“The all-knowing Self was never born, nor will it die. Beyond cause and effect, this Self is eternal and immutable. When the body dies, the Self does not die. If the slayer believes that he can slay or the slain believes that he can be slain, neither knows the truth. The eternal Self slays not, nor is ever slain.
“Hidden in the heart of every creature exists the Self, subtler than the subtlest. Greater than the greatest. … When the wise realize the Self, formless in the midst of forms, changeless in the midst of change, omnipresent and supreme,they go beyond sorrow.
“The Self cannot be known through study of the scriptures, nor through the intellect. The Self can be attained only by those whom the Self chooses.” ~The Katha Upanishad

All-knowing Self

“A few days ago, someone on a Facebook spiritual group was bragging that he knew Self. He claimed that since he knew who he was, he knew Self. He felt that since he knew what he did that morning, he knew Self. Believing that everything about him was himself, he felt he absolutely knew Self. He was totally wrong.”

Read the entire article online at spiritsun.net.

Original article posted by HAROLD BOULETTE on MAY 18, 2018

“Now in the light, Christ demands a going out in conformity with this light and with this coming. So the man goes out, and knows and finds himself, through this simple light which has poured into him, to be united and established and penetrated and confirmed, in the unity of his spirit and mind. Thereby the man is raised up and set in a new state. … Here the man possesses the essential and supernatural unity of his spirit, as his own dwelling-place and as his own eternal, personal heritage. He ever has a natural and a supernatural tendency toward the same unity; and this same unity through the gifts of God and through simplicity of intention,shall have an eternal loving tendency towards that most high Unity, where, in the bond of the Holy Ghost, the Father and the Son are united with all saints.” ~John of Ruysbroeck

Christ Light

“Whether you call it spiritual light, higher light, or Christ Light doesn’t matter. What is important is that you understand that this is something beyond ordinary physical light. Spiritual light operates on higher frequencies than physical light. When Ruysbroeck calls it “this simple light,” he doesn’t mean simple as in simple-minded. He means simple as in pure and uncomplicated. It isn’t really uncomplicated, however. Within that light is stored all the wisdom and truth of reality. It is uncomplicated in the sense that it carries pure truth, unpolluted with the deceptions of matter. Yet it carries all truth, so that cannot be considered simple.”

Read the entire article online at spiritsun.net.

Original article posted by HAROLD BOULETTE on MAY 16, 2018

PHOTO CREDIT: David Mitchell

The photograph here was taken at the Sanctuary on 2 September 2018 by Consociate David Mitchell.  He is using it in a university class on atmospheric physics he is teaching, since it is a perfect example of a sun pillar.  Sun pillars occur when the Sun is near or just below the horizon (in this case it has just barely peeped above the horizon).  Horizontally oriented hexagonal plate ice crystals produce this display.  But science aside, he thought it was a nice picture of possible aesthetic interest.

“If the highest state of spiritual development is attained, the spirit, endowed with the highest spiritual activity of the soul, attracts the truth, and perceives and knows at once the conditions, causes, and effects of all external and internal, natural and divine things. It sees them within the eternal truth like a mirror of Eternity. By this process Man, while he remains in eternal nature, may know all that exists in the internal and external world, and see all things, not merely those which are, but also those which have been, or which will exist in the future, and, moreover, by being and identified with the divine power (the Logos), he obtains the power to change things by the power of his (spiritual) word.” ~Franz Hartmann

Highest State of Spiritual Development

“At the highest state of spiritual development, the soul doesn’t just “attract” the truth, it knows the truth. We may have the truth around us right now, but we often can’t distinguish it from the clever lies of the manipulators. The fully developed spirit and soul have no such problem.”

Read the entire article online at spiritsun.net.

Original article posted by HAROLD BOULETTE on JANUARY 27, 2018

“If the highest state of spiritual development is attained, the spirit, endowed with the highest spiritual activity of the soul, attracts the truth, and perceives and knows at once the conditions, causes, and effects of all external and internal, natural and divine things. It sees them within the eternal truth like a mirror of Eternity. By this process Man, while he still remains in eternal nature, may know all that exists in the internal and external world, and see all things, not merely those which are, but also those which have been, or which will exist in the future, and, moreover, by being united with the Divine power (the Logos), he obtains the power to change things by the power of his (spiritual) word.” `Franz Hartmann

Highest State

In talking about the highest state of spiritual development, we really have to think of two. There is the highest state that can be attained while still in a material body and living in as material world. There is an even higher state that can only be reached after shedding the physical body.

The level Mr. Hartmann refers to is rarely reached while still on the material plane. We can, however, get very close to it.

Read the entire article online at spiritsun.net.

Original article posted by HAROLD BOULETTE on MARCH 3, 2018

“So, with Dante, the first terrace of the Mount of Purgatory is devoted to the cleansing of pride and the production of humility. …

“The first thing that the self observes, when it turns back upon itself in that awful moment of lucidity … is the horrible contrast between its clouded contours and the pure sharp radiance of the real; … and the clear, onward sweep of that Becoming in which it is immersed. It is then that the outlook of rapture and awe receives the countersign of repentance. The harbinger of that new self which must be born appears under the aspect of a desire; a passionate longing to escape from the suddenly perceived hatefulness of selfhood, and to conform to reality, the Perfect which it has seen.” ~Evelyn Underhill

Pride and Hubris

Sometimes we have good reason to be proud of our accomplishments. For most of us, however, those accomplishments pale when faced with the realities of the spiritual world and the true purpose of Man. Winning a baseball championship, a spelling bee, or even an elected office may puff us up with pride, but such things are of no significance to God and His Great Plan. Those who think that God cares who won a football game are only fooling themselves. God doesn’t care who won the big game any more than he cares which necktie you wear today. Those who continue to think that such things as winning a ball game are matters of great importance are only filling themselves with Hubris, a false pride of accomplishment when the thing accomplished doesn’t matter. Most of us don’t realize this until, as Ms. Underwood says, we face our inner self while engaging in spiritual practices.

Sharp Radiance

Underhill is using metaphor when she talks of clouded contours and sharp radiance. But it is not by coincidence that so may spiritual writers equate materialism with darkness, shadows, or clouds, and enlightenment and truth with bright, white light.

Thanks to the modern science of quantum physics, we know that the material universe is actually a hologram. And a hologram must have a source of light. There must also be a reality from which the hologram is projected. That place of sharp radiance is the spiritual world.

Read the entire article online at spiritsun.net.

Original article posted by HAROLD BOULETTE on APRIL 17, 2018

“Here then stands the newly awakened self: aware, for the first time, of reality, responding to that reality by deep movements of love and of awe. She sees herself, however, not merely by the thrust into a new world, but set at the beginning of a new road. Activity is now to be her watchword, pilgrimage the business of her life. ‘That a quest there is, and an end, is the single secret spoken.’ Under one symbol or another, the need of that long slow process of transcendence, of character building, whereby she is to attain freedom, becomes capable of living upon high levels of reality, is present in her consciousness. Those in whom this growth is not set going are no mystics, in the exact sense in which the word is here used; however great their temporary illumination may have been.

“What must be the first step of the self upon this road to perfect union with the absolute? Clearly, a getting rid of all those elements of normal experience which are not in harmony with reality.” ~Evelyn Underhill

Awakening is Just the First Step

“To truly have a spiritual awakening is a wonderful experience and a great leap forward. But it is no more the end of the journey of spiritual enlightenment and consciousness expansion than is waking from a night’s sleep the end of the day. One awake, you need to get out of bed and start moving.”

Read the entire article online at spiritsun.net.

Original article posted by HAROLD BOULETTE on FEBRUARY 7, 2018

“According to the secret doctrine, man, through the gradual refinement of his vehicle and the ever-increasing sensitiveness resulting from that refinement, is gradually overcoming the limitations of matter and is disentangling himself from his mortal coil. When humanity has completed its physical evolution, the empty shell of materiality left behind will be used by other life waves as stepping stones to their own liberation. … At the point of deepest materialism, therefore, man is at his greatest distance from himself. According to the mystery teaching not all the spiritual nature incarnates in matter. The spirit of man is diagrammatically shown as an equilateral triangle with one point downward. This lower point … descends into the illusion of material existence for a brief space of time. That which never clothes itself n the sheath of matter is … the Overman.” ~Manly P. Hall

Limitations of Matter

Many don’t think there are limitations to matter, but there are. There are, in fact, many things that cannot be done with the physical body or the associated brain-mind, but can be done by the spirit and soul. The physical body can travel within the material realm, but with restrictions. It can only travel so fast. It cannot travel off the planet without some kind of protective vehicle. And no matter how hard material science tries, it can never make the physical body immortal. The planets and stars die and so must our physical body. The spirit is a different matter.

Read the entire article online at spiritsun.net.

Original article posted by HAROLD BOULETTE on APRIL 14, 2018

“Ordinarily unconscious of his higher life, the esoteric student renders himself conscious of it, and thereby his whole life becomes transformed. As long as the soul remains unseeing in the higher sense it is guided by superior cosmic beings. And just as the life of a person born blind is changed, through a successful operation, from its previous dependence on a guide, so too is the life of a person changed through esoteric training. He outgrows the principle of being guided by a master and must henceforward undertake to be his own guide.

The moment this occurs he is, of course, liable to commit errors. … It is for this reason that so much is found in books dealing with these matters concerning the dangers connected with the ascent into higher worlds. … Yet the fact is that dangers only arise when the necessary precautions are ignored.” ~Rudolf Steiner

Transformed Student

A lot is said in spiritual schools about transformation. Some expect some sudden and drastic change similar to a caterpillar becoming a butterfly. It isn’t like that. Nor is it something that can happen instantly like Henry Hart blowing a bubble to Become Kid Danger. It is a gradual and ongoing type of change. A lot like aging, but usually more pleasant.

Guidance From Above

Some schools will tell you that students are guided by ascended masters. Others say it is angels who do the guiding. Some claim it is our own inner self. Which it is doesn’t really matter,and it may be all three of those at different times.

It is true, however that the transformed student who has a fully awakened and functioning soul no longer needs such guides. But this doesn’t mean that such students are now on their own, as Mr. Steiner believes. It means that they are now guided by the Divine Consciousness which is God. Angels and other Light Beings may still act as intermediaries, however.

Read the entire article online at spiritsun.net.

Original article posted by HAROLD BOULETTE on APRIL 13, 2018

“Your thought is your real strength. When you lift a weight, you put your thought on the muscle that lifts. The heavier the weight, the more of your thought do you put on it. If, in so lifting, a part of your thoughts is turned in some other directions, if someone talks to you, if somethings frightens or annoys you, a part of your strength or thought leaves you. It goes to whatever has taken away a part of your attention from lifting. It is mind, thought, spirit, that uses the muscles to lift, as we use a rope to pull up a weight. There is no lifting or working without intelligence.” Prentice Mulford

Thought Strength

I am writing this while the Winter Olympics are taking place. Interviews of the athletes, and the comments by reporters, tell us one important thing. The strength of the athletes mind is as important as the strength of his body. I would go so far as to say that very often the winner is the one with the strongest, most disciplined, mind rather than the one with the strongest muscles. It is often the winner thought strength that makes her the winner.

Read the entire article online at spiritsun.net.

Original article posted by HAROLD BOULETTE on MARCH 1, 2018