The question has been asked many times, "How about animals, what part if any have they in the evolutionary scheme?" It has been said that if they did not have a right to existence God would not have commanded Noah to build the ark and save as many as he could from the destruction of the Flood. Perhaps the following expanation regarding the presence of animal life on planet Earth today and the responsibility vested in mankind to assist that life into its own natural beauty and perfection of expression will help in the solution of the vexing problem.

Every form that is manifest in the third dimensional plane is an outpictured idea held in consciousness. Even physical beauty is merely externalized thought. In the first golden ages when mankind chose to accept the responsibility of incarnation on the Earth the angelic, devic and elemental forms were beautiful in the extreme, outpicturing the God image of each one's own archetype which was held in the mind and heart of God Himself. Even the repellant octupus of today was once a lovely golden miniature sun, its tentacles rays of iridescent light, and the oyster and clam of today were once beautiful little fairy forms. These elementals were destined to journey with the mankind of Earth, serving him, obedient to his every direction thruout the long pilgrimmage from eternity to eternity. There was no unpleasant or impure form on the earth before mankind came.

When the first group of souls left the Sun they too outpictured the glory of their own electronic bodies and the physical garments they wore externalized the God image which they remembered clearly in their consciousness. This was a time of great beauty, great happiness and great peace. There was no veil between the inner Presence and the outer mind, and constantly dwelling on the perfection of their own archetype or Presence, absorbing its beauty with their physical sight, enjoying its Presence with their feelings, the pliable substance of elemental life obediently manifested that divine image in man, woman and child. Truly this era was aptly described as the golden age and the peoples' habitation as the Garden of Eden.

As time went on man's attention wavered, he no longer directed the full power of his thought and feeling consciousness to the blueprint, the design of which he was to outpicture. The vision of the God Presence began to fade in his memory, the lines became blurred, the outline distorted, as when one looks at his image thru disturbed water. Then because the consciousness no longer held the true image, the projected form took on a like distortion and the physical bodies of the people outpictured the cloudy concept of divinity which had filmed over, so to speak, the immaculate conception of their own archetype.

In like manner man began to impress the more innocent and childlike consciousness of the elemental forms which absorbed the distorted pictures thru their own sight, hearing and feeling senses, and being obedience incarnate, the elementals took on the characteristics and distortions of their masters. Thus did the beginning of animal life on this planet take place, the innocent elementals--imprisoned in the forms suggested by man's thoughts and feelings and externalized by the degraded will of the human nature into which man had descended--outpictured the various forms of animal life on this planet.

Century after century passed and more of the concentrated qualities of mankind's lower nature became embodied in these innocent animal forms until you had the terrific beasts of the so-called prehistoric ages, such as the dinosaurs, etc. This was the darkest point in the Earth's history. From then on thru the mercy of God began the slow uphill climb in the evolution of man, elemental and beast toward civilization.

There is only one road up for all life and that is thru love. Love is the primal essence, and the development and final attainment of this quality in the individual consciousness are the only means by which any expression of life can be set free. Here and there lifestreams have been found who had generated the qualities of gentleness and love and thus the emancipation of even the elemental kingdom began. Nevertheless mankind in general is held responsible by cosmic law for the degradation and downfall of the elemental and animal kingdoms as they appear today, and before the blame for this blot on life can be lifted from the shoulders of mankind some members of the race must be found with enough justice and charity in their hearts coupled with balance and understanding who are willing to love this life free.

Great men and women as for instance Our Brother Kuthumi in his embodiment as St. Francis of Assissi have loved hundreds and thousands of these imprisoned friends free thru raising their consciousness and natures by both love and association until they were never again required to incarnate in forms less than their divinely natural estate. Some have volunteered at inner levels to assist these kingdoms because of particular indebtedness to their members thru past activities of one kind or another. This does not mean that people should fly off at a tangent and generate undue sentiment regarding these creatures but rather hold a steady balanced middlecourse aspiring to the harmlessness of the Holy Spirit in their relation to all life--expressing, calling on the law of forgiveness for man's selfishness and ignorance. And thru their knowledge of the sacred love of the sacred fire bathe the planet with its teeming life expression in the cosmic fiery consuming flame of freedom's love, thereby helping to raise this innocent life into its former state of freedom.

In certain esoteric orders there have been stipulations prohibiting the presence of animals in the environment of its students. There were several reasons for this, one being that the neophyte was expected to devote his entire attention to his spiritual search, therefore his association with any form of life even that of his own kind was absolutely forbidden during his novitiate.

Many people therefore prefer to eliminate as much as possible any presence human or animal which might adversely affect their own auras, failing to take into consideration the fact that the strength within their own sphere of influence might be the leaven in the loaf of the lesser intelligence. However this is a decision that each freewill acting individual must make for himself, but it would be well for the student to hold in mind that the ultimate achievement of the lifestream is the attainment of perfect love. Therefore the more tolerance and patience he will cultivate toward the innocent expressions that are also struggling up the ladder of evolution, the sooner will he find himself in the heart of God where ALL life is one.

The presence on Earth of any form which is expressing less than perfection should not only be a reproach to man for his remissness in the past but an appeal from the imprisoned life within these forms which interpreted by the merciful reads "Love Thou Me Free."

-The Seventh Ray, 1953, Bridge to Freedom publication