Extracts & Articles.htm

EXTRACTS & ARTICLES

#1. The Angel Valley of Shepscombe by Geoffrey Hodson. Here Mr. Hodson describes how he first met the Archangel Bethelda who gave him the body of teachings and the covenant that started this work of co-operation within our modern historical period.

#2. Co-operation with the Angels by Geoffrey Hodson. This is a very important overview of the Angels and how to work with them by Mr. Hodson.

#3. Nature and the Gods by Geoffrey Hodson. This collection of journal articles encapsulates what might be termed the yoga philosophy of this line of development. This is a seminal article which will put into place for the reader what can be expected in terms of automatic expansion of consciousness and spiritual development by applying oneself to this work.

#4. Rock Consciousness by Charles. W. Leadbeater. This is a most extraordinary article by the greatest clairvoyant investigator of the twentieth century which demonstrates the life and ensoulment of consciousness, even in such apparently inert objects as rocks. If properly read and understood it should give the reader a wider view on how spirit can have an uplifting effect even upon mineral matter and by implication even more so on the plant and animal kingdoms of Nature.

Bill Keidan

THE ANGEL VALLEY OF SHEPSCOMBE

Geoffrey Hodson

Deep in the heart of the Cotswold district of England there is a lovely verdant valley through which no public highway passes. Its name means "The Vale of Peace" and truly describes one of its greatest charms. The ubiquitous charabanc brings its parties of tourists to nearly all the famous beauty spots of Britain, but not to the Vale of Peace.

The winding valley is perhaps two miles in length. Its steep hillsides are covered with thick beech woods, with here and there a grove of larch and fir. Dotted about on the green hillsides are the grey stone cottages and farms of which the tiny village is composed. A stream runs through the woods and meadows, flows with a gentle murmur past the orchards and the cottage gardens down to the great world beyond.

The valley is about a mile across at its open end, where the wooded heights seem like wide-stretched arms opened to invite the traveller to the Vale of Peace. The hillsides become steeper and more thickly wooded as the stream is followed towards its source in a little spring, rising in a meadow at the closed end of the vale.

On a clear day the Welsh mountains can be seen froom the top of the hills. The fair Cotswold country stretches away towards the River Severn, over which hangs the western edge of the Cotswold Hills. Beyond these is the Forest of Dean; and beyond the Forest, the mountains of Wales; at our feet, green beauty, a profusion of wild flowers, seclusion and the peaceful countryside. The woodmen's voices and the blows of their axes, the call of the birds, the lowing of the cattle in the pastures, and the sighing of the trees in the soft breezes are the only sounds which reach us as we stand gazing on the restful scene. These are blended to form a harmonious undertone of sound, the song which Nature always sings in those places where Her beauty is unspoiled. When on calm and windless summer days her voice is stilled, the valley seems to be steeped in silence and in peace.

A vale of peace indeed! A safe retreat from the strident and jarring noisiness which is becoming more and more a prominent characteristic of our modern civilization.

If the sun beats too strongly into the open fields, the fine old beech trees offer us their shade. If the west winds blow too strongly from the shores of Somerset and Wales, then the many folds and hollows in the hillsides offer their protection. The country folk are kindly, generous, and polite with a simple dignity; the spirit of modernity has not yet invaded the Vale of Peace.

The fairy folk (invisible to the ordinary vision) are less shy of human kind in these woods and meadows than elsewhere. The tree nymphs, the water sprites. and the numerous tribes of little brownie men have not learned as yet to shrink and hide themselves when man appears Here are some records of their friendliness.

IN A THICK BEECHWOOD IN THE COTSWOLDS

There are hundreds of small brown mannikins playing about on the thick carpet of the leaves of past seasons with which the ground under the trees is covered. They are from eight to twelve inches high, and vary in color from the grey-green of the beech trunks to the rich brown of the dead leaves. Contact with them immerses one in an exceedingly curious atmosphere. They have the faces of very old men combined with a childish mentality and the antics and movements of little boys. They wear coats and knee breeches of a material which looks like brown beech bark; they have long pointed feet and some wear tiny boots. A fea-ture of their attire which is novel to me is the head-dress; this is like a cowl which lies in loose folds on the shoulders, enveloping the whole head with the exception of the face, and hangs loosely down behind, where it ends in a point. They have grey eyebrows, mustachios and beards: these last are, in some cases, cut square, in others more or less pointed. Their quaintness is further added to by their facial expression, which is one of intent seriousness and earnestness - all about nothing. At first glance one might think that they were very important people, but in looking into what corresponds to their minds, one finds almost a complete blank. Again, I notice that peculiar sense of repetition, as of one who is continually repeating the same sentence to himself.

They appear to "live" inside the trees, into which there are accepted entrances. These are generally small hollows in the trunk, frequently, though not always, level with the ground. There are groups which appear to live up in the forks, where the branches leave the main trunk. Though they can move for short distances in the air, they seem to prefer to run up the trunks of the trees. This they do as easily as if they ran upon the flat ground. They seem to be unaffected by the laws of gravity, for they maintain a horizontal position as they pass up and down with their bodies at right-angles to the trunks. Although their forms are a homogeneous "solid" without interior organization, a close observation of their movements seems to indicate something corresponding to a muscular system; this is particularly noticeable when they jump, as they often do for short distances; for example, the last half yard of their journey back to their tree is often covered by a leap. The leg with which the take-off is made certainly seems to harden and stiffen, to relax during flight, and both legs to be braced up for the landing: on the other hand, landing is perfectly smooth, and the forward movement continues at practically the same speed.

Several of these invisible little gentlemen have been demonstrating for our benefit, so that even the non-clairvoyant members of their human audience saw the movements of the leaves which they made, though the etheric agents were invisible to them. They seem to grow old, for the chief variation in their appearance is that of age. Just now a doddering and very decrepit little old man walked up the hill, with the air of one who comes to see what all the disturbance is about. He did not look up from the ground until he was within four yards of us, then be saw us: when whatever impression he was capable of receiving had sunk in, he was visibly staggered. Evidently we are something entirely new in his experience, and it is amusing to see the air of importance and childish aplomb disappear, giving place to amazement; he staggers backwards a few feet, and his eyes protrude in a manner which would surely be alarming to his friends! The intensity of his surprise, however, soon passes off, and he steps a little nearer and then moves round to the front of us in order to get a better view. Whatever his other emotions may have been, he certainly shows no fear; he seems to be conscious of and to like the incense which we are burning.

Though at first I doubted the accuracy of my observation, 1 now see beyond all doubt that he supports himself with a stick in just the same way as a very aged human would do. He now sits down, settling himself for a thorough inspection. A short and sudden rainfall demonstrates to me that he is in no way affected by it. Another surprise has awaited him. He now finds that there are three members of our party instead of one as he at first supposed. The lady who is sitting a little apart offers him a further field for speculation; he does not appear to be able to connect her with us; to him she is an independent phenomenon as completely outside his experience as we are, and equally beyond his comprehension. She now strikes a match to light another stick of incense and he is so astonished that he actually leaps from the ground and withdraws, placing a further three feet between us. It is curious to see him rise in the air a distance of six inches or so involuntarily, still retaining his sitting posture! Again he creeps forward to his old position, using his hands as a means of propulsion.

The effect of our auras upon him is interesting. His little astral body, which consists of a shapeless and almost colorless cloud, smaller if anything than the etheric, is beginning to glow; this produces a warm. comfortable feeling inside him which he likes very much: in other words, our presence stimulates him. He begins to lose his feeling and also his appearance of extreme old age, the change of consciousness finding expression in the rather childish grin which slowly spreads over his face. Now he grows bolder and approaches to within eight feet of us. appearing to be especially attracted towards the lady. After a few minutes, he has lost his appearance of old age and is prancing up and down before her as if to show off. He twirls his stick, stopping every now and then to bow towards her with his hand on his middle. A most curious thing has now happened to him; as he was bowing, he bent his body forward from the hips so deeply, that he reached the horizontal position and suddenly saw the leaves and brown earth, when he promptly forgot all about us; on looking up after about half a minute of contemplation, he received the staggering shock of our presence all over again! This time it was evidently too much for him, and he quickly retired to some distance, taking cover in the grass which grows at the edge of the wood.

A great number of his brethren have gradually become aware of our presence and, gathered in a semi-circular crowd, are observing us from within the wood. Some are sitting still as if transfixed, others walk up and down and appear to be addressing remarks to their seated fellows as they pass them; others make little exploratory journeys in our direction, retiring as our auras become too much for them. Again I see the little man previously described: he is still young in appear-ance, visibly excited, and keeps repeating something to himself. He seems to have some difficulty in remaining on the ground; he keeps rising and falling just above the grasses, as though his body, becoming unstable, was temporarily out of his control. Upon the others the chief effect which we seem to produce is a general quickening of all their faculties. Though the comparison is not a nice one, the effect is much like that of alcohol upon one unaccustomed to it! Though it may, and surely will, die down, it will leave some permanent mark upon them - producing a decided quickening of their evolution.

In fact, as the place upon which we are sitting has been used frequently for various investigations and has become magnetized, it will probably have a peculiar and, we may hope, beneficial effect upon all the members of the elemental kingdom within the sphere of its influence. Though we are quite ordinary from the human point of view, we are most extraordinary from mannikin standards - as great an evolutionary distance separating us from them, as separates us from. say, the mighty Chohans of the Great White Lodge. (See The Kingdom of Faerie, by Geoffrey Hodson.)

On our first visit to this friendly place in the summer of 1925, its angel guardian seemed to welcome us, and of this too one may read from my records: It is the evening of the day following our arrival, and we have climbed the hills, which rise out of the valley at its closed end, to a point from which we can look down upon the fields, houses, and woods of which it is composed. As we are sitting gazing on the peaceful and beautiful scene the deva shows himself; hovering in the air over the tree-tops before us, he bids us welcome to the valley. A benevolent welcome is expressed, not only through the smile which parts his lips, but in his whole bearing; he radiates his welcome upon us. just as he sheds his purificatory and quickening power on the whole valley.

When first seen he appeared to be about ten feet high. and his aura radiated from his form to a distance of about one hundred yards on all sides. After our conversation, however, he extended or stretched it, until it reached right across the valley, as well as down to the little stream which runs through it: he then moved slowly down the valley, touching every living thing within it, giving to each a share of his own magnificently vital life force. His face is noble and beautiful, his eyes are dazzlingly bright and look more like two centres of force than eyes, for they are not used to the same extent as ours for the expression of thought and emotion.

The colors of his aura are brilliant and constantly changing, as they flow in waves and vortices outwards from the central form. The color scheme changes minute by minute: now the predominating color may be a deep royal blue with red and golden yellow sweeping across and through it, making eddies and waves of brilliant color as they flow outwards in a continuous stream; now they change completely: there is a background of pale rose-du-Barry, with a soft eau-de-nil, sky-blue, and the palest of yellows. Occasionally, where the mighty auric pinions are outlined in golden fire, he looks like a great bird with the edges of its wings lit up by the setting sun. There is a continual play of force, like a miniature aurora borealis. rising from his head high up into the air, and in the middle of the head there is a blazing centre of light, which is the seat of the consciousness in the form. As I describe him, he has suddenly risen into the heavens, where he hovers so high up as to be almost invisible. Even at this height, however, he still holds the valley within his consciousness.

His character is an unusual combination of the deva's vivid sense of freedom from all limitations and the human capacity for tenderness, deep concern for others, and love. I feel sure that every birth and death within the vallev must be known to him, and that the pain which accompanies both is eased by him to the utmost of his power; for I see memory-forms in his aura, which show him taking within its glowing radiance the souls of those who have just died, sheltering them, and guiding them to a place of peace! I see that he watches the children at play, and the old folk taking their ease; he is, indeed, the guardian angel of the valley, and happy are they who live within his care.

The hosts of lesser nature-spirits obey him, and I sec the earth-men and the tree-men and the lower fairies answering to his touch as his power rushes out upon them; the elves and the brownies feel a sudden exaltation, the source of which they cannot fully comprehend, though they recognize it to be a constant feature of their lives; the fairies feel an added frolicsomeness and joy as he plays upon them with his radiant life. All Nature seems to be quickened by his presence here.

His influence gives a certain quality, a local characteristic, a special atmosphere, distinctly noticeable throughout the whole length of the valley, which has a charm amounting almost to glamour; it must also affect every human being who lives here for any length of time, particularly those who are born and live within the continual play of his auric life, and there surely must be times when they feel the spirit of the deva upon them.

But, for the author, the wonder of wonders of this place concerns neither its natural charm, its humble country folk, nor its angel and fairy life. It is centred round an idea. an inspiration, a widening of the horizon of thought.

The conception of the Brotherhood of Angels and of Men came to the author in this place. He was lying with a group of friends on a certain favored hillsidc, on whose curving slopes the grand old beech trees grow to form a natural amphitheatre open only to the sky. There during the last four years have been received a series of five books telling of the Brotherhood of Angels and of Man; of the glory of the human race and its spiritual destiny: of the splendor of the angelic hosts and of that all-pervading Life of God of which the whole world of angelhood and fairydom is the glorious and beautiful embodiment.

The receipt of the angel-teaching was completely unexpected. The author was endeavoring to observe and to describe the fairy life of the hillside and the wood, when quite suddenly the sky seemed to be filled with an intense brightness. Turning his attention away from the "little people" to the light in the heavens, he became aware of the presence of an advanced member of the angelic hosts. His consciousness, already somewhat raised by the effort of clairvoyant research, was caught up into the level of the formless worlds and there he knew that he was in the presence of a very great being.

It is extremely difficult, if not impossible, to describe the appearance of an arupa deua, for we have no appropriate language in which to describe existence in the formless worlds. One falls back upon such expressions as "an outraying focus of light," "a burning spiritual intelligence from which power and light radiate in all directions." There is, however, a faint suggestion of an idealized head and shoulders, of a living archetype of angelic beauty. Perhaps the eyes are the most clearly discernible objective "form" which enters the brain consciousness. Burning, blazing eyes, alight with a spiritual fire, with a concentrated intelligence, set far apart and glorifying the face upon which is stamped an indefinable sense of beauty and power. Vague though this inadequate description is, the reality is absolutely clear and vividly existent to the higher vision; far more so, in fact. than any physical object can be to the waking consciousness. One is not concerned with form but with life at these levels; does not appraise things according to their external appearance. In fact, the sense of an objective and external being is hardly present. Super-mental cognition is far more a process of mutual identification, of interior unity of thought and comprehension, than of interchange between two separate existences.

These levels were, at the time, almost beyond the range of the author's waking consciousness, but he had just come from Ommen Star Camp and was unusually exalted by the happenings there. Perhaps that is why the angel teacher was able to reach him and to lift him up into his own causal world. (To those readers who are new to Theosophy I may explain that many people believe in the presence of a great World-Teacher in our midst; Camps are held in different parts of the world to enable members to listen to his teachings. The European Camp is held annually in August at Ommen in Holland. The American one at Ojai, California.)

Then began the flow of the angel's teachings. The whole conception of the Brotherhood of Angels and of Men entered the author's mind. The great possibilities for human welfare contained in the idea were envisaged. Memories of that cooperation as it occurred in earlier civilizations, and glimpses of the future co-ordination of the activities of the angelic and human hierarchies, were obtained.

On every possible occasion during the following years the same lovely valley and the same hillside were visited. The author's facility of comprehension seemed to increase under the stimulus of the angel's power and quickening influence there. This culminated during the writing of the third book, The Angelic Hosts, and the receipt of the teaching describing the fire aspect of the solar system and the great solar gods of fire.

The most recently received teachings deal with the dawn of our solar system's life, of its slow progress towards maturity; tell of the primordial fire and fire-mist from which the present planets were evolved under the influence of the solar gods of fire. The first appearance of life is portrayed. The work of the angelic hierarchy, of the World-Mother, of the building order of the angelic hosts, and finally the appearance and exaltation of man, are described. This book will be called The Supreme Splendor, and the title refers not only to the subject of the book but also to the fact that in the writing of it the angelic ministering reached its greatest height, and some fragment of the splendor of the Supreme was revealed to the author's mind.

Such, then, is the "Vale of Peace," in Gloucestershire, England, and such, briefly told, is the story of its especial interest and appeal. Many who have visited there have become conscious of the angelic presences. Many who have sought refuge and health in its green and quiet woods have become refreshed and have felt their life renewed.

The accompanying photograph perhaps will serve to convey something of its beauty to those who have not had the happiness of paying a visit to this lovely and unspoiled English vale.

Advice on Angelic Co-operation from Geoffrey Hodson taken from his book Thus have I heard:

CHAPTER IX

CO-OPERATION WITH ANGELS

In all our spiritual endeavours, we may learn much and receive great help from members of the glorious hierarchy of the angelic hosts. Let us then consider how we may contact and co-operate with them.

According to the Ancient Wisdom, an angel is a member of a parallel stream of evolution which progresses through this solar system side by side with humanity. This stream of angel-life has its lesser representatives amongst the nature-spirits, and reaches its height in the Seven Spirits before the throne of God, while, even beyond them there is the angelic aspect of the Logos Himself.

The title "angel" is given to all those members of that parallel hierarchy who have individualised those who have passed from the state of groupconsciousness -the state in which the nature-spirits and animals live- and, like men, have become selfconscious individuals.

There are angels at many stages of development, and on all planes of Nature except the physical. There are astral angels, mental or rupa angels and angels of the causal level or arupa angels; beyond them again are Buddhic and Atmic angels and so on, until we reach the great solar angels whose field of evolution and service is the whole solar system. Even beyond these are those mighty representatives of the angel race who range beyond our solar system, who belong to our universe and travel freely between the solar systems of which it is composed. This great hierarchy, of which Jacob had a vision at Bethel, is composed of countless myriads of beings.

Their method of evolution differs from ours in the one great characteristic that they do not, normally, take solid physical bodies. Therefore they are invisible to us and, in addition, do not appear to suffer pain or sorrow, or to experience desire, anger, hatred, jealousy, fear or any of the emotions which are such a potent source of trouble to mankind, but which, nevertheless, are also the means by which many of his special faculties are acquired. The angels, however, achieve a development which is, in every way, equal to that of man. Possibly their evolution is slower than ours in consequence of the difference of method, but eventually they reach the same goal, which is union with God and the complete unfoldment of their innate Divinity. Angels are always serenely happy and perfectly self-controlled, however active they may be. Unlike ourselves, they never lose their sense of unity with the great spiritual consciousness to which we give the name of God. Cooperation is the very essence of their method of work, separateness and selfishness are practically impossible to them. They are, for this reason, most valuable allies in all our work, and, at the same time, are eager to co-operate with us.

In order to work intelligently with them we must first have some knowledge of them and their methods of work. We may gain this by a study of ancient and modern literature concerning them. We must also realise them as living beings who are everywhere present, and who recognise, as we do, the value of and the necessity for co-operation between angels and men in the fulfilment of the divine plan.

Five important points should be decided in the mind before angelic co-operation is enlisted.

1. Decide clearly upon the kind of work which has to be done.

In all magic -and this is magic of the first order- clarity of thought is a primary essential. Vague and inchoate thought produces nebulous results

2. Decide upon the appropriate type of angel required.

A description of the seven types of angels is given in The Brotherhood of Angels and of Men,(1) an the nine orders are described in books dealing with the subject in Christianity. The classification, given by the angel teacher who inspired The 'Brotherhood of Angels and of Men is

Angels of Power.

Angels of Healing.

Guardian Angels of the Home.

Angels who build Form.

Angels of Nature.

Angels of Music.

Angels of Beauty and of Art.

3. Invoke all the power available for the purpose of the work.

The sources of power are

(a) The limitless and inexhaustible power of the God which is within each one of us.

(b) The power of the Logos of our system with whom we are in direct contact.

As we found in Chapter VIII, by rightly directed meditation we can discover these two sources of power and so learn to release a measure of divine energy through our work. The mere repetition, with fixed intent, of the phrase, "In the Name of the God within me," is sufficient to draw on that power to some extent. Practice in the continual employment of that power increases the measure of our ability to draw upon it. We should never forget that there is but One Worker, who is God, and one work which is His work.

(c) The power of our religion and its Founder. As Christians, for example, we have our link with the Lord Christ, and the repetition, with reverence and fixed intent, of the words, "In the Name of the Lord Christ," will unfailingly produce a descent of power. There is a reservoir of power behind every religion, upon which we can draw in a similar manner if our religion is a living reality in our lives.

(d) The power behind all movements and orders, which have as their object the upliftment of the human race.

------------------------------

Those who are Theosophists have the immense privilege of contact with the Great White Brotherhood through our outer leaders and through the Inner Founders of that Society -the Master M. and the Master K.H. Each of these Mighty Ones constitutes an inexhaustible source of power.

Similarly all Masons are in direct contact with the Master the Prince, who is "the Head of all true Freemasons throughout the world'.[ See The Hidden Life in Freemasonry and some Glimpses of Masonic History, by C. W. Leadbeater. ]

e) 'The power of the members of the Angelic Hierarchy. [ See the author's book The Angelic Hosts.]

A recognition of these and other sources of power shows us that we have no excuse for feeling powerless or useless. The question is not one of lack of power. Sometimes, perhaps, it is rather one of self-centredness and apathy.

This brings us to our fourth important point in seeking co-operation with the angels.

4. Direct the power evoked into the work in hand by a powerful effort of will and a steady concentration of the mind.

5. Call, mentally, for the type of angel, or angels, appropriate to the work and bid them take charge of and assist the work.

We are not advised to invoke the angels without a specific reason, otherwise they will soon cease to respond to our call. Sometimes they attend upon us in a waiting mood, ready to serve in any particular work. At other times we may find them already engaged upon the work which we have decided to undertake. In all cases the union of human and angelic consciousness and power achieves a far greater result than is possible in the case of either working alone.

The angels, to some extent, need us, and we, in our turn, need them. They are free agents whilst we are not. We have our work in the world and the duty of caring for a body, which they have not. As a result, they can remain in, and with, a piece of work for any length of time, whilst we can only give it our passing attention. They are especially helpful on account of their ability to remain in attendance during the whole course of a work of healing or cleansing, blessing, exorcism or protection, or as long as the exigencies of the work demand. They bring to such work a vitality and a virility which give an immense power to everything they do.

Let us take a case of healing, as an example of work in which we may co-operate with angels. To satisfy the first of the five points given above, we decide to flood a sick person with divine life, so that all evil, limitation and disharmony may be-sweet away.

The type of angel for this work -the second point- would be the healing angels under the Archangel Raphael. We do not need to see them or even to know their appearance. The ego in each one of us sees and knows them well. We, as personalities, are concerned only with their mental selection and direction. In this case, therefore, we should make an appeal to the Archangel Raphael and his angels to assist in our work. The repetition of the invocation given in The Brotherhood of Angels and of Men will enable us to do this effectively. [ Loc. cit.. p. 53.]

We meditate to satisfy our third point, which demands the evocation of power upon the sources of energy appropriate to this work. They are the Lord Christ as the Healer and Saviour of the world and the Christ within ourselves. We might think of our Lord as saying: "I come that they might have life and that they might have it more abundantly." [ St. John. 10. 10. ] One of the characteristics of our Lord is that life seems for ever to be welling up within Him, and pouring forth upon the world in abundance and with boundless beneficence. We might think of Him in the capacity of Life-giver, and evoke His power by a sentence or prayer such as that suggested above.

We should then -fourth point- direct the force which we have evoked towards the person or persons who are ill, by the repetition of their name, by strongly willing that the power shall flood them, by visualising them as standing in the presence of the Lord, radiant with His life which is seen as a golden glory of Buddhic light. We need not limit ourselves to one person, but may treat a large number, even a whole infirmary or hospital by this means.

Finally, we should direct the angels to surround the sick person or group, to conserve and convey the power available and to see that the maximum result is achieved. Thus we should satisfy our fifth point. We might include in this the direction to remain with and sustain the sufferers and to lift them into the conscious realisation of the divine presence and of their own angelic companionship.

We may close with a final prayer that the sufferers may be held close in the everlasting arms and that the holy angels may encompass them. We must always safeguard such efforts as these by a surrender to the divine will in everything that is done. We then minimise the likelihood of error through ignorance or misdirection of force.

To take another example: suppose we wished to exorcise and bless a room, a suite of rooms or a house, where evil influences had been at work, or which were intended for use in connection with religious or spiritual work, such as an oratory or meditation room. The type of angels required would be the angels of power -the white angels from the Atmic world. Our inability to contact their world need not prevent our calling upon the agents of Atmic power. The ego, who transcends personal limitations, will carry out the work of invocation in the higher worlds as far as he is able. The great Atmic angels are glorious beings of white fire, generally crowned with white flames and bearing swords of flame in their hands. They are at least thirty feet in height and are the very embodiment of resistless power. We should call up, from within ourselves, all the power which we, as channels, are capable of bearing and conveying, and direct it in a resistless flood into the room or house, so that it sweeps through like a flame, burning up all evil and driving out all undesirable presences.

The angels will co-operate, breaking up all congestions of evil magnetism and driving away all dark entities from the immediate neighbourhood; they will guard the house from all intruders and assist in its magnetisation. Finally, we should ask the angels of power to remain for a time to insulate the place and the surrounding atmosphere, so that it may become a centre, of light, of blessing and of power.

We should never allow ourselves to become personal when working with the angels who are the embodiments of impersonality. We must never think of an angel as "my angel". The angels are free agents of the Logos and will co-operate with us whenever we provide suitable conditions.

A different angel, or group of angels, may respond every time we call. We must outgrow the human tendency to become personal, and realise that, as stated above, there is but One Worker who is God. If we do this we shall merge ourselves in the One Worker, forget ourselves in the work, and lose the sense of separateness and personality. Thus we shall be able to co-operate effectively with the angels, and become really efficient servants of the Lord.

NATURE AND THE GODS

by Geoffrey Hodson

From The Theosophist, June, July & August 1933

1. THE VALUE OF CONTACT WITH THE GODS

Whilst it is true that angelic assistance is automatically obtained in all modes of service by thought power, it is also true that the effectiveness of such service, the degree of co-operation, and the vividness and potency of the thought are greatly increased by a conscious contact with the angelic hosts.

In addition to the orders of angels more usually invoked, such as those of power, of healing, of guardianship and the ceremonial orders, there is much of value to be obtained from contact with the Nature angels, especially those of landscape, such as the great mountain Gods. 'Whilst living near the mountains of California, the author has recently enjoyed such contacts and in these papers expresses some of the ideas resulting from them.

Summary: There are three important results to be obtained by humanity from conscious contact with the angels of landscapes. These are:

First: An opening of the consciousness to the hidden life in Nature. This is achieved by meditation directed to that end and preferably carried out in surroundings of natural beauty. This will lead to a deepening of true religion in man.

Second : Healing of oneself and others from the play of the forces of Nature through the physical and super-physical vehicles consciously thrown open to them, and from contact and co-operation with the angelic hosts and nature-spirits.

Third: A quickening of the sense of beauty; this is a development greatly needed at this juncture in human affairs.

------------------

Amongst the experiences referred to above was a contact with a mountain God, of whose appearance notes were taken as follows:

His¹whole being shines most brilliantly, the outer aura gleaming white as do snowclad mountain peaks, the power and majesty of which seem incarnate within him. Through the white radiance, the colours of the inner aura shine; deep greens of cypress tree and juniper, and within them, the yellow glory of the noonday sun; then soft rose, then azure blue, and then the godlike form, all white and radiant, from which the auric energies flow forth in glowing beauty, many-hued.

The face is moulded in strength as of the mountain's mass, square-jawed and powerful; the eyes are wide-set, sometimes alight with fire leaping forth from fiery mind and will within, sometimes dark, their fires withdrawn. The "hair" resembles a mass of flickering, backward sweeping flames, and in the air above a crown of radiant energies flashes as with the brightly coloured "jewels" of his thoughts. A God indeed! A Shining One. A Messenger from Gods to men.

Concerning men, his thoughts in part appear to be:

" The approach to Nature by modern man is almost exclusively through action and outer sense. Too few among Her devotees approach Her in stillness, with outer senses quieted and inner senses aware. Therefore, but few discover the Goddess Herself, She being hidden from men behind Her veil of outer loveliness.

¹ The masculine is used for convenience only, angels being a-sexual.

" There is a value in the active life, a beauty in Nature's outer garb. Far greater value and far deeper beauty lie behind Her veil, which may only be withdrawn by silent contemplation of Nature's Self. The heart of Nature, save for its rhythmic pulse, abides in deep silence. Even within the tempest's roar, the crashing waves, the sighing trees, the tumbling falls, there is a stillness, to be entered only in mental silence, equipoise and peace. The devotee at Nature's shrine, if he would find Her beating heart, know the power of the silence within the sound, and perceive the beauty behind the veil, must approach Her altar reverently and with quiet mind.

" The doorway of Her temple exists and is to be found, opened and passed through, in every natural form. Contemplation of a single flower may lead the suppliant through; a shrub displaying Nature's symmetry, a tree, gigantic or small ; a mountain range, a single peak; a flowing river, a thundering fall; the awe-inspiring beauty of the desert, its colours by day and its stillness by night; each and all of these will serve the contemplative soul of man as entrance to the real, wherein Nature's Self abides.

" Contemplation of the outer form, identification with the inner life, deep response from the heart to Nature's loveliness, without and within, these are the moods in which the doorway to Nature's temple should be approached, these the means of entry to Her inmost shrine. Within, the Gods await, the timeless Ones, the everlasting priests who minister from creative dawn to eve within the temple which is the natural world.

" Few, far too few, have found the entrances since Greece became a ruin and Rome fell into decay. The wheel revolves; the golden days return ; Nature calls again to man, who, hearing, endeavours to respond. The Grecians of old dwelt in simplicity; complexities had not as yet appeared, human character was direct, human life simple, and human minds, if primitive compared to those of modern man, were closely attuned to the Universal Oversoul.

" Man has passed through a cycle of darkness following the fall of Rome. Involved in increasing complexities he has lost his contact with the Universal Soul. Simplicity, therefore, both of life and mind, must mark the devotee at Nature's shrine. Complexity leads to dullness of sense, both of body and of soul. Keen must be the vision, both outer and inner, if Nature's inner loveliness is to be seen. All that be-dulls the senses, all of grossness, impurity, indulgence and complexity, must be left behind. In purity, simplicity and quiet contemplation must the Goddess be approached.

" Amid the beauties of mountain, vale or hill, of forest, plain or desert, let men seek communion with the life within the form, using the form as means of entrance into the life.

"The whole earth breathes, its heart beats, for the globe is a living being with power, life and consciousness incarnate within. The earth itself is the body of a God, the Spirit of the Earth. Rivers are its nerves; oceans, great nerve centres ; mountains, the bony structure of the giant earth whose outer form is man's evolutionary field, whose inner life and potent energies are the abiding places of the Gods. The energies are being found in part by means of instruments and mind. Discovery of the inner life demands the co-operation of the heart and needs no instruments other than the alert but quiet brain of man."

2. A MOUNTAIN GOD

There came another great white angel of the heights, his body shining with the light of sunshine upon snow. On every side his far-flung aura shone with brilliant hues, ordered in successive bands from central form to aura's edge. From his head a widening stream of white and fiery force arose, whilst from behind the form, streams of power flowed, suggesting auric wings, pale rose, pale blue, soft green, with purple beyond.

Many-coloured auric energies also flowed out from him on every side extending whilst at rest for at least a hundred feet, whilst within the shining and translucent aureole, the gleaming snow-white form appeared, lightly poised above the ground.

The face was strong, virile, masculine; brow broad, eyes deep-set and wide apart, now ablaze with power, now veiled in darkness, inscrutable, as if he brooded deep within himself upon the mystery of being. The " hair " was built of curling waves of flame-like power emanating from the head. The nose and chin were strongly modelled, the lips full, the whole face instinct with the majesty, the power, the stability of the mountain range.

The form was magnificent as of some gigantic statue of a Grecian God. Flames played about the feet, the arms and hands were conveyors of power which flowed visibly from the finger tips.

Within the head, behind the eyes, was the force centre from which the upward stream of power arose; this was the intelligence centre in the form, the positive pole, or focus, linked magnetically to the life centre, which was its negative. This was in the region of the solar plexus and blazed like a sun, many-hued. The thighs were veiled by flowing forces, whilst all through the form and outward flowing power, there flashed continuously a white and radiant energy, dazzlingly bright.

Robed thus in force and light, the whole mighty figure appeared as an incarnation of the power aspect of Nature, an individual manifestation of universal creative energy. He speaks " in a deep resounding bass, vibrant with the power of the element of earth :

" The Gods await the reunion of the universal and the human mind. Humanity awakens slowly. Few as yet perceive the mind within the substance, the life within the form. Matter-blinded through long centuries, man does not yet begin to see. Only the few escape from the illusion of matter and of form. Even in these, save for the very few, the awakening is instinctual, the escape but blind and groping.

" To render self-conscious the awakening and to guide the escape, the Gods appear.

" Let man seek the mind within the substance, the life within the form, for thus seeking he will enter the kingdom of the Gods. Men have searched the whole earth for power and life-experience ; they have explored the wilds, scaled the peaks and conquered the polar wastes. Let them now seek within the outer form, scale the heights of their own consciousness, penetrate its depths, seeking there the power and the life by which alone they may become strong and spiritually rich.

" Let man use the mountain peaks, the desert wastes, as means of true discovery, contemplating there that which is real, discovering the mind and life by which all is created and sustained. To him who thus throws open his life and mind to that indwelling in all things, seeking union therewith, the Gods will appear.

" In contemplative silence let man dwell upon the Self, affirm thus identity therewith:

" Power universal,

Life indwelling,

Mind all-pervading,

Three, yet one,

I seek thee through the power, life and mind which is my

Self.

" Gods of power, life and mind !

I greet thee.

In the Self of the Universe, we are One.

I am that Self-that Self am I."

------------------

3. THE USE OF THOUGHT-POWER

THERE came also an Angel visitor who " said ":

" Man is as yet but partially self-conscious in his use of thought. The Angelic Hosts are wholly so ; thought for them is a directing agency, a means of the vibratory attunement and projection of natural energies both within themselves and Nature.

" Human thought at this period of its evolution is one of the chief moulding and directing agencies in human life. Only the few use thought as a power to be controlled and directed from within by the thinker's will. In science, man uses thought chiefly as an instrument for gaining knowledge. With the aid of thought he arrives at conclusions after external observation. Yet human thought is actually a barrier between man and knowledge ; the present thinking process prevents the realization of truth. When man thinks, he becomes spiritually blind. Only when his mind is still can he perceive truth. When the mind has been mastered it becomes a vehicle for wisdom and is an instrument for directing force.

" The first step, therefore, in the conscious discovery of the hidden forces of Nature and in development of the power to direct them, is the mastery of mind. This consists in the acquirement of the power to silence thought, to render the mind temporarily irresponsive to external and interior influences. Thus harmonized and controlled, human thought becomes a vehicle for wisdom, an instrument for the discovery of truth, as well as a directing agency for such forces as the dweller within determines to employ.

" Knowledge of certain fundamental truths concerning Nature is an essential pre-requisite to the discovery and mastery of natural forces. He who would move with safety within the power-house of Nature must first have begun to establish himself in direct knowledge of the source of power which is Truth. Firmly established in Truth, he is safe amidst even the greatest display of Nature's power.

" Two fundamentals must be realized - those in which Angelic Consciousness is rooted: first, that there is but one source of all power, life and consciousness, and second, that every individualized being, whether Angel or man, is in his innermost essence, one with that source ; that nothing in Creation is external to man. Upon these two truths man should meditate until to him they are basic realizations within the unbroken knowledge of which his life is lived, his work performed.

" The outer form is unreal, the inner life is real. Vision of form alone produces the illusion of difference and division. Vision of life reveals the essential unity. Man should meditate, therefore, upon the life which is one and indivisible until he naturally and instinctively pierces the illusion of separate and different forms. Let him place before himself two widely differing natural objects, such as a jewel and a flower and, with mind utterly still, discover their life identity. This realization comes not through thought; the mind must be still; rather through feeling and intuition must the real discovery be made. Intellectual appreciation of the fact of the Unity of Life is not the goal though for some a possible step towards it. Living knowledge, individual experience, direct vision, is the goal.

" Such illumination is not sudden. Knowledge of the Unity of Life - not an intellectual conception but a realized truth - comes as the result of growth and therefore gradually. Thereafter, conscious identity with life must be discovered and sustained.

" So also with consciousness and power, until the indwelling Trinity is at last perceived and the Trinity in man known as one therewith.

" Established in this knowledge, natural forces may with safety be contacted. Natural intelligences, high and low, Gods and nature-spirits may be known and their co-operation gained."

4. PRACTICAL VALUES

On another occasion the following ideas were received :

" The practical value of inter-communion between Gods and men consists primarily in its effect upon human consciousness and secondarily in the increased efficacy of the work of both.

" Within the consciousness of humanity a new power is stirring; the seed of a new order of intelligence has germinated. From within the spiritual Self of man a deeper layer of life-force is being released. One effect of this change will be the awakening of the intuition. This faculty, as it develops, will not only bestow upon man the higher mental powers associated with the gift, those of direct perception of truth and the conscious use of the higher instinct, but in addition will awaken a recognition of the Oneness of Life.

" This recognition will be dual, consisting of interior realization through intuition -no longer sporadic, but continuous and consciously directed - and of a mental, and even physical, visual experience of the fact of unity. The eyes will be open and mankind will see the world, its inhabitants and all kingdoms of Nature in an entirely new light, that of the spiritual rather than the physical sun. The physical senses will, themselves, be affected by the play of the power newly liberated from within the spiritual Self. The range and degree of responsiveness within the present range of all five senses will be increased; whilst the mind will become illumined by the new light, will perceive syntheses in addition to analyses and become increasingly responsive to the power, wisdom and intelligence of the spiritual Self of man and of the universe.

" This development is of supreme importance at this period of human life. It will produce changes for the better in human relationships which it is quite impossible to produce by any other means. Perceiving their unity, men will instinctively co-operate, and it is from the awakening of this new order of consciousness that the new age will result.

" Contact with the Gods, in whom these powers are already active, who have never lost their consciousness of the Unity of Life, will prove a powerful stimulant to this development and in this lies its most permanent value.

" The Gods are the embodiment of the principle of unity ; their existence, their activities and their relationships are all based upon it; it is their basic conception of life. Contact with them awakens in man a similar state of consciousness, quickens the germination of the seed of this knowledge which is in every human being.

" The union of the mind of the Gods with the mind of man, the blending of the two life-streams and the fusion of the forces natural to both adds greatly to the efficacy, both physical and super-physical, of altruistic work. The human servant experiences an increase of ardour, a deepening of determination,