First Landmarks of Soul Travel

One way to leave the body via Soul Travel is to lie down after dinner when you are drowsy. Plan to nap for five minutes, and watch the process of falling asleep. If you try the exercise with your spouse, agree to meet outside the body a few minutes later. Then watch carefully as your mate steps free of the physical body and enters the spiritual one in a burst of radiant light.

One always goes out of the body when he falls asleep, but it is an unconscious act. In Soul Travel, the only difference is that we are trying to get out of the body in full awareness.

The moment Soul leaves the body, It finds Itself in a blue-grey zone near the Physical Plane. This zone is an approach to the Astral Plane. The sensation of moving from the Physical to the Astral body is like slipping through a large iris of mild wind currents; this iris is the Spiritual Eye. Soul enters this neutral zone of blue-grey tones in Its Astral form, a sheath which looks like a thousand sparkling stars.

This buffer zone, or corridor, between the Physical and lower Astral Planes resembles the underground silo of an enormous rocket that is perhaps two hundred feet in diameter and more than two thousand feet deep. The ceiling if this circular pocket is open and may display a brilliant canopy of white light, or you may see a night sky sprinkled with specks of twinkling stars. There may even be a pastoral scene by a river, whose waters murmur their pleasure at life.

Whatever scene is displayed in the opening of the vast ceiling, Soul is drawn toward it at a mighty speed. Most people begin to recall their dreams only after their departure from this launching zone between the two worlds, and after their arrival at a faraway destination on the Astral Plane.

—Sri Harold Klemp
The Spiritual Exercises of ECK

We must first give to life if we expect life to give
anything in return. This is the divine law.

—Harold Klemp
The Language of Soul

The way to work with Divine Spirit in our daily
decisions is to consider quite honestly: What
would I really like to do?
One must put aside thoughts of asceticism,
thinking that God loves us more if we are poor.
A business decision must be made using all
input that’s available. What’s good for me, my
family? It must allow one to grow.
Any decision is not without setbacks, for that’s
the nature of life. What sets you apart is that
you give it your best effort and more, staying
open to the subtle nudges of Divine Spirit.


—Harold Klemp
The Language of Soul

OPENING To NEW IDEAS

. The information age has opened up so many subjects that used to be taboo. Not so many years ago, dreams were held in very low regard. But now people are starting to accept dreams. Television has broadcast so many shows about near-death experiences that people are getting quite accustomed to hearing about light, beings of light, and modern manifestations of angels. They don't need to rely on someone's account of a saint who lived three centuries ago or more.
. People today are experiencing the sort of miracles that the church would not acknowledge just a few short years ago. People even claim to be out of their bodies - can you imagine! Doctors, social philosophers, and religionists are now studying the question: Were they really out of their body, or was this some sort of mind trip?
. Someday people will even get used to the fact of Soul Travel. This goes beyond astral travel and mind travel, the common teachings of psychic groups. Generally, astral travel takes the individual to the next plane closest to the earth, the Astral Plane, which is the plane of emotion - the area where emotions originate. Some of the more spiritually advanced people can go on the mental areas with mind travel. This sort of travel can take them to the lower Mental Plane, which is the Causal Plane; then to the true Mental Plane; and finally to the high area of the Mental Plane, which is the Etheric Plane.
. But only Soul Travel, which is the care and teaching of the ECK Masters, can take you to the Soul Plane.




Sri Harold Klemp
The Mahanta the Living ECK Master
How to survive spiritually in Our Times

Everybody knows that God is love. It's very easy to say. But if people who say they believe this principle would hold to it and practice it in their everyday lives, this would be a better world.
. This is the main divine law of all laws: Simply, God is Love.
. The second of the two great laws is: Soul exists because God loves It. And that's it.



Sri Harold Klemp
The Mahanta the Living ECK Master
How to survive spiritually in Our Times

Self-discipline is an absolute necessity if one is
to have a productive spiritual life. Replace old
tastes and preferences with new, better ones.
But do it in the name of the Holy Spirit, with
love and a sincere heart, or nothing will come of
this experiment.


—Harold Klemp
The Language of Soul

Briefly, the Law of Attitude goes like this. It is the corrected felling and pictures you carry in your mind constantly. If you decide to take a picture with a camera - let's say of a tree - and do so, you view the pictured tree in the viewfinder. After a few days you get the pictures back from the camera shop, and you are not surprised to find that it's really a picture of a tree you took.
. This is, simply, the same way life works. When we think, when we image something in our minds, we are sighting pictures in the viewfinder of the mind. The thought vibrations within us will deal with the exposed films we have made and presently the finished picture comes into visibility in our lives. It's as simple as that.



The Flute of God
Sri Paul Twitchell

Go OUTSIDE the Box

The toughest job of the Mahanta, the Living ECK Master has to do with changing the incentives of a truth seeker. People are born into the world of material goods. This world has certain values. Pay homage to these values, and everything goes along better than not. But if you want to find truth, sometimes you find the tide is going against you.
. The inclination is to follow the path of pleasure and avoid the one of pain. It stands to reason. If people have a choice of walking barefoot on a gravel road or a grassy lawn, most would pick the grassy lawn. I would.
. Yet when it comes to the search for truth, you've got to go outside the box. You've got to go outside the area that other people are afraid to go beyond. This doesn't mean you have to talk about your inner life to others. It means everyone owes it to himself to try new things spiritually.
. If something is boring you, if you've become tired in your teaching, if it's become nothing more than a comfortable routine, it could be a sign of spiritual stagnation.
. So the Master's got to give the truth seeker a new incentive.



Sri Harold Klemp
The Mahanta the Living ECK Master
How to survive spiritually in Our Times

. INCENTIVES


. Two cowboys were riding in the desert. They got into an argument. Each said he had the slower horse, and they bet ten dollars on it. They said their goal would be the next water hole. An hour later they were still there in the desert. Neither had moved his horse one step. Each was afraid to lose the ten- dollar bet.
. Along road an old cowboy. He came up, stopped, dismounted, and said, "Hello, there. What are you two doing sitting up there?" The two cowboys got off their horses and explained the problem to him. They told him about the bet.
. The old cowboy thought for a moment. Then he whispered two words to each of them. They immediately jumped on the horses and took off for the water hole.
. And what did the old cowboy whisper? "Switch horses."
. The old cowboy changed their incentive. And that's my job - in some way to help you change your spiritual incentive. Actually, it's to change your incentive from material to a spiritual one. I wish it were as easy as just saying, "Switch horses." It's not quite as focused as that - but nearly.
. The way to change your spiritual incentive is through the Spiritual Exercises of ECK.
. You can use any method, from whatever religion you're in, to go to the quiet place within your heart. Go there and be still. Just be still. Don't go there and numb God's ears with a list of requests and demands. God knows what's good for you without your little point of view, with your materialism, and deciding what's better or worse.
. Just go to that quiet place and listen. Listen to the divine Voice of God. The Voice of God is the Holy Spirit. That's the answer to the great mystery of what the Holy Spirit is. It's simply the Voice of God. It's so simple - as simple as God is love.




Sri Harold Klemp
The Mahanta the Living ECK Master
How to survive spiritually in Our Times

Once the Holy Spirit grants us Its blessings, how
often do we remember to acknowledge them?
Acknowledgment is done through gratitude,
which keeps our hearts open to love.



—Harold Klemp
The Language of Soul

Happiness is not a matter of how your outer life
appears to someone else. Happiness is a state
of consciousness.



—Harold Klemp
The Language of Soul

Soul Travel

. Soul Travel is an individual experience, a realization of survival. It is an inner experience through which comes beauty and love of all life. It cannot be experienced in rituals and ceremonies, nor bottled in creeds.


. The Shariyat-Ki-Sugmad
. Book One


. You Are Soul
. The traditional concept of Soul is that you have one, but It is distant from your everyday life and becomes important only when your physical body ceases to exist. The ECKist believes, however, that each person is Soul and that Soul is the essential and permanent center of our being. It can never be lost.
. The pressures of the modern world make it easy to forget who we are. Our physical senses and emotions Become overwhelmed, and we lose Soul's spiritual view. Regaining this view is called Soul Travel. And Soul Travel is accomplished by practising the Spiritual Exercises of ECK on a daily basis. In ECKankar, you learn to prove spiritual truths yourself through personal experience.



ECKANKAR Ancient Wisdom for Today
Sri Harold Klemp
The Mahanta the Living ECK Master

Many people experience Soul Travel as an expansion of awareness and knowingness: an inner nudge to call a friend, or seeing beyond your current difficulties to deeper meaning. Others may have dramatic experiences full of spiritual majesty.
. A Classic Soul Travel Experience

. "A single pinpoint of white light appeared in the depths of the dark universe before me. It was far off in the distance but exploded toward me at a fantastic speed, like a brilliant sun racing from the other side of the universe to swallow me in the hotness of its light. Now I flew toward it, like a tiny dot of light racing to meet a planet of unspeakable radiance."
. Harold Klemp recounts this classic Soul Travel experience in his book Autobiography of a Modern Prophet. It occurred while he was in training to become the Living ECK Master. On this visit to the God Worlds accompanied by the ECK Master Rebazar Tarzs, he would learn how the ECK helps people with burdens of the heart. Harold continues:
. "It was like flying into the sun, passing through a curtain of light, and coming out on the other side to a world of gorgeous colors. I hung suspended in space, a splendid light ( the glorious Soul body) of seeing, knowing, and being.
. Below me lay the dazzling white sands of a beach, with a multiplicity of blue-and-green ocean waters; the waves washed mildly upon the sand. Small birds ebbed and flowed with the tide, mirroring the give-and-take of life. The bright blue sky was unclouded by haze of any kind. This must be heaven, I thought.
. "In the next instant, I was atop a high cliff overlooking the ocean. How can one describe the perception of Soul, since, despite this great height, it was possible to see and hear as if my feet were walking in the warm sands of the beach below?
. "Look, in the distance! Commanded a deep baritone voice beside me.
. "Startled, I looked around. It was Rebazar Tarzs, the Tibetan ECK Master, who no doubt was my benefactor in providing this trip to a most beautiful heaven of God. Gripped in his powerful right hand was a stout walking staff of shoulder height. With his left, he pointed far down along the beach, where two dark figures were walking.




ECKANKAR Ancient Wisdom for Today
Sri Harold Klemp
The Mahanta the Living ECK Master

Worry less, know More Love, Feel Energized,
. Change Bad Habits


. What can Soul Travel do for you? The benefits are both subtle and far - reaching. When you realize through personal experience that you live beyond the physical body, you are released from the fear of death. You worry less. When you realize through experience that you are a creative part of a loving God, you invite more love into your life. You feel less lonely or alienated. When you realize through experience that your life has a spiritual purpose, you will feel energized.
. When filled with the excitement and joy which comes with these spiritual experiences, you are more able to change the habits of the past. Instead of exerting willpower or fighting deprivation, you may find old habits often just drop away.
. ECKankar teaches that Soul is a happy being. It is not guilty of anything. It is the cause of all Its circumstances. This shifts the emphasis from blaming others to going within to find root causes. And with this newfound strength it is often easier to serve others and not be so concerned with your own limitations.



ECKANKAR Ancient Wisdom for Today
Sri Harold Klemp
The Mahanta the Living ECK Master

No two people are alike. Each has an agreement
with life that is unlike any other. Learn love,
patience, and grace, because they are the way
to find harmony.
Finding peace is a big part of your spiritual life.


—Harold Klemp
The Language of Soul

. Dreams

. Dreams touch every level of our life. They may let us glimpse the future, or give suggestions for healing, or share insights into our relationships. Above all, they can and will steer us more directly toward God.

. Sri Harold Klemp
. The Art of Spiritual Dreaming


. . Soul Never Sleeps

. Soul never sleeps. It is a unit of awareness. While the body sleeps, the consciousness of Soul is awake. The memory of this experience is often called a dream.
. Dreams are as real and vivid as the waking state. They simply occur on a different plane of existence. The reason so many of our dreams are confusing is that our memory becomes distorted. Upon waking, the dream experience is run through the dream censor, a function of our own mind, and we remember only pieces of the event. Or the dream is camouflage with symbols because of our discomfort or lack of understanding.



ECKANKAR Ancient Wisdom for Today
Sri Harold Klemp
The Mahanta the Living ECK Master

. The Mahanta Is the Dream Master


. The Mahanta, the inner form of the Living ECK Master, is the Dream Master. One way he guides his spiritual students is through their dreams. He uses the dreams of an individual to help work out karma and to impart spiritual understanding. The goal of an ECKist is to move at will between the outer, or physical, world and the inner spiritual worlds. This can be done via the Spiritual Exercises of ECK and by the conscious use of dreams.



ECKANKAR Ancient Wisdom for Today
Sri Harold Klemp
The Mahanta the Living ECK Master

When you get out of the habit of listening, the
voice of Divine Spirit becomes weaker and
weaker. Not because It is speaking in a quieter
voice, but because you have turned down the
volume control on the inner instrument of Soul.


—Harold Klemp
The Language of Soul

. . Dreams Helps Us in Daily Life



. The following story, taken from Harold Klemp's book The Eternal Dreamer, is a delightful example of how dreams can help us in our daily lives. Dreams can give us symbols to work with, and they can give an opportunity for Soul-to-Soul communication.
. Once a couple bought a horse they named Sid. Their plan was to train the horse, and when it reached a certain age, they would resell it. Of course, it never occurred to them to wonder what Sid thought of all this.
. About a year later, the husband had an unusual dream in which he found himself entering a crowded bar. Seeing one unoccupied table, he went over and sat down. A man came over and introduced himself. "Hi," he said. I'm Sid, your horse.
. The dreamer thought this was the funniest thing he'd ever seen. "My horse in a dream in a dream, looking like a man," he said. "This is wild."
. The only thing that bothered him about the dream was that this man had a tooth missing, whereas his horse did not.
. The dreamer and his horse got to talking. Sid said, You know I love you and your wife. I'd like to stay with you. I've never had owners like you before who could Soul Travel and meet with me in the dream state so we could talk things over.
. Sid, he asked, I notice you've been limping on one of your hind legs. Is something wrong?
. I'm having a problem with that foot, said Sid. It's just a minor thing, but if you can get a farrier to trim my hoof, I could walk better. And they continued talking.
. When the man awoke and told his wife about the dream, they shared a good laugh over it. She thought the part about the missing tooth was really hilarious.
. Later that morning as they walked to the stable, they saw a crowd around Sid's stall. The ECKists rushed over, concerned for the welfare of their horse.
. The owners saw a little bit of blood on the door of the stall, but Sid seemed to be all right. The husband put a halter on the horse and led him outside. If you plan to ride him, just don't put a bit in his mouth, one of the grooms advised him. Your horse somehow got his mouth caught on the door lock, and his tooth broke off.
. Husband and wife looked at each other. The missing tooth in your dream, she said. Without another word, they leaned over to check the horse's hind foot. Just as Sid had said in the dream, his hoof needed trimming.
. The Dream Master, the Mahanta, sometimes adjusts the dream state so that one Soul may communicate with another, whatever Its form. Since the man might have totally discounted a dream about a talking horse, the Master changed the image to one the dreamer could accept. This is just one of the ways the Dream Master works.




ECKANKAR Ancient Wisdom for Today
Sri Harold Klemp
The Mahanta the Living ECK Master

. . Dreams Help Spiritual Unfoldment


. Dreams play an important role in spiritual unfoldment. They are a look into the heavenly worlds. In many cases, the dream becomes a teaching tool. An ECKist is always interested in learning, and the dream can be a message about reaching a higher consciousness. In dreams our personalities, with their fears and desires, are exposed for us to look at. We admit things to ourselves in dreams which we would be unable to be honest about in our waking state.



ECKANKAR Ancient Wisdom for Today
Sri Harold Klemp
The Mahanta the Living ECK Master

. Karma Can Be Resolved in the Dream
. . State


. Karma, or past spiritual debts, can be resolved in the dream state. The purpose of karma is to open our consciousness and teach us a spiritual lesson. If we are able to learn a spiritual lesson by having the experience in a dream, we'd have little need to repeat the experience while awake. The main requirement is that we continue our spiritual growth.
. This can save a great deal of wear and tear on our bodies. For instance, the Mahanta, the Inner Master, could move the experience of an automobile accident from the Physical to the Astral Plane, allowing the experience to happen during a dream. It could still be a frightful experience, but much easier to handle there than here.



ECKANKAR Ancient Wisdom for Today
Sri Harold Klemp
The Mahanta the Living ECK Master

. Dream Symbols Are Individual


. Many people claim the images and symbols we have in dreams are common to everyone and can be easily interpreted. You can find books in your local library telling you water means this or horses mean that. The dream teaching of ECKankar do not follow such a simplistic model.
. In ECK, each person is a unique individual. Therefore, the dream symbols used by each person are also unique. Swimming in a river may well have a different meaning for one person than it would for another. The key for the dreamer, then, is to go within and determine what each of these symbols may mean. This can even become a type of spiritual exercise.



ECKANKAR Ancient Wisdom for Today
Sri Harold Klemp
The Mahanta the Living ECK Master

. Dream Characters Represent Aspects
. . Of the Dreamer


. The plot and characters in dreams are not always significant in themselves. A chilling nightmare can hold a very uplifting message for the dreamer. For the most part, though, the characters in a dream represent the dreamer himself. These are keys to understanding who we are and what our purpose is. ECKankar explains that we are to look for a positive message when trying to understand the meaning of our dreams. The Dream Master is always working for your benefit.

. . There are many levels of Dreaming


. There are many levels of dreaming. If the dreamer becomes aware that he is in a dream, he may be able to take control of the experience. The dreamer may call upon the Mahanta and request spiritual instruction. Or the dreamer may choose to visit a Temple of Golden Wisdom on one of the other planes. In these cases, the experience can become more Soul Travel than dreaming.




ECKANKAR Ancient Wisdom for Today
Sri Harold Klemp
The Mahanta the Living ECK Master

. Dreams Can Prophesy


. There are also dreams of prophecy. You can view life from above the normal track of time and get a glimpse of the future. It is best, however, to restrict your use of prophecy to your own personal life. The opportunity for misunderstanding the symbols is great. If you dream of an earthquake and then run to warn your friends of the upcoming cataclysm, it would probably be embarrassing when nothing happens.
. Such a dream, more likely, is foretelling a personal shift, perhaps indicating the approach of a sudden change in circumstances or consciousness. The dream may indeed be prophetic, but you could miss the real meaning.



ECKANKAR Ancient Wisdom for Today
Sri Harold Klemp
The Mahanta the Living ECK Master

. The Purpose of Dreams Is to Bring the Individual Closer to the Light and Sound of
. God


The ultimate purpose of dreams is to bring the individual closer to the Light and Sound of God. In this way, dreams have the same purpose as life itself. The Mahanta can communicate in a dream with the new student who has not yet been able to open his conscious mind to the Inner Master.
. A dream is a step on the path of spiritual unfoldment. It can also be an inspiration to the average person, as in Soul Travel. All things are possible. Life is no longer a mundane, random experience.



ECKANKAR Ancient Wisdom for Today
Sri Harold Klemp
The Mahanta the Living ECK Master

. . Karma

. The universality of the Law of Karma is one of the chief factors which binds life together, and not only human life but animal, plant, and mineral life as well. All these compose one big family, with a complicated and inseparable history and an inseparable karma.
. . The Shariyat-Ki-Sugmad
. . Book One

. Sir Isaac Newton was twenty three years old when he watched an apple fall to the ground in his mother's orchard. The apple never really hit him on the head. It did, however, support his theory of universal gravitation.
. At the time, in 1665, Sir Isaac had also just formulated his three laws of motion, one of them being that for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.
. Newton's explanation are usually applied to the interaction of physical forces and objects. However, the same action/reaction principle applies to the forces of emotion and thought.



ECKANKAR Ancient Wisdom for Today
Sri Harold Klemp
The Mahanta the Living ECK Master

. The Law of Karma Is Scientific and
. . Logical

. The Law of Karma is scientific and logical. It is the spiritual form of the physical Law of Cause and Effect. Every action creates an equal and opposite reaction. The Law of Karma helps us understand the effect of our actions. The process helps Soul mature. The law's purpose is to teach love and to uplift, not to punish.
. Karma applies itself in the most exacting and clever of ways. If we deprived another human being of freedom in a previous lifetime, we'd probably have our freedom curtailed in this life. This experience would give us time to reconsider our views and learn the Law of Love.


ECKANKAR Ancient Wisdom for Today
Sri Harold Klemp
The Mahanta the Living ECK Master

The further you go in the spiritual life, the
greater becomes the responsibility. And the
greater the responsibilities become, the greater
becomes the need for self-discipline.


—Harold Klemp
The Language of Soul

. Understanding Karma Can Liberate
. Us from Being a Victim

. Once we accept the Law of Karma in our lives, we are liberated from being the victim. We begin to see underlying spiritual causes and act accordingly. Problems become opportunities for spiritual growth.
. Karma differs from fate or destiny because it encourages us to take an active role in life. The Law of Karma requires the spiritual seeker to follow the highest code of ethics. The rules are simple. ECKankar is not a passive path to God.



ECKANKAR Ancient Wisdom for Today
Sri Harold Klemp
The Mahanta the Living ECK Master

. You Can Be Free of Karma

. When you achieve the exalted state of Self-Realization, you'll still be held accountable for your actions in your daily life. However, you will have worked off the karma built up from past lives. And when you finish your mission in this life, unless you choose to come back to this plane to teach or to serve, you need not return.
. Perhaps you will maintain this expanded consciousness throughout your lifetime. Perhaps you'll hold on to it for only a moment at a time. You will learn, however, that there is always a risk of losing the 360-degree viewpoint. You earn each step toward God Consciousness moment to moment.
. Most ECKist want to be free of karma. They would like to balance their karmic account by the end of their present lifetime. The Mahanta helps them do this. By practicing the Spiritual Exercises of ECK, they drop attitudes and habits binding them to the past. They can fulfill their spiritual destiny without having to be reborn. Thus they are freed from endless rounds on the Wheel of the Eighty Four. The ECKist calls this spiritual liberation.



ECKANKAR Ancient Wisdom for Today
Sri Harold Klemp
The Mahanta the Living ECK Master

. Karma Metes Out Perfect Justice

. The Law of Karma metes out perfect justice. This is reassuring in a world which can appear to be unjust. One duty of the ECKist is to show compassion and kindness to all, regardless of their position on the spiritual ladder. We are all on a spiritual journey together.
. Our suffering is not always punishable for past actions. There are many subtle processes at work. If you experience fear and persecution in a past life, you may still carry these feelings in your psychic memory. You may experience unwarranted fear and anxiety in your current life. These fears may persist until you remember the eternal nature of Soul and surrender your concerns to the Holy Spirit.


ECKANKAR Ancient Wisdom for Today
Sri Harold Klemp
The Mahanta the Living ECK Master

. . We Are Responsible

. ECKankar teaches us to be responsible. On a physical level, this means we make every effort to support ourselves. On a spiritual level, this means we earn our own state of consciousness.
. This seems illogical if we view only one life at a time. In a single life we suffer or are blessed for no apparent reason. God seems arbitrary and random. The ECK principle of spiritual responsibility makes more sense as we accept the principles of Karma and reincarnation. Reincarnation teaches that we are born again and again until we learn the spiritual lessons of life. The Law of Karma ensures that we link our behaviour with its inevitable results. We reap in one life what we have sown in another.
. If we impede the development of another human being, we will incur a karmic debt. By our actions, it's clear we haven't yet learned the Law of Love. The debt will have to be paid, and a lesson will have to be learned. The suffering which may follow is not the act of a vengeful God. We are just reaping what we have sown. It is the loving God which helps each Soul develop Its highest spiritual potential through experience.
. Perhaps the most serious of Karmic infractions is to misuse spiritual power for personal gain. History brims with examples of those who used psychic insight for personal advancement. False teachers have incurred a debt to their followers and at some point, that debt must be paid.



ECKANKAR Ancient Wisdom for Today
Sri Harold Klemp
The Mahanta the Living ECK Master