Welcome to "Esoteric Advent - Christmas." You have successfully registered and are receiving this letter of introduction in preparation for the First Sunday of Advent ritual (that begins this Sunday), and the first week of practices and observances for "Mountain the First" (Monday through Saturday).
OVERVIEW STEPS TO OUR PROCESS
While there are many layers of depth built into this 37 Day ritual/invocation/retreat process, it is simple to follow with only four major steps in sequence:
Go to the website, click on the tab titled "2024 Esoteric Advent - Christmas" and proceed to opening the tabs in the following order:
Here is the Link: https://www.esotericadvent.org/
1) “Communicating With You” – here is where you will hear news and "spiritual news” from me. If I have nothing to say since the last communication, then there is nothing new to read.
2) Four Sundays of Advent. Each new Sunday has a meditation and “Invocation of Light” ritual.
3) "Participating Souls" for Naming and Loving and anchoring Soul energy “Where on Earth We Live”. We will need this list during the Sunday Advent ritual. You may want to print this off, or open it as a second tab on your computer/ipad and toggle between the Sunday Advent ritual and this list at the appropriate moment.
4) Week One (Week Two, Week Three, and so on) for the Five Mountains of ascent in Consciousness, Monday through Saturday, which symbolically represent the Five Stages of Initiation or expansions in Consciousness.
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Every Sunday of Advent begins with a Meditation that includes Naming and Loving all Participants “Where on Earth We Live”, and a Group Invocation to the Light. For most of us, this ritual will be best performed in the morning before the world starts to stir with activity. Try to do the ritual at the same time each day. Read the ritual through before doing it, and gather your materials (e.g., a new candle, light your incense, start your meditative music), and open (have ready the Names) or print the pdf file. Take your time, do not rush through it, intentionally be with the rituals – we are working with real energies and real Beings.
Every Monday begins a new mountain ascent with a briefer daily meditation and daily attunements designed to move us progressively higher (or deeper) on a vibrational Mountain Ascent of Consciousness. During the week, if you only have time for Meditation, let this be a higher priority than the day's attunement. But try to do both by the day's end. We begin with Meditation to link with the energy field of the spiritual Hierarchy; we then scroll down the page of the Mountain for the Day of the Week. Ideally, we would mindfully hold the practice throughout the Day to maintain a continuity of consciousness in memory and remembrance of some aspect of the contemplation, reflection, lesson or teaching you selected for that day. Some participants may want to follow the ancient Egyptian rhythm that begins with Sunrise – daybreak, to high noon, to sunset to slumber.
The Soul Conversations tab is also open to encourage sharing of insights, impressions and encouragements along the way. If you are not able to make a Comment Post but want to, send me your reflection and I will post it for you. Write me (Halina) directly at: esotericadvent1@gmail.com
WHAT YOU NEED TO BEGIN for the SUNDAY ADVENT RITUALS
First, take time on the night before or early in the morning to open the ritual and read through the preamble. It is rich with content to help us understand the deeper context of what we are doing and why, and what we are connecting to within the larger scope of esoteric Teachings.
1. For the Sundays of Advent – have ready a NEW candle (a real candle, or tea light, or electric light if you prefer). We light these lights every Sunday as we invoke Angelic forces, and we symbolically build a 5-pointed Star. Freely add any ritual accoutrements that are meaningful to you to create sacred space (flowers, incense, music, symbols, etc.). The Sunday ritual may require an hour of time (more or less) in the privacy of your sacred space in order to work with 'the building energies' - and to read through the ritual beforehand and prepare your space. Make time for this.
2. A White Scarf for Week One symbolizing working with the Madonna Laboris – an aspect of the Divine Mother Principle and Feminine aspect of Divinity. "Mountain the First" works with the Divine Mother Principle and substance aspect of the Divine Trinity. She IS the divine aspect of the form nature, substanding it. We make this approach to HER through images that speak to you. Often the religious figures in every world culture provide us with beautiful living symbols of HER REALITY - the World Mother, Mother of the World, the Virgin Mary, Guadalupe, Isis, Kwan Yin, or astrologically as Venus, the Pleiades - a composite of Seven Sister Stars, or Space Itself as an Entity for the entire Manifested Universe. These are some of the images for Week One. Connect with the Mother Principle through images that are nearest and dearest to your heart. As a Being of Divine origin, we will work with the image of the Madonna Laboris and what I have named the Blue Madonna and Aquarian Virgin Mary (both are western symbols of the Divine Feminine). For our Earth Humanity, The Madonna Laboris works with The Christ carrying the “Saving Force.” This is a new understanding not spoken about in traditional western (Christian) religious teachings. What is spoken about in some esoteric circles of the Christian tradition is Mary brings the aspirant to The Christ. Esoterically, She births Christ in you. The Master DK (in the Blue Books of Alice Bailey) speaks of "Mary" as the greatest of all Devas, and also as the spiritual symbol for "The Earth."
Let us Know that She is already “With Us”, anticipating our beginnings. She is a real Being of great magnitude, yet so intimate, that we can speak to Her. So please let us welcome Her in our hearts - She will rush in immediately to "Be With us." As Queen of Angels, to say more than what I have already written about Her only limits Who She Is in our perception. You will have your own experiences and perceptions. It is enough to know that She is Real and powerfully present throughout the entire Christmas process of Four Mountain ascents and in the Journey of the Wise Men, operating silently and esoterically behind the scenes while we turn our focus elsewhere.
We begin with Madonna Laboris is to lay a foundation stone for the remaining weeks where the focus will be on The Christ Principle, the Planetary Christ and spiritual Hierarchy, and the Angels.
Let us also remember that we begin as a group and are on a journey of "spiritual approach" and "group approach to divinity." We therefore share a common ground. The Cosmic Christ Principle flows through "man" and humanity — in each and every one of us. Through this intentional process, we are widening the channel for Divine Love to pour through us and every atom of Creation ~ making all things new.
All the tangible objects that we may utilize in our weekly rituals are but tools and devices to assist us in connecting to the inner worlds of divinity, and as such are secondary to the interior deepening process. That said, some tools are important devices to serve as conduits for higher energies. For example, lighting the candles that build a 5-pointed star as we invoke the Angels is a two-layered process (one for the Star and one for the Angels), or utilizing a white scarf to symbolically connect to the Saving Force. Here, instead of a white scarf we could exercise visualization by imaginatively placing a white scarf around the neck to indicate the divine saving force (but who doesn't own a white scarf!).
I will create a new tab with all the above instructions for easy access, titled INSTRUCTIONS.
It is a joy to enter upon this journey with you, with all of us. We have with us some old-timers (having participated in this process from the very beginning of the first Esoteric Advent-Christmas in 2013/2014). This year we have a substantial number of newcomers who responded to the Meditation Mount email - a warm welcome to you all.
A note of advice. Some among us, perhaps a newcomer may think or feel after reading these instructions - 'wow, I didn't know what I was getting into when signing up for this process - it's so big and involved or seemingly complex.' Another may say, 'I love this, it is more than I anticipated and just what I was looking for to enter into a spiritual deepening process by the Soul.' In truth, this process is simple and will be as deep and broad as is our capacity to move vibrationally inward. All that is required is focus and time. Putting in "the time" for what we value are choices we make. If not here and not now, then time will be spent on other things we 'value.' Master DK advises we not waste our time. Anything of real value requires the "work" of focus on the choices we make. The richness and depth of the soul and group soul, once revealed and flowing in the fullness of time, is its own reward. I am reminded of the saying by Christ, "Look for your treasures in Heaven and all else will be added to you."
It is a Joy to "be with you". Once again, a warm welcome to Meditation Mount newcomers! Let us Begin.
Halina Bak-Hughes with Sheldon Hughes
