“History records the existence of stones which, when struck, threw all who heard the sound into a state of ecstasy. There were also echoing images which whispered for hours after the room itself had become silent, and musical stones productive of the sweetest harmonies. In recognition of the sanctity which the Greeks and Latins ascribed to stones, they placed their hands upon certain consecrated pillars when taking an oath. …

“Divination by stones was often resorted to by the Greeks, and Helena is said to have foretold by lithomancy the destruction of Troy. Many popular superstitions about stones survived the so-called Dark Ages. Chief among these is the one concerning the famous black stone in the seat of the coronation chair in Westminster Abbey, which is declared to be the actual rock used by Jacob as a pillow. The black stone also appears several times in religious symbolism. … The black stone in the Kaaba at Mecca is still revered throughout the Mohammedan world. It is said to have been white originally and of such brilliancy that it could be seen many days’ journey from Mecca, but as ages passed it became blackened by the tears of pilgrims and the sins of the world.” ~Manly P. Hall

Musical Stone Circles

There have been many theories about the stone formation in England known as Stonehenge. One of the newest is that the stones were struck with hammers during certain ceremonies to create a ringing sound that produced the type of ecstasy Hall is talking about. And Stonehenge is by no means the only ancient circle of stones found in the British Isles and elsewhere. It is possible that in many of them, the stones were used to produce sounds, as well as for other things like marking solar positions.

Modern Musical Stones

While it may have been true that the stones in some stone circles were used to produce a kind of music, no one seems to be doing that today. There is a modern variation, however: crystal bowls. Crystal singing bowls are made of quartz crystal and are played by rubbing a hard rubber striker around the edge or along the sides. This produces a vibrational sound that is very powerful.

Divination by Stones

I had not heard of lithomancy until I read the quote from Hall. Apparently, this involved putting stones of different colors in a bag and pulling one out to get an answer to a question or to determine if an accused criminal was guilty. While this is not done today, many do use crystals and gems, which are a special kind of stone, for divination and other spiritual purposes. Crystals can be used to help charge weak energy centers. For that purpose, you usually use a crystal or gem with the same color as the energy center you want to charge. They can also be programmed to protect you from malevolent beings and forces. We can’t be awake and alert all day and night, but the crystals can be programmed to protect us when we are asleep or not on guard.

Black Stone in Westminster Abbey

The black stone that was considered the coronation stone for the Kings of Scotland was called the stone of destiny. Many historians today say the stone that is currently there is a different one substituted in the thirteenth century. The legend doesn’t say what effect, if any, this stone had on the king being coronated.

Black Stone in the Kaaba

The Black Stone in the Kaaba is a real thing also. It was claimed by some to have originally been given to Adam and Eve to use as a guide to building an altar.

From the SOLAR WIND collection by Harold Boulette

“The true joy of a person is to do that which properly belongs to a person. That which is most proper is, first, to be kindly affected towards them that are of the same kind and nature as he himself, to condemn all sensual motions and appetites, to discern rightly all plausible fancies and imaginations, to contemplate the nature of the universe; both it and things that are done in it. In this kind of contemplation, three separate relations are to be observed. The first, to the apparent secondary cause. The second, to the first original cause, God, from whom proceeds whatever happens in the world. The third and last, to them that we live and converse with: what use may be made of it, to their use and benefit.

“Wipe off all idle fancies, and say to thyself incessantly; now if I will, it is in my power to keep out of this my soul all wickedness, all lusts, all trouble, and confusions. But on the contrary to behold and consider all things according to their true nature, and to carry myself towards everything according to its true worth. Remember this thy power that nature has given thee.”[1] ~Marcus Aurelius

Do What is Proper

It makes sense that we should do what is proper in all circumstances, but it isn’t done as simply as it is said. First, we do not always know what is the right thing to do in all circumstances, and second, even when we do, there is a part of us that wants us to do otherwise, and sometimes that part wins out. It is unlikely that we will always do what is proper, but we can, at the end of each day, evaluate our actions for the day, and when we did something improper, vow to do better the next time. As humans, we have both an angelic and an animalistic nature and we can’t simply shut down the animal nature. What we need to do is awaken the Soul so it can control the ego which is the driving force through which our animal nature works. That doesn’t mean we destroy the ego. The ego is a needed part of us in order to function in the physical world. It is to be controlled, not destroyed.

Be Kind

Aurelius is certainly correct in saying that the first thing that is proper behavior for a person is to be kind, or, as he words it, “be kindly affected.” Most of us will probably say that we are kind, but the question to follow up with is, “To whom and under what circumstances?” Few of us are kind to everyone, even fewer are kind to everyone under all circumstances. Unfortunately, we live in a materialistic world that wants us all to function as competitors. We are led to believe there is not enough to go around of just about anything, so we need to compete for it. This competitive attitude gives the greedy people the edge, and they often grab far more than they need, or can even use. The result is artificial shortages created by the greedy. But this insane way of living is beginning to be exposed as a failed paradigm, and people are learning that cooperation in which we all get a fair share works better, is less stressful and less violent, and does allow us to be kind to everyone. We can even be kind to former competitors as we now see them as people with similar needs rather than the competition.

Nature of the Universe

Aurelius also advises us to contemplate the nature of the universe, and apparently behave accordingly. But to do that properly, we must be aware that there are at least two different universes, one physical and one spiritual. In the physical universes, it is easy to get the impression that it is a dog-eat-dog, every-man-for-himself kind of environment. While that is true, it is only part of the story. There are plenty of people, animals, and plants that do not behave in that way, or at least not very often, and still succeed. On the other hand, there are those who constantly act as if everything must be fought for at any cost, yet they are not really doing well at all. This may be because the physical universe and the spiritual one occupy the same space and affect each other. Thus, a spiritual being that follows God’s Law may see great success on both the spiritual and physical levels, even though he is kind and non-competitive in the physical world. In fact, while some who choose to develop their spiritual self over the physical self live in physical poverty, others live in reasonable comfort without being greedy. Awakening our spiritual faculties helps us understand both universes better, and with knowledge and understanding comes real success, spiritual success, and success that isn’t greed.

[1]    I have taken the liberty of modernizing some of the language in the quote to make it more readable.

From the SOLAR WIND collection by Harold Boulette

“The law of the Old Testament through practical philosophy cleanses human nature of all defilements. The law of the New Testament, through initiation into the mysteries of contemplation, raises the intellect by means of spiritual knowledge from the sight of material things to the vision of spiritual realities.

“Those who are beginners and stand at the gate of the divine court of the virtues are called ‘God fearing’ by Scripture (cf. Acts 10:2, 13:16, 26). Those who with some measure of stability have acquired the principles and qualities of the virtues, it describes as ‘advancing’. … Thus those who have abandoned their former passion-dominated way of life will lack none of the blessings which are appropriate to beginners, even though they have not yet acquired stability in the practice of the virtues or come to share in the Wisdom spoken among those who are perfect. And those who are advancing will not lack any of the blessings which belong to their degree, even though they have not acquired the transcendent knowledge of divine realities possessed by the perfect. For the perfect have already been initiated mystically into contemplative theology: having purified their intellects of every material fantasy and bearing always the stamp of the image of divine beauty in all its fullness, they manifest the Divine Love present in their hearts.” ~The Philokalia

The Old Testament

Some think that the Old Testament of the Bible should be completely ignored, while others who consider themselves Christians give it more say in their beliefs and behavior than the New Testament. As is usual in such cases, the truth lies somewhere between those two. The Old Testament does contain useful spiritual instruction, but when it is contradicted by the New Testament, Christians should go with the New Testament. We also must remember with all of the Bible, and most other scripture, that much of it is written as an allegory, so a literal understanding produces nonsense. You have to learn the language of the mystics and be able to glean the intended meaning from the allegorical words.

The Philokalia says the Old Testament teaches practical philosophy. I think a better way to put it is to say that most of the Old Testament teaches proper behavior in the material world, while the New Testament is all about going beyond the material and reaching out to the spiritual.

The New Testament

The Philokalia says the New Testament is more about the spiritual rather than the physical, and that is true. It says the New Testament takes us into the “mysteries of contemplation.” That is true if we have the key to understanding the allegorical meanings behind the written words. We must also be aware that not all of the New Testament was written by the apostles and disciples of Jesus who spoke with him directly. In truth, most of it was written at least a century after Jesus left the world. It is unreasonable to think that the stories passed from generation to generation verbally for all that time remained in their original state. In addition, some of it was written based more on the teachings of Paul rather than those of Jesus.

Fearing and Advancing

Those who follow God’s Law out of fear are the beginners on the path of enlightenment. It is not God that we should fear, but the dark beings and forces that control the realm of matter. When we live in fear of God, we don’t advance. We need to let go of fear and realize that God loves us and wants all of us to be redeemed. When you live in fear of God, you don’t try to get closer to God. Those who advance spiritually do move closer to God because they know that God is not to be feared.

From the SOLAR WIND collection by Harold Boulette

“The writings of old declare the wisdom of our forefathers, which is the treasure trove of man and the inheritance of our days. Thus it is written:

“All things on Earth are compounded of two flowing powers, the right hand power and the left hand power; the first predominates in men and the second in women. Where they fall nearly equal, the being is neither wholly man nor wholly women.

“The Spirit of Life resides in the air men breathe and is shared with the beasts, the trees, the things that crawl, the birds, the fishes, the herbs and the grass. It quickens the living hearts of men and is diffused through the blood of the body.

“Man sleeps when his spirit departs for refreshment at the fount of its being. Even as the mortal body must sustain itself with things of the earth, so must our spirit seek sustenance in the place of its being. … There, by the underground river, the good are separated from the wicked, but the river is not a river of water. In there, all things are made known, and the river is the River of Life. …

“There is a fine, unbreakable thread, one end of which is secured in the Spirit Center, wherein dwells the Everlasting Being, the Eternal One. The other end is fastened to matter, and between the two is the web of creation.” ~The Kolbrin Bible (Man:17:2-8)

Wisdom of our Forefathers

The authors of the Kolbrin Bible recognized that their forefathers had a wisdom that they should listen to. Today most people ignore the ancient writings, even if they are spiritual students. They instead listen to a few popular spiritual writers of today, not realizing that those writers are usually simply quoting things found in the ancient books, or simplifying them for the new generation that wants instant everything, not realizing that spiritual development cannot be hurried or simplified.

Two Flowing Powers

This is not something new. Anyone can see that the material world is a world of duality: positive and negative, male and female, hot and cold, etc. Some try to deny it, thinking that somehow that will make it go away, but they cannot change the nature of matter. It will always have death as well as life, sorrow as well as joy, poverty as well as wealth, and so on. The way to rid yourself and others of the two flowing powers is to turn away from matter to the realm of spirit and eventually to aid in the process of transforming the world of matter back into spirit. In the spiritual world, there is only Light, no Darkness, only Life, no death, only joy and abundance, no poverty or sorrow.

Nearly Equal

I find it interesting and enlightening that the people who wrote the Kolbrin Bible several hundred years ago recognized that (1) some people are born who are not really male or female, but between the two, (2) that such people should be thought of as neither male nor female, and most of all, (3) they express no condemnation of such people.

The Spirit of Life

I’m not sure if the writer here is using allegory or trying to be literal. If literal, the Spirit of Life does not actually exist “in the air.” It is an energy, not a substance. Likewise, when it enters the body, it travels through energy channels and energy centers (chakras), not the blood. Of course, if it was meant allegorically, then that makes sense. It is true that this Spirit of Life, or Spiritual Light, goes into all beings, not just humans. All beings have a spirit; all beings need to be nourished by the Spiritual Light.

Spirit Departs

The quote states that while we sleep, our spirit departs to “the fount of its being” or the spiritual realm. That may be true, but you don’t have to be asleep for your spirit to visit the higher dimensions. With proper training and a lot of practice, you can do it while awake by going through the Spiritual Sun, which is like a portal between the material and the spiritual world.

Unbreakable Thread

There is indeed an unbreakable thread that connects our spiritual self to our physical and mental self. This Thread of Life also connects us to all other spirits. It is one of the most important spiritual truths that is often overlooked in some of the modern spiritual schools. In Cosolargy, we wear a physical thread around our waist to remind us of the invisible thread that binds us all together. That is how important it is. You can’t become One with the All if you don’t have a connection to the All.

From the SOLAR WIND collection by Harold Boulette

“The holy Grail is a symbol both of the lower (or irrational) world and of the bodily nature of man, because both are receptacles for the living essences of the superior worlds. …

“The Holy Cup can be discovered only by those who have raised themselves above the limitations of sensuous existence. In his mystic poem, The Vision of Sir Launful, James Russell Lowell discloses the true nature of the Holy Grail by showing that it is visible only to a certain state of spiritual consciousness. Only upon returning from the vain pursuit of haughty ambition did the aged and broken knight see in the transformed leper’s cup the glowing chalice of his lifelong dream. Some writers trace a similarity between the Grail legend and the stories of the martyred Sun Gods whose blood, descended from heaven into the earth, was caught in the cup of matter and liberated therefrom by the initiatory rites.  The Holy Grail may also be the seed pod so frequently employed in the ancient Mysteries as an emblem of germination and resurrection, and if the cuplike shape of the Grail is derived from the flower, it signifies the regeneration and spiritualization of the generative forces in man.” ~Manly P. Hall

The Holy Grail

The Holy Grail, according to Christianity, is the cup that was used to catch the blood of Jesus while he was dying on the cross. It is also supposed to be the cup that Jesus drank from at the last supper. It is said to have various supernatural powers including immortality. But what exactly the grail is remains a mystery.

Most Christians believe the Grail story comes from the Bible, but other than simply saying that Jesus drank from a cup at the last supper, and that Joseph of Arimathea caught his blood in it while He hung on the cross, nowhere does it refer to it as a holy object or of having any divine powers. The first tale of the Grail Being something more than a simple cup comes from the French writer Chrétien de Troye, who wrote of it in the 12th century. Many other writers have added to the legend of the Grail, including Dan Brown in modern times.

The Quest for the Grail

There are probably as many stories about various persons or groups seeking the Grail as there are about those trying to find the Fountain of Youth. Some of the Crusaders went seeking the grail. According to some legends, they found it but kept it hidden. The modern Indiana Jones movie, The Last Crusade, built on that legend. Others have claimed to have found the Grail, others have admitted failure. It is as hard to find as the Fountain of Youth, or Eldorado, the lost city of gold. While it may not be obvious, all of these may be related and the real quest may be the same for them all. The problem is that most seekers are looking for something material while in truth the Grail is something spiritual, as is the Fountain of youth.

The True Quest

The real Grail, and the quest for it, is just an allegorical reference for spiritual enlightenment. The Grail as a cup is generally depicted as being of gold, yet it is unlikely that Jesus actually drank from a cup of gold at the Last Supper. It is shown as a gold cup because gold is a symbol of God, God’s Light, and God’s grace. Gold is also a symbol for the sun, especially the Spiritual Sun.

The Legend of Eldorado was originally the City of the Golden Man, not an entire city of gold. The legend says that the Golden Man was covered in powdered gold. Again, we are talking about symbology and allegory. In this case, the Golden Man was the enlightened man, the spiritual master who was One with the All and had great spiritual power and knowledge. The tales of alchemists turning lead into gold actually is another variation of the same allegory. Here lead means the ordinary consciousness of materialistic man, and gold means the higher consciousness of the spiritually developed man.

So the true quest is for spiritual enlightenment, and the means for achieving it. A hint is found in the fact that gold refers to the Spiritual Sun as well as the Grail and the Golden Man. Some say that there are many paths to God, and to some extent, that is true, but if you want to fly from New York to Boston, a route through Los Angeles, Houston, Miami, then Boston is foolish when direct routes are available. The most direct route to spiritual enlightenment and higher levels of consciousness is by taking in the Light of the Spiritual Sun, which flows from God.

From the SOLAR WIND collection by Harold Boulette

“Mysticism, then, offers us the history, as old as civilization, of a race of adventurers who have carried to its term the process of a deliberate and active return to the divine fount of things. They have surrendered themselves to the life-movement of the universe, hence have lived with an intenser life than other men can ever know; have transcended the ‘sense-world’ in order to live on high levels the spiritual life. Therefore they witness to all that our latent spiritual consciousness, which shows itself in the ‘hunger for the Absolute,’ can be made to mean to us if we develop it; and have in this respect a unique importance for the race. It is the mystics, too, who have perfected that method of intuition, that knowledge by union, the existence of which philosophy has been driven to acknowledge. But where the metaphysician obtains at best a sidelong glance at that Being ‘unchanging yet illusive,’ whom he had so often defined but never discovered, the artist a brief and dazzling vision of the Beauty which is Truth, they gaze with confidence into the very eyes of the Beloved.” ~Evelyn Underhill

As Old as Civilization

Many people think mysticism goes back only two or three thousand years, but it is much older than that. Almost since the very beginning of the human race, there have been mystics. These are people who can communicate with God and God’s messengers. They can often see things that most of us don’t see and know things that few others know. Materialists think it is no more real than the tricks of a stage magician, but they are wrong. While there are certainly frauds who pretend to be mystics, many of them writing books these days, there have always been and always will be real mystics.

Divine Process

The mystics are adventurers in the sense that they are willing to go where few have gone before. Not in the sense of physical travel, though that may be involved for some, but spiritual travel to other dimensions of being and consciousness. They do follow a divine process for spiritual growth that is never written down, except in allegorical form, and is shared only with those who are ready for it. It isn’t basic meditation as the schools of meditation would have you believe. Meditation is very basic and you wouldn’t need years of study in a mystery school to master it. What the students learned in those schools was far more than meditation.

Latent Spiritual Consciousness

Spiritual Consciousness is latent because we enter the physical world with our spiritual faculties in a state similar to a coma. These faculties must be awakened and developed before we can truly gain Spiritual Consciousness.

Perfected Intuition

Mystics and spiritual adepts do have a better developed intuition then most of us. They also have prophetic dreams regularly. The trick is knowing how to interpret dreams, visions, and intuitive feelings. Mystics are trained to do that, and once they reach a certain level, they just know and understand the symbology used.

Beauty of Truth

The Beauty of Truth is not like the beauty of an attractive person, flower, or other object with physical beauty. The Beauty of Truth comes partly by simply knowing it is true, and not just opinions or accepted theories. Truth is also beautiful in that it is simple, yet complex enough to account for the whole universe. The truly awakened mystic can understand this and be able to be a co-creator with God. The materialist creates little except chaos.

From the SOLAR WIND collection by Harold Boulette

“I raised my arms high to the grace of the lord, for he cast off my bonds. My helper had raised me to his grace and salvation. I discarded darkness and dressed in the clothing of light. My soul acquired a body free from sorrow, free from torture and mutilation. The Lord’s thought restored me. I fed on his incorruptible fellowship. In the light he raised me. I went to him, near him, praising and shouting his name. He made my heart flood into my mouth. He made it shine on my lips. On my face the exaltation of the lord grew. My praise exploded.” ~Songs of Solomon

Raised My Arms

Many people bow their heads and put their hands together to pray to God, but others raise their hands overhead in recognition that God is above us. Some are thinking in physical terms when they do that, believing that Heaven is physically above us, but God is not above us in the physical sense, but in a spiritual one. Specifically, He is in a higher dimension of reality. Of course, one can argue that God is everywhere, but that is thinking in physical terms. As a Spirit, He must be at the highest levels of reality and Consciousness, otherwise He wouldn’t be God. So raising our hands acknowledges that God is spiritually above us. It also acknowledges that the Spiritual Sun is above us, and that is how the idea really started. People faced the physical sun and raised their hands to it to get the light from the physical sun and the Spiritual Sun. Technically, the Spiritual Sun is not limited in location to the same place as the physical sun, but for physically oriented beings, it is easier to think of them as being in the same location.

Grace of God

There are many opinions on what exactly grace is. Spiritual Grace is generally defined as a manifestation of favor. That is true enough, but it still doesn’t really answer what it is. Many ancient Mystery Schools taught that the Spiritual Light from the Spiritual Sun was God’s Grace as it is that Light that awakens and nourishes the spirit of man.

Discard Darkness

The spiritual student who would sing this song says he discarded Darkness and dressed in Light. Some believe that is wrong. They say that we have both Light and Dark within us, so we must embrace both. That makes as much sense as saying we must embrace disease as well as health, death as well as life. We have to acknowledge that we have a Dark side, we do not have to embrace it. You cannot serve the Darkness and the Light at the same time. You have to choose one or the other.

Free From Sorrow

The song says that the singer’s soul acquired a body “free from sorrow, free from torture and mutilation.” This seems to imply that the soul had no body before. It always has a body, a body of spirit, but it lies dormant until awakened. Usually it is awakened by the Light of the Spiritual Sun, though it may also be triggered by a traumatic experience. Some believe it can only happen through a traumatic experience, often referred to as a Dark Night of the Soul, but fortunately, that isn’t true. Of course, nearly all of us start on our spiritual journey by some sort of revelation regarding the material world of illusion, but it doesn’t have to reach the level of a major trauma—if we turn to the Spiritual Sun.

But how does that make us free from sorrow etc.? The awakened Soul is immortal. It is not subject to disease or death, so has little to suffer for.

Fed on his Incorruptible Fellowship

Again, we are talking about God’s Grace, or Light. The Spiritual Light that comes to us through the intermedia of the Spiritual Sun. If we lived in a different solar system, we would get Spiritual Light through the sun star of that system, but it would still be God’s Light. It is that Light which is now transforming the entire physical universe back into Spirit. It is happening gradually so that we have the opportunity to change along with it, but it is our choice. We can refuse to change and cling to the material world as it slowly disappears like someone clinging to a tree while a tsunami approaches. Hugging a tree is good to get close to nature, but not to cling onto the past and the material as it gradually changes back into spirit. Change with the world. Better yet, become an agent of God and actively help in the transformation. It is the real purpose of God’s Grace.

From the SOLAR WIND collection by Harold Boulette

“A Christian man has a twofold warfare set before him, an inward and an outward; the latter, in withdrawing from earthly distractions; the former, in the heart, against the suggestions of the spirits of wickedness.

“The one who wishes really to please God and is in truth an enemy to the opposite party of evil, has to wrestle in two conflicts and two contentions—one in the visible affairs of this life, by withdrawing from earthly distractions and from the love of worldly ties and from affections of sin—the other, in hidden things, by fighting against the spirits of wickedness themselves, as the Apostle said. We wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.” ~St. Macarius the Egyptian

Twofold Warfare

The twofold warfare as described by St. Macarius is real. And while he specifically names Christian men since that is the audience he wrote for, what he says applies to both men and women of all religions and spiritual schools. Rather than a twofold war, we today would probably say that it is a war fought on two fronts. We must be careful, however, in the use of the term “warfare” as it can cause much misunderstanding.

When we speak of war, most of us have an image of soldiers fighting and killing each other with weapons. We think of guns, tanks, swords, bombs, and so on. But the war of Light against Dark is not like that at all. It is a very different kind of warfare. While some have depicted angels attacking demons or devils with flaming swords, those depictions are not literally accurate. The weapons of the Forces of Light are kindness, forgiveness, and redemption. The Dark beings will not be shot or cut to pieces. They will be redeemed. They will, of course, have a huge karmic debt to pay before they can return to heaven; nonetheless, it is where all spiritual beings must return.

The Outward War

The use of “inward” and “outward” by St. Macarius can also be misleading. I think both of these war fronts have an inner and an outer aspect to them. What he is calling the outward war is the war against the temptations of the material world. These temptations include the desire for wealth, comfort, and material happiness. But while Macarius seems to imply that we must reject material comfort completely, that is usually not true. It is possible for most of us to allow our physical bodies to live in reasonable comfort and freedom from want, but only if we can do it without becoming too attached to material goods. How do we know if we are too attached? It is difficult for most. Sometimes we have to rely on our spiritual teachers for advice. Sometimes we have to try to look honestly at our behavior. For example, if you want a new car because your old one is falling apart and unreliable, that is a reasonable want. But if you want a new one simply because a new model has appeared that you like better than the car you have, that is being too attached to the material.

The Inner War

The inner war can be divided into two areas. The first is guarding yourself against control by demons and forces of darkness. The other is preventing your own mind from leading you away from your spiritual needs and duties. It can be hard to tell the difference between these two. The important thing is to always put your spiritual development first. Anything that opposes that should be resisted, no matter the source. Another thing you can do to help with resisting the whispers of Dark beings in your ear is to carry gems or crystals that you program for protection. This is not complicated. Simply charge the crystal with sunlight and ask it to protect you from Dark beings and forces as much as it can. Ask the crystal; don’t demand. Wear the crystals or gems in jewelry or carry in a pocket. Their protection is limited, but it does help.

Enemy of Evil

It is true that real spiritual people who are working toward regaining oneness with God and the All are enemies of evil. That does not mean that we commit violent acts against evil beings or persons. It doesn’t  mean we express hatred for them. Engaging in hatred and violence is becoming part of the evil, not opposing it. Treat the evil ones much like the angels do. Treat them as sensible people treat drug addicts or mentally ill people. We should feel sorry for them and wish for them to be healed and filled with truth and knowledge. We do not wish for violence upon them.

From the SOLAR WIND collection by Harold Boulette

“Great art is, among other things, a result of this impulse. It is only necessary to gaze with the eye of the spirit upon a Greek Temple, in order to see that in this marvel of art, material substance is so worked upon by man that it appears in every detail as the expression of spirit. The Greek temple is the ‘House of the Spirit.’ One sees in its form what otherwise only the Spiritual eye of the seer perceives. The temple of Zeus (or Jupiter) is so constructed as to present to the physical year a fitting shrine for what the guardian of the Zeus (or Jupiter) Initiation saw with spiritual vision. And it is the same with all Greek art. The wisdom of the Initiates flowed in mysterious ways into poets, artists, and thinkers. The mysteries of the Initiates are found again, in the form of conceptions and ideas, in the system of thought by which ancient Greek philosophers interpreted the universe. The influences of the Spiritual life, the Mysteries of the Asiatic and African sanctuaries of Initiation, flowed into these nations and into their leaders.” ~Rudolf Steiner

Greek Temples

The ancient Greek temples, as well as other buildings, were designed in a way that did make them spiritual, in a sense. They were designed and constructed according to the Law of Divine Proportion. Their main entrance always faced East, toward the rising sun, and the secondary entrance, or exit, was on the west side facing the setting sun. This was not just for the Temple of Zeus, but is also true of the Parthenon, the Temple of Hera, The Temple of Artemis, the Temple of Apollo at Delphi, and others. And it wasn’t limited to temples. The Great Theater of Epidaurus has been called the most perfect theater of all time because of its appearance and acoustics.

One can stand in the speakers spot and speak in a normal voice and be heard by those seated anywhere in the great theater.

Greek Arts

Steiner says that other arts in Ancient Greece were also done with spiritual vision. That is true in many cases, but not all. Not all painters, writers, sculptors, or philosophers were knowledgeable in the spiritual teachings of the mystery schools. Even fewer were actually students of such schools. But some followed the established conventions of beauty, harmony, and grace that were followed by those who were students of the mysteries. Much of that art has not survived to the present time, but some has, particularly the sculptures and philosophies. We all know of some of the great philosophers of Greece, including Plato and Socrates. We are not familiar with the great sculptors for a simple reason: their works are generally not signed. You can go to museums in Athens and elsewhere and see many examples of great sculptures that follow the rules of Divine Proportion, harmony, and grace, but you find no signature on them. Despite that fact, some of the sculptors were famous in their time. They include Myron of Eleutherae who was said to have sculpted a heifer that was so realistic, it could be mistaken for a real cow, and Phidias of Athens who’s most famous work was a 40-foot statue of Athena.

Roman and Egyptian Architecture and Art

The ancient Greeks were not the only ones who used Divine Proportion and other spiritual concepts in their architecture and other arts. The Egyptians did it before the Greeks, and much of the knowledge the Greeks had on the subject came from Egypt. And the Romans copied the classic art of the Greeks, so much of their art had it as well. Of course there were spiritual schools around Rome, just as their were in Greece and Egypt, so some of the Roman art may have been inspired by their own initiates and not simply copied from the Greeks. As for the Egyptians, they also used Divine Proportion, also known as the Golden Ratio. The image below of the Pyramid and Sphinx illustrates the use of the Golden Ratio at that sight.

From the SOLAR WIND collection by Harold Boulette

“Even the passions become good if we wisely and diligently detach them from what is bodily and direct them towards the acquisition of what is heavenly. This happens, for example, when we turn desire into a noetic yearning for heavenly blessings, or when we turn pleasure into the gentle delight which the volitive energy of the intellect finds in divine gifts; or when we turn fear into protective concern to escape punishments threatening us because of our sins; or when we turn distress into corrective remorse for present sin. In short, the passions become good if – like the wise physicians who use the body of the viper as a remedy against present or expected harm resulting from its bite – we use them to destroy present or expected evil, and in order to acquire and safeguard virtue and spiritual knowledge.” ~The Philokalia

Passion Redirected

Passion for a thing is not bad. Passion is only bad when we let it turn us toward the material and away from the spiritual. Unfortunately, when we make little effort to direct our passion, it generally turns to the material by default. Since the mind is oriented toward the material, it directs our passions in that direction. The mind knows little about the spiritual, so it tends to ignore it. We have to make a real effort to redirect our energy of passion toward the spiritual. It is not an easy task, but it is doable, and worth the effort.

Let’s consider some simple examples. Suppose you have a passion for reading and you generally turn to novels of adventure, horror, or mysteries that are often very violent and dealing purely with the material world. You can keep the passion for reading, but start reading inspiring books and spiritual books instead. At the very least, look for books that are not violent and reflect the fact that there is a spiritual realm as well as the physical.

Suppose you are athletic and love running and walking. Instead of limiting yourself to running on an enclosed track, take long hikes in the woods or mountains. Getting away from crowds helps us awaken the spiritual within ourselves.

Acquisition of What is Heavenly

Different churches and spiritual schools seem to have different ideas about what is heavenly and what pleases God. Let’s look at it in a different way. Instead of saying what is Heavenly, look to what will awaken and develop our own spiritual faculties. That is really the most important thing we can do to become heavenly. Once we awaken those faculties, they will know what God wants and how to accomplish it. That is how we become heavenly. That is how we redirect passions. The mind can’t do it, but the soul can.

Destroy Evil

In most cases, we can’t literally destroy the “present or expected evil.” What we can do is turn away from the evil dark beings and dark forces. Demons and devils feed off our energies when we do their bidding, intentionally or not. When we turn our passions and desires to the Godly and heavenly, we deny them that energy and starve them. As more and more of us turn away from them and toward the spiritual, they will lose power and eventually give up and return to God to face the karma they have earned for their behavior before they can truly be welcomed back into the fold.

From the SOLAR WIND collection by Harold Boulette