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THE TWO CYCLES OF EGOIC APPROPRIATION

We shall now enter upon a somewhat technical consideration of the relation of the Ego and its Ray to the sheaths or vehicles through which it must express itself, and through which it must enter into contact with certain phases of divine experience. The foundation of what is here elaborated in relation to the cycles of appropriation, will be found briefly touched upon in A Treatise on Cosmic Fire and the following statements, gathered from those pages, will be elucidated in the succeeding pages.

1. As the Ego appropriates to itself a sheath for expression and experience, two points of crisis occur:

1. The work of passing onto a particular plane for purposes of incarnation is one such point. This concerns the passing down to a lower plane, or from a lower plane onto a higher. Indications of the importance and the crucial nature of such transition can be seen in certain formulas which are used when passing from one degree in Masonry to another, as in raising a Lodge from a lower to a higher degree.

2. Another such point of crisis occurs when the mental body is swept into activity and the Etheric body is similarly vitalised.

2. Relationship between the Ego or Soul and the dense physical body is established when:

1. Matter of the three lowest subplanes of the Physical plane is built into the Etheric body, prior to physical incarnation, and the potential channels of communication and of exit are established. These are the main channel or line of communication found between the center at the Base of the Spine and that in the head, via the spleen.

2. A corresponding activity takes place in the process of liberation upon the Path of Return in which the bridge (or the Antahkarana) is established between the lower mental body, the Causal body, and the higher mental worlds.

CHARACTERISTICS OF A SERVER

These characteristics can be easily and briefly noted. They are not exactly what one may have been led to believe. I am not here speaking of the qualifications required for the treading of the Path of Discipleship or the Probationary Path. These are well known; they are the platitudes of the Spiritual life, and constitute the battleground, or the Kurukshetra of most aspirants. We are here concerned with those qualities which will emerge when a man is working under the impulse of the Law of Service. They will appear when he is a real channel for the life of the Soul. His major characteristics will then be three in number:

1. He will be distinguished, as might be expected, by the quality of harmlessness, and by an active refraining from those acts and that speech which might hurt or cause any misunderstanding. By no word, suggestion, implication, innuendo or voiced dissatisfaction will he hurt his group. You will note that I do not say "will not hurt any individual." Those working under the Law of Service need no reminder not to hurt any individual. They often need, under the exuberance of Spiritual stimulation and the intensity of their aspiration, to be reminded to demonstrate group harmlessness.

2. The second characteristic is a willingness to let others serve as seems best to them, knowing that the life flowing through the individual server must find its own channels and outlets, and that direction of these currents can be dangerous and prevent the rendering of the intended service. The server's efforts will be turned in two directions:

1. To the task of helping others to "stand in Spiritual being", as he himself is learning to stand.

2. To aiding the individual to express his service in his chosen field as he desires to express it, and not as the onlooking helper deems that he should do it.

  3.   The third characteristic of the new server is joyfulness. This takes the place of criticism (that dire

         creator of misery) and is the silence that sounds.

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