Consciousness, in the western sense of the word,
implies two opposite poles: selfhood and relationship.
-The Astrological Houses;
The Spectrum of Individual Experience
Light
Light mediates between That which is conscious and compassionate Unity
and the myriad points of darkness.
-Fire Out of the Stone
and the myriad points of darkness.
-Fire Out of the Stone
Man
Man, archetypally considered,
represents a stage of transition between 'life' and 'light'.
Man is the 'alchemical vessel'
in which matter can be transmuted into spirit.
Spirit descends toward matter as matter rises toward spirit.
The individual is the place of meeting; but it is a difficult meeting.
The individualized human self seeks to perpetuate itself,
believing itself the summit of evolution, the crown of existence.
It craves fulfillment as a separate, unique individual.
It clings to what it calls 'my identity'.
As long as it can, it remains blind to the power and light that comes 'down'.
-The Astrology of Transformation
represents a stage of transition between 'life' and 'light'.
Man is the 'alchemical vessel'
in which matter can be transmuted into spirit.
Spirit descends toward matter as matter rises toward spirit.
The individual is the place of meeting; but it is a difficult meeting.
The individualized human self seeks to perpetuate itself,
believing itself the summit of evolution, the crown of existence.
It craves fulfillment as a separate, unique individual.
It clings to what it calls 'my identity'.
As long as it can, it remains blind to the power and light that comes 'down'.
-The Astrology of Transformation
I
In a very real sense,
the 'I' is a symbol created by the mind
on the foundation of a biological feeling
or organismic unity and well-being.
By contrast,
the ego is simply one of the many functions of the physical organism,
when the organism operates under the conditions
of family, social, religious, and cultural living:
the function of insuring security and conditions of existence
as stable as possible.
Yet, in another sense, the experience of 'I am' -
'I am a totally integrated being
functioning as an autonomous, independent and responsible being' -
means that the current of material evolution has reached its apex.
Within the once scattered, inert, and indifferent units of matter,
the universal power of integration, which I call ONE or SELF,
is now a dominant Presence.
-The Astrology of Transformation
The only true and valid "I"
is that which includes the whole of the personality;
thus the whole of the birth-chart.
Anyone who, looking at one single factor in his birthchart,
says "I am this or that" commits a basic sin against wholeness -
which also means "holiness", wholesomeness and health.
-Astrology and the Modern Psyche
the 'I' is a symbol created by the mind
on the foundation of a biological feeling
or organismic unity and well-being.
By contrast,
the ego is simply one of the many functions of the physical organism,
when the organism operates under the conditions
of family, social, religious, and cultural living:
the function of insuring security and conditions of existence
as stable as possible.
Yet, in another sense, the experience of 'I am' -
'I am a totally integrated being
functioning as an autonomous, independent and responsible being' -
means that the current of material evolution has reached its apex.
Within the once scattered, inert, and indifferent units of matter,
the universal power of integration, which I call ONE or SELF,
is now a dominant Presence.
-The Astrology of Transformation
The only true and valid "I"
is that which includes the whole of the personality;
thus the whole of the birth-chart.
Anyone who, looking at one single factor in his birthchart,
says "I am this or that" commits a basic sin against wholeness -
which also means "holiness", wholesomeness and health.
-Astrology and the Modern Psyche
Mind
Mind simply represents the possibility for spirit and matter to unite
within a definite area of experience,
and by uniting to fulfill the purpose of the creation of the universe.
The essential function of mind is to bring about and stabilize relationship.
But the work of establishing relationships
between forces of opposite polarities is enormously difficult,
when these forces are manifesting as an immense variety
of forms and tendencies, each displaying resistance to change,
It has to proceed by stages.
The mind has to be collective before it can be truly individual.
It has to be rationalistic and logical
in order to attain an objective consistency
before it could become the intuition and vision of a Seer.
When the individual stage of human existence is reached,
great questions - which most individuals try not to ask - arise:
What is this mind for?
What purpose are the psychic forms it has built to serve?
The mind itself has to formulate the answers
to is own reluctantly-asked questions,
for nothing else could.
Yet if left alone, the mind would give either
a collective, biological, or cultural answer
or, by glorifying the I-feeling
as the absolute culmination of the universal process of existence,
it would close the door of the field of consciousness
to the downflow of spiritual forces.
A factor existing within the human psyche besides the mind
has somehow to act directly upon the mind,
to serve as hidden gate
through which 'inspirations' of a spiritual nature may enter
and gradually transform the mind.
-The Astrology of Transformation
within a definite area of experience,
and by uniting to fulfill the purpose of the creation of the universe.
The essential function of mind is to bring about and stabilize relationship.
But the work of establishing relationships
between forces of opposite polarities is enormously difficult,
when these forces are manifesting as an immense variety
of forms and tendencies, each displaying resistance to change,
It has to proceed by stages.
The mind has to be collective before it can be truly individual.
It has to be rationalistic and logical
in order to attain an objective consistency
before it could become the intuition and vision of a Seer.
When the individual stage of human existence is reached,
great questions - which most individuals try not to ask - arise:
What is this mind for?
What purpose are the psychic forms it has built to serve?
The mind itself has to formulate the answers
to is own reluctantly-asked questions,
for nothing else could.
Yet if left alone, the mind would give either
a collective, biological, or cultural answer
or, by glorifying the I-feeling
as the absolute culmination of the universal process of existence,
it would close the door of the field of consciousness
to the downflow of spiritual forces.
A factor existing within the human psyche besides the mind
has somehow to act directly upon the mind,
to serve as hidden gate
through which 'inspirations' of a spiritual nature may enter
and gradually transform the mind.
-The Astrology of Transformation
Ego
Something of the soul is in the ego.
The soul reaches individuation
through the experiences of the ego.
The ego is an outpost of the soul,
feeling its way into and responding to the "social sphere"
and the mental patterns of this sphere.
The ego is only a scaffolding needed
to frame and simplify the work
of making fully concrete and substantial
the field of the soul's activities
-Fire Out of the Stone
The soul reaches individuation
through the experiences of the ego.
The ego is an outpost of the soul,
feeling its way into and responding to the "social sphere"
and the mental patterns of this sphere.
The ego is only a scaffolding needed
to frame and simplify the work
of making fully concrete and substantial
the field of the soul's activities
-Fire Out of the Stone
Shadow
The nature of the Shadow can be understood abstractly
by realizing that the ego is a structure,
and that any structure (or form) divides the world
into what is inside and what is outside of that structure.
Consciousness is the inside content of the ego-structure;
the unconsciousness, the outside darkness.
The Shadow is the result of the crossing of the threshold
from the lighted room of the ego to the dark outside.
As one turns one's back to the lighted realm,
one finds that the outer darkness is like a "black mirror"
(such as painters have used
in order to get a sense of plastic and light and shade values
without the glamor of colored surfaces).
This black mirror reflects the shape of the ego,
minus the light and the glamor of the usual conscious feelings about oneself.
This shape is the Shadow -
a harsh, coldly objective, unfriendly and pitiless image
of what makes one "different' from the whole world,
what isolates and compels one to follow a particular and lonely road
as the Karmic result of past frustrations, fears and evil deeds.
As we clearly and coldly see what our ego has become
as a result of being imprisoned within walls built by our insecurity and fear,
we become aware of it having turned into "the Shadow";
and it can be a sobering and, in some cases, a frightening experience.
by realizing that the ego is a structure,
and that any structure (or form) divides the world
into what is inside and what is outside of that structure.
Consciousness is the inside content of the ego-structure;
the unconsciousness, the outside darkness.
The Shadow is the result of the crossing of the threshold
from the lighted room of the ego to the dark outside.
As one turns one's back to the lighted realm,
one finds that the outer darkness is like a "black mirror"
(such as painters have used
in order to get a sense of plastic and light and shade values
without the glamor of colored surfaces).
This black mirror reflects the shape of the ego,
minus the light and the glamor of the usual conscious feelings about oneself.
This shape is the Shadow -
a harsh, coldly objective, unfriendly and pitiless image
of what makes one "different' from the whole world,
what isolates and compels one to follow a particular and lonely road
as the Karmic result of past frustrations, fears and evil deeds.
As we clearly and coldly see what our ego has become
as a result of being imprisoned within walls built by our insecurity and fear,
we become aware of it having turned into "the Shadow";
and it can be a sobering and, in some cases, a frightening experience.
Suffering
Suffering is a sign of human greatness not yet fully realized, or wantonly wasted....
Suffering can never be a goal or have a value in itself.
It is a training in objective understanding and emotional severance;
a test in endurance of our will and our faith....
Suffering is the condition for breaking man's identification with the "less"
as he climbs on his way to "more".
It is the pressure of his greater destiny upon his attachment to his lesser goals....
Here the greater and subtle lure which distracts many a soul is: self-pity.
"Why has this happened to me?"
To this, there are varied metaphysical answers.
There one practical reply, however, is
"Because you do know yet what your full power and your essential goal are.
Not yet."
-Triptych - The Way Through
Suffering can never be a goal or have a value in itself.
It is a training in objective understanding and emotional severance;
a test in endurance of our will and our faith....
Suffering is the condition for breaking man's identification with the "less"
as he climbs on his way to "more".
It is the pressure of his greater destiny upon his attachment to his lesser goals....
Here the greater and subtle lure which distracts many a soul is: self-pity.
"Why has this happened to me?"
To this, there are varied metaphysical answers.
There one practical reply, however, is
"Because you do know yet what your full power and your essential goal are.
Not yet."
-Triptych - The Way Through
Past
The ghosts and shadows of the past will vanish
when subjected to the light of understanding and compassion.
Meaning
Meaning is produced by the relationship between opposites.
Nothing in itself has meaning
unless it is seen in relation to something else,
and particularly in relation to its opposite.
-The Astrology of Transformation
Nothing in itself has meaning
unless it is seen in relation to something else,
and particularly in relation to its opposite.
-The Astrology of Transformation
Truth
The truth of an individual
consists in all the activities necessary
for the complete and correct performance
of his life-purpose as his incarnate self.
-Triptych: The Way Through
consists in all the activities necessary
for the complete and correct performance
of his life-purpose as his incarnate self.
-Triptych: The Way Through
Consecrate Your Energies
Look beyond yourself.
Re-organize your desires,
re-polarize your emotions,
re-orient your impulses.
Your energies are not yours.
You hold them in trust for humanity as a whole.
Be sure they serve a purpose greater than your littleness,
greater ever than your home and family.
Consecrate them to the Greater Whole.
-The Pulse of Life
Re-organize your desires,
re-polarize your emotions,
re-orient your impulses.
Your energies are not yours.
You hold them in trust for humanity as a whole.
Be sure they serve a purpose greater than your littleness,
greater ever than your home and family.
Consecrate them to the Greater Whole.
-The Pulse of Life
Technique
A technique is a method based on fundamental principles,
the application of which enables a man to perform his work with ease,
with a minimun of wear and tear, waste or destructive strain,
and in the shortest time possible.
The worker who understands thoroughly
the foundation of the method
and has built its mode of application in the very structure
of his muscular, nervous and mental behavior -
is a master of technique.
-The Pulse of Life
the application of which enables a man to perform his work with ease,
with a minimun of wear and tear, waste or destructive strain,
and in the shortest time possible.
The worker who understands thoroughly
the foundation of the method
and has built its mode of application in the very structure
of his muscular, nervous and mental behavior -
is a master of technique.
-The Pulse of Life
Understanding
Understanding differs from mere knowledge
because it implies at least some degree
of identification in depth with what is being understood.
Moreover it is impossible fully to understand anything
except where its opposite is taken into consideration.
The mental process of understanding -and therefore appreciation -
implies confrontation between two points of view.
Thus the mind gains a sense of perspective.
The way to dispel a shadow is to have the object illumined
(on its own two-dimensional level) by two sources of light.
True understanding dissipates any intellectual shadow.
-An Astrological Mandala
because it implies at least some degree
of identification in depth with what is being understood.
Moreover it is impossible fully to understand anything
except where its opposite is taken into consideration.
The mental process of understanding -and therefore appreciation -
implies confrontation between two points of view.
Thus the mind gains a sense of perspective.
The way to dispel a shadow is to have the object illumined
(on its own two-dimensional level) by two sources of light.
True understanding dissipates any intellectual shadow.
-An Astrological Mandala
Education
It is the responsibility of anyone
who has taken one step ahead in his evolution
to help others to take that step.
This is true education
-An Astrological Mandala:
The Cycle of Transformations and Its 360 Symbolic Phases
Power
Power comes from a center.
Where there is a center, an experiencer,
there is also the capacity to use power,
and to use it meaningfully, for different purposes
and, as evolution proceeds, at different levels.
Where there is a center, an experiencer,
there is also the capacity to use power,
and to use it meaningfully, for different purposes
and, as evolution proceeds, at different levels.
Freedom
The yearning for freedom presupposes opposition.
The longed for condition of freedom is always desired or imagined
in relation to and in protest against the feeling that one is bound
or stopped in one's process of growth.
Real freedom consists in the full ability a person has to change his allegiance.
It is the ability to choose that to which one feels the need to commit oneself.
There is no life without some kind of allegiance or commitment;
only, for most people, the nature of this allegiance
and what they give allegiance to are unconscious,
taken for granted and compulsive or automatic factors.
One can indeed truly state that when a man hesitates
between two courses of action which he is free to take,
and tabulates in his mind the pros and cons of each possibility,
he is not truly free'.
He is only free when the whole of himself spontaneously acts
in a particular way because his whole being
cannot take any other course of action.
He is so irrevocably committed to one mode and quality
of being, thinking, feeling and behaving - his dharma -
that he cannot make any choice that does not fit in with his commitment,
his total allegiance.
The essential point, however, is that this commitment is conscious,
it is made as an individual.
-Directives for New Life
The longed for condition of freedom is always desired or imagined
in relation to and in protest against the feeling that one is bound
or stopped in one's process of growth.
Real freedom consists in the full ability a person has to change his allegiance.
It is the ability to choose that to which one feels the need to commit oneself.
There is no life without some kind of allegiance or commitment;
only, for most people, the nature of this allegiance
and what they give allegiance to are unconscious,
taken for granted and compulsive or automatic factors.
One can indeed truly state that when a man hesitates
between two courses of action which he is free to take,
and tabulates in his mind the pros and cons of each possibility,
he is not truly free'.
He is only free when the whole of himself spontaneously acts
in a particular way because his whole being
cannot take any other course of action.
He is so irrevocably committed to one mode and quality
of being, thinking, feeling and behaving - his dharma -
that he cannot make any choice that does not fit in with his commitment,
his total allegiance.
The essential point, however, is that this commitment is conscious,
it is made as an individual.
-Directives for New Life
Initiation
Initiation is a process marking the entrance (or expansion)
of an individualized human consciousness into a new field of experience.
It implies a more or less lengthy and severe process
of preparation and transition
necessary for a successful taking of his new step of personal growth.
In older societies it was brought to a conscious focus
by tests and 'rites of passage'.
Initiation implies a reordering of energies and purposes
in terms of a new type of experiences
related to a changing kind of functional participation in the community.
It leads to, yet it also requires a change in consciousness.
The preparatory phase of the process
refers to the change that is needed before the initiation;
that is, the ability to desire, to will and to be ready
to take the new step has first to be developed,
and in formal rites of initiation its effectiveness must be demonstrated
by a successful passage through definite tests -
physical, psychological or at least symbolic.
This implies that any kind of initiation is a victory
over the inertia of habits of thinking-feeling and behaving
in terms of what was one normal functioning,
a dying to the past and rebirth to an unfamiliar and uncertain future -
thus a victory over fear and an act of faith in the yet-unknown.
-Directives for New Life
of an individualized human consciousness into a new field of experience.
It implies a more or less lengthy and severe process
of preparation and transition
necessary for a successful taking of his new step of personal growth.
In older societies it was brought to a conscious focus
by tests and 'rites of passage'.
Initiation implies a reordering of energies and purposes
in terms of a new type of experiences
related to a changing kind of functional participation in the community.
It leads to, yet it also requires a change in consciousness.
The preparatory phase of the process
refers to the change that is needed before the initiation;
that is, the ability to desire, to will and to be ready
to take the new step has first to be developed,
and in formal rites of initiation its effectiveness must be demonstrated
by a successful passage through definite tests -
physical, psychological or at least symbolic.
This implies that any kind of initiation is a victory
over the inertia of habits of thinking-feeling and behaving
in terms of what was one normal functioning,
a dying to the past and rebirth to an unfamiliar and uncertain future -
thus a victory over fear and an act of faith in the yet-unknown.
-Directives for New Life
The Sage
The Sage is totally unattached to anything in particular.
He or she allows all life, all events, all human relationships
to pass through his or her consciousness -
indeed through the whole of his or her being at all levels of activity.
The consciousness of the Sage could almost be called a 'sieve',
for the vast flow of life's experiences pass through it;
but the sieve has form, an individual form.
It is a structured mind.
What flows through it acquires meaning.
This is the supreme mystery of la sagesse.
It gives a meaning to everything that flows through the unresisting,
yet totally focused consciousness.
Where the Sage is, motion occurs.
It is not even 'spontaneous'
because spontaneity etymologically refers to what is 'one's own'.
In the sage, there is no longer any owner
and only a release of dynamism which is consciousness
at the center of the release.
This center is the Sage; but it is not a 'he' or 'she';
it is simply the centrality of the motion,
the 'tone' that is one of a myriad of overtones
of the cosmic Fundamental of the field of activity
to which the action refers.
-The Astrology of Transformation
He or she allows all life, all events, all human relationships
to pass through his or her consciousness -
indeed through the whole of his or her being at all levels of activity.
The consciousness of the Sage could almost be called a 'sieve',
for the vast flow of life's experiences pass through it;
but the sieve has form, an individual form.
It is a structured mind.
What flows through it acquires meaning.
This is the supreme mystery of la sagesse.
It gives a meaning to everything that flows through the unresisting,
yet totally focused consciousness.
Where the Sage is, motion occurs.
It is not even 'spontaneous'
because spontaneity etymologically refers to what is 'one's own'.
In the sage, there is no longer any owner
and only a release of dynamism which is consciousness
at the center of the release.
This center is the Sage; but it is not a 'he' or 'she';
it is simply the centrality of the motion,
the 'tone' that is one of a myriad of overtones
of the cosmic Fundamental of the field of activity
to which the action refers.
-The Astrology of Transformation
One
The universal One in Its diffuse and undifferentiated state,
spreads out in infinite Space,
seeks to focus itself in a particular one,
the source of a new manifestation;
and to do that it must become centered in matter.
We interpret this action symbolically
by speaking of a "descent"into the depths and the darkness.
All such descents are motivated by a desire
for new and more inclusive experiences in some form of life.
-The Sun is Also a Star
spreads out in infinite Space,
seeks to focus itself in a particular one,
the source of a new manifestation;
and to do that it must become centered in matter.
We interpret this action symbolically
by speaking of a "descent"into the depths and the darkness.
All such descents are motivated by a desire
for new and more inclusive experiences in some form of life.
-The Sun is Also a Star
Centers
All centers
- be they those of atoms, cells , suns or galaxies -
are not only related in the fourth dimension of "interpenetration,"
they actually are one in what one might call the fifth dimension.
-The Sun is Also a Star
- be they those of atoms, cells , suns or galaxies -
are not only related in the fourth dimension of "interpenetration,"
they actually are one in what one might call the fifth dimension.
-The Sun is Also a Star
Life
"Life" refers to a type of organic integration
which is always to some extent adjusted
to a set of particular conditions in space and time;
it operates at a certain place and under seasonal conditions.
Life can "adapt" itself to some degree of change,
but actually the possible variations
of temperature, climate and environment
to which any living organism can satisfactorily adapt itself
are very small considering the immense
range of possibilities of the universe.
Life operates on the principle of exclusion;
it accepts only for integration
that which is like its original substance,
that which vibrates in constant harmony with its own rhythm.
-Fire Out of the Stone
which is always to some extent adjusted
to a set of particular conditions in space and time;
it operates at a certain place and under seasonal conditions.
Life can "adapt" itself to some degree of change,
but actually the possible variations
of temperature, climate and environment
to which any living organism can satisfactorily adapt itself
are very small considering the immense
range of possibilities of the universe.
Life operates on the principle of exclusion;
it accepts only for integration
that which is like its original substance,
that which vibrates in constant harmony with its own rhythm.
-Fire Out of the Stone
Numbers
The number one is in all numbers.
All numbers are expressions of the "one".
They are "one" in varied aspects,
in various degrees of relationship to unity,
performing in varied places and at various times,
the works of unity.
-Fire Out of the Stone
Number 4 refers basically to the material world.
Numerologically speaking,
the Vibration 4 dominates the collective consciousness
of everything belonging strictly to the earth's biosphere,
the realm of life
(using the term life in its strictest sense
as the power that draws together, organizes, sustains and multiplies
a collection of material units.)
At the present stage of the evolution of mankind as a life-species,
the Vibration 4 is dominant.
From the point of view of the ascending process of development
and the eventual spiritualization of human consciousness,
the "Great Work" - to use an alchemical term -
is the raising of the Vibration 4 to the level of the 5.
Mind as a form of activity which can, and yet need not,
become independent of biological impulses,
answers to the Vibration 5.
Symbolically stated, the issue is whether the emergent Number 5
will remain attached to the Vibration (Number 4)
of the biosphere and of generic mankind,
or will become not only sensitive to,
but eventually an operative agent for,
the Universal Love and Light represented by Number 6.
In a symbolic sense,
the man whose mind whose mind has become attuned
to the supernal form of the Universal Light
is also capturing Light-energy to feed the consciousness of men
operating almost exclusively at the level of Vibration 4.
All great inspired works of philosophy, religion, art and literature
can be considered instances of a transcendent type of photosynthesis.
They bring down the 6 into the 5 of the mass mentality of the culture.
The light is esoterically symbolized by the Number 6.
-The Astrological Mandala
...six being the number of the soul
-Fire Out of the Stone
All numbers are expressions of the "one".
They are "one" in varied aspects,
in various degrees of relationship to unity,
performing in varied places and at various times,
the works of unity.
-Fire Out of the Stone
Number 4 refers basically to the material world.
Numerologically speaking,
the Vibration 4 dominates the collective consciousness
of everything belonging strictly to the earth's biosphere,
the realm of life
(using the term life in its strictest sense
as the power that draws together, organizes, sustains and multiplies
a collection of material units.)
At the present stage of the evolution of mankind as a life-species,
the Vibration 4 is dominant.
From the point of view of the ascending process of development
and the eventual spiritualization of human consciousness,
the "Great Work" - to use an alchemical term -
is the raising of the Vibration 4 to the level of the 5.
Mind as a form of activity which can, and yet need not,
become independent of biological impulses,
answers to the Vibration 5.
Symbolically stated, the issue is whether the emergent Number 5
will remain attached to the Vibration (Number 4)
of the biosphere and of generic mankind,
or will become not only sensitive to,
but eventually an operative agent for,
the Universal Love and Light represented by Number 6.
In a symbolic sense,
the man whose mind whose mind has become attuned
to the supernal form of the Universal Light
is also capturing Light-energy to feed the consciousness of men
operating almost exclusively at the level of Vibration 4.
All great inspired works of philosophy, religion, art and literature
can be considered instances of a transcendent type of photosynthesis.
They bring down the 6 into the 5 of the mass mentality of the culture.
The light is esoterically symbolized by the Number 6.
-The Astrological Mandala
...six being the number of the soul
-Fire Out of the Stone
Time
What is timeless can not of course have any beginning or end.
But can one actually think of time itself beginning or ending?
This is very doubtful.
One can only thing in any real sense of the beginning
of a "cycle" of time, a wholeness of time.
The "beginning" and "end" belong to the realm of time.
"Eternal Now"...it is and it acts in and through time,
not outside of time.
-Fire Out of the Stone
But can one actually think of time itself beginning or ending?
This is very doubtful.
One can only thing in any real sense of the beginning
of a "cycle" of time, a wholeness of time.
The "beginning" and "end" belong to the realm of time.
"Eternal Now"...it is and it acts in and through time,
not outside of time.
-Fire Out of the Stone
Space
During periods of existential cosmic "manifestation,"
Space is extended in many dimensions
because there are a great many levels of cosmic activity.
But in terms of "non-manifestation,"
Space can said to have withdrawn inward
in the dimensionless mathematical point.
Universal space has been often symbolized by an ocean,
an infinite ocean of possibility.
-An Astrological Mandala
Space is extended in many dimensions
because there are a great many levels of cosmic activity.
But in terms of "non-manifestation,"
Space can said to have withdrawn inward
in the dimensionless mathematical point.
Universal space has been often symbolized by an ocean,
an infinite ocean of possibility.
-An Astrological Mandala
Unity, Diversity and Wholeness
The use of the phrase "unity in diversity"
has recently become widespread;
it should really be "diversity seeking unity."
The many are yearning for the state of oneness;
but to speak of a state of oneness is to indulge in Neptunian illusion.
All that man may reach is a consciousness of unity;
dualism remains the actual fact,
except perhaps at the most metaphysical level.
In terms of existence, we should speak of wholeness, not oneness.
-The Sun is Also a Star
Wholeness is unity in manifestation.
-Fire Out of the Stone
has recently become widespread;
it should really be "diversity seeking unity."
The many are yearning for the state of oneness;
but to speak of a state of oneness is to indulge in Neptunian illusion.
All that man may reach is a consciousness of unity;
dualism remains the actual fact,
except perhaps at the most metaphysical level.
In terms of existence, we should speak of wholeness, not oneness.
-The Sun is Also a Star
Wholeness is unity in manifestation.
-Fire Out of the Stone
The Mystic and the Avatar
Seen from a broad perspective,
the ascent of consciousness and the descent of transforming power
constitutes a single bipolar process;
but in the life of a particular individual,
one of the two polarities, or directions usually is emphasized.
Each movement has its own requirements,
its special modes of activity and its characteristic features.
The mystic seeks union with the Divine;
the avatar (or in a more limited sense, the truly creative genius)
carries the transformative power of the Divine into the field of society and culture –
perhaps even of matter itself.
He fecundates this field with "seed ideas"
and with the vision of the next phase of achievement
in the evolution of planetary humanity.
In both the avatar and the mystic,
the I-sense – which today actually means the personal ego –
has to be transformed and transfigured.
But the mystic seeks either to make of his consciousness a quiet lake
unrippled by ego tensions or conflicts,
so that the light of the Divine may reflect itself
upon the inner mirror of the pacified heart,
or to completely lose himself in a "unitive state",
while the Avatar and the "inspirited" (rather than merely inspired) genius or hero,
uses his mind, his feelings, and even his total person as an accurately formed lens
to focus the flow of whatever spiritual energy it is his burden of destiny
to impress upon his mental, psychic, social or material environment.
In many instances this energy has initially a destructive character –
for the new reality has to emerge phoenix-like, out of the ashes of the consumed past;
yet it need not totally shatter the obsolescent forms,
if their inertia can be overcome by the fascinating power of the new vision.
-Humanistic to Transpersonal Astrology
the ascent of consciousness and the descent of transforming power
constitutes a single bipolar process;
but in the life of a particular individual,
one of the two polarities, or directions usually is emphasized.
Each movement has its own requirements,
its special modes of activity and its characteristic features.
The mystic seeks union with the Divine;
the avatar (or in a more limited sense, the truly creative genius)
carries the transformative power of the Divine into the field of society and culture –
perhaps even of matter itself.
He fecundates this field with "seed ideas"
and with the vision of the next phase of achievement
in the evolution of planetary humanity.
In both the avatar and the mystic,
the I-sense – which today actually means the personal ego –
has to be transformed and transfigured.
But the mystic seeks either to make of his consciousness a quiet lake
unrippled by ego tensions or conflicts,
so that the light of the Divine may reflect itself
upon the inner mirror of the pacified heart,
or to completely lose himself in a "unitive state",
while the Avatar and the "inspirited" (rather than merely inspired) genius or hero,
uses his mind, his feelings, and even his total person as an accurately formed lens
to focus the flow of whatever spiritual energy it is his burden of destiny
to impress upon his mental, psychic, social or material environment.
In many instances this energy has initially a destructive character –
for the new reality has to emerge phoenix-like, out of the ashes of the consumed past;
yet it need not totally shatter the obsolescent forms,
if their inertia can be overcome by the fascinating power of the new vision.
-Humanistic to Transpersonal Astrology
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