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Affection
 

One’s emotional attachment to people, places, events. This is what most people mean when they say they love someone, something, some place, etc.

Affection can be deep and abiding, even unto death and beyond … but it is, nevertheless, still affection. What you call “love” ~ is affection and not Love. Affection is very susceptible to glamours of every kind.

Love consists of those Qualities Theos has shared with us and they do not include affection, nor do they include glamours. (See Principles of Love in Essential Concepts.)

    
 
      
Ageless Wisdom
 Those secret teachings of all ages which embody the core of Divine Truth from which all the great world religions, philosophies and sciences draw their inspiration.    
 
      
Ahankara

Ego. The principle of individuation in Hinduism and Jainism

specifically: the activity of attributing objective existence to the ego on the basis of subjective consciousness. Ahankara is responsible for making decisions, taking actions, and controlling our behavior.
    
 
      
Ain Soph (Ein Sof or Eyn Sof)
 The “Nameless One.” The boundless or limitless Deity. The “One Without a Second.” God prior to any self-manifestation in the production of any spiritual realm, probably derived from Solomon ibn Gabirol’s term, “the Endless One”. Ein Sof may be translated as “unending”, ” no end”, or infinity.    
 
      
Akasha

is a Sanskrit word which has meaning in all the religions which use Sanskrit as a holy language, including Hinduism, Buddhism and Tibetan Bon. Within these religions there is no agreement about the nature of the Akasha. Generally, all manifest reality emerges from the Akasha.

1. The Akasha is both source and motion for All That Is and all that emerges with consciousness of the Akasha.
2. The Akasha is the first that has awareness.
3. The Akasha is the first that is conscious of movement.
4. Akasha Consciousness is the origin of all things and the mother of all things.
5. When one steps into the awareness or the consciousness of Akasha, one is stepping into the genesis of awareness, the origin of how awareness becomes part of Soul experience, Soul knowledge, and Soul understanding.

“Akasha is one of the cosmic principles and is a plastic matter, creative in its physical nature, immutable in its higher principles. It is the quintessence of all possible forms of energy, material, psychic or spiritual; and contains within itself the germs of universal creation, which sprout forth under the impulse of the Divine Spirit.” ~The Secret Doctrine, Helena P. Blavatsky

The word Akashic means “of, or pertaining to the Akasha.”

    
 
      
Akashic Records
 In theosophy and anthroposophy, the Akashic records are a compendium of all human events, thoughts, words, emotions, and intent ever to have occurred in the past, present, or future. They are believed by theosophists to be encoded in a non-physical plane of existence known as the Etheric plane.
Sometimes called “The Book of Life.”		    
 
      
Alchemical
 1) relating to or characteristic of alchemy, the medieval forerunner of chemistry concerned with the transmutation of matter. “He immersed himself in alchemical experiments to create gold.” 2) involving a seemingly magical process of transformation, creation, or combination. “Writing a novel is an alchemical task.”    
 
      
Align
 Give support to; come together in agreement or alliance; place or arrange (things) in a straight line; put (things) into correct or appropriate relative positions.    
 
      
Alignment
 The psychospiritual process by means of which the incarnated “I” (the soul in incarnation) first controls the semiautonomous tendencies of its personality vehicles, and then comes into direct rapport with the overshadowing Solar Angel. Coming together of the personality and Soul in alliance and rapport, through a spiritual approach.    
 
      
Amanuensis

In Latin, the phrase servus a manu translates loosely as “slave with secretarial duties.” 😶 (The noun manu, meaning “hand,” as in such words as manuscript, which originally referred to a document written by hand.) In the 17th century the second part of this phrase was borrowed into English to create amanuensis, a word for a person who is employed (willingly) to do the important work of transcribing the words of another.

Because of the ambiguity ~ and often currently negative connotation of the term “channel” ~ Theos prefers amanuensis.

    
 
      
Anima
 1) Jung’s term for the feminine part of a man’s personality; 2) the part of the psyche that is directed inward, and is in touch with the subconscious.    
 
      
Antahkarana
 The “rainbow bridge” of mental substance connecting the mental unit with the manasic permanent atom. For the disciple, the antahkarana is the self constructed path by means of which consciousness escapes from the confines of a limited individuality into the expanses of a relative universality – i.e., into identification with the Mind of God.    
 
      
Anthroposophy
 is a philosophy founded in the early 20th-century by esotericist Rudolf Steiner that postulates the existence of an objective, intellectually comprehensible spiritual world, accessible to human experience. Followers of anthroposophy aim to develop mental faculties of spiritual discovery through a mode of thought independent of sensory experience. The aim is to present ideas in a manner verifiable by rational discussions and to specifically seek a precision and clarity in studying the spiritual world which mirrors the scientific approach underlying investigation of the physical world.    
 
      
Arhat
 An initiate of the fourth degree. One who has passed through the Great Renunciation or the Crucifixion, as it is called in the west.    
 
      
Arjuna

Arjuna – (Hindu mythology) the warrior prince in the Bhagavad-Gita to whom Krishna explains the nature of being and of God and how humans can come to know God.

Hindooism, Hinduism – a body of religious and philosophical beliefs and cultural practices native to India and based on a caste system; it is characterized by a belief in reincarnation, by a belief in a supreme being of many forms and natures, by the view that opposing theories are aspects of one eternal truth, and by a desire for liberation from earthly evils
mythology – myths collectively; the body of stories associated with a culture or institution or person
    
 
      
Aspect
 A particular part or feature of something; the positioning of a building or thing in a specified direction; a particular appearance or quality; appearance to the eye or mind; a way in which a thing may be viewed or regarded; interpretation. (For a more detailed explanation of this concept, please see the information for Divine Will Class #26 on the Will to Act.)    
 
      
Aspirant
 A person who is beginning to transmute desire into aspiration, and has thus set foot upon the Path of self-conscious spiritual evolution.    
 
      
Astral body
 The vehicle or “field” of sentient energy. That part of the human constitution which is the seat of the emotions, feelings, and desires. The most powerful of the three “lunar lords” (un-self-conscious, involutionary, semiautonomous elemental lives) comprising the personality of the human being.    
 
      
Atma
 “The Universal Spirit; the divine Monad; the seventh Principle; so called in the septenary constitution of man.” Atma is considered the seat of the spiritual will.    
 
      
Attribute
 A word that qualifies a noun, which is to say, it modifies or points to a specific Quality, which is expressed in a unique way (in the Will or Ray). The noun here is the Ray or Will of Aspect. For example: A Quality of the Will to Unify is Loving Wisdom which directly fosters the Attribute of Intelligent Love in the Will to Act.    
Aura
 “A subtle invisible essence or fluid which emanates from human and animal bodies, and even from things. It is a psychic effluvium, partaking of both mind and body. It is electro-vital, and also electro-mental.” Also called the Etheric Body.    
 
      
Avatar
 Usually, an advanced spiritual being Who intervenes in the process of human evolution in order to bring to bear a divinely necessary energy or influence. Certain highly evolved human beings have been called avatars because of their extraordinarily beneficial effect upon the human race. Actually, any beneficent intervention acting from a higher sphere upon a lower can justifiably be called avataric. There are planetary avatars, systemic avatars and also cosmic avatars.