Bliss of Union

Our highest purpose on the earth, and within our earthly vehicles, is the merging and melding of the human nature with the One True Divine Source. In fact, we have undertaken numerous incarnations only because of the soul's passion and desire for this realization. The goal of union with the Divine Self while in human form is the only goal, and everyone will eventually attain it. 

Humanity is to a large degree, a work in the earliest stages of progress. Yet, as a race, over time, we have been honored and blessed by the presence of beings who have attained the pinnacle, and came forth to teach us the way. These accomplished teachers, the Adepts and Masters, are not rare exceptions among humans as they are often portrayed by dualistic religious systems. Rather, they are EXAMPLES of what we are truly meant to be. Because of their appearance among humanity from time to time, we have been enabled to see and believe in what we all truly are.

The ways to absolute divine union are many and varied. Most seekers after the Light have experienced this state of consciousness, even if it was only for a moment. While the experience of mystical union can occur spontaneously, there are also many useful practices and disciplines that can induce this state. The great Adepts and their disciples have outlined and preserved these methods through many initiatory lineages. It is our deep internal knowing of the potential for union that motivates us to continue to seek its fuller expression. Thus we ultimately align ourselves with a particular school or tradition of spiritual evolution to aid our progression toward the goal.

Remembering always that the path is simply the path and not the goal, we are empowered to increase our awareness of the divine within as we study and practice in ways that appeal to the heart and soul of our being. Because we have attained much knowledge of spiritual awakening over many lifetimes, we may now find ourselves drawn toward traditions and teachings that have long been held in secret by the initiatory brotherhoods. Indeed, many people will now come into these ancient lineages as a reunion with their soul group, and a continuation of the soul's education and expansion along familiar lines.

In modern times, responsibility for the preservation and presentation of techniques for enlightened union, and for the transmission of initiatory currents of force, has been given to the western mystery schools. This follows a period of two thousand years, during which this responsibility rested upon the eastern initiatory orders. Thus the methods, teachings, and practices that lead to mergence with the divine, which are taught within the western traditions, are very different from their eastern counterparts.  But remember - the goal is always the same.

During the period when the eastern orders held the primary responsibility for the teachings, the western orders endured concerted attacks designed to drive them into extinction. This time was then followed by a powerful resurgence of the ancient truths of the west. For, these sacred disciplines can never be destroyed or eliminated by any human agency no matter how much effort is applied toward that end. It is indeed because of the tremendous power and effectiveness of the western methods that organized religious systems have felt threatened by their presence. However, due to the extraordinary strength of the western initiatory currents, the initiatory orders and schools, and their sacred teachings could never be completely annihilated.

The core truth that the human is actually a divine being waiting to awaken to this truth is at the heart of the western schools. This awakening is brought about through conscious use and expansion of the One power, which is Love. Love motivates, creates, animates, and permeates all aspects of enlightened life. From the beginning practices of love for one's fellow aspirants, through the mystical techniques of awakening and elevating the Life-Force within, to the advanced alchemical experiences of sacred union, the initiate continuously expands his/her capacity for, and radiant expression of Love. 

Love is all encompassing. It is felt as a tangible vibration on all levels of being - emotional, physical, mental, spiritual, and etheric. When it is expanded and expressing on the emotional level, the result is a powerful feeling of giving and nurturing that radiates outward toward everyone.  Although at first, emotional love is limited to one's own family, friends, and lover, when it is fully fused with spirit it is expressed as intensely with strangers as with intimates. No one can mistake the powerful feelings of emotional love. Through the beginning practices of self-awareness and purification of the emotional nature, the aspirant learns to open up and un-limit this level of love - to view all humans equally with the heart of love.

Mental love may sound contradictory, yet, when the intellect becomes illuminated by love's radiance, one's deeply held concepts and beliefs release all limits, and ideas of divine love are born. We become what we hold in mind. The sacred teachings and ancient knowledge give the mind inspirational hints about the possibilities of divine love, and of the reality of divine life. The mind is thus inflamed with a greater vision, and with information and concepts about the potential to express divine union on earth. The enlightened mind is a powerful creative force that is the love of the Spirit expressed in the world of concepts, systems, and discernment. 

When the aspirant is ready to consider the infusion of divine love into the physical body itself, practices that lead to complete inner union are undertaken. As one becomes adept at activating, raising and maintaining the life-force from the lower chakras into the heart, higher vibrations come into expression through the physical body. In alchemy, this force (called Kundalini in the east) is raised over and over again, internalizing, elevating and directing the desire nature toward Divine Self who is the true beloved. 

The recognition of the physical body as an instrument of the divine is attained through specific physical purification processes and practices.  These disciplines include dietary measures such as vegetarianism, fasting, detoxification, and increased use of living foods and juices. However, the western traditions view sexual expression far differently from the eastern schools. Although a period of celibacy is considered beneficial while one is working on elevation of the life-force, this restraint is seldom taken to the extreme of ongoing continence, and is only a passing phase in the process of divine realization. The highest attainments in the western system take place through the union of an enlightened couple, rather than within the celibate continent aspirant as in the eastern traditions. 

In the esoteric teachings of the west, the sensations of the physical body are viewed as mechanisms for experiencing divine vibration. Rather than restraining the sensory aspects of the body as is done in most eastern traditions, the western aspirant seeks increased stimulation of the senses, while directing and surrendering the resulting vibration to the higher self. Among the senses, the sense of touch is superior, and it is the avenue through which divine vibration is experienced in its fullest measure. In order to attain the state of true and total divine consciousness in physical form, one must come together in sacred union with a spiritual partner. 

The spiritual and etheric levels of divinity cannot be thought about, spoken of, or experienced separate from the physical body. These high levels of consciousness can only be gained through conscious use of the life-force energy to permeate the body with the divine essence. Obviously, these practices require a strong desire nature. Once again, this principle of western esotericism is vastly different from the eastern teachings, which often direct the aspirant to kill all desire. In the western mystical tradition, the desire body is the key to divine life. Without desire, creation would not occur on any level.

Ultimately, through the higher practices of alchemical union, a variety of spiritual essences may be brought through into the physical body, and into the earth itself. During sacred union, a couple may experience dissolution of the physical body, and the descent of the divine body of light. Herein is the key to divine enlightened life. For when we have gone beyond the physical while we appear to remain in physical form, we have attained the miraculous event known as ascension. From this point forward the physical body may be dissolved and re-created at will. Only through union with a like-minded practitioner, a sacred lover, a partner in the bridal chamber of the soul, can we experience our ultimate birthright as divine beings.

The bliss of divine union occurs in many ways along the journey home to the True Self. It touches every level of our being. It changes everything it touches. It is eternal, transcendent, and powerful. Divine bliss illuminates all shadows, comforts all sorrows, and brings us into the heart of God/dess. It is that spontaneous, ecstatic experience for which the mystic longs and prays. It is the expression of divine radiance that accomplished western occultists command at will. 

I am honored to end the teaching this month by sharing with you a beautiful poem that I received as an inner teaching from the beloved Master Mother Mary. May it inspire your soul to the height, which is its true home.

Many blessings in the Light that is Love, Chavah Aima