9 When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the witness they had borne. 10 They cried out with a loud voice, “O Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long before you will judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?” 11 Then they were each given a white robe and told to rest a little longer, until the number of their fellow servants and their brothers should be complete, who were to be killed as they themselves had been.
Rev 6:9-11
The opening of the fifth seal releases the energies that have been sealed within the brow centre. This is the centre of spiritual vision, and the opening of this centre opens the clairvoyance of the individual. The brow centre can only open after the etheric centre opens. Suppressing the natural clairvoyant vision which we had in much earlier eras turned these energies in on themselves and created new mental and reasoning powers. It also created a new sense of self, which we often call the ego. The ego grabs energy from every centre, especially the etheric centre to support its existence. It also uses the mental energies of the brow centre in a selfish way, so that it perceives the world by projecting its self image onto the world. This means that our ego consciousness, the false self, can only see other people as reflections of itself.
Before spiritual perception can be opened, the astral centre and the etheric centre have to be cleansed. In particular the old energies which were supporting the false self from the etheric centre have to die. When this happens we first see “under the altar those who have been slain for the word of God and for the witness they had borne.” The altar is the self of the individual. It is where we communicate with the divine. Those under the altar are the original clairvoyant energies that were sealed away in former times so that we could become rational, thinking beings. When they are released, we begin to see with real spiritual perception, and what we first perceive is ourself. Rev Mario would say, “When clairvoyance opens, we first perceive self.”
This happens in two stages, which is why the clairvoyant powers have to wait for a time before they will be released into full expression. The first stage is opening the base centre. Here we discover our origin and history as earthly beings. In the second stage we will open the Crown Centre and discover who we are as spiritual beings.
Our journey as spiritual beings is coming to a critical stage. We have descended into earth and become earthly beings. Now we shall turn around, see ourselves as heavenly citizens and begin the long journey back to reclaim our true home in spirit.
The image
El Greco painted this to watch over his own tomb. The upper portion has been destroyed, but we can see the ecstatic figure of St John in the foreground, wrapt in his vision. In the background, naked souls leave behind their old garments and are given the new “white robe”.
Clairvoyance or spiritual perception is an awakening to reality. On the one hand, we are told that “we first perceive self”, and on the other hand we are told the purpose of developing spiritual vision is to see Christ. These two diverging statements are brought together when we realise that when we truly see Self, we perceive the Christ, because Christ is the reality of the Self.
On this day, let us be aware that Christ is not a distant figure, enshrined in a heavenly palace, Christ is right beside us, walking with us. Take time today, to detach from your tasks and cares, and know that Christ is next to you, as close as your heart beat.
Have you noticed when you read the Bible that the key words are mentioned at the beginning of the chapter? The first few words of verses 1 and 2 state, “Now I saw” which means John SAW. He saw the Christ in the midst of this world of ours. In this chapter he writes of the unfoldment of the totality of world history. He says that Christ is in the midst of us but we cannot always see Him as the seer did in times gone by. Now everyone can see Him if they wish. As the seven seals unfold and open, as world history changes, Christ is there. We as a world have never been without the Christ. Before He was born in the manger in Bethlehem, Christ was there. At the end when the Sun, the Moon and the Stars will unite again with this earth, Christ will be there. "I saw" he says. His presence is assured by a man who saw Him, and you can never question the testimony of one who sees.
Rev Mario Schoenmaker, The Book of Revelation, 1983 Lecture Series