What Is Our Spiritual Self, and How Does It Relate To Our Human Self - Part 1

by Robert Wilkinson

Since many in our world are in radical transition, it may be useful to examine who we actually "are" compared to who we "think we are" across time, space, and experience. We know we are Spirits in the material world, but what is the relationship of Spirit to the body, feelings, and mind we believe we have?

I elaborated on some core principles on this subject a couple of years ago, and today I reprint them for your consideration. I've made a few edits to the original articles to make them more readable and explain a little more about key concepts.

Over the years many have asked me about the nature of human nature, i.e., what exactly is our "Spiritual Self," and how does our ego fit into the larger scheme of our evolution? While this could fill a hundred books or more (and has!), today we'll explore a brief overview of what's up with us on visible and invisible levels, and how we should view the various spiritual and human parts.

We are all Divine Sparks within a great Light/Lifewave of a Universal Consciousness that manifests as That which we call Spirit. Pure Spirit Itself is an aspect or element of what we call "God," or All-That-Is. Its nature, as far as we are able to describe that which is Omnipotent, Omniscient, and Omnipresent, is Power, Love-Wisdom, and Intelligence in Action.

It is Nothingness, Limitlessness, and Limitless Light all in One, forever and eternal. We can only know the aspect we call "Limitless Light." Limitless Light is the larger field within which our Inner Flame is sustained. Our Inner Flame is Eternal, Its growth is infinite, and its radiance never weakens. It is whole unto Itself, and is never separate from All-That-Is.

During its evolution through various views and experiences of Self-Realization, the Eternal Divine Spark that we ARE, the "I AM THAT I AM," is pulled by its own nature to manifest in different frequencies of form. These manifestations are a function of existence within the Divine Laws of Magnetic Attraction, Synthesis, and Economy of Energy.

This is part of being an Eternal Intelligence. Welcome to human-ness, itself but one of many forms we will experience throughout Eternity. There are many more subtle frequencies where intelligent life manifests than we suspect. Even the Solar Intelligence at the center of our solar system has a greater distant Sun to which it turns for light. This is the star Sirius, which holds the key to many ancient mysteries about where humanity came from and where our entire Solar System as an intelligent multi-dimensional awareness is evolving toward.

Anyway, back to how we get here. We are told by the ancient and venerable source material in "The Secret Doctrine," translated from two extraordinarily ancient Chronicles by HP Blavatsky, that ALL beings in this scheme of things, whether mineral, vegetable, animal, or cosmic substance, have 7 bodies, of which the physical is merely the densest. When our Eternal Self is moved to experience itself apart from All-That-Is, that Spark of Spirit that we ARE emanates and magnetizes chitta, or "Cosmic Substance," attracting to itself holographic forms of its nature both subtle and dense. We are One and yet we are also many.

The non-dual Spark we are has been called the Monad. It approximates a unique form of what I've heard termed "Our Father-Mother God in Heaven Which Is One Indivisible." We cannot know That directly, but we can know our unique experience of That.

When our Monad is moved to manifest, the emanation creates the higher subtle bodies and then the denser "lower" bodies. The frequencies of attraction move from the subtle, higher, purer forms to the denser and lower frequency forms, all of which exist simultaneously, much like a 7-toned evolving harmonic, or a 7-colored evolving vision.

The Upper Triad is composed of Atma (Spirit), Buddhi (Soul), and Manas (Pure Mind). These are mirrored holographically as a "lower Triad" of body, feelings, and ego-mind.

Atma(n) is pure Spirit, the Spark that ignites pure inspiration shining through the higher, subtle, refined feelings that are sensed and felt by the Soul. The Soul is the vehicle with which we experience pure Love on its own level. It is said that the Buddhic level of existence is where "Heaven," or "Devachan," exists. On Atmic and Buddhic levels there is still no experience of duality, since the pulse hasn't yet reached the Manasic level of Mind where duality exists. All duality begins in the mind.

Our Soul experiences only inspire Love. Our Soul is never confrontational and has no negative feelings. It is our higher or more subtle and refined "feeling vehicle" just as our Astral body is the more dense and unrefined feeling vehicle.

The Soul knows ONLY the highest feelings, and is never split from itself or Spirit. That's an impossibility given the nature of the human emanation, our 7 vehicles, and how we incarnate. No part of us is ever separate from anything else in the universe.

The Soul's function is to Love, its nature is Love, its expression is what we call compassion ("fellow-feeling"), connectedness, and is what infuses higher thoughts with love and united-ness. It is the vehicle of cohesive Love. There is no inner conflict on a Soul level. All conflict exists only on an egoic level, the level of duality.

The Soul does not recognize duality, as its nature is the pure undiluted experience of Love. The Soul can feel the sorrow of humanity as well as the suffering of sentient beings, but experiences only compassion arising from strength of heart and an unending experience of Love.

The next denser subtle body is the Higher Mind, which naturally finds its complement in the lower mind, or ego-mind. The Higher Mind is where our Higher Self exists, that part of us which has noble ideas and ideals it believes are the highest and best manifestations of our human self. Our Higher Self is receptive to, and seeks to express in various mentally constructed forms of, our Soul's compassion and Love infused and inspired by Atman.

Ego mind, on the other hand, is the shadow of the Higher Mind. Ego mind is separative and judgmental through the processes of sequence and selection comparisons. Ego mind is heavily influenced by the desire mind, which exists at the densest levels of the lower mental plane.

When our Monad attracts the substance of our Higher and lower Minds, duality is created in us. Pure Godhead knows no duality, but we experience duality as a result of our incarnated mind experiencing substantial reality.

There are many more things to explore along these lines, but for now please reflect on what I've written. Part 2 will explore how our Higher Triad relates to our ego, personality, and the other parts of our human experience.

© Copyright 2009, 2011 Robert Wilkinson

Comments

[Animesh Banerji]

Hi Robert!

You seem to be profoundly inspired by the Indian way of spiritualism. I can figure that part out for myself being an Indian. Now if that's the case, you must learn Vedic Astrology because you have already tried your hand successfully at Western Astrology. You will find the system amazingly accurate with unique sub-systems like Vimshottari Dasha, special aspects of outer planets, yogas, shad bala, dig bala and various house lords placements in different houses. One thing, the Vedic (sidereal) system considers the whole sign (rashi) as a house, the sign alignment is 24 degree (approx.) apart from Western constellations and it does not consider planets like Uranus, Neptune and Pluto but gives immense importance to the Lunar Nodes instead. You will surely find it spiritually enlightening.

Best Regards and GOD bless!

Animesh Banerji

[Claudia Lientz]

Thank you for this Robert! I'd often wondered of the primary source of your spiritual bent - ahh,Blavatsky's work, of course - which is not to in anyway minimize the vastness of your spiritual repertoire. I will go back and read "The Secret Doctrine" again with these older eyes.

A favor: Would you distinguish between feelings and emotions and their different sources?

Gratefully, Claudia

[Cris]

Dear Robert,

It is comforting to be reminded that we are never separated from the All there is that is always faithful even if we human can sometimes are not.

I saw on the net a comparison of the sizes of our major heavenly bodies compared to Sirius. It is so vast!!!

Thanks for the inspirations through the years since I found this website.

Divine blessings!