TWELVE POINTED STAR OF THE SOUL & ALL
GREAT DISPENSATIONS
THE OM POINT
THE SOUL:
ITS
NATURE, RELATIONS,
AND EXPRESSIONS
IN
HUMAN
EMBODIMENTS
____________
GIVEN THROUGH
BY
Mrs. Cora L.V.
Richmond
HER GUIDES
_________
Published By
Mrs. Cora
L.V. Richmond 1888
_________
SALUTATION
TO THE BELOVED MEMBERS
OF OUR CLASSES
IN AMERICA AND ENGLAND,
WHEREVER THEY MAY BE, WHO
HAVE
RECEIVED THESE TEACHINGS,
SOME OF THE FIRST-FRUITS
OF THE
KINGDOM OF THE SOUL;
AND TO THOSE WHO, NOT
HAVING BEEN
PRESENTIN BODY,
WERE ONE IN SPIRIT WITH
THE
TRUTHS HEREIN EXPRESSED
THIS RECORD OF THEIR
LESSONS
IS AFFECTIONATELY
INSCRIBED
BY THE
GUIDES
_________
TO THE
READER
These lessons are published,
primarily, as a book
of reference for those who have been members of the classes receiving
them.
The essential Teachings herein contained, have been given at various
times
and places through this same medium for the past twenty years, but
always
heretofore verbally, in private or semi-private classes, because it was
necessary that those listening to them should continue through the
entire
course. A great demand, however, has recently sprung up in the
public
mind for some concise presentation of the Teachings as herein
expressed.
This volume is a careful compilation from verbatim reports of several
courses
of lessons, each containing the essential fundamental bases of
the
Teachings, but varying in manner of presentation and illustration.
It has been thought best by the
Intelligences
who have given them, to preserve the form in which the Teachings were
always
given, i. e., that of lessons, to enable those who read
to
become en rapport with the Guides in somewhat the same manner
as
though they had listened to the utterances as pupils. There must always
remain, however, a sense of loss; a missing of the revealed presence,
through
the medium of the Controlling Guides, made more palpable by the
Invocations
that preceded the lessons, and the Benedictions at the close; and most
palpable
by the pervading devotion and exaltation of all present.
Yet, happily, those who read with the
"Spirit
and the Understanding," shall feel themselves none the less near to the
Guides, and ever more near unto the Divine.--(Pub.)
THE GENERAL SUBJECT
OF THE LESSONS
IS:
THE SOUL; ITS NATURE,
RELATIONS, AND
EXPRESSIONS IN MATERIAL FORM.
The First lesson
will be: THE SOUL; ITS RELATION TO GOD.
The Second lesson
will be: THE
DUAL NATURE OF THE SOUL.
The Third lesson
will be: THE EXPRESSION OF THE SOUL IN HUMAN EMBODIMENTS,
AND ITS
RELATION
TO OTHER SOULS.
The Fourth lesson
will be
a continuation of the third, as we find that subject most attractive to
human minds that bears directly upon existence and its relations.
The Fifth lesson
will be: THE
REUNITED SOUL; INCLUDING PERFECTED SOULS, PARENTAL SOULS, AND
ANGELS.
The Sixth lesson
will be: ANGELS,
ARCHANGELS, AND MESSIAHS; including life on other planets.
RECAPITULATION: Given
As The Seventh lesson.
VALEDICTORY:
Ending Part I of 6 Parts of
PSYCHOSOPHY
DEFINITIONS
GIVEN BY THE GUIDES
( Explaining
the particular
sense in which the following words are used in this series of lessons )
INFINIVERSE.
That
which relates to the Infinite Being; the uncreate; the realm of
Infinity.
UNIVERSE.
That
which relates to Existence; the whole of Creation.
BEING.
That
which is absolute
EXISTENCE.
That
which is created; changeful, moveable, variable; limitation,
environment.
IMPULSION.
The
act of volition of the Infinite or finite or entities toward
expression;
undoubtedly the Divine Logos.
EXPRESSION.
Existence;
revealed through matter; made in time, and space, and sense.
INVOLUTION.
The
process of expression of the Soul through matter; becoming involved in
time and sense.
EMBODIMENT.
The
expression of the Soul in the personal human form.
EMBODIMENTS.
Successive
expressions of the Soul in human forms.
SPIRIT.
The
inbreathing of the Soul, (from spirare to breathe,) i.e., the
theme
of the Soul in one human life.
MIND.
The
Consciousness of the Soul acting though Spirit upon the human
organism,
producing the process of thought; the most external expression of Soul.
(The Mind also has a reflex action,
and is
the only expression of the consciousness affectd by material things.)
PREPARATORY ADDRESS TO
THE CLASS
Beloved Ones: It is needful, in approaching the Altar of
Truth, that
you cast aside all preconceived conclusions concerning the themes to
which
you are to address your attention. We ask you, in listening to
that
which will be expressed, that you approach the subject as children
willing
to be taught, that you receive the teachings with the same impartiality
as though you had no fixed opinions on the subjects to be considered,
and
that you enter into the spirit of what is given without reference to
whether
it conflicts with previous teachings that you have received or not. You
are to endeavor to receive the ideas given, the thoughts presented, the
Truths sought to be conveyed, as though your minds were snowy tablets
upon
which is to be written, for the first time, the Word of God. If, after
placing yourselves in this condition, you shall find that the thoughts
here expressed cannot be accepted as Truth, it is your province
to reject them. This is not a place or time for arguments, but
statements;
we are willing to explain the propositions that are given, but we are
not
willing to discuss them. Any system of teaching can afford to wait if
it
be Truth, until the mind is ready to receive it. No amount of
discussion
will ever enable one to be prepared who is not ready to perceive
Truth.
The subjects to be treated are profound, have engaged the
attention
of many inspired and many thoughtful minds since thought began on
earth.
It will not be found strange if, in a series of lessons necessarily
brief
and condensed, there shall be many points that cannot, perhaps, be
solved;
but as the germ is placed within the sod and time is required for
growth,
so we plant these Truths as seeds given to us from the higher states of
Celestial Being, trusting to the future for their germination, growth,
and fructification in your lives.
Beloved Ones: Even as children turn to a kindly parent, or
as you might
turn to one appointed to bring glad tidings, so we would invite your
attention
to this series of lessons concerning themes Divine.
FIRST LESSON
THE SOUL; ITS
RELATION
TO GOD.
The Infinite cannot be comprehended,
but can be
conceived of through perception: as it is possible for one to conceive
that there is a state of perfect happiness, but no one on earth has
ever
yet experienced it; as it is possible for one to conceive of perfect
Truth,
yet no man should claim to have received it; so a conception of the
Infinite
is the inherent conception of man derived from the Soul, which is the
source,
is being, is like God; and this conception can no more be destroyed
than
the light of day can be destroyed by an intervening cloud, or than
chaos
can destroy the continued harmony of the universe.
It is often said that an Infinite
Deity is inconceivable.
An Infinite Deity is incomprehensible we admit, but not inconceivable.
The mind may conceive of that which cannot be comprehended. All that
relates
to Eternity is not comprehended except in Eternity; but you do conceive
both of the heretofore and the hereafter while in your present state.
The conceptions
of the mind are prophecies, and the comprehensions of the mind
are
limitations.
Existence suggests Being.
The Creation proves the Creator. Primal Law
implies
the Law Maker, the Source of Law. The Universe declares the lnfiniverse.
The Infiniverse is God; which is a
possible statement,
but which cannot be comprehended in the universe (of things). You may
state
a million; but no one has a literal experience as to what a million,
taken
in units, may mean. Through mathematics you conceive of aggregate
numbers
which you have no comprehension of in their several parts, and it is
just
as possible to conceive of that which you cannot comprehend in regard
to
Deity as in regard to mathematics. The only way to secure mathematical
accuracy in any problem is that you know the bases are correct,
therefore
the results must be so. Deity is as much a possible conception as any
conception
by the mind of man.
GOD IS THE INFINITE, OMNISCIENT,
OMNIPOTENT, ETERNAL
ENTITY.
The One Supreme Intelligence, under whatever name this is
breathed:
whether that mystical and sacred Name which never has been pronounced,
which belonged to Egypt, but which, under the name Jehovah, was brought
into the Hebraic religion; the incommunicable, unspeakable name I H
U H; the Jesod; the Jod, He, Vau, He; the Ieoua;
or whether syllabled in the Ra, the Om, of the ancients;
the Tetragrammaton. Osiris was not the physical sun, but a
symbol
from an Angel to express the Deity and His relation to man, the Sun of
the Soul; the Light; the luminous power of Intelligence, personified in
the Infinite.
Whatever be the title or designation of that Infinite Being,
God is
only known within the Soul, and only understood in its innermost and
divinest
conception; this is what we mean by the name God. There can be no other
Infinite; there can be no other Omniscient, Omnipresent, Infinite
Being:
the Deity.
Many people say they cannot understand an Infinite
Personality. Neither
can you understand a larger finite personality, nor an
illimitable
universe. But God is Infinite Being; and the Soul is
also
Being. As science declares the universe from the atom. we declare God
and
the Soul from eternity.
Human knowledge proceeds from the relatively known to the
unknown. Revelation
proceeds from the unknown, the absolute, to the known; from the
boundless, limitless, to the limited, the relative, the enchained. All
knowledge of the Spiritual is a priori knowledge. The realm of
God
and the Soul is possession; the realm of creation is expression.
The Supreme Consciousness of the universe is God, the supreme
consciousness
of man is the Soul. These make up the consciousness of the
universe.
This Infinite Consciousness, or Love, is All-potent,
Omniscient, Eternal,
Omnipresent, and is the protype for the Soul, absolutely and
perfectly.
The Infinite is Omniscient, Omnipresent, and Eternal; the
Soul is finite
and eternal, but not omnipresent, not omniscient, not infinite. God is
the Infinite Being of eternity. The Soul is the only entity excepting
God,
and has its being in eternity, but has its existence and expression in
the universe. The Soul exists in and has to do with the universe, but
God
alone is the Infiniverse; the Soul has to do with all kinds of
expressions
in time and eternity, but they must be subject to limitations, while
God
is All in All, now and forevermore.
That which is without beginning or ending would illustrate
the Soul,
as a complete circle; while a globe would illustrate the Infinite,
which
is more than a wheel, which is illustrated by a sphere of wheels. The
eternal
circle of the existence of the Soul is: in that which has been, that
which
is, and that which will be, but limited in scope. The Infinite Sphere
is: all
that has been, all that is, and all that will be.
THE SOUL IS
AN ETERNAL, IMMORTAL,
FINITE ENTITY.
The Soul is related to God as the flnite to the Infinite,
the resemblance
being in quality, but not in scope. To use an illustration, which is
not
to be taken literally, but relatively, the quality of the drop of water
is the same as the quality of water in the whole ocean; but the globule
or drop will never become the ocean--even though it seems to be lost in
the ocean, its entity as a globule is the same; or as you are
encompassed
by the walls of this room and pervaded by its atmosphere, but you are
neither
the room nor the atmosphere, nor are you composed of parts of the room
or atmosphere, nor are you a part of either. To further illustrate or
compare
the quality of the Soul with the quality of the Infinite, we would
compare
the single ray of light with the whole of the rays of light that
emanate
from a sun or solar center; but you must not make the mistake of
supposing
that we mean, therefore, that the Infinite is composed of the
whole
number of finite Souls, for then the Infinite would be limited to the
number
of Souls in the universe, but such is not the case; the Soul has its
being
within the Infinite, but is not the Infinite. The finite and the
Infinite
are not interchangeable; therefore the Soul never becomes Infinite, nor
is it lost in the Infinite, nor does the Infinite ever become finite;
that
would imply limitation.
With these definitions you are prepared to know, as the Soul
bears always
the same relation to the Infinite, as it is immortal and in eternity:
there
is no beginning to, nor can there be any cessation of, its being. It is
uncreate as God is; but, as the Soul is finite, its being must forever
be encompassed by the Infinite. The power of understanding this
relation
is innate in the Soul of man, no other basis is possible; when you
endeavor
to consider Deity by any other method except that which belongs to the
Soul, there is failure. It is from the Soul that there is the first
perception
and conception of God, that there is recognition of God, and that there
is satisfaction with the consciousness of the presence of God.
These statements, concerning the Infinite and finite, must
be borne
in mind through this entire series of lessons: the Soul never changes
places
with the Infinite; the Soul is never nearer the Infinite; the Soul is
not
remote from the Infinite.
THE SOUL IN
QUALITY IS LIKE
UNTO GOD.
When Christ said, " Be ye perfect even as your Father in
Heaven is perfect,"
it was because that perfection is possible, the quality being the same.
One beam of pure white light is precisely as perfect in quality as the
whole white light of the sun's rays; and, as the white light, the Soul,
in its essential nature, is always pure. The perfectness of God is the
perfectness of the Soul.
The quality of the truth is the same in the Soul as
in God; you
may not have Infinite truth, but you may have the clear whiteness of
truth,
and when tested by all the powers of the Soul, the quality of that
light
is like the Light of Deity. Perfection is quality, not quantity. If an
artist says, that is a perfect picture, he means the tones, tints, and
coloring form harmony, are all perfect as related to the whole, no
parts
are imperfect. If a musician says, that musical composition is perfect,
he means in all that relates to harmony, in all that relates to the
theme,
in the adjustment of sound and the association of ideas, the
composition
is perfect.
As God is Infinite in love, the Soul has love in a finite
degree. As
God is Inflnite in wisdom, that attribute is found in the Soul in a
finite
degree, but perfect in quality. As God is Infinite in knowledge, that
knowledge
is found in the Soul in a finite degree. As you may see reflected in
the drop of dew the whole starry firmament, so in the Soul, in a
miniature
degree, are all the qualities of Deity. "Be ye perfect " is at
once
a Divine command and prophecy.
No sun or planet is so remote from the central sun that the
smallest
vibration does not reach that most distant planet; so there is no
existence
or expression of life so alienated from God's love, that His love doer,
not include the whole, pervade the whole, and reach to the uttermost.
As
the most central sun of which the mind can conceive is the light of all
other suns and Systems moving around it, so, in the Infinite,
GOD'S LOVE IS
THE LIGHT
OF ALL SOULS.
Or, to transpose the foregoing, as light is the cause of
life in matter,
and the light of the sun is the manifestation of the method of all
generic
being in solar systems through motion, so Love in the Divine
Consciousness
is the light of the Soul, and whatever relates to the Soul is governed
by this Infinite Love, as whatever relates to matter is
governed
by light.
The state of the Soul is now what we are considering; this
divine unit,
or entity, being uncreate, there are no new Souls added to the
universe,
and there are no Souls taken from the universe. All Souls having being
forever, there can be no change as regards their being, their relation
to other Souls, the number of them; nor can what constitutes the usual
conditions of time, and space, and sense, affect them or their
relations
to the Deity. There is no time, nor space, nor matter in the Infinite,
because time, and space, and matter are relative. The Soul in its pure
and primal nature has nothing to do with time, nor space, nor matter,
but
only with eternity and that which belongs to eternity. Whatever shall
hereinafter
be expressed concerning what the Soul does must not be mistaken
for what the Soul is.
The Soul is a revelation unto outward nature. No external
thing can
reveal God. The Soul alone, being of the nature of God, perceives God.
Nothing can teach that there is God. All things may illustrate it;
teaching
comes from knowledge, possession; and that which recognizes God is from
the Soul. As consciousness is in the Soul, so every attribute expressed
by consciousness is in the Soul. As you must go to the Soul for the
source
of all intelligence, so you must go to the Soul ultimately for all that
promises expression.
Herein we deal with the Soul in its absoluteness. We are not
dealing
with time and space and sense at all now. We have not yet arrived at
matter.
If it is impossible for you to think of the Soul thus, do not try to
think,
simply perceive; for not all that is thinkable is true; that is
most true which you can not speak nor think, but can perceive.
Soul alone can perceive Soul; it is to that nature that all
these remarks
are addressed: the Soul that does understand, the life within that does
perceive, the love, wisdom, and truth that do acknowledge; and this, in
every human mind capable of receiving these utterances, must have some
acknowledged power in some portion of your being.
Bear in mind that that which is meant by the innermost, the
most sacred,
the Holy of Holies, as revealed in the ancient letter through the
Egyptian
lore, was no outward place--not even the outward symbol of the sphere,
nor the double triangle, which is the Egyptian, Masonic, and Kabalistic
symbol of God, the points of which solve the problems of the universe,
was literal--but the innermost state or condition which, when
perceived,
must form the consciousness in human life of the presence of God.
Whatever
be the name of that state of which we have spoken, like the real name
of
God, it has never been syllabled on earth; but it is enough to know
that
the Soul of man is the innermost consciousness of the individual life,
and that which the finite entity expresses, and which is revealed in
the
life of the Angel, will hereafter be made known.
RECAPITULATION
You are to make your starting point from within the Soul,
from the Deity;
whatever else is said you will not be allowed to deviate from that
Divine
Center. As in the middle Ages no astronomy could be correct because the
earth was made the center instead of the sun, so whomsoever shall
endeavor
to follow these lessons should first perceive the Deity as the Infinite
Center, the Soul of life. By the individual the center of the universe
must be transferred from time and sense to eternity, to that which is
absolute,
to conceptions which in themselves relate to eternity; and the Soul, in
its absolute nature, must be continually before the mind. In all that
relates
to the Soul and Deity there is no past time, as you terra it, nor any
future,
there is but eternity. There is no change in the relation of the Soul
and
God; no Soul ever goes astray, no Soul is ever 'lost," no Soul is
shadowed,
no Soul is darkened. It is impossible for the Soul, in its divine and
essential
nature ever to be alienated, or estranged, or in any way shut out from
God's Omniscient, Omnipresent Love. This being understood as the basis,
whatever shadows may be referred to hereafter, in this series of
lessons,
will not relate to the Soul or God, but will relate to conditions which
will be explained
Primarily then, you are anchored in the center of all
possible conception
of intelligence, which is God, in the circumference of all
possible
intelligence, which is God, in the Infiniverse, which is God.
(In
contradistinction to the universe, which is the manifestation
of
God.) You are anchored in the immortality of the Soul, the eternity of
its absolute nature, in its unchangeableness, in that which forever
was,
forever will be, and is forever the same; in the truth that the
qualities
of the life of the Soul are like the qualities of God in a finite
degree;
you are anchored in the great certainty of Infinite Love,
which,
as an all-potent and Central Sun, illumines every Soul, forever
inspires,
guides and directs.
The individual expression of the Soul is under the
government of the
individual Soul, but the whole life of the universe is under the
government
of the Soul of the Universe, God. What the Soul shall express belongs
to
its individual choice and its individual life under God, but what the
universe
shall express belongs to the Will of the Infinite, or the Infiniverse.
This sphere within a sphere, or light within a light, is the state
within
the Soul, the chosen light being the Infinite Light, and the
manifestation
of that chosen light being the life of the Soul. As confidently may you
turn to that Soul as the source of all possibilities, as unto the sun
the
atom turns as the source of all light. No more can you be excluded from
the Divine Source of all possibilities than can the atom, howsoever
shadowed
by organic conditions, be excluded from the vibrations of light which
give
expression to its outward being.
Being thus centered in the Absolute, the premises perfect,
the conditions
so beyond time and sense, you are requested to receive these
propositions
as a student would receive propositions in mathematics, knowing they
are
to be proved in their application. If they are not proved, (each
proposition
being perfect in itself, containing its own proof, and all being
perfect
in parts,) then the system must fall; if they are truth, (each
proposition
based upon them will have been proved at the conclusion,) then the
system
must be true. If, resembling the higher problems of mathematics, those
of geometry, the Pythagorean Proposition, these teachings--being the
solution
of all the divine potentialities of the universe--are not fully
explained
and carried out in this system, reject it; but remember the bases of
the
system, do not depart from them, nor bend them to any system more
imperfect,
for they will fail you utterly if you do.
Beginning, therefore, with the Absolute, the Infinite, the
Divine; beginning
with the Infinite Entity and the finite entity, you are requested to
accompany
us forward, in each succeeding lesson, with such lines of thought as
shall
ultimately solve to your minds the problems of the universe, or if they
do not prove to your minds that the problems are soluble, then the
world
must seem to be stranded upon the shore of a sea of doubt and of
degradation,
from which there is no escape.
Necessarily, beloved ones, this lesson is brief because of
its magnitude.
We might have added more sentences, still they would mean no more. When
we draw nearer to your outward expression there will be greater length
of discourse.
.
..THE
SOUL: ITS
NATURE, RELATIONS, AND EXPRESSIONS IN HUMAN EMBODIMENTS..
.LESSON
II
