This journey of the life forms from world to world has been in progress since the beginning of the present world period, and was made by the lower forms of life as they climbed the spiral stairway of evolution. A writer on the subject has said of this point: "It is the spiral character of the progress accomplished by the life impulses that develop the various kingdoms of Nature which accounts for the gaps now observed in the animated forms which people the earth. The thread of a screw, which is a uniform inclined plane in reality, looks like a succession of steps when examined only along one line parallel to its axis. The spiritual monads, which are coming round the system on the animal level, pass on to other worlds when they have performed their turn of animal incarnation here. By the time they come again, they are ready for human incarnation, and there is no necessity now for the upward development of animal forms into human forms—these are already waiting for their spiritual tenants. But if we go back far enough, we come to a period at which there were no human forms ready developed on the earth. When spiritual monads, travelling on the earliest or lowest human level, were thus beginning to come round, their onward pressure in a world at that time containing none but animal forms provoked the improvement of the highest of these into the required form—the much talked of missing link. * * * The impulse to the new evolution of higher forms is really given by rushes of spiritual monads coming round the cycle in a state fit for the inhabitation of new forms. These superior life impulses burst the chrysalis of the older form on the planet they invade, and throw off an efflorescence of something higher. The forms which have gone on merely repeating themselves for millenniums start afresh into growth; with relative rapidity they rise through the intermediate into the higher forms, and then, as these in turn are multiplied with the vigor and rapidity of all new growths, they supply tenements of flesh for the spiritual entities coming round on that stage or plane of existence, and for the intermediate forms there are no longer any tenants offering. Inevitably they become extinct." The writer above quoted from also points out a very important point in the progress of the life forms from world to world, as follows: "The tide of life—the wave of existence, the spiritual impulse, call it by what name we please—passes on from planet to planet by rushes, or gushes, not by an even continuous flow. For the momentary purpose of illustrating the idea in hand, the process may be compared to the filling of a series of holes or tubs sunk in the ground, such as may sometimes be seen at the mouths of feeble springs, and connected with each other by little surface channels. The stream from the spring, as it flows, is gathered up entirely in the beginning by the first hole, or tub A, and it is only when this is quite full that the continued inpouring of water from the spring causes that which it already contains to overflow into tub B. This in turn fills and overflows along the channel which leads to tub C, and so on. * * * It is manifest from what we have already said, and in order that the progress of organisms on globe A shall be accounted for, that the mineral kingdom will mi more develop the vegetable kingdom on globe A until it receives an impulse from without, than the earth was able to develop man from the ape till it received an impulse from without. * * * The full development of the mineral epoch on globe A prepares the way for the vegetable development, and as soon as this begins the mineral life impulse overflows into globe B. Then when the vegetable development on globe A is complete, and the animal development begins, the vegetable life impulse overflows to globe B, and the mineral impulse passes on to globe C. Then finally, comes the human impulse on globe A. It is necessary at this point to guard against one misconception that might arise. There is a fact to be stated which has such an influence on the course of events, that, when it is realized, it will be seen that the life impulse has passed several times around the whole chain of worlds before the commencement of the human impulse on globe A. This fact is as follows: Each kingdom of evolution, vegetable, animal, and so on, is divided into several spiral layers. The spiritual monads—the individual atoms of that immense life impulse of which so much has been said—do not fully complete their mineral existence on globe A, then complete it on globe B, and so on. They pass several times round the whole circle as minerals, and then again several times round as vegetables, and several times as animals." Now, leaving behind us the consideration of the details of the progress of the lower live forms, let us consider the details of the progress of the human race. It has been seen that the great wave of human life forms flows around the planetary chain in great waves—in successive waves of progress. The successive waves are known by occultists under the name of "rounds." But, according to the rule "As in the great so in the small," we find a corresponding series of spirals in the progress of the human race during each of its several sojourns on the earth. That is to say, an individual soul arriving on earth in one of the rounds does not merely live out its life here, and then pass on to the next planet. On the contrary, it lives a number of lives on this planet, and among several races. There exists a spiral of races in earth life, through which the individual soul must live and work its way. The number of these races is of course seven, for seven is the number manifested in all of the great occult processes of the Cosmos. There are seven great rounds of human progress around the chain of worlds, and in each round there are seven races in which the individual soul must manifest. The present round of the human race is the fourth.

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The Depth. Understand this aright.

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