How to Study

The Nature of the Soul

Individual Study

Wisdom

Teaching the Material

Impressions

Study Groups
The Meditations

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How To Study The Nature of The Soul

THE METHOD OF STUDY

The Nature of The Soul has a threefold approach to
study:

the text
the meditation work
the discussion

Together they balance the overshadowing wisdom of the

course, the inner experience of that wisdom, and its expression in the world of affairs.
Many students are now studying the course on their
own or in study groups, and there is a growing need for
information about these methods. The following suggestions and examples focus on Individual Study, Study
Groups, and The Meditations.

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INDIVIDUAL STUDY
The Nature of The Soul is a course in self-initiated spiritual growth and development. It is designed to facilitate step-by-step unfoldment from individuality to group
awareness and conscious service to the One Life. Each
lesson in this course is a step in a transformative process. This process includes:

STUDYING THE MATERIAL

The information included in the course is presented in a
rhythmic sequence. Each lesson builds a foundation for
understanding and prepares the way for the next lesson.
This progression from one lesson to the next creates a
harmonic rhythm which aids the transformation process.
In order to establish and maintain this rhythm, we suggest that all students of the course do the following:
Begin with the Introductory Lesson and study each
lesson in turn. Skipping around or starting in the
middle will break the rhythm and cause confusion.
Spend at least one week (seven days) studying each
lesson. Begin every new lesson on the same day of
the week. You may devote more than one week to
each lesson, but if you do, consider spending the
same number of weeks with every lesson.
While studying the course, concentrate your atten502

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tion on the course. Avoid practicing internal exercises from other disciplines, as they may not combine
well with the exercises in The Nature of The Soul.
We do not mean to imply that this course is in any way
superior to any other course or discipline, yet, in order
to maintain the internal rhythm of this course, you
must stay in the course. Once you have completed N.S.
(The Nature of The Soul), we encourage you to include
other schools and disciplines in your study and practice.
Complete the assignments. The structure of the
course is similar to that of a textbook and includes
frequent assignments. These assignments can be divided into three types:

Subjective: These include internal activities such

as the meditations.
Objective: These include external activities such
as writing a paper.
Subjective and Objective: These combine internal
and external activities in a single assignment
(such as keeping a meditation log).

In each case, the assignment is there for the specific

purpose of assisting you to expand your awareness or
embody a new concept. Completing the assignments is
part of the rhythm of the course.
Practicing the Meditation Techniques: The internal disciplines included in The Nature of The Soul

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are presented in a natural progression from basic to
advanced. The meditations are the heart of the
course; the information in the lessons is designed to
aid your practice and comprehension of the meditations.
1. Practice each of the meditation techniques exactly as described.
2. Keep a meditation log. A daily written record
helps you move the abstract realizations gained
in meditation into your outer life and affairs.
Each entry should include the day and date, the
meditation technique, and any noticeable results.
Include all realizations and internal experiences
which occur during the meditation, and any related insights and experiences which occur during the day or in your dreams.
3. Learn the meditation forms. Be patient with the
process. Over time the results will become apparent. We encourage you to practice these techniques as an on-going process for your inner
growth.
Embodying What You Learn: The Nature of The
Soul course is designed to help you find your place,
and take up your work, in the One Life. It does this
through:
1. The Course of Instruction: This instruction consists of 41 lessons and lasts at least ten months.
During this period concentrate on learning the
ideas, practicing the techniques, and making The

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Wisdom part of your daily life and affairs.
Studying the lessons and practicing the techniques begin the process of self-transformation.
2. The Embodiment Cycle: The months of instruction
are followed by a matching period of application.
The Nature of The Soul course is completed by
moving what you learn from the instruction into
and beyond your immediate environment. This
application or embodiment of The Wisdom includes:

Subjective activity: Most of your service will

be subjective, and may include many of the
techniques you learned in The Nature of The
Soul and its sister courses. As you continue to
practice The Wisdom after completing the instruction, you will create an opportunity to
help transform your environment.

Objective service: Your subjective practice

may result in opportunities for providing objective service to family, friends, co-workers
or the environment.

Approaching the Material

Because students often approach a new course with preconceptions based on previous experiences, keeping an
open mind and an open heart will allow your intuition
to integrate those experiences with the new material
presented in the course.
There are a variety of methods of studying The Nature

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of The Soul. A positive approach is one which helps the
student initiate his or her own growth and development.
A method which is very supportive of self-initiation is
Individual Self-directed Study.
Initiating your own spiritual growth and development
means choosing a path of study, practice, and application which is right for you.
The primary value of individual, self-directed study lies
in:
A stronger focus of will: Every time you decide to
study a lesson, practice a technique, or do an assignment, you are exercising your will. As with any
other kind of exercise, in order to receive the benefit
you must do the work. No one can do it for you. That
process is described in this recommendation from
The Path of Initiation, by Lucille Cedercrans, Vol. II,
lesson 4:
Many students reading this lesson will wonder
how to do this work of lifting the polarization
without direct contact with a teacher. I shall answer that question in several ways. Firstly, let us
understand that all aspiring to the Soul are in
direct contact with a teacher, namely their own
Soul; and by continued aspiration, they will soon
come to recognize the contact.
Secondly, aspirants are enabled, through their
right aspiration, to contact higher levels of
awareness, and from these levels draw down
those concepts of Truth which provide a sure

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foundation for their later understanding.
Thirdly, aspirants learn to recognize experience
as a great teacher, and through their efforts to
live the Truth which they have grasped, they develop in the school of experience a consciousness
rich in understanding. They do this deliberately,
in full awareness of the activity, and their everyday life becomes a thing of beauty, regardless of
appearances.
Self-initiated service: As you respond to the inner
needs of your environment your awareness of your
place and function in the One Life expands. This in
turn leads to conscious service to that Life as you
take your place in It.

Teaching the Material

If you are considering teaching The Nature of The Soul,
we earnestly suggest that you first experience the
course. Experiencing the course will help you become
aware of the difficulties attached to teaching. These include:
The sage on a stage: The idea of being a spiritual
teacher can be so attractive that seekers attempt to
create the outer form without first achieving the inner content. This difficulty can be avoided by:

Studying the course materials: You cannot teach

what you do not know. First experience it for
yourself, then facilitate the course.

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Practicing what you learn: You cannot teach

what you cannot perform. Practice and perform
the meditation techniques yourself, then teach
others.

Being a successful teacher: The teachers attention must be on the Wisdom. A teacher does not
need a lot of students, nor does teaching have to occur in a conventional classroom.

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STUDY GROUPS
We encourage each study group to consider the following suggestions. Some suggestions may seem appropriate for your group, while others may not. As your group
gains experience and develops its intuition, it will refine
its group process. Adapt these suggestions to your own
circumstances as your alignment indicates.
THE LENGTH AND FREQUENCY
OF EACH MEETING
Most groups meet once a week, while some meet more
often and some less. The average length of a group
meeting varies from group to group. Some meet for as
little as 1 hours (and take several meetings to cover a
single lesson). Others meet for over 3 hours (and may
try to cover each lesson in a single meeting). The length
of the meetings, and how many meetings it takes to
cover each lesson, are entirely up to each group.
Suggestion: Find a point of balance between hurrying
through the lessons and lingering over them.

Choose a time frame that enables you to take full

advantage of the lesson material.
Adapt the suggestions to your time frame.
Meet at a regular time and place.

BEFORE EACH MEETING

Suggestion: Some have found it helpful to preview/re-

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view material prior to each group meeting.

DURING EACH MEETING

MEETING FACILITATORS: The role of the meeting
facilitators vary from group to group. Basically, the
individuals are responsible for keeping the group focused. This responsibility could rotate from one
meeting to the next so everyone has the opportunity
to take a turn or to pass.
OPENING EXERCISE Suggestion: Begin each meeting with a group meditation. Use the form of meditation which the class is presently studying. During
the first few lessons, when you have not yet been
given a meditation form, you could use the short
meditation form found in The Nature of The Soul, on
p. 78.
1. Turn attention to the physical body and realize
that you are not your body.
2. Turn attention to the emotional nature and realize that you are not your emotions.
3. Turn attention to the mind and realize that you
are not your thoughts.
4. Focus the attention in the ajna and meditate for
three minutes on the following seed-thought:
Having pervaded this body, emotions and mind
with a fragment of myself, I remain.
Further Suggestions:

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The meeting facilitator could lead the meditation.

The meditation could conclude with The Great
Invocation found in the front of the book.
Late comers enter quietly or wait outside if the
meditation is in progress. A noisy entry can disturb
a group already practicing the meditation.
THE READINGS

The First Reading Suggestion: Begin each lesson

by reading the entire lesson aloud, from beginning to
end, without stopping for questions or comments.
During this first reading, be receptive to the meaning behind the entire lesson. Options for this first
reading include:
Example 1: The meeting facilitator could read the
lesson aloud.
Example 2: The group members could take turns,
with each person reading one paragraph aloud,
continuing around the group until the lesson is
complete.
Example 3: The entire group could read the entire
lesson aloud, with everyone speaking the same
1
words simultaneously.
This first reading is done at the beginning, and only at
the beginning, of every lesson. As the group gains practice with the process of alignment, it can consciously
align with and stand receptive (as a group) to the
thought-form of the Wisdom which overshadows the

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course. This alignment will enhance the learning process.
The Second Reading Suggestion: Following the
first reading, do not stop to discuss the lesson that
2
you just read! Instead, pause for a few moments of
contemplative silence before beginning a second
reading which will focus on one paragraph at a time.
After re-reading a paragraph, use your intuition to
discuss it and relate it to your life and affairs. Repeat the process with each paragraph. There are
several ways to organize this second reading, including:
Example 1: The meeting facilitator could read each
paragraph aloud.
Example 2: The group members could take turns,
with each reading a paragraph aloud as the
group progresses through the lesson.
Example 3: The entire group could read each separate paragraph aloud, with everyone speaking
3
the same words simultaneously.
Contemplating The Concepts
Suggestion: After reading a paragraph the second time,
pause for a few moments and contemplate the abstract
4
concepts. Then discuss, explain or question those concepts.
Example 1: After allowing the group to gather its
thoughts, the facilitator could ask if anyone has
comments or questions.

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Example 2: The group could take turns commenting

or asking questions about the paragraph, with
each person being given the opportunity to speak
or to pass.
Example 3: The person who read the paragraph
aloud could break the silence by offering or inviting comments and questions.
Relating The Concepts To The Everyday World
Suggestion: After discussing the concepts, pause for a
few moments to contemplate how the concepts relate to
the everyday world. Then attempt to feel and describe
that relationship.
Example 1: The facilitator could ask if anyone has a
story or comment that relates the abstract concept to everyday life or the world.
Example 2: The group could take turns offering
comments.
Example 3: The person who read the paragraph
could initiate offering examples, comments,
and/or questions.
Repeat the above steps with each paragraph in turn until
you complete the lesson. Give yourself as much time (and
as many meetings) as you need to complete each lesson.
CLOSING EXERCISE

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Suggestion: Close each meeting with a group meditation
led by the facilitator or other member. This meditation
could take the form of a new technique encountered in
the current lesson or (if there is no new technique) one
the group has been practicing.

AFTER EACH MEETING

Practice the techniques: The meditation exercises
are an essential part of the course. You cannot get
the full benefit of the course unless you practice the
techniques! We therefore strongly recommend that
you practice the exercises when and as indicated.

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THE MEDITATIONS
Meditation is a technical process whereby Soul
contact is realized and Soul infusion achieved. p.44
Meditation trains the persona to align with the Soul,
discover its purpose, and apply that purpose in inner
and outer activity. The Soul becomes causative to the
persona, and the persona becomes receptive to the Soul.

FOUNDATIONAL TECHNIQUES
The meditation techniques used in the course can be
divided into two types, invocation and evocation.
Invocation brings a divine energy down into manifestation, giving it shape and form in time and
space. These techniques help bring an overshadowing potential into its first appearance (as when a
person is born).
Evocation brings an indwelling divine energy out
into full appearance. These techniques help move
the first appearance into full expression (as when an
infant grows to maturity).
The Motion of Consciousness
Meditation is also the downward and outward motion
which produces inward and upward growth. The techniques produce this motion through a three-step process, including an ascent, meditation proper, and a de515

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scent.
During the first part of the meditation exercises, the
consciousness:
Ascends through the persona instrument, relaxing the body, calming the emotions, and focusing
the mind. This prepares the persona to act as an
instrument of contact with Divinity.
Aligns with and becomes receptive to an aspect
of Divinity, such as the Spiritual Soul. This prepares the persona to act as an instrument of
transmission of Divine quality, characteristic or
energy.
During the second part of the exercises, the consciousness contacts an aspect of Divinity, and either:
Invokes a Divine quality downward into appearance, and/or
Evokes a Divine quality outward into full expression.
During the third or descent portion of the exercises,
the Divine quality, characteristic or ray is radiated
forth into appearance. The radiatory process includes the entire persona instrument (mind, emotions, and body), each part of which receives some
portion of the Divine energy.
Invocative radiation impresses a Divine quality
(on either the substance or consciousness).
Evocative radiation draws a Divine potential out
(of either substance or consciousness) into full
expression.
The descent grounds both the Divine energy (giving
it shape and form) and the meditator.

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All of these alignments, connections, and radiations are

created by the directed focus of the consciousness. This
directed focus is developed through the regular practice
of the techniques in Lesson 3 (on pp. 45 - 48) and Lesson
13 (on pp. 168 - 171). These two techniques are the
foundation for all the meditation work in The Nature of
the Soul. They are the heart of the sequential process
which develops the persona skills, and the alignment
between the Soul, mind and brain, which make the Soul
work possible.
Placement of the Consciousness
The meditation exercises work on the principle that
Energy follows consciousness. The self or identity is
placed between, and relates, Divine potential to manifest condition. This relationship causes the overshadowing solution and the manifest condition to become
one. The stronger the relationship, the quicker the
transformation.
In the exercises, the consciousness places itself in a
point midway between a manifest condition and an
overshadowing potential, then extends its awareness up
to the potential solution and down to the condition. This
creates a relationship, in consciousness, between the
solution and the problem, a relationship which the Divine energy of the solution must follow.
The point of placement is usually one of several centers
(organs of energy) located in or near the head. At first,
the point of placement is closer (in frequency) to the persona instrument than to the overshadowing Spiritual

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Soul. Later, as the student gains more experience, the
center used is midway between the overshadowing Soul
and the persona.
This progression from place to place is an essential feature of the meditation exercises. The earlier, more persona-oriented techniques prepare the instrument for the
later work. They build the alignment between persona
and Soul and from Soul to persona, which allows the
downward and outward motion of Divine energy to take
place. Thus, practicing the earlier techniques (especially
the transmutation technique on p. 108) is an essential
part of the course. One cannot truly practice the later
techniques unless the necessary alignments have been
built.
The Science of Impression
The early techniques are relatively simple, and focus on
impressing a Divine energy on ones own personality.
Later techniques assume the earlier work was done and
the alignment built, and focus on impressing a Divine
energy on the environment.
In either case, whether one is impressing ones personality or environment, one is still transmitting a potential. The meditator is a midwife to a potential solution.
One helps the overshadowing potential to manifest, but
does not choose, create, or dictate the form it may take.
The problem solving mechanism included in the techniques is process oriented. It helps the consciousness
find whatever it needs, rather than presenting a readymade solution. The techniques provide a process for

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translating the potential solutions of the Soul into practical activity in the world of affairs. This translation
process must be learned, but it eventually becomes automatic and (like walking) requires little or no attention.

PERSONAL WORK
The problem solving process can be applied to our personality, surroundings, community, nation, and planet.
We usually begin learning the process by applying it to
our personality and immediate surroundings. At this
point, the consciousness is focused on the individual and
the dominant motive is individual growth and development. This is natural. As the consciousness expands, there are corresponding shifts in the motive behind the inner and outer work.
The efforts to improve the personality are also, in the
end, a service to the One Life. The physical body learns
to be relaxed, receptive, and responsive. The emotional
body learns to be calm, aspirational, and forceful. The
mind becomes focused, creating and organizing. The
characteristics of the Soul are built into the persona,
transforming it into a fit dwelling for the Spiritual Soul
and instrument of service to the One Life.
Adjustment and Transmutation
The course uses a variety of adjustment and transmutation techniques to improve the personality. The adjustment exercises offer a new frequency, so that change
may take place. In an adjustment one can align with a
ray energy, invoke or evoke the ray, and radiate the

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ray. Thus, each of the ray seed-thoughts may be viewed
as a persona adjustment, a method of developing a
subjective feel for the ray energy, and a means of gaining experience in wielding the ray.
The transmutation techniques impress a new frequency,
so that change will take place.
The most important of the personality exercises is the
Transmutation technique in Lesson 8 on p. 108. This
exercise trains students to identify as Soul and to be
causative to the persona equipment. Regular, persistent
practice of this technique eventually leads to the redemption of the individual persona. As practitioners
evolve, this technique evolves with them, enabling them
to move their transmutation work beyond their individual personas to their surrounding environment. This
type of transmutation is the most important work individuals can do for themselves.

SERVICE WORK
Eventually, the motive of the practitioner moves from
improving the personality to serving the One Life. The
adjustment and transformation techniques are still
used, but the way they are used changes. The purpose
resides over, the point of focus moves above, and the
outer activity moves beyond, the individual persona. At
this point, opportunities to serve through the meditation
work appear.
The mind, emotions, and body are still used. However,
through the character-building adjustments and trans-

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mutations, and the alignment with the Soul, the personality has become an instrument through which the
practitioner serves. In the end, it is through moving the
identity out of the persona and into the Soul, and transforming the persona into an instrument of service, that
the persona is understood and perfected.
As the focus moves from the persona to the One Life,
the techniques which had been used to adjust or transmute the persona become tools of service. Thus, all the
techniques in the course can be used for service.
The courses invocative adjustment techniques include
the:
2nd Ray technique on p. 94
4th Ray techniques on pp. 182 & 183
7th Ray technique on p. 267
The evocative adjustment techniques include the:
1st Ray technique on p. 57
Many of the techniques in the second half of the course
are specifically designed for service. The most important
of these service exercises are the Ceremony of Life, and
the See-La-Aum exercise on pp. 433 - 434.
The service techniques are always done as Soul for Soul,
not to or for the persona. The soul for whom an adjustment is done is given the opportunity to create its own
solution, rather than a pre-determined solution favored
by the meditator. Helping a soul to find its own way is,
in the end, part of the service to the One Life.

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SUMMARY
As you practice the techniques, you will learn both how
to perform them and how your equipment responds to
the energies. This requires patience, tolerance, and perseverance, but the results are well worth the effort.

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Notes

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Notes

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Notes

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