|
THE DIFFERENT BODIES OF MAN
The same
level of experience found in the universe as a whole can be found
within the human Soul as well. The same levels of "Being-ness",
the same divine Hierarchies found in the "immaterial" etheric,
astral and higher planes of the universe as a whole can be found within the
human Soul as well. This realization of being a "MIRROR" of the
Macrocosm is central to unfold the mystical process. This whole process
circles around the magnetic axial pole of pure Being. The principle of
macrocosm and microcosm, which represents this mirroring of levels is the
foundation of all the spiritual and metaphysical traditions. From the
formation of stars, to the collapses of galaxies, from our humble meditation
practices, to world affairs... Everything in the universe affects and
resonates with everything else. In the same manner, our own spiritual
practice and level of consciousness affect and resonate in all the Planes of
existence in the universe... This is also a reminder that, however strange
the universe may seem to us, we and it share one nature and one life.
The individual human being, then, is understood in mystical terms as a reflection of the whole universe, and the same levels we have traced in the universe as a whole can be traced in the Soul as well. This is another way of repeating what we have previously said, that our own level of consciousness projects outwardly the way we "see" and understand reality. The universe and the spiritual Hierarchy are mirrored in us through many subtle bodies. We have, the biological or physical body - the etheric body, which is made of ether or life-energy - the astral body, which is the body of concrete consciousness shaped by the psyche (thoughts, feelings) - the mental body, which is the body of abstract consciousness perceived by pure awareness, which opens on realms of experience not bounded by space and time; and the spiritual or causal body named also the Light body, which is the root of consciousness and the innermost essence of the Soul. As with the levels of the macrocosm, each body can be seen as governing the body "below" it — that is, denser or more material than itself; thus, for example, the astral body is shaped and directed by the mental body, and in turn shapes and directs the etheric body.
Each
of these parts of the Soul has its own nature and functions, and its own
role in the awakening process. The physical body, for its part, is the body
known to medical and biological science. It serves as the material
foundation and instrument of the other parts of the Soul, enabling the Soul
to perceive and act in the realm of material experience. Traditional lore
assigns each of its parts to one or another part of spiritual symbolism;
thus, for instance, each of the five fingers is assigned to one of the five
elements.
The
etheric body is usually divided, for clarity, into two parts. The first of
these is the etheric double; this closely resembles the
ordinary body of matter, extending out perhaps an inch beyond the surface of
the skin, and provides the framework of subtle formative energies on which
the material body is built. It contains a series of channels (the meridians
of Oriental medicine) and energy centers, which have an important role in
mystical work.
The
second part of the etheric body is called the aura or, in
another context, the Sphere of Sensation. This is a roughly
egg-shaped field of energies surrounding the etheric double, extending out
several feet from the physical body. It serves as the interface between the
etheric body of the individual and that of the cosmos, and all the forces of
the universe are reflected on its surface. The astral body cannot be so easily mapped out in this kind of spatial language. A body of consciousness, it comes closer to the modem idea of "mind" than to that of "body," although neither of these too-rigid categories fits well anywhere in the mystical view of the Soul. The astral body can be thought of as a field of energy occupying roughly the same space as the aura, but constantly shaped and reshaped by patterns of thought and feeling. All images, words, and sensations affect this body, and are affected by it in turn; it interacts freely with the astral level of the cosmos, and with the astral bodies of other human and non-human beings. It contains most of those parts of the self we normally think of as "mental" or "inner"— intellect, emotion, imagination, will, and memory, the instruments of concrete consciousness — and it is also the basis for the individual personality.
The mental body can be thought of as the
essential pattern of the Soul. It can be described as a subtle
"body" only in a highly metaphorical sense, and cannot be located
in a spatial sense at all. This body is the instrument of abstract
consciousness — that is, thought that does not involve forms and images of
the sort we perceive with our senses — and thus makes it possible to
perceive the core ideas or structures of experience, which exist outside of
space and time.
In
practicing mysticism, each of these levels of the Soul comes into play in
one way or another in one's life, and specific aspects of these levels
provide the principal tools by which the powers of the macrocosm are
directed through the Soul (Permanent Witness) and resonate in the subtle
bodies of man. A seeker's "role" is to become a pure vehicle, open
to receive these high impulses and magnetically resonate with them. These
impulses manifest in the bodies certain spiritual qualities, which are inner
states of realization. In order to make sense of this very abstract
material, it is necessary to get a clearer sense of the mystical and magical
understanding of what is meant by the hidden potential qualities of the
Soul. These qualities are inner states of consciousness that the Soul
unveils gradually to the consciousness of a seeker. These inner states
appear during dreaming, meditation, or at any appropriate moment in a
seeker's life. They make a "rupture" in time - opening a gap to
allow a higher level of resonance to impregnate the astral and etheric
bodies of the seeker. Each one of these Soul potential qualities vibrates
and resonates in all the various subtle bodies of man. The result of this
resonance within all the subtle bodies reveals something too complex and
beautiful to explain... One has to experience them to understand what
happens...It is linked to the intangible Presence of
"I"... As we consider the different bodies and levels of the Soul and understand that their awakening process depends on our need to purify the psyche (etheric and astral bodies) then, the spiritual purification and transformation process unfold and we increasingly come closer to manifest whatever is engrained and inherent in our spiritual “blueprint” – the karmic plan which the Soul (Permanent Witness) has prepared for a given incarnation. The quest of how to unfold the inner process is given to you on this website - It is explained through my personal experiences... My only wish is to help you find your own way... as each seeker is a path to himself...The only most important thing to understand is that we all resonate to different rates of vibrations... What we must learn to do is to resonate with the pure part of our psyche - the part that is open to the impulses coming from the Soul, so that the resonance of the Higher impulses are felt and manifested in the lower astral, etheric and physical bodies as well. These divine operations are karmic "gifts" that are given to awake our subtle bodies and receive sublime initiations.
That
which is Above, is as that which is Below
To
go back to the list of pages without frames, |
