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..:: The Mental
Plane ::..
By
Alan Schneider
At the conclusion of our last essay, we
had begun the illumination of the Third Plane of Ascension, the
Mental Plane. Once again, some preliminary remarks will be useful
in understanding this level from the perspective of the reader
presumably focused on the Physical Plane of manifestation in a human
body.
The key concept at work on
the Mental Plane resides in understanding whose, or rather, which
Mind is under consideration, and this is not the little physical
ego-mind of the Initiate. At this level of psychic manifestation, we
have begun to make definitive contact with the Lower Expression of the
Mind of the Logos – of God. The level immediately beyond the
Mental Plane is the Atmic Plane – the Seat of the Soul,
which is a direct extension of the Logos, held in cosmic “place” by the
physical body and the attendant Karma of that body. The Thought Forms of
the Mental Plane are most correctly conceived of as the dynamic “Thought
Fragments” of God, potently emerging into manifestation as the
most Primary of the archetypal symbols – the Archangels, Heavenly
Hosts, Ascended Masters, Saints, Yogis, Seers, and other symbolic
manifestations of the Divine Light. Jung referred to the outstanding
quality in the subconscious mind of the archetypal symbols as their
numinosity – their inner, psychic luminosity – and the
Thought Forms are supremely numinous indeed as the highest expressions
of those symbols!
Even the Golem, also noted in
the previous essay, was considered by the Cabalist Rabbis of the time to
be a Light Servant, doing the Light Work that was needed to preserve the
Hebrew faith and the Torah and Zohar as the vehicles of that faith.
However, there have been instances of human Servants of Darkness
attempting to create negative Thought Forms for negative purposes – the
commission of assault and harm on the Physical Plane generally carried
out for selfish personal gain, and assisted by the Demonic Entities of
the Lower Astral Plane. In fact, no Thought Forms ever were or
ever will be invoked by these Dark Practitioners – everything they do is
augmented by the aforementioned Lower Astral Entities, whose spiritual
emanations are always mistaken by the fallen consciousness of Dark
Practitioners for the numinous Light of the Thought Forms they cannot,
in fact, perceive. Why? Because their consciousness is functioning at
such a low level that they literally cannot see the Love and Light of
the Logos in any form. But they can see, and be deceived
by, the malicious Lower Astral beings, including their leader, the
collective Shadow. Any negative emotional or motivational state will
trap and hold the Initiate at the Lower Astral level until it is
released through forgiveness, the universal cure for emotional
wounds great and small. I dare say, this is yet another reason for
including a course of therapy in one’s quest for Ascension...
As opposed to the strictly
Astral archetypal symbols, the Thought Forms occurring on the Mental
Plane are, as was mentioned in the previous essay, volitional entities.
These can be conceived of as personality fragments, or
sub-personalities, or sub-states of consciousness that may preexist
conscious perception in some unconscious region of the Psyche. When the
organism is subjected to the correct stimuli on the Physical Plane,
these sub-identities may be invoked into conscious perception to
serve the purposes of the Initiate, with the proviso that those purposes
are spiritually positive and constructive in nature. The Lower
Astral Entities also can masquerade as spiritual assistants, but will
always tend to advise or augment fear or greed based negative
action in the context of the “assistance” they propose, and this is the
best way to recognize them. If the Initiate finds personal consciousness
being preoccupied by such thoughts, the presence of the Lower Astral
influence is to be suspected, and this can be verified by subsequent
Astral investigation. The Thought Forms may also be constructed from
the “ground up” in consciousness on the Mental Plane, using appropriate
positive symbolic constructs, and the personality-fragment type of
entity may be modified through the application of symbolic constructs
as well. This latter entity has the advantage of already containing a
significant amount of libidinal power ready to be molded through the
conscious effort of the Initiate.
Many elements of conscious
experience or symbolism can be incorporated into the Thought Form,
including appropriate colors, numbers, tonal characteristics (e.g. an
Angelic Form way be invested with the ability to speak to and advise the
Initiate, or sing the Holy Names of God, etc.), visual designs,
architectural designs, movement, behavior, or anything else that
creates an affective motivational form in personal consciousness. The
Thought Forms represent a disembodied state of psychic power and
manifestation that simultaneously creates a predisposition on the
Physical plane for events to occur, and motivates and the
consciousness of the individual to recognize and respond to those
events. Once created, this Form can be invoked at will by the Initiate
as needed – the lending of confidence in personal or social situations,
extra energy during times of prolonged stress, creative inspiration for
problem solving, enhanced self perception and self expression, and even
simple psychic companionship are all examples of the utility of the
Thought Form on the Physical Plane. One can interact with more than one
Thought Form as needed – as many can be constructed as necessary within
the limitation of positivity – the Initiate must be wary of the
intrusion of egoism and personal advantage as motives for this activity.
Additionally, a few Forms that are sufficiently potent are much better
than many dilute ones. Lower Astral Entities that have been “won over”
to the Light through Jungian realization can also become Thought Forms –
my realized Shadow has remained a faithful Light Servant ever after,
converted by the Love I demonstrated by searching it out in the Astral
subconscious realm where I had imprisoned it, and then subsequently
enduring the painful and lengthy rehabilitation process required to
bring it back into the Light of my personal consciousness.
The psychic activity on the
Buddhic Plane, the previously mentioned Fourth Plane of Ascension,
is the source of the emanations that create the Thought Forms on the
Mental Plane, even in cases where the Initiate has little or no
awareness of this Fourth level of Initiation. The Soul, or Sanskrit
Atman, is always calling out to the personal consciousness, whether
that consciousness is that of an Initiate or not, advising the highest
course of benevolent, moral living to be followed. As the Kundalini
rises into the Mental Plane, and approaches the Buddhic Plane, the Soul
Presence is activated to produce more powerful Thought Form emanations
in the consciousness of the Initiate, spurring the awareness of higher
purpose and motivation in living. This is seen in the structure of the
Thought Form(s) in question – although I have never again rejected my
realized Shadow back into the Lower Astral Region, and continue to
“visit” with It occasionally, my most effective current Thought Forms
are the Archangels Michael and Gabriel, who are continually “seated”
(i.e. psychically located) at my right and left “hands” (i.e.
hemispheres of psychic influence), respectively, always present
and active on the Physical Plane through my personal consciousness, and
the collective influence of the Logos. This mode of manifestation has
the additional advantage that these two entities do not require
dedicated invocation for this reason. Now, to be sure, there are higher
Angelic Influences than these – the Supreme Archangel is Metatron,
seated before God in the Chakra Sahasrara, and the Sephira Kether – but
Gabriel is the Archangel of Communication (remember the image of Gabriel
sounding his horn?), and Michael is the Archangel of Protection,
both from internal fallibility and external threat, truly a full time
occupation in the Post-Modern Age! I am most grateful to The Logos for
providing me with these two allies as I do the work of Ascension on the
Physical Plane.
There is a Leap of Faith
required to pass from the Mental Plane into the Buddhic Plane – on the
Mental Plane there is still an implied level of personal interest and
motivation for the involvement with, and use of, Thought Forms as
spiritual instruments, however Enlightened this activity may be. At the
Buddhic level, one is required to embrace the principles of Compassion and
genuinely Selfless Love as the operators of consciousness on all
of the previous Planes, completely negating ego involvement as a
motivational factor, and this is a very hard “bill to fill” in
consciousness. Yet, this level of perception and human involvement is
both required and inevitable in the process of Spiritual
Ascension, and the Kundalini will eventually spill over onto the Buddhic
Plane with the realization that Compassion is the highest and finest
quality of consciousness to which human beings can attain. Frequently,
much suffering and sacrifice on the Physical Plane is the price of this
realization, but if this is the Karma of an individual, so it must and
will be. Ascension is an ongoing, dynamic process that is the
inherent meaning and purpose of all activity on all the Planes of
Conscious Expression. The Initiate must maintain the perception in
personal consciousness that the physical benefits of creating and using
the Thought Forms are the byproducts of their real implications
as stepping stones of Ascension, and not be seduced by them as material
considerations. In this vein of emphasis, let us consider the
protective Thought Forms.
One Thought Form of merit for
special attention here is the Auric Shield. It is well known in
the Mystery Theories that the physical organism observed in the senses
is merely the locus of a many-layered Aura surrounding the human being
for the term of incarnation. This Aura is roughly segmented into regions
that correspond to the Planes of Ascension – Physical (the body itself),
Astral, Mental, Buddhic, and so on. In the Mysteries, the body is thought
to condense out of the Aura onto the Physical Plane, being created by
preexisting Auric conditions. The Aura in its native state is very
permeable, and can be adversely affected by negative influences on any
of the other Planes, although the most probable site of origin of those
influences are the Physical and Lower Astral Planes, in particular the
Physical Plane, where material stressors abound in great numbers,
and continuously impinge the senses with all manner of distressing
implications for the well being of the organism. For this reason, the
Initiate will frequently find the creation of the Auric Shield to be of
great personal importance, regardless of what other Thought Forms are
present in personal consciousness. Once put in place, this shield
encompasses the total organism and Psyche on all of the Planes,
including the problematic Physical one.
The Auric Shield is
symbolically conceived of as a sphere of translucent white and/or golden
light that surrounds the individual either when activated, or (perhaps
preferably) at all times. This sphere permeates and suffuses the
body on the Physical Plane, and extends through the Astral and Mental
Auras well into the Buddhic Aura, where it melds with the Light of the
Soul. Even if the Initiate has not yet attained the perception of the
Soul and the Buddhic Plane, this is of little consequence in the
construction of the Auric Shield – the required Thought Form can still
be created and implemented. However, the attainment of Buddhic
consciousness will greatly enhance the power of the Auric Shield
to block negativity on all Auric levels through the practice of
compassion. The technique to be used involves simple conceptualization –
the Shield is conceived of as being first invoked (possibly in the
presence of some internal or external threat), and then held in place
thereafter. Although the Mental Plane is customarily accessed in an
altered state of consciousness such as meditation, this Thought
Form can be initiated in normal waking consciousness as well. The
invocation can be visualized as proceeding from outside in, inside out,
or simply bursting into formation, and the shield can additionally be
populated with protective Thought Forms of other varieties at the
Initiate’s discretion, but the Bubble of Light is the basic
structure to be used.
The consistency of this structure can be adjusted to
deflect even certain physical assaults, but this requires extensive,
dedicated practice and concentration. The more commonly attainable
level of expression involves the neutralization of verbal and financial
threats. The Auric Shield is weakened by the presence of internal
psychological or external Lower Astral negativity – these types of
perceptual constructs must be avoided by maintaining the spiritual focus
on positivity at all times. Most perceived threats are transitory
in nature, passing quickly after manifestation if no personal cues are
present to sustain them for prolonged interaction. The Initiate
must be aware of anything present in consciousness that will attract or
nourish threats or negativity and remove such things forthwith. And,
once again, this is an indication of the advantage of entering and
completing a course of psychological therapy. Such an action can
greatly assist the practices of Ascension, including the creation and
employment of the Auric Shield.
The augmentation of a strong,
healthy Auric Shield is seen in the concept of the Auric Guardian
or Spiritual Guide. Where the Shield is a simple,
straight forward structure that can be erected without trance work and
strengthened thereafter, the Guardian or Guide is a Thought Form that
that may appear to the Initiate outside of trance, but can
definitely be enhanced by the practice of mediation and related trance
conditions. The Guardian represents the case of a volitional,
interactive entity, as opposed to the Shield, which is more like a
protective mechanism – ergo, a personal relationship must be developed
with this entity for it to function at maximal efficiency. This
relationship can best be constructed in at least Astral, and preferably,
Mental trance. For a long time, my Guardian/Guide image was the realized
Shadow, eventually replaced by the Archangel Michael as my level of
Ascension progressed, but whatever symbolic image presents itself will
require the same vestment of time and emotion seen in any Physical Plane
relationship. We all need our Guides and Guardians on both the
Physical Plane and the Higher Planes – who would even think of
navigating these deep and perilous waters without such assistance?
The Form of the Guardian may
change over the years (or may not, for that matter – Karma
dictates these things), and the Initiate must be prepared for a
“Changing of the Guard(!)” as Ascension progresses, just as I
relinquished my realized Shadow, for the Archangel Michael Form. I
eventually expect to have no Guardian, simply existing in, of,
and by Divine Grace directly given by the Logos as the Source of
all Existence on every level, and I do not rely on Presence of
Michael now, although I certainly find Him to be a source of comfort in
stressful conditions. Protection is, after all, only one facet of
Spiritual Ascension – the other is proactivity – we must go forth
with our Spiritual practice and selflessly offer it to the world
for the sake of human salvation. In my personal case, I perform this
proactivity through the Dharma of extensive communication about the
Supreme Absolute Truth, and how this Truth may be accessed by a
struggling, challenged humanity. This is the real motive for
Spiritual living – salvation – everything else is secondary.
Every time we offer the Spiritual Truth to each other, Ascension takes
place, and the Soul evolves another step along the Path back to the
Logos. This is why we are here.
Perhaps the highest function
of the Thought Form is the promotion of Enlightenment, first for
the Initiate, and subsequently for humanity, as that Enlightenment is
offered to those in the surrounding social environment. The Thought Form
is ultimately a Spiritual teaching modality that is transmitted from the
Buddhic Plane onto the Mental Plane to provide the necessary spiritual
guidance for the Initiate at that level of involvement. Thereafter, a
monumental choice must be made to approach, enter, and accept the
Buddhic
Plane of Ascension with its requirements for selfless sacrifice and
compassion as the price of the Realization of the Soul in
human consciousness. We will address this most important of
Spiritual milestones in the next essay – simply entitled The
Soul. Namaste.
- With Love, Alan -
(CR2008, Alan Schneider)
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