| Answer
from Jesus:
The concept of the dweller
on the threshold was introduced by esoteric teachings, especially the
Summit Lighthouse, and is comparable to the human ego, as that ego is
described in The Inner Path of Light. That book describes the
carnal mind mainly as a computer designed to run the physical body.
However, the term “carnal mind” can also be used as a general
name for the entire conglomerate of the human consciousness, which includes
the ego. That is how it was used by Paul and how I sometimes refer to
it on this website.
The expression “the dweller on the threshold” refers to
the process described in The Inner Path of Light of the soul
deciding to hide from God. As a result of separating itself from God,
from the spiritual self, the soul started a process of gradually walking
further and further away from God, meaning that the soul descended into
successively lower states of consciousness.
For each time the soul descended to a lower level, it made a decision
that caused and seemingly justified that descent. When the soul starts
the spiritual path and begins to reverse the process of walking away
from God, it must face and undo each decision that caused it to descend
to its current level of consciousness.
Let me illustrate this by comparing the spiritual path to a staircase
in a building. One section of the staircase leads from the bottom floor
to the first floor, which is a plateau or platform from which the staircase
goes to the next floor. Each section can be compared to one level on
the spiritual path, so each level has several smaller steps.
When the soul starts the spiritual path, it is at the ground level.
It now ascends each of the smaller steps that lead it to the first floor.
Each step represents a certain state of consciousness, a certain decision
and an amount of misqualified energy. Each step is relatively easy to
overcome. Yet when the soul stands on the uppermost step and is ready
to move on to the next level of the path (the next section of the staircase),
the soul must face the original decision that caused it to descend below
that level of the path. That decision is what is called the dweller
on the threshold. This expression signifies that the decision is waiting
on the threshold to a new level, and before the soul can take that final
step and ascend to a higher level of the path, it must face its previous
decision and undo that decision.
If the soul adopts a systematic approach to the spiritual path and is
willing to surrender itself to the higher will of the spiritual self,
this will not be all that difficult. Once you have transmuted the misqualified
energy and overcome any minor decisions made on that level, all that
is left is to undo the final decision.
However, if the soul does not realize the need to overcome this decision,
if it does not recognize why the decision was wrong, then the soul might
fail to undo that decision. If the soul has not truly understood the
need to surrender every aspect of the ego, it might tie in to the entire
momentum of its rebellion against God. Therefore, instead of having
to undo only one small part of the ego, or dweller, it now has to battle
the entire momentum, which is often overpowering. Therefore, the soul
cannot take that final step onto the next level, and it can indeed become
stuck and perhaps even begin to slide back down the staircase.
So the dweller on the threshold is a valuable concept, especially when
it is understood to be a decision that stands in the way of the soul's
progress. The soul can overcome the dweller only by fully recognizing
what the decision entails, why it was wrong and by making a conscious
choice to replace it with a right decision. Obviously, each aspect,
or layer, of the dweller must be undone before the soul has its final
victory.
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© 2003 by Kim Michaels |
