Observing the Seven Rays in Action

By George A. Boyd ©2023

Q: Is there a way that someone can detect which Ray is active in human behavior?

A: There are certain qualities or characteristics associated with the Seven Rays as they express through the personality. For example:

First Ray – Giving directives, orders, or commandments; prescribing specific actions others must take

Second Ray – Disseminating precepts or wisdom teachings, giving guidance for living; inspiring others to treat other people and living creatures with love, compassion, and empathy

Third Ray – Delineating steps or making plans to reach a goal; using intelligence to solve problems; creating a clear goal image of what one wishes to achieve

Fourth Ray – Immersion in present time experience and the flow of consciousness; pursuing creativity; and exploring new possibilities for living

Fifth Ray – Using analysis, study, and testing to gain exact knowledge; performing construction and deconstruction to isolate causal factors

Sixth Ray – Living in faith and obedience to religious or moral precept; developing virtues and a good character; being conscientious and striving for excellence

Seventh Ray – Bringing ideas and inspirations into expression; putting ideas together in a coherent theme (synthesis)

The Seven Rays do not exist in isolation; individuals may operate under the influence of different Rays, depending on the context where they are:

  • If they are parenting their children or managing others, they may utilize a First Ray approach.
  • If they are meditating or contemplating, they may adopt the Second Ray perspective.
  • If they are setting goals for their life or working on a project at work, they may employ the methods of the Third Ray.
  • If they are surfing or hiking in Nature, they may drop into the frame of the Fourth Ray experience.
  • If they are investigating or scientifically studying an object or behavior, they may assume the mindset of the Fifth Ray.
  • If they are religious and are attempting to live up to the moral guidelines of their faith, they may enact the behavior of the Sixth Ray.
  • If they are inventing a new product or receiving ideas from their Soul, they may step into the Seventh Ray viewpoint.
  • If you understand these general patterns of how the Seven Rays express in the personality, you can recognize them when they are engaged. You can also come to recognize the environmental cues and the etheric resonances that influence people to shift into one of these frames of mental activity and behavior.

    While we can characterize that one of these expressions of the Seven Rays is a dominant or preferred mode for a person, most people can flexibly shift into other Ray expressions, as the situation requires.

    We give a succinct overview of the Seven Rays in our book, A Mudrashram® Reader: Understanding Integral Meditation. The interested reader may wish to start there to gain a better grasp of what the Seven Rays are, and how they express at the different levels of the mind.

How Not to Be a Crackpot

By George A. Boyd ©2023

Q: Why are there so many crazy, crackpot ideas that people believe in?

A: People believe in crackpot ideas—conspiracy theories and strange notions of pseudo-science, religion, and politics—because they are unable to verify what they believe. They will tell you they believe these things “on faith,” or because it is written in their scripture, or some person they regard as an authority has said it, or they got it as a revelation in an altered state of consciousness.

Verification is part of the discriminative aspect of the mind. When these inner “crap detectors” are working, they are going to deconstruct or correct these crazy notions. When these inner sentinels of the mind are sleeping or disengaged, people will drift into full crackpot mode.

What are these nodes of discernment in the mind?

  1. Sense perception – This constructs your “world picture”—what you see in your environment around you. Under normal conditions, this aspect of discernment will give you an accurate perception of what is in the space around your body and where your body is in relation to the objects around you. For example, you will recognize the stove and the dining room table in your house or apartment, and notice how far your body is from them.
  2. Reason – This is your reality-testing mechanism. It detects the truth or falsity of statements based on evidence. When people enter and remain in altered states of consciousness, this aspect of the mind shuts down, and people become susceptible to believing anything that is suggested to them. When reason is not operating, people are walking around in a hypnotic trance.
  3. Intellect – This is the part of your mind that can solve problems and model problems. To find out if something is true, you perform a test to see if the hypothesis you generate is likely correct, based on a statistical criterion you set. If your statistical test shows that something is likely true 95% out of 100%, you can deduce that it is probably true in most cases—while you can’t be entirely certain that you have proved your hypothesis, it looks like it is likely true. This is the method science uses to arrive at understanding of the world.
  4. Temple of Science – This is the collective repository of all of the tests and studies that have been done on any particular topic. When enough tests lend credence to a theory, scientific consensus accepts this as a current paradigm. For example, thousands of tests and observations have been done to verify the theory of evolution is likely correct.
  5. Illumined mind – When the Soul takes the Fourth Planetary Initiation, it fully awakens its Buddhic vehicle of consciousness. Through the heart and throat centers of this form, the Soul can detect the content of each nodal point the Soul has opened and of each Nadamic tone the spirit has purified. This generates discernment for the Way of the Soul and the Path of the spirit. Those that complete the Fourth Planetary Initiation affirm, “I am the Way and the Path.” This forms the foundation of spiritual discernment for the Planetary and Subtle bands of the Continuum.
  6. Interpenetrating Awareness – When a disciple awakens the Mahatma form on the Bridge Path, activating the medulla center of this form yields the highest discriminative awareness for all levels of the Continuum below this station on the Path. It gives instant knowledge for whatever information the disciple asks—this is like a powerful spiritual search engine that can access information about whatever spiritual topic the disciple wants to know.
  7. The Wisdom Mind of Satchitananda – In the heart center of the form of the ensouling entity of the seventh Transcendental Path, which we call Satchitananda, there is an intuitive switchboard that directly and objectively perceives the content of the mind for multiple parameters. These parameters are:
    • Knowledge of the element of earth
    • Knowledge of the element of water
    • Knowledge of the element of fire
    • Knowledge of the element of air
    • Knowledge of the element of Aether or space
    • Knowledge of the Experiential Mind, the field of memory for sense impressions and life events
    • Knowledge of Reason, the analytical and discriminative faculty
    • Knowledge of Ego (Ahamkar), the identification with the body, reason and life experiences
    • Knowledge of the Will, the principle of choice and arbiter of action
    • Knowledge of the Self: the field of the Knower, the instruments of Knowledge, and the Known
    • Knowledge of the Mythic Nucleus of Wisdom of the Subtle Realm
    • Knowledge of the Creative Nucleus of Power, the Soul of the Planetary Realm
    • Knowledge of the Omniscient Nucleus, the Monad of the Transplanetary Realm
    • Knowledge of the Compassionate Nucleus, the Astral Soul of the Cosmic Sphere
    • Knowledge of Omnipresent Nucleus, the Supracosmic Soul of the Supracosmic Sphere
    • Knowledge of the Omnipotent Nucleus, the Soul of the Bridge Path
    • Knowledge of the Path of the Violet Ray of Creation, T1
    • Knowledge of the Path of the Rose-Saffron Ray of Creation, T2
    • Knowledge of the Path of the Emerald Green Ray of Creation, T3
    • Knowledge of the Path of the Golden Yellow Ray of Creation, T4
    • Knowledge of the Path of the Royal Blue Ray of Creation, T5
    • Knowledge of the Path of the Rainbow Ray of Creation, T6
    • Knowledge of the Eternal Path of the Primal White Light Ray of Creation, T7
    • Knowledge of the Essence of Satchitananda

Nodes one through four comprise our personal and societal aspects of discernment; spiritual discernment arises from nodes five through seven. In the Subtle Realm—particularly the Lower Astral Plane—and the Psychic Realm, and the First and Second Planetary Initiations, sojourners through these realms do not have a touchstone to verify their experiences.

Much is constructed from the gossamer threads of belief and the tendrils of faith, and reliance on the veracity of sources from whom they learn these beliefs. Until they are able to subject these beliefs to the bright light of discernment, they will cling to these beliefs despite any verification they are true. Consequently, they gently drift into the intoxicating world of the crackpot.

The Boyd Crackpot Scale

We can characterize seven different levels of drift into crackpot mind:

  1. The individual is mostly sane, but harbors odd ideas about one to three topics.
  2. The individual continues to maintain relative sanity, but has odd ideas for four to ten topics
  3. The individual begins to shift from a rational stance to conviction about his or her beliefs, which cannot be verified; more than ten odd ideas make up his or her constellation of irrational beliefs. Those initially exposed to religious or political ideas may move into this posture. Here the conviction is not complete—the individual may be persuadable at this level to come back to reality, and may have some openness to examining his or her beliefs.
  4. The individual begins to rationalize and defend his or her irrational beliefs, and rejects evidence to the contrary; at this level, an individual has become immersed in a conspiracy theory or a system of pseudo-science, political, or religious beliefs. At this level, the individual will likely push back on any attempts to dissuade him or her of the fallacy of his or her beliefs—and he or she is “locked in” to the conspiracy theory at this stage.
  5. The individual begins to believe he or she is under attack or is persecuted for holding his or her beliefs. At this level, he or she begins to adopt paranoid ideation. Those for whom suspicion and mistrust begin to pervade their view of the world may develop a paranoid personality disorder.
  6. The individual’s beliefs start to condition his or her behavior, and he or she begins to act strangely in most situations. At this level, the individual may enter into schizotypal personality disorder.
  7. The individual’s beliefs become bizarre and delusional. He or she may hear voices that tell him or her weird things; he or she may hold beliefs that are totally irrational. At this stage, the individual has migrated into paranoid schizophrenia.

Your beloved, eccentric uncle or aunt—substitute whatever relative, friend, or co-worker that is in your life that demonstrates eccentricity—who has some odd ideas, is likely operating at level one or two.

People begin to drift away from reality at level three and four. These are the people in your life that are caught up in conspiracy theories, or have come to believe in the odd notions of pseudo-science, or have been convinced to believe in a religious or political ideology. Also, people that become involved in religious cults, or hate and terrorist groups operate at these levels.

At levels five through seven, the eccentric person in your life has begun to exhibit mental illness. These individuals need professional help—unfortunately, many of them are beyond the reach of even the most skillful interventions of mental health professionals. They will remain in the upper crackpot worlds, oblivious to rationality and reality, and will abide in these states until death liberates them from this continual hypnotic trance—or until their inner illumination ignites, to dispel the lies and delusions they have come to believe.

You can avoid becoming a crackpot through subjecting your beliefs to your personal and spiritual discernment faculties, and by not simply believing in ideas that you cannot verify. Start with the foundation of what you can verify:

  • Listen to the voice of wisdom within you.
  • Apply the criteria for discerning truth.
  • Hold any ideas you cannot verify as unproven hypothesis.
  • Analyze the reasoning that underlies claims and conjectures. If it is flawed, reject it.
  • Exercise critical thinking. Do not accept ideas without fully vetting them.
  • When your Illumined Mind begins to operate, allow it to reveal what is actually there in the inner worlds and not what imagination and magical thinking constructs.
  • Verify your intuitive impressions through examining them with the direct perception of your attentional principle.

If you will develop wisdom and discernment, you will steer clear of the pitfalls of crackpot mind.

What Is Illumination?

By George A. Boyd ©2023

Q: Spiritual groups talk about Illumination. What is Illumination?

A: When we examine the activation of the intuitive thread, the Antakarana, we note several different levels of heightened intelligence and intuition along this cord that connects the brain with the Soul:

  1. Intellectual brilliance – This is quick application of intellectual problem solving strategies. This operates in the Metaconscious mind.
  2. Creative association – This finds novel associations between ideas, and alternate perspectives for viewing phenomena. This is used in art, creative writing, and invention. This level operates in the Abstract Mind Plane.
  3. Intuitive sciences – This uses an symbolic array like Tarot cards or astrology to tease out meaning and insight in a structured Psychic Reading. This level draws from the Psychic Realm.
  4. Revelation – This seeks to interpret the symbolic and archetypal material in scriptures and Mystery School teachings. This level can be found in the First Exoteric, Mesoteric, and Esoteric Planetary Initiations.
  5. Synthesis – This ties together mental functions to create a big picture, which allows comprehensive understanding. This level is activated in the Third Planetary Initiation.
  6. Illumined insight – This is the downpour of knowledge of the Illumined Mind or Buddhi. When this dawns on the mind in the state of Samadhi, the inner teacher within awakens. Those taking the Fourth Planetary Initiation directly awaken their Illumined Mind.
  7. Jnana Shakti – This Ray of Light Fire awakens the intuitive stream (Antakarana) and reveals the insights embedded along this thread. Those who have activated their Monad and have been empowered at this level can send this Ray to awaken the Antakarana.

Illumination occurs when there is activation of the Buddhi at level six. Masters and their advanced disciples have the ability to activate Jnana Shakti to stimulate the innate Illumination that dwells within the Soul.

We train people to access their intuitive thread in the Jnana Yoga section of our intermediate classes, the in-person Mudrashram® Master Course in Meditation and the by-mail and online Accelerated Meditation Program.

Contemplation for Discernment

By George A. Boyd ©2023

Two of the key tasks for disciples are (a) to develop the ability to see inner spiritual essence and recognize them, and (b) to know their own spiritual nature exactly. For this clear seeing and exact knowledge, they can extrapolate from their own axis of being to recognize these same centers in others. Once they can do this, they can act as a spiritual guide.

Contemplation of twelve different elements of spirituality expands the capacity of inner seeing and recognition, and permits disciples to clearly discern these elements in themselves and others:

  1. The ensouling entity on its own Plane
  2. Chakras of the ensouling entity’s essential form
  3. Seed atoms and chakras of the Superconscious mind’s vehicles of consciousness—in certain of these forms, one can view the nucleus of identity within them
  4. The Self at the nucleus of the personality
  5. Seed atoms and chakras of the Metaconscious and Subconscious mind’s vehicles of consciousness
  6. The ego in its seven aspects
  7. Seed atoms and chakras of the Conscious mind’s vehicles of consciousness
  8. Contemplation of the spirit in each of the twelve Domains
  9. Contemplation of a spiritual guide form
  10. Contemplation of an angel
  11. Contemplation of the spiritual essences and vehicles of consciousness of a Master
  12. Contemplation of the Universal Consciousness of the Divine on different Plane

We encourage you to use this contemplative template to study your own nature. Those who have completed one of our intermediate meditation classes—the in-person Mudrashram® Master Course in Meditation and the by-mail and online Accelerated Meditation Program—will benefit from using the Mudrashram® Correspondence Course to help you with this study.

Aim for exact knowledge and clarity for each of the octaves of being: Personal—comprising the Conscious, Subconscious, and Metaconscious mind; and the Subtle, Planetary, Transplanetary, Cosmic, and your aligned Supracosmic and Transcendental Paths that make up your Superconscious mind. You can view a basic map of these levels of the mind in the article, “The Great Continuum of Consciousness,” which can be viewed on our Open Stacks page.

Meditation on the Seven Levels Described in Theosophy

By George A. Boyd © 2023

Q: In Theosophy, they describe seven levels of being. How do you experience these levels?

A: You can start with doing a quick process:

Body – What am I experiencing now in my body?

Energy – What is my state of energy and vitality now?

Emotions – What are the feelings, memories, and beliefs I’m experiencing now?

Attention – What is my attention focused on right now?

Self and Will – What am I choosing to create in my life right now?

Illumined Mind – What guidance do you have for me right now?

Soul – What is my experience of the totality of my potential and actualization now?

Notice what comes up for you as you query each level.

Next, notice what activities tap into these levels. Through specific activities, you can open to these levels. For example:

Body – movement, exercise, nourishing meals

Energy – breathing, hatha yoga, martial arts

Emotions – journaling, sharing my thoughts and feelings, communication, vulnerability

Attention – mindfulness, meditation; attentional union with Self, spirit, and Soul

Self and will – goal setting, planning, clarifying and acting on values

Illumined mind – receiving guidance, dialogue with your Higher Self, communing with your guides and angels

Soul – Abiding in peace, joy, and bliss; experience of oneness

Next, notice what feelings come up as you focus on each level:

Body – This is what my body feels like right now.

Energy – This is the energy I feel right now.

Emotions – These are the emotions I feel right now.

Attention – This is the feeling of being focused, centered, and fully present.

Self and will – This is the feeling of being the Self and having the capacity to create my future.

Illumined mind – This is the feeling of rapture and peace I feel as I tap into my Illumined mind.

Soul – This is the bliss and joy I feel when I am in touch with the Soul.

You can key into these levels through monitoring your experience, noticing the activities that connect you with each level, and dropping into the feeling state of each level.

Meditations that help you tap into each level are:

Body – Movement meditation †

Energy – Breathing meditation †, Kundalini †

Emotions – Process meditation †, Emotional Vipassana †

Attention – Mindfulness †, Raja Yoga †

Self and will – Centering meditations †

Illumined Mind – Jnana Yoga †

Soul – Raja Yoga †, Mantra Yoga †, and Kundalini Yoga †

[† These are techniques we teach in our intermediate classes, the in-person Mudrashram® Master Course in Meditation and the by-mail and online Accelerated Meditation Program.]

We encourage you to become familiar with all of these levels in yourself, so you can translate Theosophical theory into experience, action, and a felt sense that will allow you to recognize it.