The influential Dallas Herald newspaper described an immense surge in the public’s interest in Buddhism and other forms of "non-traditional" religion, and reported recently that over 50 percent of Americans claim to have had some inner experience of divinity.

This discovery of "God Within", tied less and less to organized religion and congregations, is what publishers call "private spirituality." It has so dominated book sales for the past ten years with such titles as, Chicken Soup for the Soul and Conversations With God, that the period has been dubbed "the decade of the soul."

Anyone who has pursued any form of religious studies can tell you that this is a sign of the times. Those who have delved a bit deeper know that it is in line with the re-opening of the Mystery Schools and the re-emergence of the esoteric teachings foretold in spiritual traditions like Freemasonry, by the seer Edgar Cayce, and even by many of the native American traditions.

There is a great deal of material available on the planned release of the Ancient Wisdom teachings, starting in the late 1800’s with Helena Petrovna Blavatsky. She lived and worked with the custodians of these ages-old teachings, the Masters of the Wisdom, perfected beings high in the Himalayan range. She later founded the Theosophical Society to bring to public attention the body of knowledge that she had received from them. From 1919-1949, Alice A. Bailey produced a series of books under the guidance of one of their number, the Master Djwal Khul, while physically thousands of miles away. Today, British author and lecturer Benjamin Creme continues the delivery of these teachings via hundreds of interviews yearly.

Readily available in any bookstore or library, the Ancient Wisdom teachings and others now coming to light are about the constitution of humankind and the universe, reincarnation and karma, initiation and the path to divinity. One great theme that runs through them is the use of sacred ritual to usher in the energies of Brotherhood, Goodwill, and Synthesis, the "building blocks," as it were, of the Age of Aquarius now dawning. It is thus no accident that more and more people are hearing about and beginning to celebrate what is known as the Three Full Moon Festivals of Spring.

Starting with the full moon at Easter, these three form the high point of the spiritual year, a time when a pathway opens between Earth and the spiritual forces which protect and nurture the planet and all its inhabitants. It is a time when humanity can best capture and absorb them.

One of these great forces of divinity is the Shamballa force. It is known as the Ray of Power, and it allows old forms of crystallization and conditioning to break down, and make way for the creative, generative and building energy or Ray of Love. Also known as the energy of Destruction and personified as Shiva in the Hindu trilogy, the Shamballa force was released for a brief time this century, shortly before the World War period of 1914-45, which completely changed the geopolitical and social cast of society, and destroyed the old and worn-out civilization. Following a subsequent release in 1975, several great teachers entered into our midst, spiritual titans of the order of the Christ, the Buddha, and Mohammed, who are gradually emerging onto the world scene to help us solve the critical problems facing humanity today. (1)

Since 1975, the impact of this purifying energy on humanity has been gradually intensifying, reaching a crescendo in the year 2000. From that point forward it will be "sent daily directly to humanity…sustained for another 50 years." (2) The result: a dramatic transformation of humanity and human values unlike anything experienced in the past century or, perhaps, in the history of mankind.

What the pouring forth of the Shamballa force will occasion now in 2002 has yet to be determined, but the esoteric teachings link it with the much larger cyclical release of this energy to humanity. The first direct release of this energy to humanity occurred in a civilization that predates ours, that of Lemuria, during which epoch the principle of mind was stimulated in animal-man. This corresponded to the birth hour of the human soul. (3) A second occurred with the destruction of Atlantis, recounted in modern history as the Great Flood.

The esoteric teachings state that "each time this [Shamballa] energy strikes into the human consciousness, some fuller aspect of the divine plan appears. It is the energy which brings about synthesis, which holds all things within the circle of the divine love."(4)

It produces two subsidiary benefits: the destruction of undesirable and hindering world forms in government, religion, and society, and a synthesizing force which binds together that which has hitherto been separated. (5) The key to its right use is understanding and group use. The Shamballa force is so new that it is as yet difficult for humanity to recognize. It was experienced during the first and second world wars as a great energy of purification which was regenerating humanity, and widespread fires were a characteristic of the time.

Perhaps the September 11th events, tragic as they were, are a part of making room for a new life for humanity, a new sense of shared human brotherhood. Who, having seen the recent destruction of forms - political, economic, and social - could doubt that "That which has so grossly imprisoned the human spirit is disappearing: the rocky grave of humanity is breaking open and releasing man to a new life of resurrection." (6) The past barriers to unity have been brought to light and it remains to be seen whether humanity can achieve that full expression of synthesis and brotherhood which are their divine right to demonstrate.

That new life is celebrated at Easter, of course, the first of the yearly three Full Moon festivals, and especially now, with a new era of brotherhood dawning. The ancient mysteries are being revealed: humanity is ready for a new and potent demonstration of divine livingness, and stands ready to take its place in the new world.

References:

(1) -www.Shareintl.org;

(2) -Share International Magazine, Vol. 19, No. 4 - May, 2000. p. 26.

(3) -Alice A. Bailey, The Externalisation of the Hierarchy, Lucis Trust: New York, 1957, p. 439;

(4) -idem, The Rays and the Initiations, Lucis Trust: New York, 1960, p. 716;

(5) -idem, The Externalisation of the Hierarchy, p. 71;

(6) -idem, The Rays and the Initiations, p. 86.

Todd Lorentz teaches Buddhism at the University of Alberta in Edmonton and is currently pursuing graduate studies in Nondualism. For more information on the Shamballa Force, the author can be contacted at tlorentz@telusplanet.net.