What is the nature of life?

This is the essence of the quest, whether conscious or not. 

Mastery depends entirely on the quality and intensity of the quest. The seeker must allow himself the experience of the burning questions: ‘Why?’ ‘What for?’. The answers invariably lead to revelation.  Asking what the nature of life is leads to more existential and unanswerable questions, and, for many, marks the entry into the spiritual experience. There are many ways of answering. 

Habitually, we try to solve everything through the rational mind, formulating theories and finding empirical, scientific evidence to support our search. But do these explanations satisfy the hunger that is being increasingly sensed by a growing proportion of humanity, which feels, knows, and longs for what it cannot yet understand? The usual method of analysis and comparison of visible phenomena, while suitable for the material world, is ineffective when we try to grasp the sentient life within every phenomenon. The key lies in feeling. 

Life is energy in endless motion and transformation. Matter, mind, our thoughts, and everything in the universe is energy. This energy is Light. Without Light there is no life. Light is life, life is Light: Light-life is the nature of Creation. All is alive, nourished and nourishing, Source and emanation, healing, transforming, elevating, and creating space and form. Light is the core and transmuting agent of matter. In our world, Light-life is the source and the transmuting power of Love within all expressions of life, especially in our own. We, too, are composed of Light. The journey begins when we develop our own receptivity and sensitivity to the Light.

The effects of Light upon the human structure are numerous: from improving organic functioning, to awakening intuition and refining the intellect, to heightened discernment, and a more conscious lifestyle. In the social order, this manifests as kindness, awareness, concern with group progress, and dynamic, caring involvement in all types of relationships, especially our relationship with the planet.

This Light need not be yet another abstract concept beyond our mortal reach. ‘Switching on the Light’ can be as experientially real as switching on an electric lightbulb. For many, once they understand that this Light is everywhere (even within them), they are able to link directly with this Light – from subtle awareness to full-body sensation, and more. For many, herein lies the key to the onset of an understanding and an experience of what might lie beyond.

Who are we? What are we? Where did we come from?

Consciousness is an undifferentiated, high-frequency energy field: a fiery activity of as-yet uncreated life. Consciousness can be thought of as the primary source, as yet unmanifest pool or expression of Spirit. Everything that exists originates from Consciousness. 

The undifferentiated energy field of Consciousness is ‘spark-like’, ready to ignite into innumerable forms of life. This field of Consciousness is so vast that to know itself, it must fragment into multiple sparks of Light.  In order to construct a vehicle of expression, an instrument, these sparks must lower their frequency and go through a process of densification. The same impulse in the human being to know itself stems from the urge of Consciousness to know itself. This is ‘what’ we are.

A spark from Consciousness acquires the form of a soul as it travels through a scintillating, gestating, ocean of undifferentiated and unqualified energy, which then spirals through progressively slower frequencies until it acquires a dense human form and a corresponding state of intelligence in matter. It can now identify itself as a human ‘I’. It has set the stage for a transitory identity, its personality – a ‘who’. The spark is now differentiated from its original high frequency, the ‘what’ it is as source, to manifest itself in a slower, more tangible vibrational rhythm. 

In essence, the soul is the vehicle containing the ‘spark’ of Spirit manifested in the physical world within a human being. The human being is born; born into a world of cause and effect, of instinct and survival, with the appropriate mental, physical and emotional equipment to manage this environment. Some people may never leave this level of awareness. Some people never relate to the ‘spark’ at the core.

As an embodiment of Light (soul) in matter (body), the human being obeys two distinct laws: the law of Light and the law of matter. The body and its world resonate to the polar law of matter; the soul to the law of Light. Energy, and, as a consequence matter, responds to the human will, to thought and direction. Human beings have a unique role in creation as they have the power to manipulate life energies and to engage with both the Creator (Consciousness and Light) and created matter, i.e., the physical world.  This happens through the unconscious or awakened ability to contact the power of Spirit at the core. 

Physical embodiment is a sort of commitment to the planet earth: the human being takes on its very substance, coats itself with it. But our essence is not physical. The human being is like a visitor within physicality, a Light of Consciousness with multidimensional potentiality that reaches beyond its emotional and mental expressions. Knowing this ignites a direct link with the Light of source Consciousness.

What is the purpose and meaning of life?

Matter evolves; Consciousness expands. This is the very purpose of life.

On the human level, the purpose of life is not only to grow, expand and return, amplified, to our source, but also to bless, transmit and create; or better still, to co-create with Self as the highest state of Being. Each person has come to do something unique, to experience its desire for greater life and perfection as individuality. When that expression is found, there is great joy and fulfilment, and your evolution, the rhythm of your life, seems to expand and accelerate. 

The mission of a human being is self-mastery and dominion over the energy fields it possesses (more on these fields in Part Two). This knowledge is imperative to achieve mastery, that is, profound self-transformation as soul-Spirit awareness.

As we evolve in matter, we expand in Consciousness, and cease relating to life externally through the linear mind only. We start to commune with the core of our Being. Gradually, being at one with our source becomes more important than anything else. Transmutation of matter then occurs as a natural consequence of intimacy with Light. This is how matter evolves, becoming more ‘Light’ and resonating at higher frequencies. 

For those who ask how to ‘do’ it, it must be understood that this is not a matter of effort, but rather one of acceptance and surrender to one’s inner, natural sensibility (i.e., our perceptive capacity). Reconciling with our true nature cannot be forced upon those who still want to experience personal power and control over matter. 

If you are reading these pages, chances are you are already crossing the boundary between the old ‘business-as-usual’ dynamic and a new, spontaneous expression of authenticity and coherence. When Being becomes more important than Doing, we fall in tune with our source, aligning with our true nature, purpose, and meaning in life. 

Humanity needs to step aside from the lower needs of the personality, and the surrounding world of cause and effect, if only for a moment. Then it may tap into the wealth of Spirit as Being, to discover again and again that it is the microcosm of source Consciousness (the macrocosm) – yet already it is breaking away from patterns and beliefs of the past, and learning to see in a new way.

What is a spiritual life?

Asking the most fundamental questions about the nature of life, reality, and ourselves is part and parcel of the spiritual journey. Still, there is much superficiality, illusion, and confusion regarding spiritual living. Ordinary preoccupation is too often restricted to the immediate self or environment, instead of the global issues spiritual values would embrace. Applied spirituality addresses living in the world, which involves every thought, feeling, and act in the Now. Spirituality demands commitment and constant awareness, not just removing yourself from the ordinary world in meditation and talking spiritual language. A spiritual life entails something that nobody really likes: ‘discipline’ and a switch of perspective from the personal self to collective reality.

True spirituality permeates the personality in such a natural way that ideals such as charity, peace, sensibility and transparency emerge spontaneously from within, instead of being deliberate acts of ‘doing’. A spiritual person is already in communion with its soul, and with its own embodied spark of Consciousness, where source Consciousness flows into it naturally, rather than as a result of effort. Anyone who responds to the needs of others out of a sense of duty or obligation is not being spiritual: genuine spirituality is an overflow of inner awareness and unequivocally leads to service.

This book is dedicated to unlearning the patterns of usual communication and perception in order to implement the voice of inner Consciousness through the correct spiritual use of the senses and human faculties in ordinary life. The practices outlined in the book are to be applied and incorporated, not merely understood.

Personal transformation and self-mastery

Adopting a spiritual life results in personal transformation as you work towards mastery of the self. Work on the body and personality is fundamental to spiritual awakening in a healthy, grounded sense. This work helps individuals link to their true Self, awakening the voice of their soul and ultimately blending with it, while remaining wholly active and joyful on the physical plane.

Spiritual work is about raising energy at every stage, particularly at the body-personality level. The more receptive you are to spiritual Light, the more that physical and mental structures resist the loss of boundaries that define them. Changing the life-patterns of the personality is not easy. This is because in order to survive, we have developed stubborn habits of self-sufficiency and independence that are difficult to dissolve without loving and intelligent understanding, within a supportive environment. Remember that matter and consciousness operate under two entirely different laws and that the human being’s energy structure is composed of both. Physical and personal rather than spiritual priorities result in reactions such as bodily pain, fever, illness; or alterations of character, such as impatience, excessive irritation, fear, or inability to control oneself. They form part of learning self-mastery through the application of Consciousness in every detail of human life. 

Even if the effect of the awakening of Light is understood, for mastery of the personality the process still remains to be embodied. For real transformation – which in alchemical terms is ‘transmutation’ – to take place, it is essential to contain the outburst of energies, not by repression, but by conscious self-control. In the same way that the medieval alchemist separated the components of a formula in order to extract the elixir, the inner alchemist must separate thoughts from feelings and body sensation, grasping all of the energy erupting from within. At that precise moment and with the practice of the Alchemical Alignment (as outlined shortly), the power contained in the focus of Consciousness, now directed by one’s Spirit-Self, is able to shift the energy from its narrow focus to reveal more refined possibilities of expression. In Alchemy, this process, which happens within the individual, is called ‘sublimation’; it has nothing to do with its modern interpretation as substitution, but is a deliberate use of trained will.  

Anger is then revealed as pure power and fear as heightened sensibility, which are to be used intelligently. If the embracing faculty of will is not involved, energy is bottled-up and covered with socially appropriate labels, all in the name of convenient spiritual behaviour. This is where the issue of self-control comes in. The thought of losing control becomes an obsession for the ordinary person who wishes to succeed in the world. The ability to keep appearances is a socially accepted form of ‘spirituality’. Yet control is ‘control’, no matter the circumstance, and is none other than repression when the tools of correct insight and energy mastery have not been developed. Rather than put out the fire or consume oneself from inside, the force must be extracted and put to constructive service in the world. It is useless to impose the accepted and comfortable code of peace or joy over unconscious, pent-up mental and physical energies, when the work is a matter of gaining mastery under everyday conditions. Mastery happens when you are able to transform the energy ‘in situ’. Rather than acting out or re-enacting what are usually life-long defensive mechanisms, the person finds refuge and support within. Life itself is the laboratory.

The shift from focus on the personality to soul is suggested throughout these pages and consists in switching from the perspective of body-personality to that of soul-Spirit, induced by the Master Practice (discussed in Part One) and reinforced by the exercises and meditations provided in this book. Inner Alchemy redefines ordinary thinking, turning the mind into an instrument of feeling and sensibility. 

A person’s mind evolves according to the quality of experiences that trigger innate Consciousness, shifting almost imperceptibly into the holistic cognition of Higher Mind and responding to finer voltages of Intelligence and Spirit Consciousness. Understand that soul is not synonymous with Higher Mind, as some might suppose; soul is a State of Being that enfolds the experience of Consciousness, of Spirit in all its incarnations, and serves to link upper and lower dimensional experience. Higher Mind, on the other hand, is the quality of applied intelligence when contact with holistic and higher dimensional experience is made and sustained consciously. It embraces sensibility as heart intelligence. A soul-connected person is one whose whole personality, and Higher and lower (or ordinary) mind, vibrate in resonance with the soul.

The table below clarifies some of the distinctions between ordinary (lower) mind, Higher Mind, and what it means to be soul-awakened (read from left to right):

As this table suggests, self-mastery entails self-aware alignment with group consciousness. The keys to mastery and spiritual development in general are in the quality and extent of personal transformation. This is the lens through which you perceive and deal with the world and the innumerable forms of reality. 

I’ve often heard comments such as, ‘What good is it to clutter your mind with such technical information about the bodies, rays, chakras? Wouldn’t it be much simpler to just ‘meditate’ and be a good person? Ultimately, isn’t silence enough?’. The answer is no, not if you are to make a difference as an active and participating server in the world. In this case, a silent, loving Presence is lovely, but not always useful. 

In these pages, we share facts that are not always stated in the various systems that lack the integration and application sought here; those address separate parts of yourself and rely heavily on mental understanding, sensory awareness, emotional control, or spiritual attunement independently of others, the whole, society and the world we live in. They do not call for integrated action. We do.

Consciousness is not a tangible thing. It is the power of your Self that is reached through training; your intention defines the outcome of the work on yourself. It is not enough to meditate without a sound physical structure, one that is flexible and receptive to the inflow of Light that triggers the awakening of Consciousness. Nor is it enough to tame your instincts and emotions, or discipline your mind. It must be a unitary effort with integrated result. Flexibility is needed at all levels, because the human structure, as outlined in the text, is both material and subtle, physical and spiritual.

I often dream of a better world, as I am sure you do. Such a world is not possible without quality personal transformation. Nobody speaks of correct perception, pointing to a drastic shift away from egoism. Our vision furnishes and gives rise to a sense of responsibility in the construction of our collective world.

If you were to abolish all forms of slavery of perception that limit and bind individuals to one another and to a system, you would realise that transformation cannot happen through superficial adjustments. It is not enough to supply mechanical support or wish to help just causes. As noble as these intentions and efforts may be, they do not reach the mindset of humanity that repeatedly reconstructs the very mechanisms one wishes to change. The change begins with each one of us: we must be the change we want to see in our world.

A genuine alignment with earth and cosmic forces is not complicated or fanciful. It is real and demands a concerted effort to sense and feel it. It marks a drastic change in self-perception in order to know what is happening, as well as observe how one responds and contributes to what is happening. The choice is clear: either continued abuse and destruction, or group consciousness and construction of a new, more ‘personal' world premise.

Inner Alchemy is much more than a technical system of perception. It is the manifestation of a personal search. It becomes yours and will respond to your temperament and talents. This is why, in teaching our system, we insist on authenticity and personal expression. These pages become an intimate treasure chest from which you draw what you need as and when you need it. 

In this book I provide maps of consciousness that detail the dynamics of being human, focussing on managing faculties and powers with awareness and deliberation to help you cultivate discernment, which in turn will help you choose your own genuine priorities and shape your degree of involvement with life. I hope it serves you in your inner quest. 

Mastery evokes Spirit in the flesh; a self-conscious personality is dynamically active in the world. It is attuned to and collaborating with planetary and cosmic law, yet it is joyous, and enjoys the pleasure of embodiment and the affection resulting from love in all its aspects, physical, emotional, mental and spiritual. 

I hope you, as the reader, can reap the benefit of my 77-year (as I write) search for Truth and unfold your own unique authenticity and power of leadership. The world awaits you to nourish the Earth and hungry humanity.

Everything points to you, dear reader, your innermost Consciousness as the only Power, the only Intelligence, the only substance acting in your world. Our world.