The Heart is the Bridge Between the Worlds

“Who do you think you are?” may be asked in the most ordinary of everyday circumstances but the television program of that name presents an historical journey of discovery through someone’s ancestry and, in so doing, brings deeper understanding of past events and conditions, and so expands our sense of the progress, betterment and refinement of civilisation. It is deeply personal for the main subject and at the same time universal as it draws viewers into a living experience of that very human journey through time. As the program unfolds we watch and identify with the subjects as their sense of “who they are” flowers into a beautiful and more subtly extensive “self”. And, as the vista opens out, we can see the changing nature of our values, our thinking and the process of thought that constructs our sense of “self”. Their sharing reveals that we are what we think we are and, as our thinking expands and changes, so does our perception of self and the world in which it finds itself – our “reality”. We are told that:

Thought is the finest energy that one can send forth, inexhaustibly, into the vault of the Universe. Thought can rise, as a pillar of light, and be united with the great Apparatus of energy. The duty of man is to share his possessions, and the best of them is the energy of his thought.” Supermundane III, 627

The Thinker said, ‘Learn how to think. Begin with the most simple thoughts. Best of all, learn how to dream about beautiful objects, and learn to dream vividly. Only dreams will develop one’s imagination, and where can we go, how can we assimilate the most beautiful observations without imagination? How can we remember in our mundane life the sparks of the Supermundane Radiance if we do not train ourselves to dwell on images? Verily, striving toward the Sublime will train our imagination.
‘Nothing remains static. Imagination must grow or it will be extinguished, and who knows when it may be possible to rekindle it? Philosophers must have strong imaginations, just as artists must in order to create. Dreaming is born during the days of childhood. Children must be helped to develop their thinking.’
Thus spoke the Thinker when He asked His disciples to become dreamers, for only in this way are born the images of great governments and of general happiness. Happiness lives in dreams.” Supermundane I 207

Over 300 years ago the philosopher, Renee Descartes, made the statement: “I think, therefore I am” and so brought into the public mind the central creative power of thought and mankind’s primary role in the manifestation of the worlds. We know we exist because it is our conscious living experience. We may doubt our thoughts but we cannot doubt that we think. Thus there is awareness of self and not-self. Our thoughts, the not-self, are created by us. Once we have differentiation – self and not-self, positive and negative – we have the basis for creation.

The Tibetan Master wrote:

Only the self-conscious can create, and only they are capable of purpose, of co-ordination, of direction and control.” A Treatise on Cosmic Fire, page 566

He explained:

The human being lives in a world of varied energies… The whole process is one of establishing constructive relations between negative and positive energies and the subsequent production of magnetic force. This is the creative process. It is true of the activity of a solar Logos, of a planetary Logos and of a human being—the only conscious creators in the universe.” The Rays and the Initiations, page 482-3

So the Great Magnet of Life pervades the universe that it has, itself, created. We read that:

Creativity is a consequence of a particular state of mind and a specific state of being

…the expression of the creative faculty is radiation and magnetism. These bring to its possessor the material for creation and a magnetic capacity which arranges in due form and beauty that which radiation has evoked. Creativity is a consequence of a particular state of mind and a specific state of being; it signifies a point in evolution wherein the disciple is definitely radioactive. He can no more help creating in some form or another than he can help living…karma is ever the source of physical plane creation, happenings and events; it is the instrument of the soul in producing a personality.” Discipleship in the New Age II, 539

The thinker, the soul, creatively thinks its world into being and so sees it. This reflects the great process described in The Bible:

And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good.” Genesis I: 2-4

We are told that “thought gives birth to light”:

The dynamo of unity increases all energies. Not magic, but purified will sends into the world the command, “Let there be Light!”

One must understand that the concept of darkness gradually vanishes, because one is surrounded by fires, rays, pillars of light, and brilliant sparks beyond counting, all visible with the eyes open or closed. Precisely, darkness vanishes. Twilight reigns only in the lower strata of the Subtle World, for its inhabitants do not know how to evoke Light. This ability depends upon thought, and thought gives birth to Light. Verily, a thinker sends the order, ‘Let there be Light!’ Thus are the great truths taught, although people consider them to be fairy tales… Only in the spirit and in personal experience can the most natural laws be assimilated. It is not easy to overcome all the surrounding counteractions. Our Abode is so strong because there is no corruption in it. The will of all of Us is merged into one powerful current. The dynamo of unity increases all energies. Not magic, but purified will sends into the world the command, “Let there be Light!” Supermundane I, 30

The thinker creates, sees his creation and realizes that he is participating in the thought of a Greater Thinker. We also find in the Bible a reflection of the statement of Christ: “As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he” [Proverbs 23:7]. The Tibetan explains:

…From that demonstrating personal centre of thought, energy will stream down into the physical brain, via the etheric body. It will then condition the type of living, the expression and the influence of the man upon the physical plane… As a result of focussed thinking ‘in the heart’ the spiritual eye opens and becomes the directing agent… What is meant here by the words, ‘in the heart’? The soul is the heart of the system of the spiritual man; it is the seat of the life and consciousness which animate the personality, and it is the motivating potency in every incarnation, according to the experience conditioning the expression of the spiritual man in any particular rebirth. In the early stages of experience, this ‘eye’ remains closed; there is present no capacity for thought and no ability to think in the heart: i.e., from soul levels. As the intellect develops and the power to focus upon the mental plane grows, the fact of the soul’s existence becomes known and the goal of attention changes. There follows the ability to focus in the soul consciousness and so to fuse the soul and the mind that an at-one-ment takes place and a man can then begin to think ‘in his heart.’” Discipleship in the New Age page 289

The heart is open to all space and all time and is where everything unites.

The heart is the bridge between the worlds

…the significance of the heart is evident… It is regarded as the focal point of physical life, but this view is inadequate. The heart is the bridge between the worlds. Where the meeting-point of the three worlds is especially manifested, the significance of the heart is felt deeply… Only the heart can unite consciousnesses separated by many centuries. The heart quality is required for all subtle actions… In thought-transference the heart is the prime mover…You who send thoughts, attune your hearts, but remember that tension of the heart carries the threat of fiery conflagration…
The significance of the heart is great; in the future it will replace the most complex apparatuses. Verily, in the New Era people will appear whose organisms accomplish this. At present, people invent robots, but after this mechanical fever has abated man’s attention will turn to the powers within himself… In Our Abode all research is directed toward the freeing of man from the machine. In this process one must educate the heart. One must learn to listen to its voice…” Supermundane I, 22

The television program asked “Who do you think you are?” and unlocked a vaster sense of identity for the subjects than they may have previously thought. It became clear how deeply moved they were as the unfolding experience was clearly heart-felt and with shared resonance through the audience heart as well. If “who we are” is so much more than one lifetime in a history of forebears, how often is that “self” present in our daily living? Is it possible to realise in our everyday actions the inner beauty of our subtlest thought?

…It has been said many times that man is the co-worker of creation. It is precisely so. Every thought impresses a mental image. This creativeness is indestructible, and it is time for people to realize their responsibility for this creative work… Many lightminded and harmful mental obstructions pollute space. People do not usually believe that their feeble thoughts could leave any trace in space, but they must be reminded that even a fleeting feeling can inscribe an indelible hieroglyph there… Only a full understanding of the meaning of thinking can lead to luminous daring. …higher daring is always benevolent. It opens ways to beautiful, mental creativeness… Each beautiful thought must be safeguarded. Let it expand in space. It is a real gift to the structure of the Universe. But people must begin to think about the Supermundane World as natural and sense its touches in everyday life… We speak about daily routine as a constant link to the Supermundane, which has its place in everyday life. Losing understanding of this can be the source of much grief… The Thinker used to say, ‘Realization of the Supermundane comes not only from without, it is also born within ourselves. Let this sign of daring glow in the heart.’” Supermundane IV, 714

It is beautiful to realize that the world is perpetually evolving, in ever-increasing striving and motion… Thought is life, and life is moved by thought.” Supermundane I, 97