Man is a personality
He is a soul
He is spirit.
Three in one.
The aim of the evolutionary process is to bring these three components into a conscious functioning whole.
When considering the human being, his expression and existence, it is necessary to remember that we are really considering ENERGY, and the relation or non-relation of forces.
The lower nature of man is a four-fold blend of energies:
1. The energy of substance itself, forming the physical body
2. The force of the vital or etheric body which animates the physical body
3. The energy of sentiency, with the ability to respond to feeling, desire and aspiration
4. The energy of the lower mind, with its impulse to organise and synthesise.
These four types of energy constitute the lower personal self, or what we simply call the personality.
The soul of man is a triple blend of energies:
1. Creative Intelligence
2. Love/Wisdom (intuition)
3. Will
Soul energies begin to override the energies of the personality in course of time and through right living. Before integration of soul energy occurs, purification of the physical and emotional bodies and the development of the lower mind are necessary. In time soul energies become more active and influential in the life of the personality, particularly as the lower mind is developed and used in directing the daily affairs on the physical plane. It is the lower mind of the personality which must be awakened and used with definiteness before the soul becomes the true medium through which (right) knowledge can be gained. The intellect must be unfolded before the higher intuitions can be correctly evoked. The soul expresses its three-fold radiance through the lower mechanisms as a rhythm is set up between itself and the personality.
The Spirit is the true Presence in man. It is the energy of Life itself, veiled by the sheaths of the soul and the personality. The soul is a major centre of experience in the life of the Spirit, just as the lower bodies (of the personality) are centres of expression in the life of the soul.
These energies constitute the human being, a unit of energy. They make him essentially an active, intelligent, loving, living, human being. They are unfolded sequentially in time and space and, as a result of the great experiment of evolution, bring him eventually to the full flowering of his nature, and to a full expression of the types of energy which condition him.
For very many lives the personality of man remains the dominant factor in his life expression, actively creating all manner of experience in daily living so that he may garner the necessary lessons of life. The fruits of all experience are registered and held permanently as knowledge in the soul body until such time as spiritual maturity is reached and union with That which lies beyond is consummated.
In course of time heart and mind begin to function more as a unit (first, in selfish coalition for the presentation of an active personality, and then finally in an attitude of dedicated selflessness and orientation towards soul guidance), as new energies are contacted which flow downward into the lower bodies, galvanising the etheric body into activity, and propelling the physical body automatically in response to the forces created.
As the consciousness of the man shifts continuously into the higher bodies through which expression can become possible, the soul gradually becomes the paramount centre of experience in consciousness and the lesser centres of experience ( the lower bodies) assume less and less importance. The soul experiences less through them, but uses them increasingly in service. The soul-integrated personality is frequently a wonderfully sensitive instrument of the inner, emotional and mental selves, and gifted with great magnetic power. The qualities of the soul then become the dominant factor in the life expression.
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