“The full mystic consciousness attains to what is, I think, its really characteristic quality. It develops the power of apprehending the Absolute, Pure Being, the utterly Transcendent: or, as its possessor would say, he can experience ‘passive union with God.’ This all-round expansion of consciousness, with its dual power of knowing by communion the temporal and eternal, immanent and transcendent aspects of reality—the life of the All, vivid, flowing and changing, and the changeless, conditionless life of the One—is the peculiar mark, the ultimo sigillo of the great mystic, and must never be forgotten in studying his life and work.

“As the ordinary human is the meeting place between two stages of reality—the sense-world and the world of spiritual life—so the mystic, standing head and shoulders above ordinary people, is again the meeting place between two orders. … On the one hand, he knows, and rests in, the eternal world of Pure Being, the ‘Sea Pacific’ of the Godhead, indubitably present to him in his ecstasies. On the other, he knows—and works in—that ‘stormy sea’ and vital world of becoming which is the expression of its will.” … There, the Divine Unity dwells and calls them.” ~Evelyn Underhill

Full Mystic Consciousness

What Underhill is here calling “full mystic consciousness” is what other spiritual writers have called Christ Consciousness, or Ultimate Consciousness. It is the highest level of consciousness that we can reach. It is the level at which we become one with the All, one with God. It is the Level of complete Gnosis. Few achieve that level while still living on the material plane, but some come close. Those who get close to that level are deservedly called mystics.

Apprehending Pure Being

At the higher levels of consciousness, one can apprehend Pure Being, even if only at that level briefly, which is how it usually happens. By continuing to practice advanced spiritual growth techniques, the mystic reaches higher and higher states of consciousness and stays at those higher levels longer. It is more than just apprehending Pure Being, it is a process of slowly becoming Pure Being. It is the process we must all follow to get into Heaven, for Heaven is a place of Pure Spirit, and only a Pure Being can be there; otherwise, it would no longer be pure.

Knowing the Temporal and Eternal

The advanced mystical adept knows the temporal or material world as well as the spiritual. They are able to function well in both worlds. They understand how things work in the material world, yet choose to emphasize the spiritual, for they know that the physical is always temporary, while the spiritual is eternal. This is as it must be today when the spiritual cannot easily withdraw from the world and live away from the problems of the world. In addition, it is the duty of the spiritual student or mystic to help others free themselves from the traps of the physical world, so they must understand that world better than most other people.

Divine Unity

The Divine Unity found in the world of Pure Being does call to mystics and they answer that call and do their best to be a part of that world. And when the mystic passes out of the physical world and into the spiritual realm, the search for that Divine Unity continues until it is permanently achieved.

The call to seek Divine Unity is sent to all of us, not just the mystics, but few hear it. Many of us sense that there is something more to life, but don’t quite know what it is, so seek it in material pleasures that take us in the wrong direction. Divine Unity and Pure Being can be found only in the spiritual realm and by each of us developing our own spiritual Self.

From the SUN TALK collection by Harold Boulette

“During waking life the soul is given up to the impressions of the senses, and to the thoughts and pictures that these evoke in it. During sleep the senses cease to make any impression, and the soul loses consciousness. The whole of the day’s experiences sink down into the sea of unconsciousness. Let us now consider how it would be if Man were able to become conscious during sleep, notwithstanding that all impressions of the senses were completely obliterated, as they are in deep sleep. Now would any memory remain to him of what had happened while he was awake? Would his soul find itself in a state of vacuity? Would it be incapable of having any experiences? This is a question that can only be answered if conditions like or similar to those under discussion can actually be brought about. …

“Now such a condition of consciousness can be attained if man makes these psychic experiences possible toward which spiritual science guides him. And everything that spiritual science tells us about those world beyond the sensible, has been found through such a condition of consciousness.

“In the following pages, … methods will be discussed whereby the state of consciousness requisite for such investigations may be acquired. … The awakening of the soul to these higher states of consciousness is called Initiation.” ~Rudolf Steiner

Waking Life

First, you must understand that here Steiner is talking about waking life and sleeping life in the conventional, material way, not in the way spiritual people talk about “waking” or “Awakening”. Steiner says that during the ordinary state we call awake, “the soul is given up to the impressions of the senses.” We in Cosolargy differ from Steiner on this. It is the mind that is involved with the impressions of the physical senses, not the soul.

Sleeping Life

During sleep, Steiner says that the senses make no impressions, but the soul loses consciousness. Again, we in Cosolargy are not quite in agreement with Mr. Steiner on this. His statements regarding when the soul is conscious and not conscious ignore one important fact: when we come into the material world, the spirit/soul is in a dormant state similar to the mind being in a coma. It is not conscious at any time. It must be awakened before such consciousness can occur, and that is the true meaning of a spiritual awakening.

State of Vacuity

Mr. Steiner then asks if the soul were to become conscious while the mind is asleep, would it be in “a state of vacuity?” He doesn’t answer his question but says one must experience it to find out. While that is somewhat true, I don’t think there is any harm in answering his question with a resounding NO!

The awakened soul would not be empty, be in a state of emptiness, but would be connected with all other souls and with all beings in the spiritual realm. When first awakened, the soul may not be aware of all of this, yet it is there, so I don’t think an awakened soul is ever in a state of vacuity.

Such a Condition Can Be Attained

Yes, in this case, we can totally agree with Steiner. A state of spiritual consciousness in which the soul becomes fully conscious can be attained. It doesn’t happen simply by wishing for it, believing in it, or having faith in it. It comes from years of hard work and dedication, slowly awakening and then developing the spirit/soul to full consciousness (The fully conscious spirit is the Soul. Until that happens, it is the Spirit). The great mystery schools and spiritual schools taught initiates how to achieve this state of higher consciousness, and some still do. We in Cosolargy know that we are fortunate today in that the promised Sun of Righteousness now shines down on us with more spiritual energy than before. This makes it somewhat easier to develop our spiritual side. Nonetheless, we must work at it diligently, and with love and humility to achieve the goal of complete Soul Consciousness.

“A wise man is one who bathes in the waters of wisdom, a fool is one who wallows in the filth of folly. The well of wisdom is not a public place, from which anyone can draw without discrimination. Its entrance is barred to those of the loud mouth, but opens to receive the calm and silent one. Where today, are the people of quiet manner and calm bearing?

“No wise words or well-phrased writings are needed to inform men that the light of the sun exceeds that of the moon, or that he who has toiled through the heat of the day will not lie upon a bed in sleeplessness. Those are things experienced by a few, that are known to the many, that have to be explained. Such are spiritual things, but where, today, are those who have known and experienced them? Who can explain them together?

“Today men seek to gather where they have not planted; they desire the increase, but disdain the effort. They seek to benefit through the toil of others, and unproductive tongues move vigorously, while skilled hands are idle. Man must learn that no more can be taken from the storehouse than was placed there.” ~The Kolbrin Bible ( MAN:19:3-5)

Bathe in Wisdom When You Can

I think most of us would agree that it is better to bathe in wisdom than to wallow in folly. The problem is knowing which is which, and knowing how to get to that well of wisdom. You won’t find it in any college or university. You won’t find it in intellectual persuits of any kind. The well of wisdom is a spiritual thing, and as such, is only accessible by the soul, which must first be awakened and developed. The well of wisdom is in the places of higher levels of consciousness that are reached only by the development of the spiritual faculties and by taking in the Light of the Spiritual Sun. Sadly, we have many today who choose instead to wallow in the illusions of materialism and just simply lies. They believe that what is real is what they wish to be real and accept it as reality. No one makes real progress by living in lies.

Light of the Sun

Certainly, we don’t need to be told that the light of the sun exceeds that of the moon. In fact, the light of the moon is merely a dull reflection of the light of the sun. I certainly hope we are all aware of those facts. Yet despite that knowledge, we have many who consider themselves spiritual, who energize their gems and crystals in the light of the moon. Why when the light of the sun is so much greater? More importantly, the moon represents the dark ones, the demons, while the sun represents angels and God.

Toil through the Day

The Kolbrin Bible is about 3,000 years old and some of its concepts are outdated. It is certainly true that one who does manual labor all day long will probably sleep quite soundly at night. Today, however, the majority of us work at jobs that do not involve much manual labor. The point that is being made here in the Kolbrin Bible is that hard work is a good thing. It doesn’t have to be manual labor and it doesn’t have to be physical at all. Mental and spiritual work is just as important, if not more so. And one who has done his spiritual work and is moving toward the goal of bathing in that well of wisdom will sleep well also, although they may not need that much sleep because spiritual work has a way of reducing the need for sleep.

Taking from the Storehouse

The last paragraph quoted is telling us much about the laws of the realm of nature, in which we live whether we like it or not. Today, books and classes on manifesting are popular and many believe in it. The fact that over ninety percent of the students never manage to manifest what they want is brushed off by the teachers as being a failure to truly believe, or a failure to concentrate on what they want. While there is some truth to that, it isn’t that simple. First, if we are going to manifest something, it should be something spiritual. The material is all around us and there is no need to manifest matter. But if we do choose to manifest a new car, or a new house, etc., we should be aware that we have no right to manifest more than we create, or as the Kolbrin says, we can’t take from the storehouses more than we put it. Some will argue that they know individuals who have manifested many things without doing anything to earn it. That can, in a few cases, happen. What it means is that the person has purchased those goods on credit and the creditor is the demons and dark powers that control the world of matter. They are often happy to do that, but you won’t be happy when they decide it is time to collect payment. The one who bathes in wisdom takes no more than he gives.

“Beloved Soul, mark: if thou wilt be a champion in the Saviour Christ against death and hell, and would have the young graft grow, and become a tree in the Kingdom of Christ, you must go on and stand firm in thy first earnest purpose. It is as much as your paternal inheritance is worth, and your body and soul too, whether you become an Angel of God, or a Devil in Hell. If you will be crowned, you must fight; you must overcome in Christ, and not yield to the Devil. Your purpose must stand firm, you must not prefer temporal honor and goods before it. When the spirit of the flesh says, stay a while, it is not convenient yet, then the soul must say, Now is the time for me to go back again to my native country, out of which my father Adam has brought me.  No creature shall keep me back. … I will enter with my whole will and desire into the Rose Garden of my redeemer. And if you should become a fool in the account of men, yet you must obey the firm resolve of the soul.” ~Jacob Boehme

A Champion in Christ

In Cosolargy, we would say become a champion of God rather than Christ, but otherwise, what Boehme says applies to us. To be a champion of God, we must put God’s Law above man’s, we must put God’s Plan above those of men. In the materialistic world of today, that is not an easy thing to do, yet there are those who do it.

The Young Graft Grows

The “young graft” that Boehme is talking about is the newly awakened spirit. Once awakened, it must be continuously developed so it can grow in strength and wisdom to become, as Boehme puts it, “a tree in the Kingdom of Christ”. He says that to do this, we must stand form in our “first earnest purpose.” That purpose is not to fulfill some earthly desire, but our true underlying purpose, which is to return to God.

To Be Crowned

Boehme adds that if we wish to be crowned, we must fight and overcome the temptations of the Devil and the realm of matter. Boehme is here giving us a clue on how to awaken and develop our spiritual faculties, namely, with the light of the sun, especially the Light of the Spiritual Sun. It is not well known, but the wearing of a gold crown began with ancient priests, not kings. The gold crown symbolized the Spiritual Sun, and wearing it implied that the person was one with the Spiritual Sun. Boehme would know of this as he had his spiritual awakening when the sun reflecting off a metal bowl struck him in the eye.

Putting it Off

Many people say they want to start spiritual development, but the time is not right yet for them to do so. Boehme warns against putting it off, and what he says is even truer today. First, those who find a reason to put it off today are likely to find another reason tomorrow and the next day. Once you start putting it off, it is easy to continue to do so. Secondly, we are all running out of time. Pay attention to what is happening around you. There is no doubt that we are in the End Times and have a limited amount of time left to change ourselves and our world. How long? No one knows exactly. It could be a hundred more years, or it could be two years, so start now. Start and stand firm in your spiritual purpose. Only those who stand strong and firm can succeed.

From the SUN TALK collection by Harold Boulette

“Some people are practically vampires, and live upon the magnetism of others, unconsciously, usually, although some have acquired the knowledge that they may love in others, strength in this way, and practice their wicked arts consciously. This conscious use of their power is a form of black magic, and is attended with certain psychic penalties and punishments. But no one can be thus drawn upon, either by the unconscious demand of others, or by conscious design, after they have once learned something about this human magnetism, and its laws.

“Human magnetism, or Pranic Energy, is a most potent therapeutic force, and, in one form or another, it is found in the majority of cases of psychic healing. It is one of the oldest forms of natural healing, and it may be said to be almost instinctive in the race. A child who has hurt itself, or who feels pain, at once runs to its mother who kisses the hurt part, or places her hands on the seat of the pain and in a few moments the child is better. … This instinctive use of the hand is a form of conveying magnetism to the afflicted person, who is usually relieved by the act.” ~William Walker Atkinson

 

Energy Vampires

It is true that some people are energy vampires. It is also true that most of them are completely unaware of the fact. Those few who are aware, and are doing it intentionally are, as Atkinson says, practicing a form of black magic. I know that a popular novel from about twenty years ago, I can’t recall the title, recommends that spiritual people take energy from other living beings including plants and animals, but I repeat what Mr. Atkinson says: that is practicing black magic and is evil. It is fine to ask another to share some energy with you when your energy is low, but not to take it without permission. It is also fine for you to send some of your prana to another life form, and request that it share some of its energy with you. In this exchange of energy, you learn from each other. An even better solution is to use sun gazing and get energy from the sun.

Magnetism and Energy

Atkinson uses the words magnetism and energy interchangeably, but this can be confusing. While magnetism is related to electricity, all energy cannot be considered magnetism, and the life energy or spiritual energy that is primarily of concern here is not magnetism. While it is generally true that people who are abundant in spiritual energy tend to have a magnetic personality, this is not actual magnetism.

Psychic Penalties

It is true, as Atkinson notes, that there are psychic and spiritual penalties for those energy vampires who intentionally take energy from others. But penalties are not limited to spiritual vampires. Anyone who misuses spiritual energy may pay a penalty for doing so. Misuse includes using it for materialistic ends, using it to gain some advantage over others, or using it to harm others. The penalties may be the loss of such energy or having things suddenly turn against you.

Potent Therapeutic Force

Spiritual energy is indeed a potent therapeutic force. When psychic or spiritual healers work, one of the primary things they do is to try to fix blockages of energy flow in the subject. Sometimes, we have enough energy, but we have blockages that prevent it from flowing properly. Acupressure and acupuncture are all physical ways of repairing energy blocks, and they have been proven to work in many cases. Prayer is also a good way to improve another person’s energy flow so that it improves their health. There is nothing wrong with sending energy to others who need it and want it, but taking energy from others is wrong.

From the SUN TALK collection by Harold Boulette

“Deposit truth in your actions. In your worldly actions, you must be ruled by the truth. In your feelings, you must be ruled by wisdom, and love to rule the head.

“A small job done for God is a great job, but a great job done for you is an insignificant one, a bubble that will pop. The smallest jobs done for God after ten years will make you the strongest and most powerful in the world. The smallest job for God is a job that saves. A good day done for God is a lot.

“The invisible [spiritual] world wants you to do the smallest good, that good that no one but you can see (a good done is secret). Now that should be your new moral.

“The foot of man cannot step in paradise if he does not think, feel, and act right. God took Adam out of paradise after he broke His Law. …

“Thank God for the clouds. Thank God for the trees and flowers. In this way, you will accept a good that in no other way can be received. The grateful heart accepts all of God’s goods.

“The most important thing in the world is love. The second most important is life, and the third is movement and direction. Think of God constantly. We all have to love God. Without love of God, we will be foreign to one another.” ~Biensa Douno

Truth in Actions

Most of us think of truth as being something that goes with our thoughts and our words, but it is also in our actions. Sadly, today, there are many who practice truth and rightful thinking in their speech, but not in their actions. They say that we should be loving but turn away from those in need. They say that we should listen to God, but practice materialism instead. Truth is not enough if it is only in our words. It must also be in our actions.

Do Good for God

Douno is telling us that even the smallest things we do matter, and we should do them for God. This doesn’t mean that we do whatever we wish to do and say we are doing it for God. It means that before we take action, we should think about what action God would want us to take, and then do that. And as Douno says, doing what we believe are great deeds, what the worldly forces think are great deeds, will be but bubbles popping if they are not the deeds God wants us to do. Of course, part of the problem is knowing what God wants us to do. In some cases, we can figure that out for ourselves if we really want to, but the best option is to awaken and develop our dormant spiritual faculties. Only through the spiritual faculties can we know and understand what God truly wants of us. And while Douno is here emphasizing small deeds done for God, that doesn’t mean we can’t do great deeds for God as well.

Adam out of Paradise

It is not entirely accurate to say that God “took Adam out of paradise” when he broke God’s Law. The fact of it is this: God’s Law is enforced automatically. It is as if there was a kind of trap door in Heaven, and when Adam broke the law, the door opened and Adam fell into lower dimensions of being. God didn’t have to take any action against Adam because the Law works on its own.

Thank God

We should thank God for the trees and the flowers, the sun, and the clouds. We should thank God that we are alive. Sometimes, this is difficult to do because of the problems we face in the material world, but we must constantly remind ourselves that in this low dimension of matter, the evil things that happen to us (sickness, injury, poverty, etc.) do not come from God, but from the Devil and his demonic minions. But if we try as much as possible to thank God for the good in our lives, more good will come to us.

From the SUN TALK collection by Harold Boulette

“After the nature of the immortals was completed out of the infinite one, then a likeness called Sophia flowed out of Pistis, with the wish that something should come into being like the light that first existed. Immediately her wish appeared as a heavenly likeness with an incomprehensible greatness. This came between the immortals and those who came into being after them, like what is above. It was a veil separating people from the things above. Now, the eternal realm of truth has no shadow within it because the immeasurable light is everywhere within it. Outside it, however, is a shadow, and it was called darkness. From it appeared a power over the darkness. And the powers that came into being afterward called the shadow the limitless chaos. From it every kind of deity was brought forth, one after another, along with the whole place. Consequently, the shadow too is subsequent to what was in the beginning. The shadow appeared in the abyss, which is derived from Pistis, whom we have mentioned. The shadow perceived that there was one stronger than it. It was jealous, and when it became self-impregnated, it immediately bore envy. … Then the bitter wrath that came into being from the shadow was cast into a region of chaos. Since that day a watery substance has appeared. What was enclosed in the shadow flowed forth, appearing in chaos. … Matter did not come out of chaos, but it was in chaos, existing in a part of it.

“Now, after these things happened, Pistis came and appeared over the matter of chaos, which was cast off like an aborted fetus, since there was no spirit in it. For all of that is a boundless darkness and water of unfathomable depth. And when Pistis saw what came into being from her deficiency, she was disturbed. And the disturbance appeared as something frightful, and it fled to her in the chaos. She turned to it and breathed into its face in the abyss, which is beneath all of the heavens. Now, when Pistis Sophia wanted to cause the thing that had no spirit to be formed into a likeness and rule over matter and over all its powers, a ruler first appeared out of the waters, lionlike in appearance, androgynous, with great authority within himself but ignorant of whence he came into being.” ~ On the Origin of the World

Birth of Sophia

Sophia or Sophia Pistis is well-known to those of us who have read almost any Gnostic scripture as the  goddess of wisdom, or, if you prefer, Wisdom personalized as a goddess. We mostly hear her called Pistis Sophia, but the first line of the quote from the Gnostic book “On the Origen of the World,” says Sophia was created “out of Pistis.” The note on this line says that it means faith, so it is saying that Sophia was created out of Faith. I assume that Faith was one of the immortals mentioned at the beginning of the sentence, and so it was this immortal that created Sophia.

Immediately Appeared

When Sophia wished for something, it immediately appeared. This shows that she had the power of true creation. It can also be seen as a cautionary warning on the power of thought. Her creation was something between the immortals created by God, and the being to come after. It acted as a veil separating “people” from the things above.

The Shadow

The quote says the Eternal Realm of Truth, the realm of Spirit, has no shadow. It is filled with light that comes from all directions and never goes out. But with the creation of lesser beings by Sophia, lesser worlds were created, worlds that did have shadows and so were called worlds of darkness. This is the realm of matter. We dwell in the third dimension which has a mix of matter and spirit, and so has shadow. But it is not a place of total darkness (that is the first dimension), so it is still possible for us to turn from the darkness and rise back up toward the Light, toward higher levels of consciousness, toward the Eternal Realm called Heaven.

Region of Chaos

The Region of Chaos that flowed forth out of the Shadow is the material realm. This is another way of saying that the defective realm of matter is not a creation of God, but of lesser beings that didn’t really know what they were doing. Most Gnostic writings call this being, or group of beings, the Demiurge, meaning less than the true God, but still a very powerful being, powerful enough to create the worlds of matter. Yet, the realm of matter is defective because it has death, disease, storms, and other kinds of darkness. It required living beings to kill and eat other beings to survive. This seems normal to most of us, but it is a horror to God.

Truth or Allegory

The hierarchal tale of creation as told in the quote above may be literally true, or it may simply be an allegorical way to try to explain the complicated facts behind the creation of the multi-dimensional universe. I tend to believe it is mostly allegorical, but it doesn’t matter either way. The important points to take away from this tale of creation are:

1. God created a universe of pure Light, pure Love, and pure Peace
2. Lesser beings created lesser worlds
3. With the creation of the lower dimensions came the creation of Shadow or Darkness
4. Death, disease, pain, and want are properties of the shadow words and have no place in the realm of God
5. We have fallen into the third dimension, but have the ability to turn around and climb back up to higher dimensions.
6. It is God’s Plan that the fallen realm of matter be slowly changed back into its original form and all darkness will be gone.

From the SUN TALK collection by Harold Boulette

“Those upon whom the Divine Law is written, not with ink and letters, but implanted in hearts of flesh, these, having the eyes of their mind enlightened, and reaching after a hope, not tangible and seen, but invisible and immaterial, have power to get the better of the stumbling blocks of the evil one, not by themselves, but from the power that never can be defeated. But those who have not been honored with God’s Word, nor instructed by Divine Law, are vainly puffed up, and fancy that by their own free will they can bring to naught the resources of sin—sin which is only condemned through the mystery contained in the cross. It lies in the power of man’s free will to resist the devil, but it does not extend to an absolute command over the passions. Except the Lord build the house, it says, and keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain, and the builder labors in vain.

“You cannot go upon the asp and basilisk and tread under your feet the lion and the dragon, without first purging yourself as far as human ability goes, and being strengthened by him who said to the apostles, Behold, I have given you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and upon all the power of the enemy.” ~St. Macarius the Egyptian

Divine Law is Written

As St. Macarius says, the Divine Law is not written with ink on paper, nor found in any books. Some parts of it may be found in books of scripture, but then it is open to misinterpretation. In any case, Divine Law does not really hold sway over you until it is written in spirit and soul, which is what the ancients usually meant when they said it was in your heart. The heart is just an organ of flesh and blood, but it has an energy center associated with it, and that is where the truth is written.

Eyes Enlightened

I have to disagree with St. Macarius on this one. It is not the “eyes of the mind” that are enlightened, but the eyes of the soul in an awakened spirit. This means, of course, that the spirit must be awakened from its dormant state before this can happen. It is only the spirit that can communicate with the spiritual worlds; it is only the spirit that can learn the spiritual truths that are found in the spiritual worlds. Macarius is correct, though, in saying that the one who has been enlightened has the power to resist the stumbling blocks of the evil one and his spiritual minions and human assistants. He is also correct in saying that that power is not with the enlightened person alone, but with the help of the “power that can never be defeated.”

God’s Word

St. Macarius is definitely correct in saying that those who are not receiving God’s Word and are not following God’s Law are just “vainly puffed up” if they think they can achieve enlightenment on their own. True, enlightenment does require we work at it and do so for some time; but we also need to do it with God’s Word or Light. But if you think that God’s Word can be found trapped in some holy book, you are mistaken. It is found only through direct communication with higher levels of being and consciousness.

Tread on Serpents and Dragons

This is just another way of saying that the enlightened person will be able to resist the temptations of the material world and the attempts by demons and devils to turn us away from spiritual growth and development. But again, you can’t do it on your own, you have to have God and the Angels on your side.

Mystery Contained in the Cross

There is a great mystery contained in the cross that is not recognized by most Christians. For starters, they confuse the cross for the crucifix upon which Jesus was hung to die. The mystery cross has been recognized as a symbol of God and God’s Word long before the birth of Jesus. The oldest version of it was a simple circle with a cross inside. This represented God, but also that God’s Light was in the sun; the circle represented the sun, and the cross inside, the Light of God. This advanced over time to new variations with the best-known version being the Maltese cross. Nearly all of these mystery crosses have four arms of the same length, and many have circles at the four tips, usually three. Here are some variations.

The important thing about this type of cross is that it speaks directly to the human soul, which understands geometric shapes, not words. So having a cross of this sort, such as the Cosolargy Cross, and looking at it regularly, or simply imagining it in our mind’s eye, helps awaken our spiritual faculties.

From the SUN TALK collection by Harold Boulette

“The full mystic consciousness attains to what is, I think, its really characteristic quality. It develops the power of apprehending the Absolute, Pure Being, the utterly Transcendent: or, as its possessor would say, he can experience ‘passive union with God.’ This all-round expansion of consciousness, with its dual power of knowing by communion the temporal and eternal, immanent and transcendent aspects of reality—the life of the All, vivid, flowing and changing, and the changeless, conditionless life of the One—is the peculiar mark, the ultimo sigillo of the great mystic, and must never be forgotten in studying his life and work.

“As the ordinary human is the meeting place between two stages of reality—the sense-world and the world of spiritual life—so the mystic, standing head and shoulders above ordinary people, is again the meeting place between two orders. … On the one hand, he knows, and rests in, the eternal world of Pure Being, the ‘Sea Pacific’ of the Godhead, indubitably present to him in his ecstasies. On the other, he knows—and works in—that ‘stormy sea’ and vital world of becoming which is the expression of its will.” … There, the Divine Unity dwells and calls them.” ~Evelyn Underhill

Full Mystic Consciousness

What Underhill is here calling “full mystic consciousness” is what other spiritual writers have called Christ Consciousness, or Ultimate Consciousness. It is the highest level of consciousness that we can reach. It is the level at which we become one with the All, one with God. It is the Level of complete Gnosis. Few achieve that level while still living on the material plane, but some come close. Those who get close to that level are deservedly called mystics.

Apprehending Pure Being

At the higher levels of consciousness, one can apprehend Pure Being, even if only at that level briefly, which is how it usually happens. By continuing to practice advanced spiritual growth techniques, the mystic reaches higher and higher states of consciousness and stays at those higher levels longer. It is more than just apprehending Pure Being, it is a process of slowly becoming Pure Being. It is the process we must all follow to get into Heaven, for Heaven is a place of Pure Spirit, and only a Pure Being can be there; otherwise, it would no longer be pure.

Knowing the Temporal and Eternal

The advanced mystical adept knows the temporal or material world as well as the spiritual. They are able to function well in both worlds. They understand how things work in the material world, yet choose to emphasize the spiritual, for they know that the physical is always temporary, while the spiritual is eternal. This is as it must be today when the spiritual cannot easily withdraw from the world and live away from the problems of the world. In addition, it is the duty of the spiritual student or mystic to help others free themselves from the traps of the physical world, so they must understand that world better than most other people.

Divine Unity

The Divine Unity found in the world of Pure Being does call to mystics and they answer that call and do their best to be a part of that world. And when the mystic passes out of the physical world and into the spiritual realm, the search for that Divine Unity continues until it is permanently achieved.

The call to seek Divine Unity is sent to all of us, not just the mystics, but few hear it. Many of us sense that there is something more to life, but don’t quite know what it is, so seek it in material pleasures that take us in the wrong direction. Divine Unity and Pure Being can be found only in the spiritual realm and by each of us developing our own spiritual Self.

From the SUN TALK collection by Harold Boulette

“How are we to explain the omnipresence of the soul? Does it depend upon the definite magnitude of the material universe coupled with some native tendency in soul to distribute itself over material mass, or is it a characteristic of soul apart from the Body? …

“If soul spread thus wide before material extension existed, then as covering all space it would seem to be of itself a thing of magnitude, and in what mode could it exist in the All before the All was in being, before there was any All? And who can accept a soul described as partless and massless and yet, for all the absence of extension, extended over a universe? …

“We cannot think of soul being diffused as a quality is, say sweetness or color, for while these are actual states of the masses affected so that they show that quality at every point; none of them has an independent existence; they are attributes of body and known only as in body. …

“Obviously, we must take hold of the question from the very beginning in the hope of finding some clear and convincing theory as to how soul, immaterial and without magnitude, can be thus broad spread, whether before material masses exist or as enveloping them. Of course, should it appear that this omnipresence may occur apart from material things, there is no difficulty in accepting its occurrence within the material.” ~Plotinus

Spirit or Soul

Some talk about the spirit, others about the soul. Are they different, or just two names for the same things? First, we must realize that humans are much more complex than most of us believe, and we have, in fact, two souls. We have a mundane soul that is attached to the material world and we share that soul in common with the animals of the world, and possibly even plants. We also have a Divine Soul, which is the one most spiritual writers and teachers are talking about when they say “the Soul.” Plotinus saw Man as consisting of a physical body, intellect or mind, and a soul. It is clear, then, that to him spirit and soul are the same, and he isn’t wrong. What we all have in us is a spirit. When that spirit is Awakened and fully developed until it gains full Consciousness, it becomes a Divine Soul. You might think of it as spirit being a child, and Divine Soul being the adult.

Omnipresence

The spirit or soul is omnipresent, just as Plotinus said, but only a person who is tied up with the limitations of matter would find that hard to comprehend. Actually at the end of the section of his talk on the soul quoted above, he answers many of his own questions about who it could be. Suffice it to say that spirit/soul is not limited by either time or space, so is not confined to the material universe, nor to the physical body of any individual. Likewise, it was not born when we were born physically, but is ageless. It has always been, and always will be.

Before the All

If by “the All,” Plotinus means God, then the question of where was the soul before the All existed is meaningless because there was never a time when God didn’t exist. God is spirit and exists outside of time and space. God was not created by any other force or being. If Plotinus means the material universe when he says “the All,” then the answer is that soul was part of the spiritual universe, as was everything else. When the fallen angels, or Demiurge, created the realm of matter, they didn’t create from nothing as the true God does, they created it by changing spirit into matter. The goal of God and the Angels is to reverse that process and turn it all back into spirit, but God won’t do that until most humans want it.

Soul Diffused

Plotinus is correct in thinking that the soul does not get diffused as it expands throughout the All. This seems to amaze him because he thinks too much in terms of matter. The soul, being spirit, is much like a living hologram. Just as the entire picture in a hologram can be generated from a small part of the original hologram, so also with the soul. While the soul can’t be broken into pieces as in the Harry Potter stories, if it could, each piece would be like the whole. It wouldn’t even be smaller because being spirit, it is everywhere at once. It has no size, no age, and no limit. It truly is omnipresent.

From the SUN TALK collection by Harold Boulette