It is an urge within all people to reach upwards above and beyond everyday lives – towards the Heavens above, the Galaxies, the Creator of all Life. It is a natural instinct within, as we grow and evolve and realize there is more to life than the basic, everyday stuff. Throughout our history it has always been important for humanity to have a way to reach beyond themselves; to reach upwards.
It was known by the builders and designers of the great Gothic Cathedrals which flourished around 12th – 14th Centuries – the late Middle Ages. These were the highest buildings in the town, teaching people to look upward towards the heavens. These fantastic cathedrals had many high towers and spires, all designed to draw the eyes upward.
There are several beautiful Gothic cathedrals in England and also in France. One fantastic example is Chartres, near Paris, and visiting this cathedral is a remarkable experience. I couldn’t work out at first why the cathedral still had, after almost eight hundred years since it was built, an incredibly powerful, almost magical energy. Then I learned that these Gothic Cathedrals were built by the Master Builders according to mystical Biblical formulas, which are probably not really understood today.
One thing that strikes you immediately is that there is absolutely no direct light that enters the building and all the light is filtered through stained glass. This has the effect of heightening the spiritual experience so much so that it seems as if you are literally out of this world.
Let us imagine those days in the early Thirteenth Century. Most ordinary people led dreary, extremely hard working lives and visiting the Cathedral on a Sunday was a highlight of their lives that seemed to lift them closer to heaven. They did not have the opportunity to experience beauty as we do now. Instead, visiting a Cathedral was a beautiful expression of masterful design to bring a spiritual experience.
Today, we are filled with sense experiences – it is the opposite of what was experienced all those centuries ago. We are today bombarded with visual and sensual experiences of a not so beautiful nature. This in its own way is equally as dreary as the dull, monotonous lives of the ordinary folk of the Middle Ages – until we lift ourselves upwards through spiritual expression.
One experience I am sure we’ve all had is when we are alone at night in a cloudless place. We look up at the stars and contemplate upon the great distances, the planets and the great Galaxies. These are magical moments, I know we have all had, when our minds reach above our everyday lives and touch something magical.
In my new series of Classes on Meditation and Soul Rejuvenation, the aim is that we all become more mindful and begin to inhabit more fully the place of joy, peace and spiritual revitalization that sometimes evades us in our everyday lives. We will reach upwards; not to the heavens above but to the God Spark within which contains all Love, power, strength, faith, and is always at our disposal, once we learn to unlock this great and abiding part of us.
For more information about the Classes: Meditation and Soul Rejuvenation please see The Aetherius Society’s ad.
By Chrissie Blaze
