At the center of the ascension teachings is a simple and astonishing idea: that the Source of all life is not only far above us but individualized in each of us, as a presence of pure being that has never been touched by fear. The teachings call it the I AM Presence. Every practice on the path is, in the end, a way of drawing nearer to it, and the ascension itself is described as the soul's final and complete reunion with it.
The Name
When Moses asked the voice in the burning bush for its name, the answer came: I AM THAT I AM. The teachings take this as the most exact name of the divine that human language has. It describes being itself, before any quality is added to it. Before you think anything or feel anything, you are. That pure sense of being is the point at which you touch the Source.
The I AM Presence is that Source as it exists for you in particular: your own individualized share of the divine, as unique as your face and as eternal as the light it comes from. The teachings say that it is the real you, and that the personality living in time is its projection, sent into the world to learn and to love.
The Three Figures
The teachings often describe the I AM Presence with the help of a picture, sometimes called the chart of your divine self. It shows three figures, one above another.
- The upper figure is the I AM Presence itself: a radiant being of white light, surrounded by concentric spheres of color.
- The middle figure is the Higher Self, sometimes called the Christ Self or the Holy Christ Self. It stands between the Presence and the personality, translating the one to the other, and it is the voice of conscience and of inner guidance.
- The lower figure is the soul in embodiment: you, as you are now, living in a body in time. It is shown surrounded by a column of white light and wrapped in the violet flame.
The picture is a diagram, not a portrait, and nobody should be troubled if they cannot see their Presence in this form. It is offered as a map of relationships: of where you come from, what stands between, and how the connection is kept.
The Causal Body
The spheres of color around the I AM Presence are called the causal body. Each sphere corresponds to one of the seven rays, and in each one is stored every good thing the soul has ever done on that ray, in every lifetime. An act of courage brightens the blue. A patient explanation brightens the gold. A kindness brightens the pink.
The teachings draw a consoling conclusion from this. Nothing loving that you have ever done has been lost. It has all been kept, and it is all available to you. When people pray to draw on the momentum of their causal body, they are asking for the help of everything good they have already been.
The Crystal Cord and the Threefold Flame
From the I AM Presence, through the Higher Self, a stream of light descends into the heart of the person in embodiment. The teachings call it the crystal cord. Through it, life itself flows into the body moment by moment, and where it enters the heart it sustains the threefold flame: the small spark of the Source with a blue plume of will, a golden plume of wisdom and a pink plume of love. Tending and balancing that flame is described in The Threefold Flame.
How the Connection Was Obscured
If the Presence is always there, why is it so hard to feel? The teachings offer an account. Energy flows down the crystal cord pure. Each person then qualifies it with their thoughts and feelings. When it is qualified with fear, resentment or harshness, it goes out into the world, and in time it returns to its sender, as all energy does. What returns leaves a record. Over many lives these records accumulate, until they form a kind of fog between the personality and its source.
This is not a story of condemnation. The fog is made of the same light as the Presence, only clouded. Every practice of the path, and the violet flame above all, is a way of clearing it, so that the light can come through again as it was meant to.
The Power of the Words I AM
Because I AM is the name of the Presence, the teachings treat the words with great respect. Whatever a person habitually puts after them, they say, tends to become true. Someone who says, all day long, I am tired, I am hopeless, I am no good at this, is directing the light of their own Presence into those conditions.
The remedy is not to deny real difficulties, but to choose the words carefully. I AM peace. I AM the light that guides me. I AM willing to learn. Spoken slowly and with feeling, such statements are called affirmations or decrees. They are among the oldest practices of these teachings, and they are described further on the page on the violet flame.
A Practice: Calling Your Presence
1. Settle
Sit with your spine comfortably upright and your feet on the floor. Take several slow breaths, and let the body grow quiet.
2. Look upward
Picture, a short distance above your head, a sun of white light. Do not try to make it detailed. Simply know that it is there, and that it is yours.
3. Feel the cord
Picture a thin stream of crystal light flowing down from that sun, through the top of your head, into the center of your chest. Feel the warmth of it gathering there.
4. Speak
Say slowly, aloud if you can: I AM THAT I AM. Beloved I AM Presence, I welcome you. Take command of my life today.
5. Rest
Sit for a few minutes without asking for anything. Simply be, and notice that you are. That noticing is the Presence knowing itself through you.
6. Seal
Picture a column of white light descending from the Presence and surrounding you completely, from above your head to beneath your feet. The teachings call this the tube of light. Then go on with your day.
Questions People Ask
Is the I AM Presence the same as God?
The teachings describe it as God individualized: not the whole of the Source, but a true and complete part of it, in the way a single flame is truly fire. It is neither a separate god nor merely a part of your personality.
Is the I AM Presence the same as the Higher Self?
They are closely related but not identical. The Higher Self stands between the Presence and the personality and mediates between them. In ordinary practice, contact with the Higher Self is the way to the Presence.
Can I lose my I AM Presence?
No. The connection can be obscured, but the teachings are emphatic that it cannot be destroyed. The Presence waits, without impatience, for as long as the soul takes to turn toward it.
Do I need to visualize the three figures?
No. The picture helps some people and not others. What matters is the relationship, not the image.