Dear Fellow Students of A Treatise on Cosmic Fire,

Attached please find a Commentary for Semester 7 Section 11 Part I. In it is simply some fascinating material concerning petal unfoldment in relation to the three Halls--of Ignorance, Learning and Wisdom.

There is no doubt some generic mathematical formula for the unfoldment of the petals of the egoic lotus. Certainly the unfoldment does not occur with any degree of evenness through time.

The Tibetan challenges us to think into the intricacy He presents. We are led to ponder on the relationship between organization, vitalization and unfoldment of petals and tiers of petals. We establish certain landmarks which should withstand the constant shifting of perspective--such as the fifth petal is unfolded by the time the first initiation is taken, and the opening of the sacrifice petals occurs largely as a result of the rites of initiation. We can put together the various indications given by DK (not always an easy thing to do) and get a fairly accurate and consistent image of the process of petal unfoldment.

Yet, apparent contradictions seem to appear here and there. Are Brahmic Lotuses (having one petal unfolded) still in the Hall of Ignorance, even though DK tells us that the petals of the knowledge tier are only organized and vitalized in the Hall of Ignorance? When does one truly enter the spiritual kingdom or kingdom of souls? Is such an entry equivalent to the taking of the first initiation or does it occur before, possibly during the unfoldment of the fourth and fifth petals?

We look for apparent inconsistencies and try to resolve them. We discover that our intuition must be summoned if we are to succeed.

This material on the egoic lotus, the tiers and petals is some of the most interesting and useful material in TCF. Because of its psychological value it should be closely studied.

In Light, Love and Power,
Michael