Soul to Spirit: The New Spiritual Psychology

TECHNIQUE OF INTEGRATION — Seven Rays

As I introduce the Seven Rays to you, I want to let you know that I am doing so at this juncture in the book for a specific reason. I am wanting to show you how each of the seven ray types express differently during the stage when Group Six individuals start the transition from being an Integrated Personality to starting on the spiritual path, which Bailey also calls the process of Individualization (when the individual can be seen as an Integrated Personality and has gotten to the point where the transition into becoming more conscious of the soul begins). Because Bailey’s own words are so important here, I will quote her extensively. To let you know, before you get to the list you will read essentially poetical phrases. Also, when you hear the words “The Blessed One” Bailey says it means the following: “What is called in the Eastern literature ‘the Blessed One’ refers to One who is perfectly expressing some ray quality through some chosen phenomenal appearance, which is assumed at will for purpose of service, but which in no way constitutes a limitation and in no way holds the Blessed One a prisoner, because His consciousness is in no way identified with the phenomenal appearance, nor with the quality it expresses” (Esoteric Psychology, Vol. II, p. 35).

As we go through these various quotes from Bailey, I also encourage you to view them in the three following ways that Bailey conveys. With each ray statement that we are going to share look for “the  major impulse, the native quality, and the technique of unfoldment” (Esoteric Psychology, Vol. II, p. 35). Also, unless you see a section that says LL Commentary, which indicates my own words I am inserting, everything you are reading here comes from (Esoteric Psychology, Vol. II, pp. 36 — 43). To give you a basic orientation to the Seven Rays I have put in the chart to the left. It gives you the main key word of each ray energy and the general personality type expressing. Please if you are not already familiar with the Seven Rays, review this first.

Another thing to understand about the seven rays is that idea that there are three major rays known as the Rays of Aspect. They are Ray One: Will & Power; Ray Two: Love & Wisdom; Ray Three: Active Intelligence. There are also four minor rays known as the Rays of Attribute. They are Ray Four: Harmony through Conflict; Ray Five: Science & Concrete Knowledge; Ray Six: Idealism & Devotion; Ray Seven: Ceremony & Law and Order. To let you know sometimes you will see slight variations on these names.

Ray One — Will & Power

 “The Blessed One flies like an arrow into matter. He destroys (or ruptures) the way by which he might return. He grounds himself deeply in the depths of form.

He asserts:  ‘I will return.  My power is great.  I will destroy all obstacles.  Nothing can stop my progress to my goal.  Around me lies that which I have destroyed.  What must I do?’

The answer comes:  ‘Order from chaos, O Pilgrim on the way of death, this is the way for you.  Love you must learn.  Dynamic will you have.  The right use of destruction for the furtherance of the Plan, must be the way for you.  Adherence to the rhythm of the planet will release the hidden Blessed One and order bring.'”

LL Commentary:  When the “Blessed One” (the One who perfectly expresses this ray quality) flies like an arrow into matter, it’s higher potential is buried. For this reason it’s qualities of will and power express first in a primitive way. Eventually at the Group Six Integrated Personality level, it’s power has reached its maximum potential, but it is acting in a selfish manner destroying all obstacles (people, etc) who stand in its way, or stops its progress from a separative personality level. Now, having reached the point of integration, or individualization, a new approach has to happen. Will and power must be used not for selfish and separative purposes that bring about chaos. Rather, these Ray One energies must be used to bring about order in accordance with the “Plan.” The Plan is that which serves the whole planet so to speak, bringing all aspects of life within it into order and adherence to the natural rhythms of life on the planet. Most importantly, this has to be done with love, and not just dynamic will. (Note: Enneagram Eight—The Leader or Challenger, is very similar to Ray One)

Ray One — Integrated Personality use leads to:

• Dynamic one-pointedness.
• Destructive energy.
• Power realised selfishly.
• Lovelessness.
• Isolation.
• A longing for power and authority.
• Desire to dominate.
• Expressed strength and self-will.

Ray One — Spiritual Path leads to:

• A dynamic use of energy for the furtherance of the Plan.
• The use of destructive forces in order to prepare the way for the Builders.
• The will to power in order to cooperate.
• Power realised as the major weapon of love.
• Identification with the rhythm of the Whole.
• The cessation of isolation.

Ray Two — Love & Wisdom

“The Blessed One built him an ark. Stage by stage he built it, and floated upon the bosom of the waters.  Deeply he hid himself, and his light was no more seen,—only his floating ark.

His voice was heard:  ‘l have built and strongly built, but am a prisoner within my building. My light is hidden. Only my word goes forth. Around me lie the waters.  Can I return from whence I came?  Is the word strong enough to open wide the door?  What shall I do?’

The answer came:  ‘Build now an ark translucent, which can reveal the light, O Builder of the ark.  And by that light you shall reveal the lighted way.  The power to build anew, the right use of the Word, and the using of the light,—these will release the Blessed One, deep hidden in the ark.'”

LL Commentary: Ray Two is directly connected with philosophy a word that literally means love (philios) of wisdom (sophia). The “ark” that Ray Two builds is a house, a form, or perhaps even a philosophy,  of how to live on the “waters” of life. Water can stand for many things, but frequently it represents emotions. It can also represent the waters of the entire Emotional Plane. It might also represent the “waters” of space and other things. Those who have this Ray Two energy love to come up with ideas of how to “live on the waters” of life. For example, they come up with ideas of how to handle our emotions, live within relationships, live together as a society, live as a “psyche” (a word that means soul), or learn to love one another, but too often these are just ideas. They are just words. The “Blessed One” is hidden. We do not see him (or her). Only the light. The ideas, books, YouTube videos of how to live is “floated” out their on the “waters” of the “airways” so to speak. But, the individual, or Integrated Personality, is not walking the talk, or practicing what he or she is preaching. The ideas, philosophies, he or she puts out there are not lived by the individual. Even when the person is talking about love, we don’t feel, or experience, the love energy. We only hear the words.

The classic problem of pretense, lies, hypocrisy that we see at the Group Six level is too often going on here. The relationship expert who can’t even keep his or her own relationship together. The guru who tells others how to live, but is overly caught up in addictions and emotional reactions. The philosopher who creates a huge system of how to be wise and love others, who personally in his or her own life doesn’t know how to embody hardly any of what is being taught. It is all theory. It is not lived experience. For this reason a “translucent ark” has to be built where we see the life of the person representing the philosophy, or what is being taught. It is not so much “my word” that goes forth, or all the ideas of the Integrated Personality that are never embodied, practiced, or lived (meaning they are all full of theory only). The Word goes forth, meaning the example, the life of the person, becomes the true teaching, the true philosophy, the true example. (Note: Enneagram Two—the Helper—is similar to Ray Two, only the Enneagram’s Helper is very extroverted and focused mainly on love. Ray Two can be both extroverted and introverted, focusing both on love and wisdom. Enneagram Nine — the Peacemaker — is a bit similar to Ray Two in using its love and wisdom energy to help create peace).

Ray Two — Integrated Personality use leads to:

• The power to build for selfish ends.
• Capacity to sense the Whole and to remain apart.
• The cultivation of a separative spirit.
• The hidden light.
• The realisation of selfish desire.
• Longing for material well-being.
• Selfishness, and subordination of all soul powers to this end,

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 Ray Two — Spiritual Path leads to:

• Building wisely, in relation to the Plan.
• Inclusiveness.
• A longing for wisdom and truth.
• Sensitivity to the Whole.
• Renunciation of the great heresy of separativeness.
• The revelation of the light.
• True illumination.
• Right speech through generated wisdom.

 

Ray Three — Intelligent Activity

“The Blessed One gathered force.  He hid himself behind a veil.  He rolled himself within that veil, and deeply hid his face.  Naught could be seen but that which veiled, and active motion.  Within the veil was latent thought.

The thought reached forth:  ‘Behind this veil of maya I stand, a Blessed One, but unrevealed.  My energy is great, and through my mind I can display the glory of divinity.  How can I, therefore, demonstrate this truth?  What shall I do?  I wander in illusion.’

The word went forth:  ‘All is illusion, O Dweller in the shadows.  Come forth into the light of day.  Display the hidden glory of the Blessed One, the glory of the One and Only.  The glory and the truth will rapidly destroy that which has veiled the truth.  The prisoner can go free.  The rending of the blinding veil, the clear pronouncing of the truth, and practice right will render to the Blessed One that golden thread which will provide release from all the maze of earth existence.'”

LL Commentary: Ray Three again is also known as the energy of Intelligent Activity. At the level of the Integrated Personality we can only imagine how that intelligence is used in selfish ways. Here is it not so much a matter of not practicing what one is preaching, rather there is a deliberate use of confusion, distortion, deception, lies, and manipulation to prevent others from seeing the truth or finding out what is really going on that is important.  That is why one is hidden behind a veil. The idea is to distract others from what one is really up to so that your face is hidden and “naught can be seen” in terms of what is really going on. We see that something is happening (“the active motion”), but we are not really sure what. There is distraction, subterfuge, misdirection to keep us from seeing the truth of things, instead of the lie. This imprisons us because when we are kept in the dark and do  not know the truth, we cannot live in a wise way. Part of the truth we are meant to discover is who we really are as spiritual Beings, to see the “glory of the One and Only.” Then the prisoner can go free because we can “practice right,” or live our lives in such a way we are no longer confused and lost in the “maze of earth existence.” Rather, we follow the “golden thread” that can help us know and become the Truth of who we really are. (Note: Enneagram Three—the Achiever—is most like Ray Three in that like Ray Three the Achiever manipulates others for selfish ends at first).

Ray Three — Integrated Personality use leads to:

• Force manipulation through selfish desire.
• Intelligent use of force with wrong motive.
• Intense material and mental activity.
• The realisation of energy as an end in itself.
• Longing for glory, beauty and for material objectives.
• Submergence in illusion, glamour, and maya,

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 Ray Three — Spiritual Path leads to:

• The manipulation of energy in order to reveal beauty and truth.
• The use of forces intelligently for the furtherance of the Plan.
• Ordered rhythmic activity in cooperation with the Whole.
• Desire for right revelation of divinity and light.
• Adherence to right action.
• The revelation of glory and good will.

Ray Four — Harmony, Beauty, Art  

“The Blessed One rushed forth to combat. He saw existence as two warring forces, and fought them both. Loaded with the panoply of war, he stood midway, looking two ways. The clash of battle, the many weapons he had learned to use, the longing not to fight, the thrill of finding those he fought were but brothers and himself, the anguish of defeat, the paean of his victory,—these held him down.

The Blessed One paused and questioned:  ‘Whence come the victory and whence defeat?  Am I not the Blessed One Himself?  I will invoke the angels to my aid.’

The trumpet sound went forth: ‘Rise up and fight, and reconcile the armies of the Lord. There is no battle. Force the conflict to subside; send for the invocation for the peace of all; form out of two, one army of the Lord; let victory crown the efforts of the Blessed One by harmonising all.  Peace lies behind the warring energies.'”

LL Commentary:  Though Ray Four is sometimes called the Ray of Harmony, Beauty and Art, Alice Bailey states that this ray “is not the ray, per se, of the creative artist. The creative artist is found equally on all rays, without exception. This ray is the ray of the intuition and of the harmonising of all that has been achieved through the activity of form life, as later synthesised and absorbed by the solar angel” [and later she goes on to say by the One Life or Monad] (Esoteric Psychology, Vol. II, p. 41—42). In other words, at its highest level it is the ability to come up with solutions to our problems that leap beyond polarized ways of thinking. Before this happens the Ray Four Integrated Personality tends to go to war, by taking one side only, or pitting both sides against each other. As the angels [beings that represent the intuitional planes and beyond] are invoked the “army of the Lord” comes forth and reveals how to view both sides (positions or points of view) simultaneously. Once each side is clearly seen and understood a resolution that encompasses both points of view emerges. A way to go beyond the battle is seen allowing the conflict to subside, as the intuition is used to help the two become One. (Note: Enneagram Four—the Individualist—is like an introverted Ray Four who is always agonizing, or warring, back and forth with different emotional states. Enneagram Nine — the Peacemaker — is like Ray Four in terms of the ability to make peace out of two warring sides. However, Ray Four typically is much more of a fighter than Enneagram Nine tends to be, especially since Enneagram Nine tends to collapse, give in, and avoid a fight until it evolves to higher levels of functioning).

Ray Four — Integrated Personality use leads to:

• Confused combat.
• The realisation of that which is high and that which is low.
• The darkness which precedes form expression.
• The veiling of the intuition.
• The sensing of inharmony, and cooperation with the part and not the whole.
• Identification with humanity, the fourth Creative Hierarchy.
• Undue recognition of that which is produced by speech.
• Abnormal sensitivity to that which is the Not Self.
• Constant points of crisis,

 Ray Four — Spiritual Path leads to:

• Unity and harmony.
• The evocation of the intuition.
• Right judgment and pure reason.
• The wisdom which works through the Angel of the Presence.

 

Ray Five — Concrete Knowledge & Science

“The Blessed One came forth in ignorance. He wandered in a darkness deep of spirit.  He saw no reason for this way of life.  He sought among the many threads that weave the outer garment of the Lord, and found the many ways there be, leading to the centre of the web eternal. The forms that weave that web hide the divine reality. He lost himself.  Fear entered in.

He asked himself:  ‘Another pattern must be woven; another garment formed.  What shall I do?  Shew me another way to weave.’

The Word for him came forth in triple form.  His mind responded to the vision clear evoked:—’The truth lies hidden in the unknown Way. The Angel of the Presence guards that Way.  The mind reveals the Angel and the door.  Stand in that Presence.  Lift up thine eyes.  Enter through that golden door.  Thus will the Angel, who is the shadow of the Blessed One, reveal the open door.  That Angel too must disappear.  The Blessed One remains and passes through that door into the light sublime.'”

LL Commentary: Here we see the Blessed One lost in the world of matter and materialism (represented by the darkness deep of spirit).  The outer garment of the Lord is also a symbol of material substance and the material world. At some point we are being told the 5th Ray type of Integrated Personality starts to feel lost in this material viewpoint and fear enters in. Perhaps this is like an existential crisis where the person begins to wonder if the material universe is all there is. Then we see a new motivation to weave a new pattern and garment. This one is anchored more in truth and guarded by the Angel of the Presence. At some point the mind reveals the Angel (symbolic here of invisible worlds), who opens the door to even more invisible realms. Eventually, that Angel disappears and the Blessed One is no longer wandering in the darkness of Spirit, but in light sublime.

Ray Five — Integrated Personality use leads to:

• The energy of ignorance.
• Criticism.
• The power to rationalise and destroy.
• Mental separation.
• Desire for knowledge.  This leads to material activity.
• Detailed analysis.
• Intense materialism and temporarily the negation of Deity.
• Intensification of the power to isolate.
• The implications of wrong emphasis.
• Distorted views of truth.
• Mental devotion to form and form activity.
• Theology,

Ray Five — Spiritual Path leads to:

• A knowledge of reality.
• The realisation of the soul and its potentialities.
• Power to recognize and contact the Angel of the Presence.
• Sensitivity to Deity, to light and to wisdom.
• Spiritual and mental devotion.
• The power to take initiation.  (This is a point of real importance.)

Ray Six — Devotion & Idealism

“The Blessed One caught the vision of the Way, and followed the Way without discretion.  Fury characterised his efforts.  The way led down into the world of dual life.  Between the pairs of opposites, he took his stand, and as he swung pendent between them, fleeting glimpses of the goal shone forth.  He swung in mid-heaven. He sought to swing into that radiant place of light, where stood the door upon the higher Way. But ever he swung between the pairs of opposites.

He spoke at last within himself:  ‘I cannot seem to find the Way.  I try this way, and tread with force that way, and always with the keenest wish.  I try all ways.  What shall I do to find The Way?

A cry went forth.  It seemed to come from deep within his heart:  ‘Tread thou, O Pilgrim on the Way of sensuous life, the middle, lighted way.  It passes straight between the dual worlds.  Find thou that narrow, middle way.  It leads you to your goal.  Seek that perceptive steadiness which leads to proved endurance.  Adherence to the chosen Way, and ignoring of the pairs of opposites, will bring this Blessed One upon the lighted way into the joy of proved success.'”

LL Commentary: Here we find the sense of dualism (dual life) so characteristic of this type of person. God is there and I am here. With passion and even violence the Integrated Personality seeks the truth (or Way) and cannot see the larger perspective as the Soul sees it. Eventually, after pursuing many “Ways” to find the truth, the middle way is found leading to nondual vs dual perception and understanding. Getting to this nondual realm requires steadiness and endurance, but eventually success and the joy discovered from that success is proved.

Ray Six — Integrated Personality use leads to:

• Violence.  Fanaticism.  Willful adherence to an ideal.
• Short sighted blindness.
• Militarism and a tendency to make trouble with others and with groups.
• The power to see no point except one’s own.
• Suspicion of people’s motives.
• Rapid reaction to glamour and illusion.
• Emotional devotion and bewildered idealism.
• Vibratory activity between the pairs of opposites.
• Intense capacity to be personal and emphasise personalities,

 Ray Six — Spiritual Path leads to:

• Directed, inclusive idealism.
• Steadiness of perception through the expansion of consciousness.
• Reaction to, and sympathy with, the point of view of others.
• Willingness to see the work of other people progress along their chosen lines.
• The choosing of the middle way.
• Peace and not war.
• The good of the Whole and not the part.

Ray Seven — Ceremonial Order of Magic

“The Blessed One sought the pathway into forms but held with firmness to the hand of the Magician.  He sought to reconcile the Pilgrim, who was himself, to life in form. He sought to bring the world of disorder in which he found himself into some kind of order. He wandered far into the deepest depths and became immersed in chaos and disorder. He could not understand, yet still held to the hand of the Magician.  He sought to bring about that order that his soul craved.  He talked with all he met, but his bewilderment increased.

To the Magician thus he spoke:  ‘The ways of the Creator must be good.  Behind all that which seems to be, must be a Plan. Teach me the purpose of it all.  How can I work, immersed in deepest matter? Tell me the thing that I must do?’

The Magician said:  ‘Listen, O Worker in the furthest world, to the rhythm of the times. Note the pulsation in the heart of that which is divine. Retire into the silence and attune yourself unto the whole. Then venture forth. Establish the right rhythm; bring order to the forms of life which must express the Plan of Deity.’ For this Blessed One release is found in work.  He must display his knowledge of the Plan by the sounding of those words which will evoke the Builders of the forms and thus create the new.”

LL Commentary: To begin with the words magic and magician here are in some ways unfortunate because they do not really convey what the Seventh Ray is about. If we remember that these books were written nearly 100 years ago, long before science and technology boomed and made magic seem trite, it will help us be a little more forgiving. Magic then, as it is intended in the Alice Bailey books is essentially the ability to make that which is unseen, manifest, or seen. To put it another way it is the ability to coordinate, organize, produce (or manifest) effectively and efficiently as if by “magic” to get certain specified results. Often to get these kind of results repetition or patterning is required. To put it another way routines may have to be established that you order your life around. Or, when building or constructing something you may have to do repetitive tasks to get things ordered and constructed in the right way.

These results can be small or large enough to organize large masses of people. On a small scale it may involve getting into physical shape. By going to the gym to work out every day, and eating certain foods at the same time of day, you may help to establish a new rhythm, a new order, on your body so that it will conform to that new rhythm or order and produce the results you want. On a larger scale the Olympics would in many ways be considered the work of a “magician”, because to pull off such a massive scale effort, with people from all over the planet participating together in an ordered and cooperative way, would indeed be considered “magical.” So, if we can just push aside the notion of Harry Potter flying around, or Gandalf from the Lord of the Rings casting spells, we can understand the text better. As we see the main thrust of the Seventh Ray is to bring order out of disorder. For many people, especially until they become Integrated Personalities, their lives are full of disorder or chaos. By establishing order, rhythms, or “habit patterns” we help to bring order to our lives. Then things run more smoothly. But, for the Integrated Personality the order they create is to help them achieve what they want from a separative and selfish point of view. It is not in accord with the “Plan” of that which is Divine, or for the good of all, and not just oneself.

Now, as we come to the idea of “the Plan” we are told that they will build that which is new. They will also bring about an order that is not of a selfish nature, but a selfless and increasingly inclusive one. The Plan in many respects is that which brings about higher and higher levels of order that are not separative and repressive, but bring about a greater sense of freedom, inclusion, and spaciousness. Higher orders include lower orders and yet they also transcend them. Again the Olympics are a good example of this. They involve ceremonies that bring about “order” in that they include large groups of people from all different cultures all over the world ideally to bring about greater inclusivity and understanding of each other. This is what the Seventh Ray is really about. Remaining clear about this will help you avoid confusion and distortion.

 

  Ray Seven — Integrated Personality use leads to:

• Black magic, or the use of magical powers for selfish ends.
• The power to “sit upon the fence” till the selfish values emerge.
• Disorder and chaos, through misunderstanding of the Plan.
• The wrong use of speech to bring about chosen objectives.
• Untruth.
• Sex magic.  The selfish perversion of soul powers.

Ray Seven — Spiritual Path leads to:

• White magic, the use of soul powers for spiritual ends.
• The identification of oneself with reality.
• Right order through right magic.
• Power to cooperate with the Whole.
• Understanding of the Plan.
• The magical work of interpretation.
• Manifestation of divinity.