[Sharing Lights]

Looking into the Invisible

Omraam Mikhael Aivanhov




Have you ever thought about the fact that we can only see the people and things around us if they are lit by rays of light falling on them?

The sun has sometimes been called ‘the lamp of the universe’, and this expresses the idea that it is thanks to the light of the sun that the world is illuminated and that, as a result, man can see the things around him. And when we are no longer illuminated by the sun, we need other sources of light: electric bulbs, candles, flashlights, floodlights, etc.

Objects are visible, therefore, only when light falls on them and lights them up; this law is valid in the physical world and also in the spiritual world. In the spiritual world, however, there are no lamps for us to switch on as we switch on the light on the stairs or in our bedroom; if we want to see something, it is we who have to shed light from ourselves. This is why so few people are capable of seeing anything on the spiritual plane: they expect things to be lit up for them. They don’t know how to project the rays of light that would enable them to see. As a matter of fact, everything that exists on the subtle planes – astral, mental, causal, etc. – actually reflects rays of light, but of a kind that cannot be seen by our physical eyes. This is why we have to develop our subtle organs and switch on our inner lamps, so that we may project beams of light onto the surface of beings and objects and make them visible.

Intuition
There are several different kinds of vision to which we give different names depending on the plane on which they apply. On the highest level is the vision of the spirit; that which we call intuition. This is not a material form of vision, of course; very often, in fact, a person is unaware that he is actually seeing something. When someone suddenly receives the revelation of a higher, divine truth, it means that he has projected rays of light from himself and that these rays have reached to a great distance and a great height and enable him to see some laws or correspondences, some of the structures of the universe. It is the light of the spirit that lights up the divine reality and makes it possible for man to understand it.

Feeling
On another level, vision goes by the name of sensation, for sensation is also the result of a kind of light that man projects onto objects and living creatures. When you feel things, you vibrate in unison with them, you are conscious of their existence and of their closeness; it is as though you were seeing them.

Seeing
And, finally, there is a third kind of vision which consists in an awareness of glimmers of light, colours, objects and entities coming and going on the etheric and astral planes. Generally speaking, though, those who see these things don’t understand what they are seeing and don’t know how to interpret them without help. If they do venture to interpret them themselves, they are often wrong. This kind of sight is not very useful, therefore; in fact, it can often impede a person’s evolution.

There are different degrees of sight, therefore. The highest degree is that of intuition which is both an understanding and a sensation of the divine world, and it is on this level that we should begin. Once armed with this higher degree of understanding and sensation we can move back to the vision of the etheric and astral planes and begin to explore and study them.

A safer method of development
As a matter of fact, there are two schools of thought in this connection: one of them teaches people to begin by developing clairvoyance on the lower levels and, gradually, to work up to the vision of Heavenly reality; the other teaches that we should begin by focusing on the First Cause, the Source of Life, God Himself, and only later descend to the material level. In my opinion, it is the second method that is preferable. There is less risk involved because, when your mind and heart are focused on the Lord, it is He Who gives you the knowledge of all the different levels of the universe and makes it possible for you to work in them without danger. In these conditions, even if you want to investigate Hell and the spirits that inhabit it, God will show it to you and keep you under His protection.

The descent into ‘Hell’ You will ask, ‘Why do you talk about investigating Hell?’ Because the great Initiates are obliged to descend into Hell before they can reach the peak of their evolution. If they tried to avoid Hell from fear of the dangers it involved, something would be lacking to them; their knowledge of creation would be incomplete. Of course, before attempting to go down into the depths, they must have previously developed the indispensable qualities of knowledge, strength and self-dominance, and, above all, they must be protected by a very powerful aura. The spirits of a lower order, even devils, tremble at the approach of an Initiate because they sense that he possesses fire, that he has thunderbolts at his command. This is why they keep well away from him when he explores their regions and receives the revelation of the nature of evil and all its different manifestations, the laws of karma and the punishments inflicted on those who transgress divine Law. Jesus himself descended into Hell and set free many souls.

to be continued