Source: https://www.pathwaytoascension.com/lessons.html
Basic Metaphysics 101
Your Inner Spiritual Journey
Nancy B. Detweiler, M.Ed., M.Div.
Lesson I
www.pathwaytoascension.com
Studying Basic Metaphysics as it relates to your spiritual growth, you are embarking upon an exciting journey into the core of your being.
The Master Jesus, in Luke 17:21b, teaches: "The kingdom of God is within you."
The Apostle Paul, in I Corinthians 6:19, reaffirms the secret of your inner being: "Your body is a temple (or sanctuary) of the Holy Spirit within you."
To embark upon the journey inward is to choose to tread the narrow path back to God. In the words of Jesus: "Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the road is easy that leads to destruction, and there are many who take it. For the gate is narrow and the road is hard that leads to life, and there are few who find it." (Matthew 7:13-14)
Following the Narrow Path means climbing-with conscious intention-straight up the mountain to attunement to the God within you.
We follow the Wide Path when we meander through life, simply allowing life to happen to us. Finally, we all eventually reach the stage of conscious attunement to the God within.
To embark upon the inner spiritual journey is to call to God: "God, I want to be conscious . to be a true disciple . to ascend into higher consciousness."
The Master Jesus taught his disciples: "To you it has been given to know the secrets (or mysteries) of the kingdom of God; but to others I speak in parables." (Luke 8:9)
Two definitions are essential for this study-essential because the words have been demonized by religious leaders.
1. Metaphysics, according to Webster, is composed of two Greek words: meta meaning "beyond" and physics meaning the "external nature." Thus the study of metaphysics is the study of that which is "beyond the external nature."
2. Occult, according to Webster, means "hidden, secret, mysterious." The usage of this hidden knowledge determines whether or not the occult is of the Light or of Darkness. Jesus and all other World Teachers taught occult knowledge to their disciples.
THE NARROW PATH TO SPIRITUAL GROWTH IS THE OCCULT WAY.
METAPHYSICS IS THE STUDY OF THE NARROW PATH, THE OCCULT WAY.
(Of course, the study of metaphysics also includes many fields of research, such as the scientific.)
Your inner spiritual journey begins as you take responsibility for your life, meaning that you no longer walk unconsciously through life, placing the blame for the events in your life onto something outside yourself. Instead, you make the conscious choice to grow holistically.
Spiritual growth requires holistic growth.
Holistic growth involves transforming all parts of yourself simultaneously, including your physical body, emotions, thoughts, and intuitive awareness. You are the Temple in which God dwells. To grow holistically is to clear the Temple-that-is-you of all negativity, dedicating it to your indwelling God (or I AM PRESENCE).
When we attempt to grow spiritually and ignore the physical, emotional, and mental issues that need transforming, we chain ourselves in place.
You may clear out your Temple by:
I. Caring for your physical body through:
A. Eating a regular, nutritious diet which daily includes foods from each of the major groups.
Milk and diary.
2) Meat, seafood, protein rich foods. Vegetarians have a more difficult time getting adequate amounts of all the amino acids necessary for good health. However, it is essential to plan your diet to ensure that you do so.
3) Vegetables & fruits.
Bread, grains, nuts.
B. Getting regular physical exercise - at least 4 days weekly.
C. Sleeping 6-8 hours each night.
Developing self-discipline.
Overcoming all addictive behavior.
Listening to calming, healing music.
Using the Purple Transmuting Flame to transmute pockets of toxins and negativity within your physical body.
SELF-EVALUATION EXERCISE
Using the above criteria on caring for your physical body, list the changes you need to make in order to care for your physical body.
Developing control of your emotions through:
A. Learning to stand back and observe your emotions.
B. Honest recognition and naming of your emotions.
Do not repress your true feelings. In private, openly name the emotions . feel them . seek to understand them . if necessary, forgive and transmute them. Once you can do so calmly, share them with the others who are involved-IF sharing will enhance understanding within your relationships. To explode without prior thought can create additional pain for yourself and others. On the other hand, to repress your true feelings is to cause damage to your emotional body. Assume the responsibility for dealing with your true emotions in a responsible, positive manner.
C. Converting your negative emotions into positive emotions. Some examples are:
Aggression > recognition of source of fear > learn to assert yourself positively based on true appreciation for who you are.
Grasping love > recognition of the source of fear > unconditional love of self and the other person.
Anger > recognition of the source of fear > forgiveness.
Self-effacement > recognition of self-doubt/fears > true humility, which is the awareness, acceptance, and joyful use of your talents-giving your indwelling God the credit for your good works.
NOTE: fear is the basis for 99.9% of our negative emotions. Determine why you are afraid, then you will know how to convert the negative emotion into a positive one.
D. Using the Purple Transmuting Flame - requesting that the flame transmute all negative emotions into the pure love and light of God.
E. Writing in your journal. Writing your true feelings in your journal is an excellent way to get them outside of yourself and to deal with them in private-before sharing them with persons involved.
Recording and interpreting your dreams.
Assimilating beauty into your life - by listening to beautiful,
uplifting music; wearing and decorating your home/office with beautiful colors; verbalizing beauty instead of negativity and harshness; moving gracefully-yoga and Tai Chi teach graceful movement. Focus on the beauty in life.
H. Chanting AH can be an extremely effective means of calming emotions. The sound of AH attunes you to the universal sound; it balances and cleanses.
SELF-EVALUATION EXERCISE
Using the above criteria, list the following:
The negative emotions I need to convert into the positive are..
In order to integrate more beauty into my life, I need to ..
EMOTIONAL PURIFICATION RITUAL
Using loose leaf notebook paper, write out your painful, negative feelings. Be very honest with yourself.
After you have poured out your heart onto paper, carefully burn your writing (do so in a way that is safe and holds no chance the flames will spread-for example, in a clay bowl containing wet sand at the bottom). Watch, as the flame burns your painful feelings. As you watch, affirm aloud: "I forgive and release all painful, negative feelings to the flame. They no longer have power in my life."
If the released feelings re-appear, remind yourself that you have forgiven and released them and now choose to focus on moving forward positively. Give thanks for all lessons learned as a result of the feelings. Remember: "All things work together for good for those who love God. (Romans 8:28 - translations often use "Lord" instead of "God." Either word can mean "for those who love the way Universal Law unfolds in our lives. Universal Law dictates that all things work together for good for those who will allow it to do so. If we choose to cling to our anger, resentment, or other negative emotion, then we also choose to block the good that could have resulted.)
III. Developing Control of Your Thoughts.
Through learning to observe your thoughts objectively.
Through honest evaluation of your thought patterns.
Through converting negative thought patterns into positive thought
patterns. Example: Convert from "I'm afraid to take that risk" . TO . "With God, all things are possible." Move forward by taking the 1st step, then the next ..
Through recognizing that you are a co-creator with God. We create our life situations by the emotional and thought patterns upon which we focus.
REMEMBER EMOTIONS & THOUGHTS ARE ENERGIES THAT TAKE ON FORM.
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The above thought forms are taken from Thought-Forms, by Annie Besant & C.W. Leadbeater-illustrated by a clairvoyant artist.
According to your emotions/thoughts, your energetic body (or aura) is filled with positive or negative energies.
 A human aura filled with the prickly fingers of fear. |  A human aura filled with anger. |
Illustrations taken from Man Visible & Invisible by C.W. Leadbeater.
Through journaling.
Through using the Purple Transmuting Flame.
Through daily meditating upon your indwelling God (I AM
PRESENCE), knowing that your life can be the manifestation of God through you.
Through the daily use of Affirmations, such as:
I AM THAT I AM.
THE KINGDOM OF GOD IS WITHIN ME.
WITH GOD ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE.
GOD PERFECTLY EXPRESSES THROUGH ME.
Through daily devotional readings. Science of Mind Magazine at
www.scienceofmind.com and Unity's Daily Word at http://www.unityonline.org/index.htm# are excellent devotional magazines that assist you in learning to think positively. Both organizations offer multiple resources, including retreats.
Associate with positive thinking people on a regular basis.
SELF-EVALUATION EXERCISE
1. Consider your present life situation. List the areas of your life that you would like to transform into a more positive expression.
2. Analyze your emotional/thought patterns as they relate to the areas of your life you listed as needing transformation. BE HONEST WITH YOURSELF. List the emotional/thought patterns you INTEND to convert into a positive.
WE CHANGE OUR LIFE SITUATIONS BY CHANGING OURSELVES-OUR EMOTIONAL AND THOUGHT PATTERNS.
IV. Developing your spirituality.
A. Through daily meditation, including establishing your Rainbow Bridge-illustrated in the Divine Self Chart below by the yellow line running from the top of the lower figure's head upward through the Higher Self/Christ Self to the center of the I AM PRESENCE (or indwelling God).
http://www.tsl.org/
The Divine Self Chart
B. Through reading devotional and metaphysical books. You may purchase books I recommend through this website's bookstore.
C. Through chanting OM, I AM THAT I AM, and additional chants meaningful to you. You may chant affirmations as well.
D. Through integration into your lifestyle of the intuitive insights you receive in meditation.
E. Through accepting your I AM PRESENCE (indwelling God) as the true source of power in your life.
F. Through recognizing your unity with all of humanity-all are our brothers/sisters.
G. Through loving service to others.
H. Through awakening to the unity of all things within God's created order. NO THING IS SEPARATE FROM GOD & THE REST OF THE CREATED ORDER. ALL IS ONE as the waves are one with the ocean.
I. Through developing awareness of your seven bodies. YOU ARE SPIRIT inhabiting a physical body, feeling your emotions, and thinking your thoughts.
J. Through journaling your growth process. Journaling reveals the following: the emotional/thought patterns in your life, your growth process, and the areas in which you tend to give up the power available to you from your indwelling God.
SELF-EVALUATION EXERCISE
Recognizing that my inner spiritual journey is a continual process, I choose-at this point in time-to focus on the following tools for spiritual growth. (Refer to the list above.)
The Quest: A Journey of Spiritual Rediscovery, Richard & Mary-Alice Jafolla
is excellent as a guide for spiritual growth especially in conjunction with journaling. You may purchase The Quest from Amazon.com
KNOW THYSELF
As you grow holistically, you are also getting to know yourself.
As you begin your inner spiritual journey, it is essential that you have a strong concept of who you are . a sense of independent and individual personhood.
The goal is ultimate re-union with your I AM PRESENCE . with the formless One. To try to do so with a fuzzy concept of yourself is to set yourself up to get lost.
You are a Part of the Whole; therefore, you must know who YOU are in order to fulfill your role within the Whole.
An honest recognition, acceptance, and continual awareness of who you are, your emotional and thought patterns, and who you wish to be is essential for another reason. You will taint your meditative/intuitive insights with your own emotional & thought patterns. Knowing yourself allows you to clear away the parts of yourself you have unconsciously attached to your intuitive insights.
For example: What you know about yourself = "I fear change."
Your meditative/intuitive insight = "I am better suited for this type of work, which will entail making a move."
Possible responses based on the degree of your knowledge of self:
1. "Yes, I fear change; but I choose to confront that fear by making the necessary move to render myself better suited to my vocation.
2. A fuzzy, semi-conscious avoidance of the insight, in which you give your fear of change control over your life. You may even-immediately-forget you received the insight.
Suggested tools for getting to know yourself:
1. A JOURNAL in which you record meditative experiences/insights, dreams and their interpretation, pros & cons in your decision making, thoughts & feelings about the events/persons in your life. Record whatever is meaningful to you and your growth process.
2. DREAMS - Use your Journal to work with your dreams. The following format is the combination of techniques that I have found most meaningful.
Dream Interpretation
1. Write down the dream itself.
2. Make a list of the symbols in your dream, leaving a couple of lines of empty space after each symbol. Symbols = each person, feeling, thing, event in your dream.
3. Go back and write down what each symbol means to you. (I have found the standardized interpretation of dream symbols to be less meaningful.) Persons in your dream most often symbolize parts of yourself. Beside each individual in your dream, write down what he/she reminds you of. Example: kindness, rudeness, lack of faith in self. Each person will tell you something about yourself. Write down your 1st reaction - don't analyze your 1st reaction, then change it.
4. Think back over the events of the day before your dream. Do you see a connection? Write it down.
Using the meaning your symbols have for you, interpret your dream.
PROFESSIONAL COUNSELING using the professionals with whom you
resonate and as you feel the need.
MEDITATION AND WHY?
In order to build our Rainbow Bridge and attune to our Higher Self/Christ Self and I AM PRESENCE, we must engage in some form of regular meditation. The most direct is to sit quietly with eyes closed for a period of time each day. However, many in our present society, have difficulty in sitting still and focusing attention inward. Silence is also uncomfortable. Why? Because we are not taught to "Be still and know that I AM GOD." (Psalm 46:10) Silence and stillness make us uncomfortable because we do not know who we are. Our natural state is stillness in attunement with our indwelling God, but no one tells us. We are extolled for working hard, getting ahead, and for competing successfully. When we buy into this philosophy, we lose our way-no matter how successful we appear to the outer world.
Many traditional Christians fear meditation, believing it to be of the Eastern religions-therefore, not Christian. Christians pray, but are very uncomfortable with meditation. In other words, traditional Christians are comfortable talking to God (prayer), but are afraid to listen to God (meditation). We recognize that some speakers are inspired, but cannot make the leap to intentionally sitting still and allowing God to speak to us or to deliberately set about building that Rainbow Bridge of consciousness to our Higher Self. Sadly, many traditional Christians are afraid of God-the God we've been taught to believe created a means of eternal punishment for those who do not believe exactly as they are taught. We are scare to seek Truth on our own because it may cause us to lose our faith. No one tells us that a faith we fear losing is a faith that does not ring true to our inner being. No one explains that the intellect can never lead us to Truth. It is only through attunement to our indwelling God that we can gain the intuitive knowledge that is Truth. We must listen to God. In the words of Jesus: "The Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything, and remind you of all that I have said to you." (John 14:26)
So why meditate?
1. TO RAISE our consciousness to an awareness of the God within. 2. TO ABSORB the light, love, and power of the God within and to integrate this energy into our daily lifestyles.
3. TO RADIATE this light and love outward to others and to our planet.
RECOGNITION > INTEGRATION > SERVICE
EACH STEP IS ESSENTIAL!
Photo taken from the September 1996 Unity Magazine
Note the energy radiating around the person meditating. When we attune to our indwelling God through meditation, we begin to feel the energy of love in which we live and move and have our being (Acts 17:28). We are to recognize this energy of love > absorb it into our being > then radiate it outward to the world.
BUT FIRST ..
We must set aside the fear that God is a God of punishment. This website www.pathwaytoascension.com was created to share my research and meditative findings-GOD IS A GOD OF ABSOLUTE LOVE. All teachings to the contrary must be viewed as a signal to delve deeper-the Truth is hidden beneath the surface words.
THE PROCESS OF MEDITATION
1. PREPARATION: Ideally, it is best to face East, toward the energies of the rising Sun. It is helpful to meditate at the same time each day and in the same location. To do so trains the subconscious mind and assists in quieting it. Sunrise and sunset are the best times to meditate; however, a time that suits your daily schedule is also important. Sit with your spine straight to facilitate the flow of energy through the body. The lotus position seen above helps to keep your spine straight.
2. BEGIN YOUR MEDITATION WITH A PRAYER FOR PROTECTION. This gives you the opportunity to surround yourself with thoughts of God.
Unity's Prayer of Protection
The Light of God surrounds me;
The Love of God enfolds me;
The Power of God protects me;
The Presence of God watches over me.
Wherever I am, God is.
And, all is well.
3. MEDITATE: Meditate for 5-15 minutes in the beginning. You may slowly extend the time in meditation as it pleases you. Meditating too long, in the beginning, can cause you to be spacy or ungrounded.
4. PURPLE TRANSMUTING FLAME:
Instructions for using the transmuting flame if you so choose.
Taken from page 116 of my book A New Age Christian: My Spiritual Journey
Visualize a soft purple flame rising from beneath your feet and encircling you as it permeates every cell in your physical, emotional, and mental bodies. The purple transmuting flame is your friend. Give all conscious negativity to the flame for transmutation into the energy of divine love. Negativity can be any disease or pain within your physical body, negative emotions within your emotional body, or negative thoughts within your mental body. Ask the flame to also remove all subconscious negativity. Release it to the flame. Give thanks for the cleansing now taking place.
You have requested that the flame transmute all negativity into the energy of divine love. Rose pink is the color vibration of love. Visualize this rose pink energy caressing each cell of your physical, emotional, and mental bodies. Feel the warmth of this energy of love circulating throughout your being.
You are now ready to proceed with your meditation.
5. MEDITATE ON YOUR I AM PRESENCE (GOD INDWELLING YOU): I suggest using the Divine Self Chart as a meditative tool to build your Rainbow Bridge.
Attune to the presence of your indwelling God and absorb the energy of Divine Love. Chanting is helpful while visualizing God as soft, white Light. Chanting aids in maintaining your focus. Chanting I AM THAT I AM is a powerful way to realize your true identity as a god-child.
6. RADIATE THE ENERGY OUTWARD: Visualize the white Light of God radiating outward from your heart area . see Planet Earth, and anyone you know in need of healing, permeated with Light. Chant OM-the sound of manifestation.
7. GIVE THANKS! Gratitude opens you up to receive the blessings of the universe. Give thanks for all healing now taking place as a result of the radiating Light.
You may vary what you meditate on in STEP 5; however, I strongly recommend that you complete all 7 STEPS each time you meditate.
THE PURPLE TRANSMUTING FLAME
Quotes & references from Elizabeth Clare Prophet's Climb the Highest Mountain: The Path of the Higher Self are made throughout this explanation.
"Our God is a consuming fire."
Hebrews 12:29
As the New Aquarian Age appears, the purple (or violet) transmuting flame has been revealed to humanity. Our lower bodies-physical, etheric, emotional, and lower mental-must be purified before we can re-unite with our higher bodies.
"Just as the discovery of physical fire drastically changed the course of Earth's civilization . so the discovery of spiritual fire will abruptly alter [humanity's] way of life as the Holy Spirit propels [our] consciousness from the depths of drudgery into the heights of joy in service and the instantaneous precipitation of abundance, health, happiness, and God-control."
The electronic belt surrounding each individual, extending from the waist to beneath the feet, holds the accumulation of negative thoughts and feelings from this and eons of lifetimes. The electronic belt must be transmuted.
For this transmutation to take place, we must:
1. Invoke the transmuting flame.
2. Do so with the express desire to be rid of all negativity - we must make the conscious choice to awaken spiritually and to be healed. Universal Law decrees our freewill cannot be violated. When we fail to make the conscious choice to awaken, we have in actuality chosen to remain asleep spiritually.
3. Open our consciousness to the Light and allow the vacuum to be filled with that Light. We must choose the Light over darkness/negativity.
When we earnestly invoke the flame and open the floodgates of our consciousness to the Light, the negative energies that have been "imprisoned in matrices of imperfect thought and feeling are released." The transmuting flame envelopes individually every atom of our being, dislodging the untransmuted densities from the electrons within our electronic belt. "As this substance is loosed, the electrons begin to spin more rapidly in their orbits; and by centrifugal force it is thrown into the violet flame. On contact with this fiery essence of freedom's flame, the misqualified energy is transmuted into its native purity" and returned to the Causal Body where all our positive thoughts, feelings, and actions are recorded. This energy can then be used in loving service.
"The violet transmuting flame enables [humanity] to win [its] freedom from every form of human bondage. Dubbed the violet singing flame by [Archangel] Zadkiel, it makes the very atoms of the four lower bodies sing in harmony with the divine blueprint and with the keynote of the [I AM PRESENCE] as the tiny electrons whirl in orbit at the perfect pitch of the pattern of soul-identity. The violet flame is the spiritual wine of forgiveness."
The Apostle Paul describes this transmutation process in II Corinthians 15:42b-44, 49: "What is sown is perishable, what is raised is imperishable. It is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness, it is raised in power. It is sown a physical body, it is raised a spiritual body .. Just as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we will also bear the image of the man of heaven."
Through the use of the transmuting flame-the spiritual fire-we can return to the Edenic state, we can ascend. We must win our freedom while on the Earth, because earth plane is where we lost our way, where we became imprisoned with imperfect thoughts and emotions. In order to participate in the mystic marriage-the reunion of our lower with our higher selves, we must purify our wedding garments.
Remember that a part of the transmuting process is the opening of the floodgates of our consciousness for the influx of Light. Always allow the Light of God to fill the vacuum created by the removal of negative energy.
We defeat ourselves when we invoke the flame, then cling to our negative thoughts and feelings. We cannot place our negativity upon the altar of purification, then take it up again, and expect to achieve transmutation.
Lesson 2
www.pathwaytoascension.com
A Tragic Misconception
Taken from Adventures of the Quest, Richard & Mary-Alice Jafolla
In a desert land of Arabian horses, an orphaned foal was raised by a family of camels. As the young colt grew, he did everything the camels did. He plodded tirelessly across the hot sands. He toted large burdens of cargo on his back, and he watered his parched mouth at every oasis. Once he kicked up his heels in a sudden impulse to run, but then only swayed at a lumbering pace, because-that's the way camels are supposed to run, aren't they?
After many years of camel life, the Arabian steed grew old and tired. One day, as his weary eyes looked out across a sea of land, he saw a magnificent horse galloping at full speed like the wind, his shiny mane streaming out from his noble head.
"What a beautiful animal!" exclaimed the elderly orphan. "What is it?"
"That's an Arabian horse, fastest and most beautiful of all the animals in our land," answered one of the camels.
"Wouldn't it be wonderful to run like that?" mused the old horse. But he put it out of his mind, and died thinking he was a camel.
Thus the tragedy of forgetting who you are.
You are a child of God, thus a God-child.
Live like a God-child.
"Daughter/Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours."
(Luke 15:31)
In the parable of the Prodigal Son, Jesus is revealing out true relationship with God.
Read Chapter 6 in A New Age Christian
In order to Know Thyself, we must look beyond the physical body. As seen in the Divine Self Chart, the physical body signifies the man or woman of dust. (Refer to the end of Lesson 1 in which the Apostle Paul speaks of the man of dust and the man of heaven.) For a relatively short period, the physical body houses the personality named Jack or Sarah.
The Divine Self Chart
Soon Jack and Sarah's physical body will return to dust, while their Soul/Higher Self/Christ Self and I AM PRESENCE remains as the man/woman of heaven. This permanent part of self is what lives eternally-the one life. Any number of physical embodiments as particular personalities may be included in this one eternal life of the Soul/Higher Self.
NOTE: Contrary to traditional Christian teachings, eternal = no beginning and no ending. The one eternal life that is your Soul's to live did not begin with your birth into the present physical body as the personality Jack or Sarah. Instead, your Soul/Higher Self is a being of spirit choosing to learn and grow through an incarnation in a physical body on Planet Earth.
Taken from Soul Psychology, Joshua David Stone, Ph.D.
Knowing Thyself involves recognition of our seven bodies: four lower bodies = physical, etheric, emotional/astral, and lower mental (the intellect); three higher bodies = the intuitive/buddhic/Higher/Christ Self, atmic, and I AM PRESENCE or MONAD. (Our seven bodies are referred to by various names, but mean the same.) In the above illustration, the Causal Body stores all the good energy we have created for use in serving others. The old hymn "Stars in My Crown" refers to this good deed energy stored in the Causal Body. Only the good we create lives on in higher realms, where the Causal Body merges into the I AM PRESENCE. The negative must be transmuted before we can ascend into higher consciousness.
Our seven bodies correspond to the 7 major planes of existence, each of which are characterized by seven levels of conscious awareness.
The Astral Plane corresponds to our emotional body. Gaining control of our emotions is the most difficult part of our inner spiritual journey. Note the Purple Transmuting Flame that relates to the Physical and Astral Planes. This is the eternal flame that burns as a lake of fire, mentioned in Revelation. This Flame is a symbol of God's grace, present to transmute all negativity that we choose to offer to it.
The hellish levels of the Astral Plane do not exist as God's means of eternal punishment. They exist because humanity created them by heinous deeds and emotions. One of the universal laws is "Like attracts like." When we focus our attention on savage actions, thoughts, and feelings, we create a level of existence that resonates with our savagery-thus, the hellish region. The average person, upon physical death, crosses over into some level of the Astral Plane. The Catholic Church calls the higher levels of the Astral Plane purgatory and teaches that the individual sojourn there is most often temporary. (We can remain there as long as we choose.) The biblical story of the rich man and the beggar, Lazarus, found in Luke 16:19-31 depicts the emotional turmoil that often occurs while the soul is in purgatory.
The purpose of purgatory is transmutation of negative energy. The eternal lake of fire is present for all to use in this transmuting process. Once the soul's astral body is largely transmuted, the soul ascends to the higher levels of the Astral Plane or the lower Mental Plane. Reincarnation into another physical body is available as a means to advance more rapidly on the inner spiritual journey. Earth has been an excellent schoolhouse because it offered life experiences on the plane of duality and learning to consciously choose the Good over all forms of negativity. However, this is changing-Earth is preparing to ascend into higher consciousness and its inhabitants may accompany it if they so choose.
Earth and its inhabitants are living within a transitional period-we are moving out of the Piscean Age into the New Aquarian Age, out of the plane of duality into the levels of higher consciousness where Love & Light exclude all negativity. We can see from the chart below the status of Earth inhabitants within the overall divine scheme of Soul evolution (not to be confused with Darwin's theory of physical evolution). The chart depicts the Soul's journey out from the heart of God > into dense physicality (the plane of duality) > and back to heart of God. This journey has taken eons (ages) and will require additional eons before the goal is accomplished. Once our galactic family is allowed to openly land on Earth's surface, we will discover the true extent of our Soul's
evolutionary journey. The above chart relates to the soul journey of Earth humans. Many presently residing on Earth are originally from other planets. These more advanced souls have incarnated on Earth at this particular time in order to guide Earth humans into higher levels of conscious awareness.
Although the number of active chakras are increasing as our level of consciousness is heightened, all Earth humans have seven more or less active chakras. These seven chakras are active enough to maintain life within the physical body. Our seven chakras are located in the etheric body and over the physical organs. As you can see from the chart below, each chakra is a center ruling the various powers of humanity, such as love, creativity, sexuality, and the instinct for survival.
Taken from Soul Psychology: Keys to Ascension, Joshua David Stone, Ph.D.
The 1st Chakra is the root or base chakra located at the base of the spine.
Color = Red 1st chakra rules our sense of smell.
If your 1st chakra is open, you will feel peaceful and secure.
If your 1st chakra is blocked, you will experience fears based on insecurity, the desire to cling to the status quo or material possessions, and/or the fear of change. You may lack the capacity to assert yourself in a loving, positive manner.
The serpent fire/kundalini energy rests in the 1st chakra.
Affirmations for healing 1st chakra dis-eases are:
"I AM secure in the knowledge that God and I are One."
"I AM the fulfillment of my needs and requirements."
Refer to the Divine Self Chart as you make your affirmations for each of the seven chakras. Remember that the higher part of you is your I AM PRESENCE. To affirm I AM is a reminder that God indwells you and is the fulfillment of all your personality-level needs.
The Divine Self Chart
The 2nd chakra or spleen chakra is located over the spleen. Some metaphysicians state the 2nd chakra is the seat of the soul.
Color = Orange 2nd chakra rules our sense of taste.
If your 2nd chakra is open, you will possess a strong sense of self-identity, self-esteem, and rootedness within the whole of creation. The urge to be creative is present.
If your 2nd chakra is blocked, you will tend to be self-effacing and/or subject to an inferiority complex. Issues may center around money, sex, power, and control. You may have difficulty expressing your own unique creative talents.
The 2nd chakra is our sexual center, the center of our creativity. It relates to the balancing of our masculine and feminine energies-the attainment of androgyny. The back of the 2nd chakra relates to the subconscious mind.
Affirmations for healing 2nd chakra dis-eases:
"I AM a beloved child of God."
"I AM made in the image of God; thus, I AM love, I AM powerful, I AM the light of the world, I AM co-creator with God."
The 3rd chakra or solar plexus chakra is located over the navel/adrenal glands.
Color = Yellow 3rd chakra rules our sense of sight.
If your 3rd chakra is open, you will be aware of the unlimited power available to you as a God-child. You have the capacity for spontaneity and trust of others.
If your 3rd chakra is blocked, you will feel powerless, inhibited, dependent. You may tend to manipulate your environment in an effort to feel powerful. May be fearful and easily intimidated.
The 3rd chakra is our power/emotional center. If blocked, you may feel hate, resentment, and/or the desire for revenge.
Warning: We can become psychic through the 3rd chakra; however, this solar plexus chakra places us in contact with the astral plane. Although much good is present in the upper levels of the astral plane, it is still the plane of illusion. Some degree of negativity is present on all levels of the astral plane, therefore misconceptions, misinformation, and outright trickery is possible. Psychic attunement to the astral plane opens us to possible manipulation. Ego involvement in psychic attunement is fraught with danger for this very reason.
The goal in ascension is spiritual enlightenment, to raise our psychic (better stated intuitive) skills to the level of clairvoyance through the 6th chakra (the 3rd Eye). Attunement to the intuitional/buddhic plane requires purification of our lower bodies-physical/etheric, emotional, and lower mental-through the process of holistic growth described in Lesson 1.
Affirmations for healing of 3rd chakra dis-eases:
"I AM made in the image of God; therefore, I AM heir to all power."
"I AM forgiving. I AM compassionate."
The 4th chakra or heart chakra is located over the heart and thymus gland.
Color = Green 4th chakra rules our sense of touch.
If your 4th chakra is open, you will radiate unconditional love and acceptance of others. You will feel no fear, for "perfect love casts out fear." (I John 4:18)
If your 4th chakra is blocked, you will experience an inability to love unconditionally. You can be confused over the true meaning of love, believing it to mean "love me." You may feel starved for love, angry, have trouble forgiving self and others, and lack an optimistic view of life.
The 4th chakra is our Love center.
Affirmations for healing of 4th chakra dis-eases:
"I AM Love."
"I AM radiating the love of God."
The 5th chakra or throat chakra is located over the throat and thyroid gland.
Color = Blue 5th chakra rules our sense of sound.
If your 5th chakra is open, you can truthfully affirm: "God's will is my will."
If your 5th chakra is blocked, you are engaged in battle with God: "My will versus Your will." You may have trouble following your dream, tend toward addictive behavior, be overly sensitive to criticism, and have difficulty making decisions.
The 5th chakra is our Will center, the center of communication and self-expression. From this center we-as co-creators with God-issue the fiat: "Let us .." (Fiat = an authoritative decree or command) The Spoken Word = the fiat of creation. "And God said, 'Let there be .. Let us make.." (Genesis 1)
When we issue the fiat, "Let us," we are affirming I, in cooperation with my I AM PRESENCE. Or. I, as a physical manifestation of my I AM PRESENCE.. In other words, "GOD, LET YOU & I .." Let is a translation from the biblical imperative . it is often a 3rd person imperative. In the English language, we use Let to request permission. In the context of Genesis 1, "Let us" is a command. It is from the 5th chakra-the Will chakra-that we make this command.
The 6th chakra or 3rd Eye chakra is located over the brow.
Color = Indigo 6th chakra rules our sense of discernment.
The 6th chakra is associated with the pituitary gland.
If your 6th chakra is open, you have tapped into your Soul's wisdom and integrated it into your daily lifestyle. You have the ability to discern illusion from Truth.
If your 6th chakra is blocked, you will lack the ability to discern illusion from Truth. You can have difficulty integrating knowledge into wise action, be closed to the ideas of others, and fail to learn from your experiences. There can be feelings of inadequacy.
The 6th chakra (most often called the 3rd Eye) is our Wisdom center. It relates to the conscious mind and has to do with spiritual vision, inner seeing, clairvoyance. The 6th chakra places us in contact with the intuitive plane and above. Purification of our lower bodies is a requirement before we are granted the spiritual gift of clairvoyance into the intuitional/buddhic plane.
Affirmations for healing of 6th chakra dis-eases:
"I AM a receptacle for all wisdom."
"I AM the wisdom to discern illusion from Truth."
The 7th chakra or crown chakra is located over the top of our head.
Color = Purple 7th chakra rules our sense of total awareness.
The 7th chakra (most often called the crown chakra) relates to the superconscious mind, our I AM PRESENCE. The 7th chakra is our gateway to higher spiritual energies. It is associated with the pineal gland. The 7th chakra is the narrow gate through which we seek to enter the kingdom of God.
If your 7th chakra is open, you possess the ability to trust life and to perceive the overall divine plan. You are selfless, inspired, and think in terms of the Oneness of all humanity.
If your 7th chakra is blocked, you may experience energy disorders, such as chronic fatigue. Extreme sensitivity to light, sound, and other environmental factors may be present.
The 7th chakra increases in size as we progress on the spiritual path (or through the 6 initiations depicted by the life of Jesus). Eventually, the crown chakra covers most of the top of the head. It is our center of Cosmic Consciousness.
Affirmations for the 7th chakra: (Refer to the Divine Self chart)
"I AM THAT I AM."
"I AM Light Divine."
"I AM Love."
"I AM Will."
"I AM the resurrection and life eternal."
The chakras can be divided into three groups.
The lower chakras are concerned with receiving into our etheric and physical bodies two types of energy. The 1st chakra = the serpent fire or kundalini energy from the Earth. The 2nd chakra = the energy of vitality from the Sun.
The middle chakras are concerned with forces that reach us through our personality. These middle chakras are the 3rd (solar plexus), 4th (heart), and 5th (throat) chakras. Remember the personality is the part of us that is named Jack or Sarah-the non-permanent part that exists during this one physical incarnation.
The lower and middle chakras are open enough to maintain life in every human being. There is no necessary connection between the first five chakras and spiritual maturity. For this reason, we see persons who are psychic and spiritually immature. We can be sensitive to the astral plane through the 3rd chakra (solar plexus). The reason the ability to discern Truth from illusion is vitally important is that the spiritually immature or foolhardy individual cannot make intuitive contact with planes higher than the astral. Remember the astral plane is purgatory or the plane of purification. Though some of the information the immature psychic receives may be accurate, it is preferable to focus on attaining spiritual maturity and attunement with the Intuitional/Buddhic planes where Truth resides.
The higher chakras are the 6th (3rd Eye) and 7th (Crown) chakras. These two stand apart from the others and become active only after a certain degree of spiritual maturity has been achieved. The 3rd Eye and Crown chakras are infinitely more complex than the other chakras. As we advance spiritually, the universal energy taken in is of much greater variety and extent. Service to others becomes essential as an outlet for the energy and to remain grounded. Jesus spent time in prayer and meditation; then, released the incoming energies by serving others. Recall the formula for meditation in Lesson 1.
Recognition > Integration > Service
At this level of spiritual maturity, we need to be able to answer the question: "How is the world a better place because I am living on the planet?" Each of us have a unique role to play within the divine plan and fulfilling that Soul agreement is a prerequisite for ascension.
Kundalini Energy/Serpent Fire Energy
Reference is made to: The Chakras, C.W. Leadbetter and Soul Psychology, Joshua David Stone, Ph.D.
Earth humans receive at least 4 types of energy from the Universe. They are:
1. Electricity or Light - a primary force that enters through the 2nd or spleen chakra as white light. This white light is broken down into the color spectrum and spreads throughout the body.
2. Vitality - energy from the Sun. Sunshine is essential to good physical, emotional, and mental health. It is also an excellent source of healing. We can get plenty of sunshine-without sunbathing-by engaging in outside activities.
3. Life force or prana - affects human consciousness on the emotional and mental levels.
4. Kundalini energy - is referred to in the Bible and other ancient literature as the "serpent" or "serpent-fire." Kundalini energy lies dormant in the 1st chakra. The power of kundalini energy is in sympathetic relationship to the unapproachable energies at the center of the Earth.
Humanity draws powerful Universal energies from the God above and the Earth below-our Father/Mother God. These powers meet within each of us and assist in our spiritual evolution. We cannot have one without the other. If one is greatly in excess of the other, there is danger. Hence the grave danger of activating the kundalini energy before our energy field has been purified and we are spiritually mature enough to control the force of this extremely powerful energy.
Warning: Many metaphysical books offer exercises for awakening this kundalini energy. My advice is: Do not engage in this artificial raising of the highly concentrated kundalini energy.
As we mature spiritually-through holistic growth, meditation, and loving service to others-the kundalini energy will harmlessly and naturally be activated, granting us the gifts of the spirit: clairvoyance and clairaudience to the Intuitional/Buddhic plane and higher.
There are no shortcuts. To attempt to raise the kundalini force prematurely can have devastating effects. This powerful energy can burn out our entire nervous system. It can also cause irreversible schizophrenia that can take this lifetime and several more lifetimes to correct. At the least, the premature raising of the kundalini energy will cause great physical pain as it burns away the pockets of negativity blocking its upward path through the chakras.
Patience is a spiritual discipline. Patiently allowing your chakras and kundalini energy to be activated naturally is the requirement for safe spiritual growth. Much purification of the physical body, the emotions, and thought patterns must take place before the kundalini energy can rise painlessly and harmlessly. Ascended Master St. Germain has given us the gift of the Purple Transmuting Flame to assist in our purification process.
Patience, self-discipline, purification, a holistic program for good physical, emotional, and mental health-all are required as we embark upon our inner spiritual journey. Done wisely, our spiritual growth will grant us all the benefits while we avoid the dangers.
The Narrow Path back to God requires more skills, self-discipline, and wisdom than does the Wide Path. To step onto the Narrow Path is a freewill choice. When we so choose, we make the intention: "God, I want to ascend to a higher level of consciousness. I want to be re-united with You. In order to do so, I am willing to undergo each of the six Initiations demonstrated by Jesus-a Wayshower and World Teacher." (See the article entitled "Ascension" on this website's home page.)
ADDITIONAL READING: I highly recommend Carolina Myss' book Anatomy of the Spirit: The Seven Stages of Power & Healing and her Audio CD entitled Energy Anatomy. Carolina Myss, Ph.D.acts as a guide for holistic growth. Dr. Myss offers a variety of resources, including CDs, books, and retreats. Her materials may be purchased through this website's bookstore under the category entitled "Healing."
Another excellent book for holistic growth and empowerment is Twelve Powers in You, David Williamson, D.Min.; Gay Lynn Williamson, M.A. Psy.; and Robert H. Knapp, M.D. It may be purchased in this website's bookstore under the category entitled "Healing."
Self-evaluation Exercise
Read through the information on each of the 7 chakras, making note in your journal of those chakras that appear blocked-based on the symptoms listed.
Determine how you want to work through the difficulties blocking your chakras. Dr. Carolina Myss' book Anatomy of the Spirit is a very helpful resource regarding the chakras.
Journal your growth plan and your progress. Journaling is one of the most therapeutic ways to draw forth all repressed emotions. Seeing how you truly feel written on paper allows you to more positively deal with your feelings and to release them.
REMEMBER: Your journal is for your eyes only. You can be completely honest with yourself.
The Seven Rays of Divine Manifestation