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5 Planes of Existence
Introduction
Five Planes of Manifestation
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GENESIS 6
The Wickedness
of Man
1And it came to pass, when men began to
multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born unto them,
2That the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair;
and they took them wives of all which they chose. 3And the LORD
said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also
is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years. 4There
were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, when
the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare
children to them, the same became mighty men which were of old, men
of renown.
5And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and
that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil
continually. 6And it repented the LORD that he had made man on the
earth, and it grieved him at his heart. 7And the LORD said, I will
destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both
man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air;
for it repenteth me that I have made them.
PEOPLE, MEN AND WOMEN - A symbol of the lower mental
and emotional qualities; the natural undeveloped instincts and
activities which are to be disciplined and used as a means to the
end of the manifestation of the Self.
FACE OF THE GROUND, EARTH – A symbol of the knowledge of
appearances, or of the surfaces of things of the lower nature.
DAUGHTERS OF MEN - A symbol of the lower affections and
emotions which proceed from minds united with desires.
And it came to pass, when the lower mental qualities (men)
began to multiply on the appearance of knowledge (face of the
earth), that the desires (daughters) were manifest (born)
unto them.
SONS OF GOD - A symbol of the Divine monads or spiritual egos
which incarnate in the human forms when the lower nature of man has
evolved mind.
WIFE - A symbol of the emotion-nature (woman) in alliance
with the mind (man).
“That the spiritual ego (sons of God) saw the desires (daughters
of men) that they were attractive (fair); and they became one
with (took them wives) of all which they chose.
The Egos or ideals in the mind identified themselves with the
sense-objects, and so affection for the things of desire was set up,
and hence illusion was produced. The "taking of wives" is the
seeking by the Egos for the Self through the taking of forms, or
bodies.
And the period arrived when evolution of the individual mind
commenced in many human units, and as the consciousness was drawn to
the objects of desire, and as affection for them was set up, the
spiritual egos, or ideals in the mind (sons of God), identified
themselves with the sensations and affections (daughters of men),
and hence illusion of the personality was produced. The taking of
"wives" is the seeking for the Self through the form-life.
SPIRIT - A symbol of the positive, energetic, forceful,
qualitative, and formative aspect of the Divine outpouring, in
distinction from the passive, receptive, quantitative, form-taking
aspect -matter. Spirit is the life-side which imparts qualities and
motion.
FLESH - A symbol of the lower nature, with its desires and
passions.
120 years (#12) - This refers to the subsequent evolution of
the spiritual ego through human forms, and its final reunion with
the Self.
TWELVE, NUMBER - A complete number in relation to conditions
of the manifest. The twelve divisions of the cycle of life (Zodiac,
Tuat, etc.) correspond to soul-states (twelve tribes) and
soul-qualities (twelve disciples). The sets of twelve are all
interrelated.
And the LORD said, My positive Divine aspect (spirit) shall
not always be (strive) with man, for that he also is a lower
creature with desires and passions (flesh): yet his days
shall be an hundred and twenty years (completion of the involution
and evolution cycle).
And the Divine Mercy expresses itself in the soul, and imparts
confidence of ultimate re-conjunction of the many with the One. Like
"lost sheep" they have gone astray into the lower nature. The lower
self (flesh) is now converted into an instrument of the Divine will
for the evolution of the soul, and cannot be for ever opposed to the
higher nature. The time-limit for the lower self to function is
therefore fixed at twelve periods (120) of the cycle of life.
"There were giants in the earth in those days” - Symbols of
early mankind in great ape-like forms resident on continents now
mostly submerged. The pre-human forms in which mind began to dawn
were rude and gigantic. In these early vehicles of human life the
individuality was just coming into existence and beginning to
display signs of future potential.
“giants “in” the earth” – the use of the word “in” and not
“on” is an indicator that this is not a literal story about very big
people walking “on” the earth. The giants are in your mind.
NEPHILIM OR GIANTS - Early physical human forms; mostly
Lemurian, some Atlantean. In these rugged forms mind is first
aroused.
"The Nephilim were in the earth in those days, and also after that,
when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they
bare children to them."
These Nephilim are the monsters which are pre-human and semi-animal.
They correspond in soul life to the early attempts at
Self-realization, which are possible only through the agency of such
clumsy modes of expression as are appropriate to the sub-human
kingdoms of nature. The ideals of the minds, or spiritual egos (sons
of God), conjoined to the processes of the lower planes, give rise
to the "children of men," the progeny of mind, or mental-astro-physical
forms. It is as the cosmic forces work through the personality while
guided from the individuality, that the "sons of men" are born, that
is, the successive incarnations are engendered.
"Like a beautiful seedling hidden away within a rough and ugly husk,
through which it must break in order to achieve itself, our divine
selfhood has been hidden and compressed within material conditions.
Consciousness has had to use first one kind of vehicle and then
another, and as the vehicle so has been the quality of the
self-expression." - R. J. CAMPBELL, Serm., Solidarity of
Spiritual Experience.
“when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men”
when the thoughts of the spiritual ego (sons of God) came in unto
the lower affections and emotions (daughters of men). This is
describing the creation of earthly religion. When the divine
thoughts of the mind intercourse with the affections of our
emotional nature we create giants (religion) within the mind.
WICKEDNESS OF MAN - Symbolic of evil mental conditions in a
phase of growth of the soul, which must be swept away.
"And the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the
earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was
only evil continually."
And the Self beholds the necessity for its further descent into
the manifest. And it sees that there is increased necessity and
opportunity for its operations amid the discordant conditions which
have been set up by the mental activities upon the lower planes.
EVIL OR SINFUL STATE - A condition of soul due to the partial
and unbalanced development of the qualities, and to the ignorance in
which the ego is immersed. It is a state of emptiness in its degree,
and not of fullness; and as emptiness is no real thing, but the
absence of the real, so an evil state of soul has no reality in
itself, but needs the presence of the good and true, which are
realities and endure forever. The evil state is, therefore,
relative, negative, and transitory, and implies the absence of
completeness during a process of evolution of qualities and of
knowledge.
HEART - A symbol of the causal-body as a centre of being on
the higher mental plane, and the receptacle of atma-buddhi, the
spirit within. The heart also signifies the love principle and the
higher affections.
“I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the
earth”
This is not saying God will extinguish man from the planet or
creation, but rather he will destroy the false appearances
(perceptions) in our mind. In mysticism “Face of the Earth” means
false impressions. If we take something at “face value” we see how
it appears to be not as it really is.
When we move through the stages of Lamach and Jabal (reflection and
wisdom) we (our higher God self) becomes lament full of the things
we have created from the field of lower consciousness (the beasts,
and the creeping things, and the fowls of the air). The only person
in the bible is you. All characters are simply some aspect of
ourself.
Noah's
Favor with God
8But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD.
9These are the generations of Noah: Noah was a just man and perfect
in his generations, and Noah walked with God. 10And Noah begat three
sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth.
11The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled
with violence. 12And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was
corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth.
NOAH - A symbol of the individuality, or the manifested Self
in evolution, -the permanent center of evolution in the soul. It is
the buddhi-manasic principle, or the incarnation of the Self as
applying to the three lower planes.
"These are the generations of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, and
perfect in his generations: Noah walked with God."
Now follows an evolution of the "Noah" account of the principle,
which is perfection of the soul according to its stage of
development. The knowledge it possessed is derived from within
(walked with God). "And he (Lamech) said to him (Methuselah): 'I
have begotten a strange son: he is not like man but resembles the
children of the angels of heaven; and his nature is different and he
is not like us, and his eyes are as the rays of the sun and his
countenance is glorious." - Book of Enoch, Ch. CV. 5.
“Noah is the divinely appointed figure, in whom the whole course of
regeneration is set forth, every secret of this great mystery being
here drawn for us as God alone could draw it. Noah, then, is the
spiritual mind,-for he is only the continuation of Seth's line, and
figures the form of life which the spiritual mind takes at this
stage in its development, when it has come so far as to know the
judgment of the old creation, and the way through that judgment to a
cleansed and better world." - A. JUKES, Types of Genesis, pp. 104-5.
The name Noah comes from the Hebrew "Noach"
which means "rest," or "repose."
NOAH'S SONS - Symbols of the three Divine aspects, Will
(Shem), Action (Ham), and Wisdom (Japhet); or in a lower sense, of
intelligence, works, and desire.
HAM, SON OF NOAH - A symbol of courage, action, and works,
generated by the individuality.
JAPHET, SON OF NOAH - A symbol of wisdom and
determination,-aspects of the individuality as (Noah),—reflected
inversely in the lower nature desire and will (lower).
“11The earth (lower mental functions) also was corrupt before
(previous to) God, and the earth (mind) was filled with violence.
12And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for
all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth.”
CORRUPTION AND VIOLENCE ON THE EARTH - Symbolic of a state of
estrangement from the Spirit, and of strife among the qualities of
the lower nature.
"And the earth was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled
with violence."
And the lower nature was gross and predominant. "Corruption and
violence correspond to the
alienation and changes which occur through the approach of
the spiritual activities. which are to proceed from above.
“It must have been divinely ordained that we should be subject to
the dominion of darkness, in which God dwells in his fullness,
though we do not know it. We are curiously imprisoned within our own
physical organizations, and with all our advance in knowledge how
little we know of our own universe! . . . We sit in darkness and the
shadow of death. Ignorance is the root cause both of suffering and
sin. We suffer because we do not know. Sin would be just as
impossible as pain if men knew the truth about life and were able to
pierce the darkness that conceals the face of God." - R. J.
CAMPBELL, Serm., Veil of Darkness.
FLESH - A symbol of the lower nature, with its desires and
passions.
"By flesh is signified man's proprium or self-hood, which in itself
is evil.”
"In a good sense flesh signifies the good of the church." -
Swedenborg, Apocalypse Revealed, n. 748, 832.
Noah Builds the Ark
13And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me;
for the earth is filled with violence through them; and, behold, I
will destroy them with the earth. 14Make
thee an ark of gopher wood; rooms shalt thou make in the ark, and
shalt pitch it within and without with pitch. 15And this is the
fashion which thou shalt make it of: The length of the ark shall be
three hundred cubits, the breadth of it fifty cubits, and the height
of it thirty cubits. 16A window shalt thou make to the ark, and in a
cubit shalt thou finish it above; and the door of the ark shalt thou
set in the side thereof; with lower, second, and third stories shalt
thou make it.
17And, behold, I, even I, do bring a flood of waters upon the earth,
to destroy all flesh, wherein is the breath of life, from under
heaven; and every thing that is in the earth shall die. 18But with
thee will I establish my covenant; and thou shalt come into the ark,
thou, and thy sons, and thy wife, and thy sons' wives with thee.
19And of every living thing of all flesh, two of every sort shalt
thou bring into the ark, to keep them alive with thee; they shall be
male and female. 20Of fowls after their kind, and of cattle after
their kind, of every creeping thing of the earth after his kind, two
of every sort shall come unto thee, to keep them alive. 21And take
thou unto thee of all food that is eaten, and thou shalt gather it
to thee; and it shall be for food for thee, and for them. 22Thus did
Noah; according to all that God commanded him, so did he.
NOAH - A symbol of the individuality, or the manifested Self
in evolution, -the permanent center of evolution in the soul. It is
the buddhi-manasic principle, or the incarnation of the Self as
applying to the three lower planes.
FLESH - A symbol of the lower nature, with its desires and
passions.
EARTH; GROUND; WORLD - A symbol of
the lower nature of the soul,-lower-mental, astral, and physical
planes, which constitute the arena of life for the ego. The lowest
plane of manifestation.
VIOLENCE ON THE EARTH - Symbolic of a state of estrangement
from the Spirit, and of strife among the qualities of the lower
nature.
“And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me;
for the earth is filled with violence through them; and, behold, I
will destroy them with the earth.”
And the Divine perfection within (God) said to our higher aspiration
(Noah) “you have shed your desires and passions of the lower nature
(flesh) and come before me”; for the for the lower nature of man is
estranged and in conflict (violent) with itself. The Divine
perfection within will extinguish the conflict with the lower mind.
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ARK OF NOAH - A symbol of the causal-body as a means for the
preservation of the individuality and the qualities of the soul,
while lower conditions of growth are swept away.
CAUSAL-BODY, OR KARANA SARIRA - This term denotes the vehicle
of the spiritual ego in the higher mind of each individual. It is
usually called the immortal soul, for it persists throughout the
cycle. To it are attached the vehicles of the personality or
personal ego, on the lower planes.
ROOM IN A HOUSE or SHIP - A symbol of a sub-plane of the
mental plane.
The "house" is the state into which the soul is brought through its
own efforts. It is the mental environment to some extent; but it is
more than that it is also the whole external aspect of the Higher
Self. Each "room” serves for a sub-plane; and an upper room is that
upon which the Christ-soul functions as the time of glorification
draws nigh.
PITCH FOR CAULKING - A symbol of limitation and definition of
ideas, which provide for the distinguishment of truth.
“Make thee an ark of gopher wood; rooms shalt thou make in the
ark, and shalt pitch it within and without with pitch.”
Within your mind create a space where the spiritual ego and higher
qualities of the soul can be preserved. Within this room (dwelling
space) pitch it inside and out. That is limit what goes into it.
When we enter into ourselves be mindful of what we take in there
with us.
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“A window shalt thou make to the ark, and in a cubit shalt thou
finish it above; and the door of the ark shalt thou set in the side
thereof; with lower, second, and third stories shalt thou make it.”
WINDOW OF ARK OF NOAH - A symbol of the means whereby
spiritual perception is established in the soul, so that the light
of Truth may shine in.
DOOR OF THE ARK OF NOAH
- A symbol of the entrance from below to the mind within the soul.
The desires and sensations reach the consciousness from the astral
and physical planes.
The "lower, second, and third stories " are the three higher
subplanes of the mental plane; as the causal-body is situate
on the higher mind plane above the lower consciousness which
perceives it not.
MENTAL-PLANE - This central plane of Divine manifestation is
the third plane from above or from below. It is the plane of
creation of the forms on the lower planes. The prototypal ideas
emanating from the planes above
take form in mental matter on the mental plane, and are from
thence projected outwardly on to the astral and physical planes; in
other words, the mental forms are re-embodied on the lower planes in
the matter of the planes, thus constituting the material universe.
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FLOOD OF NOAH - A symbol of the downpouring of Truth (rain)
into the lower mind at a certain stage of evolution. This is
equivalent to an enlargement of the field of consciousness in the
illusions of the lower life, for the truth is reflected as false
conceptions on the astro-mental plane (lower water) ; and implies
the awakenment of the mind in ignorance, which is the condition out
of which Truth eventually arises.
WATER (HIGHER ASPECT) - The great symbol of Truth or the
eternal Reality and source of all manifestation. Water suggests
unity, absence of parts, comprehensiveness, purity, motion; also
disappearance in evaporation below, and outpouring from above in
rain to fertilize the earth.
WATER (LOWER ASPECT) - A symbol of the astral plane in which
are errors and illusions. The inverted or distorted reflections of
truths. "And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered
together unto one place, and let the dry land appear : and it was
so." - GENESIS. i. 9.
BREATH -
A symbol of the mental interpretation of Spirit, or the expression
of the Divine on the mental plane.
HEAVEN -
A symbol of the state of consciousness on the buddhic plane which is
above the mental plane.
EARTH; GROUND; WORLD - A symbol of the lower nature of the
soul,-lower-mental, astral, and physical planes, which constitute
the arena of life for the ego. The lowest plane of manifestation.
“And, behold, I, even I, do bring a flood of waters upon the
earth, to destroy all flesh, wherein is the breath of life, from
under heaven; and every thing that is in the earth shall die.”
The Divine perfection within (God), will bring a flood of truth
(water) upon the lower mind (earth), to destroy the passions and
desires of the lower nature (flesh), within the truth (water) is the
expression of the Divine (breath) on the mental plane (under
heaven); all things from the lower nature (in the earth) will be
washed away (die).
This does not mean that
the wicked man will die just that what is wicked within him will
die. The core of our being, our archetypal or perfected being as God
created us, is unscathed by involutions into the subplans of
manifestation (life on earth).
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