Wherever you live in the world today, you probably live in a nation of laws. Whether your country is ruled by democratic ideals or by authoritarian rule, you are subject to a large body of laws and regulations that govern your daily life. Laws are established by local and government officials to make life more organized and safer for all the citizens of the country. Unfortunately, today, some of these laws and regulations may favor one particular group of citizens over all the others, because those in positions of power tend to use that power for their own personal gain. But no matter how laws are established, be it for selfish or selfless ends, the fact that human beings all over the world now respond to the impulse to establish laws in the first place, is a significant indicator of our evolutionary advancement. So what is in us and pushing us to demand (even selfishly) that our way of life be so organized and structured? Where does this impulse come from? Are we responding to a higher subjective power? To most people, it is simply the reaction of a strong personality nature; but to a few, the obvious answer is, it’s a reaction to the impulses of the Soul or the Higher Self.
But first, let’s see this question in the larger context of the greater whole because laws are not just human creations; they also govern and control on planetary and cosmic levels. On our planet Earth, every kingdom—mineral, vegetable, animal, human and spiritual—is controlled by laws. This entire planet is governed by solar and cosmic laws. And the great intelligent Creator, the Logos, of our planet is also subject to these same cosmic laws. Our planet rotates at a given rate; it circles the central Sun at an established position, set by law, in the solar system because of the nature of the life evolving on this planet; our planet tilts back and forth in a regulated system giving us a regulated series of seasons—spring, summer, autumn, and winter—and our planetary axis is pointing, not by accident, to a specific group of stars, the energies of which may influence the evolving future of our world. So in this larger cosmic context, laws are being imposed by some cosmic Intelligence which gives organized structure to the great Plan being worked out here on Earth. Now in an analogous way, our human daily life is also being organized and structured, in our particular countries, by a higher spiritual intelligence coming from the Soul—as it seeks to serve the greater Plan of our Logos—working out here on Earth. As above so below.
What is a Spiritual Law?
But what exactly are these spiritual laws we are responding to? One brief definition of these laws is: “A law is only an expression or manifestation of force, applied under the power of thought by a thinker or group of thinkers” (Esoteric Psychology II, p. 193). (Here one may question today whether one’s group of legislators or parliamentarians are really “thinkers” yet, or just feeling the power!) We can imagine a group of thinkers meeting in conferences, deciding and planning at the personality level; that occurs often in the creation of many international laws and treaties which affect our daily life. But imagine a group of Thinkers on a purely subjective or spiritual level setting in motion forces and energies that manifest as Laws here on Earth; it’s a bit more difficult. Yet this is the source of many of the impulses that human beings are responding to today without realizing it. What drives us toward creating a better way of life emanates from the realm of the Soul. We are arriving now at a time when we should recognize this fact. The fact of the Soul conveys the Laws of the Soul.
So what are some of the Laws coming forth from the Soul to which human beings are responding? One of the first on the list might be the Law of Rebirth. Yes, our rebirth or incarnation, life after life, is by law. The Soul carries out this law which was set in motion (or spiritually legislated) by a higher power; and the soul then, in turn, carries out this law through rebirth, life after life. And this rebirth applies not just to the human stage; it is also applied to the mineral, vegetable, and animal kingdoms. Soul energies are at work in all the lower kingdoms as well. It seems obvious that when our Creator designed His Plan for planet Earth, He included laws requiring the energies and forces of the soul to undergo repeated manifestations of the created forms until a certain stage of refinement had been achieved, at which point the soul could then move on toward liberation from the Law of Rebirth. And this process of refinement is carried out through all the kingdoms; that is why the process of death and rebirth is necessary in the human stage. Rebirth is simply a Law set in motion by the great Thinker—God.
Other Spiritual Laws
There are several other Laws that seem to assure that the soul will continue its work of refinement, one being the Law of Service. This Law is deeply imbedded in the energies of the soul and is the essential driving force that impels this mediating entity to incarnate a fragment of itself into dense matter and create a personality vehicle through which it can work its magic of refinement. And at a certain stage in the refinement process the impulse to serve begins to make an indelible impression on the lower self; and as we see today, the impulse to serve is already being widely expressed by human beings throughout the world. To many people service is a natural way of life. One recognizes a great need and willingly and lovingly devotes his/her life to serving that need. But it is likely, at first, many do not fully associate this impulse to serve as emanating from one’s own higher Self. It is simply an urge they were born with. So might it not be a service to them to help them make that connection between the higher and lower selves?
Likewise, the same might be said about another common human reaction: the willingness to sacrifice, which is a response to another soul Law, the Law of Sacrifice. Sacrifice means “the impulse of giving.” It has been said that humanity is already governed by this law because it began its expression during the Piscean Age. It is already an active ideal in human life developed through religious practices like the Christian doctrine of love and sacrifice. But which great Thinker set this law in motion is impossible to say right now because the “impulse to give” extends out to cosmic levels. As it is said: “The Solar Deity who gave His life to the universe, to the solar system, to the planet, and the manifested worlds consequently appeared. The cosmic Deity has likewise done the same. But what does this mean to us? Naught, except a symbol. It was His impulse, His will, His desire, His incentive, His idea and purpose to appear. The creative act then took place, and the process of manifestation began its cyclic evolutionary existence. The Cosmic Christ was crucified upon the cross of matter, and by that great sacrifice opportunity was offered to all evolving lives in all kingdoms of nature and in all created worlds. Thus they could progress.” (Esoteric Psychology II p. 89). Therefore, humanity exists as a manifestation of the impulse of giving which originated on cosmic levels. And of course the impulse of this Law flows to us via the mediating Soul.
Observed Effects of Soul Laws
So with the influence of just these two Laws of Sacrifice and Service one can see that most human beings are already expressing soul qualities, to some degree, whether they realize it or not. Of course, because the impact of these impulses flows down to the personality level first (energy follows and conforms to thought) the first expressions tend to be lower-self centered and selfish; service, then, tends to make one feel good and gives one a sense of importance, and the same with sacrifice. Among the elderly, volunteering for service can have health benefits. A recent report in the newspaper (Pocono Record, Stroudsbury, PA) reported that “Research from Harvard University, the Mayo Clinic, and Carnegie Mellon University have shown that as little as two or three hours per week can produce benefits provided the activity is rewarding and something to look forward to….Volunteers report better physical and mental health than do non-volunteers. Volunteers also have lower mortality rates than those who do not, even when controlling for age, gender and physical health.” It would seem then that where there is a willing response to the inflowing energies of the Soul, better physical and mental health will result. One is reminded of a line in the first Law of healing: “All disease is the result of inhibited soul life, and that is true of all forms in all kingdoms…” (Esoteric Healing, p. 5). Unimpeded soul energies, then, help to more quickly refine the atomic makeup of the form. So as the new energies of Aquarius pour in and manifest, we should begin to see a major shift.
These examples of the effects of the Laws of the Soul should give us some insight into the divine motives of Deities applying these Laws to the evolving lives on this planet. As we can see by the results of our own man-made laws and regulations, they help to build a more organized structure in which society can grow and express and create more beauty in the world. And this human expressed motive seems to be a direct influence of cosmic sources. It would seem, then, that today, in the twenty-first century, it might be a good time for this soul connection to be made more clear to the general public, especially in the field of psychology, and for those who seem ready to accept the realization that we human beings are part of a huge process being worked out, not only here on planet Earth, but also as part of the entire solar system, and even beyond if that is possible. And with more and deeper understanding of the Soul and its bridging function, it might be time for us humans to begin to reverse our way of thinking about our position in this whole cosmic scheme; a reversal similar to the realization of Copernicus (in the 16th century) that the Earth revolved around the sun and not the other way around. Shouldn’t we revise our present way of thinking that evolution does not begin at this dense physical stage, but in fact we are the end product of a process that began before the Earth was created? Human beings are in fact spiritual Souls prompted from the inner dimensions to refine and build an increasingly beautiful world through which our Logos will at some distant time manifest His great gift of illuminating Fire and loving Light to the entire solar system and to the universe. “Let the soul control the outer form and life and all events and bring to light the love that underlies the happenings of the time. Let inner union demonstrate and outer cleavages be gone. Let love prevail. Let all men love.” This is the Law.
