The Vision beyond the Door

Good evening and welcome to the festival of Sagittarius. Sagittarius could be viewed as a sign of simplicity, particularly following on after the dramatic testing in Scorpio. The disciple now emerges from the water to be plunged into the fire of Sagittarius as an arrow, to be proven and tempered, before speeding towards the envisioned goal of initiation that lies ahead in Capricorn. The fire of Sagittarius burns away the remaining dross that surfaced in Scorpio, correcting distorted vision and allowing the eye of the disciple to alight upon its goal. The complexities of personality living fade out as life becomes motion directed towards the spiritual target. It is a process of simplification as the disciple flies like an arrow through space and time – the mind, like the archer's bow, having produced adequate tension to fire the arrow with purpose and power – and now all activity in the lower worlds is focused on this cause.

We can see reflections of this process in world events as the necessary breaking down of the present civilization continues in order to reveal a truer vision of what should be humanity's direction forward. It is proving to be a painful and often fiery process as old forms that cannot withstand the potency of new, inflowing energies and the truths they carry, rapidly crystallise and shatter. For those that cannot see through the pain of the times to the spiritual vision that is in process of revealing itself, this shattering and releasing process can be deeply disturbing. However, it throws the collective consciousness back on itself, causes it to query its hitherto held truths and assumptions. And then comes the realisation that they are no longer sufficient as values to live by, or goals to aspire towards, and a major review and self-examination takes place, the crisis evoking the intuition to some degree.

The sign of Sagittarius facilitates the intuitive process of finding new directions and of goal-setting. As humanity stands at a point where there are no precedents to follow, wondering in which direction it should go, space is being made for new ideas and visions that can help it set foot on a more moral and spiritually fruitful path. At times, humanity seems to be opening the door wider to new evils rather than closing it, so our daily use of the Great Invocation is a vital service in offsetting this and helping to "seal the door where evil dwells" with Light, Love and Spiritual Power. This door is a symbolic way of describing how humanity unwittingly "lets in" harmful forces through selfishness and wrong desire, but just as there is a door to forces that humanity should not be associated with so, equally, there is a door to the higher, spiritual planes, that we can help to widen and "let in the light" in our meditations.

In the Ageless Wisdom teachings, doors also symbolise entrance into new stages of unfoldment. For instance, the womb is the door to individual separation, intelligent activity and eventual integration; then the two leafed door, a beautiful image for the stage of group consciousness which holds the solution to humanity's current predicament. This door represents loving, living soul expression, which is the goal for the race and which spiritual workers are tasked to work consciously towards. The two leaves that constitute this particular door, signify the combined work of soul and personality in the process of achieving group consciousness. We are reminded that the initiate is one who "in his two-fold nature (soul and personality) moves forward." As the disciple consciously closes the door to living as a separated, desire driven personality in search of experience, the lower tensions that accompany it drop away and a higher tension is experienced that enables passage through the door to a new world of light. This light pours through the disciple and into outer expression - the true meaning of service as the spontaneous outflow of a loving heart is understood and demonstrated in the world.

The symbol of a door to a higher reality indicates a protecting forcefield which prevents direct and premature contact with a reality that human consciousness is unprepared for and that would only cause harm by the power of its vibration. Once we have prepared our consciousness and gone through the purificatory fires however, the disparity in vibratory rate between the substance of the obstructing door and the consciousness of the striving disciple lessens. When the quality of the aspiring consciousness matches that of the door, an interaction takes place and the door opens allowing safe entry. Beyond this second symbolic door lies still another – one through which the Hierarchy passes to gain entry to Shamballa by what has been named "the eye of the needle" that opens up the "Higher Way". It's impossible for us to understand what sort of new "vision" and identifications lie here as they concern the purposes of the planetary Logos in Shamballa. Yet, the symbol of a third door gives us a sense of perspective and a realisation that the evolutionary process is one of constantly opening new doors and closing ones that lie behind. It is encapsulated by the keynote of the disciple in Sagittarius "I see the goal, I reach that goal and then I see another". Let us now take a few moments of quiet and then say together the Affirmation of the Disciple: I am a point of light within a greater Light.

I am a strand of loving energy within the stream of Love divine.
I am a point of sacrificial Fire, focussed within the fiery Will of God.
And thus I stand

I am a way by which men may achieve.
I am a source of strength, enabling them to stand.
I am a beam of light, shining upon their way.
And thus I stand.

And standing thus, revolve
And tread this way the ways of men,
And know the ways of God.
And thus I stand.

OM

Use of this affirmation is a powerful way of establishing a definite spiritual goal and setting in motion the energies that will help us achieve it. After the declaration of each stanza, the affirmation "And thus I stand" is made, which activates the will and fires the arrow of aspiration in the direction of the goal. To say this mantram with conviction opens the door through which we can pass on the wings of joy, and sooner than we may think, into the fiery life of conscious discipleship. And at the time of the full moon we have the opportunity to make considerable headway as we take our stand together with others worldwide who are directing thought across the mental plane towards the Hierarchy. Quiet, focused concentration is needed to achieve this and this is assisted at the time of the full moon by the fact that the lunar energies that stimulate the fires of the personality are diminished as the moon lies behind the earth. There is a direct alignment between the earth, sun and one of the twelve constellations whose qualities can therefore evoke a more intuitive response in the meditative consciousness.

The full moon meditation service also stimulates telepathic possibilities – the affirmation "I am one with my group brothers" establishing the field, and the demand "May the thoughts which my soul creates reach and encourage them" instigating mind to mind, soul to soul communication. The full moon approach to the Hierarchy is also a means of establishing the foundations of the fledgling science of invocation and evocation that will feature substantially in the new world religion. The value of directed mental invocation is elaborated by the Tibetan, who remarks:

"Each time that there is a fresh vision of a compelling and conditioning nature, it is the result of invocation by the one seeking the new impression. When this invocative spirit is present, the results are inevitable and sure and the response evoked cannot be stopped. This is the basis of all the success of desire (material or otherwise), aspiration, prayer and meditation. Always we get—in time and space—what we invoke; and the knowledge of this fact, scientifically applied, will be one of the great liberating forces for humanity."

As our group forces are brought to a point of spiritual tension on the mental plane and elevated towards the Hierarchy, the group mind becomes united and receptive to its higher impressions, whether we are aware of them individually in our brain consciousness or not. And in Sagittarius, the power of Mercury, the God of mental processes is lessened. The consciousness is assisted in its goal to be lifted towards the intuitional plane to become creative in a higher sense. It is a position of balanced faith where the inclusive vision of the disciple is not concerned about his own personal achievement, he is engrossed in becoming a potent server of humanity and his fiery aspiration towards the goal is on humanity's behalf. In Esoteric Astrology we read:

"…No planet is exalted in Sagittarius and… no planet falls in this sign. Only one thing happens and that is that the power of Mercury is greatly lessened. For this reason Sagittarius is esoterically regarded as a sign of balance and of no extremes; there is no great fall and no exaltation. This fact indicates that the disciple has to walk an even way between the pairs of opposites, uninfluenced by either the "power of exaltation or the potency of that which falls. Neither the valley nor the heights produces any demonstrable effect…"

Sagittarius is a sign of interlude, where the tension in the bow of aspiration is produced. In the influence of this sign, apparent inaction may be mistaken for inertia when, in reality, creativity is simply in the process of moving into a higher dimension. As the spokes on a rapidly spinning wheel disappear from view belying the movement that is taking place, so the higher centres or chakras in the subjective worker are quickened. Although not apparent to the outward eye, inwardly great balance and spiritual tension are being generated, opening up an electric highway to the spiritual realms, and upon which the arrows of thought are continually being discharged. When working in this way, particularly in these times of disturbance and rapid change, common sense is required. For while spiritual tension, symbolised by the tensed bow of the mind, is needed for each discharge of the arrows of thought, care must be taken. In Supermundane we find the warning that during times when the planet is experiencing unprecedented tensions, if the "strings are too taut", then inflammations and excessive activity of the heart can occur with a subsequent lessening of energy and fatigue; "the power of equilibrium" is a needed safeguard.

The new group of world servers are supplying this power of equilibrium holding high the vision of the Plan and precipitating solutions to the many challenges facing humanity. And it is quite clear that the world is desperately in search of a new vision by the way it responds with such hope and expectancy when it is presented with one. The most obvious recent example is the unprecedented worldwide reaction to the election of Barak Obama and the symbol he provides of racial, cultural and religious fusion. His book "The Audacity of Hope", written before his nomination, is a remarkable demonstration of the daring and persistence that we associate with the first ray of will power. He describes the audacity of hope as "God's greatest gift to us, the bedrock of this nation. A belief in things not seen. A belief that there are better days ahead." And his catch phrase: "Yes we can", is a refreshing affirmation in the face of apparently overwhelming obstacles. The power of Obama’s oratory is the topic of research of Dacher Keltner, a professor of psychology at the University of California-Berkeley. He studies the emotions of uplift, and had tried everything from showing subjects vistas of the Grand Canyon to reading them poetry—with little success. But then Barak Obama's victory speech was presented, and the recorded reactions in their autonomic nervous systems were quite profound, showing a distinct emotional state of transcendence. Keltner writes that he believes when we experience transcendence, it stimulates our vagus nerve, causing "a feeling of spreading, liquid warmth in the chest and a lump in the throat." As students of the Ageless Wisdom, we know that the heart centre powerfully affects the vagus nerve and automatic nervous system – something which will only be understood when the centres and the interplay of these three activities are admitted. The thymus gland controls the vagus nerve and it is predicted that later on a process of stimulating this gland and its secretion will be worked out enabling an improved functioning of the nervous system. It is therefore interesting to read of this discovery about the vagus nerve and its positive effect on the nervous system of those involved in the test. As for the 66 million Americans who voted for Obama, a transcendental group experience was shared on Election Day, producing a collective case of an emotion that has only recently received research attention. It's called "elevation."

Elevation has always existed in the realms of philosophy and religion but is now recognized as a distinct emotional state and a subject for psychological study. More recently, there has been an explosion of interest in "positive psychology"—what makes us feel good and why. University of Virginia moral psychologist, Jonathan Haidt, who coined the term elevation, writes, "Powerful moments of elevation sometimes seem to push a mental 'reset button,' wiping out feelings of cynicism and replacing them with feelings of hope, love, and optimism, and a sense of moral inspiration." Although difficult to research directly, Haidt found that the vagus nerve works with oxytocin, the hormone of connection notably released during breast feeding.

Haidt's research shows that elevation is good at provoking a desire to make a difference but not so good at motivating real action. But he says "It does appear to change people cognitively; it opens hearts and minds to new possibilities." The researchers say elevation is part of a family of selftranscending emotions such as awe and that sense of the vastness of the universe and smallness of self that is often invoked by nature. Keltner says we most powerfully experience these in groups— and this was witnessed when voters spontaneously ran into the street on election night, hugging strangers. The submergence of personal interests for the good of the family or another person has often been demonstrated for the beauty of the human heart has manifested itself down the ages. To find such an attitude in a group of people and to see it used rhythmically, spontaneously and naturally is predicted to be the glory of the New Age. It’s not for nothing that the "Law of Group Progress" is also called the "Law of Elevation". It opens the door to the mysteries of group realisation and group consciousness, and the part each unit plays in the general progress of a group. No human being is said to arrive at "fullness of life" without adding much to the general nature of his own group. A chain reaction is set up and we see that the elevation of a unit results in the raising of the group; individual realisation eventually brings about group recognition; the initiation of the unit leads finally to planetary initiation, and the attainment of the goal by the human atom and the achievement of his objective, steadily and ceaselessly brings about group achievement. For our work at the full moon, fully aware of the many planetary and human crises unfolding around us, the goal lies in spiritual elevation, in a steady and focused alignment with the Hierarchy and the Plan of Love and Light. Silently and powerfully esoteric groups can work to infuse the subconscious of humanity with an uplifting vibration of joy and sense of spiritual destiny. Let us now work in this sign of Sagittarius, with the silent vision and power of fiery aspiration it bestows, to instil these qualities in human hearts and minds throughout the world.

Festival of Sagittarius –

London – December 2008

Christine Morgan