ABSTRUSE AND ENIGMATIC PROGRESS

When observing our spiritual development, there is a natural tendency to feel driven by the need to be constantly moving forward. The same can be said about our observation of the world’s transition towards a new civilization. ‘Progress’ from this perspective becomes a matter of urgency, and its apparent absence is seen as ‘failure’ or inadequacy.

Yet true progress cannot be measured only by that which is in the foreground of experiences and events. Transition and transformation take time. Evolution works in cycles and seasons. It is not a linear process and cannot be forced. When we are immersed in the process of development, we often don’t see the bigger picture as the soul sees it. Again, this is as true of our own individual development as it is of nations and the world of nations. Qualities do not appear overnight – in ourselves or in the world. They need to be ‘tried on,’ imagined, valued, investigated, cultivated and supported if they are to take root. The qualities that exist in the soul need to be called forth into the worlds of matter. Time produces the challenges and tests needed before qualities can grow into mature stable parts of one’s being, reaching right into the substance of our lives. And the same is true of the qualities conditioning relationships in a group, a culture or a nation.

This is why patience is such an essential quality of any deeper approach to progress, development or change. Although we don’t often see it, patience is really a quality of the will. It depends on an understanding that a higher purpose is working out and the important thing that we need to ‘do’ is to persist and hold steady in the face of challenges and opposing forces, trusting in the deeper processes unfolding in and through the self and the world.

Action that is patient does not expect immediate results. It persists in practices that anchor higher qualities into mind and heart, relationship and society. The ability and willingness to wait are more measured, designed to support the working out of what may be temporarily beyond our reach. It may be the long-term vision held by the soul or the Plan held in the Mind of God – each well-worth awaiting as part of the preparation for appropriate and dynamic activity when the time is right.

These refined qualities of patience and persistence are not only important when forming and sustaining an individual Triangle, but also in stabilizing and strengthening the entire network. With each Triangle radiating enlightened goodwill, this network is an electric field of relationships, the full expression of which is the distribution of healing energies for all of humanity and a world in transition.

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So many aspirants lack a sense of humor, and take themselves far too seriously. They seem to leave behind them their good sense, when they enter a new field of phenomena. It is useful to record what is seen and heard and then to forget about it until such time as we have begun to function in the kingdom of the soul; then we will be no longer interested in its recollection. We must also avoid personalities and pride, for they have no place in the life of the soul, which is governed by principles and love to all beings. If these things are developed, there is no danger of any student of meditation being side-tracked, or delayed; he will inevitably enter some day into that world of which it is said 'eye hath not seen or ear heard, the things which God hath revealed to them that love him', the time being dependent upon his persistence and patience. From  Intellect to Intuition, Alice A. Bailey – pp. 253-4