Creativity in Service

Barbara Maré  

                                                                                    

PREFACE: 

This paper is a study of the esoteric meaning and significance of creativity as a vehicle of service.  There are a multitude of theories of creativity, and this paper makes no attempt to cover the field.  The discussion here is limited to the material found in the writings of DK, recorded by Alice Bailey.  Also, due to the author’s personal experience as an art museum worker and editor of books, the main focus in the paper is on ‘creativity’ in the form of visual art and writing. 

Creativity as soul expression

“True creative art is a soul function; the primary task, therefore, of the artist is alignment, meditation and the focussing of his attention upon the world of meaning.”  (EPII, p.249.)

“Creative work proves the fact of the soul”. (EP1, p.100.) 

The unfolding of the creative life comes about through alignment of the personality with the soul.  This occurs on the Path of Discipleship through the “Technique of Fusion” which involves “the transmutation of the higher aspects of the personality ray into those of the soul.”  (EPII, p.381.)  This brings Illumination to the mind, increased Imagination (creative and dynamic) to the astral nature, and Inspiration to the physical life via the brain.  (EPII, p.383.)   For the 2nd Ray disciple, “The creative tension or one-pointed focus of imaginative dreaming swings the astral body into complete subordination to the soul.”  (EPII, p.388.)  For the 3rd Ray disciple, the Technique of Fusion “evokes a full functioning of the divine creative faculty” so that he becomes the creator of

“a. That which is useful and so contributing to man's present civilisation.

b. That which is beautiful, thus gradually developing the aesthetic consciousness, the sense of colour, and the recognition of the use of symbolic forms in order to express quality and meaning.”  (EPII, p.389.) 

Fortunately one can evoke the powers of creativity within oneself before the Technique of Fusion has been fully mastered:  “The imagination is released into creative activity when the disciple acts "as if" he were the soul in full expression”.  (DINAII, p.555.)   Exercising the creative imagination is an affirming process that slowly grounds creativity more fully.  The disciple then “becomes consciously aware of that which he has—with hope and spiritual expectancy—sought to create; he discovers this as an existent fact and knows past all controversy that "faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen."” (RAI, p.443.)

DK says that the pouring in of soul force in the Aquarian Age will instigate the development of a “new art”.  He comments that the art of today “is as yet almost a childish attempt to express the world of feeling and of inner moods and those emotionally psychological reactions which govern the bulk of the race.  They are, however, to the world of feeling-expression what the drawings of the cave man are to the art of Leonardo da Vinci.  It is in the realm of words today that this new art is most adequately expressing itself.  The art of music will be the next approach nearer to the truth, and to the revelation of the emerging beauty; the art of the painter and of the sculptor will follow later.”  (EPII, pp.707-8.)

Creativity as Elusive and Sporadic

It often seems that an image or a word must be glanced sideways, or caught by a trick of the light.  It seems that inspiration cannot be willed.  But if the creative impetus is sporadic, if the Muse is elusive, this is perhaps due to an imperfect alignment with the creative essence of soul.

“[When] man learns to grasp the fact of the higher realities and bridges the gap between his higher and his lower consciousness [...the] significance [...] of creative activity and the right understanding of what we call genius will likewise be made clearer, and in this way creative work will no longer be regarded as unique and manifesting sporadically as is now the case but will become the subject of trained attention, and so assume its normal place in man's unfoldment.”  (ENA, p.17.)

Revealing the Hidden

Creative work is a process of revealing the hidden; unveiling the quality of the soul.  “Man is a point of divine light, hidden within a number of enveloping sheaths, as a light is hidden within a lantern.  This lantern may be either closed and dark, or open and radiant.  It may be either a light shining before men's eyes, or a hidden thing and, therefore, of no use to others.”  (ITI, p.76.)

The sign of Virgo is about the nurturing and unveiling of that which is hidden:  “The sign of Virgo is one of the most significant in the zodiac for its symbology concerns the whole goal of the evolutionary process which is to shield, nurture and finally reveal the hidden spiritual reality.”  (EA, pp.251-2.)

Karma and Creativity

“[Karma] is ever the source of physical plane creation, happenings and events; it is the instrument of the soul in producing a personality.”  (DINAII, p.540.)

Recognition and the creative expression of a specific soul purpose is the karmic destiny of every soul in incarnation.  “[As] your karma carries you towards hierarchical contact, and as your radiation produces its individual effect upon the ashramic group, the consequent display of creativity must and will lie along the line of personality fulfilment and the meeting of deep-seated desire. Therefore, search your motives and the nature of your desires.”  (DINAII, p.540.) 

The Astral and Buddhic Planes

In this solar system of the Second Ray, Love is the line of least resistance.  Our Solar Logos is polarised in his cosmic astral body.  (LOM, p.52.)  “The desire of the Deity expresses itself through the second Ray of Love-Wisdom.”  (EPI, p.45.)   Likewise Humanity is polarised in the astral. 

The creative imagination of the artist is first expressed on the astral plane.  Then “as evolution proceeds, his astral body becomes a mechanism of transformation, desire being transformed into aspiration and aspiration itself being transformed into a growing and expressive intuitive faculty.  The reality of this process is demonstrated in the emergence of that basic quality which has always been inherent in desire itself:  the imaginative quality of the soul, implementing desire and steadily becoming a higher creative faculty”.  (RAI, p.442-3.)  The astral vehicle is calmed and becomes a clear reflector of intuitions from the buddhic plane.  This is possible because the astral and buddhic planes are connected by the Second Aspect:  “Buddhi, or pure reason, the intellect apart from the lower mind, sometimes called the intuition, whose nature is love-wisdom.  This is the Christ-life or principle, which in the process of taking incarnation or form, as we know it, manifests forth as the specific and the unspecific.”   (LOS, p.159.)  Intuition is “pure reason” or direct knowledge. (DINAII, p.405.)   “The intuition or pure reason is the faculty which enables man to enter into contact with the Universal Mind and grasp the plan synthetically, to seize upon divine Ideas or isolate some fundamental and pure truth.”  (TWM, p.365.)

“Imagination is, as you know, the lowest aspect of the intuition, and this fact must be remembered at all times.  Sensitivity, as an expression of the astral body, is the opposite pole to buddhic sensitivity.  The disciple has purified and refined his imaginative faculties so that they are now responsive to the impression of the buddhic principle or of the intuitive perception—perception, apart from sight or any recorded possible vision.”  (RAI, p.488.)

Spontaneity

Soul-based creativity and service have the quality of spontaneity.  “Intuitional understanding is always spontaneous.”  (GLAM, p.4.)  Creative work that is laboured, or service that is carried out purely from a sense of duty, does not come from the soul. 

“If care over the essential of service—soul contact—is taken, then the service rendered will flow with spontaneity along the right lines and bear much fruit.”  (EPII, p.126.)

The disciple “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 [...] is automatic and without any planning on his part.”  (RAI, p.293.)

This quality of spontaneity does not mean a lack of skill, technique or organisation, which are necessary improvements to the vehicle through which the soul expresses:  “True creative art is a soul function; the primary task, therefore, of the artist is alignment, meditation and the focussing of his attention upon the world of meaning.  This is followed by the attempt to express divine ideas in adequate forms [...]. It is paralleled by the effort, constantly made upon the physical plane, to equip, instruct, and train the mechanism of brain and hand and voice through which the inspiration must flow, so that there may be right expression and a correct externalisation of the inner reality.”  (EPII, p.249.)

Refinement

While soul-based creativity is spontaneous, refinement of the form is desirable to pare down meaning to its essence.  This is the ‘word-smithing’ of poetry.  It is a fine line though between this paring down to essence and the critical editing of the concrete mind which can destroy the essence of the work sometimes before it is even grounded.  The other danger of word-smithing is the motive of the Minimalist aesthetic which cuts away simply for effect.

The true ‘refinement’ of art and writing proceeds from the refinement of the vehicles of perception and expression which vibrate at the level of soul and so can capture with spontaneity exactly that which is essential and no more.  This is a refinement which creates sensitivity to soul intuition.

The Rays

“[It] is with the third aspect of divinity and the third aspect alone that the creative process is concerned.”  (EA, p.246.)  The Third Ray of Active Intelligence is a ray of Matter and manifestation and a ray of Mind.  It is the major Ray of creativity:  “This concerns the unfolding of the creative nature of the conscious, spiritual man.  It takes place through right use of the mind, with its power to intuit ideas, to respond to impact, to translate, analyse, and to construct forms for revelation.  Thus the soul of man creates.”  (ENA, pp.20.) 

However all the Rays are in fact creative.  They are the “creative Builders” of our solar system.  (EPI, p,151.)  Each Ray governs one of the seven Creative Hierarchies in manifestation.  (“The "Rays" are but the primordial forms of certain Lives who "carry in their Hearts" all the Seeds of Form.  The Hierarchies are the manifold groups of lives, at all stages of unfoldment and growth who will use the forms.”  (TCF,  p.1195.))

The Seventh Ray of Ceremonial Order and Magic is, like the Third Ray, a ray of Matter and manifestation and so of creativity.  “[It] is the seventh ray which restores order within the astral consciousness, and (on the mental plane), it is this influence which produces creativity, the organising of the life, and the bringing together "within the head" of the lower and higher energies in such a manner that "the Christ is born."  (RAI, p.575.)  This is the magic of bringing Spirit into Matter. The Seventh Ray makes possible “true creative activity under the divine Plan.”  (RAI, p.672.) 

The Fourth Ray of Harmony through Conflict is sometimes said to be the ray of the creative artist par excellence, encapsulating what has become in our Western society the archetypal expression of the creative genius of ‘artistic temperament’ whose art is born out of suffering.   For the Fourth Ray disciple “creative, artistic activity is the line of least resistance”.  (EPII, p.292.)  Creative art is “the result of aeons of conflict, pain and suffering”, the ‘harmony through conflict’ of the Fourth Ray. (RAI, p.243.)  However “the artist is found upon all the rays, and that the so-called Ray of Harmony or Beauty is not the only ray upon which the creative worker is found.”  (EPII, p.292.)

The Fifth Ray Lord of Concrete Knowledge and Science “is a Great Life in close touch with the mind of the creative Deity, just as the Lord of the second ray is in close touch with the heart of that same Deity.”  (EPI, pp.24-5.)  “The creation (and, I should add, the over-creation) of the millions of material things which men everywhere regard as essential to their well-being is also the result of the creative activity of the fifth ray consciousness.”  (RAI, p.597.)  The lower concrete mind expresses itself most completely through the Fifth Ray.  So it is “related to the knowledge petals of the egoic lotus and is capable of pronounced soul illumination, proving eventually to be the searchlight of the soul.”  (RAI, p.460.)

The Sixth Ray of Devotion and Idealism “is the cause of the thoughtform building faculty, related to the creative urge.”  (EA, p.606.)  “The sixth ray disciple, working with the laws of nature and of the soul, will qualify his results and produce his creative forms upon the astral plane”. (DON, p.130.)  Discussing the Sixth Ray disciple, DK says that the “one-pointed attitude of the mystic, functioning in group formation, will be a powerful factor in the creative work being done by the Hierarchy and by the New Group of World Servers, because theirs will be a massed effect, and usually wielded unconsciously.” (DINA II, p.221.) 

The Second Ray of Love/Wisdom “is the bond of coherence, and is that principle of magnetic cohesion which lies behind all creative work and which produces the emergence into the light of manifestation of those forms or appearances through which it is possible to satisfy desire.  This second ray is pre-eminently the ray of applied consciousness, and works through the creation and development of those forms which are found throughout the universe.”  (EPI, p.45.)  The Second Ray “works through radiation, magnetic appeal and coherent energy.”  (EOH, p.298.)

The First Ray of Will/Power is the “destroyer aspect of divinity”, yet it is used by Hierarchy “in such a manner that it is in fact a creative factor”.  (EOH, p.565.)

The Planets

The Sun is the great Creative Principle.  The devas who vitalise and produce the energy of all forms of sentient life “originate in the sun, and are closely related to the logoic and planetary solar plexus, for the evolutionary process, as in all manifestation, is the result of desire, acting upon the creative faculties and producing that which is objective.”  (TCF, p.924.)

The Moon is the “Mother of all Forms”.  The creativity of the Moon is that of the ‘lunar pitris’ (lower nature).  It is “the symbol of the generative, creative life which gives birth to forms and is therefore the symbol of the form nature.”  (EH, p.362.)  The Moon also reflects the light of the Sun, and steps down the higher creative energies of Vulcan, Neptune and Uranus.

Saturn is a planet of the Third Ray of Mind which grounds manifestation on the physical plane.  The creative energy of Saturn anchors mental substance into Matter.  Saturn is the ruler of the first decanate of Aquarius, therefore “during the Aquarian age and during one third of its expression, that is, during the first decanate, esoterically considered, the vitalising of the human centre (spiritually considered) and in relation to the Plan and the steady growth of widespread creative activity, both in the individual and the race, will be increasingly seen.  This will be due to the work and influence of Saturn, which is governed by the third ray.”  (DON, p.138.)

Venus, the planet of the Fifth Ray, “stands for the emergence of the love principle through the directing power of the mind.”  (EA, pp.126-7.)  Venus synthesises dualities. It is the planet of Love because its energy creates harmony and beauty through the synthesis of opposites on all planes.  So Venus is associated with art, beauty and creative expression.  The mental and creative expression of Humanity is strongly connected with Venus, since in the Lemurian age it was this planet which “gave the impetus which produced the spark of mind in animal man”.  (TCF, p.590.)

Vulcan is the blacksmith who “goes down into the depths to find the material upon which to expend his innate art and to fashion that which is beautiful and useful. Vulcan is, therefore, that which stands for the soul, the individual, inner, spiritual man”.  (EA, p.385-6.)  Vulcan (veiled by the Sun) “governs a centre in the front of the throat which is related to the para-thyroids and not to the thyroid gland, which is related to the throat centre. This centre in the front of the throat falls into disuse as the creative period of throat activity begins. It acts as a "mediator" between the higher and the lower creative organs (between the sacral and the throat centres) and leads eventually to that creative activity which is consciously that of the functioning soul. Vulcan was one of the first creative workers among men.” (EA, pp.78-9.)

Neptune brings the creativity of the imagination and intuition.  It embodies “mystical consciousness or that innate sensitivity which leads unerringly to the higher vision”.  (EA, p.306.)

The energy of Uranus is creative, renovative, progressive, revolutionary and unconventional because it is constantly seeking the expression of a new order.  Uranus “gives innate spontaneous activity and this produces evolutionary development.”  (EA, p.139.)   It “aids and inaugurates the appearing of a new world order, based on a spiritual drive and on aspiration, mental freedom, loving understanding and a physical plane rhythm which provides opportunity for full creative expression.” (EA, p.445.)

Mercury “expresses the fourth ray energy which is buddhic, intuitional and expressive of the Christ.”  (EA, p.127.)   For the initiate, Mercury the “divine Intermediary” (EA, p.353), is the power of the abstract mind, relating soul and Spirit. 

Jupiter expresses the energy of fusion, facilitating the synthesis of Matter and Spirit during the process of incarnation.   The expansiveness, abundance, creativity and beneficence of Jupiter also empowers the building of forms; the fertile diaspora of the involutionary arc.  “It is love that builds the forms that cradle temporarily the inner hidden life.”  (TCF, p.594.)

Mars rules the physical vehicle (EA, p.210.)  The creative energy of Mars has to do with the vitality of the blood, with sex and with the passions; “hence again the need for the disciple to carry his physical nature, his emotional or desire nature and his mental processes up into heaven.” (EA, p.212.)

Pluto, planet of the First Ray, has more to do with destruction than creativity.  Yet Pluto destroys in order to make way for the creativity of the soul.  Pluto brings death – the “death of desire, death of the personality and of all which holds [...the disciple] between the pairs of opposites, in order to achieve the final liberation.”  (EA, p.127.)

The Chakras

“[The] energy of the sacral centre (the centre most implicated and active at the time of the first initiation) has to be transmuted and raised to the throat centre, thereby transforming the physical creative act into the creative process of producing the good, the beautiful and the true.”  (RAI, pp. 669-70.)

The Seventh Ray “governs the sacral centre and the sublimation of its energy into the throat or into the higher creative centre; this ray is therefore setting in motion a period of tremendous creative activity, both on the material plane through the stimulation of the sex life of all peoples and in the three worlds through the stimulation brought about when soul and form are consciously related.  The first major proof that humanity (through the medium of the majority of its advanced people) has undergone the first initiation will be the appearance of a cycle of entirely new creative art.  This creative urge will take forms which will express the new incoming energies.”   (RAI, p.572.)

The Fifth Ray governs the throat chakra and the aspects of creativity, sensitivity and inspiration centred there.  (EH, p.51.)   The throat centre “is largely used and vitally activated by those who are the creative workers of the world; they have necessarily made a direct contact with the soul and are therefore wide open to those intuitive ideas which are the source of their creative work.”  (TEV, p.117.)

The Taurus/Scorpio arm of the zodiac is the “axis of desire”  (EA, p.61.)  As Scorpio rules the sacral and Taurus the throat centre, this is a polarity of creative potential:  In an evolutionary sense this axis has to do with “the raising of the sacral energy to the throat centre, or the transmutation of the process of physical reproduction and of physical creation into that of the creativeness of the artist in some field of creative expression.  [...] The throat, the organ of the Word, expresses the life and manifests the glory and the reality behind.  Such is the symbolism lying behind the teaching of the fusion of the lower energies with the higher, and of this, physical plane sex is a symbol.  (EPI, p.289.)

The Antahkarana

The Science of the Antahkarana is “the new and true science of the mind, which will utilise mental substance for the building of the bridge between personality and soul, and then between the soul and the spiritual triad.”  (ENA, p.95.)

Contact with the soul through the antahkarana brings into effective use the imagination “with its overwhelmingly powerful creative faculty.  This creative energy, when implemented by an illumined mind (with its thoughtform making ability), is then wielded by the disciple in order to make contacts higher than with the soul, and to bring into symbolic form that of which he becomes aware”.  (RAI, p.443.)

“The antahkarana [...] is the thread of consciousness, of intelligence, and the responsive agent in all sentient reactions. [...]  [Through] the building of the antahkarana, the soul first of all develops sentiency down upon the physical plane, and later bridges the gap—through meditation and service—between the three mental aspects.”  (ENA, p.148.)  Through the antahkarana a connection is made between the lower concrete mind, the higher abstract mind and the soul (or “Son of Mind”).  (RAI, p.443.) 

“The building of the antahkarana only becomes genuinely possible when the creative life of the aspirant shifts from the sacral centre into the throat and is becoming factual and expressive.” (EH, p.152.)  The ajna centre only comes into creative activity when the antahkarana has been built.  (EH, p.152.)

The Egoic Lotus

There is a specific stage during the unfoldment of the egoic lotus when artistic expression can begin to occur:  “[Creative] activity in the field of art becomes possible when the first aspect of the bridging energy of man can function and the soul (manifesting its third or lowest aspect) can begin to work.  Creative work can be carried forward when two of the "knowledge petals" of the egoic lotus are unfolded.  The man can produce, through knowledge and creative energy, something upon the physical plane which will be expressive of the soul's creative power. When two of the "love petals" are also unfolded, then a genius makes his appearance.”  (ENA, pp.17-18.)

Magnetism and Radiation

“[The] expression of the creative faculty is radiation and magnetism. [...] 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.”  (DINA 2, pp.539-40.)

The qualities of magnetism and radiation are expressions of the Second Aspect, which operates according to the Law of Attraction.  This is the Law of consciousness; of the soul.  (TCF, p.1167.)  “The Law of Attraction is the law for the fire which is produced by the merging during evolution of the two poles” (TCF, pp.1166-7), and so it governs the antahkarana which connects the polarities of the lower and higher self.  All creative expression carries the magnetic and radiant expression of Love/Wisdom:  It is “that principle of magnetic cohesion which lies behind all creative work and which produces the emergence into the light of manifestation of those forms or appearances through which it is possible to satisfy desire.”  (EPI, p.45.)  Only “when the soul aspect is dominant is the response apparatus (the form nature of man) fulfilling its complete destiny, and only then does true magnetic radiation and the pure shining forth of light become possible.”  (EPI, p.13)

The Will, ‘Tension’ and Creativity

“[The] electric fire of will, and the solar fire of love, in cooperation with fire by friction, produce the world of created and creative forms.”  (EPI, p.43.)  The soul itself is a union of three Aspects of Will, Love and Intelligence:  “It is a synthesis of the energy of Life itself (which demonstrates as the life-principle within the world of forms), of the energy of the intuition or spiritual love-wisdom or understanding (this demonstrates as sensitivity and feeling in the astral body), and spiritual mind, whose reflection in the lower nature is the mind or the principle of intelligence in the form world.”  (RAI, p.445.)

Creativity involves creating and holding a ‘tension’ between idea and form.  “The esoteric significance of tension [...] is "focussed immovable Will."  Right tension is the identification of brain and soul with the will aspect, and the preservation of that identification—unchanged and immovable—no matter what the circumstances and the difficulties. [... Tension] embodies the ideas of orientation, implacable determination, ability to wait and to preserve intention and orientation unmoved by aught which may occur.  It also involves the determination to take the intended action (always of a creative nature and based on loving understanding) at the psychological moment (right timing), or that exact moment which the psyche or soul determines to be correct.”  The soul is “a "focal point for descending light and for ascending radiance."  This dual activity reveals the nature of the will.  Note how this phrase from an ancient writing describes the antahkarana.”  (RAI, p.46.)  The drawing down of soul intuition is an act of Will.  All creative work is empowered by the Will.

Creativity and the Feminine

Feminine creativity is associated with the fertility and receptivity of Matter.  The lunar pitris, the devic lives who inform Matter are the feminine principle:  “[Deva] substance is [...] feminine and negative, the human Hierarchy being masculine.”  (TCF, p.637.)  Matter (the feminine) is involutionary; Spirit (the masculine) is evolutionary.  (“[Involution] is negative, receptive, and corresponds to the feminine pole”. (TCF, p.575.))  Evolution involves the transformation of Matter toward Spirit, of  personality toward soul.  In a sense Matter (the feminine) is that which holds back evolution.  “Mahavidya”, the magic knowledge of the feminine aspect is “the basis of black magic”.  (LOS, p.140.)  Yet it is the feminine which carries in it the potential for Humanity’s transformation, because without Matter there would be no vehicle of transformation toward soul, no burning ground.  

The principle of Will or Power is the energy of the First Ray.  The odd rays (Rays 1, 3 and 7) “deal with things concrete and with the functioning of matter and form from the lowest plane to the highest.”  (EPI, p.89.)  The energy of Will acts through Matter.  As the Will is considered a masculine energy, is a feminine expression of Will possible?  In fact it is the feminine principle which grounds the Will.  “Love works through the concrete rays in the building of the system, and in the rearing of the structure that shelters the Spirit”. (TCF, p.594.)  Creativity and consciousness both originate from the meeting of the dualities, male and female, Matter and Spirit.

Separativeness versus At-one-ment

“On its own plane, the soul knows no separation, and the factor of synthesis governs all soul relations.”  (EPII, p.243.)  So creative expression which has its source in the soul brings a sense of at-one-ment with all.  The building of the antahkarana “negate[s] all sense of separateness, and make[s] a man responsive in his brain consciousness to impressions coming to him from the higher spiritual realms or from the Mind of God.  Thus [...the disciple] will more easily be initiated into the purposes and plans of the Creator.”  (ENA, p.96.)

Creativity and Detachment

One requirement for creative work is detachment:  “The worker in white magic must hold himself free as much as he can from identifying himself with that which he has created or has attempted to create.”  (TWM, p.559.)

“"Having pervaded the worlds with a fraction of Myself, I remain."  Such is the theme of the soul's endeavor, and such is the spirit which must underlie all creative work.  In this thought lies the clue to the symbol of the Law of Sacrifice—a rosy cross with a bird flying over it.  This is the loved cross (rose being the colour of affection), with the bird (symbol of the soul) flying free in time and space.”  (EPII, p.104.)  The release of all personal attachment to that which is created is necessary before creative service can be freely given.

Rhythm and Cycles

“Forget not, all creative processes proceed with a cyclic rhythm.”  (DINAI, p.165.)

“There is never anything static in the creative process; energy which is flowing forth in the pulsation of the one Life, and its rhythmic and cyclic activity—never ending and never resting—must be somewhere utilized, and must find its way in some direction”.  (TWM, p.461.)

All creative work participates in the rhythm of the universe.  Each small cycle echoes the larger cycles of manifestation in the solar system.  The expression of creativity connects the individual with the great cosmic processes of creation, the in-breaths and out-breaths of the Logos, the systemic and cosmic ‘inspirations’ and exhalations.  “"The man breathes deeply."  This is a phrase covering many aspects of rhythmic living.  It is the magical formula for the science of pranayama.  It covers the art of the creative life.  It sweeps a man into tune with the pulsating life of God Himself, and this through detachment and re-orientation.”  (TWM, p.149.) 

The Seventh Ray and the planet Uranus rule the creative rhythmic cycles. “Next century, when the seventh ray has achieved complete manifestation and the Piscean influence is entirely removed, the seventh ray Avatar will appear. His work will demonstrate the law, order and rhythm of the creative process as it works out on the physical plane, blending spirit and matter.”  (EOH, p.298.)

Saturn as the planet of Time and of Necessity, is also the ruler of cycles.  A Third Ray planet, Saturn is concerned with manifestation according to the laws of the universe throughout time and on the physical plane.  Saturn, Lord of death and of karma, cuts with his scythe at the end of a cycle.

Sound or the Word

“The basis of all manifested phenomena is the enunciated sound, or the Word spoken with power, that is, with the full purpose of the will behind it.”  (IHS, p.150.)

“People seldom realize the potency of a word, yet it is stated, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was God.  Without Him was not anything made that was made."  When therefore we read those words our minds go back to the dawn of the creative process when, through the medium of sound, God spoke and the worlds were made.”  (TWM, p.142.)

The spoken or written word has an innate creative power.  The act of speaking is a release of creative energy.  The written word carries a magic potency.  Writing or speaking is participation in the rhythm of manifestation.

“Through an understanding of the laws of creation and of sound, through a consideration of the sounding board of the mouth and the method whereby speech becomes possible, a knowledge of the world creative processes can be arrived at, and the man can achieve an understanding of the laws whereby all forms come into being.”  (LOS, pp.80-1.)

When the throat centre is awakened  “all the creative activity of the three-fold man—physical, emotional and mental—is turned upward in service, and his life begins occultly to sound.  He is occultly productive.”  (LOM, p.75.) 

Silence

“[The] inner adjustments proceed in the silence of the heart”.  (TWM, p.280.)

“Keep silence and the light will enter in.”  (TWM, p.474.)

Cycles of sound and cycles of silence, manifestation and pralaya, form the great rhythm of the universe.  Silence is as necessary as sound.  “These interludes of apparent silence, of inertia and of inactivity are part of the great preservative and constructive activity of the Hierarchy; they are both individual, group and planetary in nature.  Aspirants must learn to work intelligently and understandingly with the law of cycles.”  (EPII, p.704.)

In the silences between sounds the potent energy of creation is brought to tension, gaining impetus for the start of the new cycle.  “As it is esoterically said: "Before creation, silence and the stillness of a focussed point."”  (EA, p.248.)

Occult silence is not simply the silence of no speech.  It is not an imposed silence, nor is it a self-imposed inhibition of speech.  “[That] beneficent silence which carries healing in its wings [...] is only expressive when the inhibition aspect of silence is absent and the man no longer has to still his lower nature and quiet the voices of his own ideas in order to understand and achieve identification with that which must be loved.”  (EOH, p.99.)

Silence is the stilling of the mind in meditation so that it is possible to reach above the astral plane.  “[When] the voices of desire (astral voices or vibratory response to the second aspect of the reflection, the three lower planes) are superseded by the Voice of the Silence or of the Christ within, then the word or sound is known and the second aspect of divinity is contacted.”  (LOS, p.336.)  Creativity comes from the still, deep and silent place within.

Service as creativity

“Service is a method of producing phenomenal outer and tangible results upon the physical plane; I call your attention to this as an evidence of its creative quality.  By right of this creative quality, service will eventually be regarded as a world science.  It is a creative urge, a creative impulse, a creative momentous energy.”  (EPII, p.130.)

The Technique of Fusion brings Will, Love and Intelligence “in relation to the soul, to service and to the Plan.”  (EPII, p.383.)  So creativity becomes a path to service and a means of service:  “...I am not here dealing with the normal service and the self-enforced cooperation of the aspirant [...] but with that spontaneous illumination, creativity and inspiration which is the result of the use of the Technique of Fusion by the soul”.  (EPII, pp.392-3.)  Service becomes a natural, creative expression from the channel of energy opened up by soul contact.  “The disciple becomes "inspired" by the fire of love, and this evokes the "service of creation" as an expression of that love.”  (EPII, p.388-9)

When the initiate, inspired by soul, “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.”  (RAI, p.293.)

There are many questions around the nature of service.  Is being of service fulfilling a need or a demand in the world?  There is no obvious demand for art or for poetry.  Creative expression in words and pictures will not ‘save the world’.  So it is often difficult to have confidence in the value of soul expression in this realm.  Also one walks the knife edge here between soul expression and personality gratification because words and pictures seem to lend themselves so easily as vehicles for the purely astral.  Yet because both words and a visual images are symbols of ideas, they can hold great creative potency if these ideas originate in the higher planes.  This is the power of poetry and art.  In the power of the Word lies the potential of written and spoken communication to express the soul.  Is this not service?

“The hidden beauty seeking expression in your life is the power to use words to arrest others and to put them, as a consequence, upon the Path of Return.”  (DK to a disciple, DINAII, p.757.)

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