So, we’re enrolling in a school where we begin in the third dimension and graduate in the fourth dimension. What exactly does that mean? Is the University of Spirituality some sort of magical school that transports us into the fourth dimension upon graduation? What exactly is the fourth dimension anyway?

It is only natural for us to want to know more details about a school and its programs prior to enrolling and these are just a few valid curiosities that the potential student might have in mind. The University of Spirituality is, in a sense, a magical school, but it doesn't perform magic for you nor does it transport you to the fourth dimension upon graduation. The University of Spirituality seeks to advance spiritual oriented education to enlighten and encourage prospective students to learn the basic fundamentals of what life experience and their own spiritual potential are all about. The role served by the University of Spirituality therefore is one of guidance to help you teach yourself to perform your own magic. The magic referred to here is light energy permeating your spirit that is empowered by your soul. This ‘light magic’ can do wondrous things for you, including transporting you to the fourth dimension and beyond. For now, it is wise for us to remain grounded for a while until we learn much and experience even more. Besides, transporting ourselves to the fourth dimension may not be what we currently envision, especially when our reality is partially molded by watching too many science fiction programs and our desire is to escape third dimensional living. We’ll dive into this topic shortly and take a look at a few examples

The Earth is in the midst of an incredible transition. We are faced with enormous problems such as growing population, food and water shortages, pollution and environmental concerns, global warming and energy are issues that affect everyone. Humanity is being challenged at an unprecedented scale. One thing is certain. There is plenty of action being taken straight from the heart to solve these problems and many more hearts are necessary. Engaging in action to help solve these challenges is nothing short of wondrous. We are seeing small miracles happening every day and whether one realizes it or not, a profound example of service in the name of God and Good at its best.

As a potential student of spirituality, we ask you to consider thinking about the global transition from a different vantage point. Instead of looking at the transition from the perspective of physical interaction, let’s view it from the perspective of mental interaction. We would also ask you to consider the following suggestion. You have the ability to influence a more positive outcome for the transition with your mind. This positive influence applies to both the individual and global transition because individual efforts collectively affect global changes. Let’s continue.

There is a shift of grand per portion looming on the horizon. The shift is one of moving from a third dimensional state of mind to a fourth dimensional state of mind. We emphasize the shift as one of a state of mind because any change that ever takes place must occur first within the mind long before the change manifests into the physical arena of life. Sure, we are seeing a host of problems being solved through the collaborative efforts of many players, but something has to happen prior to action taking place. Inspiration, stimulation, visions, ideas and good willed intentions, combined with planning, negotiation, unification and collaboration are all examples of the Love of the Holy Spirit doing its invisible work in and through the core of the individual.

The shift is therefore one centered in consciousness and heightened awareness is the key to understanding the shift, both on a global and a individual scale. Heightened awareness means, quite simply, being much more aware of what is going on within your individual reality. Perception slowly clears and the interactive guidance of the newly befriended soul is acknowledged as reality instead of fantasy. Your inner sense faculties begin to mature in a spiritually oriented way. As you become more aware of what’s going on within your individual reality, you also begin to better understand and accept the spiritual building process taking place. Something else extraordinary also happens. Not only is a new relationship being stirred between you and your newly befriended soul, but you also begin to slowly gain insight as to what is going on in the world around you. Perception changes and you relate to the world differently than you had previously. You begin to question why so many negative actions are carried out on the global front, including your own, and what the result of those actions accomplishes. Thought streams of an uncertain future arise and you begin to wonder why you never ‘reflected’ in such a concerned manner before. What on earth is happening? This is just a taste of the individual mind becoming enlightened to and coming to terms with the multifaceted aspects of human morality. The mind is in the early stages of awakening to spiritual maturity as exemplified in the following passage by Plato.

A mature spiritually oriented consciousness
has the capacity to distinguish truth from
mere fantasy and appearance, propaganda from
truth, to recognize stories as stories--and to
develop out of infantile illusions. He or she
recognizes that a myth or allegory is something
that has a hidden, deeper, or underlying meaning
and effect. The mature, awakened mind possesses
an exceptional capability of self-awareness and to
distinguish between an ordinary delusional -
sleeping - dreaming mode of consciousness,
including the associated mental & emotional
pitfalls. The spiritually matured mind engages in
the ‘witness’ aspect of perception that allows it
to stand apart and observe, ascertaining what is
going on from a higher position of attentiveness.

Let’s look at an example of how the spiritually oriented consciousness might react to a story. The premise behind the Da Vinci code is that the Holy Grail is not the cup that held the blood of Jesus Christ, but rather a woman whose lineage is tied directly to Mary Magdalene. According to the story, Mary Magdalene was Jesus’ wife and gave birth to his daughter after he was crucified. The lineage of the daughter has been secretly followed and protected for many centuries. Whether the story is within the realm of plausibility is of secondary consideration, although the Holy Grail in the shape of a woman instead of a cup seems much more realistic than the legends that have sprung out of King Arthur’s quest.

The Da Vinci code also suggests that the legend behind the cup was actually cooked up by the Catholic Church and used as a front to cover up the truth that the Holy Grail is a woman. Considering the church hierarchy has been historically dominated by men, if the truth were ever revealed that the Holy Grail is a woman, heaven forbid! The foundations of the church would be shattered into a huge pile of testosterone rubble!

How might the spiritually orientated consciousness react to the story? First and foremost, this of course depends on individual perception. Second, the spiritually orientated mind must, by the nature of the awakening process itself, go through various steps before reaching maturity. The first step is being open minded enough to even consider that alternative possibilities exist. Successive steps would involve considering what those alternative possibilities might be and the film accomplishes this very well. In turn, regardless of whether or not the story is true, the entire scenario stimulates the mind to consider possibilities other than what has been indoctrinated on the public by the church for so many centuries. Many earnest followers of Christianity take the word of the church as literal truth and would have a tough time even considering a different view of history.

Continuing to use the premise behind the Da Vinci code and assuming an open mind, let’s take things a few steps further and consider alternative possibilities. The conclusion of the Da Vinci code leads us to believe that a woman is the last surviving person in the blood lineage of Mary Magdalene. Let’s de-emphasize for a moment ‘blood lineage’ and consider the reality of not only our teachings, but any teachings of a deep metaphysical nature. Blood lineage is playing solely to the physical characteristics of the human body. Therefore, such beliefs are limited to third dimensional thinking. In other words, the Holy Grail has shifted from the cup that held the blood of Christ to a person who is supposedly the last surviving person of the blood lineage of Christ. Assuming an open mind, we might consider this plausibly, but the potential drawback is that we still find ourselves chasing after a scenario two thousand years in the past.

The potential student aspiring to a higher ‘spiritually matured mind set,’ considers ‘alternative possibilities,’ including this one. Spiritual development cleanses, renovates and transforms all physical characteristics, both external and internal, which includes blood. Any proposed relationship to Christ means absolutely nothing because God created us all with equal potential to grow spiritually. The Spiritual building process is carried out through the soul. We all possess the innate ability to exercise our potential.

We are not voicing our opinion as to whether the story behind the Da Vinci code is true or not. We do not know and there is no way that we could know. The only ones who know for sure are the key people who played their roles in the respective scenario so long ago. In which case we’ll probably never know. It would, however, seem rather ironic if we didn't even ‘consider’ the story as ‘possible’ considering some of the words of wisdom spoken onto us by Jesus himself. Did not Jesus make such remarks inferring the same? Jesus said

Death is the greatest enemy we shall over come.
And greater things shall ye do.

The bottom line for sure is that All things are possible with God. We all have the ability to rise above death.

So, are we getting a handle on where the transition from the third dimension to the fourth dimension is taking us? Nowhere, to be sure! When considering that the shift is one centered in consciousness, this means that we are not going anywhere, at least not in a physical capacity. Besides, haven’t you heard what the real process of enlightenment is all about?

Before enlightenment, chopping wood.
After enlightenment, chopping wood.

Incidentally, this is a bit of wisdom to which the student ought to become familiar. You are not going anywhere. We'll emphasize this again. You are not going anywhere and this includes the illusion of ascending to the pearly gates of heaven after the loss of the physical body. The journey of spiritual enlightenment occurs entirely within one’s individual reality, regardless of where you are or in what dimension you exist. In other words, the entire process of spiritual transformation is a journey taken through the maze within the mind. Anything that the body goes through during the process is a reflection of what is happening in the mind. We will get more than our share of exposure to other dimensions, training if you will, that is all part of ‘acclimating the mind,’ which leads us into our next area of discussion.

Some folks familiar with prophetic end time scenarios are convinced that a better life awaits them through the rapture. The modern version of the rapture scenario is the belief that invisible space ships are standing by waiting to beam us up to safety. Escaping the world of third dimensional living through either of these means is little more than projected fantasy and is not the answer. Need we say it again? You are not going anywhere. There is, however, an alternative available to us in the meantime that allows us to regularly go places.

Whether consciously aware of it or not, you have been escaping the world of third dimensional living every night while you sleep. You have been doing this as a child and you are still doing it as an adult. Where do you think imaginary friends get their roots? Otherwise known as the Out of Body Experience, the process occurs when the astral or solar body dislodges from the physical body and traverses through the nonphysical realms of life. A clear and vivid dream should leave little doubt that the experience is much more than an imaginative hallucination, but an actual visit and interaction with the nonphysical realms of life. The more vivid dreams that you have, the more you should believe that the experiences are indeed real.

For those of you who are familiar with OBEs and the nonphysical dream world, these are not indicative of fourth dimensional awareness of which we speak. We do not wish to cast a shadow of doubt regarding the reality of the OBE because they are indeed real. You do traverse through other ‘dimensions’ when engaged in an OBE, but again, this is not fourth dimensional awareness. This may seem a hard concept to grasp so please bare with us. The reason for this is because that while dream and OBEs may appear more lucid and intangible, the structure of the environment itself is often very similar to the environment you experience in the physical world of the third dimension. We seek a higher spiritually oriented state of awareness and we do not acquire this mind set any easier in the intangible dream world than we do in the third dimension. The dream world and OBEs serve as training ground to assist us in developing our spiritually oriented mind set. In this respect, the nonphysical dimension(s) are more of a parallel to the third dimension. In other words, as third dimensional reality evolves to the fourth dimension in an objective, physical capacity, so to will the dream worlds evolve. What this means quite simply is that the environment in which your dream and OBEs occur will get better because those dimensions are reflective of the entities inhabiting them and those who visit them. Just in case you are wondering, you are a regular visitor to these realms now and you will continue to visit them frequently. It is simply a case of becoming more aware of what is going on when you sleep every night.

The more progress we make in pursuing a higher mind set the more spiritual light we assimilate. The lighter we become, the more opportunities we’ll have to visit the fourth dimension and beyond, including a higher aspect of the University of Spirituality while engaged in an OBE. We’ll touch on that a bit more in the Newcomers’ orientation and much more in the Course Work. For now, we wish to emphasize the major theme behind heightened or dimensional awareness. Heightened awareness is the main ingredient of the spiritual building process. As the Building of your New Home within the House of God progresses, heightened awareness increases automatically. Awareness expands and sharpens, allowing you to see the progress that you are making. Undertaking the construction process means that you are creating your own individual reality and exploring the dimensions within yourself. Your individual reality is something that remains with you forever. You also take it with you wherever you wish to go. Life experience becomes better regardless of where you are or what you are doing. Even your dream experiences improve drastically because the new found reality that you have created no longer confines you to the lower realms of demons and dungeons.

Speaking of demons and dungeons, we’re obliged to inform you of the downside of ‘enhanced dimensional awareness.’ You didn't’t assume that this endeavor is all fun and games did you? Remember all of those negative characteristics that surface during the plight of emerging spirituality? The emergence of spirituality is directly related to the ‘quality’ of heightened awareness. In other words, while traversing the path of multidimensional awareness we naturally seek dimensions of love and light. An inherent human tendency is to project a better reality for ourselves. We aspire to the good life and leave the rest behind, but things are not that simple. Before emerging or ascending to a dimension of light and love you must pass through numerous dimensions of demons and dungeons. Regardless of whether or not you wish to acknowledge this rather bleak truth, dark dimensions are part of the world in which we live because we all played a role in creating the world. Even though you may not be personally exposed to the dark and negative atrocities of third dimensional living, these dark energies are interlaced with your subconscious.

It is wise to acknowledge the fact that creating your own reality is a process. It is also wise to acknowledge the trials and tests that lie ahead and the inescapable task of having to face the negative characteristics of yourself. Such characteristics are buried deep within your subconscious and you must face them on all levels as they surface. The characteristics are not so much dimensions per se, but aspects of your personage that have led you to this point in time. When referring to enhanced multidimensional awareness, an inescapable component of the process is facing the aspects of your past. Facing internal barriers always proves difficult, but experiential wisdom and spiritual maturity is always gained through the process of overcoming. In short, you must go back to go forward. Metaphorically speaking, in the case of heightened awareness, you must go down before you can go up. It is wise not to be overly hasty in pursuing the endeavor. Allow the process to occur naturally through your soul and your awareness will slowly rise.

Addressing the topic from one more down to earth, existing in third dimensional reality is one where materialism plays the dominant role in one’s affairs. Greed, power struggles, self-centered motives, not having enough money in the bank, or for that matter, not having enough of anything are common symptoms of a life centered in third dimensional reality. Life is viewed from an objective stand point leaving little room for genuine faith and being provided for in other ways. There is also little understanding of the Spirit of God in the present moment. God is something more for the afterlife. Health of the human species is generally poor which is due to inadequate nutrition and the lack of understanding the spirit - mind - body connection. There are also certain kinds of behaviors associated with third dimensional living. Hostility, violence, resistance, opposition and aggressive behaviors are indicative of a life centered in the third dimension. Such egotistical behaviors result from being overly attached to material possessions and include exploiting people and resources in the name of power and control. The main driving force behind such behaviors is fear and survival of the fittest. The most important commandment of ‘thou shall not kill’ has never been properly understood.

fourth dimensional reality is much more centered in peace, love, cooperation, compassion and spirituality. The love of God and fellow brethren is high on one’s list of values. Acknowledgment of the continuity of life stills fears of the great unknown mystery of passing from the physical body and provides reassurance that our loved ones are cared for wherever they are. Faith in an unseen life force to sustain us tends to simplify life and affords us the opportunity to investigate our purpose and reason for being. The most important commandment of ‘thou shall not kill’ is understood and applied to all life forms as it was originally intended. Animals are no longer looked upon as a source of food and vegetarianism becomes the commonly accepted diet. The spirit - mind - body connection is embraced as basic knowledge and is adopted by all universal health insurance carriers. Life and health conditions improve dramatically as does human longevity. Humans accept full responsibility as guardians of planet Earth by protecting resources and all life. Globalization in a compassionate, noncompetitive way takes center stage.

The University of Spirituality is not so much about enrolling in a school and graduating with a long list of credentials. Enrolling in the third dimension and graduating in the fourth dimension doesn't necessarily mean that you are graduating from the University of Spirituality. The University of Spirituality is only the medium that provides guidance. We hand you the ball. You take the ball, run with it and excel as you will. In fact, it is wise to put ‘graduation’ on the back burner for quite a long time. As children of God, we are students of spirituality for virtually forever. If you are graduating from anything, it is from the old version of you to the new version of you. The new version of you is centered in calm composure and joy coupled with a heightened attentiveness as to what you really want in life. In short, you understand things better. If you are really set on a hat, gown and commencement ceremony, that’s a private matter between you and God.

What will you do while attending the University of Spirituality and pursuing higher dimensional reality? Presumably we anticipate securing a new job to which to apply our new found knowledge and awareness. Remember all of those challenges facing us that we mentioned earlier when discussing the global transition? Well, you will be working, in one way or another, to help solve these problems. Whether engaged in a physical capacity or working from a higher perspective in a role of silent conscious intervention, the result is a profound example of self-sacrifice. A combination of both works well in learning leadership skills in a twofold or multidimensional aspect, so to speak. In other words, you’ll gain valuable experience in learning to lead yourself while interacting with others and you’ll also learn to be led by the Holy Spirit’s direction while engaged in silent communion.

The role of a student of spirituality and higher leaning experience is one of service always. The activities we just provided are only examples of service work in which you’ll be engaged. That is if you aren’t already. In what way you’ll serve is only for you to discover and experience. From helping to house, clothe and feed the poor, to aiding the sick and dying, to singing for the elderly, to experiencing the expressive energies of a dancer, to the inspirational creativeness of a musician, the possibilities are limitless. The benefits of spirituality are helping you to be the best that you can be and serve in the best capacity to which you are suited. If you desire to ascend to the fourth dimension and beyond, service work, in some sort of capacity is required. Whatever you do and whatever company you work for, keep in mind that you are really working for yourself with a renewed sense of awareness and purpose that what you are doing carries meaning. Expanded awareness helps you to accept your situation whatever it is and live more fully in the present moment.

The endeavor of pursuing heightened conscious awareness and enhanced spirituality is open for the student to progress as far as she or he wishes to. This is a divine right based on our God given free will. Self-Mastery is certainly not limited to the fourth dimension, but transcends all dimensions. That may seem like a hard concept to grasp at this early point in familiarization, but it is an example of just how far you can progress. The sky is the limit is quite the understatement.

The world of the fourth dimension is one that humanity creates together through a collaborative effort of consciousness. It begins with each person creating his or her new home and individual reality and branching out from there. The more homes that are built (you) the more influence individual auric energy fields have over the greater neighborhood. Creating this world, we slowly dispense with the old in favor of the new. The old that we are referring to here are the old third dimensional ways that do not work any longer. We no longer wish to see fear centered third dimensional characteristics and associated aggressive behavior patterns of greed, corruption, internal conflict, war and violence that divide cultures and severely limit certain sects of the populace the opportunity to live in equality without having to struggle to meet basic needs.

The New Millennium is all about evolving to a higher state of mind where we are consciously aware of our roots in spirituality. There is no opposition, disease or poverty and people live in cooperation and harmony with each other and the earth itself. This is the world of spirituality. The world of spirituality is one where there are no uncertainties. It is one filled with goodness, peace, compassion, love, security and a flow of abundant prosperity in which everyone naturally partakes We are all in this together.