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The sternness of delight1 is ours. The focalization of beauty brings to the devotee an awareness of the Christ that is produced by the bringing together of the divine energies at a point in space he may select.
Both concentration and diffusion are necessary in order to create at will, yet each requires its own perspective. Through diffusion, consciousness is able to expand in infinite degrees and to assimilate vast panoramas of the universe. Through concentration, consciousness magnifies a part of the whole in order to produce a true rendering in the microcosm of the eternal beauty of the Macrocosm. In the process of focalization we learn to discern the myriad facets of creation. Then, taking in the wonder of it all, we expand (diffuse) our consciousness from one glory to another, until at last we are able to move in the direction God intended.
There are in the world today many trends which detract from the oneness of creativity: dangerous drugs that provide the youth with a temporal euphoria while consuming the delicate threads of consciousness which tether the soul to the reality of higher octaves; commercialized pornography that has replaced the classics in the bookstalls and flooded the mails, paving the way for moral decay; ragged formed of so-called music that drown out the heavenly oratorios and stupefy the sensibilities; the misuse of the sacred fire through the popularization of free love that drains the youth of the vital energies which would open the chakras and lead them into the way of Christian mysticism and the Eightfold Path of the Buddha.
The panaceas that have accompanied the age have had one purpose: to divert the consciousness of the sons and daughters of God from the track of spiritual discovery. Man should understand that his consciousness is his point of contact with his Real Self. Therefore, those who interfere with the orderly unfoldment of the precious flower of identity and its innate beauty are literally defrauding man of his birthright and his noble inheritance - the mind of Christ. They and their methods should be exposed as the archenemies of righteousness and of every man's freedom.
We admire the wonder of autumn as it decorates the countryside and embellishes the consciousness with the vibrant qualities of the Spirit. We are reminded that fruit and flower have ascended only so high and that in the next cycle they will ascend still higher. Therefore, we wish to convey to the consciousness of humanity the beautiful possibilities of transcendence. God is, and because he is, man is. Destined to become a co-creator with God, man can become all that God is - in time, in eternity. Thus, once eternity is attained, the infinite sense engulfs the finite and all things become one in the sense of the infinite.
Beauty in a state of conception is wondrous indeed, because it is untrammeled. But, when carried into the arena of action, it is often superimposed with imperfect modes. Some of these have been so far removed from the original matrix that, instead of providing man with the link to reality which true art is intended to do, they have brought him to the edge of the pit through psychedelic distortions.
Now, if we could, we would meet the children of God more than halfway. For even the masters recognize the advantage of stirring up the astral dust: the cleansing of the intuitive faculties of mind and heart for a greater receptivity to truth. However, in the past when the Great Law has made an exception, allowing us to do just that, we have found that the sea of mankind's emotions was easily disturbed and that due to his astral preconditioning, his sensitivities were such that even in the presence of the light he found the cosmic perception of beauty unacceptable. He resented being told the truth, and would almost rather have entertained a masquerading entity than angels unawares.
We believe, whether or not our counsels are given heed, that we should place prime importance upon reaching our students and informing them of the truth of being through the Pearls of Wisdom - one of the few media available to us - regardless of the consequences. And, if we create thereby the antipathy to truth that wells up in the natural man, then we shall send our angels to clean up the astral debris; and when the dust settles, we shall once more send the missive of truth. Needless to say, popularity should not be the objective when one seeks to communicate the truth.
Man's first glimpse of true beauty conveys a fragile quality and an orderliness that appears as a stereotyping of the law, which, of course, it is not. As a matter of fact, ugliness came about as the result of a contest between those who pitted their talents against the Creator to see who could create the most novel forms in contrast to what seemed to them to be the sterile environment of the Presence. Beloved ones, sterility never has been and never could be a part of reality; for the perfection of God, in all of its infinite wonder, is such that he literally dotes upon creativity.
When man determines to draw forth the true creativity of higher octaves, he encounters opposition to the "patterns made in the heavens."2 He finds that only by an intense discipline and a sharpening of his faculties is he able to approach the realm of pure art to which he has tethered his devotions. He also finds that there is a pastel beauty that can be felt within the soul, even when it cannot be seen with mortal eye; and he knows that this contact is necessary if he is to create according to the cosmic plan.
The deep desire to execute faithfully the Creator's design has led countless devotees to copy the patterns of the angels as a point of discipline in order that they might master the basic techniques of cosmic art such as those taught in my retreat. Because the truly great artists have all sketched from the works of the ascended masters, there has been noted in their renderings a basic similarity of manifestation, a quality of balanced composition that comes only from those whose consciousness is imbued with the Christ and the threefold flame poised in the center thereof.
The ugly patterns of the purveyors of darkness seem to be of an almost infinite variety - for there appears to be a total freedom of expression in the astral sea of Alice in 'Wonderland'.3 True freedom, however, is to be found only in the endless manifestations of reality, albeit in their present limited consciousness mankind are unable to tap the one Source of creative power. The difference is primarily the contrast of life and vibrancy with death and decay. The former is always to be preferred; for death itself is a transfixion in matter, and by cosmic law the energies so qualified must be freed from their imperfect molds and returned to the heart of God for requalification.
It is enough, then, for the individual to understand that he has the choice either of creating according to the divine plan in the perfection and limitless beauty of God, or of creating according to the darkened concepts that lead from life unto death. It goes without saying that it is our desire to create in man a correct vision of the universe, for we know that in his vision lies the potential for metamorphosis by which he can be changed from glory to glory even by the Spirit of the Lord. This, then, is the hierarchical intent; but the conveyance of the intent, the communication of the God-idea, is another matter.
We have long encouraged men to exercise their freedom of conscience, not as mere license to create whatever fancies the mind, but to create the select gifts of the soul striving in living purpose to endow life with the graces of the Almighty. Through the centuries we have observed the results of man's wrong sowings. Where the sense of ugliness is amplified, it offers a divergence of difference, but it can never insure the oneness of the effulgent life.
If in filling the chalice with beauty the individual may seem to be functioning within a limited sphere, then let him know that he is limited only by the chalice of his consciousness and not by beauty itself. If in filling the chalice with ugliness the individual may seem to be functioning within an unlimited sphere, then let him know that he is dipping into the bottomless pit to which there is no end save death. Regardless of the fact that over the centuries man has attempted to immortalize that in which he has excelled, his art and music have a vibratory quality which itself is transitory, evolving toward a more perfect matrix.
Man cannot with impunity fix the constancy of his being upon the qualities of imperfection. Therefore, when you turn your attention to the Presence and place your creative ability in the hands of God, you may at first seem limited, but in reality you will not be. When examining the beauty of true art, one must consider the subtlety of its expression. Comparing the infinite with the finite expression, man may say, "These are as alike as two peas in a pod"; but when examined by the faculties of the Higher Mind, their difference is apparent.
Man may seem to be making no significant progress in the art of self-mastery, but we who discern the subtleties of the Spirit understand that progress may be very great indeed, although not so apparent when we are working within microsegments of consciousness. In these levels great beauty is to be found; and that beauty is, in itself, unlimited. Viewed through the finite lens, change may not be significant; but through the divine lens, the finest aspects of change come into focus. Truly, beauty is in the eye of the beholder; but the transcendental nature of consciousness is the highest gift.
Our delight in speaking about the art of the Spirit is very much tied to our desire to bring in the higher culture. While some among humanity have unwittingly disrupted the phases of a higher spiritual existence by relating to the artforms of the present era, others have deliberately sought to destroy the soul's contact with reality in order to keep it enslaved to the unreal.
When we were in embodiment, our consciousness was weeded to no particular school of art; for we sought to express the brilliance we perceived at inner levels in a color and in a form that would transcend the ages. Therefore, it cannot be said that our methods were entirely the product of the age in which we lived; for we recognized that in the purification of its forms, art transcends an era, and that which is accomplished in time becomes a part of eternity. When one puts together all of the pieces of the puzzle of life, one finds that the true answers are to be found in the reality of the divine experience -
In the mystic Light upon the water
In the sunlight
Weaving a tapestry through the air
In the cherished moment of the future
In the fabric of a holy prayer
In the weaving of the soul of man
Transcendent, never seen by finite eye
In transcendence never seeming
Miragelike creature yet to fly.
I take my leave of you in that salutary faith that God is the answer, that the sublime moments he gives to the soul are well worth pursuing and recording. Such a man has no hang-ups, no unnecessary tensions, no delusions, but only the firm intention of his soul to fulfill its destiny and to be an unswerving arrow of hope in a glorious universe where Love is the key.