Esoteric Lesson

Human beings are surrounded by the three lower kingdoms of nature. While it would be evidence of an unhealthy soul life if someone were afraid of being swallowed up by the beings of the mineral or plant kingdom, it can happen to an esotericist who has reached such a stage through his exercises that he has the feeling of being absorbed by the higher beings. Just as we have the three natural kingdoms among us, so above us are the three spiritual hierarchies, and it is these beings—and also those who are involved in the more inner development of humanity—who influence us and cause the feeling described above. But through our ego consciousness, we are at the same time given the power not to be completely absorbed by the higher beings, so that we do not become a tool without will. Rather, higher development leads precisely to our becoming independent in our feelings and sensations; otherwise we would lose our self-consciousness entirely. We should consciously develop ourselves upward toward the higher hierarchies.