Concerning Transformational Imagination

Posted on February 26, 2023 by George Boyd

Q: Isn’t spiritual work just imagination and none of this is real?

A: Genuine spiritual work is the activity of transformational imagination. To understand what this is, it is important to look at the spectrum of imagination:

Sensory imagination – This is the ability to manipulate three-dimensional objects in space through visualization. Architects visualize a building; scientists imagine what a dinosaur looked like; designers mock up a finished product; game designers picture a virtual reality scenario.

Desire-laden imagination – This experiences the native language of the unconscious mind, which is called fantasy. These are elements of the unconscious that are not allowed expression in human life; they have not been integrated, so they operate in the background of normal awareness. The unconscious includes emotionally charged elements such as fear, anger, shame, guilt, hated, envy, jealousy, grief, lust, greed, addictive craving, attachment, and narcissism—these are called the passions.

Psychotherapy works with people to uncover and integrate intrapsychic elements of this type of imagination through a variety of evocative techniques.

Recovery groups also have people work on elements that arise from this level of the mind that are relevant to their addiction.

Goal-oriented imagination – This is the ability to visualize the outcome of goals. These visions of the future powerfully motivate behavior and substand the drive to succeed at the level of the personality. Goal-oriented imagination is also referred to as a personal dream of what someone wants to achieve.

Metaphysical imagination – This is the ability to imagine what a spiritual state of being may be like. This type of imagines what heaven would be like, how they might be when they reach a certain state of consciousness, and what it would be like to have certain spiritual powers.

This type of imagination is highly speculative, and overvalues and distorts the objects of its speculation. This type is also called glamour. It is commonly associated with the Psychic Realm.

Religious imagination – This type of imagination attempts to interpret scriptures and religious ideas without gaining insight into the actual meaning of what these sources communicate. In Christianity, for example, it generates elaborate fantasies about the Second Coming of the Savior, the Rapture, the Last Judgment, visions of the future (eschatology), and the subjugation of society to its religious dominion and demand for global adoption of its values and beliefs.

Without the development of discernment, this type of imagination can readily degenerate into distorted and paranoid beliefs that give rise to conspiracy theories.

This type is commonly associated with groups that identify with the Moon Soul nucleus of identity in the First Exoteric Planetary Initiation.

Creative imagination – This is the expression of the gifts of the Soul through the personality. This is usually associated with artistic media, literature, and invention, but it can express in other areas like cooking, interior design, gardening, and comedy. The ability to share the gifts of the Soul has been called talent, genius, or giftedness.

Transformational imagination – This type of imagination is based on the ability of the attentional principle to visualize and use intention to engage in inner work to generate transformation of the ensouling entity, to travel in full consciousness on the inner Planes, to make attunements for healing and guiding, and to perform spiritual ministry and initiation.

Because this type of imagination cannot be empirically verified, it is often portrayed as fantasy or self-delusion. In actuality, it is the foundation of genuine spiritual development. Students of Integral meditation are trained to activate and utilize this type of imagination, which enables them to fully actualize their spiritual potentials.

We suggest that developing sensory imagination, goal-oriented imagination, creative imagination, and transformational imagination will help you actualize your personal and spiritual potentials. Moreover, it will be valuable for you to have tools to work with the issues arising from desire-laden imagination, and to develop your wisdom and discernment so you are not entrapped in the illusions and delusions of metaphysical and religious imagination.

Those who wish to learn how to use the methods of transformational imagination that activate your attentional principle can start this process in our intermediate courses, the in-person Mudrashram® Master Course in Meditation or the by-mail and online Accelerated Meditation Program.

The Seven Tracks through the Lower Astral Plane

Posted on February 18, 2023 by George Boyd

In the spiritual evolutionary journey through the Subtle Realm, each Soul Spark must face the challenges of the Lower Astral Plane, which is located just beyond the top of the Middle Subtle Bands of the Continuum. Each one is tested with the great temptations; some are able to escape from this dark realm; some become entrapped; and some some become involved with the Occult Adepts who rule this realm. This article was written in response to a question about what happens to the individuals who must cross this Plane.

Q: Does everyone in the Lower Astral have to enter the Occult Mystery Schools?

A: Once the Soul Spark has reached the Hermit stage in the Lower Astral Plane—after having overcome the temptations of the Chemical Snare, the Sexual Snare, the Criminal Snare, the Political Powers and Corruption Snare, and the Spiritual Slavery Snare bands of this dark realm—the Soul Spark may enter one of seven tracks:

Track one – The Soul Spark ascends through the Occult Mystery School on its Ray. This track leads individuals to become high occult initiates or even an Occult Adept.

Track two – The Soul Spark elects to renounce the Lower Astral. On this track, the Soul Spark moves beyond Satan in the Occult Hierarchy and continues to develop in the highest levels of the Lower Astral Plane to the Light of Renunciation at the threshold of the Subtle Illumined Mind.

Track three – The Soul Spark is translated directly into the Subtle Illumined Mind, and its karma is moved upstream into the Planetary. [The Multiplane Masters of Mudrashram® use this track for Mudrashram® students, who reach the doorway to the Lower Astral Plane.]

Track four – The Soul Spark elects to remain at the station of the Hermit and renounce further progress. It acts as a spiritual counselor or a therapist to assist others makes it through the bands of the Lower Astral snares.

Track five – The Soul Spark does not advance into either the Occult Mystery Schools or the track of Liberation, but rather, it remains where it is. It acts as an emissary of an Occult Adept to assist carry out the project on which the occult initiate is working.

Track six – The Soul Spark feels led to engage in a religious service that worships Satan. They do not advance on either the Mystery School or Liberation track, but they work with established Lower Astral religious organizations to set up formal religious services and to carry out occult or magical rituals.

Track seven – The Soul Spark disseminates occult information through videos, radio shows, podcasts, public talks, articles, and books. In this posture, the Soul Spark does not advance into either the Occult Mystery Schools or the track of Liberation, but remains where it is to act as mouthpiece for Occult and Magical teachings. There have been some popular writers, philosophers, and media personalities who operate on this track.

For the Soul Spark to enter the Occult Mystery Schools: it must have a powerful desire to do so—and it must choose and affirm that it chooses to do so. The Soul Spark then undergoes a series of tests; if it passes these challenges, it is admitted to the Occult Mystery School on its Ray.

How prevalent are these alternate tracks?

Perhaps no more than one out of fifteen—about seven percent—of those who reach the Hermit stage of development, opt to enter the Mystery Schools.
In contrast, about eighty four percent choose the Liberation track.
The remaining nine percent are about evenly divided between the occult counselor, the occult emissary, the occult apostle, and the occult communicator.

We discuss these Subplanes of the Lower Astral in the Mudrashram® Correspondence Course. We encourage those who are sojourning through the Middle Subtle Realm familiarize themselves about the major landmarks of this dark realm.

We also suggest that those who have advanced into the Planetary also become familiar with this realm, to assist those who may be trapped there, and show them how they can escape from this realm’s hypnotic spell.

The Seven Gates

Posted on December 9, 2022 by George Boyd

The Seven Gates: How You Becomes Trapped in Your Limitations

There are seven gates, which keep you trapped in the bubble of the Conscious mind. When this gate is opened, it transforms the way you view the world and how you identify yourself with what you feel is your true essence. These gates, and the transformation they produce when they are opened, are listed below:

The gate of the brain – from reason to the Soul’s intuition (Jnana)
The gate of the brow – from the waking state of awareness to attentional Union with the Soul (Samadhi)
The gate of the throat – from consensual speech to the communication of the Soul’s truths (Satsang)
The gate of the heart – from identification with the ego to rebirth as and identification with the spirit
The gate of the solar plexus – from identification with human abilities to the discovery of the transpersonal will (Siddhi)
The gate of the navel – from immersion in fear and craving to faith and freedom in union with a nucleus of identity suffused with the Divine Light and Grace
The gate of the root – from identification with the human body and brain to awakening of the power of energy and awareness, bringing about Union and identification with the Soul

One of the purposes of meditation is to give you the key to open each of these gates. In the Mudrashram® system of Integral meditation, we give you specific tools for unlocking these gates.

To open the brain gate, we teach you Jnana Yoga, which connects you with your Soul’s intuition.
To open the gate of the brow, we teach you Purusa Dhyan and Raja Yoga. [Purusa Dhyan means you unite your attention with your attentional principle. This technique is described in our article, “How to Open Your Own Third Eye.”]
To open the gate of the throat, we teach you chanting and intoning, which open the higher octaves of your speech.
To open the gate of the heart, we teach you Surat Dhyan and Nada Yoga. [Surat Dhyan means you unite your attention with your spirit.]
To open the gate of the solar plexus, we teach you Agni Yoga.
To open the gate of the navel, we teach you Manasa Dhyan and prayer. [Manasa Dhyan means you unite your attention with a nucleus of identity.]
To open the gate of the root, we teach you Kundalini Yoga.

To open even one of these gates brings breakthrough; we teach you open all seven.

You can learn about these methods in our intermediate courses, the Mudrashram Master Course in Meditation, which is available in-person; and the Accelerated Meditation Program, which is available by-mail and online.

Concerning the Three Threads

Posted on November 25, 2022 by George Boyd

Q: You speak of three threads that connect with the Superconscious mind. What are these threads? Can you explain how these threads function?

A: The three threads are the thread of faith, the thread of consciousness, and the thread of remembrance, also called the Antakarana.

The thread of faith connects you with the Self, the Soul and the form of God in the First Mesoteric Initiation. This is activated when you believe in your Self, your Soul, and God. This thread is associated with praying to God.

The thread of consciousness is the track on which attention travels in meditation. It passes through each level of the mind and every level of the Continuum. It runs through each vehicle of consciousness and through each active ensouling entity. The attentional principle and spirit can be accessed along this track. Raja Yoga meditation trains you to move your attention along this thread.

The thread of remembrance contains your insights, revelations, realizations, and inner experiences that you have had at each nodal point of the Path. When you open this track, you contemplate upon the knowledge and understanding that you have gained at each step of the Path. In response to your questions, this thread gives you answers. It can channel its knowledge through you via automatic writing, intuitive transmission, and inspired speech. Jnana Yoga meditation taps into this thread, and allows you to access its intuitive knowledge for each of its seven chords:

The first chord accesses the conscience. You activate this chord through introspection and values clarification.
The second chord opens into the intellect. You utilize this chord through study, using problem solving skills, conceptual thinking, and review and testing.
The third chord unlocks your worldview. You enter into this level through philosophical inquiry, journaling, and inner dialog.
The fourth chord channels your psychic guidance to inform your decisions and promotes finding meaning and understanding of your life experiences. You turn on this chord when you ask for guidance for your life, using Reflective Meditation.
The fifth chord taps into your Soul’s wisdom to gain insight into the meaning of ideas, symbols, and archetypes. You awaken this level when you reflect on the meaning of symbols and archetypes, scriptural passages, or evocative ideas, applying Reflective Meditation and contemplation.
The sixth chord brings remembrance of the true nature of the Soul. You commune with this chord when you use advanced Jnana Yoga practices that promote discernment, enlightenment, and Gnosis.
The seventh chord tracks across the unconscious mind. It connects you with the origin of your vehicles of consciousness, your spirit, and ensouling entity. You go through this thread when you practice advanced Jnana Yoga practices and consciously move through the unconscious band of the mind.

You learn to employ the thread of faith in religious groups, who train you how to pray and invoke the form of the Divine known in that tradition.

You can learn how to activate the thread of consciousness and the thread of remembrance in our intermediate meditation classes—the in-person Mudrashram® Master Course in Meditation and the by-mail and online Accelerated Meditation Program.

What Is A Supervisory Initiate?

Posted on November 18, 2022 by George Boyd

Q: What is a Supervisory Initiate? What role do they play in spiritual development?

A: Your Supervisory Initiate is the Master in your spiritual tradition that is responsible for leading you through every step of the spiritual Path on which you are developing to the state of completion.
Completion can take the form of Mastery, Liberation, or Fusion with the Divine.

Mastery means the ensouling entity or nucleus of identity that transforms in your tradition enters the Presence of the Divine that is know in your spiritual cosmology, and is anointed to initiate, guide, and teach others.

Liberation means your ensouling entity or nucleus of identity drops into its origin.

Fusion with the Divine means your ensouling entity or nucleus of identity moves into perfect attunement with the form of the Divine on your Path, so you feel a perfect oneness with this Divine Being.

The major forms of Mastery, and their dominant spiritual essences—ensouling entity (EE) or nucleus of identity (NOI)—are shown below:

The Adept Master dwells in the Planetary Hierarchy as the Monad (EE).

The Yogi Preceptor dwells in the one of the nine platforms that surround the Lord of the Yogis in the First Cosmic Initiation as cosmic consciousness (NOI)

The Light Master dwells in the Word State at the Cosmic Soul Awareness Plane in the Second Cosmic Initiation as cosmic soul awareness (NOI)

The Cosmic Master dwells in the Cosmic Hierarchy as the Astral Soul (EE)

The Supracosmic Master or Guru dwells in the Guru Padam center above the Supracosmic brain chakra on a Supracosmic Path as the Supracosmic Soul (EE)

The Transcendental Master or Sat Guru dwells at the origin of the spirit as their Transcendental ensouling entity (EE) on one Transcendental Path, T1 to T7.

The Adi Sat Guru or Multiplane Master dwells on the highest Plane of the Bridge Path, T6 or T7 as the ensouling entity of that Path, and exhibits Mastery throughout the Transcendental, Supracosmic, Cosmic, Transplanetary, Planetary, and Subtle bands of the Continuum. [This is the major form of Mastery in the Mudrashram® lineage.]

You experience Liberation at the origin of an ensouling entity or nucleus of identity. In the Transcendental Sphere, they also look to the origin of the spirit as spiritual liberation, or salvation. Some examples are:

The Light in the First Esoteric Initiation from which the Moon Soul (NOI) originated

The Light from with the Soul (EE) originated in the Planetary Realm, which we call the Light of Nirvana or the Nirvanic flame

The Light from which cosmic consciousness (NOI) originated at the top of the First Cosmic Initiation; we call this stage, Kaivalyam

The Light from which the Astral Soul (EE) originated at the top of the Cosmic Sphere, which we call Brahma Jyoti or Parinirvana

The Light at the top of top of the Supracosmic brain chakra from which the Supracosmic seed atom (NOI) of one Supracosmic Path originated

The Light at the top of the Supracosmic Sphere from which the Supracosmic Soul (EE) originated, which we call Mahaparinirvana

The Light in the highest Plane of a Transcendental Path from which the spirit of that Path originated

Fusion with the Divine constitutes a state of God Realization, in which someone incarnates a form of the Divine in human life. This state is much more rare than Liberation or Mastery. Two examples are:

Union of cosmic consciousness (NOI) with Brahman in the brain chakra of the Cosmic Man or Woman in the First Cosmic Initiation

Union of the ensouling entity of the Third Transcendental Path (T3) with the form of God at the highest stage of T3— in their tradition, this stage of development is called the Avatar

What a Primary Initiate does

The Divine, as it is known in your tradition, anoints the Primary Supervising Initiate to:

Initiate – reveal the methods of meditation used in your tradition
Guide – lead your attention, attentional principle, or spirit along your Path and show you the landmarks or stages of your Path
Illumine – awaken the Illumined Mind or Buddhi surrounding the ensouling entity or nucleus of identity your tradition unfolds to reveal this spiritual essence’s innate wisdom, knowledge of the Path, and to promote discernment of the true nature of this essence
Teach – explicate the meaning of the scriptures and other written and oral ideas disseminated on the Path and to enhance insight and understanding
Counsel – give practical knowledge to guide behavior, improve character, and to enhance prosperity and success
Minister – send the Light to minister to the spiritual needs of aspirants and disciples; to translate the ensouling entity or nucleus of identity of the disciple; to comfort, heal, and awaken aspirants and disciples; and to purify their heart and mind
Empowerment – awaken the ability to initiate, guide, illumine, teach, counsel, or minister to others

The Secondary Supervising Initiate

Your Secondary Supervising Initiate typically is an advanced, empowered disciple, who dwells at a station on the Path where they can initiate, guide, illumine, teach, counsel, or minister to others. This Secondary Supervising Initiate may be given responsibility for training, teaching, and overseeing development of aspirants and disciples on the Path.

Some examples of Secondary Supervising Initiates are:

A disciple of a Yogi Preceptor, who has united cosmic consciousness with the Light at the top of the Ideational Plane, the sixth chakra in the body of the Cosmic Man or Woman, may be authorized to act as a Secondary Supervising Initiate for those below that stage on the Path

A disciple, who has reached the Fifth Cosmic Initiation as the Astral Soul, a Cosmic Master may empower him or her to act as a Secondary Supervising Initiate to those in the first four Cosmic Initiations

A disciple, whose Supracosmic Soul has risen to the sixth or seventh Supracosmic chakra on that Path, a Supracosmic Master (Guru) may allow him or her to act as a Secondary Supervising Initiate to those below that station on the Path

A disciple, who has reached the Mahatma stage of the seventh Transcendental Path (T7), the Sat Guru of this Path may give power to him or her to act as a Secondary Supervising Initiate to those below this stage of the Path

Roles of the Primary Supervising Initiate

Your Primary Supervising Initiate typically assumes the following roles:

The Lineage Holder of your tradition
The Initiate whom God anoints, who is responsible for supervising all spiritual development on your Path
A Master who is part of the Hierarchy of Light in its Transcendental, Supracosmic, Cosmic, or Transplanetary levels
A Master who is part of an empowered spiritual network [in Mudrashram®, one if our externalized Multiplane Masters—Swami Prem Dayal, Swami Charan Das, or Swami Prabhu Maharaj—is assigned to be the Primary Supervising Initiate for our Mudrashram® aspirants and disciples. See the article on the Lineage to learn who are the Multiplane Masters that make up our spiritual network.

Initiation in the Mudrashram® tradition occurs at the time of impartation of the Quintessence Mantra, which unfold the cutting edge ensouling entity through the Subtle, Planetary, Transplanetary, Cosmic, and Supracosmic stages of the Path. Your Primary Supervising Initiate begins overshadowing the aspirant at this stage.

You receive this mantra, together with an entire toolbox of techniques in our intermediate meditation courses, the in-person Mudrashram® Master Course in Meditation and the by-mail and online Accelerated Meditation Program.

Those of you who want to know if Mudrashram® is an appropriate next step for your spiritual development may request a complementary spiritual discovery session with us.