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The Rays and the Initiations - Part One - Fourteen Rules For Group Initiation
2. Express We come now to the second word of the fourteenth rule for disciples and initiates - the word Express. This cannot be correctly understood apart from the earlier word imparted to applicants - the word Touch. I would have you note that all the words given to the neophyte refer basically to something he must do in reference to himself, some task he must undertake which will make him more fit for advancement, or some process of apprehension which will enable him to function in a better and more sensitive instrument. This might be called the "introverted stage" of training because it brings the would-be disciple to a better knowledge of himself; he grasps the fact that he himself, the microcosm, is the key to the Macrocosm; he is the clue to the future, and he holds within himself the revelation which must precede esoteric action. In contradistinction to this, the words for the disciple and the initiate mark the attainment of a capacity to work from a most deeply esoteric center in a pronouncedly occult way. By this I mean that the initiate, working as we have seen from a standpoint of knowledge, is at the same time no longer self-centered, but is now preoccupied with that in which he lives and moves and has his being. His interests are with the Whole and not with the part; his interests are those which will affect his environment (an aspect of that living vibrant Whole) and not himself; his task is the hierarchical one of the salvaging of others, and not his own salvation. [293] If you will note your own present attitudes and actions, you will discover that primarily (I might add almost necessarily) they center around yourselves, your own recognitions, your own grasp of truth, and your own progress upon the Path. But - as you achieve initiate status - self-interest declines until it disappears and, as an ancient Word has it, "only God is left"; only that remains in consciousness which is That, which is beauty, goodness and truth; which is not form but quality, which is that which lies behind the form and that which indicates destiny, soul, place, and status. Ponder on these words, for they convey to you where (as evolution goes on) you will later lay the emphasis. In considering the word Express I can, I believe, make this distinction somewhat clearer. When the beginner on the Path ponders the significance of expression, he is occupied with his ability to express the truth which he theoretically recognizes but to which he cannot as yet give form. This is valuable because it feeds his aspiration, centers his attention upon himself and increases his naive self-interest. This, frequently, presents its own problems, such as a sense of failure or an undue registration of success, or it fails to develop a sense of proportion. When, however, the initiate takes into his consciousness this injunction to express, it signifies to him not his own needs or requirements, but the need of others for those expressions of truth which will guide them on their way. This word, therefore, is to him an injunction to be creative. The initiate creates outside himself that which is his individual contribution to the totality of the creative forms whereby the Hierarchy is attempting to create "a new heaven and a new earth." He is not occupied with what he himself expresses as a soul within a personality; he has developed the habit of right soul expression in the three worlds, and the appearance of his quality (to revert to the use of our original words - life, quality and appearance) is automatic and without any planning on his part. He is, however, occupied with the sequence of activities which I will list as follows: [294] The preservation of hierarchical contact, of which direct, conscious soul contact is now an incident because it is now a habit. An awareness, unbroken and consistent, of his ashramic place; I refer not to location but to status - a very different matter. Reflective concentration upon the hierarchical Plan as his particular Ashram has assumed responsibility for a measure of it; that responsibility he seeks to share intelligently and effectively. Recognition of the immediate contribution of the Ashram and his immediate contribution as an integral part of it. This does away with visionary mysticism and produces the practicing occultist. A study of the creative methods of his particular Ray and an imaginative visualization of that which will be expressed when the desired creative work has taken due form. Conscious projection of his contribution onto the outer physical plane. A tangible creative project is undertaken and eventually produced. He thus plays his part in bringing into objectivity the creative undertaking of his Ashram. The seed of this creative work is that which the Ashram has planned for the exact moment of humanity's presented need, correct as to timing and placement. This may not be what humanity believes it needs; it is essentially what the Hierarchy recognizes as the needed factor, leading to the needed progress for the race at any specific moment in time. For instance, humanity believes today that its major need is peace and material comfort and is working vaguely for both; the Hierarchy knows that its major need is the recognition of the folly of past separateness and the cult of goodwill. Towards these ends, workers in the Ashrams are bending every effort. The creative task, therefore, of working disciples and initiates is to produce that presentation (appearance) of the necessitous truths in such a manner that the recognition of humanity may be so sound that right action can duly be [295] taken. Hierarchical workers must therefore express the true need in form, appropriate to the registering capacity of humanity at this moment.
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