A gem cutter’s art lies in revealing the beauty hidden within a crystal. Beginning with the cleaving blow to the stone, followed by cut after cut, the gem cutter gradually releases into full expression the inner beauty imprisoned within the larger stone.

The soul, the quality aspect, of the human being emerges into active expression in a similar manner. Just as one sculptor explained his art as the elimination of everything in the stone that didn’t belong to the intended subject of the sculpture, so the spiritual aspirant sets about eliminating from his or her field of expression all that is of the not-self—all that is contrary to the soul. Knowing what belongs to the not-self is similar to the decision of the sculptor: a clear vision of that which is to be revealed must be held uppermost in consciousness throughout the process of revelation.

Learning to see the inner beauty in a person, a situation, an environment, or a circumstance isn’t always easy. Life, as it is lived on earth, tends to cause the accretion of layer upon layer of material substance until the inner spiritual essence is hidden just as an ear of corn is encased by husks. This outer world of appearances is often mistaken for the true reality, and the longed-for search for beauty relies upon outer appearances.

As in all goals worthy of achievement, training is necessary to reach them, and so it is with the revelation of inner beauty. We learn to recognise beauty and to assist in its full flowering by looking for it behind the outer planes on which we live our lives. We can find this inner beauty often silently expressing in a brief moment or a chance encounter. In an otherwise somber environment we might suddenly be struck by a subtle radiance awaiting our recognition. The inner beauty is ever present, but latent and awaiting our discovery when we look for it in unexpected places and come to it with a willingness to be surprised.

It has been said that beauty is as much of divinity as can be expressed through any one form. Form is intended to serve, not as a container, but as a lens through which inner beauty can pass— from higher realms to lower, in fulfillment of a cycle of energy flow and for a purpose that we cannot fully understand.

The network of triangles that enfolds the planet, conducting energies of light and goodwill through the world, is a powerful agent in the revelation of inner beauty. By bringing spiritual qualities such as light and goodwill from latency into potency in human expression, the beauty of the inner realms is being brought into sharper revelation, and the command, let inner livingness emerge for all to see, is being fulfilled.