The best way to understand the necessity of multiple lives, or the rebirth of consciousness, is to understand it as three phases of conscious development. Within each of these three major phases, we have multiple lives, or multiple experiences, in which the overall process unfolds. Each life, then, can be viewed as one step, one step leading to the next until each phase is completed. It is much like our physical educational system, where we have primary school, middle school, and high school. It could also be considered from the angle of time, where we have a beginning, a middle, and an end. From the angle of the development of consciousness, or conscious unfolding, we have the first stage representing unconsciousness, the second stage representing self-consciousness, and the third and final stage representing group-consciousness. This is the path of the soul.
As a spiritual student, we must understand our approach to spiritual development to lead us to the path of true esotericism. If you recall, esoteric simply means hidden, or levels of truth that cannot be accessed by the majority. Let’s remember, however, all things are relative, for each soul arrives here at a different time. Each will develop what is needed, and arrive at a point of completion and fulfillment, just as every other. To those of us who arrived here in the greater world a little earlier, well, we can be seen to have more advanced equipment, brought to us through more experience. This experience provides us with greater mental ability, an ability to comprehend the nature of life and its process, and more importantly, a more developed heart in which we can be more inclusive, in which we can love more. My friends, with greater love, we are better able to truly appreciate the meaning of life, all forms of life and all peoples, for each will be seen to be the expression of spiritual purpose just as they are. My dear friends, it is all beautiful indeed! Esotericism can essentially be defined as “The Science of Spirituality.” Yes, to become “spiritually-minded” we must become “scientifically-minded”. We know that our physical sciences have the role of proving the nature of our universe, they bring speculation to the world of fact and practicality. We can view the study and practice of our spiritual development in the same way. Essentially, we have the goal and intent to bring the unreal to the real. This is defined as the acquisition of esoteric knowledge, and through its application within our experience, true wisdom is gained. This is the goal and direction for all of us, for that which remains hidden will be discovered and understood. At some future time, each of us will know, beyond any doubt, what the truth of life is. We will be free and at peace. An understanding of each step of the process will ensure our success.
If we approach our spiritual study as a scientific undertaking, then we allow ourselves the opportunity to develop skills to increase our understanding. A scientific approach to understanding ourselves as spiritual beings indicates a very definite plan, an ordered purpose. It is an organized unfolding, if you will. We have some freedom as to how we go about this, but little say whether or not we will. In other words, we as a soul are indeed creative, we have our unique quality and way, but each of us must follow the overall plan, and complete each step, for the plan is one plan, and it is the same plan for all. We’ll talk more about this in a future article in this series. For the most part, for the majority, the study of Ageless Wisdom Principles, or Universal Law, will be a purely intellectual undertaking. It will, initially, appear quite impractical in many ways. But, my friends, remember that intellectual pursuit expands the mind. This is our consciousness working and unfolding. When the time is right, knowledge will be brought into actual experience. With experience, knowledge becomes wisdom. It is wisdom that reveals purpose. If we allow ourselves to have at least an intellectual background, a basic understanding, then when we have the actual experience, we will have greater ease and comfort, for we will know what is upon us. This provides for us a freedom and a trust, and a required willingness that will help us proceed. Having said this, let’s take a look at the continuity of consciousness, or the perpetuation of life, in its three phases.
The Involutionary Arc – The Beginning Stage
Life, the spirit, the life of the soul takes on a whole new way, the experience of a physical world. This is the path of involution, or the coming into physical form of the light, love, and purpose of God, the universe itself. Basically, this is a time, a very long time, in which the soul builds a new home. We know that anything new in life takes a while to learn, things take a while to establish and come together. We can look at the path of our soul to be the same. At this first stage, we know nothing. My friends, we are newbies! In a way, we are temporarily blind at this phase, we cannot see where it is we’re going, what we’re doing, nor do we have any understanding of purpose, or the why of it all. In this preliminary stage, we forget who we are and where we come from. Unfortunately, we experience the birth of fear at this time, which again is brand new. You see, we have separated ourselves from our spiritual home, temporarily, to learn something new, to have a different experience. But, no worries, we will heal the separation through a full understanding of love, thereby bringing the light and love that we are to this new place. The physical world in which we belong for a time is the domain of our ego, that of our physical self. We become this more limited version of ourselves, again temporarily. With this new self, we get to have many different kinds of experience in many different forms. A good way to understand this phase of our development, is to see it as a time to experiment. Because we’re in a new place and know nothing, we might as well try everything! We will make many mistakes and lose our way often. There is no other way to learn, is there? We can remember, however, all things change, all can be corrected. Along the way, with our considerable effort, we bring the wholeness of who we are to a physical world. This part of our journey has its difficulties, but it gets better and more beautiful, as we will see. We get to gather something entirely new and bring it back to God, the universe becomes more of what it is. This first part of our journey is by far the longest, as this phase incorporates some 777 lives. My oh my, we sure do get around! The majority of humanity today exists somewhere between the middle of this stage to its end. It is the stage of the little self, life within form. It is here where we are basically “unconscious”, for we identify ourselves with the outside world, a physical world, we live and experience from the outside in. A temporary illusion is who we become, again, temporarily.
The Evolutionary Arc – The Intermediate or Middle Stage
At this stage, we become aware of ourselves as a soul within form. It is a true self-consciousness that is developed, for the real inner life is revealed. It is the most painful part of our journey, for an awareness of an inner duality makes itself clear, where we know ourselves to consist of two selves. These two parts of ourselves are that of the lower self, the ego or physical self, and the higher self, the soul, or that which we are becoming. It is the most painful, my friends, for it brings to us a healing that must ensue, in order to bring together this apparent division. A very definite battle is undertaken, where the higher part of us must take control. All that has been created by our soul must be seen as a temporary home only. All that we know ourselves to be, the physical self and the physical world, must be let go of so that we are able to continue our journey. This healing is a process of acquiring a new identification, for it is a way for us to remember who we really are, yes, the blinders come off. The agony we experience at times is the letting go of that which we have created. It is confusing, for we do not understand the purpose of physical creation. The painful question arises, “Why did we create it in the first place, why are we here?” These are legitimate questions, but they cannot be answered until the next phase. It is a lonely time, for we seem to be losing a connection to the outside physical world, and yet, we do not know where we are going next. It is this phase of our development in which we enter the Path of Spiritual Discipleship. This path requires much dedication and willingness, for it is a necessity of faith, and a trusting of the unknown, in which we must engage. Although the blinders have been largely removed, we do not yet know real purpose. However, with each step forward, the loneliness experienced in full self-consciousness gives way to an awareness of our fellow brothers and sisters on the path. Self-awareness becomes redefined as group-awareness. Our individual sense of self takes on much greater meaning within this group of others. Our role becomes that of service to humanity and the world. This brings to us a new peace. The beginning of true purpose is now possible. This is by far the most difficult phase of our journey as a soul, but it is of a much shorter duration. We can expect this middle phase, the path of discipleship, to incorporate some 77 lives. Our success here will reveal a much-needed freedom, it is a freedom hard-earned and well-deserved. This middle part of the journey, my friends, is indeed arduous and grueling, but equally rewarding. With all my heart and intent, I encourage you to stay with it. Things will get better, and remember, we’ll get there together! Our life and consciousness gain meaning within form. It is an evolution of spirit, the journey of our soul through time, a fuller expression of the light and love that we are. The next phase of our unfolding will reveal the nature of spiritual purpose, which will indicate to us the final expression of our threefold nature.
The Path of Spiritual Initiation – Purpose and Oneness Begins
At this third stage, there is little I may provide of practical value to you. However, let’s remember the real value of intellectual pursuit, a stretching of the mind, as it will prepare us for a future time that we will fully engage. If you recall, the Path of Initiation involves nine major expansions of consciousness, which indicate certain levels of achievement within our greater development. Of these nine initiations in which all of us will undergo, only five are available to humanity in its development, and the last four relate to the continued work and development of the Masters themselves. This is called “The Way of the Higher Evolution”, and is clearly beyond the scope of our work here. Let it be said, there’s always more. The journey of life continues! The first two initiations of the five that concern humanity are not technically considered true initiation from a Hierarchic perspective, for they are merely “Initiations of the Threshold”. They are of primary importance to the spiritual disciple, for they involve the blending of the soul and the personality or ego. Initiation One involves our physical equipment, an upgrade if you will, to receive greater light and energy coming from the soul. Initiation Two, indeed one of the most difficult, is more about our emotional nature. It is the true opening of the heart, and the great love it will in fact reveal. These first two initiations are more intimately involved with the Path of Discipleship itself. This is where the majority of us are currently actively and consciously engaged. My friends, it is the 2nd Initiation that is of paramount importance, for love must be properly in place and understood before spiritual purpose can begin. The first real spiritual initiation, then, is that of the 3rd. The nature of purpose begins a process of unfolding at this stage, but I remind you, the unfolding of true Spiritual Will just begins. We have fully become our soul at this stage, a brand-new self. It is the beginning of a true spiritual journey that happens now. It is the beginning of true freedom, a freedom from physical life. This 3rd Initiation is the culmination of all pain and struggle, of our long creative process here in the physical world. It is a little ways off for the majority of us still, but not as distant as you may think. All achievement is always closer than it appears! This basic understanding provides the impetus and willingness to continue. Just to give you an indication of what initiate consciousness is, we have Martin Luther King, Abraham Lincoln, Mahatma Gandhi, Mother Theresa, Moses, Jesus, Shri Krishna, Muhammad, and many, many others. My friends, they show us who we are becoming today. Just a few words on this third stage of our development, again, for obvious practical reasons. I encourage you to look into it further. The Master Djwhal Khul gives us much to think about in “A Treatise on the Seven Rays”. If we want to be busy, these writings will indeed fulfill that purpose! This third and final stage, from the perspective of the life of the soul, is the shortest. It incorporates some 7–12 lives. Oh, freedom, understanding, and purpose, be ours today.
*For those of you with a little background in astrology, we know the journey of the soul to be a journey around a great wheel. There are twelve aspects that comprise the life and nature of our soul, these being the twelve astrological signs. Within each of these twelve, a particular quality is developed and incorporated into the totality of what the soul’s experience involves. We make many trips around this wheel, and toward the end of the Path of Discipleship, this wheel reverses, changes direction, and we begin our return journey home. By the time of the 3rd Initiation, a stop will be made in each of the twelve signs, with an emphasis on the last seven. Hence, these final 7–12 lives. This will ensure a complete fusion of all the qualities that make up our nature. A full expression of ourselves is now complete. It is a beautiful process, and indeed a scientific one, for step by step, we include the all. The plan is the same for each of us, and one day, we will discover our particular quality that we contribute to a much greater whole. It is a glorious adventure, yes, a truly amazing adventure!
A spiritual journey
Life unfolds
It is a beautiful journey, a journey guaranteed to all
We are life and we are consciousness
We continue to be
Always and forever we will be
*My fellow students, if you require more explanation about the various initiations, “A Treatise on the Seven Rays”, as provided by the Master DjWhal Khul, will provide that for you. More specifically, the volume entitled, “The Rays and the Initiations”, is what you’re looking for.
All my love and support, be well