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The Annunciation to the Shepherds by Limbourg brothers

The Dance

Between Human and Devic Evolutions … how they work together, or hinder.

QU2 DHY Paper

Maria Mikhailas

This paper will be a focus on the Angelic Evolution in relationship with the Human Evolution - both being parallel evolutions. I have been very unconscious all my life about the presence of the Devic/Angelic Evolution aside from the sweet reproductions in Catholic School of these very weighty human looking figures with wings. Even St Michael the Archangel had a human, robust, but sweet sentimentality as he thrust his spear into the Dragon of Evil. Somehow, I believed in these entities with my 6th Ray devotion, even though I knew nothing about them, and neither did the earnest Immaculate Heart nuns who taught me in Catholic School.

It profits me greatly to do these longer papers for the end of the Year’s work. By doing them, I have an opportunity to bring together everything I have studied and occasionally actually ‘learned’, along with other research I do outside of the Alice A Bailey books (aka the Blue Books), that complements the subject. It brings it all together into my life in a holistic, understandable and more complete way.

As I have gone through the Courses I have studied this year,¹I have been struck by how often the Devic presence has come up. It is mysterious how these two separate and distinct evolutions, the Human and the Deva, can follow their own evolutionary paths and yet intermingle and dance together, or make the path more challenging. This is what I will explore in this treatise, combining my coursework with the Human and the Deva Evolutions.

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The topics I will cover in this paper are woven into, through, and extensively incorporating Course 260 -The Deva Hierarchy:

1. Which of the Devic Evolution are the closest to us human beings as we go through our lives, and what do they do, and how do they do it? (Course 210- Glamour and the Astral Plane, Course 220- Manas and the 5th Principle)

2. Fleshing out the Devas who work most closely with us in the natural world and how we help or hinder them. (Course 230- Science and the Kingdoms of Nature)

3. Which angels are the spiritual guiding lights on our spiritual path of Discipleship? How do they help us? (Course 240- Path of Discipleship)

4. The Path of Devic Evolution and the Path of Human Evolution and how they mix, cross, help or hinder. (Course 250- Advanced Esoteric Psychology)

¹Course 260- The Devic Evolution. As well as Courses 210-Glamour and the Astral Plane, 220-Manas and the 5th Principle, 230-Science and the Kingdom of Nature, 240-Path of Discipleship, 250-Advanced Esoteric Psychology.

Pearl of the Sea by Duane Carpenter

Deva Angelic or Devic entities and forces are constantly with us, whether we know it or not. We have no idea how complete and thorough this blending is. How can we, as we are like fish in devic water?

Most of the time our ignorance is a good thing and humans, being as we are in our own evolution at this time, could mess with the angelic evolution far more than we already do without knowing and thus hinder both our evolutions. Not until we achieve the higher human Initiations can we consciously and constructively work with the angelic evolution. ² When that day comes it will be a fantastic advancement for both evolutions. I had a related hint of this possibility having the honor of witnessing, several times, the ‘horse whisperer’ Monte Roberts and his ‘Join Up’ process with a previously untrained, unbridled, unridden horse. The horse, being identified completely with the collective horse-consciousness deva, is being invited by Monte to ‘Join Up’ with the human. In this video, one sees the moment when the horse makes the decision to step out of the mass devic horse collective and join the human. It is very moving. Tears came to my eyes every time I witnessed it. I provide a link below of the process of Robert Monte’s ‘Join Up’. It clearly demonstrates how Monte communicates with the horse using ‘Equis’ as he calls it, and how the horse responds.³

²Bailey, Alice A. Treatise on Cosmic Fire (NY: Lucis Trust, 1995) 912-913.

³https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=glZWiw5liZA__ The connection with the angelic evolution and the human goes way up and way down the evolutionary ladder for both since the dawn of our time. From the very atom of substance to the great Cosmic Orb angels make up the life womb of our existence. How can one not be in constant awe at the astonishing makeup of our Universe and Cosmos? Angelic beings and human beings even mix incarnations. Humans pass through angelic evolution as do Angels pass through the human. The relationship is extensive. 4 Above is a great diagram of the Solar and Planetary Hierarchies.⁴ The Planetary Hierarchy is the behind-the-scenes energy of growth and transformation for all life on this Earth, and the guides and initiators on the path of Discipleship for Human Evolution. A few of the Masters and the Department Heads that I mention in my paper are illustrated on this diagram. Under the Great Lord of the World, Sanat Kumara, work each of the Department Heads or the three aspects of the Trinity of God; the Manu (the WILL aspect), the Bodhisattva or Christ (the LOVE-WISDOM aspect), and the Mahachohan (INTELLIGENCE aspect) with the Deva Evolution. Considering the state of the human collective on the path of the 1st Initiation, the astral realm is the plane for the human to universally master and the Master Koot Hoomi (K.H.) is the Master most in touch with the angelic helpers on the astral level. K.H. also works with the great Guardian Angel of the astral plane, the Lord Varuna. (I would love to attempt a painting of the Lord Varuna) Both Master K.H. and the Master Djwhal Khul (D.K.) are on the teaching ray. The Master Serapis, whom I mention in my paper further on, works under the Lord of Civilization or the Third Aspect of Intelligence. As well as other responsibilities, He works with the angels of art and beauty. Our connection moves from the various hues of devic lives. There is a powerful lineage in Devic Evolution, just as in the Human. In this devic hierarchy, the Master D.K. has given us the grouping names of these building devas and angelic beings who work with us; Violet Devas; the physical building Devas, through the natural world with the Green and Brown elementals and Devas; up through the Astral, Mental and Spiritual realms with the White, Rose, Blue and Gold devas. The devas we are particularly involved with right now in our human growth are the angels that we find in the astral realm. The human challenge both individual and collective is to move out of the astral and to control it, rather than be controlled by it. The aim is a universal human 1st Initiation as touched upon in a previous paragraph. ‘The Master K.H., the Chohan on the teaching ray and He Who will be the next world teacher, is already active in His line of endeavor. He is attempting to transmute the thoughtform of religious dogma, to permeate the churches with the idea of the Coming, and bring to a sorrowing world the vision of the Great Helper, the Christ. He works with the rose devas and with the blue devas on astral levels, with the wise help of the great guardian Angel of that plane, called (in Hindu terminology) the Lord Varuna.’⁵ �� Physical etheric: this is the realm of the Building Angels. We would not have a universe, a natural world, or a physical body without them. The Vaivasvata Manu, or Manu of the 5th Root Race and the Department head of the Will Aspect of the Planetary Hierarchy, who D.K. says ⁴ Bailey, Alice A. Initiation, Human and Solar (NY: Lucis Trust, 1922) 48-49; adaptation of the chart by Grand Lodge Ancient Universal Mysteries (A.U.M.), https://grandlodgeaum.org/. ⁵Bailey, Alice A. A Treatise on the Seven Rays: Volume 4: Esoteric Healing (NY: Lucis Trust, 1953) 506. lives (at least in the early 20th century when this Blue Book; Initiation, Human and Solar, was written) in a physical body in Shigatsu, Tibet, is the great One who works with the building devas and besides His many other world-wide duties ‘He works in closer cooperation with the building devas than does His Brother, the Christ, for to Him is given the work of setting the race type, of segregating the groups out of which races will develop, of manipulating the forces which move the earth's crust, of raising and lowering continents, of directing the minds of statesmen everywhere so that racial government will proceed as desired, and conditions be brought about which will produce those needed for the fostering of any particular type.’ D.K. speaks of the tremendous energy that flows through the Manu coming from the head center of the Planetary Logos and passing to him through the ‘brain’ of Sanat Kumara to His assistants, and it is all done by enunciated sound.⁶ Such a remarkable Being Whose presence and accomplishments boggles my imagination! On all levels of the manifested world, these building devas create form by acting on the Word that comes from other devas of a higher order. D.K. says, for those with vision, the devas of the ethers have a form of crescent moon on their foreheads to distinguish them from the astral devas. As far as manifesting our universe, these etheric devas fall into 2 main groups and each group is represented on each of the four sub planes. First, there are the devas who transmit prana to all forms of life. They are the energy providers. Then there are those who form the etheric bodies of every form that is manifested. These are the bulk of the lesser devas.⁷ The building devas or violet devas, also the brown and gray devas, are of the involutionary arch and by their response which is their service freely rendered, they fulfill their evolution. Of this process, D.K. says it so much more succinctly, ‘The devas on the evolutionary path, the great builders of the solar system, and those under them who have passed the human stage respond to the sound of the Word, and with conscious realization collaborate with the one who has breathed it forth, and thus the work is carried out.’ ⁸ The ones who breathe forth the Words are the higher White Devas who direct the creation work under the Manu. The Green devas are the ones in charge of the physical manifestation we see all around us, and the food we eat and the flowers and foliage. One of the first modern day chemists, Antoine Lavoisier, in the 1700’s began to discover the individual components of matter and how they relate to each other. In his book, ‘Trait lmentaire de Chimie’, published in 1789, Lavoisier suggested that chemical reactions may be considered as a closed system. This led to a breakthrough in science, named, the Law of conservation of mass, or as the French call it, the Lavoisier’s law. It states that “nothing is lost, nothing is created, everything is transformed”.⁹ The physical forms are created from constantly recycling material in our universe, and directed into forms by the Word. ⁶Bailey, Alice A. Initiation, Human and Solar (NY: Lucis Trust, 1922) 42-43. ⁷Bailey, Alice A. Treatise on Cosmic Fire (NY: Lucis Trust, 1995) 915. ⁸Bailey, Alice A. Initiation, Human and Solar (NY: Lucis Trust, 1922) 150-151. ⁹Lavoisier, Antoine, The Father of Modern Chemistry (article by PSIBERG Team March 4, 2022, https://psiberg.com/antoine-lavoisier/) The spark of deity is in every atom, and that atom has some consciousness that responds to a higher devic intelligence, and on up the evolutionary line. The devic and the human plan is to evolve from the densest material to the most exalted and radiant with the divine Plan and the sacred Word. The whole world and everything in it is the result of sound and vibration. ‘In the beginning was the Word’, and the Word is ongoing, and if the Word ever stopped there would no longer be a ‘Creation’. This is a recording of the physical plane ‘sound’ of our planet Earth picked up by the space missions Voyager and Hawk Eye. The electromagnetic frequencies registered by an astronomical interferometer are translated to auditory sound so our human ear can hear. Even though this is a purely, and crudely I’m sure, physical plane example, I think it shows what a continuous ‘Word’ on other higher levels also must be like. There are continually higher strata of sound that the various Devas of higher orders respond to. The great White Devas are the sounders of the Word and cause the other lower devic involutionary realms to respond to the tone and purpose. The astral and etheric/ physical building devas and elementals begin to carry out the purpose and intention of the White Devas. (Click link to hear on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NhAXIjJ56xE__ )

An example of higher ranges of devic sound, Dr Eden Alexander’s book; ‘Proof of Heaven’ is quite astonishing.¹⁰ He was an atheist neurosurgeon for 25 years at John Hopkins before he had a rare type of near-death experience. He was out of his body and all brain activity was cut off. His noting of the universal sound of the higher worlds he experienced in his conscious out of

¹⁰ Eben, Alexander, M.D., Proof of Heaven (NY: Simon & Schuster 2021)

body travels influenced me deeply. It was the continual sound of ‘OM’ throughout space. There must be ‘OM’ devas! This was Eben’s St Paul experience being struck by light on his way to Damascus! Dr Alexander now spends all his time educating doctors and other medical workers on the reality of the ‘other side behind the veil. He is also giving public workshops on attuning to the higher realms -without having to die.

Astral devic évolutions : work in the astral plane and flow through us constantly until we master the astral realm. The involutionary violet devas flow through the astral and through us, unannounced and uninvited because they make up that plane, until we consciously master the attractive astral plane matter within us. We are like little kids in a candy store!

From the second Stanza of the Stanzas of Dyzan; ‘The builders of a lesser grade, devas who work with matter, wrought at the forms. They stood in fourfold order. Upon the threefold levels in empty silence stood the forms. They vibrated, they responded to the key, yet useless stood and uninhabited. “AUM,” said the Mighty One, “let the waters too bring forth.” The builders of the watery sphere, the denizens of moisture, produced the forms that move within the kingdom of Varuna. They grew and multiplied. In constant flux they swayed. Each ebb of cosmic motion increased the endless flow. The ripple of the forms was seen.’¹¹ The Builders of the watery sphere are the devas we must master or we also move in ‘constant flux’ and do not accomplish our human goal to become fully conscious beings on all levels to be of service.

This movement towards mastery makes a lot of sense when you realize that fire and water make the steam of the astral realm. The fire of human growth and aspiration moves through this particularly necessary astral realm of watery substance creating the steam of fog, confusion, and ‘low-visibility’. Until the fires of aspiration get through the watery realm of the lunar-astral and meet the sun-fire of the Solar Angel, and move into mental clarity the human is lost in this astral realm. Within the astral sheath lives the emotional, and that quality is invaluable on the spiritual path when the confusing astral realm is mastered. Mastering the emotional realm becomes ‘the fuel in the rocket’ as my root guru, Herman Rednick would say.

At the first Initiation the heart center is the focus so to prepare the disciple for the astral plane challenge. The purely physical attractions are brought to the Path; the sexual desire realm, the physical needs for drink and eating and sleeping. The physical elemental is brought under complete control by the disciple. And it is through the Solar Angel focus in vivifying and purifying the heart center that the solar plexus forces are brought under control in preparation for the second Initiation. That is when the obedience to the Soul is very strong.

This is definitely where I am on the Path; in my meditation -purifying the heart and mind, focusing on the Soul-life dominating, and learning to control my astral nature. Being primarily on the soft Ray lines with a great deal of 6th Ray energy flowing through my nature, this is of primary importance for me at this time.

¹¹ Bailey, Alice A. Treatise on Cosmic Fire (NY: Lucis Trust, 1995) 13.

Mental devic beings, the White devas, carry thoughts from the higher realms for our illumination. The golden devas of light. Besides being the ‘guardian angels’ of human beings, and each person does have their guardian angel D.K. says, these great angelic beings also preside over atmospheric conditions; the air, moisture, sea and rivers, also some certain electrical elements.¹² My own thoughts on this, is that these devas have a lot to do with the electrical discharges in thunder and lightning during a rainstorm as they often go together.

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This gorgeous video was put out recently by Duane Carpenter on Facebook; the animation being by another artist; Stereoscopic Apophysis Flame. The two sides of this animation are created so that when you watch it you cross your eyes and you can see the other dimensions working together in the animation. In my view, I believe it shows the White Devas at work embodying the Word, thoughts and impressions from the great realm of Ideas. One can even see the lights of the lesser devas moving through the body of the greater Deva circling and springing outward, circling their energies to do their work. (To experience the deva click on the YouTube link https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tcdLV2Ds_EE__) The Great Archangels are great commanders of force and energies. According to Helena P Blavatsky, the Great Archangels are the tremendous commanders of force in the creation and governing of the universe. “The seven planetary Spirits or Angels … are identical with the Dhyan ¹² Bailey, Alice A. Treatise on Cosmic Fire (NY: Lucis Trust, 1995) 913. ¹³ Animation artist Stereoscopic Apophysis Flame, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tcdLV2Ds_EE__

Chohans of the esoteric doctrine and have been transformed into the archangels and the Spirits of the Presence by the Christian Church.”¹⁴ Also they are the 'Seven Spirits before The Throne’. And D.K. also equates them with the Seven Rays here: ‘We find reference to the seven aeons and the seven emanations and to the life and nature of the seven Spirits which are before the Throne of God in the writings of Plato and of all initiates who laid down in ancient times the basic propositions which have guided the human mentality down the ages. These great Lives, functioning within the boundaries of the solar system, gathered to Themselves that substance which They required for manifestation and built it into those forms and appearances through which They could best express Their innate qualities. Within the radius of Their influence, They gathered all that now appears. This aggregated, qualified material constitutes Their body of manifestation, just as the solar system is the body of manifestation of the Trinity of aspects.’’¹⁵

The great Archangels, or Maharajas, constituting the ‘Four corners of the Earth’ are connected with karma, humanity, cosmos and man. They are Mercury and Venus; plus the Sun and the Moon (which both veil hidden planets although we are not told which planets) according to the Secret Doctrine. Archangel Michael is particularly powerful in support of the human being because of His unique position on our planet. He is the divine Warrior, the Sun. The battle that is going on here on Earth with the push to liberate spirit from matter, the Arjuna battle, is also going on in the heavens on a higher level with Archangel Michael and His angels, or the divine Heavenly Men, the problem of perfected self consciousness and liberation being the same.¹⁶ ‘As above, so below’. The battle goes on for liberation and for the victory of the Light from the smallest atom into the highest realms.

The great Archangels, the Dhyan Chohans, carry the ideals for our human race to achieve. The Archangel Michael being one of the chief angelic great ones, with Archangel Raphael, Archangel Gabriel being the most well known. These are the highly revered angelic beings and the most called upon. Traditionally, Monday is the worldwide day of angelic reverence and appreciation, and particularly for those great Archangels. My last name comes from ‘of Michael’ the Archangel, so I am particularly attuned to his vibration and I keep a candle burning for the whole day on Monday in veneration of these great Angels.

Archangel Raphael is Mercury, or a substitute; Gabriel is the Moon or a substitute; Archangel Uriel is Venus or a substitute; as D.K. mysteriously says. I am also surmising that as D.K. mentions that a Master or Great One is working with the Dhyan Chohans or a Deva Lord, he is referring to these great Seven Lights before the Throne. He usually does not mention the Archangel or Dhyan Chohan by name.

¹⁴ Blavatsky, H.P., The Secret Doctrine Vol III (1897) 160.

¹⁵ Bailey, Alice A. A Treatise on the Seven Rays: Volume 1: Esoteric Psychology I (NY: Lucis Trust, 1936) 20.

¹⁶ Bailey, Alice A. Treatise on Cosmic Fire (NY: Lucis Trust, 1995) 242.

I am also researching the other Archangels, lesser known, who are the other of the Seven Spirits before the Throne; Zadkiel, Chamuel, and Jophiel. Of course, the spelling of their names can be different depending on various information and religious sources.

Albrecht Dürer- Paradiso Canto 31

It was most difficult finding appropriate images for these Archangels. They are obviously great Beings of Power and Energetic forces. Most of the images I found are sweet, very human looking, cute images of sentimentality. I felt like painting each one of them instead, but for the time involved, I would!

Archangel Jophiel (illustrator unknown)

The archangel Jophiel, also known as Dina (according to the pseudepigraphal ‘Revelation of Moses’; a Cabalistic guardian of the Torah and of Wisdom itself) is quite the amazing angel I never heard of. This angel exhibits many feminine traits, thus often referred to as ‘She’. She is characterized as Beauty, Wisdom, Knowledge and Optimism. The image I include here is of Her (forgive the big boobs and tiny waist) in the role of the Angel protecting the Tree of Life with Her sword of Wisdom until we achieve the wisdom necessary to enter those higher realms. Clearly, the great angel Jophiel is on the highest rung of the angelic ladder in relation to human evolution. Since She is also a teaching angel I would think She might work with Master Morya. And since She is also the great Archangel of Beauty, bringing forth the arts in all its forms, she might also work with the Master Serapis Bey, along with the angelic evolution, as he is bringing forth the new artistic tone of beauty for the New Age.

Archangel Chamuel (illustrator unknown)

The Archangel Chamuel is the Angel of perfected Love before the Throne. Not to be confused with Samuel, who has a more difficult part to play in human evolution. Pink is Chamuel’s predominant color and the protection of humanity is His charge. His name originates in Hebrew and means comfort, compassion and ‘He who seeks/sees God’. He is one of the Seraphim, the highest order of Angels and brings about peaceful relationships of all kinds.

Archangel Zadkiel (illustrator unknown)

The Archangel Zadkiel or Hesediel, is another great Angel I had never even heard of. He is the energy of forgiveness which brings joy and spiritual freedom. His name means ‘Righteousness’ or ‘Grace of God’. ‘In the Kabbalah He is known as the force that works with the Archangel Michael to protect humanity from lower plane energies. In Jewish mysticism He is associated with the planet Jupiter and with the violet flame.

We are greatly impacted and supported by the Violet and Green Devas and Elementals of the vegetable kingdom and the White devas who work directly with the evolution of the human being and we could not exist without them as every part of our manifestation depends on them. D.K. speaks of the Mahachohan, The Lord of Civilization, as being the main director of the deva evolution in its relationship with humanity, even more so than the Christ. Indigo-green being the color par-excellence of this Evolution. ‘The third sub-ray, the third major Ray of Activity or Adaptability. It is the basic ray of the second system.’’¹⁷

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Glamour and the Astral Plane

The astral plane is the area that human evolution is presently charged with mastering, and the emotional realm flows through this astral plane. The emotions can be, and most often are, fed by the collective human astral plane through Glamour. Glamour being the fog of ignorance and confusion and the immature illusions of the three worlds. The goal here is the unfolding of the

power of intuition through the process of growth from confusion to mental clarity, and thus union with reality. When the intuition is activated there is alignment with the Plan, with undistorted reality.

This is where the focus on the higher light from the Solar Angel is critical in mastering the astral plane. As The Tibetan D.K. says, the only way to dissipate glamour is to:

1. Stand in spiritual being and

2. Keep the mind steady in the Light.¹⁸

As mentioned before, the reason for this emphasis is the critical necessity of mastering this realm. Right now, our very planet is in the balance. Can we collectively, through our individual

¹⁷ Bailey, Alice A. Letters on Occult Meditation (NY: Lucis Trust, 1922) 213 and Bailey, Alice A. Initiation, Human and Solar (NY: Lucis Trust, 1922) 150-151.

¹⁸ Bailey, Alice A. Glamour - A World Problem (NY: Lucis Trust, 1950) 73.

efforts, balance our personal emotional and astral needs with the overall needs of our environment and the sentient collective?

Higher angelic beings can help in this as they are completely devoid of glamour, being in the realm of higher mind or soul. Focusing on my Solar Angel (the Practice of the Presence of Brother Lawrence helps me greatly in this) is my current and most intense move on my spiritual path. From Brother Lawrence: ‘The practice of the presence of God, although a little difficult at first, secretly achieves marvelous effects in the soul, attracting an abundance of God’s graces, and when done faithfully, it imperceptibly leads the soul to this simple awareness, to this loving view of God present everywhere. This is the most sacred, the most robust, the easiest, and the most effective form of prayer.’’¹⁹

Manas and the 5th Principle

These devas are the fire, air, or mental plane beings; the White devas. They are our most beneficial assistants at this time in our evolution as mentally developing human beings. There is a great deal of astral matter, negative to the spiritual path, in our human being and its centers that needs purifying. Calling on the fire devas can help purify. The devas of the upper sub planes are the ones we call on to purify the lower planes. These are the three great groups of angels; the gold, the flame colored and the white and gold. These great angels work with the lesser angels or devas who vitalize the thought forms.

There are the 7 sub planes of Mind: from the first Atomic sub plane of spiritual telepathy, the second sub plane of response to group vibration, the third sub plane of spiritual discernment. These higher three planes develop the Antahkarana to connect the fourth sub plane of our mental unit with the manasic permanent atom. The fourth sub plane of our mental unit is a pivotal point of discrimination in the human unit where the forces of the base of the spine, the spleen, the regenerative organs and the solar plexus are mastered and brought into balance. Under this point are the three lower sub planes of the concrete mind; the fifth sub plane of higher clairvoyance, the sixth of planetary psychometry and the seventh of higher clairaudience. There are, of course, the devas that make up these sub planes.

All those humans who are working with vision, national ideals, and a world plan are working under Master Morya.²⁰ He is acting as the great inspirer of leaders of nations who are receptive. Internationalism is the aim of His endeavor. With Him is working the great Deva of Cosmic Fire, the Lord Agni. This great Deva works to influence all intuitive world leaders subjectively with spiritual fire, and to keep alive the Ideals of the nation.

¹⁹ Brother Lawrence of the Resurrection, Practice of the Presence . translated from the French by Carmen Acevedo Butcher (MN: Broadleaf Books 2022) 54.

²⁰ Bailey, Alice A. Glamour - A World Problem (NY: Lucis Trust, 1950) 73.

Science and The Kingdoms of Nature

This is the area of involutionary and evolutionary devic movement. This is the area that is most written about in myth and fairytale. Without this whole world of devic forces we would not have a receptive environment to grow in both physically and spiritually. I have painted a few paintings of the great god PAN who is definitely one of the controlling devas of this realm.

The Great God PAN by Maria Mikhailas

I am most interested in the 5th Kingdom of Nature, or the realm of the Solar Angels since linking up with that realm is the focus of my spiritual path right now; linking up with my Solar Angel. But also having been in the healing arts, I was fascinated by D.K.'s explanation that the vegetable kingdom is more susceptible to disease, and how we can assist this kingdom. This is also a new concept to me. Being self-centered I just thought humans were the most susceptible to disease. The susceptibility must come from the receptivity of the devic realm. Working with the receptive devic forces of this realm, humans can heal the planet. The oceans, the forests, the earth all are in great need! I feel that collective humanity is just beginning to awaken to the healing potential we have if we can get a handle on our astral glamours of greed and destruction, and focus on healing and thriving.

The Path of Discipleship

In this Course, this quote of D.K.’s really hit me; ’The majority of disciples are not even 60% effective because their points of tension are scattered all over the personality and are not

focussed where the point of individual tension should be. Each has to discover that point of spiritual tension for himself. The reason that disciples are not sensitive to the Master, to the life of the Ashram and to each other is that they are extended and not tense; they are working and living on the periphery of consciousness and not at the center. Their service, therefore, is partial; their consecration is weak and they are overwhelmed by inertia, by lack of interest in others and by many preoccupations with the form side of life.’²¹

This is my major challenge in my life right now, especially as I get old and my mind gets ‘soft’ to quote a fellow disciple. My mind is not ‘tense’ or ‘intense' as my root guru, Herman Rednick, would call it. The need is for this mental intensity, bolstered by a strong functioning heart center, that I only fleetingly have. My mind is like a herd of wild horses, recently corralled, running all over the field. The wild horses of self absorption, self concern, and petty distractions running around kicking and bucking. Now, each time I make a mistake (which being a Virgo I hate to make!), I rejoice, because it has become an opportunity to call on the Solar Angel to make a focus adjustment. To intensify, to reorient myself in my focus… the Practice of the Presence. I continue to refer to the practice of Brother Lawrence of the Resurrection, and his wonderful ‘Maxims’ in Carmen Butcher’s book. He admonishes one not to pressure yourself, just bring the mind back to the present. This is my step by step path. My faith is that it will lead me to unknown awareness and deepen my life’s meaning. My artwork depends on this ‘intensity’ and Soul life focus.

I know my work with my Solar Angel and the practice of the Presence of the Solar Angel, is bringing in the mental intensity I need. In the mental realms, which is where the higher angelic helpers are, this relationship will purify my three personality sheaths, the physical/etheric, astral and mental. At this point in my spiritual path this is my focus. This relationship with the divine ‘Watcher’ or Observer, and His power is expressed so well in Initiation Human and Solar here:

‘These profound revelations shine forth before the initiate in a triple manner:— As a radiant angelic existence. This is seen by the inner eye with the same accuracy of vision and judgment as when a man stands face to face with another member of the human family. The great solar Angel, Who embodies the real man and is his expression on the plane of higher mind, is literally his divine ancestor, the “Watcher” Who, through long cycles of incarnation, has poured Himself out in sacrifice in order that man might BE.’ ²²

²¹ Bailey, Alice A. Discipleship in the New Age - Volume I (NY: Lucis Trust, 1944) 735. ²² Bailey, Alice A. Initiation, Human and Solar (NY: Lucis Trust, 1922) 115

The Master Serapis Bey by Maria Mikhailas

One of my very inspiring-to-me Masters, the Master Serapis Bey, works directly under the Mahachohan or the Third Department of the Planetary Hierarchy, with the Devic evolution. Serapis Bey’s work is the great art movements, music and drama. Very 4th Ray. At this time D.K. mentions that the Master Serapis is working a great deal with the angel evolution. (See my comments on the Archangel Jophiel) The plan is to initiate, through the help of the angel evolution, a great new renaissance in those creative fields. I painted the above oil painting of this great Master last year. I am especially attuned to ancient Egypt and to Luxor His supposed etheric location, according to Elizabeth Clare Prophet. That location feels right to me as I have been to Egypt twice and each time the Temples at Karnak in Luxor thrilled my spirit and felt like ‘Home’. The altar of the Holy of Holies in the center of the Karnak complex was the most powerful point for me, and even now when I imaginatively go there I am filled with holy spirit. I felt so utterly blessed to even have touched it physically!

Advanced Esoteric Psychology I

From The Soul Laws, Techniques of Integration for the Rays, and the Rules for Inducing Soul Control, these questions and Laws seem to be the most pertinent for me right now in my path of discipleship:

-The Law of Sacrifice

-The Law of Service ‘the spontaneous effect of Soul contact’

-The Law of Group Progress and the development of the New Group of World Servers (NGWS) and the ACLRI process of Alignment, Crisis, Light, Revelation, Integration

-The Quality, innate in man, to Idealize and the interplay of the Great Dualities. …”could we see the planetary life as it can be seen by the Masters, we would note the pattern emerging in all its beauty, and the structure of God's thought.”²³

Even now as I am writing this summary of my year, I am still finding meditations to use in my daily meditations on this vital topic of inducing soul control for me. I’m just beginning to use the meditation: ‘Invoking the Light of the Soul’,²⁴ and also ‘Living As If’ I Was the Soul.²⁵

Being on the soft rays of Ray 2, Ray 4 and Ray 6, the quality to ‘idealize’ is very close to me. This quality has its negative and its positive aspects as it is born from desire. The lower effects of desire we are well acquainted with in our journeys through the astral plane and lower mental Kama-manas; the focus on self, the selfishness, the grasping, the negative criticism of self and others, the hate and separation.

The positive qualities of the power to Idealize are the pulls towards the Light that my attraction to these meditations bring forth in me. The desire to serve, to help, to love, to live in soul light all the time. I love that the Law of Service is the ‘spontaneous effect of soul control’, not the instant thought of self and how I can preserve the status quo, but the spontaneous thought towards another and the freedom to change things. Serendipitously, while researching soul meditations, in a video memorial to Christine McVie of the music group Fleetwood Mac, I heard her sing these words, I want to be with you everywhere, to their 1987 song ‘Everywhere’. I thought how perfect that I would hear these words right now! Being with the Soul everywhere is the goal of Soul Control for me, being one with the greater Oneness- the Group, the NGWS whom I link up with every mid-day in remembrance; ‘I know, Oh Lord of Life and Love, about the need. Touch my heart anew with love that I too may love and give’. As well as linking up with the 5 o’clock Remembrance, ‘May the Power of the One Life pour through the group of all true servers. May the love of the One Soul characterize the lives of all those who seek to aid the Great Ones. May we fulfill our part in the one work through self forgetfulness, harmlessness and right speech’. This is the path towards Everywhere. And then the process of ACLRI in the life of the disciple making his/her way towards the Soul; Acceptance of the Path, then the Crisis that this decision engenders, and then the Light of Revelation that comes if the disciple stays

²³ Bailey, Alice A. A Treatise on the Seven Rays: Volume 2: Esoteric Psychology II (NY: Lucis Trust, 1942) 225.

²⁴ Bailey, Alice A. Discipleship in the New Age - Volume I (NY: Lucis Trust, 1944) 304-305 ²⁵ Bailey, Alice A. Discipleship in the New Age - Volume II (NY: Lucis Trust, 1955)

the course, culminating in the Integration that brings all together within. This process is repeated with each new step of the pilgrim's progress.

Part of this interplay of the Master’s vision of planetary life with its pattern of beauty and structure is the devic evolution. The idealistic vision of humanity and the devic evolution working together ever more closely will become a reality. My deep ideal is to work more closely with the deva evolution in my artwork to bring this beautiful pattern of God’s thought into a vision that people can see and feel.

I answered this question in the Course: ‘What, in the last analysis, do think must be done to make “the lighted area” of your immediate consciousness of such a nature that the subconscious part of your mind, can be “lighted at will by the ray of the mind”, and the mind itself can become a search light, penetrating into the super-consciousness and thus revealing the nature of the soul? With these words… ‘To make the ‘lighted area’ of my mind a search light that can penetrate into the subconscious part of my mind as well as the higher spiritual triad and reveal the nature of soul, I call on the Solar Angel, and that element of interstitial connection that the angelic realm brings. But this can only be done successfully if my deeper intention is service. Not just for my own evolution but to help others.’ Also it can only be done if my mind training is thorough and I can keep my connection with the lineage of soul/Solar Angel/Spiritual Triad in a state of relaxed intensity not just in meditation but all day.

Learning more about the 7 Rays also helped me identify why I have behaved the way I did in the past, why I still do, and why I have gravitated to certain things easily in my life like the study and appreciation of the angelic presence. I am fully on the soft ray line, as you can definitely tell from my writings. The mystic approach was the easiest for me being a 6th or 4th ray personality, a 2nd ray soul and 6th ray emotional. I had appreciation for the angelic evolution from early childhood. The rays for mind I am not so sure of. Not sure if it is my Virgo sun sign that makes me analytical and more critical, or do I have a tinge of 5th ray or 3rd ray influencing my mind. I can see that analyzing my ray make-up is a long term observation.

The Deva Hierarchy

We cannot exist on this planet without the deva evolution. In every phase of our sub-human, lower strata human, and dharmic lives we need their presence. We fundamentally complement each other, the human being the more yang/masculine energy and the devic the more yin/feminine energy. Humanity manifests physically on the material plane; thus outgoing, forward moving, projecting, and concrete thinkers. The Devic Evolution is subjective, nurturing and protective, intuitive and etheric and they are clear receptive conduits for the spiritual ‘word’. So in my human outgoing masculine efforts, I call on the nurturing and intuitive angels feminine, to bring wholeness to my life.

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Summary

One of my main take-aways is that I learned quite a bit more about the astral plane and the serious need to control and master that confusing, misty and foggy realm within the sheaths of the personality that is fully infiltrated by lower devic forms. I can then control that devic realm mentally and can use the astral for spiritual purposes. As well as the personal challenge, the astral glamours are the greatest challenge we face culturally at the point in our human evolution.

In studying about Manas and the 5th Principle, another takeaway is the necessity in my spiritual practice of invoking the power of the Solar Angel. As I have repeated in this paper signifying the importance for me, my focus is employing the mental to control the astral. The deva of this 5th principle, the Solar Angel, is my guiding light. ‘Soul Radiance takes the place of personality light. The Sun is substituted for the Moon.’ ²⁶

Science and the Kingdom of Nature opened up my awareness about my relationship with that realm, making me sensitive to the distressing aspect of disease in that kingdom, and that the plant kingdom is the most susceptible to disease. The study of the past and future advancement of animals into the human kingdom also is a fascinating subject, and one close to my heart since I now have a little Chihuahua. Chico is the first dog I have had as ‘my’ charge. My former husband and my daughters have all had dogs, but even though I cared for them, they were not ‘my’ dogs. Chico is very smart, and he looks earnestly at me when I tell him that this or that discipline is 'good for him’, because when he becomes a human he will have a head start on self control on his spiritual path!

The Path of Discipleship exposed me to the six stages of discipleship, which seem to me at times confusing but ultimately pragmatic; from the Probationary of Little Chelaship which begins the Path of Probation- when an aspirant is physically ‘taken under the wing’ by a disciple of the Master. This can be the time of the 1st Initiation just before Chela in the Light- being when a chela is contacted and instructed on the egoic level by a more advanced disciple. Accepted Disciple- is when the disciple has mastered the astral plane and the 2nd Initiation can be taken. The Master can contact him when necessary, Chela on the Thread- is a stage where the disciple is closer and in emergencies can draw on the Master's strength and wisdom. Chela within the Aura- the 3rd Initiation, now the disciple can set up a time with the Master and can be trusted to use the Master’s spiritual substance in service, not personality, when drawn on, to Chela within the Master’s Heart- the 4th Initiation, the disciple is in constant contact and ‘has the Master’s ear’. Now there is awareness of group consciousness, and the disciple being admitted into the Master’s Ashram. These stages are not linear, so they can overlap.

This is long, but I am letting D.K. have the last word, and it closes my thesis on the powerful, now and future, place of the angelic evolution in our discipleship lives: ‘It might be of interest

²⁶ Bailey, Alice A. Discipleship in the New Age - Volume II (NY: Lucis Trust, 1955) 686-687.

here to point out that when He comes Whom angels and men await, and Whose work it is to inaugurate the new age and so complete the work He began in Palestine two thousand years ago, He will bring with Him some of the great Angels, as well as certain of the Masters. The angels have ever been active in Biblical history, and will again enter into the lives of human beings with more power than has lately been the case. The call has gone out for them again to approach humanity, and with their heightened vibration and superior knowledge unite their forces with those of the Christ and His disciples for the helping of the race. They have, for instance, much to communicate anent colour and sound, and the effect of these two forces on the etheric bodies of men and animals and flowers. When what they have to impart is apprehended by the race, physical ills and sickness will be offset. The group of violet angels or devas who work on the four etheric levels will be especially active and they will work in the four main groups of men who are in incarnation at any given time. Four rays dominate at any period, with one of the four more potent than the other three. You have this idea symbolised in the four castes in India and you will find also that these four castes are found universally throughout the planet. These four groups of angels are a band of servers, pledged to the service of the Christ, and their work is to contact men and to teach them along certain lines.

a. They will teach humanity to see etherically, and this they will do by heightening human vibration by interaction with their own.

b. They will give instruction in the effect of colour in the healing of disease, and particularly the efficiency of violet light in lessening human ills and in curing those physical plane sicknesses which originate in the etheric body.

c. They will also demonstrate to the materialistic thinkers of the world the fact that the superconscious world exists and that angels and men who are out of incarnation and possess no physical bodies can be contacted and known.

d. They will train human beings in the knowledge of superhuman physics so that weight shall be for them transmuted. Motion will become more rapid, speed will be accompanied by noiselessness and smoothness, and hence fatigue will be eliminated. In the human control of etheric levels lies the overcoming of fatigue and the power to transcend time. Until this prophecy is a fact and recognised as such, the meaning of the above words will remain obscure.

e. They will teach humanity how rightly to nourish the body and to draw from the surrounding ethers the requisite food. Man will concentrate his attention upon the etheric body and the work and health of the physical body will become increasingly automatic.

f. They will also teach human beings as individuals and as a race to expand their consciousness to include the superphysical. In the accomplishment of this, the separating web (the veil of the temple) which divides the physical plane from the unseen world will be recognised as a fact in nature by the scientist. Its purpose will be acknowledged. Eventually it will be destroyed, by man discovering how to penetrate it. The date is imminent. Through the increasing sensitivity of men and through the steady thinning of

the separating veil, more and more during the coming years will the telepathic faculties of men and their power to respond to inner inspiration be developed and demonstrated. By the growth of intuitional telepathy and the increasing comprehension of the power of colour and sound will the work of the Christ and of the Great Ones be contacted and understood, and the peoples released from the thraldom of the past and enabled to enter into the liberty of the Kingdom of God.’ ²⁷

Thank you for the opportunity to write this paper. I enjoyed it so much. It was a long effort but brought so much together for me including realizing my strong relationship with the angelic evolution.

With gratitude, light, and love, Maria

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²⁷ Bailey, Alice A. A Treatise on the Seven Rays: Volume 4: Esoteric Healing (NY: Lucis Trust, 1953) 508- 509.