“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

“The religious consciousness is awakened when we encounter a network of great contradictions running through our human life. When this consciousness comes to itself we feel as if our being were on the verge of a total collapse. We cannot regain the sense of security until we take hold of something overriding the contradictions.

“Whatever contradictions we may experience they would not trouble us unless we were philosophers, because each one of us is not supposed to be a thinker of some kind. The contradictions however in most cases assert themselves in the field of the will. When we are assailed on this side, the question is felt more acutely, like a piercing arrow. When the will to power is exposed to constant threat in one form or another, one cannot help becoming meditative about life.

“’What is the meaning of life?’ then demands not an abstract solution but comes upon one as a concrete personal challenge. We then abandon all the contradictions that appear on the plane of intellection, for we must feel in a way contented with life.” ~Daisetz T. Suzuki

Awakened Consciousness

Rather than “religious consciousness,” I think it would be more accurate to say “Spiritual Consciousness,” especially today when many people think of religion and spirituality as two different things. There are also different ideas about what a Spiritual Awakening really is. What Suziki is talking about seems to be simply the sudden awareness that things are not quite what we have been taught and what we believed to be true. That to some of us is the beginning of a Spiritual Awakening, but is not the culmination of it. True Spiritual Awakening happens when the Soul becomes conscious, and that rarely, if ever, happens overnight.

Network of Contradiction

I’m not sure we can claim that everyone begins their spiritual awakening through the discovery of a “network of great contradictions,” though that certainly is one common way that it happens. Sometimes, it happens gently and slowly, other times it happens with a great shock. I think that it was the shock kind that happened to St. Francis of Assisi when he went off to war and suddenly faced the horror of humans killing each other on a battlefield. That started the process that culminated in his true awakening while watching a sunrise from his bedroom. In my case, I think it was a combination of both. First, I had a gentle and limited awakening to the network of contradiction when I was in my teens and we moved to a new town. I found that this small town that should have had only one Catholic Church actually had two of them just a few blocks apart. I leaned that the reason for it was that a few decades earlier, when the population of the town was made up mostly of French people from either France or the French-speaking parts of Canada, and Irish people, the two groups didn’t get along with each other, so each insisted on having a church of their own. This made we question the truth of the Catholic Church as it seemed to me, even as a teenager, that a real Church that believed in the teachings of Jesus would not have given in to such prejudices. My greater awakening came nearly thirty year slater when my younger brother died. That was the shock type of awakening that made me start questioning just about everything.

The Contradictions Assert Themselves

I’m sure there are many others who lose a family member and start questioning the meaning of life, but quickly get over it and get on with life. For a few of us, the contradictions continue to assert themselves and we have to delve into them. We can’t just let them go and get back to being a robot of capitalism and materialism. If you are reading this, you are probably such a person also.

I had read some spiritual books before, and even practiced Transcendental Meditation for a time, but now I turned even more to seeking out the truth in spiritual development. Eventually, that led me to answer an ad for Cosolargy, and I soon joined that spiritual school. I am still with it more than thirty years later, so needless to say, I think it has helped me find many of the answers. It has helped not by telling me everything as most churches do, but by teaching me how to experience the spiritual on my own and learn through experience, the only way we can truly learn about the spiritual sun and learn about through experience, the only way we can truly learn about the spiritual.

From the SOLAR WIND collection by Harold Boulette

“Spirituality is not living in dreams, or living in the clouds, or having a pale face and languid air, as if the things of the earth were beneath one’s serious consideration, and were rather endured than enjoyed. Spirituality means the greatest acuteness of intellect, the greatest foresight, the greatest amount of spirit or power gathered in a person, and the wisest expenditure of that power. It means the greatest governmental ability, be that ability exercised in the small empire of a household, or the larger empire of a nation. Spiritual gifts mean all talents, all powers, and all methods of using those powers.

“That is a spiritual gift which finds out healing properties in plants, roots, and herbs. All nature expressed in substance, seen of the physical eye, is an expression also of mind or force. … But all seen things are expressions of the lower or relatively cruder form of mind or spirit, and therefore have a limited power; and, when any material remedy is applied, the main dependence should not be on the remedy, but on the power of mind, and, above all things, one’s own mind or force to put the body above the reach of disease.” ~Prentice Mulford

Spirituality

Mulford says that spirituality is not “living in dreams,” etc. If he were living today, he would likely add to that list, playing a tambourine, meditating, or saying “Namaste” all the time. Not that there is anything wrong with doing those things, but in themselves, they do not make you spiritual. People didn’t spend years, even decades, in the great mystery schools of the past if that was all there was to do and study, but it isn’t. There is much more to real spiritual development than those simplistic approaches.

Things of the Earth

Mulford is also correct in saying that real spiritual people do not reject the things of the earth as beneath them. It may be true that St. Francis rejected his father’s wealth, but he didn’t live naked in a cave and eat bugs thereafter. Real spiritual people always put the spiritual needs before the physical, but they don’t reject the physical. As long as they have physical bodies, they know that they need to take reasonable care of them, yet without becoming attached to the physical. That is the difficult trick sometimes called “walking the razor’s edge”.

Spiritual Gifts

This is one area where I think most real spiritual leaders and teachers will disagree to some extent with Mulford. The problem seems to be that Mr. Mulford either doesn’t recognize the existence of a spirit and soul, or he thinks they are but names for part of the human mind. Both of those beliefs are incorrect. But due to this belief, he places too much importance on the mind and the intellect. So he says that “acuteness of intellect” is a spiritual gift. While a good intellect is of value to spiritual people, it is not a spiritual gift. It is the more universal form of intelligence called consciousness that is important to the spiritual person. And consciousness is not measured by an amount but by levels of consciousness. There are very low levels of consciousness in simpler beings than humans, and much higher levels of consciousness found in Light Beings or Angels. A great spiritual gift, therefore, is to achieve higher levels of Consciousness, not intellect.

Mulford goes on to say that spiritual gifts include all talents, powers, and ways of using such powers. Here I must disagree. Using our abilities for strictly material and materialistic pursuits is not at all spiritual. Such usage may be necessary while we are in physical form, but that doesn’t make them spiritual. Real spiritual gifts include such things as being able to communicate with animals, being able to predict the weather and other future events, being able to recognize when someone else is telling the truth, or not, etc. Most of all, a spiritual gift is the ability, desire, and courage to move forward on the  often difficult path of real spiritual growth. That is the gift that is truly spiritual.

From the SOLAR WIND collection by Harold Boulette.

Resist The Beast and Antichrist

“Take heed of the seeming holy Hypocrites and Flatterers, for they are Antichrist’s (and not Christ’s) Ministers; for Antichrist has set his foot upon the breadth of the Earth, and rides upon the abominable devouring Beast, which is as great as himself, and indeed greater. Therefore, it is highly necessary that everyone should feel in his own bosom, and consider his heart, how it is inclined, that he does not deceive himself, and unknown to himself, yield to be the servant or minister of Antichrist, and fulfill that prophecy; for he stands now in the Light of Life. And beware of covetousness, for thou shalt not enjoy it; for the Wrath of the Beast breaks the mountains and hills to pieces; and the covetousness will partake of the fierceness; the time is near.” ~Jacob Boehme

Holy Hypocrites

The problem of what Boehme calls “Holy Hypocrites” is even worse today than when he wrote this. We have people calling themselves ministers of God who actually know nothing of God. That would be bad enough if they were at least teaching the true teaching of Jesus, Buddha, or other real holy person, but most of them are not. Many are simply teaching what their congregation wants to hear as they know that is what brings in donations. We have preachers taking in millions of dollars a year teaching what they know is not at all what Jesus taught. But they are not trying to preach truth and save souls, they are simply running a profitable business. That makes them servants of the Antichrist, willingly or unwillingly. But it doesn’t end with ministers, preachers, and spiritual gurus. We also have political leaders today sprouting absolute nonsense in an effort to divide and conquer. By pitting one group against another, they maintain control. Of course, they are not really in control. They are just the puppets of the super wealthy, the super greedy, who are also servants of the Antichrist.

Rides the Beast

Boehme says the Antichrist “rides upon the abominable devouring Beast.” I think most of us thought the Antichrist and the Beast were two names for the same being. Boehme seems to think differently. So who is the Beast? As best as I can tell, Boehme is saying that the Beast the Antichrist “rides upon” is his flock, his followers, those who do his bidding, knowingly or unknowingly. Unfortunately, there are millions of people in the world who are doing the bidding of the Antichrist without realizing it.

Do Not Deceive Yourself

Boehme advises that we not deceive ourselves by falling for the schemes of the Antichrist and his minions. He tells us to do that by the feelings in one’s own bosom and one’s own heart. In other words, we must trust our own intuition. If it were that easy, the devil and his minions would not have the control of millions. Unfortunately, few have developed their intuition, or learned to know when they are being advised by it, and not by a demonic minion whispering in our ears. Nonetheless, it is the most reliable method we have, so we should all learn to recognize when our intuition is advising us and, more importantly, to listen to its advice. The more we use and trust our intuition, the stronger and more reliable it gets. And fully awakening our spiritual faculties using the Light of the Spiritual Sun will make it even more reliable.

From the SOLAR WIND collection by Harold Boulette.

“The rupture between faith and knowledge is a symptom of the split consciousness which is so characteristic of the mental disorder of our day. It is as if two different persons were making statements about the same thing, each with his own point of view, or as if one person in two different frames of mind were sketching a picture of his experience. If for ‘person’ we substitute ‘modern society,’ it is evident that the latter is suffering from a mental dissociation, i.e., a neurotic disturbance. In view of this, it does not help matters at all if one party pulls obstinately to the right and the other to the left. This is what happens in every neurotic psyche, to its own deep distress, and it is just this distress that brings the patient to the analyst.” ~C. G. Jung

Faith and Knowledge

We often here that there is a rift between religion and science, and that is quite true. But most would relate faith to religion and knowledge to science in Jung’s statement quoted above. But Jung wrote this several decades ago, and things have changed since then. What has changed is mostly on the part of science. Many in the scientific community talk about, and actually treat, science as if it is a religion. To question a long-accepted scientific query requires that you have overwhelming evidence. Otherwise, the community of science will label you a crackpot or charlatan. Science today is more like a religion than they choose to accept, yet they laugh at the unscientific approach of religion. Perhaps if both groups started listening to the other, they might find that they are not so different after all.

Sketching a Picture

We have probably all heard of, maybe even participated in, the experiment of whispering something to one person, who then repeats it to another and so on until eight or ten have heard the secret. I remember doing this in Junior High. When the last person in the line says the story out loud, the first person is shocked to find it has dramatically changed. This is partly due to mishearing what the other person says, but largely because we each have to add a bit of our own beliefs and personality to the tale. I’m sure the same would be true of Jung’s sketching example. This is especially true if you rely entirely upon their imagination. If you tell ten people to sketch a building they are standing in front of, the sketches will be similar, but never identical. But if you ask them to sketch a woman holding a rose, the sketches will be very different—and revealing if you know what to look for.

Now consider a spiritual example. Ask them to sketch God, or an angel. The sketches will vary greatly, but will likely resemble some picture they have seen in a book or a statue in a church. They really won’t use their imagination very much for this one, yet they should. But that is why a spiritual awakening is something each of us must experience so we can gain spiritual knowledge first hand, and not rely on the descriptions from others.

Neurotic Society

When Jung wrote this, probably many doubted his claim that society is suffering from “a neurotic disturbance”. Today, I think most people would agree. We have become more divisive than ever before. Many don’t even try to get along with others to have different beliefs, different behavior, but instead try in every legal way possible to get rid of THEM. And if they can’t get rid of THEM, they try to isolate them, make them live only in certain locations, prevent them from voting, etc. While some of this can be blamed on the masses, a lot of it can be blamed on the leaders and on the natural tendency of governments and businesses to start functioning like a living being. What that means is that consciously or subconsciously they develop the idea that the most important thing is for the society to survive—at any cost.

Spiritual Society

That is why the only solution is the growth of a spiritual society that values humility and truth above self-preservation. Such a society must begin with spiritual individuals forming spiritual communities. Spiritual communities can then grow into spiritual societies and, finally, spiritual nations.

From the SOLAR WIND collection by Harold Boulette.

“The angels who turn inward toward God in love and fruition, with all they had received from Him, found beatitude and eternal rest; but those who turned towards themselves, and sought rest in themselves, with self-complacency in the natural light, their rest was short and was unlawful. They were blinded, and there was a wall of separation between them and the eternal light, and they fell into darkness. …

“Now mark this, when a man wishes to possess inward rest in idleness, without inward and desirous cleaving to God, then he is ready for all errors; for he is turned away from God, and inclined towards himself, seeking everything that pleases him. Such a man is like a merchant, for in all his activity he is turned only toward himself, and seeks his own means and profit, more than the Glory of God. A person who thus lives in mere natural life, always possesses himself in self-love without self-renunciation. Such men often lead a hard life with great works of penitence, that they may become known for their great sanctity, and merit a great reward; for all natural love is favorably disposed to itself and likes to receive great honors in time and a great reward in eternity. … And thus they are often deceived; for sometimes, through the work of the devil, those things which they desire happen to them, and they ascribe this to their sanctity, for such people are proud.” ~John of Ruysbroeck

Angels Turn to God

I would rather say that angels turn to God, or toward God, rather than say they turn inward to God. That is because there are too many people who have fallen for the simplistic approach to spiritual growth that says all answers are within us. Yes, some answers are within us, but others, like the Light of the Spiritual Sun, are outside of us. So expecting to find all the answers within simply doesn’t work.

Beatitude and Eternal Rest

Angels as well as humans who turn to God do eventually find eternal bliss, but the idea of eternal rest is misleading. We will eventually achieve Oneness with God and with All, but that is not really rest. The All is constantly in motion. What we do achieve is release from the attempts of the Devil and his minions to control us or guide us into following their path rather than God’s. But we don’t reach that level of spiritual advancement in a few years, or even a few decades. The process of spiritual growth continues for most of us even after we leave the physical world. Development continues in the spiritual realm.

Idleness

We have all heard that idleness is the devil’s playground, but do we really understand what that means? This is not about physical idleness. The physical body needs its rest just as much as it needs activity. The same is true for the brain-mind. But what Ruysbroeck is talking about are those who are in idleness with regard to their devotion to God and to their own spiritual development.

While we dwell in the physical plain of matter, which is the realm of Satan, it is easy for Satan and his demonic minions to control and manipulate us. When we turn to God and to spiritual self-development, we make it harder for those forces of darkness to control us. When we are spiritually idle, we make their job easy.

Like a Merchant

Ruysbroeck clearly doesn’t have a good opinion of merchants. Actually, what he is saying here doesn’t apply to all merchants, and certainly not to merchants all the time, but it does apply to many when they are on the job. Basically he is saying that materialistic people who only look at things in terms of how it can benefit them will achieve little, if anything, on a spiritual level. Let’s look at two individuals as examples.

Person One is practicing spiritual development techniques in private and with humility. This person is not trying to show off, but to develop their true Self to live in service to God. This person will have relatively rapid spiritual growth.

Person two is that merchant type. This person is practicing the same spiritual techniques, prays in public and makes sure everyone knows, brags about how holy he/she is, etc. This person will advance much more slowly because the humility and desire to please God rather than the ego is not there. Attitude matters when it comes to spiritual growth. Turn to the Spiritual Sun in love and humility, not in greed and a desire to be better than others.

From the SOLAR WIND collection by Harold Boulette.

“Hermes taught that man qualifies himself for union with spiritual forces after death, in proportion as he uses his powers on earth for furthering the purposes of those spiritual forces. Those especially who had worked most seriously in this way between birth and death would be united with the lofty Sun-God Osiris. On the Chaldaic-Babylonian side of the stream of civilization, the direction of the human mind toward the physical sense-world was more conspicuous than on the Egyptian side. The laws of that world were being investigated and from its reflection in the sense-world these people looked up to the corresponding spiritual prototypes. Yet in many respects the nation remained wedded to physical things. Instead of the star-spirit, the star was put first, and instead of other spiritual beings their earthly counterparts were made prominent. Only the leaders attained really deep knowledge concerning the laws of the supersensible world and its connection with the physical. The contrast between the knowledge of the initiates and the perverted beliefs of the people became more apparent in those nations than anywhere else.” ~Rudolf Steiner

Union with Spiritual Forces

Union with spiritual forces is a sensible goal. Union with spiritual worlds and spiritual consciousness is an even better one. It is a goal we should all be seeking, but few do. Many don’t see any need to awaken their spiritual Self, others don’t think anything needs to be done to awaken it. They think they can be as materialistic as they like while trapped in a physical body, but when they die, they will automatically be welcomed into the realm of spirits. That is like believing that you don’t have to bother to learn how to swim. If the ship you’re on sinks, you will learn automatically when you need it. Sorry, it doesn’t work that way. As Steiner says, Hermes taught that man must “qualify” himself for union with spiritual forces. We do that by awakening and developing our spiritual faculties while we are still in physical form.

Furthering the Purpose

God grants union with spiritual forces to those who will use such knowledge and power to further His Plan for redeeming the fallen realm of matter. Those who oppose such plans, or simply avoid contributing, may gain temporary union with spiritual forces, but will soon lose it.

United with Osiris

Being united with the Sun God Osiris may not be your goal, but unity with God should be; and God is a Sun God because the Spiritual Sun is His Agent spreading spiritual Light into the realm of matter. Now it is even more so with the birth of the Sun of Righteousness, which means that the Spiritual Sun now carries a special Presence of God to more easily help us awaken our spiritual faculties.

The Failure of Egypt

Steiner is telling us that while great spiritual knowledge was made available to the people of Egypt, few changed their materialistic ways and turned to spiritual development. We know that some of them did turn to the spiritual, including some Pharaohs and priests, but the majority did not. Steiner tells us this story as a warning. Today, with the help of the Sun of Righteousness, we have been given a one-in-a-thousand-year opportunity to turn away from matter—which is temporary anyway—and embrace the spiritual. If we fail this time, there will not be another chance. These are the End Times and a final decision is upon us. Make the wise decision.

From the SOLAR WIND collection by Harold Boulette.