Today, we start by asking the question, what potential do we have for conscious operations on the causal plane? To function consciously during physical life on the higher levels denotes, of course, even more significant advancement. This means the unification of the individual so that down here, they are no longer just a personality, influenced by the individuality above to some extent, but they are that individuality or soul. The person is undoubtedly still constrained and confined by an envelope, but nonetheless, they possess the power and knowledge of a highly developed soul.
Currently, most people are only conscious within the lower levels of their thinking and feeling capacities. When individuals are on the spiritual Path, they can access higher levels of their thinking capabilities. Advanced individuals, like Adepts (45-Selves), are fluent at utilising their total thinking capacity while present in the physical world. We will delve deeper into these concepts in a later presentation.
Moving on to the specific powers of the thinking capacity, as discussed in the previous series, it is explained that individuals cannot travel to another planet using their emotional or mental envelopes. However, if the causal envelope is objectively conscious, it is possible to achieve this, although it is not as straightforward or quick as it can be on the levels beyond the conscious capacity for those who have raised their awareness to that level.
A causal envelope would not usually be able to move in interstellar space, as the atoms in that space are situated apart and equally spaced. This is likely their natural state when undisturbed, which is why they are referred to as “free”. In a planet’s atmosphere, atoms are never found in this state, as they are always significantly compressed by the force of attraction, even when they are not arranged in specific forms. The conditions in interplanetary space are probably not identical to those in interstellar space, as there may be a lot of disturbance caused by comets, meteoroids, and the strong gravitational pull of the sun, resulting in considerable compression within the boundaries of our solar system.
As a result, the atomic matter of a person’s causal envelope is being pressed together by attraction into a specific and dense shape, even though the atoms themselves remain unchanged and are not grouped into molecules. While such an envelope can exist comfortably on its own atomic plane, it would not be able to move or function in the vastness of space, where the atoms are “free” and uncompressed.
It should be clarified here that although the term “free” has been used to describe the atoms of interstellar space, you are talking about a specific plane of matter. If you were to consider all the planes of matter that were higher than that plane, then effectively, there is no free space. Viewed across all 49 planes of matter, there is not a single free space. If there were, the Universe would collapse. Why? Consider the external pressure the Ante-Verse must exert on the totality of the mass of primary atoms in the Universe. Break the matrix pushing back, and the consequences would be “unfortunate”.
If one wishes to view a remote scene, there is no need to transport one’s entire envelope to that scene. It is easier to utilise the power of magnification, which is a function associated with the brow chakra, the force centre between the eyebrows. From this chakra, a tiny microscope can be projected with a lens made of only one atom. This organ is produced to observe minute objects. The atom used could be physical, emotional, or mental, but it requires special preparation. All its spirillae must be opened up, so, for the general mass of humanity, that will only occur in the seventh round of our chain of worlds. If you want to do it sooner, then you know what you have to do.
If an atom of a lower level than the causal plane is used as an eyepiece, a system of reflecting counterparts must be introduced. The atom can be adjusted to any sub-plane, allowing for any required degree of magnification to be applied to suit the object being examined. The operator can also focus their consciousness in the lens through which they are looking and then project it to distant points. The same power, in a different arrangement, can be used for diminishing purposes when one wishes to view something far too large to be taken in at once by ordinary vision. We have discussed this before.
Possessing an objectively conscious causal envelope allows one to have some level of foresight into the future. Even with our physical senses, we can sometimes predict certain things. For example, if we see a person leading a life of excess, we can reasonably predict that, unless they change, they will soon lose their health and fortune. What we cannot determine through physical means is whether the person will make a change or not. However, someone who has insight into the causal envelope could often discern this, as they would be able to see the inner strength and thoughts of that person. They could perceive whether the person was strong enough to make a change. Physical predictions are not always reliable, as many of the influencing factors cannot be seen on this lower plane. However, by elevating our consciousness to higher planes, we can perceive more causes and thereby come closer to predicting the effects.
It is generally easier to foresee the future of an underdeveloped person than that of someone more advanced, as the ordinary person often lacks significant willpower. They are assigned certain circumstances by karma and become subject to those circumstances. This is because they may not realise that they have the ability to change their fate.
A more developed person, however, takes hold of their destiny and moulds it. They make their future what they want it to be, counteracting the effects of the past by setting fresh forces in motion. Therefore, their future is not easily predictable. But undoubtedly, even in this case, an Adept who could see the latent will could also calculate how it would be used.
Students recollecting the presentations on The Mental Envelope will remember that there is a description of the Akashic Records, or the Memory of Nature, as it is sometimes called. When reading these Records, the work is done through the causal envelope, the mental envelope vibrating only in response to the activity of the causal envelope. For that reason, no satisfactory or reliable reading of the Records can be done without definite development of the causal envelope. So much for the stories told in books about past life regressions.
C.W. Leadbeater describes a fascinating and unusual case where, due to excessive mental exertion, a man was able, sporadically, to read the Records with great detail and clarity by arousing the faculties of his causal envelope. He also had the ability to magnify certain things, particularly when it came to perfumes. This resulted in a roughening of the smell, making it lose its smoothness and become more like woollen cloth or a basin of sand. This is because the faculty of magnification, which belongs to the causal envelope, causes tiny physical particles that stimulate our sense of smell to become separately distinguishable, similar to the grains on sandpaper, resulting in a sense of roughness.
It’s important to note that this method of stimulating the powers of the causal envelope through overwork is highly discouraged, as it is more likely to lead to the breakdown of the brain or nervous system rather than, as in this rare case, to enhance causal faculties.
If a person elevates their consciousness to the highest subdivision of their causal envelope and focuses it exclusively on the atomic matter of the mental plane, they have three possibilities for moving their consciousness, somewhat corresponding to the three dimensions of space. Obviously, they can
(1) move it downwards into the second sub-plane of the mental matter or upwards into the lowest sub-plane of the Unity (46) matter, but only if they have sufficiently developed their Unity envelope to utilise it as a vehicle.
(2) Another type of movement involves jumping from one atomic subdivision of a plane to the corresponding subdivision of the planes above or below without passing through the intermediate sub-planes.
(3) A third possibility is not so much a movement along another line, perpendicular to the other two, but rather the possibility of looking up such a line, the line that connects the soul and the Monad, similar to how a person at the bottom of a well might gaze up at a star in the sky above.
There exists a direct line of communication between the atomic sub-plane of the mental plane in the lowest Cosmic Physical Plane (43-49) and the corresponding atomic mental sub-plane in the Cosmic Mental Plane (29-35). Although we are far from being able to ascend by that line, C.W. Leadbeater states that there was an experience of being able to look up at it briefly. What is observed, he says, is indescribable, as human words cannot convey it. However, what is certain is that what we have considered to be our consciousness and intellect is not ours but belongs to a higher consciousness. The human soul is a manifestation of the Third Outpouring from the eternal and all-loving Father’s First Aspect.
The growth and development of the causal envelope are greatly assisted by the work of the Masters, who focus on souls in their causal bodies. They pour spiritual influence upon individuals, eliciting the best in them and promoting their growth, similar to sunlight radiating upon flowers. Many people are sometimes conscious of these helpful influences but are unable to trace them to their source. This work will be explained more fully in a later presentation.
Let us take a break from envelopes for the moment and, in the following presentation, look at Life After Death in the Fifth Heaven.