Rainbow Light Foundation: Spiritual Alchemy - 12 practical steps to spirituality: STEP 1

The Process

We are moving away from the dual pull of light and darkness towards REINTEGRATION with the light - our Higher Self. We can prolong the struggle indefinitely or we can submit to the light. This is the ‘dark night of the soul’ described by saints and mystics throughout time; it is the journey home. We must learn to recognise what arises from the lesser self or ego and what emanates from the highest aspect of consciousness.

FELLOW TRAVELLER - A LEGEND

Looking out upon Creation - God spoke and said:

“I will send new life into this world” He breathed the breath of life and millions of tiny spirit sparks flew from his mouth... a life stream of new souls. And he spoke with them saying, “I send you upon the quest of life to experience the physical dimension of Creation, there to be of mastery. You will endure many tests, you must stand together or you will become lost.”

“To each one I give a companion to walk the way, to strengthen and to watch over you, to teach you of the ways of the world. When you become strong your friend must leave for his work will be complete. You must remember to ask your friend to leave for he will not wish to go and will be of great sorrow at this parting.”

They went forth together and after many journeys three friends found themselves travelling the last part together wearily, they were old and trusted friends. They came upon a forest and the first of them said “I will go to guide your way” for he had great strength. He ventured deep within the darkness of the forest and there met a dragon. He drew his sword and fought bravely, the dragon fell at his feet and he continued on. There before him stood the dragon once more. Again he drew his sword and fought, again the dragon fell. Yet no sooner had he slain the beast before it stood before him once more seeming bigger and stronger than ever. He fought and fought until exhausted; he wandered and became lost in the forest. He forgot the way and the purpose of his journey.

Traveller two journeyed deep into the darkness seeking his friend who had not returned. He saw the bodies of the dragons where they had fallen and felt sad and knew there were other dragons to meet on the journey. “I will find another way” he said. “I will tell them of my quest and my journey to light; when they understand we will become friends.” With each dragon he met along the way, he stopped to greet them as a friend, sitting out to talk with them. They showed great interest in all he had to say and walked further along the path with him. He had become so engrossed in conversation with them that he had not noticed it was now almost dark and he was deep in the forest. He was lost.

Traveller three now came upon the forest seeking his friends. He had completed many journeys and had great experience, he knew he was now ready to journey alone. He turned to the companion who had sheltered and protected him from childhood and sadly told him they must now part. The friend pleaded to be allowed to stay saying, “you are not strong enough to travel alone, you will be lost without me.” The third traveller remembered the words he had been given, “You must ask your friend to leave” and insisted. “No, I am now grown to my full strength, I will travel alone.” They parted with great sorrow on both sides.

Deep inside the forest he too met the dragons, some of whom seemed friendly and some who were hostile. He was a warrior of courage, wisdom and conviction, he knew he must pass them to survive and decided that the best way forward was to distract the dragons. He was surprised to find that they were very easily distracted for they had no substance. He was now safely through and could see the outer edge of the forest with the sun shining through the trees. His former companions saw him pass and asked him to rest a while with them; he said to them, “No I must continue, follow me if you wish.” They too remembered their quest and its purpose and following him finally reached the forest edge.

All three eventually returned to God to receive their reward of light. In time, filled with deep compassion for the ones who remained lost in the forest, they returned together to lead them all home.

SOUL PERSPECTIVE

According to the accumulated wisdom handed down as esoteric teaching, the higher aspect of the soul resides in Light; the soul is multi dimensional and evolves by incarnating into a physical form to meet the challenges of life. The soul is travelling an evolutionary path to expand conscious awareness of its origins and potential; this requires an understanding of the realms and spheres beyond the limited physical senses of both the visible and the invisible worlds. The soul not presently in a physical body resides at the vibration to which its consciousness corresponds. There are many dimensions of the spirit, to quote Jesus “In my Father’s house are many mansions, if it were not so, I would have told you.”

At the end of a physical life the soul is accompanied by angels and guides to a place of teaching where the life just passed can be understood. On completion of this the soul moves to another dimension where it is prepared for the next physical life or to operate in the non physical world as a guide or a teacher. There is a specific energy sheath which corresponds to the place where the soul receives the Life Plan guidance, receiving instruction from Master Guides as to what it has achieved in other lives in order to understand its strengths and vulnerabilities and also what opportunities will be available in the coming life experience.

Souls incarnate as family or soul groups evolving together through time and space. Each soul is accompanied through successive lives by a personal angel often referred to as a guardian angel. This is an eternal companion who will never abandon the soul and does as much to smooth the journey as the personality will allow. Angels are celestial beings acting as the intermediary between heaven and earth; angelic bands minister to humanity unceasingly and can be called upon at any time for assistance. Their sole purpose is to be agents of God’s love, to intercede in times of difficulty by bringing peace and healing and to strengthen resolve to fulfill the life’s mission.

STEP 1

Governing Chakra

Colour

Positive qualities

Negative aspects

What is the Purpose of the Ego?

The ego is neither positive or negative it is a neutral force. It is our friend. Its purpose is to strengthen our sense of personal identity which may be fragile; when the ego takes over however we have an inflated sense of our own importance. The ego is meant to be the companion and not the guide on our journey. The ego accompanies us on our journey from childhood, holding the hand and comforting and protecting us from dangers. With spiritual maturity we must learn to stand alone to make our own choices; alone yet not alone for with each step towards the light we are strengthened by the light and all that is contained within it.

The separation process may be lengthy, we will require the support of spiritual companions since worldly companions and pursuits will simply draw us further into the material world with its materialistic values. This process has been likened to a death, it is more accurately described as a birth; we are literally reborn as light transcends the darkness. The true meaning of ‘born again’.

Apprenticeship

We will be tried in many ways before we can begin the process of self transformation. We must slay many dragons along the way, they come in many guises but carry only one name - Illusion. Slowly we come to recognise our dragons, they may appear within our family, among our colleagues or may masquerade collectively under the banners of religion, political or social reform or race, class and gender issues. In reality our reaction should be our only concern for this will be the reflection of what lies within.

As we reach the spiritual crossroads we must take leave of our companion, the ego as our childhood friend, for we then must walk alone. At this point our friend will be reluctant to leave; when we insist on parting company, the reluctance becomes defiance, we are now engaged in a battle with the ego. The battle must be won and it is the soul and not the ego which must win. The stronger the ego the greater the battle and since a strong sense of personal identity is a requirement to place our foot upon the stepping stones to spiritual maturity we can expect to feel great pain and loss as we strive to separate from our former ‘self identity’. It is an illusion for the ego is not the self; ego is of the mind, our true nature is divine. When we can rid ourselves of the illusions of the mind we become free.

•One who is still looking but has not yet found.
•One who is examining, considering possibilities.
•Moving from one philosophy, teacher and teaching to another.
•One who is as yet unwilling to accept a teacher or the spiritual hierarchy.
•Perpetual search until there is acceptance of spiritual hierarchy.

SEEKER

Recognised by:

Endless search and endless questioning.

Vulnerabilities:

•Refuses spiritual direction which is seen as control.
•Seeks knowledge as opposed to wisdom.
•Manipulates circumstances and events to avoid commitment.

STEPS ON THE PATH

FREEDOM TO SHINE

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.

Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.

It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us.

We ask ourselves: “Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?”

Actually, who are you not to be?

You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world.

There is nothing enlightening about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do.

We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us.

It’s not just in some of us, it is in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear our presence automatically liberates others.

Marianne Williamson

Often attributed to the inaugural speech of Nelson Mandela

EMERALD ALIGNMENT EXERCISE

Sit or stand comfortably.

Allow the body to relax. Be aware of the crown of the head.

Breathing comfortably, take your attention down the body

releasing any sense of heaviness or discomfort.

Breath and relax

Down from the crown of the head to the top of the spine

From the spine to the base... to the hips and pelvis

From the pelvis to the thighs and to the knees

From the knees to the lower legs

To the ankles, feet and out and away from the toes.

Pause, Breath and Relax

Be aware of the crown of the head once more

Take your attention to the top of the spine and across the shoulders

Breath down the arms, to the elbows and wrists

Out from the fingers and thumbs and away from the body.

Pause.....................................

Breath back up from the feet and over the body

Over the feet, lower legs, the knees

Thighs, hips and pelvis

Over the abdomen and chest

Over the throat, jaw and muscles of the face

Over the eyes and forehead to the crown of the head

Breath up and over the hands, wrists, arms and shoulders

To the top of the spine and up to the crown of the head.

Pause.....................................

IMAGINE AN EMERALD PLACED AT THE CROWN OF THE HEAD

SEE THE EMERALD GREEN LIKE THE COLOUR OF GRASS

Imagine a beam of emerald light to the crown of the head

Draw the beam of emerald to the top of the spine

Straight down the centre of the body through the spine to between the heels

Feel the line strong and straight

Feel the body straight

NOW IMAGINE AN EMERALD PLACED AT THE TIP OF EACH SHOULDER

Draw an emerald beam of light from the tip of one shoulder to the other

Draw the line from the shoulders to the elbows to the wrists

and into the palms of the hands

IMAGINE THE COLOUR BLUE AS AN OUTLINE AROUND THE BODY

DRAW A CIRCLE OF BLUE LIGHT AROUND THE BODY AT ARMS LENGTH

Feel the body sealed and protected within the circle of blue light

Pause.....................................

Breath slowly and comfortably back to a calm, still feeling in the centre of the body.

STEP 1

THE EMERALD ALIGNMENT

A simple, safe and effective method of releasing anxiety and aligning the subtle energy of the body through the emerald ray.

Energy Follows Thought

All healing is light transmission. When we understand this principle we can use our energy and attention more productively. If we focus upon a specific ray of the colour spectrum we can draw upon the qualities of this energy to strengthen and enhance the auric field, our energy store house.

By focussing our attention to the higher frequency a positive electromagnetic charge is transmitted via the auric field to and through the crown of the head. The energic transfer is carried through the spine by the central nervous system to every part of the body, through the muscles, tissues and organs to the cells. The effect is to realign the energetic core pattern at the cellular level.

Relax and breath down to the fingers and toes

Breath the emerald through the spine

To the hands and to the feet

Seal yourself in a bubble of blue light

Click here for more information and to listen online to an audio guided Emerald Alignment.

Teachings of The Ascended Masters

SPIRITUAL PROGRESSION

EGO AND IDENTITY

Stepping Stones

There are definite stepping stones on the spiritual path. It is important to identify them in order to assess personal progress. While we should never attempt to judge others there is a need for discernment to avoid negative influence. Once we begin to question beyond the limitations of bodily consciousness we begin to increase our awareness of natural law. We will progress according to our capacity to understand. Our understanding is limited solely by our willingness to surrender to Divine Law. This has nothing to do with intelligence and everything to do with humility. In order to accept truth we must set aside our preconceptions releasing what no longer serves our spiritual growth. At each step we develop a degree of mastery, moving on to a more disciplined and demanding stage. Spiritual insights develop in direct relationship to our degree of self mastery. We progress at different rates at different times, sometimes painstakingly slowly at other times we accelerate at great speed. Both states bring their own pain and their own reward.

Identification with light accelerates the light within the auric field and the physical body, this flushes up the darkness, or shadow, karmic patterns of negativity not previously acknowledged. At this point we are faced with choice; transmute the negativity or retreat to the previous state. The practitioner must sustain the light within to progress, this can only be accomplished through diligent practice and the sacrifice of former negative habits. We are building a new and lighter body as we shed our old skin.

STEPS Foundation Programme

•One who has recognised a Master and a teaching.
•Is now willing to be disciplined.
•Is attempting to master negative patterns through a disciplined recognition.
•Attempts patience.
•Has not yet accepted positive use of personal power which remains dormant or unbridled.
•Attempts to integrate spiritual discipline in order to sustain constant insight.

•Has found the Master.
•Infuses spirituality into daily life.
•Manifests inner peace and equilibrium.
•Has the ability to release past disciplines and experiences impeding advancement.
•No longer defines boundaries through religious affiliation or psychological perspectives.
•Relinquishes position with grace, preferring invisibility but accepts any role.
•Not sidetracked by psychic experience.
•Achieves mastery over lower subtle realms by acknowledging all aspects of life.
•Former intuitive flashes become sustained awareness.
•Consciousness transcends thought.

Recognised by:

Truthfulness, compassion, non violence and generosity of spirit.

Vulnerabilities:

•Spiritual striving leading to imbalance.
•May become overwhelmed, refuse to accept a slower pace and then give up.
•Spiritual pride may lead them to believe themselves to be of greater attainment than they truly are.
•Spiritual rivalry dividing communities.
•Pseudo master leads to cult following - spiritual enslavement.