Deeper Group Opportunity and Greater Freedom - Leo Probe - MS
When D.K. wrote in the last century on Group Training the emphasis was in anchoring those groups that could, AS A GROUP, take the First Initiation. That proved ultimately successful. The Keynote set was set into motion. Now there are many such groups in the world, many of them not aware of their inner connection.
The time has now come for groups to prepare for their Second Initiation. For this a new Keynote must be struck. Before we do that, we need to look at some background preparatory material. Let us first look at some of the highlights of group consciousness to enable us to expand our thinking, and thereby our horizons into this new frontier of conscious living, an invocation of Life and Love into the three worlds. Also one cannot contemplate group consciousness and grouf life without a fundamental focus on service. Service to individuals, to groups, to wider groups and ultimately to the life-wave itself is the key that opens the way into that “Life more abundantly”. Service ripens into Bodhicitta – that fundamental motivation to the enlightenment and liberation of all beings.
The purpose of all training which I have given you and all my disciples is to produce a greater capacity to service. I would like to see you doing some definite service in relation to your fellow men . . . I refer to that service which a disciple renders when he approaches every human being as a soul. Discipleship in the New Age -- Volume I page 484
This would appear to be a mind-set, a consciousness-set actually, of an open-heartedness to everyone you meet. Everyone encountered must be seen in their highest aspect that we are capable of. This means that the highest level we reach in our meditations must be the same level we must seen in everyone else – regardless of any personal mood in ourselves. The Tibetan has great reason for this. This form of daily moment to moment discipline becomes a magnetic pull which draws out the best in those around us. It must become a paramount view, regardless of the shadow that the other portrays to us on the outer. In this way to we learn, over time to be an outpost of the Master’s consciousness. It also means that, despite our being aware of the foibles and shortcomings, this higher attitude and focus must prevail. A good discipline here is to keep us from magnifying our brother’s (perceived) faults because it has become our duty, nay our service to the ashram and ultimately to humanity, to accentuate the inner presence of those around us.
This type of service involves the recognition of one’s own capacity, the intensification one’s ability to love one’s fellow men, the power to draw other’s to one with the request – spoken or implied – for spiritual help, and then the power to work with the person and give him the right help in the right way. This in its turn, involves an inner brooding on the quality and the need of the one served. This subjective process must precede all outer work; upon the strength and persistence of it depends the success of the attempt to help. This process of inner, brooding reflection is oft omitted through enthusiasm and self-confidence. When, however, it has been accomplished, and the server stands ready to help, then he can depend on the needy and circumstance to indicate to him the next step. I would have you reflect deeply upon this and I would have you begin – in a new and fresh way – to endeavour to bring light to individuals with a pure, disinterested selflessness. I would have you work with discrimination, with purity of motive, and with an effort to eliminate all personality reactions, for it is upon the rock of the personality that many well intentioned servers wreck their work. Discipleship in the New Age -- Volume I page 484
It can be seen and apprehended that if the focus is on the highest we can focus in the other, and brood on the sense of presence in the circumstance of the moment that we invoke the world of meaning into the world of form. It is in the brooding on personality, and criticisms, that many a server, and group, goes to ground. The undue focus, and judgment on the individual momentarily severs ashramic contact.
Only one other suggestion would I give. Keep yourself out of the picture altogether, and your private affairs, your personal likes and dislikes entirely eliminated. Discipleship in the New Age – Volume I page 485
The pitfall here is not just with individuals we encounter in the world, but between units in a group. Many a group has floundered on the sin of judgment, and how much better WE know what our brother should be doing.
Your duty lies in the daily releasing of steady illumined love, free from all criticism. It is not your duty to aid your brother in becoming a better occultist and disciple. That is his concern, his soul’s and mines. Discipleship in the New Age -- Volume II page 131
In other words it is not our duty to judge those whom we serve and those whom we serve with. If our criticism is on the ascendant, then our connection with the ashram falls into the descendant.
Be not unduly concerned at the plight of those you love. Trust their own souls and know that they, alone must learn the needed lesson. Discipleship in the New Age -- Volume II page 655
One of the hallmarks of a serving group achieving the Second Initiation is that of Group Skillful Service or Creative Service as this is evidence of group wielding of the law in action.
One of the major sciences of the coming age will be built around the active rendering of service. We use the word “Science” because service as a spiritual quality, will rapidly be recognized as the phenomenal expression of an inner reality, and along the line of a right understanding will come much revelation as to the nature of the soul. Service as a method of producing phenomenal outer and tangible results upon the physical plane; I call your attention to this as an evidence of its creative quality. By right use of this creative quality, service will eventually be regarded as a world science. It is a creative urge, a creative impulse, a creative momentous energy. This creativity of service has already been recognized in the world of human affairs under varying names, such as the science of vocational training. Recognition of the impetus coming from a right understanding of social relations and their study, is not lacking. Much is also being studied along the same line in connection with criminology and the right handling of the youth of any nation and national group. Esoteric Psychology Volume II page 130
If one takes notice of certain working groups in fictional media, there are good models of how a serving group can work together, overcome obstacles and find creative and phenomenal solutions. Due to the very closeness required, as well as high regard, personal relations move more and more into the background. Where that is not the case, conflicts erupt and the group energy disintegrates and the people either disband entirely or certain units of the group are expelled.
This point is of prime importance. When the Tibetan was experimenting with the group process, as related in the two volumes of Discipleship in the New Age, one can see this dynamic. The group is of importance, and when a unit or units focus too much on personality aspects (theirs or others) the group rhythm is disrupted. The new paradigm of group dynamics in group of the Second Initiation is to allow the group energy to do the balancing and correcting, not personality judgment, thereby allowing the ashram and the center of the ashram, the master, to effectively work from the inner side. Where groups and communes in the past have come apart is the phenomena of warring personalities. This is true whether of one individual, the glamour of the one at the center, or democratically, when several sit in judgment thereby disrupting the inner flow. When this has been the case the master withdraws the energy and turns away.
Brotherhood is a group quality. The young people now coming in will come into life with a much deeper sense of the group, and with their group awareness much more fully developed than is now the case. They will solve their problems, including the sex problem, by asking themselves when situations arise of a difficult nature: Will this action of mine tend to the group good? Will the group be hurt or suffer if I do thus and so? Will this benefit the group and produce group progress, group integration, and group unity? Action which fails to measure up to the group requirements will automatically be discarded. Esoteric Psychology Volume I page 302
The stanza in the Mantram of the Soul carries the key to second degree initiate group consciousness and functioning: May the Soul control the outer form, and Life and all events, and bring to light the Love the underlies the happenings of the times.
The problem to be overcome by the disciple confronted with lessons of the second initiation is the same with the group: the keyword being Relationship, the relationship between personality and soul fought out on the battlefield of the astral body. The astral must be subordinated to reflect the needs of the soul, not the personality. This creates the vertical link, allowing for the purpose of the soul and ashram, in line with the Plan, to be carried out horizontally into the three worlds of human development.
Have carefully
in mind, therefore, the fact of group initiation, and forego the process
of considered thought anent your
preparation for initiation. Some groups are being prepared for initiation
in which the following factors control – as far as the individual
is concerned:
1. A
group of men and women whose souls are on some one ray, are gathered together
subjectively by the Master on the same ray, for group training.
2.
3. These
tests and difficulties are do to the personality ray, which may be . .
. different to the soul ray. It
is the personality ray which works to prevent contact, to mislead in recognition,
to retard progress, and to misinterpret information.
As long as a disciple is focused on the personality, group initiation
will not be possible.
4. Group
initiation cannot be achieved by a group in training, until the members
have developed their particular “group enterprise”.
It is the law of the spirit that the disciple must appear before
the Initiator empty handed, but that in group formation the group members
unitedly contribute something to the enrichment of the Ashram.
No one as admitted (through the processes of initiation) into the Ashram of the Christ (the Hierarchy) until such time as he is beginning to think and live in terms of group relationships and group activities. The Rays and the Initiations page 342 – 4
The primary thing to consider here is the personality must be on the Descendant, and the Soul must be on the Ascendant, for the group to get out of its Second Degree Burning Ground Experience.
What has this to do with the concept of Freedom? The process of initiation, with its tests, crises, failures and triumphs casts greater light on Freedom. Greater Freedom, Greater Revelation, Greater Scope, and greater opportunity for growing into Bodhicitta, is a prime motivation of Hierarchy.
The opportunity before us today, at this Leo Blue Moon is for the group to align from Sirius, to our Sun, to our Planetary Logos, to Shamballa, to . . . the accepted spiritual group enterprise. This is Freedom pointing to the Cosmos.