THOUGHTFUL AFFECTION by Kurt Abraham
(Excerpt from Mystery and Language of Color)
Here we have the rose of affection. Rather than affection-aspiration, however, what is portrayed here is more of a thoughtful-affection. Aspiration is a high level emotion that has spiritual longing and quest. The orange of mind in this image gives birth to the affection (rose). There is thought (orange) rather than feeling that develops into affection. The rose of affection then expands and radiates outward and upward. This then yields crowning pearl-like white beads of light (wholeness). This is truly a beautiful image to behold.
A king’s crown, one can surmise, obviously came from inspired clairvoyant vision. The halo in medieval paintings also originally must have come from seers, those who could see the aura, which then was also imitated by other artists.
The quality of a thought-feeling is revealed clearly in the astral and mental images.
WHOLENESS ON LOWER PLANE . . . . . by Kurt Abraham
(Excerpt from Mystery and Language of Color)
The image came loud and clear in the “diamond consciousness” in response to a question about relationship.
Generally the effort is to sound a high note in order to lift people up. Generally, however, this requires change, and change is often resisted. People come up with many reasons why they have no need to change, or why it is too difficult to rise so high.
The solution is to sound a whole note (the white wheels), but bring it down to them (astral levels, if necessary). The green wavy lines indicate astral-waters and the green of form attachment.
The person (personality) sets wholeness into motion on a lower plane. Thus, there is no need to achieve difficult exalted states. Sound a note of Wholeness on and within the element of the person’s own thought-feeling-action. Show them the Rightness in the best of what they already are and what they already know to be true. By setting this in motion, one helps them recall and reaffirm what they, in Truth, already are.
In other words, instead of being the teacher, foster the soul within.
Healing Rays . . . . by Andrew Nellist
The Rays “are in constant movement and circulation, and demonstrate an activity which is progressive and cyclic and evidences increasing momentum” (EP1 p3). This forward movement, as it were, comes from the Rays making the reality in which we live with a growth in awareness and cooperation with the spiritual aspect. This can be seen to have a healing effect in the fields of our experience, ranging through health and psychology, the state of nations, and through the Earth itself. There are problems in the world, not least in international relations, the economy and the environment, but the science of the Rays offers some hope of healing through spiritual understanding and practical application of the energies involved.
In Esoteric Healing by Alice Bailey, DK says that the Rays are tainted by earlier conditions of development in our solar system, while the planets through which they work are themselves not fully developed, and that this is a cause of disease in our experience (EH p9). In other words, because the system is itself evolving, this limits the expression and influence of the Rays, which affects us. Furthermore, the seven energies manifest as dualities and produce, when anchored within a body, “an area or cycle of distress” (EH pp294-5). This gives the evolutionary urge whose effect as karma eventually leads to the liberation of the good. Karma is not punishment, but brings freedom and creativity: Karma has a catalytic effect in evolution creating a new condition (EH p20). Karma loosens a condition and creates change. The Rays also carry the will-to-good which is greater than harmful effects. Incidentally, DK says that by practising harmlessness, we can offset the effects of karma: this is “not negativity but perfect poise, a completed point of view and divine understanding” (EH p295). So it is working with spiritual positivity. We may not see the Rays as the “kaleidoscopic phenomenon” seen by such as DK, but we can still sense something of their influence in our lives.
Our Earth itself is not yet conditioned by soul influence, and the material experience through which we evolve has much to do with the pain and distress in the world (EP1 p338). In manifestation, the friction caused by the interplay of life and matter produces change and mutation (EP1 p18). For humanity, this involves development of mind. The third Ray personality of the Earth encourages our discrimination through mental activity. This leads to increasing speed and activity and intensity of vibration, which will yet increase. This gives a material focus and personality development in humanity, but this will also lead to greater integration and sensitivity to the soul nature and spiritual energies, with quickened response to Ray influence and expression. Discrimination ties in with the fifth Ray personality of mankind, which leads to the fourth Ray soul expression, and with this comes increased second Ray soul influence of the Earth. This is also due to the interplay between the second Ray of the solar system and the third Ray of the planet which, “intermingling, pour through and affect mankind” (EP1 pp338-41).
Our solar system is governed by the second Ray and the Law of Attraction. DK says that Christ transmitted four qualities of this energy of love to man and nature. The first to express is goodwill, which is not sentimentality, but working for right relations in the world. The other qualities will later be revealed, but one of them involves the quality of healing (EH p616). This quality is surely needed in relation to humanity and the other kingdoms of nature. The important point, though, is that love is a transforming energy which can be used, and has working qualities which we do not yet know, and will be revealed through change and development.
DK discusses healing in great detail, and one is left with the impression that it is difficult and complicated, but also that the Rays are intrinsic to the subject. Healing essentially involves alignment with the soul to facilitate the expression of soul energy: by working with the soul we can improve health. Sometimes, of course, this involves death, with further expression in another life. The etheric body is discussed in terms of the conditioning Rays which govern its manifestation in space, and of astrology which governs its manifestation in time (EH p279). This picture could apply to the solar system itself, but it has practical application in our lives: we can look at the esoteric influences over the orthodox in our astrology: we can try to understand our psychological Ray make up and gain integration and alignment: we can even further the soul development of our nation. We should also note, as we see in Esoteric Psychology, that there are lower and higher expressions of the Rays.
In short, as sentient beings on Earth, we can rise above material attachments and work with more spiritual awareness. These are the fields of Ray work, and all involve transformation and growth.
The Rays have cycles of influence. We are going through transition now from the sixth to the seventh Ray. It is interesting that Ray five is given as the latest to come into activity (EP1 p350), with potency because it is also the personality Ray of humanity, the Ray of knowledge and science. But in The Destiny of the Nations, published in 1949, DK says that it was to be withdrawn, because the influence was excessive: this would be by 2000 (DN p143). This could explain the over emphasis on scientific thought and method with a materialistic bias which we have seen, including in the social sciences, which has affected general thought and outlook. So we see Ray changes during the course of publication of the books! This also means that the main Ray influence will now be two-seven, overlying the third Ray. Ray seven will have many effects, mainly in terms of fusion and synthesis. In terms of science, we might see development through the discovery of the aspect of electricity which produces cohesion, just as there is the aspect which produces light (EP1 p373). This will touch on the nature of the soul.
The Rays are like a circle of sevenfold light, interweaving and blending, radiating and retiring around the second Ray Sun. This gives the promise of the sevenfold manifesting Life, with the healing integration and upliftment which it brings through its outworking purpose and wisdom, and we can will to work with it if we choose.
Fritillary
On looking for fritillaries, the first effort was a failure,
A foray in a flood meadow in Oxford,
Too late in the day.
One of the flowers left for me to find,
Strangely one cropped up in my local park,
A messenger, white.
A timely trip to Cricklade found hundreds,
Chequered and stately, all at home,
Deserving pilgrimage.
Ducklington was delightful, impressing my friend
With thousands on display, and such a beautiful
Spring day.
I sent a card with fritillaries on to you in hospital
Mum, and though you passed away you are
My white fritillary.
Flowers come with Easter, and on your April birthday
I will think of rebirth in spirit and you,
My flowering fritillary.
Andrew Nellist
Spirit Creativeness in this Second Solar System … by Kurt Abraham
Atma-Buddhi-Manas (spiritual-will, intuition, mind), according to plane-number, is 3-4-5 (atma, third plane, buddhi fourth plane, manas fifth or mental plane).
The Spiritual Triad (atma-buddhi-manas) is the activity aspect of Spirit (Monad). Spirit, as God-conscious, is concerned primarily with LOVE-WISDOM in this Second Solar System (System II). Love-Wisdom is the Heart and Soul of CONSCIOUSNESS, which is the primary keynote and vibration that is developed and manifested in System II.
System I used primarily Ray Three to develop the FORM aspect, which is the foundation upon which consciousness is developed. In this System II, Form is the foundation and Consciousness is the goal.
In System I (Ray 3 as the synthesizing Ray) there was a special relationship between Atma (plane 3) and Manas (plane 5). The 3-5 connection-relationship also has much to do with Green and Orange.
In this System II both number and color are raised up a notch. The 3-5 becomes 2-4 and Green-Orange is superseded by Blue-Yellow, or Indigo and a Light Yellow not of this plane. Green is the foundational carpet and orange is manas. Yellow is both harvest and recycle, and blue is aspirational sky. Green is the predominance of vegetation, leaf, and grass, while flowers inspire us with shades of blue, violet, yellow, and rose.
Atma (third plane or spiritual will) relates now, in a sense, to Ray 2 of Spirit-Monad (Monadic plane, second plane) in this System II, since Love is the Will of God, Love is the Law, and it is Love that needs, in no uncertain terms, to be manifested and built into the System. The power of LOVE expands and inspires, while it heals and indicates true direction. Intelligent Activity can be problematic when not guided by Wisdom. This has to do with the will-to-love and the will-to-good, which is the primary alignment-link between soul-infusing-personality and the Spiritual Triad. The WILL OF GOD is the COMPASSION of Buddha and the LOVE of Christ.
So what’s the problem, one might ask. Form development (System I, Ray 3) is separation into individual and unique forms. Intellectual-man of lower manas (intelligent-activity) became something like the high point of form development (Personality stage). Early man is physical-astral and then kama-manas (desire mind), which is lower mind wedded to the uniqueness of the separate unit with all its self-love and personal desires. In System I, Form is paramount and mind comes as an after-thought (Epimetheus). In the present System II, however, things change. Fore-thought (Prometheus) becomes primary, as does Higher Mind. Kama-manas is replaced by buddhi-manas (intuitive-mind). This mind is spirit-oriented and not form-oriented. Form is a stepping stone and a means of expression and not an end in itself. The 3-5 emphasis is replaced by the emerging goal of 2-4—love and the harmony of the intuition.
Intuitive mind finds and uses creativity and beauty as a means of expressing Wisdom-Spirit. This upward urge and alignment replaces the outward obsessive form emphasis. The goal of being-and-knowing replaces the urge of desiring-and-having.
Acquisitive-competitive-separative-intelligence of System I is a drag on the Unity-Healing-Sharing-Knowing of System II. The Form is used, modified, refined, and discarded for Higher Purposes rather than an illusory end in itself. Selfishness, the illusion of separativeness, is, indeed, the problem. The Soul heals the problem. Atma-buddhi-manas adds an additional and most significant strength-purpose-power. One can serve through the Crucified Christ, but one can also serve more dynamically through the Living Risen Christ. The 2-4 (monadic-atma plus buddhic-higher/manas) can also be thought of as “Spirit creativeness” (to use a Master Morya term). So the 2-4 is more like a 1-2 ó 4-5., for 2 is the Will and 4 guides the Mind.