Following are some excerpts from the book, Cycles of Opportunity, by Carole Beckham:
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Presents the positive potential of astrological energies; how they can enable us to take charge of our own lives and co-create with spiritual forces to accelerate human development. This comprehensive work is ideal for meditation and study groups as well as for personal growth.
Cycles of Opportunity is a comprehensive work that presents esoteric astrology in a clear manner and shows how it fits with spiritual teachings and traditional astrology.
Using this book at the time of the full moon and on other spiritually energetic occasions, you can take advantage of cyclic opportunities to uplift personal and world consciousness through meditation.
This book is ideal for full-moon meditation and study groups, as well as for its presentation of interesting esoteric information for personal study and development.
Cycles of Opportunity by Carole Beckham (Source Publications) … A terrific book for astrological students wanting to learn more about esoteric astrology. There’s a tremendous amount of pertinent information on the mind and telepathy, the 7 Rays, the spiritual and transformative nature of the planets and signs, integrating meditational work into your astrological rhythms, tapping into the power of Full Moon cycles for your evolutionary growth and healing the planet. This is a rich book on a topic that needs greater illumination. Carole Beckham has given us a wealth of cosmic knowledge and wisdom to absorb. (Welcome To Planet Earth, May/June ‘98, p.15., reprinted with permission of reviewer)
Cycles of Opportunity describes how to take advantage of cyclic opportunities to uplift human consciousness through meditation. Based on the ageless wisdom teachings, this book:
Chapter 1—Life in the Universe
The Law of Correspondences
The Spiral of Evolution
Spirituality, An Evolutionary
Impulse
Unity, Omnipresence and Telepathy
Thoughtforms and Creative Work
Chapter 2—Levels of Consciousness
Streams of Energy
Planes of Manifestation
The Effects of Energy Upon Consciousness
The Concept of Initiation
Components of Mind
The Metaphysical Basis for Telepathy
The Scientific Basis for Telepathy
Types of Telepathy and Communication
The Communication Channels
The Messages
Developing Psychic Powers
Chapter 4—Astrology, The Science of Relations
The Astrological Year
Relationships Between Astronomy and Esoteric Astrology
Relationships Between Traditional and Esoteric Astrology
Foundations of Esoteric Astrology
Ray One: Will and Power
Ray Two: Love-Wisdom
Ray Three: Active Intelligence and Adaptability
Ray Four: Harmony, Beauty, and Art
Ray Five: Concrete Knowledge and Science
Ray Six: Devotion and Idealism
Ray Seven: Ceremonial Order, Magic, and Organization
Ray Energies, Keywords, and Relationships
Major Ray Cycles
Chapter 6—The Zodiacal Constellations
Aries
Taurus
Gemini
Cancer
Leo
Virgo
Libra
Scorpio
Sagittarius
Capricorn
Aquarius
Pisces
Chapter 7—Solar and Planetary Energy
The Sun
The Planets
Vulcan
Mercury
Venus
Mars
Jupiter
Saturn
Uranus
Neptune
Pluto
The Moon
The Mind of the World (Shamballa)
The Heart of the World (Hierarchy)
The Creative Center of the World (Humanity)
Chapter 9—Timing, Relationships, and Karmic Opportunity
Timing and Cycles
Geometrical Forms and Aspects
Karmic Opportunities
Chapter 10—What Energies Are Available Now?
Planetary and Zodiacal Influences
Sidereal vs. Tropical?
What to Look For at the Full Moon
Example Configurations
Table of Glyphs
Group Telepathic Alignment
Meditations
Full Moon Approaches
Spiritual Festivals
Chapter 12—The Living Commitment
Appendix A—Full Moon Ephemeris
Appendix B—Fixed Star Locations
Glossary
Notes and References
Bibliography
Resources
Index
The teachings of all mystery schools, including both eastern and western esoteric traditions, come from the same basic ageless wisdom, seeded at the beginning of our evolution and drawn upon over the ages by humanity through our collective consciousness. One of the most exciting revelations a student of philosophy and psychology has is the deepening of understanding that comes with linking the teachings of the various systems with each other, for often one tradition gives clues to help us solve the mysteries of another tradition.
This book draws primarily upon the Trans-Himalayan Yoga system, as presented for western humanity by the Tibetan Master Djwhal Khul through Alice A. Bailey, for these books contain teachings that I have not found elsewhere, especially within the fields of esoteric astrology, telepathy, and the subtle planes. I have integrated the concepts from the Tibetan’s work with ideas that were stimulated by a study of the works of Carl Jung; also the western mystery tradition, as presented by Dion Fortune, Paul Foster Case, and others. Personally, I have found the philosophical systems I use to be in basic agreement, once one penetrates to the foundations of these teachings.
I have attempted to present this information in a clear fashion that will make it useful to anyone who is concerned with the upliftment of human consciousness and thinks that meditation might be a way to contribute. Vast numbers of people in all walks of life are already meditating with the intention of helping the world and promoting the cause of increased consciousness and accelerated evolution on Earth. Meditation groups often meet at the full moon, a time when more energies are available and also a symbolic time when we know that others are meeting around the globe, which lends force to what we seek to accomplish. This book seeks to show how we can make best use of the energies available to the planet at a given time.
The first two chapters are a brief foundational overview of the ageless wisdom teachings.
Chapter 1, "Life in the Universe," gives an interpretation of some of the basic philosophical tenets, including the very important Law of Correspondences ("as above, so below," in ancient Hermeticism) and presents thoughts on the processes of evolution of consciousness in the universe. Spirituality is defined as a quest for higher consciousness and a desire for ultimate perfection, and telepathy is shown as a process that naturally occurs in group living. This leads to a discussion of how we can deliberately focus the mind to create thoughtforms that can later manifest into concretion.
Chapter 2, "Levels of Consciousness," presents an overview of some rather technical material that maps the streams of energy that flow into our solar system and eventually into our planetary life. It describes the planes and subplanes upon which these energies manifest and indicates what the effects of these energies could be upon human consciousness. Then it describes the concept and processes of initiation into higher forms of consciousness. This material provides a structure but is not necessary for the understanding of the rest of the book.
Chapter 3, "Mind and Telepathy," expands upon the concepts of the conscious and unconscious mind, particularly from the standpoint of the universal consciousness and the collective unconscious, as presented by Carl Jung. We explore the possible attributes of a collective consciousness. Next we examine the basis for telepathy, which surveys the ideas of both metaphysical and scientific thinkers and shows their commonality. Then we present the concepts of telepathy by the Tibetan and describe the various levels of telepathic communication. We end with a list of ways to develop psychic capacities for constructive work in the world.
Chapter 4, "Astrology, The Science of Relations," discusses relationships: the relationships between astronomy and esoteric astrology and the relationships between traditional astrology and esoteric astrology. This chapter further provides some foundational material on esoteric astrology.
Chapter 5, "The Seven Rays," gives the cosmic sources of energies that come into our system and primarily talks about the seven streams of consciousness called the seven rays. It shows how the rays interact with zodiacal constellations and planets to provide the qualities and characteristics we work with in our lives.
Chapter 6, "The Zodiacal Constellations," is a study of the attributes of the twelve constellations of the zodiac and shows how these constellations interrelate with the rays and planets to further qualify and adapt the cosmic energies for our use. Esoteric astrology, the basis for this chapter, encompasses all that we have learned in traditional astrology, plus it gives us two additional planetary rulerships. So instead of having just one planet associated with a zodiacal sign, we have three, a triangle (or trinity) of signs—we learn throughout the book that threeness is a basic energetic force in the universe. The energies that we discuss in this and the following chapter are from an esoteric and global, rather than an individual, point of view.
Chapter 7, "Solar and Planetary Energy," tells about our Sun and the planets and their roles in advancing the state of consciousness and the evolution of life upon the spiritual Path. We discuss the process of veiling, where the Sun and the Moon stand in for other planets when consciousness on Earth is not advanced enough to handle the greater energies. We also show how the planets work in triangles for certain purposes and describe some of these triangular interactions.
Chapter 8, "Earth Energy," describes what happens to cosmic and zodiacal energies after they reach Earth. It discusses the great centers of the world, Shamballa, Hierarchy, and Humanity, and the work performed by each group. It tells about the activities of the New Group of World Servers, a name given to describe people of all philosophical persuasions and walks of life around the planet whose work and goals are to improve the state of culture and civilization.
Chapter 9, "Timing, Relationships, and Karmic Opportunity," starts with a general discussion of timing and cycles and sets the stage for the study of geometrical forms and aspects. It shows how constellations and planets in various geometrical configurations work with the Law of Periodicity to influence people and civilizations and uplift the consciousness of humanity on Earth. We finally discuss karmic opportunities, how they are managed, the causes and effects of group karma, and how we can understand the karmic parameters of our work.
Chapter 10, "What Energies are Available Now?," tells us how we can analyze an astrological chart of a full-moon event from a spiritual standpoint. This chapter also covers interpretative information not discussed elsewhere in the book, such as the effects of conjunctions, planetary nodes, retrograde planetary movement, and sacred versus non-sacred planets. It discusses the pros and cons of using sidereal or tropical charts, leaving the choice up to you.
This chapter presents further geometrical information that can be used directly for interpretations and introduces the idea of the "complete triangle," which seems to make sense of all the studies of trinities, triangles, and configurations of three. Finally, we have the example configurations, which are four sample full-moon charts, each with unique configurations. These show how we can use the concepts of the complete triangle and crosses of manifestation in actual work.
Chapter 11, "Meditation," discusses meditation and tells us how we can bring in spiritual energies that will elevate our consciousness and, as a result, that of humanity. It presents meditations we can use in our daily practices (some of which are quite practical), at the time of the full moon, and during special spiritual festivals. Most of this information is drawn from or based upon the teachings of the Tibetan and Alice A. Bailey.
Chapter 12, "The Living Commitment," contains my closing comments.
Appendix A is an ephemeris of all the full moons between 1998 and the year 2007. Appendix B give the locations of fixed stars most pertinent to this work.
One of our primary assumptions is the sentience of all life, that everything—rocks, plants, animals, humans, planets, stars, and the Earth itself—is imbued with some form of consciousness. This is taught by the mystery schools that have custody of the ageless wisdom teachings and can be found in books pertaining to both eastern and western mystery traditions (see bibliography). These teachings have a common underlying truth and help us to understand our place in the spiral of evolution.
Other assumptions based on these teachings are that the universe is continually evolving and that we evolve as well through many lifetimes of experience and improvement. In the next stage open to us, we develop superhuman characteristics and thus join those who have gone before us, the sages and masters who unobtrusively work behind the scenes and, with respect for the free will of humanity, guide our civilization. We then continue our evolution in more advanced systems depending upon the choices we make and the opportunities we have prepared ourselves for.
The fact of the unity and interconnectedness of all life in the universe is generally accepted by leading thinkers of today, as well as a growing recognition of our ability to draw upon the wisdom and energies accessible to all life. How we invoke these energies depends entirely upon our own interpretations of the cosmos, our own approach to life, and our own conception of God, nature, and the universe. These concepts of ours depend upon the uniqueness of our own experiences in the universe. All experience is valid; it is the combination of all experience and the totality of consciousness that makes up the universe and continues to create it—for it is always going in and out of manifestation, just as our physical bodies die and we reincarnate.
We could say that everyone’s concept of God is generally correct, for God represents everything in the universe. Thus, as the wise ones who gave us the ageless wisdom teachings suggest, we should accept and work with ourselves as we are at any point of time and interpret the teachings for ourselves, accepting only the parts with which we can truly identify and using other parts as working hypotheses until we can develop our own conception of the cosmos and acquire an internal realization of truth—what is sometimes called spiritual intuition or straight knowledge. These concepts also should not be static but should always improve, just as evolution itself improves us all, our sages, the universe, and probably even God.
Starting with these principles, then, we talk about life from the standpoint of the macrocosm and then compare it, via the law of analogy, to the microcosm—ourselves. The macrocosmic universe consists of great beings who physically manifest their lives through galaxies, stupendous suns, and planets. Can we even imagine the consciousness of such beings? Yet the teachings of all ages tell us that our consciousness—through millennia—will also expand to this degree, where the expression of our lives will encompass such total richness. Through endless civilizations, these great beings have experiences of such a totality that we can only experience minute portions of their consciousness and, thus, their energy. However, as we develop, we can very gradually share in more of this cosmic wealth of energy and consciousness, just as we are warmed by the rays of the Sun.
The energy of the universe is neutral; there is no such thing as beneficent energies and malefic energies, just as there is not good or bad electricity. It is the common usage of the various types of energies by humankind today that causes people to state that the energies themselves are imbued with these qualities. However, different cosmic and planetary beings do decidedly have their own specialized energies, many of which have become common knowledge to humanity today through the science of astrology.
We will explore an overview of the various types of energies that we know about with an esoteric interpretation based on the ageless wisdom teachings and the arcane knowledge found in ancient and modern mystery schools. But most of all, we will discuss how these energies interweave with each other and how we can use them more scientifically in our lives. The hypothesis is that as heavenly beings come into conjunction or aspect with each other, they are performing some type of group work together, admittedly on a vast scale. Although we cannot even imagine what this work could be, or even sense most of the energies they are generating to do this work, still we can hypothesize on some of the energies involved and, if it is appropriate for the group work that we are doing, we can tap into some of these energies.
At other times our purposes require access to energies that do not seem to be readily available from the cosmos. However, we should know that all energies are always available somewhere and just trust that we can invoke through meditation the energies that we need, as long as we approach the invocation with the spirit of helpfulness to the cause of evolution and increased consciousness.
During our normal course of work for the upliftment of consciousness, we can look to see what energies might be available at a particular time and attempt to use them, for they provide the course of least resistance for the spiritual work we are trying to accomplish.
If we are working as individuals, we should know that it is not as effective (and perhaps even dangerous) to invoke large-scale energies from cosmic sources. What we can do, however, is to focus our consciousness at the highest level we can reach through meditation and then, through our creative imagination, place ourselves in the company of the people in our spiritual group. By linking in with others telepathically, through the etheric network of the collective consciousness of humanity, we can more effectively use the energies that the cosmos offers us.
The word "spiritual" is widely significant and encompasses a fundamental attitude, not restricted to religion or even philosophy. Spirituality is what lies beyond the point of our current achievement. It embodies vision and urges us onwards toward a higher goal.
The concept of sin threatens us and complicates our lives, giving human aspiration a self-protective undertone. Instead, we can meditate and pray as a means of cooperating with the divine Plan for our evolution and know that, in fact, our directed energies can contribute to the forces for good on our planet.
Separative attitudes have held us back from understanding in the past. However, the time has now come when we, humanity, can make informed choices about how to approach our spirituality and divine truth. This transformation of thought is our immediate task.
We hear much of the laws of nature, the law of cause and effect, and so on, but instead of feeling ruled by law, we should consider that a law is but the spiritual impulse, incentive, and life manifestation of that greater being in which we "live and move and have our being." These laws, which are laws of nature, demonstrate the intelligent purpose of the universe, "wisely directed, and based on love." We can identify ourselves with a higher purpose and align our thoughts and energies to those higher spiritual impulses—the goals of evolution.
In studies on comparative religion, Willis Harman and Huston Smith, among others, found that all religious traditions contain public, exoteric versions and inner-circle, esoteric versions of the teachings, where the esoteric versions are more experiential and usually involve some kind of meditative discipline or yoga. Remarkably, these esoteric versions are essentially the same across all the teachings.
The perennial wisdom (as Huxley called it) "is to be found in every religion and can be owned exclusively by none. [It] is not merely an ancient system of belief and practice.…It is, rather, a whole set of archetypical realities waiting to be discovered, at the highest reaches of the human consciousness, by all people." (Harman, Willis W. A Re-examination of the Metaphysical Foundations of Modern Science: Research Report, Causality Project. Sausalito, California: Institute of Noetic Sciences, 1991.)
The perennial wisdom holds that "Nature is directed from within by a higher intelligence or mind; that all minds in the universe are linked together by participation in one universal mind or source; that because of this, various mental or physical rituals can sometimes effect what they symbolize, or set the proper conditions in motion for the desired events or result to occur; that all individuals have a powerful, if hidden, motivation to discover and identify with a higher Self which is, in turn, in immediate connection to the universal mind."(Ibid)
Through our own expansions of consciousness and the greater scope of our vision, we can distribute ideas, life, and potential into the world.
It is my sincere hope that others will take these ideas, work with them, and carry on with this line of research, for there is much understanding that is yet to be gained on the very deep and profound teachings of the ageless wisdom with regard to the use of energy.
If, as I think, the divine plan and purpose for humanity is the ability for everyone to be creative and to have the means to create beauty and truth in life, then how do we create? The ability and opportunity to create and add beauty to life sounds simple, but indeed is not. First of all, the ability to create has to be developed. Then we must create the opportunity itself. For this empowerment of humanity to happen on a universal level would be very profound. Just for all of us in our own groups to be empowered at the same time would be quite an achievement.
Working in the world gives us contact with public opinion and changes in human consciousness that result from world affairs. Thus, we can gauge when humanity is ready for new teachings and assist our spiritual teachers in making changes in the techniques or curriculum whenever humanity needs a new presentation of the ageless truths.
To create, we use our energy to formulate thoughtforms that are to be impressed upon the substance of the level of consciousness we are working on. Our energies then combine with other energies in a reservoir of similar energy, and we and other people who are working with these energies project them to their destination where they will do their creative work.
Many people build unconsciously and the forms created depend upon the underlying motive or purpose of the person. However, as our awareness increases, we need to understand the significance of what we speak, be aware of the creative consequences on all planes, and only speak words that will further our purposes of uplifting humanity and the lower kingdoms of nature. Our own evolution also depends upon it: we cannot be permitted access to higher planes until we demonstrate that we can use our speech wisely and harmlessly.
We need to be pure in thought, accurate in word, and skillful in action, especially when creating in mental matter and producing potent results in astral or physical manifestation. Purity of thought includes good intention, but also implies a primary focus and a lack of extraneous mentalizing. Focused, purposeful thought leads to accurate speech which results in skillful action. It is a matter of being precise about what we want to create, and taking responsibility for the effects it has on other lives (human and other kingdoms).
Using the "silence of the high places" to bring about our desired effects involves meditating upon our purposes and planning the details of our creations (just like the Solar Logos does on his own vast scale). The high places represent the levels we reach in our meditations. As we learn more fully how to reach these high places and bring back higher ideas, we increase our effectiveness in our powers of creation and manifest only what we intend.
The more focused the thinking, the greater the energy that moves toward what is being thought about. For those upon the path, focused thinking invokes soul energy from the heart, which streams into the brain via the etheric body and conditions our type of living, our expression, and our influence upon the physical plane. This is useful in getting the job done for the sake of the world.
Practical manifestation is our job (with help from our sages) because we are close to the need. Through developing our skills and using them, we achieve mastery and evolve. Because of the free will of humanity, no one knows for sure how we will get to the eventual goal, but the spiritual Hierarchy does know that humanity will eventually achieve the goal and, based on the past, they can make reasonable predictions as to the general directions humanity will go. However on the detail level, it can change, so we have to keep abreast of daily changes and modify our own ideas, actions, and recommendations accordingly.
Once we know our purpose, our thoughts and activities become directed automatically toward expressing that purpose. The universal mind stages events, or vortices in the currents of thought, called synchronicities, that help develop and express our purposes and further our goals. In other words, if we are aware always in the back of our minds as to what we need to accomplish, that underlying purpose in our existence will prompt us to be alert for means of furthering our goals. In addition, the workers on the inner planes will help magnetize those situations needed.
Thus, our basic underlying focus can be to express our purpose as well as we can in this lifetime and to magnetize opportunities and abilities for future lifetimes and inner-plane work. This is alignment with the Plan and correct orientation, expressed briefly. The goal is to stay mindful of Purpose and Plan, to keep in alignment as much as possible, and be prepared to adapt when energies shift.
One way of checking our alignment is to meditate upon what we would do if, suddenly, all the resources we could ever need were made available. This effectively removes all the limitations and excuses that the concrete mind can offer as to why something is not possible and gives us a chance to see just what our priorities really are. It would be informative to practice this exercise repeatedly over a period of time, note the results in our spiritual diary, and then check for changes.
The feature article, "Relationships Between Traditional and Esoteric Astrology," by Carole Beckham was published in the June 23, 1998 issue of Today's Astrologer, Volume 60, Number 6. Today's Astrologer is published by the American Federation of Astrologers, Inc., P.O. Box 22040, Tempe, AZ 85285-2040, email AFA@msn.com
The article, "Kingdoms of Earth," by Carole Beckham was published in the Fall/Winter 1998-1999 issue of The Journal of Esoteric Psychology, Volume XII, No. 2. The Journal of Esoteric Psychology is published by the University of the Seven Rays Publishing House, email skyview@yosemite.net
Home Page of Source Publications
Source Publications publishes high quality and carefully researched books on the Ageless Wisdom teachings. We (Carole Beckham & Rick Prater) founded Source Publications to make some of our interpretations of these teachings available to the world.
Spiritual Paths for the Evolution To Higher Consciousness
Our new site describes the spiritual and life empowerment traditions that we have studied, lists some of the books that we have read, and provides summaries and links to other sites that we feel exemplify these paths.