divine architecture

Divine Architecture of Greece and Nature

Posted on by Harold Boulette

“The Pythagoreans believed that everything which existed had a voice and that all creatures were eternally singing the praise of the Creator. …

“The Greek mysteries included in their doctrines a magnificent concept of the relationship existing between music and form. The elements of architecture, for example, were considered as comfortable to musical modes and notes, or as having a musical counterpart. Consequently when a building was erected to which a number of these elements were combined, the structure was then likened to a musical chord, which was harmonic. …

“In constructing their temples of initiation, the early priests frequently demonstrated their superior knowledge of the principles underlying the phenomena known as vibration. A considerable part of the mystery rituals consisted of invocations and intonements, for which purpose special sound chambers were constructed. A word whispered in one of these apartments was so intensified that the reverberations made the entire building sway.” ~Manly P.Hall

Divine Architecture of Music

The ancient Greeks were not the only ones who considered sound, music, and the divine proportions of it to be related to spiritual development. The Greeks got much of their spiritual teachings from the Egyptians. The Egyptians probably got much of their from even older civilizations such as the Babylonians and the people of Atlantis.

The same laws of divine proportion that were used in developing and composing music were used in architecture and other arts. Divine architecture is never based on the whims and concepts of any individual architect. While each building has individuality, the ancients knew that it was always best to use divine proportion. Thus ancient buildings were not just built for function and beauty, but to inspire spiritual growth as well. It just happens that when those laws are followed, you get a building that is beautiful, functional, and lasting. While it is true that most of the ancient Greek buildings now lie in ruins, they have held up far better than any of our modern buildings.

Symphony of Divine Architecture

A harmonious song that follows the divine laws can be played by a single instrument or a small band. It is much more challenging, I think, to compose and arrange such tunes to be played by a large orchestra. Not only must each musician and each instrument be played according to divine proportion, but the entire assembled orchestra must do so together.

The same is true for making s symphony of divine architecture. It is one thing to have a building or two made by the rules of divine proportion, it is much harder to do most of a city that way. I think the ancient Greeks may have succeeded in doing that in ancient Athens. Not just one or two, but nearly all major buildings in the city were built according to the laws of divine architecture. As a result, the entire city had a harmony to it. This harmony helped those who lived their develop their spiritual side. It explains why so many great philosophers came from there.

Divine Architecture in Nature

We couldn’t call these laws of Divine Architecture divine if they existed only in things made by man. The good news is that they are found in nature as well. What is often referred to as the Golden Ratio or the Fibonacci sequence is found often in nature. While it may not always be obvious, sometimes it is. We simply have to look at things a little more closely than usual.

The seed head of a sunflower is a good example. A quick glance may not reveal it, but a close look shows that the seeds form a Fibonacci spiral. Pine cones do the same. The shells of some creatures such as the Nautilus have a similar spiral design. And on a much larger scale, it can be found in spiral galaxies like our own Milky Way.

But it isn’t always spirals. In the human face, the distance between the eyes, nose, and mouth are according to divine proportion. The same is true of most animals. The sectioned body of insects has the same proportions.

It goes beyond the physical realm, also. Naturally, anything properly labeled “divine” is found even more in spiritual realms than in the fallen and distorted physical one. This includes the divine architecture of those dimensions. The music of the spheres found in them follows the golden ration. So do the shapes and proportions of the beings that dwell in them. So one way we help create heaven on earth is to build according to the laws of divine architecture. That would be a good first step in transforming all of Earth into a spiritual world as it was originally.

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divine child

Divine Child and the Awakened Soul

Posted on by Harold Boulette

“The Divine Child which was, in the hour of the mystic conversion, born in the spark of the soul, must learn like other children to walk. …There are many eager trials, many hopes, many disappointments. At last, as it seems suddenly, the moment comes; tottering is over, the muscles have learned their lesson, … and the new self suddenly finds itself—it knows not how—standing upright and secure. That is the moment which marks the boundary between the purgative and the illuminative states.

“The process of this passage of the ‘new’ or spiritual man from his awakening to the illuminated life, has been set out by Jacob Boehme in language which is at one poetic and precise, ‘When Christ the corner stone [ie., the divine principle latent in man] stirreth himself in the extinguished image of man in his hearty conversion and repentance,’ he says, ‘then virgin Sophia appeareth in the stirring of the Spirit of Christ in the extinguished image, in her virgins attire before the Soul; at which the soul is amazed and astonished…’” ~Evelyn Underhill

The Divine Child

There are several ways to interpret “Divine Child”. It could reference Jesus. It could reference the final coming of Christ into the world of man, or it could simply represent the awakening of the Christ Consciousness within ourselves. I think it is clearly the latter in this case.

Another way to look at it is that the awakened soul is the Divine Child. It is like a child, according to Underhill, because it needs training, it needs to mature. Like a newborn, it has much to learn. Awakening (birth) is just the beginning.

Learning to Walk

Ms. Underhill says that this Divine Child, born in the “spark of the soul.” must learn to walk. This is an allegory, of course. The soul doesn’t walk, but it does grow and learn. It doesn’t learn in the same way that a human infant learns, but it learns nonetheless.

The soul may be considered to be a tiny piece of God. A tiny piece that is connected to all the other pieces like bricks in a wall or links in a chain. Because our divine soul is linked to all the others, it has access to all the knowledge, all the truth that exists. But when first awakened, it doesn’t know that. It doesn’t remember that it knows everything, so it has to learn again. It doesn’t remember how to assess all of that truth and wisdom. So it learns gradually, like an infant learning to walk. Continue reading “Divine Child and the Awakened Soul” →

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divine science, mystery school students, Pythagoras

Divine Science of Mathematics and Harmony

Posted on by Harold Boulette

“To Pythagoras music was one of the dependencies of the divine science of mathematics, and its harmonies were inflexibly controlled by mathematical proportions. The Pythagoreans averred that mathematics demonstrated the exact method by which the good established and maintained its universe. Number therefore preceded harmony, since it was the immutable law that governs all harmonic proportions. After discovering these harmonic ratios, Pythagoras gradually initiated disciples into this, the supreme arcanum of his Mysteries. He divided the multitudinous parts of creation into a vast number of planes or spheres, to each of which he assigned a tone, a harmonic interval, a number, a name, a color, and a form. He then proceeded to prove the accuracy of his deductions by demonstrating them upon the different planes of intelligence and substance ranging from the most abstract logical premise to the most concrete geometrical solid. From the common agreement of these diversified methods of proof he established the indisputable existence of certain natural laws.” ~Manly P. Hall

Divine Science

Some people laugh at the idea of a divine science or spiritual science. They see science and spirituality as opposites. Either that or they think one is real and the other fantasy. Which is which varies depending on the individual.

But divine science is a real thing. It is just as real as material science. And mystery schools like that of Pythagoras didn’t fantasize their teachings, they used real science to study reality and make scientific deductions based on their experiments and observations.

Mathematics of Divine Science

One of the first things ancient spiritual leaders learned is that spiritual science is mathematical. More mathematical, in fact, than material science. Because the realm of matter is flawed, having been created by the Demiurge and not the real God, it has laws, but also exceptions to all of them. Few, if any, exceptions are to be found in spiritual laws that govern spiritual realms. So the spiritual worlds function in complete harmony, with a hierarchy and structure that is mathematical and pure. As Hall puts it, they are inflexibly controlled by the divine science of mathematics. Continue reading “Divine Science of Mathematics and Harmony” →

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heavenly radiance

Heavenly Radiance of the Highest Heaven

Posted on by Harold Boulette

“God has created the highest heaven, a pure and simple Radiance, which enrings and encloses all the heavens and all bodily and material things. …. It is an outward dwelling-place and a kingdom of God and His saints, full of glory and eternal joy. Now since this heaven is an unmingled Radiance, there is here neither time, nor space, nor movement, nor any change; for it is unmovable and unchangeable above all things. The sphere which is nearest to this glowing heaven is called the First Movement. For here all movement arises from the highest heaven, by the Power of God. From this movement the firmament and all planets derive their courses. And through it, all creatures live and grow, each according to its kind.

“Now understand this well: so likewise the essence of the soul is a ghostly kingdom of God, full of Divine Radiance transcending all our powers, except they be in that simplified state of which I will not speak now. Behold, in regard to the essence of the soul, wherein God reigns, the unity of our spirit is like in the First Movement; for in this unity, the spirit is moved from above by the power of God.” ~John of Ruysbroeck

Heavenly Radiance

God did create the highest heaven. He created the other heavens as well, if you think of the spiritual dimensions as being heavens. And this highest heaven does indeed have great radiance. In fact, this heaven is pure light, nothing else. This is, of course, a spiritual light. Spiritual light is not the same as physical light, although the two are related.

When the prophet Malachi wrote about the coming age of the Sun of Righteousness, he said this sun would shine seven times brighter than the normal sun. Physical science tells us that would be a very bad thing. If the sun became seven times brighter, it would burn up the Earth and everything on it. Fortunately, that is not what Malachi meant. He was talking about the spiritual sun, not the physical. The spiritual sun is linked to, and fed by, that highest heaven. More of that heavenly radiance is being sent into our spiritual sun. That is making the spiritual sun brighter and brighter until it will be seven times as bright as before.

The physical sun will not be seven times brighter, but it will be affected. Scientists already know that certain types of radiation coming from the sun have increased in recent decades. They don’t know why. They say it has no connection with global warming. They are wrong about that. The important thing is that the heavenly radiance reaching us through our spiritual sun is helping people awaken to their spiritual self. At the very least, it is making many people aware of the Great Illusion of matter, even before they are truly awakened.

Neither Time nor Space

Ruysbroeck says this highest heaven has no time or space. It has no movement and no change. All of that is true. This highest heaven is also called “the Godhead”. It is the place where God is totally united.

The next dimension below this one is the first one where change and movement can happen. Still, this level has no time or space. Some would say that there can be no movement without time and space. It is possible, however, to have a kind of movement that exists purely on a spiritual level. This is the highest level in which beings other than God can exist. I have covered dimensions more thoroughly in previous posts, so I won’t dig into that here. If you wish to read more about the dimensions, click here.

Unmingled Radiance

Ruysbroeck says this heavenly radiance of the highest heaven is unmingled. By that, he means that this dimension is one of pure light. It has no darkness at all. Not ten percent dark. Not one percent dark. It isn’t even one tenth of one percent dark. It is all light. That is what we need to return to.

Some people argue that spirituality is about accepting darkness as well as light. In a sense they are correct. But only in a sense. We have to acknowledge that darkness exists. We should not hide from it. Neither should we embrace it. We know it exists, but part of the work of spiritual people is to get rid of the darkness. Not by destroying it, but by helping God to transform it into light.

Ghostly Kingdom

Ruysbroeck says the human soul is “ a ghostly kingdom of God.” This seems to us to be a strange thing to say. We think of a ghost as something dead, and the soul is not dead. The soul is eternal. It cannot die.

What he is saying is that the soul is a pale reflection of that heavenly radiance of the highest heaven. This is made clearer when he says that it is full of divine radiance that transcend all our powers. It transcends all our Earthly powers, for spirit, being eternal, has far more power than anything physical. It may not seem that way when you have not awakened those spiritual faculties, but it is. We can know that even on the level of matter by looking at what effect an awakened soul has on people. Jesus, Buddha and St. Francis of Assisi are good examples of those changed and made far more powerful by the heavenly radiance.

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