Deepening our understanding of Ascension

by John-Peter Gernaat

​This report follows on from the article that appeared in the June newsletter.

We explored the in-between spaces by building a relationship with a tree in the garden. At first we only studied the physical form of the tree and drew a picture of it. We were able to describe something of this physical nature.

On the next day we returned to our tree to look at it from an etheric perspective. The tree is clearly living and something of the life force expresses itself in a visible manner. We attempted to capture this in our drawing and describe an essential quality of this life force.

A day later we returned to our tree with a new perspective. We tried to image what the feelings of the tree might be. This was particularly interesting in that one can look at relationships to adjoining trees and with other elements of nature that interact with the tree. This was an imaginative exercise, but it allowed one to see into what might live as a soul quality for a species of tree.

Finally, on the last day we engaged in an exercise that was completely imaginary. If the tree was able to give expression to its essential nature, what was it saying? We wrote statements that were applicable to what we could observe, that were expressive of the tree.

In these exercises we looked into the space that existed between us and the tree with which we were developing a relationship. The space in-between can become vibrant and filled with expression when we take the time to live into it. This is the world into which the Christ Ascended.

Rev. Richard Goodall presented a picture of the deed of Christ in the etheric. A tree loses its leaves because a bud is forming for the next year’s leaf. This bud rays etheric forces towards the sun and old leave is let go of. Our etheric nature is no different to a tree’s and would radiate to the sun after death if it could. If this occurred, the human being would lose the possibility for living on earth. Christ has united Himself with the earth and his etheric being remains united with the earth in the realm of the clouds. In this way the etheric forces of the Christ allow the etheric of the human being to remain in the sphere of the earth enabling human beings to connect with life and incarnate again.