Nature of the Soul
By Lucille Cedercrans
Lesson 5
In this lesson we are still considering the third inherent characteristic of the
Soul found manifesting in and through the perfected form.
Intelligent Activity manifests secondly as adaptability. The aspirant learns to
adapt himself to his environment and finally his environment slowly adjusts to
the Soul, and so Divine Law and Order reasserts itself; first within his
consciousness, then within his environment. Right relationship is the result. A
clue can be given the earnest student in the following words:
"Alone I stand upon the scales, and reaching out I bring into all relationships
that peculiar motion which results in balance".
Once again it would be wise to consider the world in which you live. It is in a
constant state of flux. That which today appears constant and unchanging, is
tomorrow a thing of the past, giving way to the new. All form is temporary, ever
passing, ever assuming new patterns, new pictures and these changing in the very
act of forming.
Consciousness grows through its ability to adapt to the changing conditions
about it. Contrary to average thought it is not resistance which produces
growth, but rather adaptation; that capacity which allows consciousness to lend
itself to a manifesting condition and to come through whole and unharmed. This
can be seen in war, in the case of bodily harm such as the removal of a limb,
etc., and any one of the manifesting conditions in the world of form. Even
though the consciousness may be unaware of this ability to adapt, it constantly
does so, and when that adaptation can be conscious we see rapid growth.
The aspirant, once he grasps this fact, realizes that while he as a personality
may have been resisting conditions within his environment, his consciousness has
been lending itself to them. Following this example the aspirant then stops
fighting and begins to cooperate with his consciousness. He enters into the
condition, but he does so in a detached manner, first as an observer, later as
an actor. This latter he does only after he is fully aware of his Soul purpose
for that particular incarnation.
He recognizes his first reactions of resistance as activity directed by the
personality and therefore relatively unintelligent. He withdraws the personality
from the field of action and enters it as the observer. He quietly enters into
his environment, seeing in it only good, and that environment slowly but surely
responds to the flow of positive energy exerted upon it.
Many volumes could be written anent this aspect of Intelligent Activity, but
until the aspirant can grasp this one concept and see the difference between
resistance and adaptation, they would be of no value to him. For this reason I
strongly urge each sincere student to meditate and reflect upon the meaning of
the concept, as a preparation for later lessons. This meditation and reflection,
if carried out over a period of one year, will provide a secure foundation from
which to proceed.
It would be to your advantage to keep a double ledger, one side a record of that
activity which can be noted as resistance, the other side a record of that
activity which can be noted as adaptation. Thus will your thinking be clarified.
The third manifestation of Intelligent Activity which we shall consider at this
time can be seen in the growing ability of the aspirant to engage in the art of
form building.
The aspirant learns to see all form as substance in controlled motion, created
to convey a purpose and result in a desired goal. The individual's own form is
then regarded as an instrument. Its purpose is eventually revealed and its goal
is seen. The qualities which that form has been specifically constructed to
portray are realized and the aspirant then sets out to build those forms which
will further the expression of the Soul. Several points should here be
remembered:
1. The form is Intelligent Activity made manifest.
2. All activity in manifestation takes form on one or many planes.
As an example, speech is one form the activity of thought takes as thought is
made manifest on the physical plane. Its purpose is communication or
relationship. Its goal is unity, or at-one-ment.
The aspirant observes all of his activities, noting the particular form each one
tends to take; recognizing as an example, the form his thought takes in speech.
He sees his own thought portrayed in speech, notes the quality of the thought
which is, after all, a form of higher expression; the clarity and the
desirability of the words used to portray that thought.
This brings him to the sudden realization that his intelligent activity has been
carried out in a rather hit-and-miss sort of way. He then sets out to put a
semblance of order into it.
1. He guards his speech, and in doing so, becomes more cognizant of his
thoughtlife. He becomes aware of the type, strength and quality of mental energy
with which he is constantly working, as well as his right or wrong use of it. He
learns the purpose of his mental aspect, recognizing it as an instrument of the
Soul, and at the same time as the body of cause for lower manifestations. He
sees it as an intermediary between a higher consciousness and a lower
consciousness, and not as the consciousness itself. It becomes to him then, what
it is in reality, a type of substance which receives electric impulse,
transposes that impulse into picture form in mental matter, and transmits the
picture form into physical manifestation via the use of sound. The word is made
flesh.
2. He disciplines his physical activity to conform to his mental picture of Soul
purpose. He recognizes that activity which is a response to the form side of
life and that which is a response to the Soul. He sees all past activity as
being either a vehicle of expression for the higher or the lower consciousness
and he learns that activity which blends or merges the two states of
consciousness into one. Right action is analogous to the marriage ceremony,
since it weds the two into one, and thus man becomes in awareness, a Living
Soul.
In later lessons you will receive specific instructions as to methods of
procedure in the art of form building. In the meantime, acquaint yourselves with
the overall concept, with the terminology, and apply your expanding knowledge in
your present activities.
See within each activity presented, an opportunity to express a Soul quality,
and seize that opportunity through right action. In meditation, hold yourselves
receptive to higher impulse and pour into your activities the energy of the
impulse received. In this manner you will expand and grow in cooperation with
the Law.