The Conscious Circle of Humanity, sometimes called the Communion of the Saints, is a realm of service offered to those who seek it.

The Trans-Cerebral Region

“The books comprising [Sacred Book of Thoth] were engraved by ‘perishable hands, but have been anointed with the drug of imperishability’ and remain deposited ‘undecaying through all ages’ in the ‘sanctuary of the everlasting zones’ belonging to Hermes, so ‘that all later ages of the world might seek them…’ They are ‘inscribed’ magically in a region between heaven and earth, close enough to the earth to be reached by the souls of seekers on the earth and to awake in them the spirit of quest through their attraction, and far enough removed, on the other hand, so as never to be seized by cerebral intellectuality, i.e. to be taken hold of, analyzed and exploited by it. 

“The original of the Sacred Book of Thoth is to be found in the ‘trans-cerebral’ region. For this reason it is necessary to seek for it not in crypts, manuscripts or stone inscriptions, nor even in secret societies or fraternities, but rather in the ‘sanctuary of the everlasting zones’ belonging to Hermes. It is necessary to elevate oneself above the zone of cerebral intellectuality, because the ‘sacred books’ were written, according to the Hermetic treatise that we have quoted, before the formation of the brain. They make an appeal—magically effective across time, ‘throughout all ages’—to transcend cerebral intellectuality, and to raise ‘the organisms worthy of them, those that the Creator has named souls’.” Valentin Tomberg, Meditations on the Tarot, p262.

The Origin of the Teachings

“The origin of the Teachings lies beyond life, in the Conscious Circle of Humanity.” Maurice Nicoll, Psychological Commentaries, p67

“The [Wisdom Teachings] origin is the Conscious Circle of Humanity, which in the Gospels is called the Kingdom of Heaven.” Psychological Commentaries, p1613

Maurice Nicoll teaches that esoteric teaching from the Conscious Circle of Humanity never dies, but its various manifestations on earth (religions, schools) do have a lifespan and do pass away. But the esoteric teaching returns. Maurice states that “the Ark riding on the flood of evil refers to this idea. Christ’s parables about the vineyard that might be destroyed refer to an esoteric school of teaching, not to esotericism itself.” Psychological Commentaries, p1744

The Bodhisattva Bandwidth

“The Conscious Circle is an intense zone of Imaginal interchange in which advanced beings on both sides of the form/formless divide join hands across the realms for a mutual exchange of wisdom, tempering, blessing, protection, and occasional course correction. You might look at it as a kind of “bodhisattva bandwidth” in which the best of our human altruism is met and matched from the other side by a sincere compassion for our human predicament and the skillful means to help.” Cynthia Bourgeault, Eye of the Heart, p140

“The Conscious Circle of Humanity consists of a bridge of folks, some living in their earth form, some beyond, some well beyond, who join hands across the divide to create a continuous stream of assistance flowing down, and whatever we hand up of our alchemical transformations going back.” Cynthia Bourgeault, Imaginal Wisdom School 2020, Thursday am teaching 41:30

A Realm of Service

Cynthia says the Conscious Circle is a realm of service, and its help is bestowed “for collective service, not for personal attainment. To aspire to and win a place in this circle is never an attainment—or if so, only for the most spiritually naive. It is a deeper and more binding form of service.” Cynthia Bourgeault, Eye of the Heart, p141

“To the extent that you make the desire to live your life according to world 24 causality in world 48, you join and become part of the Conscious Circle of Humanity, the great chain through which help, guidance, and direction is received on this planet.” Cynthia Bourgeault, Imaginal Wisdom School 2020, Thursday afternoon teaching, 41:30

The Transmission of Wisdom

Maurice is strict about the transfer of Wisdom: “any real teaching coming from the Conscious Circle of Humanity can only exist in a school, and be transmitted orally.” Psychological Commentaries, p246 This is because when the teaching passes into life and is written down, it becomes changed. One reason for this change is that Conscious Man thinks psychologically but mechanical man thinks logically.

Maurice describes the process of “C influences” entering our realm from the Conscious Circle of Humanity and becoming “B influences.” If we sense the resonance, we will be pulled away from the many “A influences” of life toward these rare “B influences.” Maurice notes that in the Work we are studying the language of the Conscious Circle of Humanity together so that it will become our common language. Psychological Commentaries, p247

The Harmonious Development of Centers

“It is only through ideas similar to those of this Work—namely, ideas coming from “C” influences, from the Conscious Circle of Humanity, from those who have reached full internal stature—that the harmonious development of centres is possible. Life-interests alone are bound to lead to one-sided development.” Psychological Commentaries, p73

Your Next Level of Being

Maurice Nicoll says it is no good thinking of things very remote, like getting to the Kingdom of Heaven or the Conscious Circle of Humanity. The Kingdom of Heaven that Jesus refers to is very close to us—”your Kingdom of Heaven, your Conscious Circle of Humanity, is your next level of Being.” Psychological Commentaries, p728

The Incommensurable Attainment

“To attain a degree of consciousness sufficient to reach even the farthest outskirts of the Conscious Circle of Humanity is something incommensurable with anything that life offers.” Psychological Commentaries, p1527 

“We value time highly, but we do not seem to value states. Everything valuable gets swept away by time, but the small amount of awakening you had yesterday should be put into the room of your inner memory, outside of time and arranged vertically in scale of value. Such moments eventually begin to lift us.” Psychological Commentaries, p1528

Living Presence

I have spent so much time with Maurice Nicoll over the past few years—it feels like he has been with me from his perch in the Conscious Circle.

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Logion 18
His student said to him,
"So, tell us, then, what our end and destiny will be?"
Yeshua answered,
"Have you already discovered your origin,
so that you are now free to seek after your end?
It is only at your source that you will find your destiny.
Blessed are those who come to stand
in their place of origination,
for it is there that they will know their end--
never tasting death."

Logion 49 
Yeshua says...
Blessed are those chosen and unified.
The Realm of the Kingdom is theirs.
For out of her you have come,
and back to her you are returning.

Logion 50
Yeshua says...
Suppose you are asked,
"Where have you come from?"
say, "We have come from the Light at its source,
from the place where it came forth
and was manifest as Image and Icon.
If you are asked, "Are you that Light?"
say, "We are its children,
and chosen by the Source, the Living Father."
If you are questioned,
"But what is the sign of the Source within you?"
say, "It is movement and it is rest."

---

Cynthia Bourgeault, Eye of the Heart, Shambhala Publications, 2020
Page numbers for Maurice Nicoll refer to Psychological Commentaries on the Teachings of Gurdjieff and Ouspensky (Eureka Editions:2020) 
All quotations from the Gospel of Thomas are from Lynn C Bauman, Ward J Bauman, Cynthia Bourgeault, The Luminous Gospels (Praxis 2008)

Valentin Tomberg, Meditations on the Tarot, Jeremy Tarcher, 1985

Read the Impression introducing the Gospel of Thomas.

Read the Impression on Meditations on the Tarot.