ONE LIFE by Nancy Maehl
I AM THAT which knows all life as ONE;
ONE humanity, ONE earth, ONE universe.
Diverse in quality and appearance
Through the illusion of Time and Space
The threads of LIGHT weave and blend
Creating patterns within the whole.
In a unity of MIND and HEART
The flow of LIGHT and LOVE radiates
Throughout the ONE
The WOMB, the TWO LEAVED DOOR, and the EYE of a NEEDLE
by Kurt Abraham
In Alice Bailey’s The Rays and the Initiations DK mentions that Rule Five is a rule of “great interest and practicality. I would remind you that one of the new things which the coming era of spiritual expansion will see is the inauguration of something entirely new: Group Initiation.” The necessity now for group initiation relates to the following facts:
1. The planetary Logos Himself is on a “space-time schedule…. His plans … condition the experience of all the lives that move within the radius of His expression.” (The Rays and the Initiations, p111) In other words, the initiation-enlightening-expansion process needs to be accelerated. The one-person-at-a-time method is too slow to achieve the goal of the planetary Logos.
2. More people are now functioning as souls. “The nature of the soul (which is relationship) begins to have an effect; men become larger in their outlook and their vision…. Group relationship and group interest supersede that intense personal and interior relationship and interest which have made evolving man what he is: first of all an integrated personality, and then a disciple—a candidate for initiation.” (R&I, p111)
Soul development and a growing understanding of group relationships relate also to the “re-establishing of the Ancient Mysteries on Earth”, which has to do with the externalizing of the Hierarchical Ashrams. “This process involves immense difficulty, owing to the astralism, the ambitions and the growing personality influence of so many people. “ (R&I p111-2 ).
Selfishness is the problem, service is the solution. The force of the sixth ray of the solar plexus center (ruled by Mars) becomes transmuted into the second ray of love-wisdom of the heart center (ruled by Jupiter). Joyous loving inclusive soul understanding replaces the self-centered desire life of personality along with its illusory personal ambitions and fog engendering “astralism.” The transition to clarity and decentralization is no easy matter. Indeed, the Adepts, or Masters of the Wisdom Themselves, find this work of bringing humanity to the next needed level of higher consciousness “immensely difficult.” What do They suggest?
“Two things have therefore been decided upon by the Masters as They face the future of humanity and prepare to take the required steps to meet man’s advancing aspiration…. These two requirements have been demanded of the Hierarchy by Shamballa in order to safeguard the Mysteries and prevent a too premature precipitation of the hierarchical life upon the Earth. Both these requirements are expressed in this fifth Rule: In unison let the group perceive the Triad shining forth, dimming the light of the soul and blotting out the light of form. The macrocosmic Whole is all there is. Let the group perceive that Whole and then no longer use the thought, ‘My soul and thine.’”
The “light of form” is paramount to the materialist and personality. The soul, however, sees and uses form for higher purposes rather than as an end in itself. Indeed, as a soul, one seeks first the kingdom of heaven, which results in a proper ordering of the lower strata. The spirit is higher still, for soul is a temporary intermediary.
There is the separatively inclined individual Personality at one level, the group conscious Soul at another level, and the God conscious Spirit at the higher level. Personality family consciousness is akin to soul in that parents willingly give of themselves (self-sacrifice) for the well-being of the greater unit or larger whole. Soul has to do with self-sacrifice, spiritual alignment, and service. The good of the whole is foremost in one’s consciousness. Thus, the greater reality is realized, and the illusion of a separated self recedes into the shadows. Unfortunately, however, when personality begins to realize the strength and power of group consciousness, selfish groups develop, as in some corporate groups, national groups, racial groups, religious groups, etc. In such cases, the definition of ignorance as “mistaking the part for the whole” would apply.
Personality tends to see the best in self and the worst in others. Soul reverses this process and direction, looking to foster the best in others and willing to scrutinize self in order to uncover flaws and in order to strive towards purity, impeccability, and perfection. A true soul group works self-sacrificingly for the good of the whole. The Higher Self or Soul is group conscious, whereas the lower self or personality is referred to as the Not-Self, since it is a temporary figment of someone’s distorted imagination.
Well aware of the harm that the transitory not-self and the selfish group can do, well aware of the “immense difficulty” involved, the guiding Masters of the Wisdom themselves seek additional guidance from Shamballa. The word then goes forth: In unison let the group perceive the Triad shining forth, dimming the light of the soul and blotting out the light of form. The macrocosmic Whole is all there is.
“The first demand made by Shamballa is that the groups being prepared for initiation should consist only of those who are in process of building the antahkarana, the bridge between the Triad and the personality; the second demand is that those being prepared should show some signs of the sense of synthesis.” (R&I, p112)
The Spiritual Triad (atma- buddhi- manas) is a threefold expression of Spirit with “atma” being the spiritual will, “buddhi” the intuition, and “manas” the higher mind. There is a 1-2-3, will-heart-activity, in the Triadal expression. The unfolding sequence is often 3-2-1, just as personality development is first physical, then emotional, and then mental development. Therefore, for Triad development, it is necessary first of all to pay special attention to Higher Mind. We generally learn through doing, through imitation, through trying something on for size, through the as if technique. The intuition (buddhi), however, is also of special importance at this time for Ray II is the major Ray in the Second Solar System, and the intuition will be the hallmark of the coming Sixth Root Race.
Spiritually aspiring groups are not immune to personality problems. Souls solve many problems in the transition to group consciousness, but the tenaciousness of personalities and the dramas of the not-selves can ultimately only be managed via the alignment with the Triad.
In the past (the mystic age) aspirants were taught to see a vision of beauty, of liberation, and of spiritual satisfaction that led to “an opened door to greater wonders.” In the more mental occult age the emphasis is on wholeness and synthesis. As one thinks in larger terms, one emerges out of the “normal separative consciousness into the broad state of awareness that sees no difference.” The blending of the mystic and occult way results in “the merging of the vertical way of life with the horizontal way of service.” (R&I 113)
To distinguish and appreciate the “new” or higher way, it is helpful to reflect on three symbols of “critical moments” in the life of the soul:
1) The womb has to do with individualization, and, thus, with separation. This level leads to “personality integration and self-realization” and eventually to the second initiation, the birth of the Christ.
2) The two-leaved door leads to soul expression and climaxes in the third initiation.
3) The eye of the needle has to do with spirit consciousness, “producing a purposeful life”, climaxing in the fifth initiation. (R&I 116-117)
The Personality is the darkness of the “womb.” The umbilical cord is analogous to the sutratma or life thread, which is the unconscious connection between the monad (unit of spirit) and the form (personality) in manifestation. The antahkarana is the consciousness thread that the soul infused personality builds on the Path of Return. Enlightenment has to do with an inner light, which is the light of soul consciousness. In Plato’s cave analogy, personalities distinguish shadows on the cave wall, engrossed, as they are, in an illusory womb-like cave experience. Indeed, growing up is something like going from one illusion to the next, dispersing one “bubble” only to find oneself in a subtler “bubble”, as one painstakingly develops faculties and qualities. The first major task (first initiation) for personality is to go from darkness into Light.
DK quotes the Old Commentary: “Within the womb of time and circumscribed by space and limited by darkness—though sustained always by warmth—the life evolves. It develops faculty. It becomes in miniature that which it is. It takes on form and knows the divinity of separation. Such is its goal. Reflect. Knowledge will come.” (R&I 116)
There is a divine purpose behind the apparent separation from Spirit. As personality, one senses a vague something that needs to be fully realized. Reflect, think, and meditate. Knowledge comes through the will-to-know. Personalities know very little, although there is the illusion of knowing. Personalities eventually find a new and higher direction in life that leads them up and out of personal self-centered-ism.
The next symbol is the two-leaved door. “Beyond the door is greater light and life. It knows itself for what it is. It suffices not unto itself and knows that it is That—part of the Whole, divinely one with others. Reflect. Union will come.” (R&I 116)
A two-leaved door suggests a back-and-forth, an interplay, and not a firm tightly closed separation between two rooms or two realms. Personality gradually awakens to soul, and soul uses personality as a vehicle to express soul wisdom, to elevate the world of personality, and to redeem lost substance (light). Personality becomes soul-infused. After all, there is no real separation. One is part of a Greater Whole, and one is “divinely one with others.” Ponder on Unity, which enables love to grow and glow.
The third symbol is the eye of the needle. “Before the rampart of the place of God Himself, a Son Of God comes forth. He stands before the needle’s eye and seeks to pass the hindering wall. He is not circumscribed by time or space, but light and life are his. He realizes beauty and he knows that That exists. Instead of time and space and all the rich inducements of the form, he knows himself as rich in love, in knowledge, wisdom, insight, and all the panoply of God (as he can grasp it), except one thing. Reflect. Purpose will reveal itself; the Whole will stand revealed and then the soul—loaded with riches and the fruits of labor long—will vanish as the mist and only God, the living One, be left.” (R&I 116-117)
The womb is a special darkness within which the embryonic being develops faculties for the awakening new life.
The two leaved door is soul infusing the life of personality with consciousness, quality, and meaning, with beauty, love, and light.
The eye of the needle has to do with a thread-connection between Spirit and the soul-infused form. Forms come and go while the seed-essence remains. The seed-essence can be extracted from the form-experience along the vital thread, but the clutter of attachments has to go. Realized-Purpose supersedes both personality form and soul quality. Soul as intermediary is no longer needed. Spirit can directly manifest through the developed faculties of the soul-infused personality. Be-ness reigns. Oneness is known and lived. Synthesis is.
The demand of Shamballa “concerns the negation, the obliteration, the absorption, the putting out or the synthesis of the lesser lights by the greater. All the words which I have employed are efforts to express the truth and all are entirely inadequate.” The lesser lights fade out before the greater light of the Spiritual Triad. A vast horizon is revealed to the initiate of the third degree. He is able to “penetrate increasingly and to cooperate understandingly in the purpose of the Lord of the World.” (R&I 118)
The Ray Two Soul and Ray Four Personality
from Discipleship in the New Age
By Andrew Nellist
In DINA the Tibetan gives instructions to a group of aspirants in terms of his spiritual psychology. The initials do not refer to their names, for their identity is not as important as the subject matter itself, which might be of help to others. This subject involves the Seven Rays and alignment with the soul. Such alignment is important for the individual, and also for humanity in relation to Hierarchy. In this respect, Rays two and four play a significant role, and Rays one-two-four-seven will be important in the Age of Aquarius. Indeed, a study of Rays two-four brings up some issues of relevance not just to those with these energies, but also of wider application. Accordingly, the following notes from DINA give some of the themes which will be faced with the relation of the Ray two soul and the Ray four personality, which may be of interest to the student of Ray psychology.
One of these themes is a shared problem of sensitivity and the required development of strength and detachment. L.D.O is said to have the problem of the “advanced second ray type”: “You have a marked ability to do many things well and a decided aptitude to understand people, their motives and their impulses. You have a genius for contact and are naturally a good psychologist”. Yet they need to see people as they really are and to stand aside in order to help them (DINA I p129). F.C.D is said to “have the vices of your second ray virtues”, to suffer from too much attachment, and is advised to stand as a soul in dealing with people (DINA I p139), and to acquire that “inner, divine detachment which sees life in its true perspective” (DINA I p146). They are later warned against an undue psychic sensitivity which should be overcome by spiritual sensitivity (DINA II p460). There should be “identification (through the intuition) with underlying soul purpose and a consequent ability to interpret and explain the present” (DINA II p463). R.V.B is given a meditation “to foster a close intuitive recognition of the reality which lies behind the group”, and is also advised to be “impersonally personal” (DINA I pp265-6). With regard to W.D.B, there is a note that “The impact of ray force upon people embodying differing aspects of ray energy will be one of the coming developments in the field of esoteric psychology” (DINA I p295).
To counter this sensitivity we have the theme of balance and the development of will. In relation to L.D.O, DK points out that the two-four line has certain liabilities, which should be offset by “a stiffening of all first ray tendencies in order to bring about a needed balancing” (DINA I p134). F.C.D is also asked to work with the will, of a more dynamic nature: “It is the use of the will aspect that second ray disciples have to acquire and this, for you, is an immediate problem. The will of persistence you have. The dynamic will which breaks down barriers and carries all before it is your next achievement and unfoldment” (DINA I p141). R.V.B has “an undue number of rays along one particular line”, with a need for more force of the first Ray. They are also told that they should prepare to work through a first Ray personality in their next incarnation (DINA II p564).
Not surprisingly, along with this sensitivity and need for strengthening, there is the issue of protection. L.D.O is an artist and a writer who is “relatively free from glamour but the forces today are so strong that all disciples must definitely protect themselves. For you, this protection lies in some form of creative work” (DINA I p134). They are also told to “aim at the outer expression of the inner nature” (DINA I pp134-5). K.E.S has a Ray two soul and a Ray four mind, while the personality Ray is not specified (DINA I p544ff). However, they are given an Invocation to use which would be of benefit to all students: “May the energy of the divine Self inspire and the light of the Soul direct; may I be led from darkness to light, from the unreal to the real, from death to immortality” (DINA I p548).
Another technique of protection which would be of interest to all Ray students is the ancient method of insulation called “the wheel of living fire which burns not but ever heals” –
“See before you a wheel of fire with seven spokes. See it immediately before your eyes. Then, by an act of the creative imagination, see yourself standing in the centre at the hub of the wheel; there regard yourself as if you were that hub. From that central position, send out the seven streams of living love, radiating upon the world. When you can do this you serve and are, at the same time, completely protected. This exercise can become instantaneous and effective. It generates a protective force and at the same time makes you a living centre of light and love” (DINA I p156).
A few of the subjects have a Ray four mind. For L.D.O the fourth Ray mind gives pliability, a sense of relationships and a “rapid grasp of mental truth” (DINA I p133). It is a bridging Ray which helps in bringing contact between soul and personality through the mind. R.V.B has a fourth Ray mind with a power to harmonise. Furthermore, “The dynamic power of your soul must pour through your fourth ray mind, galvanising it into a renewed, inclusive, living, harmonising activity” (DINA I p275). K.E.S is told that there will be closer contact spiritually through the mind. The fourth Ray mind also “facilitates contact with and impression from your second ray soul” (DINA I pp544-9).
This bridging is aided by the seventh Ray physical body as in the case of L.D.O (DINA I p133). This gives a sense of relationship between spirit and matter, and soul and body, and aids in being “a constructive agent in magical work”. For K.E.S, the seventh Ray physical brings an interest in spiritualism and “Hence also the facility with which you could establish and hold a steady contact between soul-mind-brain…..There is much you can do to increase your ability to unfold continuity of consciousness between the various planes” (DINA I pp549-50). We might also consider that the Rays of Humanity in the Age of Aquarius will have mind-four, physical-seven, in relation to the Ray two nature of Hierarchy.
Another prominent theme for the two-four types is that of psychology. L.D.O is a creative writer, and “Such channels are necessarily media of relation and down them light can flow, irradiating dark places”. Furthermore, such creativity can clear the glamours of humanity: “I would point out that creative workers in any field are primarily those who can destroy those glamours to which humanity is prone. These are found in those fields of illusory activity which men have themselves created” (DINA I p132). Likewise, F.C.D is urged to “acquire an increased ability to voice truth through the medium of the written word”, and to “reach the thinkers of the world with the new ideas in the field of that oncoming major science, that newer field of service – the field of psychology” (DINA I p146). R.L.U is told that they have an unrealised ability to work as a psychologist (DINA I p531). K.E.S is urged to seek understanding of people as preparation for service in their next life cycle. This requires “mental study of esoteric psychology” which they can gain through study of A Treatise on the Seven Rays (DINA I p550).
Service and Radiation make a major theme which perhaps stems from those above. L.D.O is told that “right doing is the result of being”, and “If your consciousness is focussed in spiritual being, your spontaneous, creative and active service will be consequently by radiation” (DINA I p135). Later, they are told that “service by radiation is the way”, and to work with the inclusive radiatory will of the second Ray (DINA II pp444-5). F.C.D is also asked to develop an increased magnetic radiance (DINA I p153). Most interestingly, R.V.B is asked to meditate upon the significance of DINA itself, and to build a thoughtform of the book and send it out around the world. The book can act as a great magnet, increasing the power of the workers for humanity. DK adds that “the whole question of radiation and magnetism lies at the foundation of the hierarchical method of work”. Indeed, “This might be stated to be the underlying motive and hierarchical purpose for the Arcane School…This new book is intended to aid in this process, and it is upon this aspect that I would ask your aid in meditation” (DINA II pp559-60).
Reference Key and Bibliography for books by Alice Bailey:
DINA I: Discipleship in the New Age Vol.I
DINA II: Discipleship in the New Age Vol. II
Recommended: Techniques of Soul Alignment, by Kurt Abraham –
Kurt shows how the initials of subjects in the Instructions correspond to Keywords representing qualities of significance for their spiritual development.