spiritual consciousness

Spiritual Consciousness and Mental Intellect

Posted on by Harold Boulette

“As man’s Spiritual Consciousness begins to unfold, he begins to have an abiding sense of the reality of the existence of the Supreme Power, and, growing along with it, he finds the sense of Human Brotherhood f human relationship gradually coming into consciousness. He does not get these from his instinctive mind, nor does his intellect make him feel them. Spiritual Mind does not run contrary to intellect – it simply goes beyond intellect. It passes down to the intellect certain truths which it finds in its own regions of the mind, and intellect reasons about them. But they do not originate with intellect. Intellect is cold – Spiritual Consciousness is warm and alive with high feeling.

“Man’s growth towards a better and fuller Idea of the Divine Power does not come from intellect, although the latter reasons upon the impressions received and tried to form them into systems, creeds, cults, etc. Nor does the intellect give us our growing sense of the relationship between man and man – the Brotherhood of Man.” ~William Walker Atkinson

Spiritual Consciousness

The two things we have to get straight to understand this are, (1) consciousness and intellect is not the same thing, and (2) spiritual consciousness is not part of the brain-mind or material mind. Atkinson is not talking about a part of the brain or a part of the Intellect, but something completely separate. The Spiritual Consciousness is very real, but is associated with the spirit rather than the body or mind.

Reality of the Supreme Power

One of the things that we learn through Spiritual Consciousness is that the Supreme Being, or Supreme Power as Atkinson calls Him, is very real. The mind can speculate on it. The mind can even believe in God. But it does so without proof, without evidence. The Spiritual Consciousness goes beyond speculation and links one directly to the Supreme Consciousness which is God. Consciousness is a complicated thing and it’s likely that no one understands it completely. What is known is that consciousness exists at a number of levels and the goal of any real spiritual discipline is to raise ourselves to higher and higher levels until we reach the levels where Angels, and eventually God Himself, dwell and can be connected with. In some of the true tales of near-death experiences, it is clear that some of these people had a brief and temporary connection with those higher levels of Spiritual Consciousness. Those brief connections often change their lives forever. Fortunately, it is not necessary to have a near-death experience to have those connections. It can be done through diligent practice of tried-and-true spiritual disciplines. Continue reading “Spiritual Consciousness and Mental Intellect” →

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death without living

Death Without Living First, A Wasted Life

Posted on by Harold Boulette

Death Without Living

“O death, how bitter is the remembrance of thee to a man that liveth at rest in his possessions, unto the man that hath nothing to vex him, and that hath prosperity in all things: yea, unto him that is yet able to receive meat! O death, acceptable is thy sentence unto the needy, and unto him whose strength faileth, that is now in the last age, and is vexed with all things, and to him that despaireth, and hath lost patience! Fear not the sentence of death, remember them that have been before thee, and that come after; for this is the sentence of the Lord over all flesh. And why art thou against the pleasure of the most High? there is no inquisition in the grave, whether thou have lived ten, or an hundred, or a thousand years. The children of sinners are abominable children, and they that are conversant in the dwelling of the ungodly. The inheritance of sinners’ children shall perish, and their posterity shall have a perpetual reproach. … All that are of the earth shall turn to earth again: so the ungodly shall go from a curse to destruction. The mourning of men is about their bodies: but an ill name of sinners shall be blotted out. Have regard to thy name; for that shall continue with thee above a thousand great treasures of gold. A good life hath but few days: but a good name endureth for ever. My children, keep discipline in peace: for wisdom that is hid, and a treasure that is not seen, what profit is in them both? A man that hideth his foolishness is better than a man that hideth his wisdom. … Be Ashamed of an offense before a judge and ruler; of iniquity before a congregation and people; of unjust dealing before thy partner and friend; And of theft in regard of the place where thou sojournest, and in regard of the truth of God and his covenant; and to lean with thine elbow upon the meat; and of scorning to give and take; Be not ashamed to inform the unwise and foolish, and the extreme aged that contendeth with those that are young: thus shalt thou be truly learned, and approved of all men living. “ ~Ecclesiasticus

Death Will Come

On the physical level, at least, all of us will die. Those who deny that fact, or spend most of their life and money trying to delay it as much as possible, are living a sad life that isn’t truly living at all.

There are also many who, if asked, will admit that they will one day die, yet they spend their entire life acting as if it will never happen. They make no effort to prepare for death, other than perhaps buying a cemetery plot. They don’t ask themselves when they are preparing to act “Is this something I would do if I knew I was going to die tomorrow?” But we all should think that way. The idea that it is fine to live a frivolous and pointless life for fifty or sixty years, then start doing what matters, is foolish. None of us knows how long he will live, or what condition he will be in when he reaches old age. You might be crippled or blind or have some other infirmary that prevents you from doing many things, so you can’t wait. Continue reading “Death Without Living First, A Wasted Life” →

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art of spiritual development

The Art of Spiritual Development Throughout History

Posted on by Harold Boulette

The Art of Spiritual Development

“When a son of Noah possessed the third part of the world after the Flood, this Art broke into Chaldaea and Persia, and then spread into Egypt. The Art having been found out by the superstitious and idolatrous Greeks, some of them who were wiser than the rest betook themselves to the Chaldeans and Egyptians, so that they might draw the same wisdom from their schools. Since, however, the theological study of the law of Moses did not satisfy them, they trusted to their own peculiar genius, and fell away from the right foundation of those natural secrets and arts. This is evident from their fabulous conceptions, and from their errors respecting the doctrine of Moses. It was the custom of the Egyptians to put forward the traditions of that surpassing wisdom only in enigmatic figures and abstruse histories and terms. This was afterwards followed by Homer with marvelous poetic skill; and Pythagoras was also acquainted with it, seeing that he comprised in his writings many things of the law of Moses and the Old Testament. In like manner, Hippocrates, Thales of Miletus, Anaxagoras, Democritus, and others, did not scruple to fix their minds on the same subject. And yet none of them were practiced in the true Astrology, Geometry, Arithmetic, or Medicine because their pride prevented this, since they would not admit disciples belonging to other nations then their own.” ~Paracelsus

The Art of Spiritual Development in Chaldaea and Persia

The name Paracelsus might make you think that he was an ancient philosopher of Greece himself, but in truth, Paracelsus was a sixteenth-century Alchemist and theologian. Frankly, I think he has some things confused in the passage quoted above, yet I think it is useful as a timeline for how spiritual and mystical truth spread throughout the ancient world.

He starts by informing us that the mystic Art was brought to Chaldea and Persia by a son of Noah, or at least by those traveling with him. He doesn’t explain how this knowledge came to Noah and his sons. I think we can assume, however, that it was the knowledge of Atlantis.

While most intellectuals and academicians of today laugh at the idea that Atlantis ever existed, they do so by ignoring abundant evidence. Specifically, there are ruins in South America, particularly the area that is now Peru, where fantastic ruins are found that go back more than ten thousand years. It is clear that a great civilization once existed there, and is probably the place that Plato called Atlantis.

In any case, mystery schools did get created in Chaldea and Persia that taught the great truths and the path to ultimate Wisdom. Please note that they, like other such schools, did not teach Wisdom, but the path to gaining Wisdom. True Wisdom is never found in a book or scroll. The Art of Spiritual Development was not Wisdom itself, but the methods for awakening and developing the spirit and soul so that they could gain Wisdom by growing to and reaching for higher levels of consciousness where such Wisdom exists. Continue reading “The Art of Spiritual Development Throughout History” →

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spirit of understanding

Spirit of Understanding and Wisdom

Posted on by Harold Boulette

“And therefore God gives him the sixth gift, which is the Spirit of Understanding. This gift we have already likened to a fountain with three rills, it establishes our spirit in the Unity, it reveals Truth, and it brings forth a wide and generous Love. This gift may also be likened to sunshine, for by its shining the sun fills the air with a simple brightness and lights all forms, and shows the distinction of all colors. And thereby it shows forth its own power; and its heat is common to the whole world, bringing forth fruits and useful things. So likewise does the first ray of this gift bring about simplicity within the spirit. And this simplicity is penetrated by a particular radiance even as the air of the heavens by the splendor of the sun. For the Grace of God, which is the ground of all gifts, maintains itself essentially like to a simple light in our potential understanding: and, by means of this simple light our spirit is made stable and onefold and enlightened, and fulfilled of Grace and Divine gifts: and here it is like unto God through grace and Divine Love. And since the spirit is now like unto God, and loves God alone above all gifts, it will no longer be satisfied by likeness, nor by created brightness.” ~John of Ruysbroeck

Spirit of Understanding

It might be more understandable in modern English to say “Spiritual Understanding” rather than “Spirit of Understanding,” but I think most of us get the point.

It is an easy thing to say we have understanding. It is just as easy to say we are spiritual. It is even easy to say we have the spirit of understanding. Unfortunately, very often when we say those things it is simply not true. Partly this is because we don’t really know what spiritual knowledge or spiritual understanding is, partly it is because our ego wants us to believe that if others have achieved it, we must have it also. But if we truly want to achieve the spirit of understanding, we must let go of ego fantasies and seek truth and wisdom.

This Spirit of Understanding is not about understanding the material world. Neither is it about developing psychic powers or otherwise manipulating the material world. It is all about the world of spirit in the dimensions higher than the realm of matter. These worlds are very real. Not only real but permanent. The physical realm is temporary and largely an illusion, so it behooves us to learn to deal with the real and the permanent. That is what Ruysbroeck means by the Spirit of Understanding. Continue reading “Spirit of Understanding and Wisdom” →

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