CHAPTER 1
Spiritual Teaching
What is Spirit?
This is a subject that is both mystifying and disconcerting at the same time. We are all spirit. There has never been a time when we were not spirit. The spirit world is the natural world of creation. The spirit world is a world of Light, a sphere, a plane of consciousness that is our natural home – another level of existence. We were all created as a seed by the Absolute Being, to develop and unfold those spiritual qualities inherent in each one of us. This is a very simplistic way of putting it and for those who wish to study more, there is a wealth of books and teachers available to take you further on the path.
There are as many aspects of creation as there are different levels within each one of us. Here we are referring to the cosmos, made up of multiple universes, solar and planetary systems. With our finite mind, it is impossible to try to figure out the infinite mind. We cannot go there, but we do have a semblance of knowledge, again inherent in us, that gives us some understanding, although infinitesimal. As far as we can ascertain, through the many books of old, the Absolute Being, breathed out an energy, a fire, and life eventually (after aeons and aeons of time) became form. These forms were the initial constellations, planets, cosmic life, solar life and planetary life that we often hear or read about. This is a vast subject needing in-depth study. For those who would like to go further, there are many wonderful books about this.
There are three words which have been given in a number of teachings and which perhaps exemplifies Creation, and these are:
EXPERIMENT – EXPERIENCE – EXPRESSION
The whole of creation is an experiment - an experience that can only be measured by the myriad of forms' expressions.
Above the earth experience, is the etheric and astral, then the mental planes, then the buddhic, then higher levels which are known as atmic levels and even beyond. Each plane has seven levels of experience. Every individual soul will need to develop and unfold to reach the highest degree of realization in order to attain full consciousness and then move onto other planes of existence within the cosmos.
In my search for spirit, and initially coming from an orthodox religious upbringing, I thought that God was the ultimate. Little by little I started to think of the Creator of all life. Lately, I have concluded that if we truly believe that there is no beginning and no end, how can there be a Creator. A Creator suggests a beginning of something. So now through my own inner search I have realised that there is an Architect of all life, the Absolute Being – an Intelligence well beyond our finite minds understanding. Neither He nor She, just It! I believe the Absolute Being to be an immeasurable Energy, a Force which is both creative and destructive – destructive in order to create. Other than this, I can offer no other explanation. So much of what we understand or think we know about Creation is probably mere supposition. Many books have been written by distinguished and learned authors. The Masters themselves have chosen disciples through whom much knowledge has been imparted. It might be worthwhile to remember that we can only be given what we can understand at our level of development. Remember that the Masters too are developing and moving forward. They can see with a wider vision and clarity than we can and are there to help us, to guide us forward along the path. We need also to understand that there is a hierarchy of Masters, of Higher Beings (sometimes also called Monads) who are guiding the whole experience of humanity. Everything that happens has a purpose and a reason, be that of evolution, creation or 'destruction'.
With our finite minds, we can only glimpse at something so huge, so awesome, that is impossible to fathom. Nevertheless, what we do have is that inner knowing that there is something far greater than ourselves, something that we need to reach out and aspire to. Slowly our spirit guides us forward along a very long and often arduous journey. This journey is part of the evolution of life. All life is evolving constantly. Nothing stands still. This includes the planetary system, the universes and the Logos. Life is perpetual motion.
The earth planet is only a small fraction of what there exists in this incredible universe. And there are other universes, other galaxies, other cosmic spheres.
It is truly a wondrous journey!
What is the Spirit World?
The spirit world is our true home. This may appear rather basic and simplistic but nevertheless a true fact. A home where there are many companions and loved ones awaiting us. In the spirit world there are many levels or spheres of consciousness and we will go to whichever one our soul has reached in its path of evolution. We would be limiting ourselves if we think of loved ones as solely those we have known or loved in this earthly life. There are companions of our soul who have been with us in other lives and have shared our lessons. There are those who are karmically linked to us until we have cleared that karma. We all belong to group souls and aspects of that group soul incarnates at differing times according to the condition of what needs to be learned appertaining to the group soul. Whatever we learn, whatever we achieve, is also realised by our group soul. All experiences are recorded at group soul level and in the Akashic records. As we learn, they learn. As they learn (in other circumstances and experiences), we learn. And importantly, we grow.
Our home, our level of consciousness, in spirit will be determined by our endeavours on earth, in this lifetime and in previous ones. There is perfect justice, perfect outworking of spiritual law. Natural spiritual law is just and perfect. There is good order and no one escapes this. In spirit we cannot cheat, lie or deceive by thought, word or action. What we are, and what we have attained, is imprinted on the ether for all to see. What or rather who we are deep inside will show like a fingerprint, it is individual to us, it cannot lie nor can we cover it up. There is no escaping in spirit. But in these realms everyone is constantly learning and therefore understanding and compassionate and above all non-judgmental. There are many teachers, helpers who come to support us and help us to understand our lives on earth and the lessons we gained by those experiences. They will help us face our weaknesses and our qualities. With their guidance we will then be able to judge ourselves, or rather assess our past endeavours, and plan our next stage of development.
The spirit world is vibrant with life, there is plenty of activity and there is also a sense of peace which underlies all activity. This is the peace of belonging, a knowing that although all at first may seem amazing and possibly confusing, we have survived death; that life does go on in other spheres. There is much to learn and the wonder is that there is no time limit in which to learn.
The spirit world is also fun. It is not all the serious stuff of learning and getting things right or floating in a nebulous form. Our friends in spirit have a tremendous sense of humour and it can be wonderful to establish a rapport with companions who we may think at first are unknown to us but in reality, are well known to us. You will meet many kindred spirits who have gone through similar experiences as yourself and will be able to understand and share their experiences with you. There will be many reunions with old friends and loved ones – a time of sharing and joy. There is music, there is dancing, there is healing, there is learning. There is also the opportunity to continue giving in service. The material and physical problems of the earthly life will no longer trouble you. You will gain a greater understanding of earthly conditions and happenings.
There will be opportunities when you are ready to help in the healing and care of others if this is your wish. This could be in the healing temples or hospitals to help those souls who have gone through great physical duress during their time on earth and are now in need of care and healing. This healing is of course for the soul as the memory of the physical suffering is stressed on the soul of the individual. Working with children may be more your line and if this is so there are a number of ways in which this can be done. There are those children who have starved to death from different countries or who through malnutrition have suffered great physical diseases, they will need very tender and gentle care. My own mother works with these children and is there to welcome them as they enter the spirit world. There are children who have been very cruelly treated on earth whose souls need a great deal of gentle loving, nurturing and reassurance. Perhaps you may prefer to work with older children whose physical parents are still on earth and need a spirit mother or father.
My contacts with spirit are so natural. Perhaps this is one of the reasons why I quite enjoy being on my own. Truly I am not alone – none of us are. I am helped by my awareness of the spirit world. My companions and my work with the ancestral group soul are a source of wonder and joy. Sometimes I am perplexed when I don't quite get what they are trying to teach me, but they are unfailingly patient.
The above is truly very simplistic. It is a starting ground. As we unfold and develop our true spiritual nature there are other spheres, other planets with whom we have an association, and we may choose to move on to these to continue our search. There is constant motion, nothing stops still. Energy evolves. It is like the waves on the seashore. It comes in and ebbs out, similar to the in and out breath. This is life. This is the force, the energy that moves us and holds all life, all kingdoms of nature, in its sphere. Light and Darkness – all One!
What is Spiritual Teaching?
What is meant by spiritual teaching? Very simply, it is guidance given by those in the world of spirit to provide us with a better understanding of the big questions of life, such as:
• What is the purpose of life?
• What is there after this life on earth?
• What is the spirit world?
• How do we bridge the gap between life on earth and life in the spirit world?
• How to recognise who we truly are?
• How do we free ourselves from indoctrination?
... and many more.
The general concept of the spirit world is of wandering ghosts who come back to spook us or to give us messages through a medium, be this by direct contact or by other phenomena like ouji board or séances etc.
In reality, many of these are not true contacts as these phenomena are related usually to the astral plane which is illusory and therefore only pertinent to the plane of emotions. That these emotions are very real to the majority of people is an accepted fact but the fundamental aspect of spiritual teaching is to bring enlightenment to each soul so as to disperse the illusory concepts surrounding humanity, thereby lifting the veil between the earthly plane and the 'true and real' spiritual world.
To most people the spirit world, if they ever think of it, is something that one finds out about after death. Indeed, many don't even acknowledge a spirit world and believe that this (the earthly planet) is all there is. Even so, to those who half-believe in a spirit world the idea that one should start preparing now for an after-life is somewhat incredulous. Yet, this is the most tremendous journey that we will ever take. So, the general perception of a spirit-life is rather vague and one that most people prefer not to think about let alone discuss or read about. However, there are those who have the 'gift' of contact with the spirit world whose pure motives help others to cope with grief and bereavement.
Hurdles and Obstacles along the way
The next major hurdle when approaching the topic of spiritual life is fear. Fear in the minds of the people who know nothing about the world of spirit and who have concocted in their minds impressions of something possibly a little spooky, evil and unwholesome. As fear is based on lack of understanding, then the obvious step here is to educate ourselves to remove this fear. But this is not so easy as one finds oneself battling with the kind of fear that has been a conditioned factor in the minds of people for possibly centuries and indeed has been played upon by orthodox religions to keep the people within their control.
Then of course there is prejudice. Someone may have heard a story about someone else who had a frightening experience with the world of spirit, or such like, which is all rather vague and therefore the assumption that the world of spirit is not to be messed about with is arrived at. Some may have had contacts with mediums where messages may have been a little dubious or hard to accept so the warning has gone out to avoid contacts with spirit. There are also many fraudsters disguised as mediums who have created a very different unreal world to the unknowing and concretised their beliefs and fears of the spirit world.
To some, who may frequent mediums, there is the belief that the spirit world only consists of the astral levels and that their loved ones who have departed should be there to assist them in every possible way. They are then disillusioned when this does not happen.
So, in effect, there are many prejudices and fears to overcome in the guidance and teaching of the world of spirit. The spiritual life is simple to live once we have broken through barriers of prejudice, illusion and fear. This statement may appear naïve in its simplicity, but, if a person is really interested in learning how to live a truly spiritual life, and is willing to search further, then as the path unfolds and as knowledge is gained, they realise the true meaning of this statement.
One of the first things to accept is that we are never alone. Around us are helpers from spirit including our very own particular guide who has been with us since birth and has pointed the way for us by the lessons and circumstances we have been placed in. Our helpers vary from time to time according to the particular lesson we need to learn. Let us now take the first point previously mentioned.
What is the Purpose of Life?
This is really two-fold. On the one hand, there is creation and evolution and on the other there is the purpose and unfoldment of spiritual qualities of the individual person.
If we assume that the Absolute Being no doubt had a purpose in conceiving creation as we know it, then perhaps the purpose of creation and the evolution of humanity in general is a concept which the average person can only dimly be aware of and in fact is such a deep and vast subject that the average mind boggles at even the thought of it. It is virtually impossible for the average thinker to imagine the thinking of the Absolute Being or even visualise the purpose of creation itself, let alone get to grips with the evolution of humanity, the universes, solar systems, planetary systems, the cosmos, the galaxies, the different great Ages and the root-races and the different kingdoms of nature. The idea that other universes exist outside our own planetary system may seem incredulous and too awesome and vast a subject to penetrate any further, certainly in this book. But the purpose of spiritual teaching is to bring enlightenment on even this vast and often misconstrued and misunderstood subject.
Let's concentrate on the purpose of life for an individual
Every individual is born with a specific soul purpose and it is the soul, which is the vehicle, the consciousness, for the spirit, that guides the person through the lessons that the individual needs to learn in any particular lifetime. Before it comes back to incarnation, each soul carries with it the knowledge of its journey through the Akashic records and, with this insight, chooses its own parents and the environment and country which it needs in order to develop or strengthen a quality or overcome and control a specific weakness (which is only an undeveloped quality). Everyone is always in the right place at the right time, no matter what the circumstances, to enable the soul to learn from that particular situation or circumstance.
We engender the environment and the circumstances which will help us to unfold those qualities. It will really help us if we can recognise and accept that we have two sides – the outer personality, which is called the character, the side which the outside world normally sees, and the inner 'us' (the soul) which is in fact guiding us from the inner planes and which can, if allowed, help us to face our challenges and trials with calm and tranquillity knowing that all these trials are part of the process of evolution and initiation.
So the first point is to try and differentiate between the outer and the inner you. This can be done by going on a journey of self-discovery. To go on this journey one needs to be very honest with oneself and be prepared to face realities and truths that may prove hard to take for the outer personality, at first, but which will slowly and steadily release and give strength to the inner soul.
