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Forging the Missing Link
between Humanity and Divinity
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To the surprise of most people, a cornucopia of esoteric symbols appears on the back of the American dollar bill. Concealed in this improbable place, on the left side of “The Great Seal of the United States,” is a prophetic message about the next stage in human evolution. This message is found in the stone pyramid whose capstone hovers above it in the sky. Hiding in plain sight, this mysterious symbol points to the evolutionary task for awakening humanity.
Pyramids represent the convergence of heaven and earth—the fusion of spirit and matter—in esoteric symbology. The enigma surrounding this pyramid is the gap between the stone of the base and the capstone with its radiant eye. We know that stone, of the mineral kingdom, vibrates at the lowest frequency of matter, whereas the divine light of the “All-Seeing Eye of Providence,” as the image in the capstone is called, vibrates at a vastly higher frequency. Could this mysterious image be pointing to a gap in vibrational frequencies?
The key to unlocking its meaning can be found in the Latin phrase in the scroll beneath the pyramid. It means: New Order of the Ages. Reflecting on image and words together, the image seems to be saying that the new order of the ages will result from merging the capstone (of spirit) with the base (of matter), that is from infusing dense matter with the light of spirit. The visionaries among America’s Founding Fathers who created the symbol evidently had a vision of a new world order resulting from the spiritualization of matter. But they also recognized the breach that would have to be closed in order to realize that vision.
Paradoxically, it seems that humanity has moved in the opposite direction from what this symbol portends. In the two centuries since the American project was born of an impulse toward enlightened spirituality, it appears we have retrogressed in terms of consciousness. The material forces of our planet have completely overwhelmed all others. But there is another scenario for the future presented in the modern wisdom teachings, along with a later timeframe for the spiritual awakening that holds the key to a new world. Only recently have signs of spiritual awareness begun to enter the common culture.
According to these same teachings, what is now occurring has been unfolding for untold ages. It is part of the divine evolutionary plan for our planet. The spark of spirit implanted in human beings in the mists of time was nurtured over the course of innumerable lifetimes and quickened recently by the inflow of cosmic energies and forces. All along it was intended for human beings to evolve in consciousness by accumulating light through long experience in the world of dense form, and finally awakening from the glamours and illusions of the material plane. After eons of identification with form the soul would finally gather enough light to reveal its divinity.
We're now seeing signs of the fulfillment of that divine intention. The shifting gears of the cosmic clock are bringing a wave of crises that threaten the old “order of the ages,” while also accelerating the spiritual rebirth foundational to the new order. Books, films, and websites about the soul have multiplied along with TV segments about people moved to reach out to serve others—early glimmerings of the prophesied “new order of the ages.” However, the next stage in the evolution of consciousness, which involves learning how to bridge the gap between soul and persona, still lies well “below the radar.”
Upon awakening and realizing that we are dual creatures, both human and divine, we experience the tension of duality that is resolved by treading the path and reaching a higher stage of unity. Along the way, we wrestle with the discordant sense of having two selves, an experience which acts like the grain of sand in the oyster—the irritant that produces the pearl. As the transformative battle proceeds, we eventually learn to attune the vibrations of the lower self to the true Self, enabling the light of the spiritual eye to permeate the 'base of the pyramid.' Even as the higher Self begins to looms large, the personality stubbornly clings to ancient patterns of self-centeredness until finally surrendering to the love and wisdom of the Soul.
The turning-point on the Path comes when the seeker realizes that it is up to him or her to heal the breach in the divided self. To create the new world together, each of us has to close the gap in the metaphoric pyramid—to reveal the radiance of the soul's light. The universal and eternal method, given by the Great Ones who passed this way before us, is meditation. By withdrawing the senses from the outer world, we learn to build a bridge in consciousness (called the antahkarana in the wisdom teachings) that spans the two dimensions of our selves and connects our individual soul with the Kingdom of Souls. (See “Notes on Building the Inner Bridge” below.)
One of the fruits of this bridge-building process is the ability to be impressed by ideas from higher realms. This subtle process is reflected in the achievements of human beings throughout history who have penetrated “the raincloud of knowable things” exisiting on subtler planes. They were able to grasp new truths and ideas that would transform the world for centuries to come. Among the best known of these individuals are founders of the world's major world religions: Krishna, Moses, Buddha, Confucius, Christ, and Mohammed. The spiritual truths and insights received across the bridge of light became teachings of enduring value.
Artists, scientists and philosophers have also received divine inspiration in this way, contributing to the unfoldment of human consciousness through beauty, knowledge and wisdom. Einstein declared, “Ideas come from God.” The artist Paul Klee remarked, “My hand is entirely the instrument of a more distant sphere.” Kahlil Gibran, mystic poet and artist, queried: “Am I a harp that the hand of the almighty may touch me, or a flute that this breath may pass through me?” Thomas Edison commented, “People say I have created things. I have never created anything. I get impressions from the Universe at large and work them out, but I am only a plate on a record or receiving apparatus…”
In the wisdom teachings, the person who forges a link between the two selves becomes a “receiving apparatus” for divine impression concerning the evolutionary Plan. For the first time in human history, large numbers of us are awakening at the same time and encountering the gap between the worlds of matter and spirit. What lies ahead is the transformational task of creating the inner span of consciousness that will enable us—individually and collectively—to bring divine ight into this world. The wisdom teachings ensure us that all such efforts eventually succeed in calling forth a downpour of light from the Kingdom of Souls.
Mother Theresa often said with the deepest humility, “I am merely a broom in the hand of God.” To extend the metaphor we might say that when God holds in his hand a critical mass of brooms, we will have a brand new world. By sacrificing personal desire and ambition in favor of the soul’s impulse to serve the greater good, the human being learns to "infuse matter with spirit," becoming a soul-infused personality whose aim is to help build the new world. Evolving into conscious co-creators with Divinity, as the new age unfolds, we will become critical links in the Great Chain of Being. In cooperation with the Spiritual Kingdom, we will bridge the gap between “heaven and earth” and together establish the “new order of the ages.”
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Notes on Building the Bridge of Light—or Forging the Missing Link
The bridge between the human and the divine is constructed of spiritual or mental substance. Learning to wield this substance—through the power of thought, imagination, and will—is integral to building the bridge and treading the path of transformation. The Path includes three core practices that are common to world religions and spiritual teachings: meditation, spiritual study, and service. (Elements specific to the Ageless Wisdom appear in the descriptions below.)
· Through meditation, we learn to silence the outer world in order to hear the inner voice of the soul; we learn to empty ourselves of the ego’s demands in order to be filled with Higher Purpose. In creative meditation, the mind utilizes visualization, imagination and the power of spiritual will to project energy into higher realms.
· Through spiritual study, we learn to recognize higher truth in a way that reverberates in the depths of the soul and catalyzes inner growth. We also learn the spiritual laws that govern human evolution and the principles of mind and soul whose mastery transforms us into co-creators with “the divine builders.”
· Through service, we demonstrate the soul’s recognition of being part of a larger whole and an expanded sense of responsibility—the natural response of the soul to the world in which it dwells.
In the teachings of the Tibetan Master as transmitted by Alice Bailey, the bridge between the human and divine is constructed by developing a “conscious focused attitude” reflective of the higher nature—through meditation, contemplation and related practices. Over time, the aspirant cultivates the ability to:
· Hold the mind steady in the light;
· Orient the inner focus to the true Self, and lift the consciousness upward toward the reality of the spiritual kingdom; and
· Envision, affirm and realize the inner bridge linking soul and form.
Through such practices we gradually learn to live in conscious relationship with the true Self—the Soul. As the path unfolds and the soul enters the foreground of consciousness, and as we reach out in service to others, spiritual guidance becomes a regular facet of life. Over time, the span of consciousness develops that allows the mind to be impressed by the divine forces that overlight spiritual seekers and guide the evolution of consciousness on Earth.
These forces reside at the higher end of the bridge in consciousness—in the realms of mind, soul, and spirit. They are known collectively as members of the Spiritual Hierarchy of our planet or the Guides of the Race. Their task is to infuse the minds of advanced human beings with vision and inspiration that serve the unfolding Plan of evolution. Higher impressions imbue the mind with greater understanding of the purposes of our Planetary Logos, the Lord of our World, expanding human awareness of the part that each can play in manifesting divine purpose on Earth.
Nancy Seifer and Martin Vieweg
[July 2010]
Related articles:
The Transformative Path
The Middle Way
The Divine Plan
Our Place in the Great Chain of Being
