By George A. Boyd ©2003
Inner guidance is never lacking in life or on the spiritual
path. Perhaps it is the great variety of sources of guidance, many of
which are conflicting and contradictory, that makes an aspirants
quest so confusing. Not only do your Conscious minds inclinations
differ from what your Subconscious mind suggests and what your Metaconscious
mind directs, but sources in the Superconscious mind give directions from
across the spectrum of spiritual possibilities. Whats a poor aspirant
to do?
The chart below portrays the many
sources of guidance that the aspirant and disciple encounter on their
personal and spiritual journey.
Band of Mind
|
Source of Guidance
|
Conscious Mind
|
Feelings sense of comfort, ease; sense of discomfort, guilt
|
Reason what logic dictates
|
Ego what you want or desire
|
Preconscious ideas that come up from the subconscious mind
|
Subconscious Mind
|
Experience (personal unconscious, conscious portion)
|
Structured knowledge, ability and wisdom stored in the chakras
(etheric chakras)
|
Creative ideas of the astral mind (astral body)
|
Sense of destiny (first torus of purpose)
|
Sense of spiritual calling (one of the other 12 toruses
of purpose)
|
Satsang from the attentional principle or the spirit
|
Guidance from the teacher in the Eight-Petalled Lotus
|
Metaconscious Mind
|
Habit doing things in ways already learned (etheric body)
|
Commitment keeping ones promises, abiding by contracts
and obligations, acting responsibly, being reliable, doing whatever
it takes to achieve the goal by the deadlines (desire body)
|
Persona learning the appropriate context for expression
of different social skills and imaginative and humorous elements
of the personality
|
Conscience guidance by ethical standards and moral values,
codes of behavior dictated by your profession or religious convictions
|
Intellect guidance by theory, concept, model, algorithm
(step-by-step guide for performance), explanation, directions (e.g.,
a menu or instruction guide) or the decisions made by thinking through
an issue
|
Intuition guidance by self-awareness, ability to perform
self-monitoring, learning from the consequences of experience, modeling
different approaches or alternatives to resolve a problem, examining
the outcomes of different options, sense of congruence, genuineness
and authenticity, identifying your own choices as opposed to those
suggested by others
|
Volition definition of goals and carrying them out to completion
|
Superconscious Band One
|
Unconscious entity embodying lust, anger, greed, pride, attachment,
fear, prejudice or hatred (personal unconscious, unconscious portion)
|
Demonic entity advocating cruelty; revenge; trickery and deceit;
sexual perversion; self-injury or suicide; murder or destruction
of others; criminal acts; exploitation of power; addictive use of
alcohol, drugs, food, gambling (Lower Astral)
|
Frustrated ghost entity inspiring desire for objects or people,
yearning for pleasure or happiness, marked by a sense of being lost,
alone, adrift, rootless, etc. (Lower Astral)
|
Superconscious Band Two
|
Animal guide helping one navigate through the forest, sea or mountains,
to locate prey, to find food, to win a mate (Biophysical Universe)
|
Creative inspiration of athletic achievement, scientific research
and invention, artistic inspiration, philosophical inquiry and reflection,
insight into experience, or affirmation and manifestation of personal
dreams (Abstract Mind Plane)
|
Native American guide teaching respect for Nature, living in harmony
with the earth, gaining a vision of ones place in the family,
tribe and community of tribes (Psychic Realm)
|
"Spirit doctor" guide showing methods of healing and ways to sense
illness in others and oneself (Psychic Realm)
|
"Heavenly guide" reveals the inner astral dimensions, the worlds
of the dead and the heavenly vistas of the Psychic Realm
|
"Star guide" reveals the paths to other planets, introduces star-beings
(aliens), angels and their teachings (Psychic Realm)
|
"Channeled entity" gives general guidance about manifestation,
past lives, uniting with the Higher Self, living without guilt or
fear (Psychic Realm)
|
Superconscious Band Three
|
Sage guidance by one of the sages of the 12 temples of wisdom
(Wisdom Plane)
|
Infilling by the Holy Spirit (1st Exoteric Initiation)
|
Guidance by an angel or saint in the astral form (1st
Mesoteric Initiation)
|
Guidance by a Hierophant of a Mystery School (1st Esoteric
Initiation)
|
Guidance by an Ascended Master (2nd Initiation)
|
Guidance by the intuition of the Soul, the Monad, or inspiration
from a member of the Hierarchy of Light (3rd Initiation)
|
Guidance by direct understanding and illumination (4th
Initiation)
|
Superconscious Band Four
|
Direction by the Soul through the Transpersonal Will
|
Direction by the Monad revelation of the Divine Will
|
Guidance by a Yogi Preceptor (1st Cosmic Initiation)
|
Guidance by a Light Master (2nd Cosmic Initiation)
|
Guidance by a Guide of a Ray Path (3rd Cosmic Initiation)
|
Intuition received from the Avataric or Universal Self (4th
Cosmic Initiation)
|
Command by the God Self (5th Cosmic Initiation)
|
Direction by the Divine Will revealed by a Cosmic Master or received
from the Father, with empowerment (Mastery at Higher Planes of Cosmic
Sphere)
|
Direction by a Guru of a Supracosmic Path (Supracosmic Path)
|
Direction by the Supreme Guru, with empowerment (Mastery on a Supracosmic
Path)
|
Direction by a Sat Guru of a Transcendental Path (Transcendental
Path)
|
Direction by the Divine at key milestones of a Transcendental Path,
with empowerment (Mastery on a Transcendental Path)
|
You are probably wondering why each aspirant has not
gone stark-raving mad from merely contemplating this amazing diversity
of inner advisement and direction. To add one more layer to your bewilderment,
we will suggest yet more guidance as to how to sort out this chaotic jumble
in a way that will help you to keep your sanity, integrity and groundedness.
Personal Sources of
Guidance
Personal sources of guidance arise from your personality,
which includes the bands of your Conscious, Unconscious and Metaconscious
mind. For many people, who have not opened the door into the Superconscious
mind, this is the only guidance that they know. We outline here some typical
scenarios that you may encounter in life, and suggest the interior sources
of guidance within your personality that may correctly direct you.
- For life decisions, rely on the integrated
activity of your Self through its vehicles of volition, intuition, intellect,
conscience, persona, desire body and etheric body. (If you have experienced
severe trauma, upbringing in a dysfunctional family or have been involved
for an extended period with a religious cult, then you may require counseling
or psychotherapy in order to help you to rehabilitate the functioning
of your Metaconscious mind.)
- For impressions of your destiny and spiritual
purpose, reflect on the toruses of purpose in the Subconscious mind
(Centers 4 and 5).
- For impressions about other people (their
trustworthiness, truthfulness, etc.), rely upon the feelings of your
Conscious mind, reason and impressions from your Subconscious.
- For decisions about what is right or wrong behavior,
consult your own conscience. (If you have never constructed this aspect
of your personality, then you will benefit from a study of ethics and
religion. Religious training, while it has its problems and shortcomings,
will instill in you a strong moral sense and give you a firm foundation
of values for living.)
- For creative inspiration, gather the threads
of your experience, structured knowledge and wisdom, and the creative
ideas of your astral mind (Subconscious Centers 1-3), and allow your
intellect to process them, structure them and distill them into the
parameter and guidelines of your project.
- For initial spiritual guidance, you may dialogue
with and contemplate your attentional principle and your own spirit.
These will reveal to you the initial truths that you have discovered
on the path. (For those who have taken the Mudrashram® Master Course
in Meditation, have studied with us for some time and choose to work
with us, they may find that they can contact Swami Charan Das in the
Eight-Petalled Lotus of the Subconscious mind.)
- For deriving meaning from troubling or profound
life experiences, contemplate your Self, utilize intuition to sort
out the different facets of your experience, let intellect reflect upon
the experience, and allow your conscience to shape new values. Take
time to assess to what you can commit yourself, permit yourself to remember,
to feel your feelings and express your grief, anger, fear, gratitude
ad other reactions that you have had with the experience. (If the experience
was traumatic or life changing, then you may need to seek support from
a counselor, psychotherapist, clergy person of your faith, or a wise
and trusted friend.)
Transpersonal
Sources of Guidance
Transpersonal sources of guidance arise from the Superconscious
band of the mind, beyond the confines of the personality. We give you
our suggestions for each of the four major bands of the Superconscious
mind below:
Superconscious Band One: [Unconscious and Lower
Astral Sources] If you detect strongly hypnotic or fascinating impulses
to act on impressions from Superconscious Band One, then resist them strenuously.
You must learn to recognize them and learn specific strategies for combating
them, sublimating them or disarming them. To act on them in most cases
will lead to deleterious karmic consequences, including personal tragedy,
misery, addiction, imprisonment, madness, possession by entities of the
Lower Astral Plane or death.
Superconscious Band Two: [Planes of the Planetary
Realm up to the Psychic Realm] If you are not currently traversing the
Psychic Realm, then it is best to avoid these sources of guidance that
arise from the Psychic Realm. While they are popular among groups in the
New Age movement and among the adherents of Spiritualist, Mormon and Swendenborgian
faiths, for reasons discussed elsewhere on this web site [see the articles,
The Entity Will Now Speak: The Uses and
Abuses of Channeling, and The
Psychic Realm and Psychic Powers] involvement with Psychic Realm
entities and guides may lead to entrapment and self-delusion. Development
of the faculties of the Abstract Mind Plane (Center 2) generally strengthen
and enhance personality functioning, so we encourage aspirants and disciples
to pursue these avenues of experience and growth. For other aspects of
work in Superconscious Band Two, we emphasize contemplating and receiving
guidance from your Soul. The instinctive wisdom represented by your animal
guide is usually reliable and can assist you in concerns of survival in
the wilderness and selecting a life partner.
Superconscious Band Three: [Planes of the Planetary
Realm beyond the Psychic Realm and up to the Buddhic Plane] Each of these
forms of guidance can supplement contemplation and receiving guidance
from your Soul as you are evolving through these bands of the Planetary
Realm.
Superconscious Band Four: [Planes of the Planetary
Realm and beyond, beginning with the Atmic Plane, marked by direct communion
with the ensouling entity of each Realm] Rely primarily on the intuition
of your cutting edge ensouling entity.
In the Planetary Realm
|
Soul
|
In the Transplanetary Realm
|
Monad
|
In the Cosmic Sphere
|
Astral Soul
|
In the Supracosmic Sphere
|
Supracosmic Soul
|
In the Transcendental Sphere
|
The ensouling entity of the Path you are on
|
Supplement this with guidance from teachers who work
with you on the Plane upon which you are currently journeying.
Developing Discernment
The challenge for the aspirant and disciple is learning
to identify the sources of the guidance that arise within the mind. You
can sharpen your Sword of Discrimination. Here are some ideas:
- Learn to identify the bands of the GCC by locating
landmarks and features for each realm and discover your vehicles on
these Planes.
- Contemplate your ensouling entity in each octave
of being so you recognize it. Develop the ability to travel from one
ensouling entity to another at will.
- Study materials from the teachings that arise on
each Plane so that you may familiarize yourself with the context, quality
and form of the guidance stemming from that level of the GCC.
- Develop mandalic reasoning by focusing your attention
on your ensouling entity, then visualizing it surrounded by a globe
of concentric spheres. Contemplate the content of each of these concentric
spheres in turn.
- Ask your ensouling entity for guidance using the
methods of Reflective and Receptive meditation (taught in the Mudrashram®
Master Course in Meditation).
- Use the techniques of microconcentration (also taught
in the Mudrashram® Master Course in Meditation) to study your vehicles
in great detail.
- Find a guide who is familiar with all bands
of the GCC, who can help you discern what is your spiritual cutting
edge and your current level of spiritual evolution. This teacher should
be able to give you information about the realm that you are presently
traveling through, and reveal your path ahead to contemplation and Mastery.
We hope that you will find these general guidelines
about personal and transpersonal guidance useful. Consider each on the
touchstone of your own intuition and sense of truth. Retain that which
you verify and which resonates with you as appropriate, and reject or
hold in abeyance the rest.
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