The Christ Journey takes us to
Probation, Illumination and Initiation. They in turn lead us to
the faculties of Inspiration, Imagination and Intuition. Thus
gifted, we can perform the ascent of the soul in full consciousness.
In this article we examine the Christ Journey with its 3 stages
and 10 steps. The 3 stages are the 3 pillars on the Tree of Life.
The 10 steps are the 10 spheres on the Tree. Let us look at this
in totality.
3 Stages
The abstract principles of the
spheres have been personified in order to give us an image to
act as a compass as we navigate the Tree. This activates the faculty
of Imagination and that gives us the clue for where to begin.
Let us commence with the left
pillar as the first stage because Imagination is the true Greatness
of humanity and is therefore found in sphere 8. This is personified
as Peter, the ‘rock’ upon which Christ built His Church. It took
great Imagination to see such a vision when Peter failed so badly,
by denying Christ three times just before the Crucifixion. Next
we go to sphere 5 and John the Baptist. It was his Illumination
that recognised the Son of God and his Power that performed the
Baptism. Sphere 3 completes this pillar with the Understanding
of Mary as the Mother of Sorrows. If she does not understand our
pain, who can? Thus the left pillar of Righteousness has the formula:
Righteousness = Greatness + Power
+ Understanding Þ Imagination/Illumination
Next we go to the right pillar
as the second stage, because it is the polar opposite of the left.
It is the Intuition of Mary Magdalene in sphere 7 that gives her
Victory. After all, the prostitute anoints the king and this is
the Victory of the feminine principle. John the Beloved in sphere
4 reveals the Glory of Christ’s love and His plan for our salvation.
Initiation is another way of explaining salvation and John the
Beloved is an obvious example of the result of Initiation. Finally
in sphere 2 we have the Wisdom of Joseph as the personified Father.
Little is seen or heard of Joseph and just like Our Father, he
must be experienced through the Son. The right pillar of Mercy
has the formula:
Mercy = Victory + Glory + Wisdom
Þ Intuition/Initiation
The third stage is the middle
pillar of Grace. We must all begin the Christ Journey as Probationers
and we must imitate Christ. He has a Virgin Birth into the Kingdom
but what does that mean for us? We need to emerge into the spiritual
life with a minimum standard of consciousness. How do we reach
that standard? Have you tried the 12 disciplines lately? The Foundation
of Christ’s mission is His Baptism because that is when He begins.
For us it is a higher level of consciousness. Next, His act of
Choice leads to His Transfiguration. In our lives Choice is the
factor that helps us to break out of the grip of implacable fate
by invoking the forgiveness of sins; truly, Goodness made manifest.
What follows is very unpleasant for our "feel good"
society. The Crucifixion leads to Death and Resurrection. This
is a deep mystery for us, but it is the ultimate Knowledge and
gives us the Inspiration to live as full human beings. Remember
that to be liberated, we must have every human experience. We
achieve that when we know. Finally, there
is the Ascension that for us means the full conscious union with
the First Principle just as for Christ it means full conscious
union with the Father. Truly, Grace is the result of this. The
formula for the middle pillar of Grace is:
Grace = Kingdom + Foundation +
Goodness + Knowledge + First Principle Þ
Probation/Inspiration
But there is something more isn’t
there? The pillar of Grace has an extra element when compared
with the left and right pillars. It has the non-sphere of Knowledge
and that is activated by the Crucifixion. This is the sacrificial
and voluntary Death and Resurrection without which Grace will
not flow. The Church teaches that we get Grace without deserving
it. Once more look at your life and ask whether Grace has flowed
to you without effort on your part. Our understanding points out
the obvious, that Knowledge is the activating principle that causes
Grace to flow into our lives. Why does it not happen easily? To
answer that question, ask yourself: have you put aside the self-gratification
of "feel good" and have you sought Crucifixion?
