“TRUTH IS THE MOUTH OF THE FATHER. Each one loves truth because truth is the mouth of the father. His tongue is the holy spirit. Whoever touches truth touches the mouth of the father by his tongue at the time when one will receive the holy spirit. This is the manifestation of the father and his revelation to his eternal beings. He revealed what is hidden in him and explained it. For who is it who exists if it is not the father himself? All the spaces are his emanations. They knew that they stem from him as children from a perfect man. They knew that they had not yet received form, nor had they yet received a name, every one of which the father produces. If they at that time receive the form of his knowledge, though they are truly in him, they do not know him. But the father is perfect. He knows every space that is within him. If he pleases, he reveals anyone whom he desires by giving him a form and by giving him a name; and he does give a name and cause to come into being. Those who do not yet exist are ignorant of him who created them. I do not say, then, that those who do not yet exist are nothing. But they are in him who will desire that they exist when he pleases, like an event that is going to happen. On the one hand, he knows, before anything is revealed, what he will produce. On the other hand, the fruit that has not yet been revealed does not know anything nor is anything either. Thus each space that, on its part, is in the father comes from the existent one, who, on his part, has established it from the nonexistent. For whoever has no root has no fruit, but although thinking, “I have come into being,” that one will perish. For this reason, whoever does not exist at all will never exist.” ~Gospel of Truth

Truth is the Mouth of the Father

It is an interesting way that the writer of this gospel chose to word this. He doesn’t say that only truth comes from the mouth of the Father, or that what God speaks is truth and nothing but truth, but that truth is the mouth of the Father. In this way, he is stating emphatically that everything that comes out of the “mouth” of the Father is truth, and always truth. Of course, God doesn’t have a mouth in the physical sense, yet He does have a voice, and that voice is the voice of Truth and Wisdom, always and forever.

One might ask at this point, “Why then are there so many contradictions in the Bible, especially between the Old and New Testament, and also in the scripture of other religions?” The answer is complex. First, much of what is written in those books is the interpretation of humans of what God showed them in visions, or otherwise. This may result in different interpretations of what is the same truth. Another reason is that some of what many believe to be the Word of God is actually the Word of the Demiurge, the Lesser God, or False God that created matter, but not spirit. That is why matter is defective (death, disease, destruction, etc.) while spirit is not.

All the Spaces Are His Emanations

This is true in one sense, and not true in another. Everything spiritual is from God, but matter is not. At least not directly. Matter is the creation of the Demiurge, the false god, but it is not true creation. Because the Demiurge created matter by changing spirit, some spirit remains in matter, and therefore some of the essence of God remains in matter. It is that spirit within matter that has God in it. And the matter that is not from God is beginning to undergo the changes that will turn it into spirit once again. That is God’s Great Plan: to restore everything to spirit.

No Form or Name

I don’t know about the idea that within God’s mind there are beings that do not yet have a form or a name, so they don’t really exist and are not conscious until God gives them a form and a name. This may be an allegory, but its significance escapes me. Since God’s Consciousness is all that truly exists, anything that is held in that consciousness must be real. At least it seems that way to me. God thinks of a being and it comes into existence. But I could be wrong.

From the SUN TALK collection by Harold Boulette

“I am first thought, the thought that is in light. I am movement that is in all, she in whom the realm of all takes its stand, the firstborn among those who came into being, she who exists before all. She is called by three names, although she exists alone, since she is perfect. I am invisible within the thought of the invisible one. I am revealed in the immeasurable, ineffable things. I am intangible, dwelling in the intangible. I move in every creature. I am the life of my afterthought that is within every power and every eternal movement, and in invisible lights, and within the powers and angels and demons and every soul in Tartaros, and in every material soul. I live in those who came into being. I move in everyone and I enter them. I walk upright, and those who sleep I awaken. And I am the sight of those who dwell in sleep. I am the invisible one in all. I counsel those who are hidden, since I know the whole realm of all that exists in it. I am numberless beyond everyone. I am immeasurable, ineffable, yet whenever I wish, I shall reveal myself. I am the head of all. I am before all, and I am all, since I am in everyone. I am a voice speaking softly. I am from the beginning. I am in the silence that surrounds every one of them. And the hidden voice is in me, in intangible, immeasurable thought, in the immeasurable silence. I descended into the underworld and shone down on the darkness. I poured water. I am hidden in radiant waters. I gradually dawn on all by my thought. I am weighed down with the voice. Through me knowledge comes. I am in the ineffable and unknowable. I am perception and knowledge, uttering a voice by means of thought. I am the real voice. I cry out in everyone, and they recognize it, since a seed lives in them. I am the father’s thought, and through me came the voice: the knowledge of everlasting things. I am as thought for all. I am joined to unknowable and intangible thought.” ~Three Forms of First Thought

The First Thought

The First Thought is God’s Thought. We can’t really say that it is God’s first thought, but it is God’s first thought that began the true creation, the creation of spirit. It is the first thought that is significant to us. The quote from the Gnostic text known as “Three Forms of First Thought,” has God using the feminine “She” as a self-reference. This is rather unusual, but it should be noted that it is not incorrect. God is as much female as male, Mother as well as Father. The quote also says that this first thought is “the movement that is in all.” Today, of course, we all know that light moves, and moves fast, so if the first thought took the form of Light, then the first thought moves and moves fast. Yet it doesn’t seem to move so fast down here on earth. That is because the material realm that we live in is so far away from God that everything here moves much more slowly.

Intangible Dwelling in the Tangible

God is intangible but also dwells in the tangible. Even matter has spirit in it, and where there is spirit, there is God. Therefore, the First Thought that came from God is also in the intangible places of spirit as well as the tangible ones of matter.

Those who Sleep I Awaken

This doesn’t mean that First Thought awakens us from physical sleep, although it may sometimes affect our physical sleep through dreams. What it means is that those who are spiritually asleep are awakened by First Thought, which is also God’s Light. But then, why are most people still asleep, including most of those who claim to be awake? It is because a spiritual awakening rarely happens by accident. It must be sought and sought in the proper place. Seeking a spiritual awakening in dark, cave-like churches doesn’t work. Seeking an awakening by staring at the moon at night doesn’t work. It is the Sun that is the messenger of God, not the moon. It is the Light of the Spiritual Sun that awakens those who are ready to be awakened, and that means more than just those who wish to be awakened. They must want it for the right reasons, those reasons being to help people including themselves develop spiritually, and to aid God in the Divine Plan to save the world. Seeking it for selfish reasons doesn’t work.

Through Me, Knowledge Comes

Real Knowledge, the kind that the Gnostics called Gnosis, isn’t found in books or in sermons. It is found in connecting with higher levels of consciousness. As we develop and raise our own consciousness, we are able to connect with higher and higher levels until we reach the highest level where we connect with God and First Thought. Then we will have Gnosis.

From the SUN TALK collection by Harold Boulette

Theoretical model of causal pathways to physical health for Western monotheistic religions (Christianity, Islam, and Judaism). Original source: Koenig et al.

Review Article: “Religion, Spirituality, and Health: The Research and Clinical Implications,” Harold G. Koenig, 2012. Published by International Scholarly Research Network, ISRN Psychiatry, Volume 2012, Article ID 278730, 33 pages

Summary:
This paper provides a concise but comprehensive review of research on religion/spirituality (R/S) and both mental health and physical health. It is based on a systematic review of original data-based quantitative research published in peer-reviewed journals between 1872 and 2010, including a few seminal articles published since 2010. First, I provide a brief historical background to set the stage. Then I review research on R/S and mental health, examining relationships with both positive and negative mental health outcomes, where positive outcomes include well-being, happiness, hope, optimism, and gratefulness, and negative outcomes involve depression, suicide, anxiety, psychosis, substance abuse, delinquency/crime, marital instability, and personality traits (positive and negative). I then explain how and why R/S might influence mental health. Next, I review research on R/S and health behaviors such as physical activity, cigarette smoking, diet, and sexual practices, followed by a review of relationships between R/S and heart disease, hypertension, cerebrovascular disease, Alzheimer’s disease and dementia, immune functions, endocrine functions, cancer, overall mortality, physical disability, pain, and somatic symptoms. I then present a theoretical model explaining how R/S might influence physical health. Finally, I discuss what health professionals should do in light of these research findings and make recommendations in this regard.

Link to PDF

Read the article online

Harold G. Koenig, M.D.
Director, Center for Spirituality, Theology and Health
Professor of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences
Associate Professor of Medicine
Duke University Medical Center
Adjunct Professor, Department of Medicine, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
Adjunct Professor, Department of Public Health, Ningxia Medical University, Yinchuan, People’s Republic of China
Adjunct Professor, Department of Psychiatry, School of Osteopathic Medicine, Campbell University, Buies Creek, North Carolina
Visiting Professor, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran

Article submitted by Michael McIntyre

“I asked if I might understand this, and it said to me, The One is a sovereign that has nothing over it. It is god and father of all, the invisible one that is over all, that is incorruptible, that is pure light at which no eye can gaze. The One is the invisible spirit. …  It does not exist within anything inferior to it, since everything exists within it alone. It is eternal, since it does not need anything. For it is absolutely complete. It has never lacked anything in order to be completed by it. Rather, it is always absolutely complete in light. The One is illimitable, since there is nothing before it to limit it, unfathomable, since there is nothing before it to fathom it, immeasurable, since there was nothing before it to measure it, invisible, since nothing has seen it, eternal, since it exists eternally, unutterable, since nothing could comprehend it to utter it, unnamable, since there is nothing before it to give it a name. The One is the immeasurable light, pure, holy, immaculate. …  It is impossible to say, “How much is it? What kind is it?” For no one can understand it. The One is not among the things that exist, but it is much greater. It is not a part of the eternal realms or of time. For whatever is part of a realm was once prepared by another. … Such a one beholds itself in its light. The One is majestic and has an immeasurable purity. The One is a realm that gives a realm, life that gives life, a blessed one that gives blessedness, knowledge that gives knowledge, a good one that gives goodness, mercy that gives mercy and redemption, grace that gives grace. Not as if the One possesses all this. Rather, it is that the One gives immeasurable and incomprehensible light. What shall I tell you about it? Its eternal realm is incorruptible, at peace, dwelling in silence, at rest, before everything. It is the head of all realms, and it sustains them through its goodness. We would not know what is ineffable, we would not understand what is immeasurable, were it not for what has come from the father. “~The Secret Book of John

Nothing Over It

I sometimes see questions on Facebook spiritual groups like, “Who created God?” and “What existed before God?” If you understood the real God, the God of spirit that John is calling “The One,” you wouldn’t ask such questions. As John correctly states, The One is God of all with noting above or before him. His^[1] existence is not dependent on any other being, any time, any space, any thing. If it was, He wouldn’t truly be The One God.

Everything Exists within It

This is true, though it can be misleading. Everything is part of the Godhead, but not everything is part of God as a being. When speaking of the spiritual, such things can get complicated. So how can God have evil things and evil beings within Him? In the same way that you can have a disease within you, yet you did not create the disease, nor is the disease a part of you. The disease is an invader in your body, and evil is an invader in the body of God.

Does not Need Anything

“I’m sure that a lot of us question, when reading the bible or other scripture, why God would want sacrifices of animals, burned fruit, or even humans. The answer is that The One, the True God, does not. It is the false god, the Demiurge who created the fallen realm of matter who desired such sacrifices. The only thing The One wants us to sacrifice is the misuse of free will to do things that are against His plan for redemption.

Not Part of Time or Space

The One is not part of time, but is over time, beyond time. Questions like “What existed before God?” make no sense because it implied that God is subordinate to time, which He isn’t. Likewise, God is not restricted in any way by space and exists both within and without space. He is everywhere and nowhere because the whole concept of space is outside of The One. Space and time are restrictions and God has no restrictions. But just as we might choose to avoid places full of disease, death, or other dangers, God limits His presence in places that are not truly part of His realm, though they are derived from it, namely, the realm of matter.

Immeasurable and Incomprehensible Light

We often hear of God and light being connected, but most people think of this as being physical light. It is for that reason that many have been tricked by Satan and demons into believing that they are seeing angels or other heavenly beings. The demons and devils can shine with physical light, but only God, His Angels, and advanced spiritual people give off Spiritual Light. It is the Spiritual Light that John says is immeasurable and incomprehensible. That Spiritual Light flows to us primarily from the Spiritual Sun, so the best way to receive that Light is to turn to the Sun.

[1]    I am using “His” out of convention, but God is just as much female as male, God is beyond such distinctions.

From the SUN TALK collection by Harold Boulette

OAKLAND, CA – NOVEMBER 06: Tim Tebow #15 of the Denver Broncos prays before their game against the Oakland Raiders at O.co Coliseum on November 6, 2011 in Oakland, California. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)

“When those who have acquired moral stability and contemplative knowledge employ these for the sake of human glory, merely conveying an outward impression of the virtues, and uttering words of wisdom and knowledge without performing the corresponding actions; and when in addition they display to others their vanity because of this supposed virtue and knowledge, then they are rightly handed over to commensurate hardships, in order to learn through suffering that humility which was unknown to them before because of their empty conceit.

“Each demon promotes the attack of this or that particular temptation according to his innate propensity. For one demon is productive of one kind of evil, while another is clearly more abominable than his fellow and has a greater propensity for some other form of evil.” ~The Kolbrin Bible

For Sake of Human Glory

The purpose of spiritual and moral development is to help ourselves and others and to help bring about God’s Plan for the redemption of the world. It isn’t for self-glorification or to allow us to claim that we are better than others because we have Awakened. When our motive for spiritual development is human glory or self-pride, our results will be limited at best. It isn’t just doing certain development techniques that help us grow, it is also our attitude while doing them.

Words Without Action

Likewise, spiritual development is limited when we talk about it, use the right words, say Namista often, etc. but don’t actually engage in any real spiritual growth techniques. Our results will be limited. In fact, we will probably get no results at all just by talking the talk. Speaking German doesn’t make me German, speaking the current spiritual words and phrases doesn’t make me a spiritual person.

Learn Through Suffering

It is true that many have to learn through suffering. It is not, however, because God requires us to suffer, but because some of us refuse to learn without it. As the Kolbrin Bible says, it is those who display vanity or hubris who need suffering to wake them up. The Dark Night of the Soul isn’t necessary if we develop humility.

Particular Temptation

The idea that each demon has its own way of tempting us makes sense, even if you think of demons more as forces of evil rather than beings (they could be both!). As we are individuals with different tastes and different desires, so are demons. Of course, there is more than one demon that uses money as a temptation and more than one that uses promises of love, but the idea being expressed is that different demons may use different temptations to get to us. We must be aware of this and be prepared to protect ourselves against all sorts of temptations. We should also be aware that some demons won’t use temptations, but trials and tribulations instead. When the demon sees we are on the Path of Righteousness, it will make us ill, or cause us to have an accident. They will make us miserable to get us to turn away from truth. We must not listen to those demons either. The war between Light and Dark is truly a war, and the forces of darkness fight dirty.

From the SUN TALK collection by Harold Boulette

“And he said, Humankind is like a wise fisherman who cast his net into the sea and drew it up from the sea full of little fish. Among the fish he found a fine large fish. He threw all the little fish back into the sea and easily chose the large fish.”

“Yeshua said, Look, the sower went out, took a handful of seeds, and scattered them. Some fell on the road and the birds came and pecked them up. Others fell on rock and they did not take root in the soil and did not produce heads of grain. Others fell on thorns and they choked the seeds and worms devoured them. And others fell on good soil and it brought forth a good crop, yielding sixty per measure and one hundred twenty per measure.”

“Yeshua said, I took my stand in the midst of the world, and I appeared to them in flesh. I found them all drunk yet none of them thirsty. My soul ached for the human children because they are blind in their hearts and do not see. They came into the world empty and seek to depart from the world empty. But now they are drunk. When they shake off their wine, they will repent.”

“He said to them, If it were useful, fathers would produce their children already circumcised from their mothers. But the true circumcision in spirit is altogether valuable.”

“Yeshua said to her, I am the one who comes from what is whole. I was given from the things of my father. Salome said, I am your student. Yeshua said, I say, if you are whole, you will be filled with light, but if divided, you will be filled with darkness.” ~The Gospel of Thomas

Wise Fisher

This short saying from the Gospel of Thomas is a variation of other familiar parables. The wise fisher keeps the fine large fish and throws the smaller ones back. In the same way, we might say the wise orchard grower picks the ripe apple and leaves the green one to continue growing or the wise carpenter uses the strong and well-aged wood and leaves the weak, green wood behind. But while this quote speaks of humankind, it is really about how a few of us are the chosen of God. As the Gospel of Thomas says, one of a thousand, or two of ten thousand are chosen. Of course, God doesn’t choose based on size or physical strength, but on our willingness to learn, grow, expand spiritually, and obey the Will of God. But Jesus says humans should behave this way because if we want to be one with God we should try to emulate God as much as is possible.

The Sower and Seeds

This is another variation—or perhaps explanation—of the fisherman parable. The farmer sows many seeds so that some will grow and yield healthy fruit. This answers the question of why there are those few who are the Chosen of God. Because we have been given by God a somewhat limited free will, there will be those who will take the wrong path or no path at all. Eventually, all will be on the one path, but the ones who seek the path early and with devotion will be among the chosen.

Drunk but not Thirsty

When Jesus says that when he descended to the Earthly plane, he found them “all drunk yet none of them thirsty,” he means that our thinking was the idle-brained kind of thinking. The drunken thinking of the materialist. And they lacked a thirst for truth, for knowledge, for God. But he adds that we will all repent once we have “shaken off our wine”. In short, once the illusions of the material world are revealed to us as illusions, and temporary ones at best, we will turn back to God and back to the spiritual.

Circumcision

This one is straightforward. The real circumcision of the chosen of God is to cut themselves off from their attachments to the world of matter. It has nothing to do with maiming male babies.

What is Whole

God is whole. The Godhead, the highest dimension of reality is whole. All lower dimensions are part of it and therefore not whole. To become whole, we must raise our consciousness one level at a time until we are at the level of the Angels and God. Then we will be whole, we will be in the Light, we will have wisdom and knowledge. Until then, we live in some degree of darkness.

From the SUN TALK collection by Harold Boulette

“How have all the prophets written of thee, and yet thou know not thyself, thou rides so upon the fat pampered beast, and that riding pleases thee so well, that thou wilt rather go to the Devil and into the abyss of Hell rather than thou wilt light off thy beast? What shall become of thee then, thou blind Babel? Do but light off from the great ugly beast, which is the might, pomp, state, and pride. Behold! Thy bridegroom comes, and reaches forth his hand to thee and would lead thee out of Babel.

“Did not he walk on foot upon Earth? He did not ride in that manner. He had nothing wheron to lay his head. What kingdom do you build for him? Where is the place of his rest? Does he not rest in thy arms? Wherefore does thou not embrace him? Is he too poor in this world? Yet he is rich in heaven. Who will thou send to him to be reconciled? The Mother of Jesus? O no, that will not avail; he does not stand behind thee and absolve thy wickedness, for thy inclination of falsehood. He knows not the letters which thou sends to him by the saints, who are in the still rest before him in the heavenly element.” ~Jacob Boehme

Riding the Fat Beast

The fat and ugly beast that so many “ride” today is the beast of materialism. It may not be a beast in the conventional sense, but it is probably the most dangerous beast that exists. It is dangerous because it turns us away from the spiritual. Many think that they can throw reins on this beast and control it, but this beast is not so easily controlled. It may, for a time, seem as if it is under your control, but in actuality, it is leading you further and further away from the eternal life of Spirit, and closer and closer to the death and destruction of the lower realm of matter.

At times, this beast may have been skinny to the point of being emaciated, but in today’s world, it is a fat beast indeed. Fat because it is fed by so many foolish people who make heroes of the greedy, leaders of the stingy, saints of the self-involved. The beast is leading us to destruction, but it is not too late to jump off the beast and go the other way. It is a difficult thing to do, but the reward of eternal life is worth it.

Might, Pomp, State, and Pride

The beast of materialist is a many-headed beast, and Boehm has listed the names of several of its heads. One is Might, the desire to have power and to rule over others. Another is Pomp, a desire to be a celebrity of sorts, a desire to be admired. One needs to realize that the admiration of stupid people and misled people is of no real value at all. As for “state,” there are many meanings for that word. I believe that Boehme means it in the sense of one’s personal state within society, in other words, rank. Desiring to rank highly in social circles is riding the beast when the society is one of materialism. Pride is another of the heads of the beast. We have to have humility and realize that even in the realm of materialism, no one accomplishes much of anything without the help of others who may have done their part long before you were even born, yet they contributed. The spiritual people understand that any real spiritual accomplishments come with the aid of God as well.

Boehm left greed off of his list. Perhaps it wasn’t as big a problem in his time as it is now. Today we not only permit great greed to flourish, but we also encourage it. This is definitely feeding the beast of materialism making it ever more powerful and hard to resist. Fortunately, we now have the Light of the Sun of Righteousness shining down on us to give us more strength to resist the beast.

The Bridegroom Comes

This talk of a bridegroom confuses many. It is an allegorical reference used in the Bible and other spiritual literature. The bridegroom is Christ, and the Christ spirit comes to us to free us from materialism, which Boehm calls “Babel”. Here is the catch. We have been given a limited kind of free will and therefore the Christ Force is never pushed upon those who refuse it, deny it, or simply are not ready for it. We must, like a good bride, welcome the Bridegroom into our arms. We do that by turning from materialism, jumping off the back of the Beast of Materials, and working on the development of our immortal Soul. Only those who are headed down that road will meet Christ, the Bridegroom on the path, and in due time, achieve their own Christ Consciousness.

From the SUN TALK collection by Harold Boulette

“I cannot blame You, my God, if  You have turned your back on men, for they have deserted the path of righteousness shown them by the men of olden times. Truth is with us no more, and men choose the pleasant paths of ignorance in preference to the more austere and profitable one. The pure worship which once filled this land and guided its people has fallen prey to greedy and ambitious men. … Its centerpiece is no longer the dark chamber of austerity where great spirits sought the light, but the pomp of elaborate but empty ceremonial and futile sacrifice. It is a thing of well-organized, but barren ritual, the perverted tool of unscrupulous priests. The temples have become refuges for those who seek to avoid the trials of life. How can such as they ever be true servants of God?

“I do not erase the words I have inscribed with heavy heart and a spirit overburdened with grief and perplexity, for through the enveloping mists of sorrow, I perceive a Light dimly. This is my message to those who follow and who may be tossed on the turbulent waters of despondency and despair, my pitiful contribution to the great total of inherited wisdom: If you seek God and find Him not, then the blame lies with men and not with God. I know for in declaring my trust by setting forth these things, my heart has suddenly been filled with an indescribable Light of Spiritual Illumination, and now I know things beyond any hint of doubt, I too am awakened” ~The Kolbrin Bible (Man:18:6-7)

The Deserted Path

The speaker says he cannot blame God for turning His back on those who have turned away from the path of righteousness. Actually, God doesn’t turn His back on us. It is we who turn our backs on God. We do this either by deserting the whole idea of God, or by making false gods in our own image rather than learning of the true God. We do it by listening to preachers who teach what they learned from other preachers who also taught what they learned for other preachers, etc. None of them have ever had a real revelation or a real vision, none have actually spoken to God, or even an Angel. Then there are other ministers who know that what they are preaching is false, but it is what the congregation wants to hear and what they will pay to hear, so it is what they preach. The path of truth is followed by few these days.

Austere and Profitable Path

Many choose the path of ignorance and convenience over what the author of the quote calls the “austere and profitable” path. Austere and profitable? That seems like an odd combination, but it really isn’t. It only seems like an odd combination because we think of profitable in terms of money only, while the austere path of spiritual growth is one that is profitable in another way: it leads to eternal life, which is far more valuable than money. There are foolish people who have amassed huge piles of money, who spend fortunes seeking ways to extend their lives by a few years. If they turned to the spiritual path of truth and righteousness, they would extend their lives by an infinite amount, yet few will even try that path.

Light of Spiritual Illumination

The author of the quote says that if you turn to God, you will find your heart filled with the “indescribable Light of Illumination”. This, of course, means spiritual Illumination, not any material kind of light. He adds that when you have that Illumination, you know beyond any doubt what is true and what is real, and you are then “Awakened.” That is what it means to truly be spiritually awakened. Simply recognizing that there is more to life than material pursuits is the first step on the path to Awakening, but it isn’t the whole thing.

From the SUN TALK collection by Harold Boulette

“It is very difficult for us to speak intelligently of the phenomena coming under the heading of Clairvoyance without getting into the subject of the Astral Plane, as Clairvoyance is an incident of the Astral Plane and belongs to that subject. But we cannot go into details regarding the Astral Plane, as we intend to devote an entire lesson to that subject, so we must go on with the subject before us, with the understanding that the student will be given an explanation of the nature and incidents of the Astral Plane in due time. For the purpose of this lesson, however, we must ask the student to accept the statement that man has within him faculties which enable him to ‘sense’ vibrations which are not responded to by his ordinary physical organs of sense. Each physical sense has its corresponding astral sense, which is open to the vibrations alluded to and which interpret such vibrations and pass them on to the consciousness of man.

“Thus, the astral sight enables man to receive astral light-vibrations from an enormous distance; to receive these rays through solid objects; to perceive thought-forms in the ether, etc. … The other astral senses correspond to the other physical senses.” ~William Walker Atkinson

Astral Senses

As with other things, Atkinson often mixes the mental and spiritual levels of human nature and this is probably no exception. Still, he is correct in saying that we have “astral senses,” as he calls them. Where he, like many others, get confused, is in thinking that the astral level is the same as the spiritual, and therefore the astral senses are the spiritual senses. They are not. We have three levels of being, and three bodies, each with its own senses. We have a physical body with well-known physical senses. Above that, we have the psychic body that Atkinson calls the astral, and it has its own senses which are associated with psychic powers. But there is an even higher body which is the spiritual body, or simply the spirit. It has senses also, and they are the highest level of such.

Clairvoyance

Clairvoyance is probably the most discussed of the psychic abilities. It is the ability to see, or at least discern things, with abilities other than the physical senses. Telepathy, remote viewing, and clairaudience are some of the others. The first thing to know is that these psychic abilities are real, although many who claim to have them are faking. The second is to recognize that psychic abilities are not spiritual abilities. They lie at a level midway between the physical and spiritual. Now there is nothing wrong with having psychic abilities and using them to benefit yourself and others (in certain ways), but the danger is that many think they have developed their spiritual self when they have done so, and never move beyond the psychic. If you get too caught up in the psychic, you will probably never move on to the spiritual; so while it is interesting to develop those astral senses, you need to move beyond them to the spiritual. The physical and mental/psychic levels of being are temporary. Only the spiritual is permanent.

Spiritual Senses

Spiritual senses are not the same as astral senses, although awakening the psychic (astral) senses is often the first step to awakening the spiritual ones. The psychic senses are associated with the mind, so it is simply a matter of developing certain parts of the mind to awaken them. The spiritual senses are all connected to the spirit and soul, and so the spirit must be awakened as the first step of the process. This is best done with the use of the Spiritual Light originating with God, which flows to us from the Spiritual Sun. Some people find that odd. They say they have never heard of people practicing a form of sun gazing to awaken the spirit. The ancient Essenes, however, were known to go to a mountain top every morning to observe the sunrise. That wasn’t because they worshiped the sun, but because they wanted to get the Spiritual Light from the Spiritual Sun. St. Francis had his spiritual awakening while watching a sunrise and Jacob Boehme had his when the sun reflected into his eyes off a silver bowl. So there is plenty of evidence about the power of the Spiritual Sun if you know where to look for it.

From the SUN TALK collection by Harold Boulette

“How long must I sink between worlds? In the name of a better life, may light be everywhere. I am happy, very happy, though I am hurt in the house of the wicked. In my heart, I will be pleased by the works I have created in this world. How much longer must I sink between worlds? How long should I pour light into the world? How long shall I raise treasure to the house of the leaders? I will be happy! My soul looks to the father. I will be pleased by working with the poor and the young. I will quiet my heart and be calm. How long must I nourish powerful light world messengers and the leaders’ rhetoric? How long should I combat demons and murder rebels? Will one of you release me from Abathur the high judge? How long must I walk with weights on my neck? How long will I tramp on Sunday, our holy day, and expel it from existence? When will I bring authority to the tollhouses?

“How long must I restrain the living water and throw it into still water? How long must the messengers of light claw through pollution and wrongdoing? How long can they stand it? When will darkness end and light come? When will I not waste pearls on transitory life? How many will hang in my fishing nets, and when can I cease dragging up the poor and the hurt? How long will I punch mountains? How long will I dress the perishable in darkness? When will I stop hanging chains on earthly adulterers and thieves? When will I stop waving my fists, killing, stomping on the bad and the liars? How soon will I give up disorienting them? When will they give up killing? When will combat fade, my heart heal? When will Tibil’s earthly world end, so I can conceal my nets?”
~HIBIL’S LAMENT from the Book of John

Who is Hibil?

It is not clear who Hibil is. At times, he speaks as if he is the creator of the material world, the Demiurge. At other times, as an ordinary human. It could be either, but we can empathize with his dilemma. Wikipedia says Hibil is an “angel or guardian from the world of light” in Mandaeism. Nonetheless, we can see ourselves in Hibil’s lament.

Sink Between Worlds

This is another thing that is not made clear. When Hibil says he is between worlds, what does he mean? A being must be in one “world” or dimension at a time. One way of interpreting this is that he is that his spirit is not in Hell or Heaven, but caught between them in the realm of matter. It could also be that he is saying that his material body and mind are in one world, the third dimension, while his spirit is in a higher dimension (hopefully the fifth, and not the fourth dimension where demons dwell).

Pour Light Into the World

This is another place where we can relate to what Hibil is saying. As spiritual students and adepts, it is our duty to help bring more light into the dark realm of matter (dark being a relative term here). At one time or another, perhaps more than once, we have asked ourselves how long must we bring light into the world before it transforms, how long must we be trapped in a world of death and disease, pain and anger, a world of darkness. We all want it to end, to change, to transform as God wishes it to. We must be patient, though, because God is not going to complete the process so quickly that most of us will die like fish out of water because we will be in a world we are not prepared to function in. So keep bringing light down from the sun and pouring it into the world to aid in the process of transformation, and try not to question the speed of the change. Just rest in the comfort that the change is happening.

Punching Mountains

Another of Hibil’s complaints is, “How long must I punch mountains?” This is a phrase I loved when I read it. It is not meant to be literal, of course, but allegorical. Hibil is complaining about trying to awaken the spiritual in people who have become so materialistic, they are as hard-headed as rock, as unmovable as mountains. He thinks it is a waste of time for him to have to keep doing this until his fists are sore and bloody (again, allegorical). In fact, it isn’t. Even if only one in ten thousand of the mountain-headed people are awakened, that is a move forward. And as more and more are awakened, it becomes easier to awaken others. And now we are in the age of the Sun of Righteousness which is sending more spiritual Light into the world than before, so that also aids the process.

From the SUN TALK collection by Harold Boulette