The Creative Thinking

Study Guide
and
Practice Manual
 Additional works by Glen Knape
available from Preparation Press:

How to Serve Humanity

The Ashram of Synthesis

Raising the Queen of Heaven

The Magic of Consciousness - Workshops

The Nature of The Soul Study Guide

Creating the New World Civilization

(coming in 2012)

The Knight of the Temple, Vol. 1

(Volume II coming soon)

The Aquarian Christ

The Temple and The Word

Further information on these and other works is available at:

www.preparationpress.com
The Creative Thinking

Study Guide
and
Practice Manual
by Glen Knape

Preparation Press
Concord, CA
 The Creative Thinking
Study Guide and Practice Manual

by Glen Knape

Ninth edition, 2007

Preparing the way

Preparation Press
Concord, CA, USA
Copyright © 2012 by Preparation Press

Cover Art: by Lucette Bourdin, http://www.lbourdin.com/

ISBN 978-0-9834188-4-9 $29.95

 Foreword

Some of the comments in the published works of Lucille Cedercrans suggest that
Creative Thinking was originally intended to be part of the preparatory curricula of a
School of The Wisdom. It appears that this School was to function at the heart of a group
effort to train and educate various types of practitioners of The New Thought-form
Presentation of The Wisdom (The Wisdom).

When the greater group alignment indicated that a sufficient body receptive to The
Wisdom had developed in a geographic region, a team or triangle of three practitioners
would volunteer to move to that region and take up the group work there. The courses
offered by a teaching triangle would range from basic, introductory lectures to Creative
Thinking, The Soul and Its Instrument, The Nature of The Soul, and related additional
works.

Students needing more advanced training, in any of a broad spectrum of professions

(leadership, healing, teaching, business, organization etc.), could find it at the School,
where they would receive instruction and be guided into the practice of The Wisdom in
their profession.

The versions of Creative Thinking (C.T.) used by the teachers and available to the general
public were not to include any techniques. Instead, it appears that the teachers were to
have a collection of techniques they could draw on, and would be able to design and
assign techniques, as needed by each particular group of students. This would have
helped C.T. remain a living course, necessarily adapted by the teacher each time it was
taught.

However, for whatever reason, this did not happen. The majority of the curriculum
remains overshadowing, and the School has not yet been reflected into appearance. The
loose-leaf editions of Creative Thinking handed out by teachers included a set group of
techniques, and forty years passed before C.T. was published in book form. Conditions
changed remarkably during those forty years, and the meditations of the group which
published the book indicated that all the techniques in the original loose-leaf edition were
to be included in the book.

The book edition of C.T. was published in 1998, and has been followed by Ashramic
Projections, The Disciple and Economy, The Path of Initiation, Leadership Training,
Healing, and Applied Wisdom. Yet, the vast majority of The New Thought-form
Presentation of the Wisdom1 remains overshadowing, awaiting precipitation into forms
that will enable humanity to receive and embody it.

*The Christian focus and language used throughout the Cedercrans materials, especially
in Creative Thinking, are much more a reflection of the time and place in which those
materials were created, and the people of that time and place for whom they were written.

1
NTFPW or The Wisdom—the teachings of which those works are partial expressions.
Back then, the vast majority of North American’s had received some sort of Sunday
School education in Christian religious principles (myself included). Spiritual meant
religious and the Christian religion was all anyone knew. For instance, there were no
“spirituality” sections in book stores, only “Religion” and “Philosophy.” Thus, the
Christian religion was the only doorway available for the NTFPW.

This changed over the next twenty or thirty years, but it was not until the 80’s or 90’s that
large chain bookstores opened “Spirituality” sections.

Lucille felt at home in Tibetan Buddhism, and in the late 1970’s she founded what
became the first, independent Buddhist center in North America. Thus, the Christian
language in C.T. reflects the orientation of the students for whom it was written, not that
of Lucille.

As mentioned before, when that terminology is used it often means something quite
different from what is usually meant in Christian circles. In addition, the use of that
terminology wanes as we proceed in C.T., and build new concepts and language. In the
meantime, the use of that language can give the lessons an outdated sound in our ears--as
though it is something we have grown beyond. However, it is still aligned with and
embodies a portion of the Wisdom of this Aquarian age, and can unlock that Wisdom for
us if we allow it to do so.

In an effort to help students understand and embody The Wisdom, the author created this
“study guide” for Creative Thinking classes, study groups, and individual students. Each
time he taught the course, he aligned with The Wisdom and revised the study guide for
that particular group of students. Thus, the guide grew, shrank, and morphed through the
years as its contents were revised, cut, and expanded. The present edition, the ninth, was
prepared for a class that was taught online from February 2011 through January 2012.

Overshadowing this guide from the beginning was the awareness that it would eventually
need to be made available to all Creative Thinking students. That time has finally come.

Namaste,

Glen Knape
 Table of Contents
Lesson Page
Foreword V
Intro. “Foundational Concepts for Contemplation” 1
1 “Beginning Stages of Soul Definition” 11
2 “The Trinity in Relationship to Humanity” 19
3 “Rebuilding the Instrument of the Persona” 27
4 “The Divine Plan and First Ray Energy” 39
5 “The Seven Rays and The Right Use of Will” 47
6 “The Question of Identity and the Second Ray” 65
7 “Second Ray as It Impacts the Instrument” 71
8 “Third Ray as It Impacts the Instrument” 83
9 “Prerequisites to Conscious Form Building” 91
10 “The Soul as It Relates to the Holy Trinity” 101
11 “The Trinity as It Relates to the Persona” 111
12 “Application and Embodiment of Truth” 119
13 “The Nature of the Etheric Body” 127
14 “The Ray Constitution of Man and Effects of Fourth Ray on 179
the Instrument”
15 “The Fourth Ray and the Ashramic Group Life” 193
16 “Fifth Ray and the Sequential Unfolding of the Divine Plan in 211
Time and Space”
17 “Fifth Ray Related to Evolution and Initiation” 223
18 “The Sixth Ray of Devotion and Ideation” 237
19 “The Opposites of Sixth Ray and Its Impact on the Instrument” 243
20 “The Incoming Seventh Ray of Divine Law and Order” 257
21 “The Seventh Ray and Ceremonial Magic” 263
22 “Service and Its Relationships to the Ashrams” 277
23 “Creation of the Ashrams and Alignment” 285
24 “The Relationship Between Soul and Persona Rays” 299
25 “Hindrances to the Manifestation of One’s Service Activity” 321
26 “Creative a Body Receptive for Your Service Activity” 331
27 “The Soul’s Ideation of a Plan of Action” 349
28 “The Form’s Role in the Soul’s Use of Magic” 355
29 “The Soul’s Role as Magician and the Breaking and 363
Rebuilding of the Antahkarana”
30 “The Relationship of Air and Earth in the Creative Process” 365
31 “The Relationship of Fire and Water in the Creative Process” 373
32 “Ceremonial Magic or the Manipulation of the Devas of the 387
Lower Four”
33 “The Higher and Lower Interludes Used to Manifest the Form” 399
34 “Problems of the Young Disciple as Ceremonial Magic is First 409
Attempted”
35 “Aligning Devas via the Ceremony of Life” 417
36 “The Soul’s Assessment of Its Instrument” 435
37 “The Science of Right Human Relations as Related to esoteric 455
Mathematics”
38 “The Awakening of Kundalini and the Redemption of Matter” 469
39 “Group Consciousness” 477
40 “Moving From the Hall of Learning to the Hall of Wisdom” 497
Appendix
Course Description 507
Application 508
Expectations 509
Lesson 21 Addendum 511
Bibliography 514
 Student Instructions

Each lesson will unfold over the course of a week, and will include:

An Opening Alignment:

This is a simple exercise performed as you begin each study session. It consists of
relaxing your physical body, calming you emotions, focusing your mind, and turning
your attention and becoming receptive to The Wisdom overshadowing that lesson.

The facilitator or teacher will usually include an alignment at the beginning of each
lesson, so if/when listening to the recordings simply follow along. If /when you are
studying on your own, without a recording, simply perform this alignment on your
own. In either case, every study session should begin with an alignment with The
Wisdom.

First Projection:

While holding the alignment with The Wisdom, and via The Wisdom with the
meaning overshadowing the words, read the entire text of the lesson aloud, without
stopping, without trying to interpret it, but simply standing receptive to the meaning
of the whole lesson.

The teacher will perform, record, and upload the first projection on Sunday morning,
and those who can do so may listen to that. It is suggested that you have the lesson in
front of you (book or loose-leaf version) while listening, and follow along during the
projections.

If you do not listen to the recording, perform the first projection on your own,
preferably in a single session.

Text:

The teacher will upload a copy of the lesson, in PDF format and formatted for 8 ½ x
11 sheets of paper, along with the First Projection.

Second Projection:

While holding the alignment with The Wisdom, and via The Wisdom with the
meaning overshadowing the words, read the text of the lesson aloud, one paragraph at
a time. Stop and contemplate the meaning of each paragraph, and formulate that
meaning into words.

The teacher will perform, record, and upload the second projection on Sunday
morning and/or early afternoon. He will usually pause in the middle to take a break,
dividing the projection into two recordings. [It actually wound up being about six
recordings per lesson.] Those who can do so may listen to those tapes. It is suggested
 that you again have the lesson in front of you while listening, and follow along during
the projections.

If you do not listen to the recording, perform the second projection on your own,
preferably in one or two sessions. Keep a notebook and note any questions you may
have.

Recap:

As you go through the second projection, pick a portion (whatever portion you feel
particularly drawn to, at least a paragraph) and after completing the second
projection, rephrase that portion in your own words. Share your understanding of its
meaning with the group, and, if you can, give an example of that meaning in action.

Discussion:

During the week, share the results of your contemplation (insights and understanding)
of the meaning of the text.

Any questions on the meaning of specific portions of the text should be emailed to the
forum by the end of Thursday (California time). Begin each question with a quote of
the pertinent text and a page and edition reference (ie. p 242 LL or p 410 TB for
“loose leaf” or “textbook”). The teacher will collect those questions, and project and
record responses, and upload those responses in a single recording on Friday.

Some accommodation will be made for getting the answers to those who cannot listen
to the recordings (perhaps a transcription program).

Meditations:

The course includes and is built around a progressive and ongoing series of
meditations. These begin in Lesson 3 and will continue throughout the entire course.
Performing these meditations, as assigned, is required for continued participation in
the course.

The teacher will perform each assigned meditation, and post the recording to the
group. However, the recordings of the meditations are for instruction purposes only.
Students should not listen to those recordings while performing the meditations, as
that would interfere with the actual practice of them.

Each week, every student is encouraged to keep a meditation diary and to send a
private meditation report (indicating which meditations were performed, when, and
noting any observed results) directly to the teacher. Instructions on the format and
content of the reports will be included in the study guide for Lesson 3.
Writing Assignments:

The course includes occasional writing assignments. Some of these will be optional,
and others will be required. Instructions will be included in the study guide for each
lesson in which they appear.

Study Guide:

The study guide for each lesson will be uploaded in two parts. The instructions for the
meditation and written assignments will be uploaded to the forum at the same time as
the lesson. The larger portion, including written comments on the meaning of the
lesson, will be uploaded at the end of the week, a day or two before the next lesson.

The uploads of each lesson will be automatically sent to each member of the class via the
online egroup.

This instruction sheet will be revised and updated as necessary.

Regards,

Glen
 Introductory

Opening Meditation Alignment

[Transcript of Glen’s Introductory Opening Alignment]

Find a comfortable, quiet place to sit where you can listen to this message at a time when
you will not be disturbed.

Keep in mind, if you are new to meditation, that the environment will tend to create
distractions, and it will be necessary to persevere in your meditation efforts by creating a
space and time to meditate until your environment adjusts and becomes accustomed, and
you become accustomed, to including meditation in your life and affairs, and to
accommodating meditating in spite of any internal or environmental distractions.

Once you have found and created a comfortable place where you can sit upright and
listen to these instructions and/or read them, sit upright with your back straight, your feet
flat on the floor, your hands at your side or in your lap (not crossed). They may be
resting on armrests.

Take a deep breath and slowly release it. Take another deep breath and slowly
release it.

Take another deep breath, and as you release it move your awareness into the tips of
your toes.

Slowly, using whatever works for you (warmth, the simple command, a feeling of
tingling), slowly relax the muscles and release the tension in your toes, in your feet, in
your ankles, in your calves, your knees, your thighs, your buttocks and tummy, your
lower back, your upper back, your diaphragm, your chest, relaxing your shoulders,
your fingers and hands, your wrists and forearms, your elbows, and upper arms, your
neck, your jaw, the muscles behind the ears, the muscles of the face, the scalp, and
the muscles behind the eyes.

Take another deep breath, and as you release it, slowly become aware of that place
where you, the conscious, thinking ‘I,’ live or dwell in your body.

Where are you?

As you become aware of that place where you normally reside within the body, lift up
the hand and point to it.

Lower your hand. Take a deep breath, and as you release it, open your eyes.
This is normally the first exercise in a course such as The Nature of the Soul. It
establishes, or helps to establish for you, that you are an identity that dwells someplace in
the instrument. That place where you dwell is not a permanent location. It is a
temporary home. And as we move through The Nature of the Soul we will place
ourselves as the consciousness, as identity, in various locations in the instrument, and
learn how to be in different states of awareness, in different activities, how to be in
relationship with ourselves, and a certain type, and different types of relationships with
other parts of the One Life, and thereby to grow in awareness of our Self, of our place in
and relationship with the larger Life and begin moving towards awareness of our place
and function as a Self, a consciousness, a Soul… and to take up that function within that
one Life.

Having completed this exercise we will now move into the lesson material itself.