Soul to Spirit: The New Spiritual Psychology

At last we begin the process of going up the subplanes of each plane in the Bailey model. This chapter begins to explain the Physical Plane overall and then gives more details regarding the 7th and 6th subplanes of the Physical Plane.

NOTE: This book is now in the process of being edited. Once it is completely edited it will no longer be free online. As of 4/4/20 this chapter has been edited. 

Having gotten a basic understanding of the various terms Bailey uses, at last we can begin the process of attempting to explain in more detail what each level or plane of the Bailey model means in the way of human development. Beginning with the Physical Plane, I will go up subplane by subplane attempting to reveal what states of consciousness may apply at each subplane (or sub-level). On the Physical Plane this is not very hard to do because all of us exist in physical bodies and are accustomed to viewing the world through the means of our five senses. Because most people identify themselves with their physical bodies, they also find it difficult to perceive that they are more than a physical being, which is one of the reasons death might be frightening for them. For starters here is the Bailey model again that we explained in earlier chapters of this The Spiritual Human book.

Looking in more detail at the Physical Plane level itself and the seven different subplanes, or sub-levels, listed there we can see on the chart below three words connected to the three lowest subplanes: Dense, Liquid and Gaseous.

Then you see a dotted line and above that line the sub-planes are considered more “etheric” in nature and are labeled as the Fourth, Third, Second and First Ethers. You will see that to the left on the chart they are also listed as the Etheric, Super-Etheric, Sub-Atomic, and Atomic subplanes.

The etheric planes are similar to what is known as the vital or energy body. These levels bring vitality or energy into the physical body. Sometimes that vitality is also know as chi or prana. When we can keep the physical body (made up of the gaseous, liquid, and dense levels) full of vitality, energy, radiance and magnetism, we can keep the physical body in better shape for longer.

To let you know what most people observe when they claim to see an aura, is actually just the radiation of this vitality or energy body. Even the colors they see may only be reflecting what is going on in the energy body, and not what is happening in regards to how much the individual demonstrates higher levels of consciousness. As we gain more mastery of this vital body its radiance expands to the higher etheric levels, making people highly “magnetic” to other people, for better or worse, depending on their overall level of consciousness.

As for the triangle that you see in the chart it is a reflection of all the triangles that exist in the other planes above it. As mentioned in the chapter The Problem With Levels, these levels are not really stacked neatly on top of each other. That is why we see these dotted lines connecting the various triangles together to imply that all the levels, or planes, interpenetrate and intersect. Around the triangle you will see various initials highlighted in various colors. If you look to the lower left end of the chart, you will see that these letters indicate various chakras. On Bailey’s main chart then the attempt is to show how the energies from these various levels flow into each of the chakras located on the various planes and intersect with each other. Notice also that the flow into the chakras only takes place in the top four sub-planes of each plane. The reason they are only on the top four sub-planes is because we are talking about the chakras which are etheric.

For those who may not know the chakras are considered to be “wheels” or vortices of etheric energy that interpenetrate the glands and organs of the physical body. That is the main reason you see them all listed above the dotted line, because these centers, or chakras, exist within the etheric, super-etheric, sub-atomic, and atomic levels.

The last thing you see on the chart above listed in blue are the words Physical Permanent Atom right next to a small circle on the top level of the Physical Etheric Plane (the Atomic level also known as the First Ether). This represents one of thee “permanent atoms” that are comprised of a Mental Permanent Atom, an Emotional Permanent Atom, and a Physical Permanent Atom. The idea behind the permanent atoms is that after any human life the sum total of the mental, emotional and physical experiences are “summed” up, so to speak, and “stored” within these permanent atoms to be carried on to the next life.

Perhaps another way to see these atoms is analogous to seeing them as the DNA code. The tone, color, and qualities are stored within these atoms and are said to later set the tone, predisposition, or “code” for the reincarnated life to come. Since I have just mentioned the word reincarnation, I should make it clear that the Bailey model asserts reincarnation to be a fact. Having said this, I should stress that how most people perceive reincarnation is too simplistic. In fact, in the Bailey model we discover that she asserts that both reincarnation and resurrection occur. (For a better understanding of different views of death and how Bailey’s model includes them both watch Death: An Overview). Since this chapter is not meant to discuss Bailey’s views on reincarnation, just simply get the idea of how the permanent atoms store the essential “lessons” of each life so to speak.

Next we will consider the chart of the colors that I have assigned to these subplanes. To let you know the colors were all assigned by me and may or may not represent a correct interpretation of what really goes on here. What I was attempting to illustrate was how we go from a denser and heavier physical body, where the glands, organs, brain and nervous system will be less receptive to higher levels of consciousness, to a lighter one depending on how much that person has more “etheric matter” in their vital and physical bodies. A person with etheric matter of the higher levels we might also assume would radiate more light, seem more ethereal and be less physically dense in nature. That is one reason I have assigned dark and dense colors at the bottom (deliberately picking the color known as “prune” on the color wheel because I found the name amusing), and the lighter colors such as Blush and Sky Magenta at the top.

Also a warning. Darker colors do not intend to imply that because one has a darker skin tone she/he is less evolved, or that someone with a lighter skin tone is more evolved. Skin tone in humans is simply dependent upon whether you live in a hot or cold region of the planet and need more or less melanin in your skin. What I am implying is that if we could see auras we would begin to see the light or lack of light within an individual regardless of what the outer skin tone is. In fact, that “light” is what often makes us feel attracted to individuals, or what makes us feel they are attractive. We sense that vitality, which is often associated with youth, but can be found even in persons who much older if they have learned to maintain a certain quotient of energy from the higher physical ethers in their bodies.

I also tried to show how we could begin to perceive the different levels of consciousness in a person when I was talking about how people in general contain many levels (planes and subplanes) all at once within their system. Keeping this in mind we have to understand that someone could be very refined at a Physical and Etheric level, but not be as refined or conscious on the other levels. For example, athletes or dancers could be very refined physically because much of their conscious attention is spent on maintaining the vitality, strength, flexibility, health and looks of the physical and etheric bodies. But, that does not mean the person is very spiritual. That is why caution is advised as we are still a long ways away truly being able to read the aura, or spiritual evolution, of any person in an accurate way, a point we will visit again shortly.

Now that you have more understanding of the Physical Plane overall, let’s begin to go into the specifics of the Physical Plane subplanes. We will start in this chapter with the bottom two subplanes. Also, to let you know in this book I use the word 7th subplane for the lowest level of every plane found at the bottom.  And, I use the word 1st subplane for the highest level of every plane found at the top.

7th SUB-PLANE PHYSICAL PLANE

As we take a closer look at Bailey’s model we will see that this subplane has some additional words associated with it. For starters this is considered the densest part of the Physical Plane and represents the densest part of any physical body. Our bones, muscular system, and organs are represented here. In Bailey’s model we see her associating the alta major center with this lowest level as well. The alta major center is said to be connected to the medulla oblongata, which is thought to be one of the oldest parts of the human brain. Esoterically, this is where the ancient layers of early human consciousness are said to reside that first ensured the survival of the physical body and helped us to find our way in the physical dense world. In many systems outside of the Bailey model (such as the Tibetan Book of the Dead), the dense levels are correlated with the element of Earth. One reason I gave this subplane the color Prune is because it is reddish brown, or earthy in color. I also found it amusing because the name Prune is a word many people use when they talk about how the physical body looks at the end of life when a person is withdrawing from the body and becomes less “dense.”

Some years ago, I created a video series on death. For a time you can view the video titled Death and the Physical Plane on this website. I drew my findings in the video from what is frequently observed by hospice workers. Then I correlated these findings with what is taught in the Tibetan Book of the Dead and the Bailey model. When we are young, and have a healthy physical body (as shown in the picture of the young woman here to the left), we can see how much  “denser” we look physically. For example, she appears to have stronger bones, thicker skin, more solid teeth and greater muscle mass. As we age, especially between 60 to 90 or beyond, our teeth, bones, skin and muscle mass get more frail precisely because there is a withdrawal of energy from this lower 7th level of the Physical Plane making us seem less dense physically.

Regarding trying to assess the quality of conscious vibration someone may have in regards to this level here are some theories. To begin with all humans are born with a certain quotient of “dense 7th subplane” physical well-being. For the most part our dense physical bodies run on automatic. If we are lucky enough to be born into a family that is fairly conscious about good dense physical body habits, then we will learn early on how to eat, exercise and care for the dense physical body in a healthy way. If we are not born into families or cultures with good habits in regards to the dense physical body, then as we age these negative habits will greatly hinder our capacity to keep our dense physical bodies (including our brains and glands) in good shape. That may in turn prevent us from being able bring through higher levels of consciousness. For this reason it may be necessary at some point in our lives to unlearn negative “dense 7th subplane” physical habits and consciously build in new ones to help us spiritually evolve.

Along these lines, we may see that as people age they put too much attention on this “dense 7th subplane” physical level through an obsession with maintaining the youthful appearance of the dense physical body. Though there is nothing wrong with the proper amount of attention and care given to the dense physical body, too much focus on it creates an imbalance. People who put too much emphasis on the physical body may start to look artificial to us physically, perhaps because we sense that the focus on the physical body has become too obsessive or “dense.” A similar dynamic may be taking place when we come across people who are considered to have a beautiful physical appearance who seem phony to us. Maybe we just sense that their consciousness is becoming too locked into these lower physical levels.

On the flip side we may encounter people who do not appear to be very conscious in their ability to care for their dense physical bodies. This may be because they are truly neglectful due to a  level of unconsciousness and disregard for the physical form. Or, it may be because these people are just not as concerned about their dense physical bodies because they are attempting to keep their consciousness focused on higher spiritual levels. Or, we may run into those who have been born with certain physical liabilities causing us to prematurely judge them as being too “dense” and unspiritual when the opposite may be the case. For example, below are photos of Nick Vujiac, a motivational Christian speaker who was born without limbs, and Saint Mother Teresa who cared little about her outer appearance because she was more concerned with helping the poor. What we see again is how we have to be very careful about making judgments based on the appearance of an outer physical form.

Nick Vujuic – Christian motivational speaker

Mother Teresa

6th SUB-PLANE OF THE PHYSICAL PLANE

The next subplane of the Physical Plane is connected to liquid, the pituitary body, and in the Tibetan Book of the Dead to the element of water. This 6th subplane of the Physical Plane is very much connected then with the fluids that exist within the physical body including  the blood and the fluids connected with the glands and the lymph system. Blood, the lymph system and especially the thymus gland all help with immunity to disease when they are in a healthy state. One of the things that keeps these bodily systems healthy is in turn making sure we have positive emotions and a strong support system with people who love and care about us. To facilitate those positive connections with others we need to learn to express our emotions in a healthier way. That leads us back to the fact that water is frequently connected to the Emotional Plane in the Bailey model giving us a clue as to why liquid, or water, is associated also with the 6th subplane of the Emotional Plane.

Bailey’s chart also shows how the pituitary body (or gland really) is connected to this 6th subplane of the Physical Plane. The pituitary gland helps organize and coordinate most of the major systems of the rest of the body. That is one reason some call it the “master gland.” Symbolically the pituitary gland is connected in the Bailey model to the ajna center (or chakra), which helps the individual live a coordinated life first as what she calls an Integrated Personality (using the five senses to navigate and be successful in the external world). Later it helps the individual be what she calls a Soul-infused Personality, which is a person able to go beyond the realm of the five senses as they navigate the inner spiritual worlds more effectively.

Tying all of this in with the association with liquids, or water, we again discover that people are rarely effective in the outer world if they do not have strong support systems, and are organized enough that they can use their talents and skills effectively to help themselves, and if they are spiritually minded, others as well. And, we are reminded that people who tend to be too chaotic emotionally (giving into anger, fear, depression, mania, confusion, pride to name just a few negative emotions), tend to sabotage their capacity to develop and contribute their gifts. Their immune systems likewise tend to go down, their ability to coordinate their lives so they can be powerful and effective deteriorates, and we might even say that they cut off access to the higher spiritual planes causing this subplane of the physical plane to get too “saturated” or “heavy.” The end result will be either that they become emotionally blunted giving them access to only primitive emotional states. Or, they may go the other way and become too emotionally detached and withdrawn.

The process of detachment and withdrawal from this 6th subplane of the Physical Plane is something people go through when they age or get close to death. Medical professionals will tell you that the body at this point increasingly loses its coordinating capacity. For example, it is common to lose control of the bodily fluids as people become incontinent and dribble and drool. This mirrors the process of when we are babies and have to learn to coordinate our bodies by teaching ourselves to drink fluids on our own without drooling. Later as toddlers we gain control of other fluids by learning to go to the bathroom on our own. We could say that this represents a recapitulation process of mastering the 6th subplane of the Physical Plane as we come into incarnation. But, as people age they go through the reverse process losing their connection to this liquid subplane. The fluid loss is first seen in the thinning of the skin due to collagen loss. The skin no longer looks “full of fluid” making the skin subject to spotting  and even tearing. Finally, the closer we come to actual death, the tongue and lips can thicken making the capacity to take in fluids more and more difficult. Swallowing can become hard and we may even have to be fed fluids through the mouth or intravenously.

According to the Tibetan Book of the Dead, people at this phase of the dying process are said to view the world more and more in a watery way. They claim that dying people start to see the world like a haze or a fog. People can even become confused as to whether they exist in the Physical Plane, because more and more the physical world looks like a hazy dream to them. This may be a sign that they are starting to shift their everyday consciousness out of this 6th subplane of the Physical Plane and retreat more into the Emotional Plane (or Astral Plane), which is often said to be more dreamlike with greater fluidity and plasticity than the Physical Plane has. As a final note, when I made the correspondence of this 6th subplane of the Physical Plane to the Emotional Plane, it is because in Bailey’s system the Emotional Plane is the 6th Plane out of her seven. In her system we are told that each subplane on every plane is said to be correspond to one of the major seven planes in her overall system. For example, the gaseous level of the 5th subplane of the Physical Plane is connected with the 5th Mental Plane. The 4th subplane of the Physical Plane is connected with the 4th Buddhic Plane and so forth. In the coming chapters we will continue to apply this “Law of Correspondences” as Bailey calls it, to help us understand what the other subplanes of the Physical Plane may be like.

• Chapter Thirteen: The Physical Plane, Part Two
• Chapter Thirteen: The Physical Plane, Part Three

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