SOUL AND THE ETHERIC SYSTEM

No question of any kind will enable the man who has not yet contacted his own soul, to understand this inner self, his hidden observer and director. Fortunately among normal intelligent men there are few who, consciously or unconsciously, have not at times been aware of this inner ruler. Of those who have made this contact, there are many, however, who have not consciously recognised the deeper meaning of this experience, or else they have not yet reached the stage where this inner constitution of their being has become of interest to them, and consequently they do not devote any serious thought to the subject. Others again are so involved in the struggle for achievement in the three worlds of human expression, by scrambling for material things, by attempting to satisfy every emotion and desire, and gathering all knowledge that might serve their ambitions, that they are regrettably is the position, and although one is inclined to be saddened by this, it should be remembered that it all forms part of the Plan of Life, and that with the course of time—and incarnations—all these individuals will yet become consciously aware of the Self, the Inner Guide and the Path of Life.

The soul of each individual has reached its own specific stage of unfoldment; each soul has to endure every possible phase of experience that life in the material world can offer—the good and the bad, the bitter and the sweet, and to learn from these experiences, until eventually the essence has been extracted and assimilated from all that physical life can offer, and the urge to withdraw from the three worlds and to return to the Father’s home become paramount.

Defining the soul.

[1] Matter is the vehicle of the manifestation of soul on this plane of existence, and soul is the vehicle on a higher plane for the manifestation of Spirit, and these three are a trinity synthesised by life, which pervades them all. Through the use of matter the soul unfolds and finds its climax in the soul man. [He who thinks.]

[2] The soul . . . is neither spirit nor matter but is the relation between them. The soul is the mediator between this duality; it is the middle principle, the link between God and His form. Therefore the soul is another name for the Christ  aspect, whether in nature or in man . . . The soul is the form-building aspect, and is that attractive factor in every form . . .which  drives all God’s creatures forward along the path of evolution, through one kingdom after another, towards an eventual goal and a glorious consummation. The soul is the quality which every form manifests. It is that subtle something which distinguishes one element from another, one mineral from another. It is the intangible essential nature of the form which in the vegetable kingdom determines whether a rose or a cauliflower, an elm or a watercress shall come into being; it is a type of energy which distinguishes the varying species of the animal kingdom, and makes one man different from another in appearance, nature or character.

[3] The soul is responsible for the Quality and characteristics of life, and represents the latent powers of expression in every human being.

[4] The soul’s contribution is self-consciousness, and the source through which the form registers conscious awareness of its environment. The extent, to which the consciousness is expanding, is therefore an indication of the progressive integration of the soul with its instrument of expression.

[5] The soul represents the principles of sentiency and intelligence in man, demonstrating as mind and mental awareness, and giving rise to the power to discriminate, to analyse, to distinguish, and to decide.

[6] The soul is immortal. When a particular life has fulfilled its purpose, the soul withdraws, the physical body ‘dies’ and disintegrates, and the soul returns to egoic levels.

[7] The immortal soul is the link between successive incarnations; it therefore provides continuity. By extracting and assimilating the essence from experience gained during each incarnation, the soul initiates the unfoldment and evolution of the consciousness.

Etheric/physical mechanism

  Humanity is an expression of two aspects of the soul –the animal soul and the divine soul—and these two, blended and fused in man, constitute the human soul. It is this fact that is the cause of man’s special problems, and it is these two factors which involve him in the long struggle which eventuates in the liberation of the divine soul, through the sublimation of the animal soul.

On the plane of soul existence, there is no separation, no “my soul and thy soul”. It is only in the three worlds of illusion and maya that we think in terms of souls and bodies. Just in so far as a person comes under soul impression, then soul control, and final identification with the soul, just so far does he move towards the centre of fusion. As your love for humanity increases, and your interest in yourself decreases, so will you move towards that centre of light and love where the Masters stand in spiritual being.

The personality is a triple combination of forces, impressing and absolutely controlling the fourth aspect of the personality, which is the dense physical body. The three personality types of energy are the etheric body, which is the vehicle of vital energy, the astral body, which is the vehicle of the feeling energy or sentient force, and the mental body, which is the vehicle of the intelligent energy of will, that is destined to be the dominant creative aspect . . . These forces constitute the lower man.

The etheric web not only constitutes an intrinsic part of every form on our planet, but this system is carried forward throughout our solar system, and eventually beyond this complex, to include every other star, constellation and galaxy within the infinite macrocosm. It is this etheric network which serves as the channel for the flow of energy and life essence, and it is through this system that each form is eventually linked up with every other form, not only within our Earth life, but throughout the solar system and the Cosmos in its totality. Although these concepts really go beyond all human comprehension, it is because of this interlinked system that every action of whatever nature, from a flash of thought to a nuclear explosion must have some influence on all the rest of the great Surround. There are of course many impulses that are so slight that the vibrations which they set in motion can hardly be registered. Others again may be sufficiently violent to have their effects throughout the ethers. And in this way our planet, with all that it encompasses, is persistently being subjected to forces that have been generated from sources from within its sphere of normal interaction or its ring-pass-not, and in addition to constant streams of impulses or rays of energy issuing forth either from sources within the surrounding solar system or otherwise from wider stretching celestial spheres.

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