The Impersonal Life

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**[[the_way_to_the_kingdom|The Way to The Kingdom]]**

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====== We are Come Unto Mount Zion ======
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“Ye are come unto Mount Zion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable hosts of angels, to the general assembly and church of the first born, who are enrolled in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect, and to Jesus the Mediator of the new covenant.”—Hebrew 12:22-24.

We promised in the preceding chapter to tell you more about the soul plane, more about the Kingdom, and more about the lower planes of consciousness.

We will consider first the Kingdom, and refer you to the opening paragraph of the first chapter where was said, “These words are addressed to all those who are seeking the way into the Kingdom of God—the Kingdom where a Great Love and Wisdom, the serving and inspiring of others, and the utter forgetfulness of self is the natural life of everyone who dwells therein.”

Think on these words that you may grasp their deep import, for in them lies the whole essence of the Kingdom consciousness. And the Kingdom of God, you now know, is a state or realm of consciousness.

You have learned that the way into that consciousness is the way of Love, or by following the Christ within the heart Who will lead us into the Kingdom there. You have found that by following and obeying Him, Love gradually expands and prepares the consciousness of the human mind so that the Light of Divine Mind penetrates through and illumines it, thus enabling it to see with His eyes and to know with His understanding.

Likewise you have been taught the true meaning of Service, and many of you have been led its way and have been used to inspire and heal and bless others, thereby learning to forget self and the real soul joy of selfless service.

All such consequently are experiencing in their outer consciousness what their souls actually are living in their soul consciousness—that is, their souls are now living in the Kingdom and working from Its consciousness, else they would not be so serving in the outer.

But you must remember that there are many grades of Servers in the Kingdom. Note what is stated in the verse at the head of this article. All in the Kingdom are disciples as was shown in the article on “Teachers” in the last chapter. Always there are those above to teach and help their younger brothers on all planes up to the highest, our Lord and Master, Jesus Christ, being the Supreme Teacher of all Teachers and Masters, of all Angels and Archangels, of Cherubim and Seraphim; for “He sitteth on the Throne with the Father and from thence He discovers himself in his state and glory, as the great Ruler of the world, the King of kings, and Lord of lords, our Saviour.”

We have shown that the highest soul or causal plane, the plane of purified or re-born souls—of disciples of Christ—is the first realm in the Kingdom. This implies that there are many realms beyond—realms or states of consciousness higher than that of disciples. This of course is so, as a higher state of consciousness is always enterable when the soul can comprehend in and be taught from it. You need only to look back a year or five years to the state of consciousness you were in then, and compare yourself then with where you are now, to see that then you were not ready to comprehend what you are being taught now, even as a year hence you may be in a much higher state of consciousness.

We have stated that disciples are purified souls. Try to realize that we mean souls, and not personalities. For such souls may have much in their personalities still to overcome and bring into harmony with their soul natures.

In fact, the Higher Self—a Son of God—now living in and actually being the soul of a disciple, having purified the soul consciousness and united it with the Higher Self’s Christ consciousness, the soul’s next immediate task is to bring the brain mind’s consciousness—the actual disciple—into one ness with its soul consciousness, which is now one with its Father’s—the Higher Self’s—consciousness.

This accomplished—and we know it is accomplished only by purging the personality of all phases of selfishness, feeding it the “bread of adversity and the water of affliction” until nothing of self is left that can suffer—then the Great Consummation of the Three-in-One, the Divine Trinity, is effected,— the Higher Self, soul and human mind, or the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, are now all one in consciousness, and hence are a perfect channel and instrument for the Father’s use on the earth plane—the sole object of the present physical embodiment of a disciple.

A disciple, therefore, is always taught and directed in all his activities from the soul realm in the Kingdom. From there either his own Higher Self or other Teachers and Masters of Wisdom teach and guide him in the work of the Brotherhood to which he has dedicated himself, or help him to overcome and perfect in himself the qualities still needing to be brought into harmony for the Father’s use. The Higher Self calls upon others to aid in the technical details that require supervision on the lower planes—even as a workman in a factory is taught or directed by a foreman, rather than by the Factory Manager, although when something of special importance is required of the workman the Manager will give him personal instruction and advice.

To all faithful ones who persistently strive to overcome self and who endure to the end are given this promise:

“And therefore will Jehovah wait that he may be gracious unto you; and therefore will He be exalted, that He may have mercy upon you; for Jehovah is a God of Justice: blessed are they that wait for Him.

“For the people shall dwell in Zion at Jerusalem; thou shall weep no more; He will surely be gracious unto thee. At the voice of thy cry, when He shall hear, He will answer thee.

“And though the Lord give you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, yet shall not thy teachers be hidden any more, but thine eyes shall see thy teachers: and thy ears shall hear a voice behind thee saying, This is the way, walk in it.”—Isaiah, 30:18-21.

All experience of whatsoever kind brings steady growth or unfoldment and expansion of consciousness for the disciple, whether he is aware of it or not. For when he thinks he is growing the least and has no opportunity to meditate, yet is faithfully striving to put the teachings into practice, apparently with many failures, his growth would be very apparent on the soul plane to those who can see the light that he radiates. An intense desire to become worthy and an earnestness of purpose manifesting in a continual striving to overcome faults and weaknesses, count for such much more than is generally realized.

This applies equally to aspirants in their search for Truth. It is the motive and the faithfulness with which the seeker persists despite failure that attracts the attention of Teachers on the inner planes, and which brings the help needed, when facing the problems of the daily life. While aspirants have not won to the plane of purified souls, yet being souls they live and are active in the inner planes of being exactly as their human personalities live and mingle with those interested in the same lines of thought on the physical plane.

Try always to realize that the soul must be in the inner realms just what its reflection—the personality—is in the outer, for it creates its home and environment first in the soul realm of consciousness, manifesting or outpicturing them within, on the mental or one of the astral planes, according to its spiritual growth, and then without on the physical plane; the inner and the outer being really one—the same consciousness manifesting on different planes of being. The only difference is, on the inner planes that which manifests is divested of all pretence, the soul stands forth naked and has no personality or mask to cover and hide its real nature, and similarly all else there are seen in their native purity.

From this it will be seen that the soul automatically finds its own level or plane of consciousness, be it one of the abstract or concrete planes of the mental realms, or in the higher astral realms, assuming that the aspirant has evolved beyond the lower astral, where self and the darkness of ignorance rule.

It is now time to dissolve some of the mystery and by the same token some of the condemnation and stigma that attaches to the astral plane. For the astral is merely the plane of consciousness from which come all desires, feelings, emotions and passions, including love.

Ponder on this statement. Can you not see that this being so, then every human soul is involved in the astral plane every time he lets any desire, feeling or emotion of whatsoever kind rule him and influence his thoughts, words and actions? The same way exactly as he is involved in the mental plane when some thought or idea claims his attention and rules his mind.

It is only when the psychic centers are prematurely opened—where spiritual growth has not opened them naturally—that there is trouble and the conscious soul is not always able to control the functioning of these centers, and it “sees” and “hears” or “feels” things that are not natural. But that is no harder than it is for one who is not “psychic” but is mental, and who has not learned fully to control his mind, and thoughts unbidden and unwanted come in and have their way with such. The only difference between the two is that the first named “sees,” “hears” or “feels” psychically, while the other “sees,” “hears” or “feels” mentally, but to each they seem as real as if in the physical.

The answer to this in both cases is mind-control, which must be gained before one can make any headway on the path to the Kingdom. In other words, the disciple sooner or later realizes that he must be able actually to stand guard at the door of his mind and admit only the thoughts and feelings he desires to entertain, and then must learn so to rule and train his mind that it thinks and holds only the perfect thoughts he wishes to outmanifest in his body and affairs.

We hope by this time that every student of these articles has realized the vital importance of mind-control, and has faithfully practiced the exercises given in the large meditation sheet, until he has proved to himself that he is master of his own mind. All students might as well know now that without such control conscious functioning on the soul and higher planes is impossible.
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==== FEAR ====
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This brings us to the consideration of the greatest obstacle that stands in the way of progression on the inner planes—which means to the Kingdom of God; for the Kingdom, remember, is within the mind or within its consciousness. That obstacle is Fear.

The moment you let fear enter the mind, you are sucked into the emotional or astral plane, and unless you are able calmly to face it there and see it for just what it is—a craven creature of your own imagining, which has come to you to be fed, for it has no life but what you give it by recognition and tremblingly entertaining it—you had better cease meditation and go about active work of some kind that will require your mind’s full attention.

Every disciple must learn, the moment any fear of whatsoever nature appears, to detect it immediately and to call it forth into the open, compel it to stand in front of him as it were, so that he can look it squarely in the face and see it for the cowardly thing it is—usually some form of selfish quality that is being disturbed in its mental dominion and thus seeks to maintain its hold over the soul.

From all this it should be seen that the way pictured is the road of mastery, is the conscious treading the Path inward to the Kingdom as ruler of your own mind. Have you ever noticed how a positive personality not only attracts people, opportunities and all good things to him, while weaker and negative persons unconsciously always step aside and give him the right of way?

It is always so with the one who is master of his own mind, for he has compelled and taught it to serve him, and other minds instinctively recognize such and render obeisance. Weaker souls are the slaves of their minds—of their thoughts and emotions.

In true meditation one has such control of the mind that he can focus its attention on whatever he wishes to study and know. All the forces of mind fly to aid such a positive soul. Therefore such meditating can be done anywhere, at any time, and in the daylight, and needs not darkness or some quiet place. Such a soul can free itself from all consciousness of the outer at will, and is able to enter such realms as it chooses.

When thus freeing itself, the soul automatically rises to the realm which is its soul home, and where it always goes and works at night when the brain mind is at rest in sleep. There it sees and knows its soul companions and does whatever is required of it at the time by the Higher Self, even as when in the outer consciousness, although all activities in the inner will be of a soul nature necessarily, and are not concerned with personal interests; the brain mind of course, being unaware of such activities, except of what may come through in dreams, or if psychically unfolded of what may be seen in visions.

A disciple or awakened soul along with its brain mind will learn eventually to enter the inner planes consciously with definite purpose either for study or service, and will always have not only the conscious co-operation of the Higher Self, but of Great Souls and Helpers, and often of the Master Jesus, Himself.

As before shown, where two or more are gathered together in the Master’s Name, He is actually in their midst, as are other Great Souls and many Brothers on the inner planes.

This will point you to the necessity of regular hours and places for both meditation and group meetings, for when it is known that such meetings are faithfully held they are always attended on the inner planes by those who seek to provide the necessary Light and Inspiration that the disciple wishes to bring through to his brain consciousness.

Think on these things, and then compare with the negative sitting in the dark of the ordinary seance room of spiritualistic circles, where members seek messages from deceased relatives or others through a Medium usually unconscious in a trance state, his or her organism wholly controlled and utilized by disembodied entities on the astral plane.

Not that the phenomena of such seances have not given to the student much necessary information of scientific value, and that all souls influenced that way do not gain significant and needed lessons from such experiences. But it is not the method of learning of the disciple of Christ; for he seeks to master self and all his mental and psychic forces, in order to use them solely in the Master’s Service in uplifting and enlightening his fellow men.
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==== THE LAW OF PROSPERITY ====
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Many doubtless would like an explanation of the principle or law back of tithing, and we believe that all will be interested in knowing this law, for it applies to all phases of human endeavor.

This law reduced to simple words is, “As you freely give, so will you freely receive.”

In other words, like so many laws difficult to understand and obey, it is a matter of right thinking and trusting.

We all of us believe in God as the Source of all things. But some of us cannot quite see Him as “our Supply, our Support, our Sufficiency in all things,” as so wonderfully taught by H., Emilie Cady.

Why—if we accept Him as the Source of all?

Is it not because we do not try to prove Him as such—truly and definitely try to prove Him?

Jesus, our Master and Teacher, has told us many times and in many ways of actual promises of the Father to those that love and trust Him. But we do not believe Him or we would prove it by acting as if we believed.

This is peculiarly true in the matter of material supply. How many really—unquestionably—trust Him? How many take no thought—are not anxious—at some time or other about what they shall eat or drink, or wherewithal they shall be clothed, realizing that their heavenly Father knows their need of these things; and as commanded are seeking first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, fully expecting all things to be added unto them?

Is it not so that instead of such expecting most earnest students go about trying to trust Him, but with so many sub-conscious doubts and fears that they actually drive the Good waiting to manifest far from them.

It resolves itself to this—and think these words over carefully: Until we learn that all that we have comes from the Father within and is for His use, and not ours, except for our immediate needs, and we then act in that consciousness, KNOWING that as we use all in His Service more and plenty will be given us for further use, we may find our present supply cut off or grow less, and we will be allowed to feel the stress of lack for awhile. It is as if we must keep the stream ever flowing, and as we give out, more and more will be poured in.

This has been proved by so many, especially by tithers, that it is known to them as an actual and workable law. We all of us have to learn that just as we pinch and hold on to money we automatically stop its inflow to us.

By learning thus to give or use money freely and fearlessly from a consciousness that knows that by every act of our giving we open the gate, as it were, for more to flow in and in even greater measure— for such is the actual way it does flow—naturally we not only never hesitate when our heart urges us to give, but we learn to love to give.

From a study of the above you will plainly see that it is purely a matter of attaining the right consciousness—that of absolutely trusting in God as our supply, or in the Law, if you prefer. For many have discovered that there is a law of loving giving which automatically brings its sure returns.

And you might as well know now that our Loving Father, being always our Highest Self, is putting us through all of these experiences that seem so hard solely in order to bring us to such trust in Him. For He longs with a great longing to have us give up self utterly, so that He can be all things to us and can do all things that He wishes to do through us and for us.

A tither is one who gives a tenth of his income back to God, seeking to support such phases of His Work as enlist his heart interest. There are many notable instances of those who have attained to such faith and trust in Him that they have prospered to an almost incredible extent.

The law of giving, however, does not pertain to money only, but is a phase of the greater law of Love, whose outer manifestation is Service. And Service naturally is pure giving—not only of money, which is the least that we can give in actual value, as it deals only with effects, but of spiritual help, which reaches into and removes the cause.

We cannot impress too strongly upon students the vital importance of learning to live and work with this great Law of Loving Service, letting it rule in every thought, word and act. It is the basic element of discipleship and leads directly to the Kingdom.

In the next chapter we will make clear the practical use of this law, showing how in it is hidden the Magic Secret of attaining success, prosperity, health, happiness, peace and oneness with the Father.

To fortify and strengthen you, read the Master’s own words regarding it all in the 6th chapter of Matthew, especially beginning with the 19th verse. Study it carefully, chiefly in order that you may see that our Father requires of us an absolute trust in Him, even exhorting us not to lay up for ourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust corrupt and where thieves break through and steal; but to lay up for ourselves treasures in Heaven. For where our treasure is, there will our heart be also.
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==== RECEIVED IN A GROUP MEETING ====
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“My children. I am come that you may have life and that you may have it more abundantly. Open now your hearts and receive Me, for I am waiting to come forth in each of you consciously, so that you may not only know Me, but that you may know I am your Self, your one and only Self.

“The time is come that all may know Me, if they will. Receive Me, oh My children. Look for Me not in some far off time or place, but realize that I am here now—here in your hearts; I am that Love that is pushing forth to enrich and bless you, to supply you with all good and useful things needed for My harmonious and perfect, expression through you.

“Open wide your hearts and acknowledge Me there—look to Me there constantly. Ever keep your ears turned to Me there, listening for My voice, waiting thus upon Me and Me only, as you go about your tasks, or when quiet comes and you would know My will.

“For I promise I will not let any go unfed, unhelped, unsatisfied, whose hearts are fixed on Me; for even as you receive all of your life, health and strength from My life in you, so can you receive the fullness of My life, not only as perfect health and strength, but as perfect care, perfect supply, perfect expression of My perfect nature—when you yield your mind and self over wholly to Me.

“I bless you, My dear ones. My love ever surrounds you and will always go before you, lighting your way and making easy your tasks—if you will but trust Me and let Me lead and guide you in all your ways.”🔅
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