Ascended Master Glossary

Adept. An initiate of the Great White Brotherhood of a high degree of attainment, especially in the control of Matter, physical forces, nature spirits and bodily functions.Affirmation. A positive statement, usually beginning with the name of God, “I AM,” that affirms and strengthens the qualities of God within oneself, helping to bring those qualities into physical manifestation.

Akashic records. The impressions of all that has ever transpired in the physical universe, recorded in the etheric substance and dimension known by the Sanskrit term akasha. These records can be read by those with developed soul faculties.

All-Seeing Eye of God. See Cyclopea.

Alpha and Omega. The Divine Wholeness of the Father-Mother God affirmed as “the beginning and the ending” by the Lord Christ in Revelation. Ascended twin flames of the Cosmic Christ consciousness who hold the balance of the masculine-feminine polarity of the Godhead in the Great Central Sun of cosmos.

Angel. A divine spirit, a herald or messenger sent by God to deliver his Word to his children. A ministering spirit sent forth to comfort, protect, guide, strengthen, teach, counsel and warn.

Aquarian Age. The 2,150-year cycle following the age of Pisces. The age of Pisces gave us the understanding of God as the Son, exemplified by the sponsor of that age, Jesus Christ. The age of Aquarius brings us the awareness of God as the Holy Spirit and as the Divine Mother. It is sponsored by the Ascended Master Saint Germain and his divine complement, the Ascended Lady Master Portia. During this cycle, the opportunity will be given to humankind to apply the laws of freedom and justice, the science of precipitation and transmutation, and rituals of invocation to God that can bring in an age of enlightenment and peace such as the world has never known.

Archangel. The highest rank in the orders of angels. Each of the seven rays has a presiding archangel who, with his divine complement, or archeia, embodies the God consciousness of the ray and directs the bands of angels serving in their command.

Archeia (pl. archeiai). Divine complement and twin flame of an archangel.

Archangel Michael. The angel of the Lord who stands in defense of the Christ consciousness in all children of God; also known as Prince of the Archangels and Defender of the Faith. As the archangel of the first ray, Michael embodies the qualities of faith, protection, perfection and the will of God. He is the most revered angel in Jewish, Christian and Islamic scripture and tradition.

Archangel Raphael. Archangel of the fifth spiritual ray (green ray) of science, healing and vision. Archangel Raphael, together with Mother Mary, his divine complement, brings great healing energy to the evolutions of earth.

Ascended Master. Enlightened spiritual beings who once lived on earth, fulfilled their reason for being and have ascended and reunited with God in the ritual of the ascension. The ascended masters are the true teachers of mankind. They direct the spiritual evolution of all devotees of God and guide them back to their Source.

Ascension. The ritual whereby the soul reunites with the Spirit of the living God, the I AM Presence, through the acceleration by the sacred fire at the natural conclusion of one’s final lifetime on earth. It is the process whereby the soul, having balanced her karma and fulfilled her divine plan, merges first with the Christ Consciousness and then with the living Presence of the I AM THAT I AM. Once the ascension has taken place, the soul—the corruptible aspect of being—becomes the incorruptible one, a permanent atom in the body of God, free from the round of karma and rebirth.

Astral plane. A frequency of time and space beyond the physical, yet below the mental, corresponding to the emotional body of man and the collective unconscious of the race; the repository of mankind’s thoughts and feelings, conscious and unconscious. Because the astral plane has been muddied by impure human thought and feeling, the term “astral” is often used in a negative context to refer to that which is impure or psychic.

AUM. See OM.

Aura. A luminous emanation or electromagnetic field that surrounds the physical body. The atmosphere surrounding and interpenetrating the four lower bodies of man and his chakras upon which the impressions, thoughts, feelings, words and actions of the individual are registered, including his karma and the records of past lives.

Avatar. From Sanskrit avatara, literally “descent.” A Hindu term for an incarnation of God on earth. The incarnation of the Word.

Base-of-the-spine chakra. A four-petaled white chakra located at the base of the spinal column. It is associated with the fourth ray and the expression of purity, hope, joy, self-discipline, integration, perfection, wholeness and nurturing.

Bodhisattva. (Sanskrit, “a being of bodhi or enlightenment.”) A being destined for enlightenment, or one whose energy and power is directed toward enlightenment. A Bodhisattva is destined to become a Buddha but has forgone the bliss of nirvana with a vow to save all children of God on earth. An ascended master or an unascended master may be a bodhisattva.

Carnal mind. The human ego, human intellect and human will; the animal nature of man.

Causal Body. Interpenetrating spheres of light surrounding each one’s I AM Presence at spiritual levels. The spheres of the causal body contain the records of the virtuous acts we have performed to the glory of God and the blessing of man through our many incarnations on earth.

Central Sun. Whether in the microcosm or the Macrocosm, the central sun is the principal energy source, vortex, or nexus of energy interchange in atoms, cells, the heart center of man, amidst plant life and the core of the earth. The Great Central Sun is the center of cosmos, the point of integration of the Spirit-Matter cosmos, and the point of origin of all physical-spiritual creation.

Chakra. (Sanskrit, “wheel, disc, circle.”) Term used to denote the centers of light anchored in the etheric body and governing the flow of energy to the four lower bodies of man. There are seven major chakras corresponding to the seven rays, five minor chakras corresponding to the five secret rays, and a total of 144 light centers in the body of man.

Chela. (Hindi cela from Sanskrit ceta “slave” or “servant.”) In India, a disciple of a religious teacher or guru . A term used generally to refer to a student of the ascended masters and their teachings.

Chohan Lord or master; a chief. Each of the seven rays has a chohan who focuses the Christ consciousness of the ray for the earth and her evolutions.

Christ. (From the Greek Christos “anointed.”) Messiah (Hebrew, Aramaic “anointed”); “Christed one,” one fully endued and infilled—anointed—by the light (the Son) of God. The Word, the Logos, the second person of the Trinity.

Christhood. The individual expression of the universal Christ consciousness. On the spiritual path, the individual Christ Self, the personal Christ, is the initiator of the soul. When the individual passes certain initiations on the path of Christhood, he or she earns the right to be called a Christed one and gains the title of Son or Daughter of God.

Christ consciousness The consciousness or awareness of the self in and as the Christ, the attainment of a level of consciousness commensurate with that which was realized by Jesus, the Christ. The Christ consciousness is the realization within the soul of that mind which was in Christ Jesus.

Christ Self. The Higher Self; our inner teacher, guardian, friend and advocate before God; the Universal Christ individualized for each of us; the Real Self of every man, woman and child, to which the soul must rise. The Christ Self is the mediator between the individual and God.

Cosmic Law. The law that governs mathematically, yet with the spontaneity of mercy’s flame, all manifestation throughout the cosmos in the planes of Spirit and Matter.

Crown chakra. A golden-yellow chakra of 972 petals located at the crown of the head. It is associated with the second ray and the expression of illumination, wisdom, self-knowledge, understanding, humility, open-mindedness and cosmic consciousness.

Crystal cord. The stream of God’s light, life and consciousness that nourishes and sustains the soul and her four lower bodies. Also called the silver cord (Ecclesiastes 12:6)

Cyclopea. Masculine Elohim of the fifth ray, also known as the All-Seeing Eye of God or as the Silent Watcher. See also Elohim; seven rays.

Decree. A dynamic form of spoken prayer used by students of the ascended masters to direct God’s light into individual and world conditions. It is the authoritative Word of God spoken in man in the name of the I AM Presence and the living Christ to bring about constructive change on earth through the will of God.

Dharma. An individual’s dharma is his duty to fulfill his reason for being. It is his divine plan, which runs as a thread through all his lifetimes. When the dharma is fulfilled and sufficient karma is balanced, the soul is eligible for the ascension.

Dictation. A message from an ascended master, an archangel or another advanced spiritual being delivered through the agency of the Holy Spirit by a messenger of the Great White Brotherhood.

Eighth Ray. The ray of integration, where we integrate the mastery of the seven rays through the flame of the Christ, the threefold flame. The eighth ray corresponds to the Secret chamber of the heart , an eight-petaled chakra behind the Heart chakra, where the threefold flame is sealed.

Electronic Presence. A duplicate of the I AM Presence, which holds the pattern of the Real Self; a powerful replica of an ascended master, the fullness of his tangible light body, which can be focalized in time and space within the aura of a disciple. A devotee who calls to an ascended master, in the name of the I AM THAT I AM, may be blessed with his Electronic Presence.

Elemental Life. Nature spirits who are the servants of God and man in the planes of Matter for the establishment and maintenance of the physical plane as the platform for the soul‘s evolution. Elementals who serve the fire element are called salamanders; those who serve the air element, sylphs; those who serve the water element, undines; those who serve the earth element, gnomes.

Elijah. The Israelite prophet who was taken up into heaven in a chariot of fire (II Kings 2:11). He later embodied as John the Baptist, who prepared the way for Jesus’ mission (Matthew 17:10-13). Elijah was a rare exception of a man who ascended and then reembodied in physical form. After his lifetime as John the Baptist, he returned to the ascended state.

El Morya. The ascended master who is the teacher and sponsor of the Messengers Mark L. Prophet and Elizabeth Clare Prophet and the founder of The Summit Lighthouse ; chohan of the first ray.

Elohim. (Hebrew plural of Eloah, “God.”) The name of God used in the first verse of the Bible: “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.” The Seven Mighty Elohim and their feminine counterparts are the builders of form. They are the “seven spirits of God” named in Revelation 4:5 and the “morning stars” that sang together in the beginning, as the Lord revealed them to Job (Job 38:7). In the order of Hierarchy, the Elohim and cosmic beings carry the greatest concentration, the highest vibration of light that we can comprehend in our present state of evolution.

Emotional body. See four lower bodies.

Enoch. According to the Bible, Enoch was a prophet who predicted the judgment of the ungodly (Jude 4-19). The Bible says that “Enoch walked with God and he was not, for God took him” (Genesis 5:24). This has been interpreted as the record of his ascension; he is now known as the ascended master Enoch.

Etheric body. See four lower bodies.

Etheric plane. The highest plane in the dimension of Matter; a plane that is as concrete and real as the physical plane (and even more so) but is experienced through the senses of the soul in a dimension and a consciousness beyond physical awareness. It is the world of ascended masters and their retreats, etheric cities of light where souls of a higher order of evolution abide between embodiments. It is the plane of reality.

Etheric retreat. The spiritual home of an ascended master or heavenly being. Retreats are located chiefly on the etheric plane , or heaven-world, and serve many functions for the spiritual hierarchy as they minister to souls on earth. Some of the retreats have been opened so that souls can travel there in their finer bodies during sleep to study at universities of the Spirit.

Fallen angels. The fallen angels are those angels who followed Lucifer in the Great Rebellion, whose consciousness therefore “fell” to lower levels of vibration. They were “cast out into the earth” by Archangel Michael (Revelations 12:7-12), constrained by the karma of their disobedience to God and his Christ to take on and evolve through dense physical bodies.

Father-Mother God. See Alpha and Omega.

Four Cosmic Forces. The four beasts seen by Saint John and other seers as the lion, the calf (or ox), the man and the flying eagle (Revelations 4:6-8). They serve directly under the Elohim and govern all of the Matter cosmos. They are transformers of the infinite light to souls evolving in the finite.

Four lower bodies. Four sheaths of four distinct frequencies that surround the soul; the vehicles the soul uses in her journey on earth: the etheric, or memory, body; the mental body; the desire, or emotional, body; the physical body. The etheric body houses the blueprint of the soul’s identity and contains the memory of all that has ever transpired in the soul and all impulses she has ever sent out. The mental body is the vessel of the cognitive faculties; when purified, it can become the vessel of the mind of God, the Christ mind. The desire body houses the higher and lower desires and records the emotions. The physical body is the miracle of flesh and blood that enables the soul to progress in the material universe.

Gautama Buddha. Buddha means “the Enlightened One.” Gautama attained the enlightenment of the Buddha in his final incarnation as Siddhartha Gautama (c. 563-483 BC). For forty-five years he preached his doctrine of the Four Noble Truths, the Eightfold Path and the Middle Way, which led to the founding of Buddhism. Gautama Buddha presently holds the office of Lord of the World and is the hierarch of Shamballa, an etheric retreat over the Gobi Desert.

Great Central Sun. See Central Sun.

Great White Brotherhood. A spiritual order of Western saints and Eastern adepts who have reunited with the Spirit of the living God; the heavenly hosts. They have transcended the cycles of karma and rebirth and ascended (accelerated) into that higher reality that is the eternal abode of the soul. The ascended masters of the Great White Brotherhood have risen in every age from every culture and religion to inspire creative achievement in education, the arts and sciences, God-government and the abundant life through the economies of the nations. The word “white” refers not to race but to the aura (halo) of white light surrounding their forms. The Brotherhood also includes certain unascended Chelas of the ascended masters.

Guru. (Sanskrit.) A personal religious teacher and spiritual guide; one of high attainment. A guru may be unascended or ascended.

Heart chakra. A twelve-petaled pink chakra located in the center of the chest. It is associated with the third ray and the expression of love, compassion, beauty, selflessness, sensitivity, appreciation, comfort, creativity, charity and generosity.

Hierarchy. The universal chain of individualized God-free beings fulfilling the attributes and aspects of God’s infinite Selfhood. This universal order of the Father’s own Self-expression is the means whereby God in the Central Sun steps down the Presence and power of his universal being/consciousness in order that succeeding evolutions in time and space might come to know the wonder of his love.

Higher Self. The I AM Presence; the Christ Self ; the exalted aspect of selfhood. Used in contrast to the term “lower self,” or “little self,” which indicates the soul that went forth from and may elect by free will to return to the Divine Whole through the realization of the oneness of the self in God. Higher consciousness.

Holy Christ Self. See Christ Self.

I AM Presence. The I AM THAT I AM (Exodus 3:13-15); the individualized Presence of God focused for each individual soul. The God-identity of the individual.

I AM THAT I AM. See I AM Presence.

Karma. (Sanskrit, meaning “act,” “action,” “work” or “deed.”) The consequences of one’s thoughts, words and deeds of this life and previous lives; the law of cause and effect, which decrees that whatever we do comes full circle to our doorstep for resolution. The law of karma necessitates the soul’s reincarnation so that she can pay the debt for, or “balance,” her misuses of God’s light, energy and consciousness.

Karmic Board .See Lords of Karma.

Keepers of the Flame Fraternity. Founded in 1961 by Saint Germain, an organization of ascended masters and their chelas who vow to keep the flame of life on earth.

Kundalini. Sacred Fire.

Lifestream. The stream of life that comes forth from the one Source, from the I AM Presence in the planes of Spirit, and descends to the planes of Matter where it manifests as the threefold flame anchored in the Secret chamber of the heart for the sustaining of the soul in Matter and the nourishment of the four lower bodies. Used to denote souls evolving as individual “lifestreams” and hence synonymous with the term “individual.” Denotes the ongoing nature of the individual through cycles of individualization.

Light. Spiritual light is the energy of God, the potential of the Christ. As the personification of Spirit, the term “light” can be used synonymously with the terms “God” and “Christ.”

Logos. (Greek, “word,” “speech,” “reason.”) See Word.

Lords of Karma. The ascended beings who comprise the Karmic Board. They dispense justice to this system of worlds, adjudicating karma, mercy and judgment on behalf of every soul. All souls must pass before the Karmic Board before and after each incarnation on earth, receiving their assignment and karmic allotment for each lifetime beforehand and the review of their performance at its conclusion.

Macrocosm. (Greek, “great world.”) The larger cosmos; the entire warp and woof of creation. Also used to contrast man as the microcosm (“little world”) against the backdrop of the larger world in which he lives. See also Microcosm.

Maitreya. Lord Maitreya (“he whose name is kindness”) holds the office of Cosmic Christ and is known as the Great Initiator. He was the guru of Adam and Eve in the Mystery School known as the Garden of Eden and was also the guru of Jesus Christ.

Mantra. A mystical formula or invocation; a word or formula, often in Sanskrit, to be recited or sung for the purpose of intensifying the action of the Spirit of God in man. A form of prayer consisting of a word or a group of words that is chanted over and over again to magnetize a particular aspect of the Deity or of a being who has actualized that aspect of the Deity. See also Decree.

Mater. (Latin, “mother.”) See Matter, Mother .

Matter. The feminine (negative) polarity of the Godhead, of which the masculine (positive) polarity is Spirit. Matter acts as a chalice for the kingdom of God and is the abiding place of evolving souls. Matter is distinguished from matter (lowercase m)—the substance of the earth earthy, of the realms of maya, which blocks rather than radiates divine light and the Spirit of the I AM THAT I AM. See also Mother; Spirit.

Memory body. See four lower bodies.

Mental body. See four lower bodies .

Messenger. One who is trained by an ascended master to receive by various methods the words, concepts, teachings and messages of the Great White Brotherhood; one who delivers the Law, the prophecies and the dispensations of God for a people and an age. Mark L. Prophet and Elizabeth Clare Prophet are messengers of the Great White Brotherhood for The Summit Lighthouse.

Microcosm. (Greek, “small world.”) (1) The world of the individual, his four lower bodies, his aura, and the forcefield of his karma. (2) The planet. See also Macrocosm.

Mother. “Divine Mother,” “Universal Mother” and “Cosmic Virgin” are alternate terms for the feminine polarity of the Godhead, the manifestation of God as Mother. Matter is the feminine polarity of Spirit, and the term is used interchangeably with Mater (Latin, “mother”). In this context, the entire material cosmos becomes the womb of creation into which Spirit projects the energies of life.

Nirvana. The goal of life according to Hindu and Buddhist philosophy: the state of liberation from the wheel of rebirth through the extinction of desire.

OM. (AUM) The sacred syllable of creation, the Word that went forth in the beginning and from which all other sounds originated.

Omega. Alpha and Omega.

Path. The path of initiation whereby the disciple who pursues the Christ consciousness overcomes step by step the limitations of selfhood in time and space and attains reunion with Reality through the ritual of the ascension.

Pearls of Wisdom^®. Weekly letters of instruction dictated by the ascended masters to their Messengers Mark and Elizabeth Prophet for students of the sacred mysteries throughout the world. Pearls of Wisdom have been published by The Summit Lighthouse continuously since 1958. They contain both fundamental and advanced teachings on cosmic law with a practical application of spiritual truths to personal and planetary problems. Contact us to subscribe to the Pearls of Wisdom.

Physical body. See four lower bodies.

Real Self. See Christ Self.

Retreat. A focus of the Great White Brotherhood, usually on the etheric plane where the ascended masters preside. Retreats anchor one or more flames of the Godhead as well as the momentum of the masters’ service and attainment for the balance of light in the four lower bodies of a planet and its evolutions. Retreats serve many functions for the councils of the Hierarchy ministering to the lifewaves of earth. Some retreats are open to unascended mankind, whose souls may journey to these focuses in their etheric body between their incarnations on earth and in their finer bodies during sleep.

Sacred fire. The Kundalini fire that lies as the coiled serpent in the base-of-the-spine chakra and rises through spiritual purity and self-mastery to the crown chakra, quickening the spiritual centers on the way; also referred to as the light of the Divine Mother, God, light, life, energy, the I AM THAT I AM. “Our God is a consuming fire.”(Hebrews 12:29).

Saint Germain. The ascended master who is hierarch of the Aquarian Age and sponsor of the United States of America; chohan of the seventh ray.

Science of the Spoken Word. See Spoken Word.

Secret Chamber of the Heart. A spiritual chamber behind the heart chakra surrounded by great light and protection. It is the connecting point of the cord of light that descends from each one’s I AM Presence to sustain the beating of their physical heart, giving life, purpose and cosmic integration. It is the place where one communes with their Holy Christ Self and fans the fires of the threefold flame.

Seven rays. The light emanations of the Godhead that, when invoked in the name of God or in the name of the Christ, burst forth as a flame in the world of the individual. The seven rays of the white light that emerge through the prism of the Christ Consciousness. Rays may be projected by the God consciousness of ascended or unascended beings through the chakras and the third eye as a concentration of energy taking on numerous God-qualities, such as love, truth, wisdom, healing, and so on.

Silent Watcher. Cyclopea.

Soul. Projected from the I AM Presence into physical evolution, the soul is the living potential of God. The soul is not immortal but can attain immortality through fusion with the Holy Christ Self and the I AM Presence in the ritual of the ascension.

Spirit. The masculine polarity of the Godhead; the coordinate of Matter; God as Father, who of necessity includes within the polarity of himself God as Mother and hence is known as the Father-Mother God. The plane of the I AM Presence, of perfection; the dwelling place of the ascended masters in the kingdom of God.

Spoken Word. The Word of the LORD God released in the original fiats of Creation. The release of the energies of the Word, or the Logos, through the throat chakra by the sons and daughters of God. Today disciples use the power of the Word in Decrees, Affirmations, prayers and mantras to draw the essence of the sacred fire from the I AM Presence, the Christ Self and cosmic beings to channel God’s light for the purpose of transmutation, transformation and constructive change in the planes of Matter. See What Is the Science of the Spoken Word? article.

Summit University^® A modern-day mystery school founded in 1971 under the direction of the Messengers Mark L. Prophet and Elizabeth Clare Prophet. At Summit University, students study the teachings of the ascended masters delivered through their messengers.

The Summit Lighthouse^®. An outer organization of the Great White Brotherhood founded by Mark L. Prophet in 1958 in Washington, D.C., under the direction of the ascended master El Morya for the purpose of publishing and disseminating the teachings of the ascended masters.

Threefold flame. The flame of the Christ, the spark of life that burns within the secret chamber of the heart. The sacred trinity of power, wisdom and love that is the manifestation of the Sacred Fire.

Transfiguration. An initiation on the path of the ascension that takes place when the initiate has attained a certain balance and expansion of the threefold flame. Jesus’ transfiguration is described in Matthew 17:1-8.

Tube of light. The white light that descends from the heart of the I AM Presence in answer to the individual’s call. About nine feet in diameter, it is a cylinder that originates in the I AM Presence and extends three feet below the person’s feet. The tube of light acts as a shield of protection from negative energies and is sustained twenty-four hours a day as long as harmony is maintained in one’s thoughts, feelings, words and deeds.

Twin flame. The soul’s masculine or feminine counterpart conceived out of the same white-fire body, the fiery ovoid of the I AM Presence.

Unascended master. One who has overcome all limitations of Matter yet chooses to remain in time and space to focus the consciousness of God for lesser evolutions. See also Bodhisattva.

Universal Christ. The Mediator between the planes of Spirit and the planes of Matter. Personified as the Christ Self, he is the Mediator between the Spirit of God and the soul of man.

Violet flame. Seventh-ray aspect of the Holy Spirit. The sacred fire that transmutes the cause, effect, record and memory of sin, or negative karma. Also called the flame of transmutation, freedom and forgiveness. When the violet flame is invoked through the Science of the Spoken Word, it brings about constructive change.

Word. The Word is the Logos: it is the power of God and the realization of that power incarnate in and as the Christ. The energies of the Word are released by devotees of the Logos in the ritual of the Science of the Spoken Word. It is through the Word that the Father-Mother God communicates with mankind. The Christ is the personification of the Word. See also Decree.