Supernal Light (eBook)

A Compendium of Esoteric Thought

William A. Meader (Autor)

eBook Download: EPUB

2023 | 1. Auflage
422 Seiten
Bookbaby (Verlag)
979-8-3509-1581-5 (ISBN)

This book is a collection of essays on a wide variety of subjects found within the Esoteric Philosophy. Based upon the understanding that the destiny of every human soul is to express its wisdom and love in service to others, it attempts to assist the reader in the cultivation of the mind and heart so as to be a more effective agent in support of humanity's upliftment.

Supernal Light can be defined as the guiding light of divinity that is hidden deep within each of us. As an individual increasingly awakens to the love and wisdom of the soul, this sacred light gradually begins to crest upon the shores of consciousness. Essentially, this book is a compendium of spiritual topics that can assist each of us in this awakening process. Rooted in the Esoteric Philosophy, it attempts to help the reader build his or her higher mind, which is the realm of consciousness wherein the soul is found. Subjects such as Revelation, the Purpose and Destiny of the Soul, the Evolution of Consciousness and the Nature of Mind are prominently featured in this book, as well as a deep exploration into the subject of Spiritual Initiation and soulful service to a world in need.

Made in the Image of God

The search for God is a central theme in most world religions. Indeed, the yearning to feel the presence of a Greater Being is innate within each of us. For countless centuries theology has provided humanity with the thoughtforms needed in order to reconcile its relationship with the Divine. Over time these thoughtforms have become doctrinally established and emerged as a formalized religion within society. Due to cultural and geographical differences, these religious thoughtforms vary from one religion to the next. Yet underlying these differences is a common urge to establish a relationship between the macrocosm and microcosm, God and humankind. Religion can therefore be understood as the invocative appeal of humanity toward the Greater Life, and Its evocative response to that cry.

When considering the dynamics between God and Creation, there are two fundamental orientations offered by the religions of the world. Many theologies posit the view that God created the universe but remains relatively separate and disconnected from His creation. As a result, it is believed that there exists a gulf between God and the universe. Such religions then provide doctrinal means and methods of seeking connection across this gulf in order to gain intimacy with the Divine. This is largely the perspective espoused by the Abrahamic religions of Christianity, Judaism, and Islam.

Conversely, most of the religions of the East proclaim that God and the universe are inseparably one. From this perspective, all that exists is the manifestation of the Divine. Whether couched in a monotheistic, pantheistic or polytheistic framework, this view maintains that a human being is not separate from the divine source but, rather, an extension of it. It is this viewpoint with which the Esoteric Philosophy finds agreement. It espouses that the gulf between God and Creation is understood as an illusion caused by humanity’s limited capacity to sense the unbreakable intimacy between a human being and the livingness of the Greater Life.

In truth, each of us is a ray of life coming forth from the Greater Life. We are therefore not separate from God, but are radiatory extensions of the Divine. Walking the spiritual path is thus a journey to ever greater integrations with the consciousness of the Greater Life. Every step forward indicates a deeper penetration and participation in the livingness of God. From this perspective it becomes clear that we are the divinity we seek. We are not separate from God, but made in the image of God.

When considering the Judeo-Christian viewpoint, a great irony and contradiction becomes apparent. Christianity has historically proclaimed that human beings are exiled from God (symbolized by being cast out of the Garden of Eden), that we are unclean creatures, and that the remedy to this is to be found through the divinity of Jesus. Human beings are therefore viewed as lowly and innately impure (the doctrine of original sin), far from the nature and likeness of God. Yet ironically, there are biblical references that seem to suggest otherwise. For example, in the Book of Genesis we read these words:

“Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth. God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.”4

Given the fact that the Abrahamic religions are all monotheistic, the use of the words “Us” and “Our” in this biblical quote is certainly suggestive of a polytheistic aspect to Creation. More important to the subject at hand, however, is that it speaks of the divine nature of humankind. And it is this profound truth that serves as the foundation for what we are now to explore. More and more we are discovering that the path to God leads to our own divinity. Indeed, every expansion of consciousness gives us a deeper sense of the eternal soul and its sacredness. Through a deep inquiry into this fascinating subject, we shall discover that the seeker and the sought are but One.

The Microcosmic Reflection

The destiny of every human being is to become a perfected reflection of the Greater Life. Each of us is a microcosm that is slowly evolving to become a carrier of the same attributes of God—the Macrocosmic Life. The reasons behind why we do not recognize this are many. Aside from the Christian view proclaiming that such perspectives are wayward and blasphemous, there are several aspects of human consciousness that are obstacles to seeing our own divinity. For example, we tend to be keenly aware of our personal shortcomings and imperfections which would seem to disqualify us from purity and godhood. We can recall the many mistakes and regrets in our lives, and feel shameful of our transgressions. Essentially, when self-criticism looms overly large within our minds, recognizing our essential divinity is seemingly impossible.

At this point I am reminded of the words in The Prophet that “to measure you by your smallest deed is to reckon the power of the ocean by the frailty of its foam.”5 Occultly understood, it is not that we are gods, but that we are gods in the making. Each of us is an expression of godlike divinity, but only as a potentiality. Sadly, it is easy to be preoccupied with our shortcomings to the point where even a hint of one’s divine nature is overshadowed by this, and therefore remains unseen.

Yet when considering the long journey of evolution, the potential godhood of a human being must eventually be fully demonstrated via the outer garment through which we each live—the personality. Indeed, enlightenment is understood as the consummation of this process. To hold the evolutionary status of a Master of Wisdom is to fully express one’s divinity through the personality, and without an ounce of distortion. This is what it means to be a Master. It indicates that such a person has mastered the form through which his divinity seeks expression. When viewed within a multi-incarnational context, this is the destiny of every human being—to be a perfected reflection of the Greater Life. It requires that we recognize the profound truth behind the ancient Hermetic injunction “as above, so below, as within, so without, as the universe, so the soul.”6

Principle of Hylozoism

In the West, God has historically been viewed in a markedly singular and absolute way. Even though the biblical verse previously mentioned points to polytheism, sadly the Abrahamic religions have dogmatically negated this notion. Within the Esoteric Philosophy, however, monotheism and polytheism have elements of truth to them. In the ultimate sense, Esotericism states that there is only one God, often referred to as the One Life. Yet it is also believed that all of Creation is the manifestation of this One Life. It is the One becoming the many. This is therefore not a story about God and Creation, but God as Creation. And, as a result of the One Life extending itself into layers of intelligent substance (the planes of consciousness), a fundamental spiritual principle arises—the Principle of Hylozoism.

Occultly considered, there is probably no tenet more important to understand than the Principle of Hylozoism. Without knowledge of this fundamental law, students are likely to find the Esoteric Philosophy to be contradictory, inconsistent, or otherwise impenetrable. In our examination of hylozoism, many of the points of confusion encountered in Esotericism find solution through an understanding of this principle. It is a subject that emphasizes two important truths which will help us gain insight into the Real. First, it gives us understanding as to the nature of Life and its relationship to substance and form. In this regard we will see that there is an inseparability of Life and substance. Secondly, hylozoism offers deep and profound insight into the relationship between the whole and the part, the macrocosm and microcosm.

The Principle of Hylozoism states that all things within Creation live. At the root of this proclamation is the understanding that within the totality of Creation there is only One Life. In some traditions, this singularity of life is called God. In others it may be called Allah, Brahman, or Universal Intelligence. Esoterically, the entire universe (seen and unseen) is considered the incarnation of this Universal Being. This is a staggering and profound idea. It suggests that underlying the vastness of the universe, with its seemingly infinite variety and diversity, is found a single living essence. And for reasons far beyond humanity’s capacity to grasp, this all-encompassing Universal Being has incarnated Itself in and as Cosmos. It is the One becoming the many.

Considering the existence of the One Life, it becomes apparent why hylozoism makes claim that everything within Creation is underpinned by life. For if there is only One Life, then how could anything escape its embrace? The division between organic and inorganic (living and non-living) substance, as advocated by contemporary science, is arbitrary at best. Science uses a very narrow set of standards to define life. Within the literature of Esotericism, we have been given to understand that human consciousness has not yet evolved to the point where we can know what life truly is. What we typically call life is not Life in the purest sense. It is only life as we observe it expressing through form. As a species, we have not yet come to realize the...

Erscheint lt. Verlag	26.7.2023
Sprache	englisch
Themenwelt	Sachbuch/Ratgeber ► Gesundheit / Leben / Psychologie ► Esoterik / Spiritualität
ISBN-13	979-8-3509-1581-5 / 9798350915815

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