Daily Meditation: Monday, May 25, 1998

The astral body,1 which in human beings is the seat of …

05/25/1998

The astral body,1 which in human beings is the seat of emotions, of passions, first reveals itself at the beginning of puberty. Before this it is the etheric body that is active, and this ensures the growth and proper development of the child's physical body. The child continues to grow and develop during these years, thanks to the etheric body which has not yet been hampered by the manifestations of the astral body. We often hear parents refer to the ‘awkward age' or an ‘adolescent crisis' to explain the changes they see in their children. These changes are brought on by the awakening of the astral body, which is the source of all these chaotic emotional displays: flashes of anger, feelings of repulsion, mood swings, and so on. These are all exuberant expressions of the astral body which eclipse the activity of the etheric body, and soon the adolescent stops growing. It is cosmic intelligence that desires the development of the astral body because, despite the troubles it may temporarily cause, it will prove to be a source of riches later in life. It is true, however, that the innocence and candour of childhood stem from the fact that the astral body is not yet developed in them. And this explains the words of Jesus: ‘If you do not become as children, you will not enter the kingdom of God.' Children may enter the kingdom of God because they do not yet possess an astral body agitated by passions. But Jesus did not object to human beings becoming adults; he simply wanted them to master their astral bodies, whose desires and demands block their entrance to the Kingdom of God – this world of purity, of crystalline clarity