Our study will be guided by the rediscovery in our time of the three dimensions of a unified human experience which correlate with three dimensions of the Universe. It assumes that man is body, psyche, and spirit, and that each of these is a valid dimension of our human experience governed by its own laws. The three are not separate. Each is but one dimension of a Unity. Psyche and the elemental energies are nested within the dimension of Spirit, even as the physical dimension is encompassed by the elemental energies.
Reality is thus one body with many members, each of which is essential to the whole.
One other historical development is especially pertinent to the study. The Eastern spiritual traditions have enabled us to rediscover the nature of the relationship which can exist between a spiritual Master and his or her disciples. The Master perceives or knows the One in perfect freedom. The disciples are rooted in Time and are bound by culture. The task of elevating the disciples into an experience of transcendence would appear impossible, and yet it is a miracle of experience that such can happen.