Keeping the dream alive

Every human being has a dream. 
Popular speech says: ‘Dreams are a delusion’, and this may well be true for the majority of our nightly dreams. But there are dreams -- often in the background -- which are actually no delusion. A dream often gives life a colour that you cannot express. It is as if it has a soothing effect and contains music, an almost inaudible sound, its own rhythm.

Such dreams still emanate the innocence of childhood, memories, happy moments that you let pass and that do not return -- you might say: overtaken by the flow of time. Time is like a river that sweeps everything along. You have to go along, you are pulled through affairs and events, every day again, and it does not leave you any time! It does not give you time to stop for a moment, to step outside of it for a moment, to turn inwardly for a moment. And then there is your dream, like a cloud, subtle and in the background. 

We do not speak of dreams about the future, like ‘I am dreaming of this or that car, that house, this or that partner.’ That would disturb your original dream, because it is deeper, warmer, more intimate. It concerns something innocent, something that is not yet burdened with this kind of things; you are actually unable to name it. This dream or that deep, hidden longing is actually detached from time. 

However, in some way, this dream gives colour, meaning, life to everything that happens to you, to what you experience, to whom or what you encounter. When you can no longer feel it, there is only time, the unrelenting pull of the stream by which everything is taken along and which is indifferent to what is special. 

Time levels out everything, it turns everything into ‘past time’. And throughout the ages, this has been the way time was represented, as a man with a scythe, not as death, but as the reaper of what has matured over time. It is also represented as an hourglass that is continuously turned upside down, again and again. Eternal repetition, eternal coming and going.

 We might say: time continues to flow, always further. How can we stand it, this seeking for some living space and happiness, and then disappearing into this indifferent and cruel flow of time?

Does this have something to do with that peculiar, almost unearthly dream, with this vague longing that lives in every human being? Is it related to the feeling that we actually do not belong in time? Or that our origin and our true ego are lying outside of time, and that we are more than only an almost mechanical product that grows up, develops and finally, while growing older, disappears again?

Dissociating from what is relative 

Who is this other one, this true human being, whom we know, perhaps unconsciously, almost as if in a dream? Every second, every hour; the total flow of time is, however, irradiated by what is without time, eternity, which is light, spirit and power! This eternity strikes us at the place of the great encounter, in the heart. There is the junction, where eternity pours its gifts into the flow of time. And when a human being becomes conscious of it -- he himself is, after all, the place of this special encounter -- he becomes ‘enlightened’, his consciousness becomes clear and he sees a wide perspective with the inner eye. He then sees far beyond and above the limitations of the material world. Then he realises that the majesty of eternity strikes everything in the heart. This encounter with eternity can occur in everything and in every human being. He is involved in all of this, and does not stand outside it. Everything alive has a direct relationship with eternity. With regard to each other, everything is relative, but inwardly everything is the opposite of eternity, as the one great question and the eternal answer!

 The truly involved human being attempts to become free from the aspect of relativity. His relationship will be of another nature, not following the same pattern. The central aspect of his involvement will be Christ, God’s radiant loving heart. A human being is going to recognise this centre within himself, not outside himself where relativity rules. And this very recognition is not bound to time and may occur at any time and during any stage of life.

We conclude that all of this does not present itself in the turmoil of relativity, but in the quiet, the silence and the peace of the enlightened heart of a human being, who is in harmony with and is open to this energy. At the same time, we learn to understand that each stage of life opens new possibilities and perspectives, and releases spiritual powers, with which we can work on our own inner development and that of our fellow creatures. Seen in this light, everyone is at the moment that he opens himself to the stream of eternity: student or pupil. Every stage of life is suitable for it.

The young student -- who is then, after all, a beginning pupil -- learns how eternity draws its lines in time, and spontaneously, he will continue to adapt to it. How does this young pupil do that? J van Rijckenborgh says about this: ‘By acquiring knowledge of the laws controlling God’s great creation! This concerns knowledge of the growth of everything that the concept child contains; knowledge of his relationship with higher worlds, but also a great knowledge of the whole of humanity and of… himself. Therefore, education and self-education go together.’ The starting point will be that children are raised by parents and by teachers in educational institutions within the outlined conditions, not by enforcing obedience, but by guiding the child from within, by one’s own example -- inwardly and outwardly.

 When we do not have any knowledge of the laws behind our lives or when this plan is even denied, it will be obvious that the dormant, hidden spiritual powers in the child will be disturbed and hindered, and the development of his inner being will be seriously harmed. Anyone who wants to be a true educator, will first have to understand the need of a change of life. Next he may educate and help a child to develop inner power in his life, with which he can keep himself going in the confusing world within and around him.

The inner development of the human being 

During the first period, from birth until he is approximately seven, we may say that the child is least conscious of the material world around him. During this period, it is important not to force a child into the model in which ‘one’ would like to mould him.

The parents’ insight into the great possibilities of the combination of the microcosm -- the eternal aspect of the human being -- and the young personality is very important. His protection is equally important. After all, this is one of the most important tasks of educators. In this context, protection means: keeping the atmosphere, in which the child grows up, pure. In this context, we should also notice that the current social conditions are not very favourable.

Because the development of the child during this stage of life, characterised by the formative moon forces, largely rests upon ‘imitation’, it is obvious that the mode of life of the educators is extremely important. Mutual friendship is important, as they form the example, both inwardly and outwardly. Their mentality, their directedness, and the centre of their life are decisive for the development of the child. Is the link with what is ‘hidden’ alive in them; are they focused on eternity, on the original field of life and its realisation within them? Did they keep the dream alive? If the inner organ -- the soul -- which sees this plan, has been awakened within them, and if this determines the course of their life, the first stage of the development of the child is largely guaranteed. Soul quality in itself does not work in a liberating way, but when it is linked with the higher consciousness, with higher reason -- that which we called the dream --, the first principles of creative power will certainly break through. The young child bears everything in him, the promise, the infinite wealth, the happiness and the glory of God’s creation, which lie still hidden within him.

The second stage, period of growth 

Birth is rightly called a miracle. At birth, also eternity comes along. During the first years of life, that to which we might refer with the concept Father makes itself known, the Father, the creator, the source from which everything originates and that sustains and nourishes everything. During this first period of a new life, of a newborn life, it is very important that this is also acknowledged and realised by the educators, because then the development that is to be manifested in the child can be strongly supported and promoted. There exists a deep and great confusion concerning all of this!

 Between approximately the ages of 7 and 14, the development of the child’s etheric body is emphasised. The first years were largely concerned with the physical development, while the blueprint, the idea, the growth path of the developing human being were genetically anchored. The child is still largely unconscious of himself. During the second stage, the blood, which realises the link between matter and ether, becomes more active. The lungs and the heart, the organs through which the blood is active, and the sympathetic nervous system -- the system that is not controlled by the will -- develop. Now the blood in particular should be kept pure. The blood is the carrier of all soul aspects. It is the soul, in which the Father aspect that is present in a dormant state, is stimulated and is going to take shape.

A remark about the term ‘Father aspect’ and also about ‘the stage of the Son’ is perhaps required here. In this context, they should not be seen as individual powers. They concern formative forces that characterise a human being as someone that actually does not belong to the earth. Through these forces he is, in this life and at this place, an exile whose lofty, heavenly descent is, however, undeniable. The development of the child needs these forces. It should be noticed that a child is, particularly at this age, susceptible to soulful stories about knights and princesses, in which the hero performs good deeds. It is the development of the soul -- though only in principle -- which is begun during this stage.

 It is also the stage of the Son: the first elements of truth and self-sacrifice are generated, as form aspects, as ‘conditions’ for the new human soul that has started to grow. As we said before: The child works still unconsciously on himself, but assimilates everything that is given to him from outside. We emphasise once again the particular importance of the example, in other words, of the directedness and the mode of life of the educators, who are more than ever very important during this stage.

The sphere of action expands 

Around their 14^th birthday -- and this may strongly differ between children -- an ever-stronger drive to do things themselves presents itself. The peripheral nervous system, which can be controlled by the will, develops in him. The child will demonstrate a strong drive to act, and in this period, he will also begin to dissociate from the influence of his parents, although they could play a powerful and important role, as friends and as the people who watch the context! In a healthy adolescent, we often see that amazement leads to a need to know, to learn. If everything is all right, this longing is the vital drive that wants to learn to know things in their great coherence.

But how often is everything all right? We see around us how things go wrong at that moment. The adolescent wants to start working with powers that he still has to develop, and he develops them by experimenting with them; there is no other way. His own mental power, the mental body, has not yet sufficiently developed. There is a lot of turmoil raging within him. He or she imagines the most beautiful dreams, and sees the purest visions before him. The control as well as the will and the intuition are potentially present, but in most cases, they are not (yet) in control and regulating, but explosive, impulsive. Particularly then, he needs parents, guardians or friends around him. For just then, at that moment, the violence of modern commerce, music, the unimpeded -- often adverse -- life forces (and everything that is standing behind them) attack him or her.

And because there is usually not yet quiet and balance, but only the vital drive, he or she is hurtled to and fro like a roulette ball. This is why the School of the Rosycross also offers a protective field for its young members, an active youthwork that has a number of aspects. In scintillating and balanced surroundings, a young person can experience important moments of development. Here he or she finds people who try to live according to what they recognise as their path of inner development. At the same time, they know and understand everything that a young person experiences and passes through, because they have experienced it themselves.

 J van Rijckenborgh suggests that also the arts and expression, like dancing and acting, can play an important part. In this respect, educators should certainly channel the diverse forces that fight for precedence in the young person’s inner being and often create confusion. This is why the genesis of many complexes can perhaps be prevented, so that they do not cause problems at a later age.

 And there is, of course, the interest for the other sex! This is one of the most important matters, with which you are occupied during this stage. We do not want to limit its importance to the hormonal activity. In the teachings of the hidden knowledge, this attraction to the other sex is seen much more universally and another meaning is attached to it! The child feels, in most cases quite unconsciously, that true knowledge is a two-sided affair. Only through cooperation, by combining the opposite effects of both sexes, a dynamic power is born -- and only by realising it in their life, they reach the realm of true knowledge, of life in its total coherence.

 The further development of the young person is characterised by the interaction between knowledge and the drive to make something of his life. In a positive sense, we often see that this is expressed in self-examination, in a quest for a broader perception of one’s surroundings, society and the impulses of life; the young person becomes independent and begins to think autonomously.

 But also here applies: what is the foundation, what is the basis of life? The young person may become stuck in pursuing the interests of his own ego. He may also break away from this self-maintenance and give precedence to the soul that asks for attention and nourishment. This grants him or her room to experience the vital feeling again that was perhaps present, when the pure forces were still intact and active within him.

Six billion people, six billion dreams © NASA

The period of the sun 

The next period takes place between the ages of 21 and 28. This time is perhaps the most important stage of life because of the formation of the mental body. It is self-evident that the individual is independent now, and that the educators played their part. But in view of what was said before, we might say that the human being is not yet fully grown. The question is whether a development can begin that will lead to soul consciousness, or whether thinking faculty and intelligence follow a development along the ordinary lines of society.

 The universal wisdom teaches that this stage is strongly determined by the planetary aspect of the Sun. During this period, the solar powers, the power of the spiritual sun, very strongly affect the young adult. Now that the individual has his own vehicles at his disposal, the moment has arrived that the young person has to make the decision to let himself, for the rest of his life, be inspired by and cooperate with the higher soul powers -- which would like to link him with his spiritual origin, the solar sphere -- or that he wholly turns to the earthly, social forces, which will then also largely determine his consciousness. This might actually be seen as a repetition, on a small, individual scale, of the symbolic fall from paradise. Anyway, the human being has to choose again! Only after this choice has been made, and the fourth vehicle has become active, as far as this is possible in the current stage, we may say that the fourfold personality has been completely formed and that the conscious earthly life can begin. 

If the scale tips to a life focused on inner growth, all subsequent stages of life are just as many steps of realisation. After the already discussed steps, the development of the consciousness soul follows as the fifth stage. When the young person has made his positive choice, this soul will consciously seek the link with the vibrations of the universal spirit field, the original realm of the life of the soul. Despite all social worries, the outlines of a living spirit-soul will then develop in the silence of the inner being. From there, it can further develop to the stage of the pure spirit, the seventh stage.

Thus we see the stages of human life before us as they might be, when they are supported by the pure Christ impulse. The spiritual school can be an important help in this process for all who are associated with it. During the first period, it will be protecting, enveloping and nourishing. During the crucial stage between twenty and thirty, it can enlighten the consciousness, when the moment of choice has arrived, through explanation and the power of its inspired conferences. And during the later periods, until we are 49, it can be an inner, formative factor in the development of the original soul.

The second half of life 

When a human being is granted a long life, the next stages of seven years are a repetition of the first seven periods, though in reverse order. The first seven stages of life clearly demonstrate an outward-directed development and growth. The latter development occurs inwardly. The ancient Egyptians thought that the heart which, in addition to being the vital motor, also formed the centre of thinking (!), increased in power and size until one’s fiftieth year, and then shrunk again.

And indeed, we see how an older person between fifty and sixty, ideally, sets the seal on his social life, and gradually withdraws from that life. When he has developed an inner life, then the moment arrives to acquire a tremendous wisdom through contemplation and service, helped by the light powers that he is consciously able to bring closer by his longing for inner life and unity. During these various stages, certainty, affection and insight form a quiet basis for benevolence and relative happiness, stemming from realisation of life. Bitterness about missed opportunities and experienced injustice, worry and fear of death often accompany the last part of the life of a human being who did not get around to it.

We offer our children a fair chance of the right development of life, when we can link them with the light impulses of the original life field that surrounds and pervades us. Then the outlined development of the child can truly unfold as splendid alchemy.

 Not everything depends on us. Each child carries his own path, his own dream, and his own light mystery with him. What we can do is keep the right, positive vision of life, which is enveloped by the Light, alive within ourselves, and offer the framework, within which the child can acquaint himself with it, as to power, experience and knowledge. His or her life does not have to be the umpteenth repetition on the wheel of birth and death. It may mean a new arising in new mental and spiritual surroundings. Then really ‘something new originates from what is old’, and a child with such an attitude will develop into a human being who is a blessing to his environment. Then this human being is standing in the living tradition of the universal Rosycross, for that is its sole aim.

 © Lectorium Rosicrucianum 2008.

From Pentagram No 6, 2007