Memory and Mind in Astral Light

Van Mater

The ancients knew of an hypothetical astral or "starlike" substance which underlies physical matter. The Hindus call it akasa, "brilliant, shining." The Stoics spoke of aether or quintessence, the mysterious spirit substance which is the protean source of all forms. Theosophists call it the astral light. The most material stratum of the nonphysical energies surrounding our planet, analogous to the soul of the world, it functions as a complete reser!oir of memory containing the record of e!ery impression and e!ent that has e!er occurred on earth. "illed with potential prototypes of all thoughts, forms, and beings, its operations are outside the space time reference that applies to the physical plane. The physical world is in fact an e#tension of the astral, which latter contains a range of potencies and emanations, thoughts and beings, either benign or inimical to life on earth. $n the cosmos system there are many physical, psychic, mental, and spiritual fields self organi%ing, whole, li!ing systems. &!ery such field is holographic in that it contains the characteristics of e!ery other field within itself. 'upert Sheldrake(s concepts of morphic fields and morphic resonance, for instance, are in many ways similar to some phenomena attributed to the astral light. )ll terrestrial entities can be considered fields belonging to our li!ing earth, *aia, and forming part of her constitution. The higher akasic fields resonate with e!ery part of nature. +arious happenings within the earth(s astral light are said to result in physical effects which include all natural and human phenomena, ranging from epidemics and earthquakes to wars and weather patterns. *aia, again, is part of the fields which form the solar being and its constitution, and so on throughout the cosmos. &#actly like the earth, human beings each ha!e auric fields and an astral body. The fifty trillion cells in our body, as well as the tissues and organs they form, each ha!e their own identity and memory. ,ur mental and emotional fields influence e!ery cell and atom of our being for better or worse. How we think and act affects not only humanity but *aia as well through the astral light, the action of which is guided by acti!e creati!e intelligences. "or e#ample, the automatic action of di!ine beings restores harmony, balancing the inner with the outer throughout nature. -e must take responsibility for oursel!es, for this reciprocal karmic process is continually at work, and the !arious circumstances of our li!es are the results of its .ust and impersonal operation in relation to our own acti!ities. How do the brain and the mind relate to consciousness in these astral or nonphysical fields/ There are different le!els of operation of mind and memory reflected in the structure of the brain as well as in our other organs. 0ythagoras referred to the brain as the principal organ of consciousness, and in some respects it acts as a switchboard for the physical body in con.unction with the soul. The mind acts on subtle or astral matter in contact with the brain and ner!ous system. 1ehind this physical operation, howe!er, is a programmer intelligence, mind with will power and desire. )s human beings, we draw upon a huge range of frequencies of consciousness. $n the theosophical system, mind is the fifth in the scale of se!en principles that form our being. )s the acti!e focus of our self consciousness, mind organi%es and awakens

matter. The higher aspects of consciousness can be described as threefold2 atma, di!inity3 buddhi, intuition or compassion3 and manas, intellect, our self conscious center. The lower aspects are formed of kama, desire3 prana, life energy3 and the astral and physical bodies. &ach of these se!en principles is itself se!enfold. ,ur e!eryday awareness is generally directed in desire linked with mind. $n the brain, the intellectual aspects of consciousness we are most familiar with are centered in the large cerebral corte#, which is considered the distinguishing feature of the human brain. There are lower and higher attributes to all the brain(s layers, corresponding to the frequencies of consciousness. Strangely, one of the highest chakras or centers of consciousness is said to be the pineal gland, a !ery tiny organ in the center of the brain which 4escartes called the seat of the soul and others call the third eye of spiritual !ision. -e are all familiar with the lower or primiti!e human mind connected with the physical animal self of desires and passions. 0arts of the brain are associated with !arious aspects of the entire range of emotional states and mental acti!ities because the brain acts as a recei!er transmitter of thoughts. The brain is controlled by the mind acting through astral and physical matter !ia the sympathetic !ibrations of the chakras and 5 senses. Spirit, with its mental !itality, also works through all these aspects of our nature and can illumine e!en the physical brain that is in tune with it. &ach human being is a unique indi!idual, with !arious mental qualities, abilities, and combinations, whether intuiti!e, analytical, creati!e, artistic, or psychic. ,ur mind has stamped the organs of the entire physical body with its indi!iduality. 6o two brains are e#actly alike, no two fingerprints are, .ust as no two lea!es on a tree, or two patterns of stripes on %ebras, are. The mind e#presses many qualities of our being, but e!erything depends on where our desires are based and on the o!erall orientation of our mind, for the intellect alone and uninspired can be selfish, cold, often cruel, e!en dangerous. How did human egoity come about/ There is a clue in the recapitulation of the human embryo, which re!eals a de!elopment representati!e of the lower kingdoms of nature. $t implies that the human monad e!ol!ed through these kingdoms, de!eloping its soul and indi!iduality, unfolding qualities of mind and free will not e#actly like ours but essentially present. 7ooking o!er the kingdoms briefly, we see that the mineral begins with !ery uniform beings sharing a unified consciousness which may form anything from liquids like magma or the oceans, and gasses like the air, to endless !arieties of crystals. 7ike all beings they ha!e a di!ine monadic consciousness, and are also o!ershadowed by higher intellectual agencies. 0lants are similar, but their !itality and growth show more intelligent indi!idual e#pression. They create beautiful forms in lea!es and flowers with surprising ingenuity. They, too, as a kingdom are following ancient patterns of memory or instinct. 4arwin commented that in some respects the tip of the primary root 88acts like a brain of one of the lower animals,(( while other researchers belie!e that plants possess the equi!alent of a ner!ous system. That they react to human emotions and thoughts, and respond to other beings and plants, was suggested by 9le!e 1ackster(s e#periments with the polygraph in the :;<=s. There appears to be a telepathic connection that links plants with all other beings3 they e!en seem to remember those who ha!e harmed them or other beings near by.

)nd what of instincts, those indi!idual and collecti!e patterns of e#perience of all creatures/ There are prototypes of all possible plants and animals, all beings, in the astral light. 1ut look at the mar!elous e#amples, the endless designs that ha!e materiali%ed2 not only bodily forms, but also beha!ioral instincts such as in the bees, adaptations and beha!iors like mimicry, or migrations of birds co!ering thousands of miles. These acti!ities are not simply automatic, they in!ol!e spiritual intelligence. )ll beings share the same di!ine potentials, but the higher in the e!olutionary scale we go, the greater the intelligence, the greater the emotional range and indi!iduality that beings possess, and thus the more powerful their impact on the astral light. There is also marked increase in the si%e of the cerebral corte# in the higher animals. )nimals and humans share emotional and psychic e#pression. The emotions are a part of the desire principle. 1ut animals do not possess self reflecti!e mind able to contemplate its own status in e!olution2 the dog doesn(t ask itself why it is a dog. -e might ask, where does mind indi!idually, and consciousness ultimately, originate/ $n the cosmos there is only one life, one consciousness, which masquerades under all the different forms of sentient beings. This one consciousness pierces up and down through all the states and planes of being and ser!es to uphold the memory, whether complete or incomplete, of each state(s e#perience. This suggests that our self conscious mind is really a ray of cosmic mind. There is a mysterious !ital life essence and force in!ol!ed in the interaction of spirit or consciousness with matter. The cosmos has its memory and follows general pathways of formation based on pre!ious e#istences, much as e!erything else does. )ided by memory, it somehow selects out of the infinite possibilities a new and impro!ed imbodiment. -hen the first impulse emerges, we ha!e cosmic ideation !ibrating the first matter, manifesting in countless hierarchies of beings in endless gradations. 1orn of the one cosmic parent, monadic centers emerge as !ital seeds of consciousness, as germs of its potential. They are little uni!erses in the one uni!erse. Theosophy does not separate the world into organic and inorganic, for e!en the atoms are considered god sparks. )ll beings are continuously their own creators and recorders, forming more perishable outer !eils while retaining the indestructible thread self that links all their !arious principles and monads through !ast cycles of e#perience. -e are monads or god sparks currently e!ol!ing throughout the human stage. The deathless monad runs through all our imbodiments, for we ha!e repeated many times the processes of birth and death. $n fact, birth and death for most of humanity are more or less automatic, unconscious e#periences as far as our e!eryday awareness is concerned. How do we think/ -e can start, for e#ample, with desire which pro!ides the impulse that causes the mind through will and imagination to pro.ect a stream of thoughts, which are li!ing elemental beings. These thoughts take !arious forms which may result in different kinds of actions or creati!e results. This is another arena of responsibility, for in the astral light our thoughts circulate through other minds and affect them, but those that belong to us ha!e our stamp and return to us again and again. So through these streams of thought we create habits of mind, which build our character and e!entually our self made destiny. The human mind is an ideator resonating with its past, selecting thoughts and making choices, anticipating and creating a pattern of unfolding. 0erhaps we are reflecting in the small the operations of the di!ine mind which acts as the cosmic creator and architect. Some thoughts or patterns we create are limiting3 others are liberating. The soul grows, and thoughts are reused and transformed by the mind, perhaps gi!ing

them a superior e#pression. 0lato was right2 with spiritual will and worthiness we can recollect the wisdom of the past and unlock the higher mind. -e ha!e the capacity of identifying with all beings, e#periencing the oneness we share together in our spiritual consciousness, that continuous stream that is the indestructible thread self. )ll that it was, is, or is becoming is our karma. >ind and memory are a permanent part of the reincarnating ego or human soul, and of the uni!erse as well. )wareness of oneness is the most natural condition of our inner consciousness. $ntellect and reason are also necessary, but must be illuminated by compassion, spiritual insight, and intuition. The intellect or brain mind in its association with physical desires is self centered and enforces our separateness. >ost of the harm done to others comes through trying to assert our personal will o!er them. ,ur lower egoity must be e!ol!ed and transformed through a perception of our oneness in essence with all, which is the key to harmony and brotherhood in action. -hen we e#ercise self conscious free will, there are no guarantees of achie!ing spiritual growth. ?et the higher self is not corrupted by the acti!ities of the lower mind or by other actions of its !ehicles here on earth, and our e!olution is part of *aia(s and the gods( e!olution. 4e!eloping our higher faculties and recepti!ity to the inner light are essential to our progress, but doing so means remo!ing all impediments of a personal nature. ,ur transformation impro!es all of nature, including the astral light. $ndeed, the bodhisatt!a ideal of selfless work for the benefit of all beings demands e#pression of our noblest qualities. The supreme self is the center of all faculties and enables each human being to become a god in future cycles. This is the destiny that awaits us all.