The Way of Joy
When life is viewed from the perspective of the eternal realities it is seen differently. We live in a world where too often the unreal trumps the Real, wherein darkness appears as light, where up seems like down--leaving many people confused, not knowing who or what to believe or which way to turn. This situation is all part of the overall astral reversal which conditions our world today. However, despite the outer conditions, the fogs and mists, many people are developing an ability to focus themselves within the mental body and consequently seeing through the glamour of the times. Deglamoured and disillusioned humanity awaits the coming revelation.
It is only through the mind that the door of entry to the inner worlds, and not the world of astral fantasmagoria, opens. The mind is the sixth sense, and just like all the other senses, it must be cultivated and developed. It is a threefold vehicle: it enables the soul can gather information from the three worlds, it is also the vehicle whereby the soul can convey information to the integrated personality and its third function is to provide a window or means whereby one can gain insight into the world of the soul on its own plane. The door towards these higher realizations does not open through sentiment, through wishful thinking, through desire, but rather it opens as we use our minds to cut through the ages long tendencies to wander in glamour and begin the more challenging work of forging those alignments within consciousness that enable us to pierce through the separating veils and see things, and ourselves, as they are, as we are.
Over time we accrue a measure of wisdom. But we are not often born wise, rather we can become so through discipline, and perseverance and a growing mental polarization. And as the wisdom of the inner realms matures within us a new way begins to open up, one that is characterized by a new found freedom, sometimes called “the Way of Light and of Joy.” As we enter that way we begin to partake of that vibratory state, those fleeting deep impressions, that are ever present but which too often remain hidden or blocked from view by the perturbations, that more often than not qualify the unredeemed substance of the mental plane.
In Triangles we work to bridge these gaps between the seen and unseen worlds and thereby aid in the manifestation or materialization of that which is awaiting precipitation. And so, in the midst of the crisis and the strife, the chaos and the many challenges, we can stand as beacons, shining forth the light, helping others to find their way.
Joy comes in the morning, it’s said. But as yet we are only experiencing the dawning of the Aquarian age we might say that the joy that will characterize the coming cycle is not yet truly expressing itself. But the dawn, which characterizes the present time has its special virtues, particularly for those who have eyes to see and ears to hear. And it would also seem that members of the group of world servers have an advantage and a sort of pipeline to that joy because they have caught the vision of that which is upon the horizon and they sense the morning while the dawn is still dark,
Birds represent the quality of joy and are often used in seed thoughts given out to students:
“I am a bird of song. Those in the high air can hear my song. My fellow pilgrims feel my joy.”
"Joy settles as a bird within the heart but has winged its way from the secret place within the head. I am that bird of joy. Therefore, with joy I serve." Discipleship Vol I, p. 158
The peculiar type of radiation which I want you to endeavour to express is that light which reaches others upon the wings of joy. Discipleship Vol I, 181
We can see why birds are a symbol of the soul’s joy. Birds convey freedom--the freedom to soar into the heights but also to descend and alight upon the things of this world. They are messengers, vehicles for communication from higher realms, embodying at times devic force.
We can think of the qualities that birds possess and seek to develop them within our own nature to lessen any tendencies towards feeling weighed down and overburdened. Then joy can become a gift we bring to others, to lift their burdens.
It’s interesting when considering birds to observe their aliveness during the pre-dawn hour. They herald the new day, when the sky is still dark. Thus they are symbols of shradda, or utter fearlessness, of recognition of that which is on the horizon but not yet manifest to the still sleeping world. We might, therefore, consider the chorus of birds before dawn as a symbol of the joy that is being released by the group of world servers.
It’s said that at least one of the reasons birds sing in the morning is because they are taking in the onslaught of oxygen that is being released by the trees as dawn approaches. Trees are sometimes seen as symbols of the antahkarana, the tree with roots above and flowers below. So as the esoteric workers who stand as the heart of the new group consecrate themselves to their inner bridging work, the Plan precipitates, the air is filled with these precipitations and it becomes as oxygen to fuel the minds of those working in the other departments of the group.
Joy is that vibration that qualifies the inner ashrams.--it emanates from that high place and radiates out through the new group to aid in bringing the soul’s radiation to those who can respond. Of course this quality of the soul’s joy differs from its all too often concrete human interpretations. We know about happiness, with its ups and downs, its impact and pull upon the astral body. Humanity searches wildly after happiness only to find that once it is attained, it never satisfies. Joy, on the other hand, is something other, not dependent upon external things. Joy comes through finding opportunities to release soul energy within the daily round of life experience. We can seek out these opportunities, create space for them, and then they will increasingly come our way, find outlets in our lives. The Tibetan teacher gives this counsel:
Learn....to include more people within the range of your daily thought. It is good exercise for the disciple in training. Let your influence, welling forth from a steady and radiant centre, make itself felt in ever widening ranges of contact. Seize each opportunity for a more expanded interplay with other lives, touching them wherever you possibly can, and achieve in that way that fluidity of response which will carry you forth upon the tide of an ever richer service.” Discipleship Vol I, 310-11
Kathy Newburn