The middle figure in the Chart represents the  “Holy Christ Self,” who is also called the Higher Self. You can think of your Holy Christ Self as your chief guardian angel and dearest friend, your inner teacher and voice of conscience. Just as the I AM Presence is the presence of God that is individualized for each of us, so the Holy Christ Self is the presence of the Universal Christ individualized for each of us. “The Christ” is actually a title given to those who have attained oneness with their Higher Self, or Christ Self. That’s why Jesus was called “Jesus, the Christ.”

What the Chart shows is that each of us has a Higher Self, or “Inner Christ,” and that each of us is destined to become one with that Higher Self—whether we call it the Christ, the Buddha, the Tao or the Atman. This “Inner Christ” is what the Christian mystics sometimes refer to as the “inner man of the heart,” and what the Upanishads mysteriously describe as a being the “size of a thumb” who “dwells deep within the heart.”

We all have moments when we feel that connection with our Higher Self—when we are creative, loving, joyful. But there are other moments when we feel out of sync with our Higher Self—moments when we become angry, depressed, lost. What the spiritual path is all about is learning to sustain the connection to the higher part of ourselves so that we can make our greatest contribution to humanity.

The shaft of white light descending from the I AM Presence through the Holy Christ Self to the lower figure in the Chart is the crystal cord (sometimes called the silver cord). It is the “umbilical cord,” the lifeline, that ties you to Spirit.

Your crystal cord also nourishes that special, radiant flame of God that is ensconced in the secret chamber of your heart. It is called the threefold flame, or divine spark, because it is literally a spark of sacred fire that God has transmitted from his heart to yours. This flame is called “threefold” because it engenders the primary attributes of Spirit—power, wisdom and love.

The mystics of the world’s religions have contacted the divine spark, describing it as the seed of divinity within. Buddhists, for instance, speak of the “germ of Buddhahood” that exists in every living being. In the Hindu tradition, the Katha Upanishad speaks of the “light of the Spirit” that is concealed in the “secret high place of the heart” of all beings.

Likewise, the fourteenth-century Christian theologian and mystic Meister Eckhart teaches of the divine spark when he says, “God’s seed is within us.”

The lower figure in the Chart of Your Divine Self represents you, the soul on the spiritual path, surrounded by the violet flame and the protective white light of God. The soul is the living potential of God—the part of you that is mortal but that can become immortal.

The purpose of your soul’s evolution on earth is to grow in self-mastery, balance your karma and fulfill your mission on earth so that you can return to the spiritual dimensions that are your real home. When your soul at last takes flight and ascends back to God and the heaven-world, you will become an “ascended” master, free from the rounds of karma and rebirth. The use of the violet flame can help you reach that goal more quickly.