I would like today to look together on the triangle as a creative agent.
Energy flows through relationship. A triangle is a simple, stable unit of relationship. 
It holds a field of tension between three points. 
Potentially it creates balance between them. And it distributes force.
A triangle can act as a form of relay station, a vessel through which higher energies can safely circulate into the world.

The creative power of triangles works on all levels — on the level of individuals, in groups, in nations, and in the planetary field as a whole. 
Let’s see how we can use triangles on these different levels. 

Individual Triangle Work

At the level of the individual, triangle work begins inwardly, inside of ourselves.

We can think of the human being as a living triangle:
 personality, soul, and spirit.
 Or mind, heart, and will.
 Or in the Tibetan’s beautiful words:

“I am a point of light within a greater Light.
 I am a strand of loving energy within the stream of Love divine.
 I am a point of sacrificial Fire, focussed within the fiery Will of God.
 And thus I stand.”

Light, Love, and Will - the primary energies that flow through all of us. 

When these three begin to align within us, there happens a point of stabilisation. We become a creative unit.  

We are less reactive and more responsive. More coherent. Through a coherent consciousness there will be right circulation of energies. We become an ordered field through which soul energy can flow into our life and service. 

Triangles in Group Work

Now, three coherent individuals, when they hold a common intent, become a creative group unit.  In the Ageless Wisdom teachings, we are told that humanity is learning to work increasingly through group formation and group consciousness, and that “the potency of an integrated group composed of disciples who have a common vision and an established group purpose is very great.”

A triangle of disciples may become a center of fiery activity.

To wield a triangle consciously is part of what the Tibetan describes as “newer Aquarian techniques.” As a creative triangle we learn about right circulation of energies. About rhythmic exchange. About holding a shared center. A creative field emerges through ordered, aligned relationship, and this coherent field then can hold a project together.

In Hechal we experience this for example, in a project we run, the Middle East Vigil. It is a weekly online service, led by a team of three coworkers.  Each point of this triangle carries a distinct responsibility. One of us reports on what is happening in Israel, the other what is happening in the wider Arab world of the Middle East, and a third is leading the weekly meditation. The three functions weave everything into one coherent project and hold the field of a large group of participants stable from week to week. 

A triangle can also function as the core unit within a larger group. It holds the purpose, the central magnet of the group. The Piscean group model of a strong leader at the centre of a group, gives way to what we could call field-consciousness. With a stable, coherent core, a large group can become a unified field, an island of coherence, which radiates beyond its boundaries, into its environment. It becomes a cohering factor. 

Intergroup Triangles

And then we can see within the esoteric community the forming of triangles of groups. Three groups working together. This is significant because humanity’s future may depend on learning how diverse groups can cooperate. A triangle of intentional spiritual groups seems to be a suitable learning ground. Figuring out a prototype in lab conditions, so to speak. How can we hold our distinct group note while blending into being one unified agent together with two other groups? How can we complement and augment each other, and synchronise, synthesise our energies into an efficient harmony?

When three groups reach a state of harmonisation, something larger becomes possible.

A triangle of groups can hold a larger intergroup field together. A field made up of many groups. 

In Hechal, we are experimenting with this in another of our projects — the Nations Lab. We focalise it together with two other groups. It is a monthly webinar, now in its 7^th year. It is a hub for groups working with collectives; our aim is to awaken to the souls of our nations, and to foster the vision and process of Uniting the Nations. It is a sort of creative laboratory, where we experiment with building a small seed for a soul-guided United Nations of the future. 

The focalising group triangle of the Nations Lab consists of Hechal from Jerusalem, Klangschale from Germany, and the 2025 Initiative from the USA.

We are a weave of different notes, qualities, and skills. And we bring together the perspectives of three continents — Asia, Europe and America. The participating groups come from Europe, America, Asia, and Australia. 

Triangles Among Nations

Three of the participating groups have formed a triangle between their nations - Australia, Denmark, and Canada. They call themselves the Middle Nations Triangle. Their three nations are neither large nor small; they do not belong to a bloc. They may support and mediate on behalf of smaller nations. Middle nations may be capable of softening polarities and building bridges, acting perhaps as a connecting, harmonising tissue.  Perhaps as stabilizing agents within the international field. It is a beautiful, inspiring pioneering project. 

There is also another, more large scale triangle project — by groups from the 3 parts of the American continent: North, Central, and South America.  They hold what they call the Americas Alignment meditation— a service done every week and offered once a month to international participants. It is a sustained meditation work towards aligning the three parts of the American continent.  Through visualising an intricate flow of energies between the three large parts of the continent. 

Other valuable service projects on the level of nations are the work with the triangular relationship of the USA, Britain and Russia, which the Tibetan had suggested. And likewise, we can envision the work with a current world tension, perhaps the tension between the Western world, Russia and China. 

When energies are locked in opposition, things get stuck and conflict intensifies. When energies circulate through triangular relationship, new possibilities emerge. Through visualising a continuous flow in these triangular relationships, we may help open a door to new possibilities on the outer plane. 

A triangular circulation can help transform a hardened conflict into a field of creative tension. In the Middle East Vigil we are visualising precisely this process: of violent conflict transforming into a field of creative tension. 

Another inspiring project may be triangles of groups of nations with the same ray quality. For example the Klangschale group from Germany contemplates forming a triangle with two other groups from nations who share the 4^th Ray in their make-up. For example, Italy and Japan. The axis powers of the world war. Visualing using their 4^th ray powers for mediation and peace weaving. 

We might imagine a future United Nations in which triangles of nations work in this way together, as receptacles and distributors of higher energies for the good of the human family. 

With our triangle work on all the different levels we are laying the ground work for this possibility now. We weave pathways of light, nadis, in the etheric body of humanity. Assagioli calls these pathways spiritual airways. 

We weave separated energies and forces into a coherent field through which the soul of humanity may emerge.

We are laying the floor plan for a higher order, actively participating in the shaping of a new civilisation. 

So, onward we weave, as triangles divine within the square and thus serve our world.  

A Living Geometry of Relationships

From the earliest sky-watchers to today, the urge to ascribe meaning to patterns in the sky has endured.

Yet the meanings that are derived depend upon the language that is spoken. When we consider the language of traditional astrology, for example, it usually starts with the sign — its temperament and psychological portrait. This “sign‑first” approach can be insightful, but it is one-dimensional in its view of signs as fixed categories rather than as conduits of energies and relationships.

Esoteric astrology offers a different entry point, suggesting that the chart is not a static portrait but a geometry of relationships — a living interplay of forces that condition consciousness and guide its unfolding.

Esoteric astrology invites us to look at patterns — specifically, the interaction of triangles.

The Transformative Power of Triangles

A triangle is much more than a geometric figure -- it is a pattern of relationship. Two points create polarity: push and pull, yes and no. Add a third point, and everything changes. Movement enters. Tension becomes creative. Polarity finds synthesis. A triangle transforms conflict into flow.

Triangles repeatedly appear throughout esoteric teachings, as they symbolize the interplay of forces through which growth happens -- how energies interact, tensions can be reconciled, and purpose can emerge from apparent contradiction.

Triangles remind us that evolution is not linear but relational, unfolding through the synthesis of energies that once appeared separative, opposed, polarized.

In our Triangles service work, we consciously participate in this geometry by linking in thought with two others, forming a living triangle of light and goodwill. That triangle becomes part of a vast planetary network.

This is not merely symbolic. It is energetic and very real.

Choosing the Right Lens

When we read a chart through relational geometry, triangles become a way of understanding possibilities -- how energies may be synthesized for the greater good.

Interpretation must evolve as consciousness evolves. The same sign, planetary ruler, aspect, or life circumstance may communicate different messages on a higher or lower turn of the spiral.

Esoteric astrology suggests three interpretive tiers (or lenses) for understanding — each corresponding to a different stage on the path.

The Personality Lens

Through the exoteric (or personality) lens, life is centered on personality concerns: relationships, family, work, security, identity, and so on.

Spiritual interest is often motivated by personal aims: “finding peace, “being happy,” and “living my best life.” The tendency is to look outward for guidance, toward “experts” and collective opinion. This tier may be characterized by separative tendencies, criticism, and judgment toward those who do not hold the same view.

Many, many people experience the world through this lens – and it is nothing to denigrate or disparage. It is a starting point. Much as we would not get angry at a toddler for not understanding complex math, so is the parallel, or correspondence here.

Through training in meditation, spiritual studies, and persistence on the path, awareness expands, intuition is awakened, and personality integration ensues, becoming an instrument through which the soul can work.

The Soul Lens

The esoteric (or soul) lens begins focusing when “the old ways of the personality” are no longer satisfying. This may be experienced as a deeper longing or search for meaning, that emerges gradually over time, or suddenly through a crisis, when the rug is pulled out from under us.

Questions shift from “What do I want?” to “What is ethical, what is the right thing to do here?” and “How can I serve?”

This transition can be disorienting and, at times, lonely. Family, friends, and colleagues may not understand the change, the shift away from interests and activities that once seemed so important, but no longer hold much meaning. The reorientation can be dizzying, like the in-between step on a ladder, stepping away from what was, and up into the unknown.

The challenges, crises, and little earthquakes – while sometimes jarring -- are actually signposts of progress. This is why “right companionship” — groups oriented to service, meditation, and goodwill (like Triangles) are key at this stage, providing a steadying field for the soul’s impression to be intuitively recognized and trusted.

At this stage, the esoteric ruler is most significant, pointing toward the energies that can harmonize the personality and soul purpose.

The Initiatory Lens

Through the hierarchical (or initiatory) lens, identity is no longer centered in the personality or even the individual soul, but in the group life and group service. Here, the personal will yields to divine will, as in, “thy will be done.”

Service is impersonal and steady, without drawing attention or seeking recognition.

This lens is not about personal development but the distribution and sharing of energy for the greater good.

Triangles as Catalysts for Growth

In sociology, we say the “dyad is the most unstable of groups.” All it takes is for one person to opt out and you no longer have a group.

Triads introduce a third element: possible tensions and coalitions, along with a powerful dynamic for change. Wherever two forces oppose, a third can re-orient and reconcile.

• In relationships, “self” and “other” may clash -- until a shared purpose enters as the third point. Suddenly, “you vs. me” becomes “we.”
• In decision-making, thought and feeling may compete -- until intuitive intelligence reframes one path forward.
• In spiritual practice, the heart and mind find synthesis when the will-to-good anchors creative intelligence and love-wisdom in group service.

Consciousness evolves through relationship, through the dynamic interplay of forces that stretch beyond good/bad, right/wrong, either/or, black-and-white separative thinking. The third point of a triangle reminds us that growth is not linear; it is relational. Triangles invite us to ask: What third point would bring balance, movement, and meaning to the two that are at a stalemate?

From Polarity to Purpose

We live in a time of sharp polarities: ideological, personal, cultural, and political divides that culminate in workplace conflict, family tensions, and online discourse marked by vitriol and division. Two forces pull in opposite directions. The triangle invites a higher question: What third point could harmonize these forces?

What could reconcile this conflict or tension, to act as a bridge, rather than a barrier? Where might we find common ground?

How might we reframe with empathy and nonjudgment? Can we consider another’s perspective, without criticism? Can we find a shared purpose so that we are no longer in opposition, but on the same team, seeking the same positive outcome?

The triangle offers a way to move from reaction to response, from conflict to clarity, from personality preference to purposeful expression. It reveals the underlying pattern of energy and the next step toward synthesis.

Through the esoteric lens, tensions may surface as the personality clings to familiar patterns, attachments, and ambitions, while the soul calls for greater meaning, purpose and service.

Here, the same patterns of polarity might reveal a deeper question: What is the soul asking of this situation? What value is being tested? What choice would harmonize the outer life with inner purpose?

Intuitive insights emerge through meditation, study, reflection, and the evening review – the work of the Arcane School. Viewed in this way, the triangle can become a tool for reorientation and transformation.

Through the hierarchical lens, polarity becomes a path of initiation, shifting the questions from personal meaning to group purpose: What action would best serve the greater good? What principle must be upheld? Here, the triangle becomes a field of responsibility, clarifying the work of the moment.

A Living Geometry of Synthesis and Service

In triangles, we see patterns of recurrent themes. Certain triangles become active during periods of crisis, aspiration, service, or initiation. These are experienced through recurring challenges -- same theme, different players.

Triangles reveal that growth is not random but patterned. Triangles demonstrate how tension can become clarity, how conflict can become strength, and how aspiration can become assistance. Triangles illuminate the subtle movements by which consciousness shifts from self‑centeredness to alignment, and from alignment to group service.

When our interpretive language includes triangles, esoteric astrology becomes something far more than a descriptive system. It becomes a geometry of consciousness.

The three tiers of rulership remind us that interpretation meets us where we are. The exoteric lens supports integration; the esoteric lens reveals purpose; the hierarchical lens clarifies responsibility within the group life. Each tier is necessary, each has its tasks, and each prepares the way for the next.

The three orders of triangles — constellation, planetary, and center — reveal the pathways through which energy flows, how forces are mediated, transformed, and expressed through human consciousness. They remind us that we live within a vast field of relationships, and that our task is not to control these forces but to cooperate with them wisely.

And the developmental triangles — those recurring patterns of balance, choice, and initiation; of desire, conflict, and transformation — offer a practical key. They help us recognize the theme of the moment, the quality to understand, and the next right step on the path.

Triangles help us recognize the energies at work in our own lives and in the lives of others — not to predict or control, but to support the unfolding of purpose.

To work with these patterns is to recognize that every tension contains a teaching, every crisis a point of emergence, every aspiration a call to serve.

In this way, the science of triangles becomes a practical tool for transformation, from personality reaction toward soul alignment and purposeful service.

Triangles remind us that evolution, whether personal or collective, is relational -- one triangle, one choice, one act of alignment at a time.

In Closing…

When we look to the heavens, we are not merely gazing skyward -- we are pondering the vast mysteries of life (and often, trying to make sense of it all).

As noted at the beginning of this talk, the true value of astrology may be in offering a shared symbolic language, communicating pathways of relationship, movement, synthesis, and understanding.  

Triangles work gives us a way to practice that symbolic language every day. By actively participating in a triangle, we become part of a living network of light and goodwill.

Thank you for the opportunity to explore these ideas together. May our shared work in Triangles continue to support the unfolding purpose of humanity

Hello everyone. I express my deepest gratitude and love to all of you who have joined us for today's Triangles Webinar. My name is JooHee Lee from South Korea. I am deeply grateful to the Lucis Trust for inviting me to this sacred webinar. It is truly an honor.

Korea's origins are said to have begun with the kingdom of Gojoseon, founded by Dangun Wanggeom in 2333 BC. In Korea, we often say, "Dangun grandfather founded our country." And He left behind the national educational motto, "Hongik Ingan (Benefit Humanity Broadly)," which is so important to Koreans that it is even included as a clause in the Framework Act on Education, a current Korean law.

According to legend, Dangun Wanggeom (meaning both a priest performing ceremonies in heaven and a political king) had a father named Hwanung (meaning "A leader of light"), and Hwanung's father was Hwanin (meaning "Light"). It is said that Hwanung, wished to descend to the world to his father Hwanin. Hwanin sent his son down with "three heavenly seals (or energies)" as gift. These three seals were "a Circle, a Square, and a Triangle." The circle represents Sky (Heaven) and is represented by the number one. The square represents Earth and is represented by the number two. The triangle represents Human and is represented by the number three. Some scholars believe that these symbols represent the triangular concept of the Eastern yin-yang philosophy, adding the concept of human, and I strongly agree with this opinion.

The first Korean scripture on this concept of Sky, Earth, and Human is "The Scripture of Heavenly Code" which is said to have been given to Hwanung by Hwanin. This scripture consists of 81 Chinese characters and is uniquely written in a 9×9 square.

"The Scripture of Heavenly Code (天符經)"

This scripture, which I have translated into English and posted at page 7-8 of this script, clearly states the reason for the creation of humanity:

"The One (the Universe, God) begins without beginning. The One polarizes in three, but the principle is eternal.

...The One wanted to gather everything (10) into one large vessel, but there was no vessel to contain it, so God created Human (3)."

This short scripture concludes by expressing the completion of one cycle of God's work when Heaven, Earth and Human are integrated as the Trinity:

"The principle of our Heart originates from the Sun. Look up to the radiance of Heaven and Earth united within Human. The One end without end."

According to Korean legend, when Hwanung descended to earth and founded a tribal nation, a tiger and a bear approached him, begging to become human. Hwanung taught them that if they endured 100 days in a cave, eating only garlic and mugwort (a very bitter plant), they would become human. The tiger, unable to endure the process, escaped, but the bear persevered and after 21 (3×7) days transformed into a human woman. Hwanung married this woman and gave birth to Dangun Wanggeom, the founding king of Korea.

Hwanung also left behind a scripture called "The Teaching of the Three-One God." I have included a complete English translation of this scripture at page 9 -12 of this script. This scripture consists of 366 Chinese characters and is divided into five sections. "Three-One" is interpreted as the process of humans becoming gods. This scripture explains the concepts of God and Heaven, God's creation process on Earth, the spiritual structure of humanity, and methods of spiritual cultivation.

Numerous triangular concepts are found in this scripture. It states that man is given "three truths," from which "three illusory forces" are created, and all of these, when combined, form "three paths." These "three paths" can be overcome and restored to one's true nature through "three methods: restraining one's emotions, regulating one's breathing in accordance with the laws of heaven and earth, and suppressing one's physical contact."

And in Chapter 2, which discusses God, also presents a similar concept to the Science of Invocation:

"However, if you earnestly desire and pray with the energy of sound, you can ultimately see this transcendent God with your own eyes. Those who seek Him should strive to recognize His presence within their own nature. Because God has already descended into the very brain of the seeker."

Hwanung's third and final scripture is the longest, consisting of eight chapters and 366 verses, "The Scripture of Training to Become a True Human." This scripture expands and elaborates on the contents of the previous two scriptures, serving as a guide to enlightening people's lives with divine wisdom. Let me introduce three beautiful passages from this scripture about Compassion and Love:

"(article 233)

Benevolence: Goodness

Benevolence is like the weight of love's scales.

Love loves everything, so there are times when it loves biasedly and selfishly. Without benevolence, it is impossible to find the balance.

Benevolence is like the warm weather of spring, causing all things to bloom and come to life.

(article 234)

Love of People: Loving People

The enlightened person (philosopher) loves people,

even the good, and also the evil, leading them to abandon evil and pursue goodness.

It transforms people's anger into peace, preventing them from forming hatred with others.

It resolves people's doubts, preventing them from becoming corrupted.

It guides people's foolishness, allowing them to awaken to their own wisdom.

(article 235)

Protection of all things in this world

Loving and protecting all things. If in heaven and earth, people were fixed on people alone, and all things were fixed on all things alone, neither people nor all things could exist. The enlightened person (philosopher) possesses

a special heart that embraces all things, treating what others have as if

they had it themselves, and what others have lost as if they had lost it themselves."

Hwanin, Hwanung, and Dangun were later integrated into a single deity, and were referred to as the "Three God Grandmother" (Samsin grandmother) in Korean daily life. This deity, who cares for pregnancy and childbirth, was worshipped by Koreans through rituals, both when praying for pregnancy and when protecting the mother and baby for 21 (3×7) days after birth. This custom remained very common in Korea until the early 20th century, and continues to be a familiar and important deity to many Koreans today. For Koreans, the belief in the Three Gods has always been linked to the belief in the Seven Stars God. Because Koreans believed that the Seven Stars were where the Three Gods lived. Some Korean scholars say that the relationship between them is that the Three Gods create life and the Seven Stars God nurture our life.

Korean mothers developed a custom of pouring clear well water into a bowl and praying for their families toward the Big Dipper (the seven stars of the Great Bear) at dawn.

A Korean mother praying to the Seven Stars God while holding a bowl of clean water.

Image: http://m.hmhtimes.com/news/articleView.html?idxno=4708

As we've seen, Korean traditional religion demonstrates its intention to achieve right human relations by utilizing the sacred principles of unity known as the Trinity and Triangles. I believe this phenomenon, expressed in Korea as a variation of Ageless Wisdom, is the same phenomenon found in all other nations and religions. I believe these countless variations across nations and religions will ultimately unite, like a single, beautiful piece of music of one humanity.

Finally, I'd like to talk about the 8th Asian Esoteric Community Gathering, which will be held on April 5th of this year. The theme of this gathering is "Spreading the Light: Forming Triangles and Using the Great Invocation." We are honored to have Mr. Steve Nation and Mr. Michael Galloway from Lucis Trust New York Headquarters speak at this meeting. Our group has been holding this gathering twice a year since October 2022. Reiko Nakanish from Japan has been hosting the Esoteric Tokyo group meditation since 2019 and is currently broadcasting Asia's first Triangles group meditation in Japanese language every ten days. Christopher See from the Philippines created the Asian Esoteric Community Gathering Facebook page, and Tung T. Pham from Vietnam created the Asian Esoteric Community Gathering website. We also plan to launch a service on this new website and Facebook page to assist Asians who have difficulty communicating in English with triangle registration. I deeply appreciate the love, effort, and sacrifice of my Asian colleagues, and I hope you will continue to watch over the development of the Asian Esoteric Community. I will conclude by quoting Master DK's words, which Tung T. Pham posted on his webpage:

"The hierarchy is, with concentration, working and bending every effort to make the plan a success. The New Group of World Servers are being more closely integrated, and the work they are to do is being carefully planned. In London, in New York and in Geneva are three centres of their activity, and at Darjeeling and in Tokyo there is a mustering of forces." ("Esoteric Psychology vol. I", p. 186) Thank you.

The 8th Asian Esoteric Community Gathering Poster

References

(Asian Esoteric Community Gathering Website link)

https://aecg.framer.website/

(Asian Esoteric Community Gathering Facebook page link)

https://www.facebook.com/share/1Bwj6qpq25/

(Daejongism Wikipedia link)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daejongism

(Three Gods and Seven Stars links)

https://ko.wikipedia.org/wiki/%EC%82%BC%EC%8B%A0%ED%95%A0%EB%A8%B8%

https://ko.wikipedia.org/wiki/%EC%82%BC%EC%8B%A0%ED%95%A0%EB%A8%B8%EB%8B%88

http://gsnews.co.kr/?contr=Bread&id=5709

https://gb.jsd.or.kr/?c=gb/gbfocus&uid=21350

http://m.hmhtimes.com/news/articleView.html?idxno=4708

("The Scripture of Training to Become a True Human. (參佺戒經)")

https://brunch.co.kr/@f1b68c46d962477/317

(available only in Korean)

(The Scripture of Heavenly Code (天符經))

translated by JooHee Lee

一始無始

The One (the Universe, God) begins without Beginning

一析三極無盡本

The One polarizes in three, but the principle is eternal.

天一一

Sky (Heaven) is the first thing born from the One and is the number 1.

地一二

The Earth was the second birth of the One and is the number 2.

人一三

Human is the third born from the One and is the number 3.

一積十鉅無匱化三

The One wanted to gather everything (10) into one large vessel, but there was no vessel to contain it, so God created human (3).

天二三

Heaven gave birth to Human (3) through the Earth (2).

地二三

The Earth itself (2) gave birth to Human (3).

人二三

Human was born from the Earth (2) and became Human (3).

大三合六生七八九

The big 3s combine to make 6, which makes 7, 8, and 9.

運三四成環五七

3 moves to create 4, and 5 and 7 orbit (around 4).

一妙衍萬往萬來

From the subtle One, coming and going countless times

用變不動本

The uses change, but the original principle does not change.

本心本太陽

The principle of our Heart originates from the Sun.

昂明人中天地一

Look up to the radiance of heaven and earth united within human.

一終無終一

One end without end.

(The Teaching of Three-One God (三一神誥))

translated by JooHee Lee

Chapter 1. Heavenly Understanding

Hwanung spoke: Ah, you people!

Blue is not the sky, nor is black the sky.

The sky has no shape or form, no boundaries of up and down, no distinctions of east, west, south, or north.

It is emptiness, yet there is no place where it does not exist, and nothing is not embraced.

Chapter 2. Understanding of God

God resides in the very beginning, with no higher power.

With great virtue, great wisdom, and great power, He gave birth to heaven and presides over countless worlds.

He created all things, and He is perfect, without even a speck of dust left out. He is supremely bright, luminous, and divine, so divine that no name can dare to be named or measured. He transcends all names and language.

However, if you earnestly desire and pray with the energy of sound, you can ultimately see this transcendent God with your own eyes.

Those who seek Him should strive to recognize His presence within their own nature. Because God has already descended into the very brain of the seeker.

Chapter 3. Understanding the Heavenly Palace

Heaven is the realm of the divine.

At the center of heaven is the palace where the divine resides. To reach it, one must ascend the stairs with all kinds of goodness and pass through the gates with all kinds of virtue.

The one divine being resides here, guarded and attended by countless guardian deities and enlightened beings. It is a place of supreme blessing, auspiciousness, and great light

Only those who are fully acquainted with the divine nature, fully possessed of divine virtue, wisdom, and power, and have perfected all kinds of merit, can enter the divine palace and enjoy eternal joy.

Chapter 4. Understanding the World

Look at the countless stars scattered across the night sky.

They are countless, uncountable, some large and some small, some bright and some dark, some painful and some joyful. Each star's circumstances are different.

God created all worlds and gave the messenger in charge of the solar system (the world centered around the sun) the authority to govern the Seven Hundred Worlds (all the worlds that fill the entire universe).

You may think the Earth you live on is large, but it is merely a bead among the Seven Hundred Worlds.

The Earth was completely covered by water, preventing all life from growing. Then, the fire within the Earth trembled, boiling the water and evaporating the seas, revealing the land and forming the Earth as we know it today.

God breathed life into all things, enveloping them from the very core, illuminating them with the light of the sun, warming them both inside and out with heat, and enabling them to live with energy.

Thus, all living things proliferated on land: walking, flying, transforming, living in the water, and planting plants.

Chapter 5. Understanding the truth

Humans and all living beings received the three truths (三眞) from God.

The three truths are nature (性), life (命), and essential energy (精). Humans have received all three truths, while other living beings have not received all three truths equally.

True nature (眞性) has neither good nor evil, so it is in line with the upper level philosophers. True life (眞命) is neither clear nor turbid, so the middle level philosophers know.

True essential energy (眞精) is neither thick nor stingy, so it is preserved by the lower level philosophers.

Therefore, if we can turn back and restore this truth in the phenomenal world, we can become one with God.

From the moment humans are born on Earth, they possess the three illusory forces (三妄): heart (心), qi (氣), and physical body (身).

The heart (心) arises from true nature (眞性) and contains both good and evil. Therefore, a good heart brings blessings, while an evil heart brings misfortune.

Qi (氣) arises from true life (眞命) and can be clear or turbid. Clear qi leads to longevity, while turbid qi leads to an early death.

The physical body (身) is based on the true essential energy (眞精), which can be both virtuous and shallow. If you preserve and enrich your essential energy, you will be virtuous and noble, while if you deplete your essential energy, you will become shallow.

Humans live their lives at will, tossed about by boundaries, the good and evil of their hearts, the clarity and turbidity of their qis, and the richness and shallowness of their physical bodies, all intertwined. Consequently, they suffer the pain of birth, growth, aging, illness, and death.

The true (the three truths) and the illusory forces (the three illusions) collide to create the three paths: emotion (感), breathing (息), and physical contact (觸). Emotion, breathing, and physical contact further form eighteen boundaries.

Emotion (感) includes joy, fear, sorrow, anger, greed, and dislike.

Breathing (息) includes the fragrance and beautiful colors, cold and hot, dry and wet. And physical contact (觸) includes sound, color, smell, taste, lust, and touch.

The philosopher (enlightened person) restrains his emotion (止感), regulates his breathing in

accordance with the laws of heaven and earth (調息), and suppresses his physical contact (or collisions) (禁觸). By transforming and practicing with one pointed mind, he can turn away from delusion and attain truth.

Practicing these three methods will bring to light the great divine foundation within oneself, allowing one to fully connect with one's true nature and perfect one's virtue (性通功完). This is what is meant by this.

It is a pleasure for me to explore some thoughts on the Triangle Work with you this evening. When I started my own Psychosynthesis practice over twenty-five years ago, I named it Triagonalis. With this, I wanted to express the importance I attached to the power of the triangle—both as an idea and in its formative effect.

The Triangle Work is part of the relatively new teachings, new also in their impact upon consciousness, which the Tibetan gave to humanity almost a century ago. Tonight, we will focus our attention on the Triangle Work, although it is only one of these teachings. And we want to reflect on the relationship between Idea and Form and how this can lead to surprising insights at a deeply esoteric level.

The Tibetan mentioned the Triangle Work in relation to the teaching about the work of the New Group of World Servers. He describes it as, on the one hand, the phase of forming a network of light that serves as a channel for communication between the Hierarchy and Humanity; and, on the other hand, as the simultaneous formation of a network of goodwill, which is equivalent to the objective expression of the subjective influence of light.¹ Although the two networks are not identical, they are closely intertwined.

At a deeply esoteric level, these two networks relate to the fundamental Triangle of Energy formed by the three Buddhas of Activity. Together with Sanat Kumara, the Lord of the World, these four embody active, intelligent, and loving will. They represent the full flowering of intelligence, having achieved in a previous solar system what humanity is now striving to perfect in our current solar system. It is said that as networks of triangles are built and formed, the Invocation is, in essence, directed toward one of the Buddhas of Activity. When the energy of this Invocation is strong enough, a response will come.

All of this creates a remarkably sublime picture—and it is precisely this that makes the Triangle Work simultaneously so simple and so difficult. It is precisely this sublime relationship that makes it exceptionally complex for some, hindering clear thinking about its essential simplicity. Others, however, consider the work very simple. They emphasize its exoteric and organizational aspects. According to the Tibetan, both ways of thinking hinder the true purpose of Triangle work.

Therefore, he calls on us to become aware of the true plan underlying the Triangle Work. He also emphasizes the paramount importance of learning the true function of the Triangles. The Work of the Triangles must be continued, according to the Tibetan, but at the same time, he says, this work is so new and so different from anything previously conceived that it seems unlikely to succeed.²

This is an intriguing observation that invites further reflection, and we will attempt to utilize the resulting tension between the work's importance and its unfamiliarity to clarify our thinking about the triangles. Underlying this tension is another tension, namely that between complexity and simplicity, both of which the Tibetan says distort the intention of the Triangle work.

The Tibetan is very clear about the purpose of forming triangles of light and goodwill. He says that the "forming" has to do with "the reservoir of energy on the inner and etheric side of life, which automatically and with a fully circulating effect will enable the exoteric work of men and women of goodwill to progress. It is not goodwill as such, but the deliberate formation of triangles in the etheric body of the planet, qualified by goodwill."³

A subtle distinction emerges here, one that seems essential for properly understanding the function of the Triangle Work. On the one hand, there is the inner and subjective Work of the Triangles, and on the other, the outer and objective work of Goodwill. They complement each other but are not the same. Forming the Triangles is clearly expressed as the goal the Tibetan has in mind, but there seems to be a higher purpose beyond that, which has not yet become explicit.

What is being said here is that in the Triangle Work, it is not first an idea or ideal that is realized in form, but rather a form or structure is first created: the network of triangles. This network builds up a reservoir of qualified energy -( endowed with the quality of good will -, through which - only then - can a hitherto latent Idea shine forth and become active.

In this sense, the Triangle Work is certainly not a moral call or an ideological movement but strictly speaking an almost meditative technical preparation for creating a reservoir of energy.

So much for the work itself. From here on, we'll focus on its background, now that it's becoming clear that the Triangle Work is indeed new and different from anything designed or conceived before.

To understand why this work is so new, we will first consider the fundamental relationship between Idea and Form. This means that the search for the exact meaning of a word, i.e., its form, is the starting point, because it is a law that every form of divine revelation must correspond exactly to its name.⁴

Let's take the word “Triangle”.

1. In its first, purely linguistic meaning, a triangle is the compound of three + angle, and this word designates a figure or shape characterized by three angles (and thus three sides). More concisely, we can say it's a plane figure bounded by three lines that together form three angles. The shortest: that which has three angles.
2. Going a step further, just beyond the purely linguistic meaning, to what you might call the conceptual meaning, you could say that a triangle is a basic geometric shape created when three points are connected by three lines, creating a closed whole. Here, the focus is no longer on the word, but on a principle of order. We then know that a triangle consists of three separate elements that relate to each other and together form a closed structure. It is a more abstract level, but can be imagined, visualized, and also applied.
3. Taking a further step from structure to relational meaning, a triangle can be described as a structure of three interconnected elements, each element deriving its meaning from its relationship to the other two, and stability arising from mutual tension and balance. Here, the points of the triangle are no longer primarily seen as shapes, but as positions or functions. This means that the individual elements — the person connected to a triangle—as such cannot stand alone without disrupting the whole.

At this point we can begin to understand what the Tibetan meant by overly complex or overly simple thinking distorting the Triangle Work.

• An overly complex way of thinking could lead to the living relationship between the three elements being replaced by either excessive conceptual layering or by a loss of dynamic balance. We can translate this practically, for example, to those moments when concrete and analytical mind takes center stage.
• As a result, relationships are no longer experienced but rather explained.
• The whole of the triangle then loses its function as a carrier of tension and balance and can “fall silent”.
• Overly simplistic thinking can also be restrictive. In such cases, the opposite occurs: the differences between the three positions or points are flattened. Something similar can reduce the triangle to a line or even a point. Tension is avoided instead of managed, and you could say the triangle collapses; collaboration is no longer possible.

In summary, we can say that the true effectiveness of the triangle lies not in increasing or decreasing elements, but in carefully maintaining the tension between three distinct positions. As soon as concrete thinking takes over the tension (complexity) or eliminates it (simplification), the triangle loses its organizing power.

So far, we have approached the triangle at different levels.

We first saw her as a form — a simple geometric figure.
Then as a working field of relationships, in which tension and proportion are decisive. Finally, as an attitude of awareness, sustained by goodwill.

At this point, something essential emerges.
When tension is carried—without reducing it and without overloading it — a field is created in which meaning can emerge that is not generated by any of the elements individually.

4. This brings us to a fourth level: the symbolic level.
   Here, the triangle is no longer seen as a form or structure but experienced as a principle. The triangle then doesn't signify anything else; it is operative as a field.

At this level, goodwill becomes visible as a magnetic quality.
Not as a moral incentive, but as an organizing force that, like a magnet attracts iron, attracts the Idea and allows it to take root. Without goodwill, the Idea remains abstract—or crystallizes into ideology. With goodwill, it can become active, embodied in relationship.

From this perspective, the Triangle Work is seen in a new light.
Here, it's not the Idea that first forms the form, but rather the form itself that is carefully built. The network of triangles creates a field - a reservoir of qualified energy - in which a hitherto latent Idea can then shine forth and function.

The Idea that takes shape here in the Work of the Triangles could be described as a potential of electrical current itself: invisible, active within the etheric body of the planet, formed according to laws of balance and proportion.

Under the right conditions — no overload, no underload; active yet receptive — this field can be connected to the source. What then becomes active belongs neither exclusively to inner experience nor exclusively to the external world, but to an organizing field in which both mutually enable one another. What can then become visible is not the Idea as a concept, but its workings. The example the Tibetan cites here is "brotherhood," not as an ideal, but as a living relationship.

Once again: the Triangle Work is not a moral program or an ideological movement, but a silent, persistent, meditative preparation. A preparation in which the form is so maintained that it can receive life. May then—when the form is sufficiently built and the tension is purely borne—the Buddha of Activity become aware of this form, in its nature of light and its quality of goodwill, and let His Life flow into it.

¹ RI, p. 253 Eng.ed. in paraphrase.
² RI, p. 274, Eng.ed. in paraphrase.
³ RI, p. 274, Eng. Ed. In paraphrase.
⁴ See LOS, p. 104/105 Eng. Ed. In paraphrase.

Our topic is Self-Musicalisation and the Sound of Triangles. By way of introduction, I’d like to share some of the reasons for offering this topic at this time.

Firstly, there’s the question of continuity with a theme that I’ve spoken and written about before. This theme concerns a practical methodology and language of musical awareness, and the developing of a tuned sensitivity to higher vibration. We’re talking then in terms of sound, vibration, frequency, tone and relationship, and all of this related to the quality of the qi we invoke and radiate through the Triangles network. The work requires Soul relationship, and music might be said to be the essence of the way the Soul relates – the language of the Warrior Soul or Disciple. I hope to encourage the cultivation of a sense of Triangles as being inherently a musical enterprise and mode of world service for humanity.

On the world scene, on one level we could say that humanity seems to be very much out of tune with itself. The musical lens can help us interpret the world situation and all challenging events and behaviours in a way that gives immediate indications of potential solutions. Conscious musicalisation of the self can open the Way through to more harmonious world relations. This way of seeing aligns with language used not only in the books of Alice Bailey and articles and talks by esoteric thinkers today, but increasingly in the fields of cosmology, astronomy, quantum physics, the natural sciences and health and healing.

Perhaps most important as far as why this topic is important at this particular time is that this is and has been the year 2025.

I’m pausing for a moment for us to gather for ourselves the meaning and significance of this year 2025, both for us each personally, and for how we see and interpret the world and humanity’s place in it.

Perhaps 2025 is and has been a year whose importance is beyond our ability to truly grasp.

In relation to our current theme, it is one of a number of concepts which may form part of an emerging aspect of the musical nature of the Plan of Love and Light which it is the destiny of humanity to work out. We are told that the Plan, as it issues from Shamballa, is musical in nature and structure, and that all of the groups which seek to cooperate with the Hierarchy “make music constantly”. Self-Musicalisation has implications not only for the individual but for the collective sound of groups, including and perhaps especially so, a network group like Triangles. If humanity is to move forward to sound the note of brotherhood in the Aquarian age, surely it must be true that only humanity can tune and retune itself to this note. Cultivating awareness of Musicality in human relations facilitates the blending of the music and notes of the vibrations of human and Hierarchical livingness. And all of this must facilitate an increasing capacity within humanity to respond rightly to the Sound of the vibrations of Shamballa.

So, we might take the following musical proposition drawn from the teachings on Shamballa (Externalisation of the Hierarchy p.533):

• In Shamballa, the Will has one clear note
• Set into motion, it is three abiding chords
• Impelled to demonstrate, it sounds as seven tones which draw out the structure of the Plan
• Every thing has its note
• Humanity and Hierarchy are intended to play together in our planetary symphony

And we can see this proposition as standing behind the approach used in the practice of Solfa Self-Musicalisation. The practical essence of this activity is simply the meditative singing of the Solfa keynote, “Doh”, and its related scale of descending or ascending frequencies, from Doh¹ to Doh. The term keynote refers to the note that sets the key in which a given piece of music is played. In Solfa, the name given to the keynote is “Doh”. The Solfa scale has seven basic tones, named with the syllables with which every schoolchild is probably familiar: doh, re, mi, fa, sol, la, ti – which are often abbreviated as follows.

• D R M F S L T D¹

Solfa becomes a simple tool for using musical sound to construct an inner bridge in awareness to the higher Self, the Soul.

To make this clear, let’s consider the Egg Diagram offered by Roberto Assagioli, the founder of the spiritual psychology known as Psychosynthesis.

The Diagram is an aid in visualising the consciousness relationship between the lower self and the higher Self. These two are seen as connected by a straight dotted line. In Self-musicalisation, we visualise and use this line as a line of communication that can carry the vibrations generated by our singing. These vibrations are directed up and down this psychological line. The higher Doh is seen as representing the sound or note of the higher Self. The Doh of the I or lower self is a reflection in the same key as the Doh of the higher Self. The use of the descending and ascending scale invites the downflow of the energies of the higher Self into the awareness and life of the lower self. Over time, this is a method for tuning the lower self to the Keynote (the Doh) of the Soul Self. This is the beginning of the way of Self-musicalisation. Thus, we can say that

Self-musicalisation is a way by which human beings can tune and re-tune themselves to their own higher nature, musically lifting and stepping down their vibration at will.

A key point here is that the line of connection is anchored in the top of the head of the singer, i.e. the singing is done with the awareness held in the top of the head, in that area that relates to the crown centre, with all that this implies.

We come now to the relation of Self-musicalisation to the Sound of Triangles. Here, we’re really talking about the nature of the collective Doh sound or keynote that resonates throughout the network. This sound is summed up in the words of the Great Invocation. Self-musicalisation offers a way of balanced musicalisation of the group consciousness, leading to awareness that the One sound generated by the Triangles as a whole contains and embodies an amazing symphonic activity expressing “Light and Love and Power”. Based on individual Self musicalisation activity, units of Triangles link in consciousness to resonate in the same key and naturally find that they tune to a unifying Doh for the purposes of the work at hand. This is the singing of Doh and the higher Doh in Triangles formation. The sung Doh of each singing Triangle is sent out to blend with the collective Doh of the network, awakening sensitivity to the musical nature of the energies being generated. The collective, invocative sound naturally becomes clearer with practice. The radiated Sound is a vibration that heals, infusing humanity with Light, Love, and the Will to Good. In this way, Self-musicalising Triangles represents humanity learning to Musicalise its consciousness to the Keynote of its own Soul nature.

We’ll be familiar with the idea that sound generates patterns and form, especial in etheric substance. An underlying validation of the use of Solfa for the purposes of Self-musicalisation lies specifically in the patterns generated by the sound “Doh”. The sound “Doh” generates a geometrical form or pattern of triangles within a circle. The Latin letter D of the English language relates historically to the Greek Delta, whose uppercase form is the triangle: Δ. “O” is the circle of the Whole. In combining D (the 4^th letter) and O (the 4^th vowel) we are producing a sound which naturally resonates as the sound of the 4^th kingdom in nature, humanity. In this way, as we participate in the forming of triangles within humanity we are enhancing the capacity of the whole etheric body of humanity to produce its own natural note or musical sound. The practice of Self-musicalisation opens the way to the integration of the life and consciousness of humanity into right musical relation within the greater system of triangle relationships of the greater Whole.

In summary, Self-musicalisation is a means of musicalising the vibration of the consciousness of the lower self and tuning it to the vibration of the 4^th ray Soul of humanity. The vibrating musical consciousness becomes increasingly sensitive to the quality of vibration of the two major centres of musical functioning in our planetary life, the magnetic vibration of the Doh of the Hierarchy and the purpose-awakening vibration of the Sound of Shamballa. The topic is vast, and beyond my ability to do more than offer an invitation for a simple beginning with ourselves. But a beginning today – whenever “today” falls for each of us – is sufficient. The Self-musicalisation activity of the Triangles network as a whole inevitably has potent effects on the musicalisation of humanity’s etheric body, transmitting the musical vibration or Sound of Brotherhood throughout the etheric body not only of humanity but of the entire planetary life. “Today” can therefore mark the musical entry into the Aquarian era of human unfolding on our planet.

For further reading, please see Resonant Triangles from a Martial Art Perspective: Sound of the Warrior Dojo. An article published in The Beacon, Part 1 in the October – December 2016 issue and Part 2 in the January – March 2017 issue.

Previous related talks in this webinar series: Singing, Self and Service. November 2018

Self-Musicalisation – a Cultural Activity of the Aquarian Age. June 2021

See also: (Gemini full moon 2025 talk by Leonidas Zoudros) Gemini’s exoteric ruler, the ruler of personality, is Mercury, “the winged messenger of the Gods.” It is responsible for the development of the Rainbow Bridge, or Antahkarana, connecting the lower and Higher Mind.” (Hadikin, 2012) Through Mercury, "we learn to connect and commune with our Higher Selves and hear our spiritual calling" and "attune to higher consciousness and perceive our Divine Purpose." (Hadikin, 2016)

Good afternoon, everyone. It’s a privilege to welcome you to this Triangles Meditation Group Webinar, hosted by the Lucis Trust. My name is Daniel Lumanauw. I have been a student at the Arcane School since November 2021 and am currently beginning the Lighted Way of Integration program.

Let me share a brief background on how these materials came together. My journey began at the Vesak Festival in Lucis Trust Lodge in New York in 2022, where I met Kathy Newburn. During a casual conversation, I mentioned my studies in Tibetan Buddhism. Kathy encouraged me to explore the teachings of Domo Geshe Rinpoche and Lama Anagarika Govinda, noting philosophical parallels with the teaching of Master DK. That suggestion resonated with me, and over the years, I continued my Vesak pilgrimages—visiting Samten Choeling Monastery in Darjeeling, where Lama Govinda’s ashes are enshrined in a stupa, and experiencing the rare privilege of visiting Domo Geshe’s living quarters, an opportunity seldom granted to foreigners. My learning journey has taken me further to sacred sites in Darjeeling, Borobudur, Mount Kailash, and most recently, the Gobi Desert with common theme of stupa symbolism.

Today, we gather as seekers committed to group service, meditation, and spiritual study. Our focus is the profound symbology of the stupa, especially the five geometrical elements as taught by Lama Anagarika Govinda, and how this ancient language of form can deepen our understanding of Master DK’s teachings, as presented in the works of Alice Bailey.

Page 2: Stupa as a Universal Symbol of Enlightenment The stupa is a sacred architectural form that appears throughout Buddhist traditions. While its origins trace back to ancient burial mounds, the stupa has evolved into a universal symbol of enlightenment—representing the journey from material existence to spiritual realization. Its design is intentional; every element is imbued with meaning, guiding practitioners along their inner path.

More than mere monuments, stupas function as spiritual diagrams. They embody the structure of consciousness and the process of awakening, inviting us to meditate on unity, transformation, and the integration of body, mind, and spirit.

The images here illustrate several prominent stupas found across Asia—in India, Tibet, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, and Nepal. In Kathmandu, I was especially struck by how deeply the stupa is woven into daily life. These structures grace many street corners, remaining vibrant and alive as people gather to offer prayers and make offerings. On the right, you’ll see the remarkable presence of stupas throughout the Kailash region. Mount Kailash itself is a place of profound spiritual significance, and I wholeheartedly encourage anyone interested in consciousness work to visit and experience its transformative energy firsthand.

Page 3: Lama Anagarika Govinda and Domo Geshe Rinpoche I

Let us take a moment to recognize two pivotal figures who bridge Eastern and Western esoteric traditions: Lama Anagarika Govinda and Domo Geshe Rinpoche. Lama Govinda, originally from Germany, was a Buddhist mystic, scholar, and author who immersed himself deeply in Theravada and Tibetan Buddhism. His insightful writings on meditation, symbolism, and the inner journey have introduced Western audiences to the profound depths of Tibetan spiritual practice, highlighting the transformative power of inner symbols and rituals.

Domo Geshe Rinpoche, the esteemed teacher of Lama Govinda, provided exceptional guidance at Samten Choeling Monastery in Darjeeling. Revered throughout Tibet and India, Domo Geshe was renowned for wisdom, compassionate service, and his reputation as an occult healer. His ability to transmit the living essence of Buddhist teachings across cultural boundaries made a lasting impact on all who encountered him.

Both teachers emphasized the universal language of symbols—a bridge between the visible and invisible, the personal and the cosmic. Their work laid the foundation for synthesizing spiritual traditions and practices. For those interested in exploring these figures and teachings further, Lama Govinda’s book, The Way of the White Clouds, offers a vivid account of this remarkable lineage and journey.

Page 4: Symbolic Meaning of Stupa Geometrical Form

Let’s take a closer look at the stupa and break it down into its fundamental geometric shapes, each serving as a powerful symbol for deeper spiritual study. In the center, you see the classic stupa form; on the left, its simplified symbolic components.

Lama Anagarika Govinda identified five essential geometric elements in the stupa’s architecture, each representing a stage of spiritual development and a universal principle. These shapes are chosen with intention, reflecting the qualities of their actual physical forms:

• The Square (Base): Symbolizes earth, stability, and foundation—groundedness and the starting point of the spiritual journey. In the ageless wisdom tradition, this corresponds to the Physical Body.

• The Sphere (Dome): Represents water, wholeness, and the totality of consciousness, inviting us to contemplate unity and inclusiveness. This is associated with the Emotional Body.

• The Triangle (Spire or Pyramid): Signifies fire, aspiration, and transformation. Pointing upward, it embodies spiritual ascent and the striving of the soul, representing the Manas or mental body.

• The Crescent (Moon): Embodies air, receptivity, and openness to higher influences, encouraging flexibility and the embrace of subtle energies. This relates to the Buddhi.

• The Flame (Final Jewel or Sun): Symbolizes ether, enlightenment, and pure consciousness. Crowning the stupa, the flame marks the attainment of spiritual illumination and represents the Atman.

If we return to familiar concepts, the three base shapes—the square, sphere, and triangle—reflect our three lower bodies, or personality. Using the analogy of a blind man carrying a crippled man, illustrated on the right, we see how this dynamic plays out: the lower part of the stupa represents the lower self, which can move but lacks direction, while the upper part symbolizes the higher self or spirit, providing guidance and purpose. Together, these elements form a sacred map—a synthesis of matter and spirit—leading us from the tangible to the transcendent.

Page 5: Triangle Symbolism as Way of Consciousness Expansion

The triangle stands as a potent symbol of spiritual ascent and transformation. In the teachings of Master DK, it embodies the triad of light, love, and power—core principles that underpin much of his work.

If we look closely at the triangle within the stupa, it represents the manas, or mental body, positioned between the crescent (buddhi) and the sphere (emotional body). The mental body is where humanity’s current evolutionary work is most focused. We begin with kama manas—intelligence driven by desire and emotion—and, through training and experience, develop our intellect and move toward individualization. Through repeated lifetimes, spiritual study, and the process of satiation, we gradually build the Antahkarana—the rainbow bridge that connects our diverse, personal lower mental body with the unifying upper mental body, transforming life experience into higher wisdom.

Returning to the stupa’s architecture, the triangle is a cross-section of our consciousness growth. In Tibetan Buddhism, this is described through three realms:

• Arupa Dhatu: The unlimited and immaterial realm, representing Will and the Shamballa concept (Light).

• Rupa Dhatu: The limited and immaterial realm, providing Love and Wisdom, and serving as the blueprint for material manifestation—akin to the Hierarchy (Love).

• Kama Dhatu: The limited and material realm, where using Active Intelligence we gather dharma through karma journey (Power or Understanding).

Notice how the triangle narrows as it ascends from the emotional body to buddhi, illustrating the one-pointedness of material experiences as they are refined and carried toward monadic consciousness as experiential virtues of the Humanity.

So, by meditating on this triangle’s symbolism, we channel our aspiration and spiritual will upward, aligning ourselves with transformative and illuminating forces. The triangle thus serves as a pathway for expanding consciousness and harmonizing the lower and upper aspects of our being.

 Page 6: Borobudur, the Living Teacher of Awakening

Borobudur, the majestic Buddhist mandala in stone rising from the heart of Java, stands as a living embodiment of stupa symbolism in sacred architecture. Its spiral path of circumambulation — ascending through successive terraces — becomes a walking meditation, a physical enactment of the soul’s journey from the realms of desire (Kama Dhatu), through the disciplined clarity of form (Rupa Dhatu), and toward the formless radiance of spirit (Arupa Dhatu).

This ascending pilgrimage echoes the inner path described by Master DK in Glamour: A World Problem. Each level or turning of Borobudur’s pyramid mirrors the conquest of the four great inner veils: maya (distortions of the physical plane), glamour (emotional entanglements), illusion (mental misidentification), and the dweller on the threshold (the crystallized will of the separated self).

As one ascends, the monument becomes a map of the antahkarana — the bridge of light between lower mind and higher soul. Borobudur thus becomes not only a monument to enlightenment but a living teacher, inviting us to walk its wisdom in our own lives, step by step, breath by breath, toward the awakening of the radiant Self.

Page 7: Practical Frameworks of Stupa Symbolism

The stupa, as a sacred architectural mandala, offers a profound framework for visualizing the processes of involution and evolution, as well as the dynamics of the Seven Rays as taught by Madame Blavatsky and Master DK. Beginning with the Primordial Triad — Will, Love-Wisdom, and Active Intelligence — each divine aspect descends into its manifold reflections.

• The Will aspect diversifies into countless expressions of the process of form manifestation (or Ceremonial Magic)

• Love-Wisdom unfolds into myriad forms of Devotion

• Active Intelligence crystallizes into the richness of Concrete Knowledge, Science, and Structured thought.

This descent is mirrored in the involutionary arc — from spirit into matter — manifesting through the kingdoms of mineral, plant, animal, and finally human, reaching the nadir of the U-curve.

At this turning point, humanity lives within the tension of Harmony through Conflict — the interplay between personal/material energies and impersonal/spiritual forces. It is here that the journey of individualization matures, having gathered the fruits of diversity through the development of the material vehicle.

From this base, the path of evolution begins: the building of the antahkarana, the bridge of consciousness, leading toward unification and synthesis. This ascent transforms accumulated karma into dharma, and the virtues born of lived experience — love, beauty, and wisdom — begin to illuminate and enrich the primordial Active Intelligence aspect of the Triad.

The stupa thus becomes a living diagram of the soul’s journey: from descent into form, through conflict and integration, toward radiant synthesis and spiritual realization.

There are many ways to view the need for greater harmony in the world. One way is in terms of greater cooperation amongst people and nations, such as through the work of the United Nations. Another way is through respect for other religions and paths to God, born of insight and understanding, such as through the World Parliament of Religions and the worldwide Ecumentical movement. Yet another, is through the sharing of knowledge between the world's scientists in their search for truth in their effort to solve world problems. With Triangles, a new way has now been offered to humanity, working more esoterically and subjectively, through the visualization of triangles of light that can revolutionize human consciousness and allow the newer relationships within our planetary life to manifest and meet evolving world needs.

This new way of working is now possible because there are enough people on earth who understand the power of the mind to alter and precipitate consciousness, and who are willing to utilize their minds in cooperation together beyond all differences politically, religiously and ideologically. This group is the hope for humanity and the externalization of the New Group of World Servers. As members of the New Group of World Servers we are therefore being asked to work in this new way together, because it has the power to change the consciousness of humanity and usher in the Aquarian Age. This is a demonstration of a new level of consciousness and cooperation within the human kingdom which has never been seen before, since trials and testing of The Great War.

This new level of human consciousness is different because it recognizes the free will of the individual to his own beliefs, values and the right to live according to them, but also the ability to work together with others for the greater good of humanity. At this time of great world conflict, when many ideologies are competing for power and control, the New Group of World Servers is here to demonstrate this new level of harmony and cooperation that can only be forged from a shared purpose and goals that rise above lesser ambitions, opinions or beliefs. This is the great spiritual opportunity before us and as this New group we must avail ourselves of it for the sake and the future of humanity.

The radical nature of the New Group demands that we recognize and accept that our fellow Group members may think very differently than we do about many things, including how to solve the world's problems. But it is through an inner urge and sense of soulful duty that the group is being called together to willingly work and realize our higher purpose and potential through the work of Triangles. The work of Triangles can be viewed as an effort to apply the occult science of directing energy and force to evolve human consciousness and to override selfish human tendencies and allow the Aquarian goals for humanity to precipitate. It can also be viewed as a demonstration of the soul of humanity itself being expressed through the New Group, which is allowing this newer vision of humanity and the newer energies of the Aquarian Age, to take root in human consciousness as we transition from the old age to the new.

This new level of consciousness must be recognized and understood within our work in Triangles also, for when we start or participate in a new triangle, we do not know all that is in the hearts of our fellow triangle group members. We may think our group members share all of our beliefs and values politically or otherwise, because they have found their way to the same group or are in the same School, but that would be misleading. Just as the New group has been forged from people of all religions, political views and cultures, the Triangles group and its work is no different. But the existence of the group and its willingness to participate in this work together beyond all of these differences is expressing a new kind of consciousness, an Aquarian consciousness of Goodwill, group consciousness and Right Human Relationship.

We only know from the Triangles work we are doing together that we all seek to serve humanity and bring needed changes in consciousness to the world that will usher in an Age of peace and plenty. In Triangles work, therefore, we work with others beyond our own beliefs to reach this higher level of consciousness and purpose together. When we do this we are also growing the Triangles network from a deep esoteric place of unity, that is beyond all human and man-made differences, and which reaches in consciousness to a place where true unity and harmony resides. We are told that new energies are coming in that will stimulate greater conflict in the world as humanity works to discriminate between the ideas of the past, and those that will be needed to allow the newer and evolutionary changes to occur in the world so a new civilization can be born.

As the New Group of World Servers we are a vanguard to this future because we are voluntarily working out the conflicts within our own lives that are helping us to realize that which is needed to truly cooperate with each other. Through the fire and the rubble of our lives and group relationships, we are finding this vision and also holding it out to humanity, through the work of Triangles. In reality, we cannot know what the future will look like born of the aspirations of many millions of disciples all over the world, who are working to bring the new world into manifestation. It may look very different from what we can conceive of it now with our individual and limited viewpoint. This is the challenge offered to us in group work, to learn to listen and try to understand each other's points of view which may be very different from our own. But through this forging and synthesis a higher level consciousness will be achieved, that will bring the wisdom of humanity up a higher turn of the spiral that will manifest the Aquarian Age.

Until then, much needs to be weighed, measured and evaluated and decisions need to be made about what ideas will carry us forward, and what is of the past and needs to be discarded. This humanity will do as a group, led by those who are willing to do the work now within themselves and within their groups, to pave the way forward in human consciousness. We therefore work in Triangles together beyond our illusions and glamours about this possible future reality, so that God can work through us as a group. The power and the promise of the New group is that there are now enough of us on earth that can respond to the newer energies and understand the newer way of working, that we have become a center or channel through which higher and more potent energies can now reach humanity.

This also holds out the promise for humanity of the dissipation of these glamours and illusions. The thick fogs that cover the earth have been caused by countless millions of people over many millenia but now we have the ability to use the collective power of the group mind to shine a searchlight onto the field of human consciousness, and clear away that which is blocking the light of the group soul from being able to express itself in human consciousness. These glamours will continue to dissipate as a greater harmony is sought and realized by the New group and by humanity so that the universal reality beyond them can be realized. It is through this impersonal willingness of the New Group to serve humanity that the Aquarian ideals of group consciousness are being born within human consciousness.

This newer approach of working as a group must allow for a fluid synthesis to arise, so the greater unity and harmony of the group soul can be contacted and allowed to express itself so a greater soulfulness can be achieved. The work of synthesizing and harmonizing differences between opposing ideas within the group is the work of the New Age.This is replacing the former Piscean ways of fanatical adherence to one’s own set ideals at the expense of greater group harmony and represents God’s will seeking manifestation. Harmonizing differences of thought within the group can be accomplished through finding points of synthesis and compromise that allow for greater cooperation to manifest in the short term, which can also create building blocks or stepping stones towards a future greater harmony and unity.

The ability to consider opposing viewpoints about how the group can work together allows the universal truths which lie behind these viewpoints to be discovered, and the harmony from their integration within the group to be realized. This science of group work is growing and can be seen manifesting in everything from the ideas of teams in the business world, to sports teams and coalition building politically. Never in human history have we seen the growing idea for a need to work together in every context to create greater synthesis, cooperation and collaboration in all aspects of human life so the best outcome for all concerned, can be realized.

Triangles is the esoteric component to this outer expression of cooperation. It is through the building of triangles of light that the pathway towards that light is possible in human consciousness. Triangles can also be seen as the introduction for the first time in human history, of the mediating aspect of the human soul, which can help bridge between spirit and matter. It is through the soul that understanding and love forges a pathway forward and sees what is needed to bring form and matter together. Triangle's work is an expression of the soul of humanity seeking to build the needed forms that the newer Aquarian energies can be expressed through.

It must be reiterated that we are alive at a unique time and have a unique opportunity to be of service through the work of Triangles. We have through our conscious meditation and study realized the need for this work and have a great opportunity to serve humanity in this way. There is a growing need to be a channel for the Avatar of Synthesis and the Spirit of Peace, and it is through this work that we can assist the Christ in his mission to bring peace and plenty to humanity by the evolution of human consciousness, and the ushering in of the goals for the Aquarian Age of Goodwill, Group consciousness and Right Human Relations. As working members of the New Group of World Servers we are doing this first in our own lives and areas of service, but also through our willingness to cooperate together to build the lighted network of Triangles, that will allow these synthesizing and unifying energies to have the needed effect and take hold within the consciousness of the human kingdom.

We are at a pivotal time in human history when humanity is “needing to be released from the thralldom of matter” so that we can realize our sacredness as a kingdom and as a planet. We can only do this by the achieving of a soulful consciousness that recognizes matter and the Will of God, and it is through their right relationship, bring the two closer together achieving a new level of soulful consciousness and civilization. Through our work together in Triangles we can therefore “avail ourselves of a great spiritual opportunity,” to hasten this potential future for our planet and for humanity

Welcome to this Triangles Webinar for Monday, September 8th 2025.

My name is Vincent Claessens and I will introduce Mintze van der Velde from Geneva. He will join us in a minute in order to speak about Triangles and Science.

These monthly Triangles webinars have two major goals – both of which seek to strengthen the planetary network.

• First, to have a space where existing Triangles members can work together in a meditative visualisation in support of the Triangles network and to hear reflections and share ideas about world service through the power of thought from different Triangles co-workers.

• Secondly, to introduce new people to Triangles and hopefully stimulate the formation of new triangles.

We will begin with some introductory remarks about Triangles. Then we will work with a visualisation on the Great Invocation, which regular participants in this webinar are familiar with. This will be followed by a talk of our guest, Mintze. We will conclude with a Triangles meditation with a view to Energising the Planetary Network of Triangles.

It is always relevant to reflect about the Triangles, so that our daily meditation remains vibrant.

The Triangles network is made up of individuals around the planet who come from different spiritual backgrounds and share a common belief in the powerful role that meditation and invocation can bring light to new values which can guide humanity to a better world. A better world is not a dream, nor a utopian fantasy, but a world founded on right human relationships.

The name Triangles is significant at many levels. After all, the triangle, the three as one, is one of the most fundamental symbols in the major spiritual traditions: Let’s think for instance to the Christian Trinity, the Hinduist Trimurti or the Buddhist Triad.

The Triangles network consists of groups of three people who agree to link in thought every day, visualising themselves as a triangle of light and together invoking energies of Light and Goodwill by sounding the Great Invocation. That does not mean that the coworkers have to meditate at the same time. They can chose the moment of the day according to the local time that suits them. So there is no need for the three points in a triangle to link up at the same time or to be physically together.

Each triangle is part of the global network of Triangles. The network has been built over many decades and can be seen as a strong, potent structure in the etheric body of humanity and the Planet, through which spiritual energies flow into the consciousness of humanity to touch all those hearts and minds that are open to spiritual stimulation.

Allow me to share some thoughts about the present situation and the work of Triangle.

Today the human beings live in a state of tension. For most of them, it is a negative tension created by emotional troubles.

Indeed the current world situation is full of conflicts. Extreme points of view often seem irreconcilable. This can be seen at the international level: nationalistic perspectives prevent cordial understanding and sufficient political stability to bring about international unity.

At the individual level too, opinions clash so violently that social networks resemble a battlefield rather than a platform for sharing ideas or creating inclusive projects.

In short, we need to find the point of reconciliation that leads to synthesis, which is possible at a higher level than that of conflict. If we look at the base of a triangle, the point of reconciliation lies in the middle of the baseline. From this point, a path rises to the apex of the triangle, where the point of synthesis remains.

Three obstacles prevent us from reaching the middle path that leads to synthesis: fear, hatred and selfishness. Spiritual Light and Good Will, transmitted through the global network of triangles, are the best antidotes to these three poisons.

Faced with enormous global problems and challenges, we sometimes feel powerless. We'd all like to act, but we tell ourselves that individually our action will be ineffective. However, when we perform the Triangles meditation every day, we are acting not only with a whole network of thousands of collaborators, but also with the power and the light of the spiritual Hierarchy. The Triangles network is the interface between the material world, where all human problems and issues arise, and the spiritual world, where creative and lasting solutions are emerging.

Through the power of our concentrated, enlightened thought, we strengthen this network and encourage the emergence of a better world where right human relations reign, and the birth of a responsible and creative humanity facing global problems.

When we look at the world situation through the media (TV, press or internet), we can become pessimistic because they always draw a dramatic picture of the world focusing on the worst and the sensational news. All that stuff conveys and highlights a bad image of human being.

But what if it isn't true? What if this image was not compliant with the very nature of human being.

According to the American Psychology Association dictionary, negativity bias refers to "the tendency of people to give disproportionate weight and consideration to negative information and events". Generally speaking, negative elements make a greater impression on the mind than positive ones.

In his book “Humankind: A Hopeful History”, international bestseller Rutger Bregman, a Dutch historian and journalist, provides new perspective on the past of human history. Contrary to what the philosopher Hobbes and the psychoanalyst Freud said, the characteristic of our basic psychological nature is kindness. We tend to cooperation rather than competition, and we are more inclined to trust rather than distrust one another. Bregman shows us that believing in human generosity and collaboration isn't merely optimistic—it's realistic. It has huge implications for how society functions. When we think the worst of people, it brings out the worst in our politics and economics. But if we believe in the reality of humanity's kindness and altruism, it will form the foundation for achieving true change in society. These changes are already underway. And that is precisely what the media don’t show us in the right proportion.

If the human nature is better than we thought, we could be more optimistic and cultivate hope. That was the keyword of the last World Goodwill Newsletter and I would like to quote a passage inspired by the words of the visionary leader Vaclav Havel : “hope is a dimension of the soul … an orientation of the spirit, an orientation of the heart… hope has nothing to do with ‘things going well’ but rather draws on the ability to “work for something because it is good, not just because it has a chance to succeed.”

What unites Triangles workers is the use of the Great Invocation and a willingness to use the power of thought and of visualization in service of humanity. The work is simple but very deep – it depends on the regular participation of Triangles partners in the simple daily act of alignment with the three points of the triangle and use of the Great Invocation.

If you are new to this work and respond to this idea of planetary service, you might like to consider forming a Triangle or, if you are already a member of Triangles, you might consider forming another. Thus more spiritual energy will be released into our world. This is especially true of those who are already consciously treading a spiritual path and developing skills in work with the lighted, loving energies of the soul or Higher Self.

There is further information on the Triangles website, www.triangles.org, about how to form a triangle – including a section where you can form a Triangle online, by entering your details and inviting others to contact you to form a Triangle.

We will now go into our Visualisation: Reflection on the Great Invocation

1. Link in thought, as a soul, as a point of love and light, with all those people throughout the world who are part of the Triangles service work.

2. Visualise the world situation as best you can and see people everywhere glowing with a dim light and, here and there, points of brighter light where men and women of spiritual intention and of loving hearts are working for their fellow human beings. 

3. Then visualise (through the creative imagination) the vivid light of the Spiritual Kingdom streaming towards humanity and slowly merging with the light which is already in humanity. Say the first stanza of the adapted GI From the point of Light within the Mind of God Let Light stream forth into human minds. Let Light descend on Earth.

4. Then ponder upon the reappearance of the Coming World Teacher; realise that no matter by what name He may be called in the many world religions, He is still the same great Identity; reflect and speculate upon the possible results of His appearance. Then say the second stanza of the Great Invocation: From the point of Love within the Heart of God Let Love stream forth into human hearts. May the Coming One return to Earth. 

5. Endeavour to concentrate your fixed intention to serve and to spread love in your surroundings and realise that in so far as can do these things you are attempting to blend your personal will with the divine Will. Then say stanza three of the Invocation: From the Centre where the Will of God is known Let Purpose guide all little human wills— The Purpose which the Masters know and serve. [2 minutes] PAUSE Then sound the OM, dedicating the threefold personality to the working out of the Divine Plan. OM 

We are now going to listen to Mintze van der Velde, who will talk on Triangles and Science. 

by Andrew Binstock

In Triangles, we are attempting to animate a network of light, love, and will-togood through which we can distribute higher energies throughout humanity.

An important question in this work is how exactly do we distribute the light we invoke? It is not as though invocation alone is sufficient, and from there the light will enlighten by its simple presence. Rather we, like Prometheus, must bring forward the light we are given. One group of workers, called by the Tibetan the “trained observers” has a special responsibility to do this, that is, to carry the light to the astral plane and thereby reduce the extensive illusion that operates there.

My talk today is about being a trained observer. While I speak as though I know how this is done, the truth is that this is something I’ve been working on for a long time; and I want to share with you what I have found helpful. As for my background, I have spent much of my career as a member of the press in the technology sphere. To be good at that job, one has to learn to observe with detachment. In my case, I was the editor of a magazine with 250,000 subscribers, and when you’re communicating to that many people, you soon learn that taking a position that appears logical and uncontroversial will inevitably appear illogical to some segment of the readership. And if you can listen with detachment and ignore the sometimes salty language, you come to see that critics often surface an aspect you underappreciated or actually misunderstood. By maintaining detachment and listening repeatedly, you begin to learn to view events and critics with a practical dispassion coupled with a deep desire to fully understand context and ramifications. You strive to be a good observer.

To do that, you must observe with care: you must perceive accurately and with a mentality that is open to modification, even if that modification goes against a preferred narrative.

Today, I will focus primarily on the first part: perceiving accurately. In my experience, the biggest obstacle to accurate perception is lack of detachment. It is a truism that who we are determines what we see, or put more colloquially “we see what we want to see.” And, unfortunately, this still true even if we this bear it in mind as we’re observing. Put another way, awareness is not sufficient to get us out of the box—we must first learn to be detached in all things.

2 We are told by the Tibetan: [slide]

“If you could but grasp the full significance of detachment and stand serene as the observing Director, there would be no more waste[d] motion, no more mistaken moves and no more false interpretations, no wandering down the bypaths of daily living, no seeing others through distorted and prejudiced vision and—above all—no more misuse of force.”

That’s quite a stupendous reward for being a detached observer, wouldn’t you say?

It sometimes helps to have a model for detached observation. One of the most useful models is a medical doctor. If you are rushed to the emergency room with a serious wound, you don’t want the doctor to say “Oh, my goodness! I’m having a hard time not getting queasy looking at that wound. I bet that really hurts. Well, I want you to know we’re all very upset to see you like this, but we’ll try to do our best.”

Rather, you want someone dispassionate who, like the Tibetan says, sees things as they really are and does not waste motion. You want a mental approach not an astral one. And the mental approach will bring healing and dissipate the pitched astral tension of being rushed to an emergency room. We too can be healers by remaining mentally polarized, especially in situations where astral energy dominates.

But we can and should go beyond this into the world of causes. The triangles work is part of an esoteric tradition. Esoteric in this sense means the ability to enter into the world of causes and operate from there, most often by creation of thoughtforms and direction of energy.

Returning to the image of a doctor. In 2010, a close, middle-aged friend of mine went to the doctor due to pains on the side of his abdomen. After x-rays, it was clear that he had broken two ribs. Had the doctor not peered into the world of causes and simply remained at the level of treating the effects, he would have treated my friend’s broken ribs and sent him home. So, mentally polarized but not aware of causes.

But, the doctor took an additional step: he asked my friend how he broke his ribs, to which my friend could recall no prior injury. The doctor ordered additional tests, consulted with experts, and little by little was able to determine that my friend was suffering from multiple myeloma—a cancer of the blood that presents itself by making certain bones, especially those in the trunk unusually brittle. All of a sudden, broken ribs were the least of my friend’s worries. He spent a year in the hospital and was cured. We too can be healers if we learn to observe more deeply.

The Tibetan gives us specific instructions on how to enter the world of causes. These are enumerated in the opening pages of Rays and Initiations. [slide] The central theme is to truly be mentally polarized. This involves:

• meditation leading to the realization that one is only the Observer;

• a reiterated appreciation of the words “I am the Self, the Self am I;”

• a close consideration throughout the day to the use and misuse of energy,

• the development of mind control so that the Thinker grips and holds steady the mental processes

• all this built on a base of pure character.

That’s a lot of work!

Like all endeavors that require the cultivation of new habits, progress can be made by exercising skills in small amounts, like etudes for the piano, and slowly expanding the range of the skills.

For work on a personal level, I’ve found the following exercise useful: Put aside a planned period of time, starting, say, with 20 minutes, in which your reaction to everything you experience will be not good/bad, pleasant/unpleasant, but rather the internal reiteration of “I am only the Observer.” Nothing more.

I started doing this when out running errands. I observed the man driving like a maniac, the broken-down truck blocking a lane, the homeless man screaming, the shopping cart with the squeaky wheel, the long check-out line, the impassive cashier, and on and on—the thousands of micro-judgments that fill our waking hours. And to each, I respond internally “I am just the observer, I do not judge.”

If your experience is like mine, as you move into this pure observer mode, you’ll experience an enormous weight being removed—a weight I never knew I was carrying. For the first time, I could simply be where I was, doing whatever I was doing, and observe the world around me without transforming it according to my preference.

Initially, this exercise is difficult in the same way meditation is difficult: you keep slipping back into the chatter of micro-judgments, but with practice, in time you can sustain this enforced detachment longer and enjoy the freedom it brings. It has been helpful to me, in particular, when I am irritated about something or elated, I suddenly self-remember and can snap back into the observer mode, thereby freeing myself from the need to opine and imagine actions I might take.

Among the biggest obstacles to expanding this effort and more deeply embracing the Tibetan’s recommendations are interactions with friends, family, and the world as presented in the news. I leave the first two to you, but let’s talk about the news.

When we consume the news today, it can be difficult to maintain detachment. This is because the presentation is purposely intended to elicit an emotional reaction from us: outrage, horror, grief, and frustration, or elation. The media analyst Neil Postman wrote in the 1980s, that most news is context-free and presented as entertainment. He posits that the advent of the telegraph brought news from foreign lands to people who had no need to know it. [slide] When the telegraph became established, Postman writes “Everything became everyone’s business. For the first time, we were sent information which answered no question. […] Where people once sought information to manage the real contexts of their lives, now they had to invent contexts in which otherwise useless information might be put to some apparent use.”

But Postman points out, the introduction of photos and video into the news created context so we didn’t have to. While the telegraph might tell us the relevance-free news that King Charles of the UK is ill, a photo of the King looking drawn and pale creates an immediate context, evoking alarm, sympathy, and other emotions—all of them impotent precisely due to their lack of relevance.

Much of today’s news is presented this way—with video and images that provide little information but elicit powerful emotional reactions. Consider the extensive coverage when a mass shooting occurs, or floods, or multi-car accidents. Unless you’re personally involved, these stories infect our quest for real information and real understanding of our world because they are slipped into legitimate news sources, making it difficult to remain detached and undistracted while searching for the information we need. As Thoreau pointed out in his essay, Walden, [slide] “If we read of one man robbed, or murdered, or killed by accident […] we never need read of another. One is enough. If you are acquainted with the principle, what do you care for a myriad instances and applications?”

I should pause here and observe that what I’m saying is not driven by indifference. In fact, I believe Pope Francis when he said the world is suffering from a crisis of indifference. This is rather indifference of the doctor to the astral as she is trying to heal a patient. A mental polarization avoids most things that elicit emotion. We are trying to bring light to the astral plane, not the other way around.

But suppose for reasons of your own, the conflict in Gaza has deep resonance for you. How do you achieve a level of detachment so that you can see into the world of causes and perhaps find a way to be of service?

What I’ve found helpful is to maximize the understanding of the history and the context of present events—the longer the time scale, the better, because most major problems today have roots that go back generations. And after getting a good grasp of the issues, then to listen or read responsible parties’ proposed solutions. For example, on Gaza, there is an excellent interview on the World Goodwill website done by Kathy Newburn of the late, wise rabbi Michael Lerner, [slide] who wrote extensively on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Voices that are mental, rather than astral, can provide great light, which you then focus on the many astral eddies that this or any other conflict engenders.

In international conflicts, reference to Alice Bailey’s “Destiny of Nations,” can also enable us to peer into the cultural factors driving behaviors and conflicts. And so on.

Allow me to wrap up here. Working to become trained observers enables us to bring light where it’s most sorely needed, the astral plane. To be a conduit for light is difficult, we must first maintain mental polarization and then exert ourselves to observe and experience the world at that mental level. The image of the doctor is a useful one. We seek to observe accurately and respond intelligently. To develop the skills of accurate perception, we can practice detachment through meditation and repeated small exercises that force the astral body to refrain from its unceasing chatter of like/don’t like. In so doing, we create a space—that is, a delay in our reactions—in which we can wisely determine appropriate actions, if indeed any action is needed. As the historian Will Durant once observed, “Nothing is often the right thing to do, and always a clever thing to say.”

Such, I believe, is the path of the trained observer.

 I write regularly on this topic on a blog on Substack called the Trained Observer. I convey recommendations based on my work on this topic, which includes interviews with trained observers: doctors, human rights observers, etc. If these insights interest you, perhaps you’ll join me there and we can walk this path together.

Thank you. ---Andrew Binstock blog: trainedobserver.substack.co

The light that always has been

Eva Säter

It is lovely to have this opportunity to share some thoughts with you today on Light with particular reference to Light and the plant kingdom. Humanity has a great responsibility toward the evolution of the lower kingdoms of nature and in helping these lives evolve. And so its relevant to reflect on how our Triangle service, with its evocation and distribution of soul light, relates to the natural world and in this case, the plant kingdom, as well as to the upliftment of the human kingdom.

First it is inspiring to recall the prophecy that the Christ will fuse and blend within Himself three principles of divinity; and when he appears: ”the light that always has been will be seen; the love that never ceases will be realised, and the radiance, deep concealed, will break forth into Being”...”We shall then have a new world – one which will express the light, the love and the knowledge of God in a cresendo of revelation.”i These are the three divine principles which we are attempting to visualise and circulate in our triangle service and build into a flourishing network of distribution. Light is the path for His planned work of bringing love and radiance into the world.

Focusing on this first principle, the principle of light, it can be refreshing to turn one’s eyes towards the plant kingdom and see the light reflected through this kingdom, since their life is dependent on light received from the sun. Photosynthesis, the chemical translation of sunlight and air into coalbased sugar and oxygen, is after all that which expresses the creative genius of this kingdom. Photosynthesis, which the cyanobacteria brought to the algae, and the merging of cyanobacteria and algae, has been such an evolutionary success that the vegetable kingdom which grew out of this collaboration and synthesis between two different organisms, has been spirtually recognized to be the one gift that the planet Earth has given the solar system, so far.

The story begins : ”A billion and a half years ago, an alga-like cell swallowed a cyanobacteria. That alga-like cell was the early organism from which both animals and fungi would later evolve, and the cyanobacteria is an ancestor of the unthinkable diverse bacteria that flood our world today. But together they were the start of a new bransch of life entirely. Afloat in the murky waters of the Precambrian, this single sentinel of a new kingdom began to photosynthesize. It took sunlight, and alchemized the spare materials of its environment – water, carbon dioxide, maybe a few trace minerals – into sugar.”ii

This is a quote from the brilliant and suggestive book The Light Eaters, the New Science on Plant Intelligence by environmental journalist Zoë Schlanger. Here, she tells the drama of creation in a new way, finely weighing and following up on both sides of science. On one side, there are those scientists who argues that plants have intelligence and agency and on the other side there are those who argue against it. From this and her own study and experience of plants she is wrestling a vision of the future of plant life. This vision is open to give plants legal status, so that they can be have a voice for protection from extinction and the destruction of entire ecosystems necessary for their survival and further evolution.

She argues, together with many scientists in the field of botany and evolutionary ecology, that plants have agency. The word vegetable has been used as an word for brain-dead human beings. But the root meaning of the verb vegetare means to animate or enliven. Vegere was the very state of being alive, being active. The activity of plants and their behaviour are now studied by behaviour research teams and the same study design which has been used for animals can be applied to plants, in almost all cases. There are even personality research going on with sagebrush.

Agency can be defined as flexibility in behaviour, which plants no doubt have. In spite of their immobility they can respond creatively to the environment, and provide for their own need to grow, regenerate and survive harsh conditions with the production of a great variety of chemical compounds that attract or repell as the need may be for the moment. By interior regulation of the pressure in the veins in different part of the root system or other parts of the plant they can stimulate growth or stop provide for a non-productive part that cannot photosynthesize enough for the wellbeing of the whole plant.

The divide between scientists and philosophers in the Western world can be traced back as far as the ancient Greek philosophy. Aristotle placed in his ladder of life, scala naturae, plants on the bottom and humanity at the top. Aristotle argued there were no intellligence, nor sensation at the bottom. One rung up he gave animal sensations. Rationality was kept at the top for humanity for the instrumental use and rule over the natural world, while giving up earlier ritual acts to have peace with and show deference to the elements and the nonhuman creatures. It was Aristotle’s thought model that came to dominate the natural sciences and Western morality, and as we all know, this hasn’t changed much. But there were exceptions.

Aristotle’s had an outstanding student named Theophrastus. When Aristotle died, he left his school to Theophrastus, who had a special interest in plants. He published the first known book about plants and their behaviour. Plants, he wrote, were not passive, but were constantly moving, seeking after their desires and they showed both likes and dislikes.

Also Charles Darwin, after his On the Origin of Species, dedicated his interest to plants. Together with his son Francis he observed their movements, why they moved and the way they did it, and considered plants as subjects that had activity and purpose. He studied their root systems and the incentives for growing roots in one direction or the other. He found that the tip of the root, the root cap, fuctioned as a brain that could sense moisture, nutrients, obstacles and dangers and direct the the growth of the rot from this information. He called the root cap a ”root-brain”, something which no botanist at that time believed in. Since then modern science has collected more evidence that plants are sensitive to touch, hearing, vision, have memory and can perform intelligent social behaviour even though they canot explain how they do it. They are alert, awake to the world, spontaneous, responsive, collecting information and making constant decisions of how to act for their survival. They are communicating across complex family relations and with other species.

To give a few very brief examples of agency, plants like tobacco, sagebrush, red alder and willow respond specifically and exclusively to the sound of its predator, for example the chewing of a leafeating caterpillar. The sound triggers the plant to create chemical compounds that can sicken or kill the caterpillar. Other sounds can make the same plants fight off harmful fungi infections or begin to prepare for drought conditions. Plant roots can hear the sound of running water under the dirt and orient its growth towards it.

In the light spectrum, plants absorbs the red and the blue wavelengths. The green we see in a plant is the wavelength they do not absorb, but reflect back. This is also used by plants when they decide the size and quality of a nearby plant, and adjust their hight, in order not to relegate a close family member to exist in the shade. Botanists have found various light receptors in plants, so plants can evaluate the changes in the colour and quality of the sun light and see if and where the light has passed through a nearby plant.

Plants have evolved kin recognition. If sunflowers are grown in rows packed together, they avoid growing roots aggressively at patches in the soil with hight nutrition. Instead, they adjust the growth of their root systems to leave nutrients to their siblings. They tilt their stalks at alternating angles not to shade their kin-neighbours. There are many more examples of social behaviour that give a sound proportion to the old belief that plants always compete aggressively for food and sun light. Plants can adjust to complex variations in their habitat, and show true social skills.

Due to our modern life style it is rarely remebered, nor gratefully acknowledged, that the plant kingdom is an older brother, without which our life on Earth would not be possible. We could not exist without their ability to photosynthesize light and carbon dioxide. Neither animals nor humans would be able to find sustenance or build bodies. Compared to the vegetable kingdom the human kingdom is an infant and therefore vulnerable because we cannot survive without our brother. They preceded us and now amount to 80 percent of Earth’s living matter. Scientists calculate that due to photosynthesis there are more living cells in the world than grains of sand or stars in the sky.

When we take the next evolutionary step as a human family we will not be alone. We have hitherto been working in co-dependence with the lower kingdoms of nature. We share the light from the sun, the qualities that has built the minerals in the earth, the water and the oxygen plants breathe out into the atmosphere, and the coal-based sugars the vegetable kingdom produces which is making it possible for plants, animals and humans to grow bodies and find sustenance on the earth.

Our dedicated attention in the triangles to the divine energies synthezised by the Christ at the center of each triangle answers to the call of the human kingdom to draw nearer to the Hierarchy. We might see the exuberant and creative biodiversity of the plant kingdom as a pre-vision of the spiritual creativity and ingenuity that a soul-infused humanity will be capable of creating from a fusion with the kingdom of soul light and love.

In spite of being the more evolutionary immature of the human and plant kingdoms, we are on the verge of giving birth to the Christ principle of love-wisdom within the human consciousness, and therefore to the coming into manifestation of one more kingdom in nature, the fifth kingdom, the kingdom of souls. Our work with triangles is laying the etheric foundation for the coming externalisation of the spiritual Hierachy on the material plane.

Sometimes, and perhaps when it is least expected it happens that we are struck by wonder. The plant kingdom can give many such moments, but so does the spirtual world. I would like to close with a quote from a poem with the title WONDER by poet Mei-Mei Berssenbrygge. Like Zoë Schlanger she balances delicately between scientific observation and a spiritual vision in dialogue with the world, which to her includes the land, plants and the stars.

One summer night, walking from our house after dinner, stars make the sky almost white. My awe is like blindness; wonder exchanges for sight. Star by star comprises a multiplicity like thought, but quiet, too dense for any dark planet between. While single stars are a feature of the horizon at dusk, caught at the edge of the net of gems. Transparence hanging on its outer connectedness casts occurence as accretion, filling in, of extravagant, euphoric blooming. Then, being as spirit in matter is known, here to there. I go home and tell my children to come out and look. The souls of my two children fly up like little birds into branches of the Milky Way, chatting with each other, naming constellations, comparing crystals and fire. They exclaim at similarities between what they see in the sky and on our land. So, by wonder, they strengthen correspondence between sky and home. Earth is made from this alchemy of all children, human and animal, combined with our deep gratitude.iii

This poem made me think of when our triangles and the planetary network can be seen through etheric vision in the future and its dynamic transmitting Light will be revealed as a wondrous creation. In the same way that plants have evolved the genius to alchemise light from the sun, we have the creative genius to seek out every ray of light from the soul, from the heart of the sun, and higher still as our spiritual creativity evolve. And in the process we will not only give form to a new kingdom on earth but also to a new culture of the soul and a more enlightened civilisation. In preparation for this we serve, and build and pray for the love that never ceases and for the radiance, deep concealed to break forth.

Thank you for listening.

i .The Reappearance of the Christ, p.94

ii The Light Eaters, the New Science on Plant Intellgence p.26

iii A Treatise on Stars p.6