To be the exponent of the Mind of God
Aries begins a new cycle in the spiritual year and in the evolutionary journey of the soul. All originates with the power of thought, of an idea, and Aries is the birthplace of ideas, the writings of Alice Bailey tell us. Aries’ keynote—I come forth and from the plane of mind, I rule—gives a hint of the enormous power which pours through Aries in its function as the creator of those activities and conditions which draw the soul into manifestation in form.
Esoterically, the plane of mind might seem an elusive concept to grasp. Perhaps the most useful definition for our understanding is that the mind is that aspect of us which is conscious or aware; the mind is the conscious element in the universe. The vastness of the universe is far beyond our ability to conceive, except for that small portion which expresses through the fundamental ideas emerging in human consciousness. “Man” is a word derived from the Sanskrit meaning “one who thinks”, which suggests how ancient and deeply embedded in human consciousness the spiritual responsibility of the human kingdom is. The chronicle of history documents the ages-long expansion of humans’ understanding of the world and of man’s place within the vast system of relationships which constitute the universe. All human history is a documentation of the working out of ideas, their subsequent transformation into thoughtforms, ideals, and eventually idols, followed by their rejection in favor of new, emerging and more inclusive or comprehensive ideas. Throughout human evolution, and in spite of its stumbles and foibles, humanity is groping its way toward the fulfillment of its ultimate destiny: to be the exponent of the Mind of God, in Alice Bailey’s words.
Aries is said to be the inaugurator of the new age because its potency generates the fire which can destroy the outworn trappings of the old age, clearing the way for the creation of a new cycle, new opportunities. Now, as the energies of the new age increasingly pour into the world, we’re living through a period of clearing away and of the destruction of ideas and ideals that have long conditioned human thought and been accepted goals, but which no longer serve the evolutionary thrust of the Plan. In such an uncertain transitional time, Alice Bailey wrote, it’s especially crucial that spiritual seekers develop the sense of that which is imminent. To discern what lies on the threshold of recognition, perhaps we should look not for events but for new ideas which are ready to precipitate from the higher planes of life. An ancient phrase for this sensed readiness for new awareness is “the raincloud of knowable things”: the impending, overshadowing and revelatory storehouse of energy which indicates the emergence of that which is new and better, ready to precipitate in response to the massed invocative appeal of humanity. The spiritual seeker, we’re told, ”has to awaken to that which is on the very verge of precipitation into human thinking, life and circumstance…to recognize that which is hovering over humanity on the point of revelation” and to be able to cooperate in this process of revelation.
With the nearly universal literacy of the world’s population and broad systems of education available on a mass (but not yet universal) level, the lower mental plane is saturated with the creations and musings stimulated by mass media and supercharged by developing technology—sometimes with positive benefits and in other ways creating distortion and delusion. Today, the writings of Alice Bailey say, “more truth is being recognized (and incidentally, repudiated) than at any other time in human history. A sizeable portion of human beings have attained the point in evolution where they are able to know the truth if and when presented, because the human mind is now more highly responsive to abstract truth, and therefore to the next evolutionary presentation.” Group meditation is a vital help in rendering human minds more receptive to these recognitions, so let us work in meditation by reflecting on the keynote, I come forth and from the plane of mind, I rule.
