Progressive Operation of Astral Perception

By George A. Boyd © 2021

Q : How do we know the astral senses are working? Are there markers?

A: When your astral senses are engaged, there are twelve major markers. The capstone of this mastery over the astral body is the thirteenth, which is the ability to drop the astral body into the Light that creates it and be able to re-manifest it again. These markers can be listed as follows:

  1. Perceiving a sparkling edge to perception
  2. Perceiving floating colors in the air
  3. Perceiving a field of light beneath the appearance of objects; this stage may also bring the perception of auras or energy fields around objects
  4. Perceiving thought forms or ideas in the field of light; these thought forms may be seen to have a discrete size and features; some of these thought forms may be animated; some may interface and speak to you
  5. Ability to manipulate the size and spatial orientation of a thought form or idea
  6. Ability to combine and juxtapose thought forms to create a novel object
  7. Ability to dissolve or disappear a thought form
  8. Ability to become aware of distant physical or an astral locale
  9. Ability to notice objects and their movement of distant physical or astral locales
  10. Ability to notice the forms of those who are in astral locales and recognize what this form is
  11. Ability to engage in telepathic dialog with the inhabitants of these astral locales and with beings on the inner Planes of Light; ability to commune with a guide
  12. Ability to move through any of the 49 hypnotic channels and give suggestion at each level
  13. Ability to drop your astral body into the Light that made it and re-manifest it again

Markers one to three appear with the dawning of astral projection. Some people first encounter this when they ingest psychedelic drugs.

Markers four to seven herald the emergence of creative visualization. Artists, architects, and game designers frequently have this ability operating in them. Those of you who are developing your creative gifts may benefit from our “On Creation” public webinar series.

Markers eight through eleven are associated with the operation of clairvoyance and telepathy. Those who are trained in the Psychic Arts can learn to activate these levels of astral activity. Those of you who are working on development of your psychic abilities may enjoy our public webinar, the Psychic Powers Workshop.

Marker twelve engages the astral body in the inner work of healing, behavioral and cognitive change, and deep insight. We introduce the first 36 levels of these hypnotic strata in our intermediate meditation courses—the in-person Mudrashram® Master Course in Meditation and the by-mail and online Accelerated Meditation Program.

We encourage you to master the art of directing the astral body through autohypnosis to assist you in performing inner work, as appropriate to augment personality functioning, to implement positive change, and to explore the deep strata beyond the personality that grants knowledge of the Superconscious mind.

Types of Dissociation and How to Come Back

By George A. Boyd © 2021

Q: How do you comeback to grounded awareness if you remain continually dissociated?

A: It’s important to identify what type of dissociation you are experiencing:

Type one – You are dissociated because of delusional beliefs and disorganized thinking. This type arises from psychosis, and you may need the assistance of psychotherapy and a psychiatrist.

Type two – You are voluntarily keeping your attention in union with an ensouling entity, and you disidentify from your life and your personality. This type of dissociation comes when you identify with an ensouling entity or nucleus of identity and you choose to remain in this state of awareness—you may believe that it is the Supreme Reality and you choose to embody this essence. Followers of Vedanta and Advaita schools of Jnana Yoga practice this type of dissociation, with an aim to realize union with Brahman.

Type three – You remain in an altered state of consciousness to avoid facing a painful life experience or trauma. This type of dissociation is found in those who try to stay high with alcohol or drugs, or those who seek out ecstatic spiritual experiences to avoid focusing on core issues of pain, shame, or fear.

Type four – You maintain a state of consciousness of being present, where it appears that your life unfolds on its own. You stay in the flow state and witness your life occurring without you making any choices. This type of dissociation occurs in those who attempt to remain in a state of mindfulness, and is found among those who practice Taoist and Zen contemplative detachment from life.

Type five – You are so abstracted into mathematical or theoretical modeling of the world that you no longer identify with your life or your Self, but you see them as theoretical constructs or ideas. Those who are philosophers, mathematicians, or physicists can dissociate from their normal lives through abstraction into science and philosophy.

Type six – You identify with a spiritual essence, or with the loving, devotional mindset of a nucleus of identity and become abstracted into union with that spiritual essence. You regard the world from this lens of love and virtue, and you may forget your Self and your life as you live from this consciousness of pervasive love. This type of dissociation is found in saints, and devotees of Bhakti Yoga and traditions anchored in the Transcendental Sphere.

Type seven – You involuntarily identify with a nucleus of identity or ensouling entity when your Kundalini rises and becomes fixed in that spiritual essence. Here your attention becomes dissociated from life and your personality, and you re-identify with this spiritual essence.

At the bottom of several types of dissociation—particularly types one, two, three, four, and six—is the sense that it’s not OK to be in your normal awareness. You feel or believe that it’s somehow unworthy or demeaning to be in this normal state, and you seek to be present in a transcendent state.

Other types of dissociation appear to be trance-like states that arise with deep concentration—these are typical of types four and five. While it might be all right for someone to be in the waking state of awareness in these perspectives, the depth of their contemplation keeps these individuals dissociated while they are engaged “following the Tao” or seeking a deeper layer of truth and meaning.

In two types of dissociation—types one and seven——you experience detachment and dissociation as largely involuntary. You might wish to return to your waking state of awareness, but powerful intrapsychic forces keep you locked in an altered state of consciousness, regardless of what you might wish.

The Possibility of Coming Back from Dissociation

Remaining in altered states of consciousness through dissociation can bring with it a series of untoward symptoms. Among them are:

  • Derealization – this is the sense that the world is unreal.
  • Depersonalization – this is the sense that your life and your personality are unreal.
  • De-motivation – this is the loss of desire to pursue personal goals and dreams.
  • Emotional numbing – this is the inability to feel your feelings.
  • Disembodiment – this is the sense that you are viewing your body from outside from the standpoint of being in your astral body.
  • Mental silence – the experience of absolute silence and stillness in your mind, so that you cannot think.
  • Volitional paralysis – this is the inability to choose or carry out voluntary behavior.
  • Heightened suggestibility – this occurs when your reality-testing mechanism is shut off in an altered state of consciousness, and you come to believe in conspiracy theories and delusional ideas—and follow unquestionably the suggestions of charismatic leaders who come to dictate many aspects of your belief and behavior.
  • Perceptual decoupling – this is the experience of beholding the world from a mythological or mystic viewpoint that is divorced from any practical application in your life.
  • Cognitive disorganization – this is the experience of hearing voices that lie to you about what is real and what your life means, and that construct delusional beliefs.

Among the keys to coming back from dissociation are:

  1. Recognize you are in an altered state of consciousness—either voluntary or involuntary.
  2. Remember the waking state of awareness, and move your attention back to that state.
  3. Notice what comes up as you place your attention in your waking state of awareness—whether you feel it is not OK for you to be there
  4. Process any beliefs you have that make it not OK for you to be in your waking state of awareness, until you can feel complete comfort in being fully grounded and present in your life.
  5. Set criteria for when it is appropriate to be in an altered state of awareness, and delimit the time you spend in these states, so you can balance personal life with your spiritual life.
  6. Address any traumatic or painful issues through effective self-help methods, psychotherapy—or psychiatric intervention, if required. [We teach some of these self-help methods in our intermediate meditation classes, the in-person Mudrashram® Master Course in Meditation and the by-mail and online Accelerated Meditation Program.]
  7. Learn to lower your Kundalini back to the fully grounded state. Those of you who are having difficulty with this may wish to request a Kundalini Recovery Services consultation from us.

Some temporary dissociation is commonly experienced in prayer, meditation, and hypnosis. If you return to normal awareness again after this experience and take the time to integrate what you have learned and discovered, you will strengthen your ability to function as a human being.

If you remain in a dissociated state, however, this can lead to a variety of issues that can disconnect you from your life and detract from your ability to function as a human being. We encourage you to be able to experience and operate in your inner worlds of mind and spirit, but also to be able to live in this world in your authentic human life.

Zones of Concentration

By George A. Boyd © 2021

Q: Can you explain the role of concentration in spiritual life?

A: Concentration means that you shrink the focus of your attention and hold it on an object. There are several levels at which you can apply concentration:

  1. Schema – this is a category in which you access stored knowledge about a particular topic. You use this in study and academic education. You might, for example, focus on the schema where you have learned rules for grammar. You would learn the new material about this subject and remember it in the frame of the schema, associating it to your current knowledge.
  2. Matrix of experience – You access this level when you ask your deeper mind questions and listen for the answers. You might ask for a particular incident (process meditation), a specific fact (mnemonic recall), how you feel about something (emotional inquiry), what something means (cognitive inquiry), what your options and choices are (personal inquiry), or ask for information about spiritual topics (metaphysical inquiry). You concentrate in this band when you are doing personal process, inner dialog, or psychotherapy.
  3. Reflection – You access this level when you think deeply about something and you want to solve a problem. This accesses your intellect, whereby you apply your intelligence to explore ideas and to solve problems. Those who are writers, scientists, and philosophers tap into this level of concentration.
  4. Archetypes and arrays – You access this level when you interface with elements in your Superconscious mind. You might encounter an archetype and reflect on the meaning of the form you see. You might explore the meaning of a myth or wisdom story. You might contemplate the meaning of a scripture. You might associate symbols in an array to do an intuitive reading. Theologians, metaphysical counselors, psychic readers, and transpersonal psychologists interface with this level.
  5. Nucleus of identity – You access this level when you focus your attention on one of the integration centers of your Superconscious mind. These centers include, for example, the Star Seed on the Psychic Realm, the Moon Soul in the First Planetary Initiation, Cosmic Consciousness in the First Cosmic Initiation, or the Supracosmic Seed Atom on a Supracosmic Path. Those following a religious or spiritual group focus at this level.
  6. Attentional principle – Focusing your attention at this level awakens your intentional consciousness. Once you can function at this level readily, you can perform inner work on your personality and in your Superconscious mind.
  7. Individual spirit – Focusing your attention at this level awakens the love and devotion of your spirit. Once you can readily focus your attention at this level, you can participate in opening the channels of the Nada through which your spirit returns to its origin.
  8. Ensouling entity – Focusing your attention at this level awakens the Soul. This brings about the experience of Samadhi and Gnosis. This conveys the Realization of the Inner Divinity within the Soul, and aligns you with the Soul’s Path of spiritual evolution.

Direct spiritual experience is contingent upon your ability to concentrate upon the spiritual essences at levels five through eight. We teach you how to tap levels 6, 7, and 8 in our intermediate meditation courses—the in-person Mudrashram® Master Course in Meditation and the by-mail and online Accelerated Meditation Program. We teach contemplation of nuclei of identity, level 5, in the Mudrashram® Advanced Course in Meditation.

Developing facility with levels one and two is important for successful learning and adult functioning. Those who are thinkers and who are able to access the creative and intuitive channels of their mind learn to tap into levels three and four.

We encourage you to become familiar with each of these levels of concentration, and learn how to use these attentional foci skillfully and efficiently to bring success in your life and to awaken to your full spiritual potentials.

The Spectrum of Spiritual Ministry

By George A. Boyd © 2021

Q: There appears to be an entire spectrum of spiritual ministry. Where does Mudrashram® fit on this spectrum?

A: There are seven major levels of spiritual ministry. We will briefly discuss them:

Physical – Characteristic of the Subtle Realm and the Biophysical Universe, ministry at this level consists of rituals, sacred ceremonies, and pilgrimages. Individuals at this level may use idols to represent the gods and goddesses of their faith. Participants in groups that practice physical level ministry primarily identity as their body and their ego. They practice Karma Yoga—service to God, humanity, and their spiritual organization—and do little meditation. They may pray to God to help them in their lives with their problems. They may do practices like hatha yoga to relax and tone the body.

Etheric – Those who are in the Psychic Realm or those that do practices that awaken their cosmic consciousness or a Supracosmic seed atom may experience this level of spiritual ministry. Ministry at this level typically involves awakening the Kundalini to activate a selected spiritual essence. Those who operate at this level visualize the Divine as residing in the highest chakra on their Path, and believe that through opening the chakras, they can achieve union with the Divine. They may use techniques like Pranayama, focusing attention on different chakras, and practices that awaken the Kundalini to gain union with the spiritual essence with which they identify—and they may attempt to keep their attention in an altered state of consciousness in union with that spiritual essence. They may do practices like mindfulness and tratakam methods like candle gazing to focus their attention.

Lower Emotional – Those who operate in the three upper Subplanes of the Abstract Mind Plane—Akashic Records Subplane, Dynamic Creation Subplane, and Universal Mind Subplane—and the Psychic Realm focus on this aspect of ministry. They seek to fulfill their desires and be happy; they attempt to manifest or create what they visualize and intend in their human life. They may identify with the wave of the present time on the Akashic Aether, a Star Seed in the Psychic Realm, or the Soul. They use techniques like affirmation, process meditation, autohypnosis, claiming by faith, and visualization with intention to attempt to manifest what they desire. Some individuals at this level will invoke angels, Ascended Masters, saints, or their own Mighty I AM Presence to augment their efforts to achieve their dreams.

Higher Emotional – Those who operate at this level of ministry can be found in the First Mesoteric Initiation, and on devotional Paths of the First Cosmic Initiation, the Supracosmic Sphere, or the Paths of the Transcendental Sphere. Love for the Divine, devotion, and yearning for spiritual union with God are highlighted at this level. The experience of love at this level is quintessential, and they may engage in mystic Bhakti Yoga practices such as saying the names of God (Japa), practicing the presence of God and remembering God, performing worship and praise ceremonies for the Divine (Puja), using transformational methods that move the spiritual essence with which they identity closer to the Divine, and Nada Yoga.

Lower Mental – Those who operate at this level typically have reached the Third Planetary Initiation. This level undergoes discovering and enacting their Soul Purpose. They align their personality with the Soul so it can become an instrument of the Soul. They practice Raja Yoga, contemplation of ideas or seed thoughts, and listen to their Soul’s intuition to guide them. They may use practices to tune into the thought streams of the Masters of the Hierarchy.

Higher Mental – Those who operate at this level have awakened their Illumined Mind and can disseminate the teachings of the Masters. This level is associated with those who have taken the Fourth Planetary Initiation, or those who have entered into the state of Samadhi. At this level, the ensouling entity can operate as a teacher, counselor, coach, mentor, and guide. These individuals can operate fully as their attentional principle to commune with the Masters and with their ensouling entity. They commonly practice Raja Yoga and Jnana Yoga methods to connect with the ensouling entity and allow it to express through the personality through inspired discourse (Satsang) or writing.

Spiritual – This level comprises Light Ministry beyond words. It is associated with those who have achieved Mastery in their Path and the Divine has anointed them to send the Light. Our Light Sittings, Attunement Meditation, Agni Yoga, the granting of Initiation, Guru Kripa Yoga, and the empowerment of transformational mantras operate from this platform. At this level, the attentional principle, the spirit, and/or the Soul receive and send forth the Light.

Mudrashram® teaches methods in its intermediate classes—the in-person Mudrashram® Master Course in Meditation and the by-mail and online Accelerated Meditation Program—that assist aspirants at different levels. For example:

  • For those polarized at the Etheric level, we teach how to awaken the Kundalini and how to collect attention and to use the breath to augment meditation.
  • For those at the Lower Emotional level, we teach a variety of methods that assist people to manifest their desires and achieve their dreams, such as process meditation, affirmation, and autohypnosis.
  • For those at the Higher Emotional level, we teach Nada Yoga.
  • For those at the Lower Mental level, we teach them how to do Raja Yoga and tap intuition through the Jnana Yoga techniques.
  • For those at the Higher Mental level, we teach them to catalyze their Soul’s genius through Samadhi, which we teach in our Samadhi Weekend Program.
  • For those who can rise into the Spiritual level, we train them in Agni Yoga and Attunement Meditation, and allow them to experience the grace of the Divine and the Masters through Light Immersion and Guru Kripa Yoga. We also enable them to speed up their spiritual evolution through giving them a mantra keyed to their cutting edge of spirituality.

While the primary thrust of our ministry operates on the Lower Mental, Higher Mental, and Spiritual levels, we do have students who are primarily polarized at the Etheric, Lower Emotional, and Higher Emotional levels. We train them to gradually activate their innate love, wisdom, and power of their Soul and assist them to shift into mental and spiritual polarization.