There were no bells or whistles. There was no out-of-body flight or any sensations entering an altered state of consciousness. There was nothing as dramatic as what had happened when I was seven. I only saw a human figure appear in front of me. This was not a specific person but a generic individual, almost like a department store mannequin. It was not a being of Light as I was used to seeing, but seemed sculpted from light that glowed from within itself. It definitely appeared solid and physical, even though radiant with light. It seemed bursting with meaning; so much so that if information were heat and light, it would seem that this individual was standing in front of a furnace. I felt overwhelmed by the insights this figure contained, and could not grasp them all. Almost fifty years later, I’m still unpacking the information it had to offer. But one thing stood out.
This figure represented an incarnate person in physical embodiment. It was neither a spiritual nor a non-physical being. It was not an image of what a person might become if he or she left the physical plane or became some kind of ascended master. I t was an image of the spiritual Light contained within and radiating from the act of individuation and personhood. It was the light of being a person. As I watched, the figure changed into a chalice and then became a figure again. It did this three times altogether, as if emphasizing that this person also represented a quality of holding. Afterward, I thought of this figure as “the person who is also a chalice”. At the same time this vision unfolded in front of me, I sensed the presence of a group of inner beings in the background, one of whom came to stand behind me. He said quite distinctly, “There is a new spirituality emerging, a spirituality of personhood and incarnation. It will represent a new way of being in the world.”

- David Spangler, “Apprenticed to Spirit”

Comment by Uli — September 14, 2012 @ 11:11 pm

‘… the soul is the spark of the Spirit in its plunge into the deepest depths of total being. Our manifestation is the soul of the Unmanifest, thus all material form is the encasement of the psychic substance and is the channel for the flowering and outpouring of its energy. Creation in matter is the crystalisation of soul.’

‘… [Man’s] soul is the manifested universe within him. He finds that it too is the perfect equilibrium; that it is the Infinite and the Eternal of his totality of being; that it is the centre of harmonisation, and that it pulls together the strings of all his various times and unites them around his great pulse. And that his individual pulse is then adjoined through his soul to the One Great Pulse that is the psychic being of the Unmanifest, the all-pervading reality and the totality of the universes.

‘Time is the field within which the marriage of Spirit and Soul takes place. Time and Timelessness are one and the same. When we speak of the Spirit, we speak of that which is Timeless; when we speak of the Soul, we speak of the Timeless in Time – that which is boundless yet bound, by powers inherent in itself.’ . . .

‘The freedom or formlessness of the Absolute would be its shackles if it had not the inherent possibility of self-manifestation within the limits of Form. The Formless and the Formed are one. Their simultaneous existence and their inherent oneness are what constitute absoluteness of being.

‘In the individual these same potentialities and relationships exist. He is both free and bound, formless and formed: his soul is the bridge in between, the solver of the paradox. And soul is only conceivable or existent in matter; it is the spark of the Absolute Spirit in matter, the connecting bridge between the two poles of being: the supreme light of limitless spirit and the thick depths of dark matter. The soul essence is the hidden light in matter. It is its heart. The soul-essence is the core of Matter: the Kore. … The experience of the soul is the realisation of the Eternal Now. Added to this is the knowledge that all things can be known through this centre. All knowledge of the Manifest, as well as the Unmanifest, can come by a plunge into this limitless pool. The soul is a bottomless well of Light; to understand what is without and beyond we need only to plunge into the sweet, the blissful waters of this infinite yet infinitesimal pool. The soul is the point where the harmonisation of Time and Space occurs in the being of man – and also in the being of the Absolute. The soul is the harmony of Space and Time, thus it speaks to us of the Infinite as well as the Finite, the Eternal and the Temporal, the Point and the Circle. Through the soul the individual can know that the vast and the minute are one. And it is therein that we can solve the paradox of the simultaneous existence and oneness of the Unmanifest and the Manifest, – of the simultaneous being of the One and the Multiple, their perfect and utter harmony.

‘Our universe is of this essence: a perfect utter harmony. Our Earth is of this essence: a perfect utter harmony. Our evolution as a collective becoming is to assist in the manifestation of perfect harmony. The collective body of mankind can realise its soul by realising the principle of Harmony that is its fundamental core and purpose of being.

‘In this light the conscious development and understanding of a collective soul is indispensible in order for the evolution to be successful in its leap to a higher status. But all things resolve themselves in the individual, for the collectivity is but a multiplication of the one. As each individual realises his soul, the conscious formation of a collective soul becomes possible. And thereby the new way becomes manifest for Earth.’

Patrizia Norelli-Bachelet (Thea)

Comment by Uli — September 14, 2012 @ 11:33 pm

The comment about the content of this gentleman’s works being so intellectual was uplifting to me because I don’t think of myself as being intellectual. I do think of myself as being full into inquiry. Always seeking, in genuine desire to bring myself to that place of true presence. A place without self doubt, and out of mind. Metaphorically I have been slaying the dragon to find my inner jewel for as long as I can remember and when I grow tired I listen to these conversations and they provide me with a new point of beginning. Thank You Tami

Comment by phebie higgins — September 17, 2012 @ 5:10 am

So heartfelt! Wonderful exchange. Thank you Tami ……..

Comment by layena camhi — September 19, 2012 @ 11:09 am

Very heartfelt conversation. Thanks Tami ………

Comment by layena camhi — September 19, 2012 @ 11:10 am

Once again … A.H. Almaas EMBODIES the fullness of BEING … unfolding!

Tami, another masterful interview.

The SELF expressing AS and THROUGH the unique LOVE that a person IS … is a possibility that gets me up in the morning!

Comment by David Kamnitzer — September 19, 2012 @ 12:51 pm

“….all things resolve themselves in the individual, for the collectivity is but a multiplication of the one. As each individual realises her soul, the conscious formation of a collective soul becomes possible. And thereby the new way becomes manifest for Earth”

Dear Patrizia, who is your secret source? Quotations from a retreat with Hameed I guess? Or with this other important person that was and was not named at the end of the interview: Karen Johnson? I am becoming very curious about this other half of the Universe, what happens between two realised individuals, friends, colleagues, lovers or teacher and student in their intimite relationship? What is possible with conscious love in relating, isn’t this exciting? Diving in the Ocean of the Heart…Isabelle Schuurman

Comment by Isabelle Schuurman — September 20, 2012 @ 1:04 pm

oeps,everybody and everything is connected isn’t it. Now I see, Ulli was citing Patrizia Norelli-Bachelet (Thea). Didn’t know her, looked her up.

Comment by Isabelle Schuurman — September 20, 2012 @ 2:14 pm

This is a profound teaching that I needed for the next step of my journey. I have practiced saying yes to realities that I would rather not have and thereby reducing or eliminating them as a threat. I have also learnt how to recognize the ego and ‘tame’ it. Now I am saying yes to my essential self – focusing on the positive rather than the negative (demanding ego). I have been ‘waiting’ to see what that then brings. So far very good. This teaching tells me that there is a whole world out there that my eternal self, actualised in my person, can actively ‘discover’ and ‘realise’. What a wonder! This is beyond being to becoming. Am curious about what it means in the human rights tradition and how it can help conflict resolution and more compassionate politics and public policy.
Thank you so much.

Comment by Wamuyu — October 1, 2012 @ 1:12 pm