On Spiritual Boundaries

By George A. Boyd © 2017

Q: Are there spiritual boundaries?

A: Boundaries at the personal level are mediated through trust and disclosure; spiritual boundaries are constructed from ethical considerations and discernment. There are seven major spiritual boundaries.

  1. Non-injury – Non-injury means not forcing your will on another, not causing injury in thought, word, and deed. Lack of observance of this principle demarks those who work in the Lower Astral, the so-called Occult traditions, in contrast to those who work beyond the Lower Astral.
  2. Group cohesiveness – This is recognizing that certain individuals are a member of a group based on adherence to certain beliefs, doctrines, and practices. This differentiates one group from another.
  3. Plenum content discernment – This is an ability to recognize the content of the inner Planes and to discern the themes that make up a Subplane, and the collection of themes that constitute a Plane. This is primary spiritual discernment. [We teach this in a series of webinars on this topic available to intermediate students.]
  4. Vehicular content discernment – This is the ability to recognize the content of your inner vehicles of consciousness of the Conscious, Subconscious, Metaconscious, and Superconscious mind, and perceive those vehicles embedded in the matrix of the unconscious mind. This is secondary spiritual discernment. [We train you to cultivate this type of discernment in the Introduction to Meditation course, and in the Mudrashram® Correspondence Course.]
  5. Conscious essence discernment – This enables you to behold and recognize your attention, your ego, your attentional principle, your Self, your spirit, your nuclei of identity, and your Soul, both within yourself and in others. [We introduce you to personal identification centers (ego and Self), attention, and Soul in the Introduction to Meditation course. We go deeper into this examination in our intermediate courses, the in-person Mudrashram® Master Course in Meditation and the by-mail and online Accelerated Meditation Program, where you learn about the attentional principle and the spirit. You study nuclei of identity in the Mudrashram® Advanced Course in Meditation.]
  6. Spiritual relationship discernment – This enables you to detect the attunements or energetic connections that identify someone as a disciple of a spiritual teacher. Spiritual teachers of other traditions, who recognize these energetic markers, do not work with these disciples, recognizing they are under the supervision and responsible stewardship of another Initiate. This allows individuals to develop spiritually in an orderly way on the Path.

We note that not observing this rule leads to a kind of spiritual promiscuity, where disciples of one tradition are subject to the ministry and influence of other traditions. This can result in a number of untoward consequences, including:

  • Developing imbalances in spiritual vehicles
  • Intuitive bifurcation – opening streams of intuition on more than one octave of the Continuum, or for more than one spiritual Path
  • Cognitive confusion – not knowing which worldview, beliefs, or values espoused by different teachings is correct
  • Emotional conflict – this leads to conflicted loyalties and wavering commitment
  • Behavioral inhibition – when you do not know which set of beliefs or guidelines to follow, this leads to passivity and immobility—you cannot move forward in your life if you don’t know which way to go is correct
  1. Discernment of the Divine Will – this enables you to know which conative impulse arises from the different octaves of your mind, and which emanates from the Divine. Those who operate outside the circle of Planetary Initiation, on the Probationary Path—comprising the Biophysical Universe, Abstract Mind Plane, Psychic Realm, and Wisdom Plane in the Planetary Realm—and in the Subtle Realm, their own choice largely governs what their lives become. When you enter the stream of the Planetary Initiations, you begin to become conscious of the Divine Will. Those who contemplate the Moon Soul or Christ Child nucleus of identity can hear the whispering of the Divine Will, even before their Soul has taken the First Planetary Initiation.

Initiates, who draw into the Presence of the Divine, receive direct communication of the Divine Will. They are immersed in it. It is clearly transmitted to them.

Those stages of spiritual Mastery where the Divine Will can be known directly include:

  1. Adepts and Adept Masters (Planetary Hierarchy)
  2. Yogi Preceptors (Zone of Mastery in the First Cosmic Initiation)
  3. Light Masters (Zone of Mastery in the Second Cosmic Initiation)
  4. Cosmic Masters (Cosmic Hierarchy)
  5. Supracosmic Master or Guru (Mastery of one Supracosmic Path under the aegis of the Supreme Guru)
  6. Transcendental Path Master or Sat Guru (Mastery of one Transcendental Path and becoming an emissary and conduit for the Grace and Power of the Divine at that level)
  7. Multiplane Master or Adi Sat Guru (Mastery of the six other octaves of Mastery, with the ability to know the Divine Will and minister at each of these levels)

Occult Adepts, who operate in the Lower Astral Plane, are emissaries of the Dark Force, called Kal or Satan. They operate outside of the Divine Will; they are responsive to the will of the Being who embodies the Dark Force. Their activity constructs and holds in place the maelstrom of collective evil that we call the Lower Astral Plane.

It is a primary task for beginning aspirants to gain discernment of the first two types of spiritual boundaries. Advanced aspirants and disciples need to develop discernment for the remaining five.

You need to develop your ability to discern these spiritual boundaries within your self and others, respect group identification and established spiritual relationships, and endeavor to follow the Divine Will that leads you to completion of your Soul Purpose and fulfillment of your spiritual destiny.