by Matthew Martin

 

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Chapter One

The Soul Ascending

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Life is an ever vibrating energy throughout God’s Creation.

 

Life is the force of the Spirit through the Creation and throughout all Existence.

 

Life is God’s Spirit activating all things.

 

For God’s Spirit is intrinsically IN all things.

 

Life is the activity of growth and expansion of all Creation and all beings herein.

 

Life awakens our consciousness to our Divine Source within and delivers us to It. And then we shall truly feel and be ALIVE.

 

The Life-Spirit resides within each human being, for this is a divine mystery most sublime.

 

Here is where we answer a theological yet quite mystical question: Exactly what is the soul?

 

We must answer this before we can even explain how the soul experiences the path of mystical ascension.

 

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Within each human being burns the Divine Life Spark, or Divine Self, which is the source if unfolding consciousness and awareness of the person. The soul acts as a sheath around this inner Self, which is you. It allows the self to experience the Creation, to experience this world, for it records all events once it descends into physical manifestation and experiences the world, and likewise when it eventually ascends in vibration into a higher reality.  However, the soul and Self must experience the material world through a dense physical body. This is a key factor of the growth process.

 

The five senses are the outer most faculties of the physical body for experiencing the physical world that each being must express through. Although each being has this Life Spark within, in reality there is only one Divine Spirit, which is essentially the same as the Divine Self. Where there seems to be innumerable selves, essentially God’s Self is at the core. However, ultimately, God’s Self is all there is, and all things are a part of this.  The Creator has made the Creation out of Himself.  Therefore, there is nothing but God's Self in existence.

 

Astronomers say that we are made from stardust, that our source is from the stars, for stars are birthed from the stuff of Creation, and this comes from the Creator. Equally, our souls come from God-stuff.  Essentially, it all comes from the same original source.

 

The Universal Divine Spirit, when manifesting into Creation, through mankind, is personified through each being, or through individual souls.  In this sense, let us say that the soul is the vehicle for the Divine Spirit expressing individuality. Spirit is all pervasive, all encompassing throughout Existence, but it also manifests through a myriad of forms. One Spirit, but many souls. One Light, but many colors.  Likewise, there is one Sun, but innumerable sun rays emanating there from.  The myriad of souls are like these rays that  radiate further and further from their source, as if separating from it, which is an illusion. But eventually they will remember their source from whence they came. Then they will realize their original unity with the Sun. For in essence the Sun and its rays are one. Similarly, the drops of water and the ocean are one, and the grains of sand and the beach are one. Likewise, the countless souls and Divine Spirit are one.

 

In reality, the soul and Self is one unit, therefore, inseparable, yet we tend to perceive a difference.  Our journey will eventually lead us to realize a divine union. This is the journey of the mystical ascent of the soul.

 

Let us say that the soul is the outer aspect and the God Self is the inner aspect of this single unit.  Much like the shell is the outer part of the egg, and the substance is the inner part.  But this is a very limited analogy and does not at all accurate describe the true reality of the inner mystical nature. Remember that the Divine Spirit pervades all existence, but it manifests through individuals, hence, the individual soul is necessary, once again, like the innumerable rays radiating from the one Sun.

 

 The soul has the task of accumulating life experiences through its continual cycles of incarnation in the earth plane, for it learns and grows from these valuable experiences.  It ascends through an upward spiral, for each time it meets certain points, where it has unfinished business, it has lessons to learn until it finally resolves them, one at a time.  It meets many challenges, hardships, pitfalls, and through trial and error it soon learns to master all of these.  This is the process of continual purification as we shed old patterns in order to begin living in harmony with the Divine Spirit.

 

The physical world is our essential school of learning. This is hard core boot camp for the soul, but also for body and mind. Spirit manifests through matter, through the flesh, in order to raise it up in vibration.  The Spirit is training the flesh body as well as the soul, and the human mind is an aspect of the soul, so all levels are affected.  This is an alchemical school of transformation, where the dense lead of the human being is transmuted into the gold of a divine being. But you first must go on a prodigal journey, until you wake up and realize you have been imagining that you are separate from your inner source, the God Self, which you could call a focal point for the pervasive Divine Spirit. Then it is time for the return journey.  When soul and God Self become one through Realization, the most sublime mystery will be revealed to you. In reality it is more then becoming, but realizing this spiritual unity already exists, but this has  been “veiled.”  Hence, a veil resides around the soul, a veil of materiality that must be pierced and dissolved in order for this mystical union to be fully realized. However, first you must become aware of the Light of your own being. For this divine Light will guide you into the Divine Source, the God Self. But before any of this can take place, you I must first awaken from a state of sleep.

 

At points along the journey you experience episodes of harmony and discontent, of joy and frustration, of pleasure and pain.  Likewise, you often realize a sense of this growing awareness of inner union, and other times you sense a separation, a desolation in the soul, as many mystics refer this to the dark night of the soul.  Again, this is part of the upward spiral journey where you are continually purged and purified as you enter further awakening and transformation. Hence, your soul ascends from the dark of night toward the dawning morning light.

 

The veil around of the soul seems to separate the material world from the spiritual, but this is an illusion; hence, the veil itself is an illusion, for there is no real separation.  There is only one sublime Existence, but our consciousness is not awakened and expanded enough to realize this, for it only perceives ascending levels.  In order for you to truly experience the inner spiritual life and your true being within, you must focus on the light and work with the light, which shall weaken the veil of illusion, then it can be pierced.  When  the veil around of the soul is rent, you see beyond it, and behold your true self, the indwelling God Self; hence, this is the beginning of the Divine Union. When this process begins, you'll notice your intuition is becoming stronger, for this is the Voice of the Godself within.  Once you begin to identify with your true Self, and no longer resort to the ego and its clever advice, this inner Voice will grow even stronger and clearer, but you must continue to listen to it, for it is possible that your inner hearing can fade if you do not continue the simple discipline of listening within.  Likewise, you must continue observing within, whether through meditation or other means, that you may continue seeing the light within and the inner being that shines this beautiful light.

 

The God Self experiences the Creation through the soul and likewise through the physical body.  You may perceive this process as you experience God, but on a higher level, God is experiencing through you, as you.

 

 Let us dispel a concept before it takes root. It may appear that the Self is within the body, but this is yet another illusion.  For the fact is, the God Self is not within the physical body, but the body is within the Godself.  Remember this.

 

Think of the air which is all around you.  Then you see a child with a bubble ring creating numerous soap bubbles, for each bubble traps a bit of this air, because there is only one air that you breathe and that surrounds you, although many soap bubbles seem to encircle small portions of it. Once again this is a crude analogy, but it will suffice for now. Likewise we will say that each person contains a bit of God's Consciousness, and this is how the individual ego is formed, when the soul and Self descend into material world. There is only one Consciousness, and it is God's; however, it manifests through countless forms.  The idea that each person has his own individual consciousness, as real as that may seem, it is another illusion. But it is simply part of the growth process, the journey from separation toward union.  Once the veil of separation is removed, once you behold the inner being within, the God Self, then you will begin to realize and experience this reality of Divine Union, the Oneness with all things, the reality of God Consciousness in all things. 

 

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I

What is this mystical ascension and to where does the soul ascend?

 

That is a question we will attempt to address throughout this treatise. But in brief, let us explain that  a major part if this process of mystical ascension is genuine spiritual awakening of the soul as to its true spiritual nature which will culminate in Divine Union..

 

Incidentally, in this work, when we use the term mystical ascension, we speak of the journey of spiritual unfoldment of the soul toward its divine source.  All souls walk this path, but not all are aware of it. Too many souls yet slumber in darkness, and their progress is very slow, and even imperceptible. They will have to reach a place where they become so disgusted with their misery and plight in life, that they will be forced to take action, to leave their current circumstances and take a new direction. This is quite often where the Prodigal Walk becomes a soul-searching journey for a greater Truth in Life.  This is where the soul begins its mystical ascension toward the Divine.