Our Spiritual Evolution
The Divine Spark that burns in your heart
This flame that burns within your heart (one-sixteenth of an inch in height) is the divine spark, the potential of your divinity. It is the gift of Life of the Creator to the creation. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son…”
The consciousness of the Son is centered in the flame, which is thus called “the Holy Christ Flame.” This Trinity of God’s sacred fire focuses the primary attributes of Power, Wisdom, and Love—his bestowal, flame of his very Flame, to every son and daughter.
The flame that burns within your heart is the seat of cosmic consciousness, the ensign of the son or daughter of God. It is your link to Reality, to Being, and to Life eternal. It is the anointing by the Real Self of all souls who choose to keep the standard of the Law of the One.
The Coming of the Ancient of Days
Long ago the Ancient of Days came to earth to keep the flame of Life that you and I might live to one day know the True Self as God. He was known as Sanat Kumara, one of the Seven Holy Kumaras who focused the Light of the seven rays.
When cosmic councils had determined that no further opportunity should be given to humanity—so great was their departure from cosmic law, their desecration of Life—Sanat Kumara raised his hand and offered his heart to serve the souls of mankind until the few and eventually the many would respond once again to keep the flame of Life.
Granted this dispensation by solar lords, Sanat Kumara came to earth with sons and daughters of God who volunteered to support him in his mission as Keeper of the Flame. He established his retreat on an island in the Gobi Sea, now the Gobi Desert. And there at Shamballa he would remain to tend the sacred fires until some among mankind would stir from the low estate to which they had descended by their ignorance (ignoring) of the Law of the One—until once again they would begin to call upon the name of the Lord and give devotion to the Living Flame of the Most High God.
Ascension
The ascension is the ritual whereby the soul reunites with the Spirit of the living God, the I AM Presence, through the acceleration by the sacred fire at the natural conclusion of one’s final lifetime on earth. It is the process whereby the soul merges first with the Christ Consciousness and then with the living Presence of the I AM THAT I AM, having balanced her karma and fulfilled her divine plan. Once the ascension takes place, the soul—the corruptible aspect of being—becomes the incorruptible one, a permanent atom in the body of God, free from the round of karma and rebirth.
In reality man is a flaming spirit who descended into physical form to master the conditions and trials of everyday life and his own lower self. When he has successfully overcome the human will, the human ego, the human intellect and has replaced them with their divine components, he can then ascend back to the heart of the Father-victor over time and space.
The ascension is the gift of God. It is given to us more by his grace than by our works, although both are necessary.
Membership in any specific church does not in itself guarantee our ascension. Devotees from all races and religions have been granted the gift of the ascension when certain requirements have been met.
The ascension flame is a flame of hope. We have hope because we have within us the divine memory of the ascension of Jesus the Christ. Our souls remember that Mary, the Mother of Jesus, and others who are unknown and unsung have also followed in Jesus’ footsteps as the true heroes and heroines of the world.
Jesus’ ascension is the matrix of the ascension of every other soul. His life was meant to be an example to us, and we are intended to ascend as he did. The mysteries of God’s creation are many, and Jesus unveiled for us one of life’s greatest mysteries.
The ascension is God’s desire for every one, and so all of Heaven – Ascended Masters and Archangels – stands ready to assist the man, woman or child who seeks to express his or her true identity as a son or daughter of God. All life should welcome the opportunity we have been given to follow in the Master’s footsteps. Jesus was a wayshower, one of many.
Ascension Flame
The ascension flame is an intense fiery white with a crystal glow. The Easter lily is the symbol of the flame and its focus in the nature kingdom. The white diamond is its focus in the mineral kingdom.
Great White Brotherhood
The ascended masters are all a part of the Great White Brotherhood where “white” refers not to race but to the aura of white light that surrounds these immortals. The Brotherhood works with earnest seekers and public servants of every race, religion and walk of life to assist humanity in their forward evolution.
Every master in heaven has already merged with the Spirit of the I AM Presence. By proving the laws of God, the masters demonstrate that we, too, can attain immortality. Among these saints are Gautama Buddha, Maitreya, Jesus/Sananda, Saint Michael the Archangel, Zarathustra, Moses, Melchizedek, Mother Mary, Saint Francis, Saint Germain, El Morya, Thérèse of Lisieux, and unnumbered and unnamed loving hearts, servants of humanity who have ascended to the I AM THAT I AM and are a part of the living God forevermore.
These masters are teachers of mankind. They teach the path of overcoming victory whereby the soul can reunite with the Higher Self, walk the earth with self-mastery following in the footsteps of Jesus as a Christed one and return to the heaven-world at the conclusion of a lifetime of service.
Studying with the Ascended Masters
The “way” is a path that can be followed. Having walked where we walk, the masters are well qualified to teach us. And even as they teach mankind, they were and are students. They also studied in the etheric retreats of the heaven-world in preparation for incarnation on earth; and even as ascended beings, they are students of other masters who are above them in the great chain of being, the heavenly hierarchy.
The ascended masters come to initiate us in the ancient mysteries of Christ and Buddha and the Everlasting Gospel for the new age of Aquarius. And they come to exhort us so that we will rise to the great God flame within ourselves and defeat the momentums of returning karma that are coming upon the age. The ascended masters present a path and a teaching whereby every individual on earth can find his way back to God.
I AM Presence
Who Are You? The mystical heart of the world’s religions is the identity of the true Self. The understanding of the Self is the most important insight that any individual can have in life.
The Self begins with the permanent atom of being, the cause out of which the effect proceeds. We call this cause the I AM THAT I AM, the Presence of the I AM, or the I AM Presence.
This Real Self is seen in relationship to the evolving self on a chart that is called the Chart of Your Divine Self. It illustrates so many of the cosmic truths that have been discovered by the great mystics of East and West.
The Chart has three parts and, in a sense, could be called the trinity of your identity.
First, there is the upper figure, which is a sphere of light called the “I AM Presence.” To Hindus, it is Brahma. Buddhists call it the Dharmakaya, while Christians think of it as God the Father. It is the spirit of God individualized for each one.
Your I AM Presence is surrounded by seven concentric spheres which make up your causal body. These spheres of pulsating spiritual energy contain the record of all your good works. They are like your cosmic bank account.
Your causal body has spheres of cosmic consciousness—seven planes of heaven, seven spheres of awareness corresponding to the seven mighty Elohim, the seven Archangels, the seven days of creation, and the seven color rays that are emitted from the white light that is the person and the principle of the Father, or Brahma, or I AM THAT I AM.
These seven ways translate to seven paths back to the Source and the Lords of the Seven Rays are ascended masters who teach seekers on those paths.
Your I AM Presence is a part of your being right now; it is not removed, it is not separated from you in time and space. The only separation you have from the I AM THAT I AM is your own human consciousness, your sense of limitation, and the accumulation of vibrations from this, and previous lifetimes, that are less than the highest qualities of your Real Self.
Between the sphere of light above and the soul evolving below is the consciousness of the Mediator. The mediator is that portion of the Self that can translate to the imperfect soul something of the perfection of the I AM THAT I AM. It is that portion of your being that is real enough to stand in the holy Presence of God.
We call this mediator the Higher Self, the Higher Mental Body, the Real Self or the Holy Christ Self. The Christian mystics sometimes referred to the Mediator as the “inner man of the heart.”
It is the Self that you are in a state of becoming through our evolution, through all of your experiences in time and space.
Depending on your spiritual tradition, you can think of this Mediator as your chief guardian angel, your inner guru (Higher Self or Atman), the voice of conscience—and always as your dearest friend.
What the Chart of Your Divine Self shows is that each of us has a Higher Self and that each of us is destined to become one with that Self, whether we call it the Christ, the Buddha, the Tao or the Atman.
You – The Living Potential of God
Your soul is evolving on the spiritual path in time and space. It is the part of you that is mortal—but that can become immortal.
The violet flame is depicted in the Chart of the Presence around you. The violet flame is a high-frequency energy of forgiveness. It’s a spiritual alchemy.
Around the violet flame is the protective white light of God known as the pillar of light. We apply the science of the spoken Word to call forth that pillar of light as a protection, sealing our aura, sealing our chakras from the heavy weight of darkness that is upon the planet.
The shaft of white light descending from the I AM Presence through the Holy Christ Self to the lower figure in the Chart is the crystal cord (sometimes called the silver cord). It is the “umbilical cord,” the lifeline, that ties you to Spirit.
The Purpose of Your Soul’s Evolution
The purpose of your soul’s evolution on earth is to grow in self-mastery, balance your karma, fulfill your mission on earth and make your ascension in the Light.
The end of all your incarnations is to become your Real Self, so that you return to the spiritual dimensions that are your real home. Through attention to your spiritual path, the three figures in the Chart—now separate because of a limited consciousness—will one day become one.
You, too, can attain union with God.
Karma
The word karma has made it into the mainstream. Just look at bumper stickers like My karma ran over your dogma or It’s a thankless job, but I’ve got a lot of karma to burn off. However, not everyone understands what karma really means, why it matters, and how to deal with it.
Think about the talents you were born with and the good things that have happened to you in life. Now think about the so-called limitations and challenges that have come your way. Both have to do with your karma. Karma simply tells us that what happens to us in the present is the result of causes we ourselves have set in motion in the past— whether ten minutes ago or ten lifetimes ago.
We’ve all grown up learning about karma. We just didn’t call it that. Instead we heard: “For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.” And in the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make.
In essence, karma tells us that whatever we do will come full circle to our doorstep—sometime, somewhere.
Karma and the Golden Rule
Karma picks up where the golden rule leaves off. Do unto others as you would have them do unto you—because someday it will be done unto you.
The Sanskrit word karma means “act,” “action,” “word” or “deed.” The law of karma as it is traditionally taught says that our thoughts, words and deeds—positive and negative—create a chain of cause and effect, and that we will personally experience the effect of every cause we have set in motion. Karma, therefore, is our greatest benefactor, returning to us the good we have sent to others.
Karma is also our greatest teacher, allowing us to learn from our mistakes. Because the law of karma gives back to us whatever we have sent forth as thought, word or deed, some think of it as punishment.
Not so. The law of karma is the law of love. There is no greater love than having the opportunity to understand the consequences of our action—or our inaction— so that our soul can grow.
Karma teaches us to love and to love and to love as no other process can. It gives us hope.
Karma and Reincarnation
Karma and reincarnation go hand in hand. While karma means accountability and payback, reincarnation is simply another word for opportunity. Reincarnation gives us another chance to make good on the karmic debts we owe others and to reap the blessings we have sent forth.
Karma and reincarnation also help us make sense out of the question marks in life.
Life is full of paradoxes and questions and each paradox is designed to make us dig deeper, connect with our inner soul knowing and solve the karmic conundrum.
Reincarnation
Through the process of our reincarnation on earth, we were meant to evolve spiritually—to grow in spiritual mastery as we nurtured our divine gifts and developed our talents.
In the beginning, our soul was endowed with a unique and precious gift that we were meant to give to humanity throughout our incarnations. We were told that without that gift, the full flowering of our families, our communities and even our civilization would not take place.
God gave us free will so that we could lovingly affirm our calling to be co-creators with the Divine. Some of us even volunteered to embody on earth, angels in disguise, to rescue those who had come before us and had forgotten that they too had a divine plan and a mission. We knew that when we had fulfilled our reason for being, we would joyfully return to realms of Spirit to continue our soul’s adventure.
Life Just a Revolving Door?
Our souls began the journey full of hope. We understood the true nature of our destiny. We knew that, above all else, we were spiritual beings charged with a mission to keep that spiritual consciousness alive on earth.
Somewhere along the line, we strayed from that path. We “fell” from that higher consciousness as the allure of the outer, human self and its trappings pulled our attention away from our innate, divine Self. We became self-centered rather than Self-centered, and slowly we began to forget the reason for our sojourn on earth.
The rest is history. Centered in our human ego rather than in the heart of our Higher Self, we were prompted to act in ways that did not always honor our inner spirit. We did a great many good things, but we also created negativity. Out of the misdirected need to protect the lesser self, we harmed rather than helped others. Then, by the law of the circle, we were not free to move on until we had paid off the karmic debts we now owed to others.
Opportunity to Fulfill Your Divine Plan
So now our soul’s reason for being is not only to fulfill our original divine plan but also to balance our karmic ledger. Our soul, seeking resolution, is compelled to revisit those karmic encounters lifetime after lifetime until we find that resolution.
Earth, then, is like a schoolroom. We return again and again, reincarnating to take our lessons. Sometimes we learn from wise teachers, but in many cases our most important tutor is our karma—the positive and negative consequences of our freewill choices. When we learn all our lessons, complete all our assignments and prove our self-mastery, we will graduate from earth’s schoolroom and continue our soul journey in other realms as masterful spiritual beings.
Live from a Spiritual Perspective
So often in today’s world, wealth and physical comfort are considered to be the hallmark of success. When we look at life from a spiritual perspective, we see that our priority is not material success, although it is a legitimate tool to help us fulfill our life’s purpose. Instead, we see that God’s priority for us is to get back into alignment with our original blueprint—to replace the human matrix, the misguided patterns of the human ego, with our divine matrix.
Once we recognize why we are here and how we got where we are today, the paradoxes of life become much more significant—and manageable.
Once we see our life as part of a continuum, not as an isolated segment in time, our perspective changes.
Once we see every today as part of the larger creative plan for our soul, our daily choices take on new meaning.
Source: The Summit Lighthouse