. To grow, we need the ability to experiment and gain
experience through trial and error and consequently mistakes are inevitable. We have to be able to
forget the things which lie behind, but when every adolescent transgression, thoughtless posting,
careless experiment or hasty decision becomes an indelible record which follows us everywhere, is
accessible by all and affects our future possibilities, this freedom diminishes and our past imprisons
us within the ever expanding big data capacities of our technological age. We even, unknowingly
sometimes, invite the very collectors of our personal data into our homes and automobiles, through
our use of smart machines, such as smart televisions that include microphones and video cameras,
are connected to the Internet, and have the capability to record our conversations for parsing by third
parties such as advertisers.
Finally, in closing, I would like to briefly mention Transhumanism and Post humanism, because they
intersect and in many ways, are a natural outgrowth of Artificial Intelligence. Nick Bostrom, founder
of the Future of Humanity Institute, a research group within the University of Oxford, defines
Transhumanism as the intellectual and cultural movement that affirms the possibility and
desirability of fundamentally improving the human condition through applied reason, especially by
using technology to eliminate aging and greatly enhance human intellectual, physical, and
psychological capacities. Many Transhumanists speculate that a post human could be a symbiosis
of human and artificial intelligence, or even an uploaded consciousness which they believe might be
19

possible once all of the neuron connections in the brain have been mapped and replicated within a
computer.
In esoteric studies we also view the human species poised to make an evolutionary leap, but into the
Fifth Kingdom, the Kingdom of Souls, the Kingdom of God. We seek to fuse with the Soul and not
with a machine. We do not consider aging a disease, but rather as a pathway leading to liberation
from a vehicle that has outlived its usefulness and towards the gift of rebirth. We do not seek the
immortality of the personality. We consider the brain as simply a tool used by the mind, itself a
vehicle for a unit of consciousness. In many ways, the Internet, the Worldwide Web, networks, the
Cloud, and the intelligence represented by smart machines and AI, are distorted and external
reflections of internal realities.
By means of our etheric bodies we are already networked with everyone through the etheric vehicle
of the planet itself. And although the information contained within the big data systems stored in the
Cloud, available at the touch of a key, is certainly a valuable tool towards gathering the knowledge
required before we can attain wisdom, we also strive to become aware of the Raincloud of
knowable things referred to by Patanjali, accessible through the intuition and according to the
Tibetan, in time scientists will begin to realize that it is the true source or fount of all ideas and of
the inspiration which makes their work possible.
So may we be as the seeker described in the book, Through the Gates of Gold, by Mabel Collins: he
sees within his thought the finer qualities of spiritual truth, which is beyond the action of our mental
machinery, and then instead of entering on the treadmill of intellectualisms he rests on the broad
back of the eagle of intuition and soars into the fine air where the great poets found their insight.
*****
SUNDAY MAY 3, 2015
The Perceiver on the Way: Humanity, Discipleship and the Fourth Ray
Kathy Newburn
Those of us who study the teachings of the Tibetan know that the year 2025 is important. On the
25th year of every century a conclave takes place within the spiritual Hierarchy of the planet wherein
important decisions are made and this conclave will be no different. This is a time of preparation for
the externalization of certain members of the spiritual Hierarchy and this conclave will take stock of
humanitys progress in preparing for this event and its said that the timing for the externalisation
will be decided. The year 2025 also spells the end of the sixty year period known as the Stage of the
Forerunner, which is the new group of world servers time to help prepare human consciousness for
these events. But perhaps 2025 is less well-known for the fact that it will be the time within the
various cycles of the rays when there will be an incoming of the fourth ray. And it is this third point
that I would like to share a few thoughts about today.
When the rays come in and out of cyclic manifestation it is said to be because the great musician of
the universe is moving the keys and sounding another note and bringing about another turning of the
great wheel. So when we think of this event from the macrocosmic level it is really a very simple
and also very beautiful moment.
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When a ray cycles in it brings with it all that which is attuned to it. It brings in the zodiacal and
planetary influences associated with it. It brings in the colors and the sounds associated with it. It
brings in the flora and fauna that resonate with it and it also brings in the individual human beings
who are coming forth along that ray line.
The fourth ray is of particular importance to humanity were told because this ray governs the soul of
that great entity we call humanity. So spiritually speaking it would seem that the incoming of the
fourth ray will have a profound effect upon the soul of our kingdom, the fourth kingdom, on this
fourth planet in the solar system.
We know that we are passing through a great time of initiation on our planet--initiation human and
solar. Its not just the great Life that ensouls our planet that is passing through an initiatory process
but it is likewise individuals here and there who are taking themselves in hand and the possibility of
initiation is held out to them.
The fourth ray is the vehicle for the inpouring of illumination and so it, therefore, aids the initiatory
process. The clear, cold light of buddhi is related to the fourth ray and will be an instrumental factor
in the forcing process that is initiation that is occurring on Earth.
The fourth ray is said to be the refiner, the producer of perfection within the form and the temple of
God. It is that which houses the light. Of this ray it is said, Sound and the soundless One meet in
an infinite point of peace. Time and the timeless One negate the thoughts of men.
It is the ray of the seeker, the searcher, the sensitive reflector of beauty. This ray energy brings these
gifts to humanity, not only to those who function on this ray but to all seekers of truth. The fourth
ray facilitates the inner work of bridge building.
Ancient peoples used myths, legends, astrology, painting, rituals and dramas to convey spiritual
truths. Today the focus is more upon words but as the fourth ray comes into manifestation we can
expect a renaissance in the arts as this influence combines with that of the seventh ray to produce the
artists in excelsis.
Today the arts quite often stimulate the lower chakras, but as we move forward we will increasingly
see artists coming into incarnation whose vehicles will be of such a calibre that they will be able to
touch increasingly subtle vibrations, tapping into archetypes of beauty that are awaiting
precipitation. Art ideally should provide the viewer with a portal into the higher realms--a type of
transportative and decidedly spiritual experience.
The fourth ray harmonizes the harshness in our world, fosters right relationships--perhaps through
initial conflict--and eventually aids humanity to turn towards peaceful solutions to world problems
and towards the cultivation of goodwill.
The fourth ray is the linking agent, linking the three higher rays of aspect with the four lower rays
including itself of attribute. The ray linking parallels the linking quality of humanity itself as the
linking agent between the kingdom of God and the three lower kingdoms of the animal, vegetable
and mineral worlds.
We have some understanding today of whats it is like to witness the outgoing of a ray influence as
we are living through the final years of the sixth ray dispensation. We can see as this energy passes
21

out its action crystallizes and the lower aspects of its manifestation, such as fundamentalism--which
we see on all sides. But we dont have a familiarity of what its like to witness the influx of a ray
energy and how it might possibly manifest in our world.
I found it quite interesting to hear Steve speak yesterday of the Age of Enlightenment and it just so
happened that this age coincided with the incoming of the seventh ray in 1675. There was a real
thrust and push for change during this period. This age was a time of reason, analysis, and
individualism rather than an age of authority. Of course it is difficult to pinpoint with exactitude the
particular qualifying influences of any historical period but clearly the ingress of the seventh ray
coincided with a big shift in consciousness.
So perhaps we can expect a real shift in our planetary life when this fourth ray comes in, highlighting
its qualities of beauty, harmony, clarity of perception, and a yearning for peaceful solutions to
problems.
It should be noted that the incoming of the fourth ray to which we are referring is that of the ray
influence of a minor cycle of that ray. Because the major cycle of that ray has been in place for
several thousand years already. So the Tibetan is talking about the influx of the ray energy along the
line of a minor cycle. The major cycle of the fourth ray will be in place for another 40,000 years. So
he seems to indicate that when a ray energy comes into manifestation in a minor cycle it has a
particular manifestation for humanity as it seems that we cannot tap into the ray energies of a major
cycle alone.
Another idea that was given to me in the title of this talk was that of the Perceiver on the Way.
This is the first of the Fourth Ray Lords names and so we could assume that this phrase has
something quite important to convey about the quality of this influence. Perhaps one could
hypothesize that through the influence of this ray we will become better perceivers, better observers
and therefore we will be better in touch with our soul because it is the soul that is the Observer, the
Undying One and the Perceiver. The Perceiver sees clearly and as evolution proceeds is able to
impress the mind with light and the mind, in turn, becomes the unifying agent of the three lower
bodies. Then as the brain aligns with the mind, the channel becomes clear and direct from soul to
brain and the worker in white magic emerges.
The work of the fourth ray will be to enable humanity to see more clearly and this through the
dissipation of glamour. Because of the present tremendous potency of the world glamour incident to
the continuing clash between the forces of light and the forces of materialism, the astral and lower
mental planes are clouded with waves of distortion preventing us from seeing things as they truly
are. Instead we see as if through a glass darkly. Seeing all things misshapen and through a condition
of astral reversal. But despite and perhaps because of this situation, humanitys powers of
discrimination are beginning to develop. As the Tibetan wrote, Disillusioned and deglamoured
humanity awaits the coming revelation. So this disillusion that we see all around us and perhaps feel
within ourselves and this deglamourization which tends to bring at times negative effects is in
actuality good and part of the Plan.
Humanity holds a pivotal role in our planetary life. Our destiny is to become the planetary light
bearer and it is through the group of world servers that this becomes possible of realization. The new
group is governed by the sign Taurus and the planet Mercury, the Messenger of the Gods -- both of
which are fourth ray in nature. So we can hypothesize that this incoming of the fourth ray will have
a potent effect upon the new group, strengthening the groups intuitive and telepathic abilities and
enabling it to be impressed by and to work in alignment with hierarchical intent.

22

The fourth ray will surely return to us the beauty of the daily life, of the small things, the joy of the
present moment, as opposed to the fragmentation, the noisiness and disharmony of so much of
contemporary life. The fourth ray is also the ray of contrasts, of highs and lows, of rushing forward
with daring and intensity of feeling, but also of cowardice and paralysis. Therefore, when this
influence is strong it can be difficult to maintain emotional balance and poise which are so necessary
to traverse the spiritual path.
The fourth ray is the ray of poetry and surely many of our poets were conditioned strongly by the joy
and the curse of this ray influence that is related not only to harmony but also to crisis. The poet
finds significance in the small things in life and seizes them and sometimes immortalizes them.
Heres a portion of Ode to a Nightengale by the heartfelt poet John Keats, which demonstrates
some of the intense feelings of the fourth ray person:
Fade far away, dissolve, and quite forget
What thou among the leaves hast never known,
The weariness, the fever, and the fret
Here, where men sit and hear each other groan;
Where palsy shakes a few, sad, last gray hairs,
Where youth grows pale, and spectre-thin, and dies;
Where but to think is to be full of sorrow
And leaden-eyed despairs,
Where Beauty cannot keep her lustrous eyes,
Or new Love pine at them beyond to-morrow.
But then Keats continues with a somewhat more uplifting feeling as the nightingale flies away.
Adieu! Adieu! Thy plaintive anthem fades
Past the near meadows, over the still stream,
Up the hill-side; and now 'tis buried deep
In the next valley-glades:
Was it a vision, or a waking dream?
Fled is that music:Do I wake or sleep?
The goal of the fourth ray is to create, but steadily the emanating source of those creations shifts and
eventually arrives at the release of the hidden splendour--Let the outer glory pass away and the
beauty of the inner Light reveal the One. Let dissonance give place to harmony, and from the centre
of the hidden Light, let the soul speak: Let the word roll forth: 'Beauty and glory veil Me not. I
stand revealed. I am.'" As the World Teacher moves outward onto the physical plane its said the
present emotional chaos will be reoriented and a new calm will descend through the waters of the
astral-etheric planes. This process will be aided by the gifts of the 4th ray:
Its said of this time, Then will the sons of men respond. Then will a newer light shine forth into the
dismal, weary vale of earth. Then will new life course through the veins of men and then will their
vision compass all the ways of what may be.
So peace will come again on earth, but a peace unlike aught known before. Then will the will-togood flower forth as understanding and understanding blossom as goodwill in men. The
Reappearance of the Christ, pp. 13-14
*****
23

Cells within Cells: From Micro-organisms to Spiritual Groups

Kathleen Postle
Let us start with the quote we are to consider in this talk: The cells in Their bodies [the seven
heavenly men] are made up of the units of the human and deva evolutions in the same manner (only on
a higher turn of the spiral) as the bodies of human beings are made up of living organisms, the various
animated cells, or the lesser lives. This is a basic fact in occultism, and the relationship between the
cells in the human vehicles, and the cells in the bodies of a Heavenly Man, will be productive of
illumination if carefully studied.
Humanity has not always known or understood this idea, and even today it is not widely understood,
yet the very fact that we are here today discussing it means that our vision has increased. It means
there has been a process of revelation and recognition, leading to a higher tension and greater
understanding and ability to respond. As we come together as a group we magnify that response.
We humans are cells in the body of the Heavenly Man. As Humanity is governed by the 4th Ray of
Harmony through Conflict, our purpose is to adapt and purify ourselves and thereby purify the body of
our Planetary Logos by spiritual striving, right human relations, and de-densification. This also
requires periods of conflict before Harmony can develop.
I study bacteria and am struck by the way that As above, so below applies so well to them as cells in
our human bodies, as we humans are cells in the body of the Planetary Logos. What are bacteria? For
our purposes today, we will define them small relatively simple single celled organisms that we cant
see with our naked eyes. Bacteria were Forerunners of life on this planet. Very early in the life of our
Earth, they prepared the way by using sunlight and photosynthesis to add oxygen to the atmosphere.
It is interesting that it took major revelations and quite a bit of time before we humans even recognized
the existence of microbes. We used to believe that diseases and decay were caused by bad air, living
close to swamps, or bad character. Many scientists of the day believed in spontaneous generationthat
living cells can arise from dead material. J.B. van Helmont published his personal recipe for making
mice: mice plus wheat plus soiled clothes in a container in a dark closet. Wait three weeks and viola
you get mice! This controversy was fueled by observations that wine went sour on its own, boiled beef
broth would become cloudy over time on its own, and we did not know about the existence of
microorganisms. No one could think of an experiment that would completely disprove the hypothesis
of spontaneous generation. Which by the way, is the only way that science advancesby disproving
all possible hypotheses except one.
So a major scientific revelation arrived in the form of Anton von Leeuwenhoek, a curious man who
was good at grinding lenses. He was the first human to visualize microbes. He became famous
throughout the world, and gave viewings to royalty who came to him to see his animalcules, as he
called them. Knowing that bacteria existed suggested to Louis Pasteur a way to disprove spontaneous
generation.
After he boiled and sterilized the broth in his swan-necked flask, it allowed air to enter, but prevented
the dust particles that carried the invisible bacteria from entering the rich broth that had been sterilized
by boiling. No one could say that the broth was unable to breathe. And it remained sterile until some
24

of the broth was tipped into the bend of the neck where the bacteria-laden dust particles were lurking
and tipped back again into the main flask.
But as we smile at the early ignorance of our scientific forebears like J.B. van Helmont, we must
realize that we are in the middle of a revolution in microbiology that also will bring our current deep
ignorance into the light.
So let us focus on these tiny organisms. Bacteria are among the most versatile life forms on the planet.
They are found in the frozen Arctic in temperatures as low as -31 F, in the deep-sea thermal vents
where temperatures rise to 250 F, on dust particles in the atmosphere we breathe, all over our bodies
and most importantly for our talk today, inside our digestive system. Each kind of bacterium has
adapted to its special environment, meaning that the bacteria in our digestive system would not survive
in the Artic or the thermal vents.
In olden days, the study of bacteriology was separative, much like most of humanity has been for eons.
A researcher isolated a single kind of bacterium, and if the growth media could be found for it, then it
could be studied. A huge focus, and rightly so, was on characterizing the bacteria that cause disease,
such as wound infections, syphilis, and tuberculosis. Along with those efforts came the discovery of
antibiotics (against life) that can kill bacteria. Fleming, Chain, Florey and Heatley discovered and
developed penicillin in the middle of World War II, so that by 1944, all the allies had it. But here we
may see a spiritual lesson in play as wellsometimes the more we are against somethingin this case
bacteria, the more we inflame them.
Since the discovery of the wonder drugs, as antibiotics were called, we have discovered and created
more and more antibiotics, and used them recklessly in service to material gain by putting them in
animal feed. Approximately 80% of the antibiotics used in the United States go into animal feed to
allow more and more animals to be grown as our food under crowded conditions. We have also used
antibiotics when they were not warranted in healthcare, although we are improving on this front today.
The bacteria have responded by adapting to be resistant to the antibioticsand they can share the
antibiotic resistance genes with their friends and neighbors so that it becomes widespread all over the
planet. So in a way, they are fighting back. Now one of the most pressing issues of the day is that we
are running out of antibiotics to which different types of pathogenicdisease causing--bacteria are
still sensitive. [Let me encourage that if you have a chance to see a movie called Resistance (there are
free screenings taking place all over the U.S. and you can find out where on this website
http://www.resistancethefilm.com) you will learn more about this important issue.]
The United States Center for Disease Control (CDC) has identified three kinds of bacteria as Urgent
Threatscarbenapem resistant Enterobacteriaceae, multidrug-resistant Neisseria gonorrhoeae, and
Clostridium difficile (also known as C. diff). Two of these, the Enterobacteriaceae and the C. diff, are
organisms that can live in our guts. Some of the bacteria on the serious list are also found in our guts.
So there is a crying need for new antibiotics. President Obama has just released the National Action
Plan for Combating Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria. However if history is any predictor of the future, as
we continue to find invent or discover new antibiotics, bacteria will continue to develop new ways to
become resistant to them. And I want to make clear that I am not saying that we should not use
antibiotics where they are needed to save lives. It would appear, however, that we must be more
25

conscious stewards of this part of our environment. As we shall see, antibiotic treatment of any
infection can have a profound influence on the bacteria in our guts and through them, many aspects of
our health.
The bacterial cells in our guts serve as an example of the importance of nurturing our environment,
cooperation rather than separation, and how these cells (gut bacteria) within the cells (humans) of the
Logos exert their influence. Approximately 500-1000 different kinds of bacteria reside in our intestines
and there are ~ 10-100 times more of them than there are skin, liver, blood etc. cells in our bodies.
These as well as some other microbes make up what is called the gut microbiome. After mostly taking
our gut bacteria for granted since the discovery of antibiotics, we are only just coming to understand
the role they play in human health through its creation of a healthful gut environment. It has been
called a revolution, and it certainly has been a revelation. A key point is that the gut bacteria work
together as a group. Some of the different kinds of bacteria digest food for others; some protect others.
When the composition of the group is distorted, as in the use of antibiotics, then gut dysbiosis can
occur.
There are strong links between the gut dysbiosis and the digestive diseases that are currently plaguing
so many. One only has to watch TV commericals for a while to get the sense that, in the U.S. at least,
there are a whole lot of folks with heartburn and irritable bowel syndrome. But the list goes on. The
gut microbiome helps keep our immune system strong. Gut bacteria synthesize and excrete vitamins K,
and several B vitamins that the human host uses. Emotional activity and social interaction do not
develop appropriately in the absence of gut microbesthere is a microbiome-gut-brain axis.
Depression and anxiety can be linked to gut dysbiosis. There are links of gut dysbiosis with genesis
and perpetuation of obesity. Undernourished children have a distorted microbiome that ongoing affects
their health even after their nutrition is strengthened. All these links with the gut microbiome indicate
it needs more effective stewardship.
In our long-held, and incorrect, belief that we can use antibiotics with disregard for adverse
consequences, we also see that another role of the normal gut bacteria, working together as a group, is
to keep the pathogenic bacteria from gaining a foothold. When we use broad-spectrum antibiotics,
which kill indiscriminately, such as amoxicillin, ciprofloxacin, or imipenem, to name but a few, we are
killing the pathogens, but there is also collateral damage as most of the helpful bacteria are also wiped
out. It is a hopeful sign that products called probiotics (for life) are now widely available and
endorsed to help maintain a healthy gut microbiome or help overcome dysbiosis when antibiotics must
be used. The way that probiotics work is to replenish the good bacteria being killed by the antibiotics.
As a striking example, when the normal gut microbiome is wiped out by broad-spectrum antibiotics
used to treat other infections, it can allow the opportunistic growth of Clostridium difficile that we
spoke about earlier on the Urgent Threat list. C. diff is found in soil and the general environment, and
is present in guts of 2-5% of the people already. Its numbers are kept low and it doesnt cause any
harm because the normal gut microbiome is present. However, if it reaches high numbers during
dysbiosis, it can cause life-threatening diarrhea. It is a real problem for the elderly where most of the
deaths occur in those 65 or older. And it is tough to get rid of it--there are often multiple relapses even
after treatment with the few antibiotics it is sensitive to.

26

Im bringing up C. diff because a rather surprising treatment has been used in the last several years that
does not require antibiotics. It is called a fecal microbiota transplant (FMT), whereby stool from a
donor with a healthy gut microbiome is given to a recipient by colonoscopy, endoscopy,
sigmoidoscopy, or enema. We can think of a fecal transplant as the ultimate probiotic that completely
re-establishes the normal gut microbiome. What is relevant for our thinking today is that C.diff
represents a potentially deadly infectious disease where restoration of harmony in place of the conflict
due to a previous antibiotic treatment has a ~90% cure rate, and virtually no relapses. In some cases
the patient is completely cured in 24 hours. This approach will of course not work for most other
infectious disease, but as long as we use broad-spectrum antibiotics to treat the other infectious
diseases, dysbiosis is a possible outcome that could be treated by FMT. Perhaps as part of our
stewardship, antibiotics can also be developed that specifically target only the pathogen without
disrupting the normal microbiome.
To finish, let us return to our original quote:
.the relationship between the cells in the human vehicles [bacteria], and the cells [humans] in the
bodies of a Heavenly Man, will be productive of illumination if carefully studied. When we study
from the vantage point of the cells (the gut microbiome) in the human vehicles, we are once again
struck by the conflict that arises between humans and bacteria; that this conflict has in part arisen
through poor stewardship of the gift of antibiotics, that in one case, a very serious disease be cured
through restoration of the microbiome group, which results in harmony between the gut microbiome
and its human, and that there is an overall need for stewardship of our gut microbiome as a way to
foster a healthier humanity which can lead to Harmony on earth.
On a much higher turn of the spiral, we can perhaps see healthy gut bacteria as a group, adapting
humanity to more harmonious conditions, and humanity thereby eventually entering the ranks of the
New Group of World Servers to achieve a greater harmony with the Planetary Logos.
*****
Sunday, May 3, 2015: Panel Discussion
Barbara Valocore, Trusteee of Lucis Trust and Founder/President of LifeBridge Foundation and
Mintze van der Velde, Trustee and Secretary of Lucis Trust, Geneva
Considering the growing tension within the world today, how can the esoteric group contribute to the
needed fusion between humanity and hierarchy? The panel discussed the responsibility of the group
of world servers to ensure the progress of the Plan through registering impression and holding the
vision before the eyes of men.
(As this was a panel discussion, there are no transcripts available.)

*****

27

The Wesak Festival in Taurus

The Cosmic Magnet
Christine Morgan
Welcome everyone to the full moon meeting of Taurus, and greetings to all of you who are who are
linking up with us via the audio broadcast.
Today we are celebrating the Festival of Wesak that time of the year when the forces of
enlightenment that we associate with the Buddha pour into the planet. Many of you will no doubt be
familiar with the legend of the Wesak Festival, an annual event wherein the Buddha is said to return
to earth to transmit specific energies to an assembly of adepts and disciples. At the peak time of the
full moon of Taurus, high up in a Tibetan valley in the Himalayas, the Buddha makes a brief
appearance the potency of his transmission too great to be endured for long by those who are
gathered there. His great brother, the Christ, also participates in the ceremony, stepping down the
potency of the Buddhas transmission. It is then radiated throughout the gathering and into the world.
This legend is full of imagery to stimulate the creative imagination; so lets pause for a reflection
before saying the Gayatri:
O Thou Who givest sustenance to the universe.
From Whom all things proceed.
To Whom all things return.
Hidden by a disk of golden light,
That we may know the truth and do our whole duty,
As we journey to Thy sacred Feet.
OM
Two qualities that we associate with the Christ and the Buddha are Love and Wisdom respectively.
While the Christs demonstration of love has been the inspiration for Christians in the western
hemisphere for two thousand years, the Buddha has inspired those in the eastern hemisphere for even
longer. The Christ and the Buddha brought two different aspects of the same great energy to
humanity that of a divine ray known in esoteric teachings as the ray of Love-Wisdom. This great
ray of energy is the motivating force behind the evolution of human consciousness, slowly
transforming the intelligent but largely self-serving type of person into the group spirited
humanitarian, with a more universal approach to life.
Perfectly expressed, Love-Wisdom relates everything to everything else in harmony; and as this
unification proceeds, so this energy simultaneously draws consciousness back through the
dimensions towards the Divine Life from which it emanates. The ray of Love-Wisdom acts like a
cosmic magnet, and those who express its power do so through an irresistible spiritual magnetism.
The Christ the great exponent of love expressed this attractive power in the words I, if I be lifted
up, will draw all men unto me.

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If magnetism influences matter, we shouldnt be surprised at its influence over consciousness in a

similar way. As yet, cosmology is not even aware of the role magnetism plays in the evolution of
matter, let alone consciousness, but the more enlightened cosmologists are starting to suspect that
gravity alone cannot account for the formative processes of the universe and that magnetism must
somehow be involved. Realization of this will lead to a revolution in astrophysics. How gravity
works in partnership with electricity and magnetism in creating galaxies, stars and planets can be
found in the Electric Bridge section of the Trusts website.
One of the most recent discoveries concerning magnetism is that it can control heat and sound which
has come as a shock to scientists. A landmark experiment by researchers at the Ohio State University
has demonstrated that the phonon the elementary particle that carries heat and sound contains
magnetic properties. In the words of Professor Joseph Heremans, People might be surprised
enough to learn that heat and sound have anything to do with each other, least of all that either can be
controlled by magnets. But both are expressions of the same form of energy So any force that
controls one should control the other. Essentially, heat is the vibration of atoms. Heat is conducted
through materials by vibrations. The hotter a material is, the faster the atoms vibrate. Sound is the
vibration of atoms, too, he continued. Its through vibrations that I talk to you, because my vocal
chords compress the air and create vibrations that travel to you, and you pick them up in your ears as
sound.
This discovery is a curious development, for magnetism, heat and sound are the three basic
characteristics of primordial matter or what ancient scriptures call the Akasha. In combination with
magnetic sound it is through this burning substance that the creative process began a process that is
symbolized in the Christian bible in the familiar phrase: "In the beginning was the Word, and the
word was with God, and the word was God." The magnetic, creative power of the word is not
unique to Christianity of course; there is the Sacred Word of Buddhism and the Lost Word of
Masonry.
The idea of magnetism as a factor in creation has recently been proposed by plasma scientist, David
LaPoint which he has set out in a series of videos called The Primer Fields. In his laboratory, he
demonstrates the amazing properties of bowl shaped magnetic fields. Two magnetized bowls are
used in his demonstrations one facing upwards, the other downwards to form an hourglass shape.
When ball bearings are introduced into the magnetic field between the two bowls, they are
immediately organized into various geometrical patterns. LaPoint then shows how his experiments
can be scaled up to provide a much simpler explanation than those offered in standard cosmology for
the formation of suns, galaxies and other cosmic phenomena. He suggests that bowl shaped magnetic
fields exist around all forms of matter, not only on a cosmic scale but at a subatomic level too. And
by considering photons of light in this way, a simple explanation is offered as to why light
demonstrates the properties of both a wave and a particle a phenomenon that has mystified
quantum physicists for nearly a hundred years.
If these bowl-shaped fields do surround all matter, their origin is open to speculation as this lies
outside the field of LaPoints research; but they are suggestive of magnetic blueprints that shape
matter in an intelligent and purposeful way. If sound is working in conjunction with magnetism to
29

organize the activities of suns and stars, then we have a direct correspondence to the Ageless
Wisdom teachings on the Akasha. Its fascinating to know that astronomers at the University of
Sheffield have recently recorded the eerie musical harmonies produced by the magnetic field in the
outer atmosphere of the sun. Huge loops of magnetic plasma vibrate there like strings on a musical
instrument. NASA has also recorded sounds coursing through the Suns interior, causing the entire
globe, or parts of it, to move in and out and these recordings can be listened to on YouTube.
These discoveries of the relationship between magnetism and sound help to demystify the Ageless
Wisdom teachings and encourage a more rational, scientific approach. Consider for example the
following sutra by the ancient philosopher Patanjali:
By the means of one-pointed meditation upon the relationship between the akasha and sound, an
organ for spiritual hearing will be developed.
The science of evolution holds that the play of physical light and sound on primitive beings develops
the eye and the ear. Similarly, meditation on the akasha tunes the yogi into the sounds that radiate
from it, and as they play upon the consciousness, an inner ear emerges. As a commentary on this
sutra puts it, Just as all the substances of our manifested solar system are differentiations of the
akasha...sodistinctions of sound are differentiations of the one sound; all are divine in time and
space. But all have to be heard correctly and all lead eventually to form in their totality the AUM,
the Word of Glory, the Macrocosmic Word. When speech is rightly used and the sounds of earth
can likewise be stilled, then the Voice of the Silence can be heard.In Charles Johnston's comments
on this sutra The transfer of a word by telepathy is the simplest and earliest form of the 'divine
hearing' of the spiritual man, as that power grows, and as, through perfectly concentrated meditation,
the spiritual man comes into more complete mastery of it, he grows able to hear and clearly
distinguish the speech of the great Companions, who counsel and comfort him on his way. They
may speak to him either in wordless thoughts, or in perfectly definite words and sentences."
Sound and magnetism are key features of the Wesak Festival, and when a gathering of like-minded
people come together in united purpose, their auras blend and form one united channel for the
downflow; the effect is tremendously intensified and can be world-wide in its radius. At the time of
the Wesak Festival, we learn that the Spiritual Hierarchy of the planet forms itself into a channel for
the transmission of power and blessing from the levels on which the Buddha may be found. He acts
as a focal point for that power, andpassing it through His Aurapours it out over mankind by
means of the channel provided by the assembled Lords, Masters, graded initiates and disciples. This
channel is formed by the simultaneous use of sound and rhythm. By chanting a certain mantram
accompanied by slow, measured movements, a funnel is formed that reaches upwards to the desired
locality. The geometrical figures formed in the matter of the plane higher than the physical form
themselves into wonderful avenues of approach to the centre of blessing for the inhabitants, deva or
otherwise, from any particular plane. For those who can clairvoyantly view the scene, the beauty of
the geometrical forms is unbelievable, and that beauty is enhanced by the radiant auras of the Great
Ones Who are gathered there.1 (adapted)

30

The Wesak Festival is a beautiful instance of true ceremonial ritual the distorted reflection of
which is to be seen in religious ceremonies all over the world. As science clarifies the use of the
power of sound and magnetism, of ritualistic movement, prayer and meditation, a new form of
approach to divinity will start to appear, one which is more acceptable to the intelligent, scientific
minds of the twenty first century. We live in a time when science is rejecting religious thought as
irrational. Ironically though, many atheistic scientists reveal their own spirituality when they
remonstrate about outmoded and anachronistic religious views in todays world. Einstein himself
caused great controversy when he rejected a personalised God, yet he expressed his belief in divinity
by attesting that behind anything that can be experienced there is a something that our mind cannot
grasp and whose beauty and sublimity reaches us only indirectly and as a feeble reflection, this is
religiousness. In this sense I am religious.
The Transcendalist and poet, Ralph Emerson, made the memorable remark that the religion of one
age is the literary entertainment of the next, highlighting the fact that religion has to evolve with
mans growing understanding of truth and reality. The true meaning of religion is to bind back to
the One. It is clear from the sense of awe and unity that many scientists experience from their study
of the universe and often well-developed humanitarianism, that they are closer to the spirit of the
coming world religion than those who remain enslaved to doctrine. The founding fathers of America
were clear on the value of secularity, as was Nehru who wrote, when drawing up the constitution for
India, The spectacle for what is called religion, or at any rate organised religion, in India and
elsewhere, has filled me with horror and I have frequently condemned it and wished to make a clean
sweep of it. Almost always it seemed to stand for blind belief and reaction, dogma and bigotry,
superstition, exploitation and the preservation of vested interests.
Although these are strong words and many religions are adapting and changing, many scientists and
people like Emerson and Nehru, bring a necessary counter balance to the fanciful and outmoded
aspects of religion. We are in need of new religious thinking. An approach relevant to the era in
which we find ourselves, based on fresh spiritual insight, rather than dogmatism. Humanity has been
passing through an intense period of materialism and has lost its spiritual sense to the spirit of
separativeness, and this contravenes the great law of love. However, it is a learning process as
through separation [man] finds himself, and thendriven by the indwelling buddhic or Christ
principletranscends himself, and finds himself again in all selves. The primary task of all who
wish to serve humanity is to do just this to rediscover themselves in others. For this simple
revelation provides the power for all service work and, the greater the realisation, the more effective
the server and the service can be a simple yet profound law that holds true in all instances.
The oneness of all planetary life the fact that we are all part of each other is the spirit in which we
make our group approach to the full moon work in Taurus. And reflecting on the living, magnetic
potencies that cooperate together at the time of the Wesak festival stimulates this realisation. The
Festival is truly a group effort, an accumulated aspiration to be part of the chain of Hierarchy one
great cosmic magnet through which the spiritual tide of energy from Taurus can flow right down
into human hearts and minds, unifying, lifting and revealing the fact of the kingdom of God.

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People everywhere are beginning to resonate with this spiritual magnetism which is increasing as
more and more people of goodwill join the worldwide group of servers. The cosmic magnet is
turning up its power of Love-Wisdom, drawing all together and inwards towards spiritual reality. In
the words of the Agni Yoga teachings:
Only Reason can direct the Cosmic Magnet. Therefore, Cosmic Reason, which permeates
everything, brings tension to everything. The energies that differ in potentiality take their proper
place in Cosmos, affirming their role according to the level of their developing power. Thus, the
degree of potentiality of the energy determines its position on a higher or lower step. Similarly is the
evolutionary step of the human spirit determined; the Cosmic Magnet intensifies the quality of the
spirit, leading it into the Infinite.
With these thoughts for reflection, let us now go into meditation using the keynote for the disciple in
Taurus which is based on the keynote: I see and when the eye is opened, all is light.
1 Letters on Occult Meditation, p199

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