Alice Bailey facts for kids

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Quick facts for kids Alice Ann Bailey
Alice Bailey
Born	Alice La Trobe-Bateman (1880-06-16)June 16, 1880 Manchester, England
Died	December 15, 1949(1949-12-15) (aged 69) New York City, United States
Nationality	British and American
Occupation	Esoteric author
Spouse(s)	(1) Walter Evans (divorced); (2) Foster Bailey m. 1921
Children	3

Alice Ann Bailey (born June 16, 1880 – died December 15, 1949) was a British writer. She wrote over twenty-four books about spiritual ideas, often called theosophical subjects. She was also one of the first people to use the phrase "New Age".

Alice was born as Alice La Trobe-Bateman in Manchester, England. In 1907, she moved to the United States. She spent most of her life there as a writer and teacher. Her books, written between 1919 and 1949, talk about many spiritual topics. These include how spirituality connects to the Solar System, meditation, healing, and the future of countries.

Alice Bailey said that a wise teacher, known as "the Tibetan" or "D.K." (later called Djwal Khul), sent her most of her writings through telepathy. Her ideas are similar to the "Ageless Wisdom" teachings, which include the works of Madame Blavatsky. Alice Bailey's writings also discussed religious themes, like Christianity. However, her views were different from many traditional religions. She believed in a global "spirit of religion" that would unite people, especially in the Age of Aquarius.

Biography

Early Life

Alice Bailey grew up in a wealthy British family. She had a Christian education as a member of the Anglican Church.

When she was 15, on June 30, 1895, Alice said a stranger visited her. He was a tall man wearing a turban. He told her she needed to learn self-control. This was to prepare for important work he planned for her. This work turned out to be writing and publishing 19 books. It also involved educational and meditation work that reached people around the world.

At age 22, Alice worked for the YMCA and the British Army. This work took her to India. There, in 1907, she met Walter Evans, who became her first husband. They moved to America, where Walter became an Episcopalian priest. Their marriage did not last, and they divorced in 1915. Alice then had a difficult time. She worked in a sardine factory to support herself and her three children.

Joining the Theosophical Society

The Theosophical Society's seal includes symbols like the Swastika, Star of David, Ankh, Aum, and Ouroboros.

Alice Bailey later discovered the Theosophical Society. This group studied spiritual ideas, especially the work of Helena Petrovna Blavatsky. The Theosophical Society says Alice joined in 1917. She quickly became important in the American branch of the society. She moved to its main center in Hollywood. She became the editor of their magazine, The Messenger.

In 1919, Foster Bailey (1888–1977) became the National Secretary of the Theosophical Society. He later became Alice's second husband in 1921. The Theosophical Society started publishing parts of Alice's first book, Initiation, Human and Solar. However, they stopped because of disagreements. Alice felt the society had become too strict. She and Foster Bailey tried to bring changes to the society, but their efforts were not successful. They were eventually asked to leave their positions.

According to Alice, she felt the society was too strict and focused on less important psychic things.

Starting Lucis Trust

In 1922, Alice and Foster Bailey started the Lucis Trust. This organization does many things. It includes the Arcane School, World Goodwill, Triangles, and a publishing company. The publishing company mainly prints Alice Bailey's many books.

The Arcane School teaches and guides people in meditation. It uses the ideas from Alice's books and offers lessons by mail. World Goodwill aims to improve human relationships through kindness and helpful actions. This includes supporting the United Nations. The "Triangles" are groups of three people. They agree to connect in thought each day and meditate on good human relations. They imagine light and love flowing into people's minds and hearts. After this, they use a special prayer called the Great Invocation. This only takes a few moments each day.

Alice and Foster Bailey first named their publishing company "Lucifer Publishing Company." The word "Lucifer" comes from the Latin word lucis, which means "of light." After a few years, they changed the name to "Lucis Publishing Co." (The Theosophical Society had also used the name "Lucifer" for an early magazine). In 1923, Alice founded the Arcane School with Foster's help. This school is part of Lucis Trust. It provides lessons, meditation guidance, and study based on her writings.

Alice Bailey continued her work until she passed away in 1949.

Main Ideas

The Seven Rays of Energy

Alice Bailey's writings talk a lot about the "seven rays." These are described as basic energies that exist everywhere and create everything. They are seen as the main creative forces of the universe. They are also believed to be parts of God that help everything grow and change. The rays are connected to human feelings, the future of countries, and even the planets and stars. The idea of the seven rays can be found in other Theosophical writings. Alice Bailey was one of the first to really develop this idea.

Esoteric Astrology

Esoteric astrology is part of Alice Bailey's "Ageless Wisdom" teachings. She said her teacher, Djwhal Khul, shared these with her.

People who follow Alice Bailey's teachings often use her five-book series, Treatise on the Seven Rays, especially volume three, which focuses on astrology. Her esoteric astrology looks at how a person's soul grows and what might stop that growth.

Esoteric Healing

Alice Bailey's teachings on healing mainly focus on the connection between a person's soul and their outer self (personality). She believed that all sickness starts when the soul's energy is blocked. So, healing means freeing the soul. This means making sure the soul and personality work well together. When this happens, the body can heal itself.

The Parts of a Person

Like other Theosophical teachings, Alice Bailey taught that a person is made up of different parts:

Monad: This is like a spark of God or your true, deepest self.
Soul: This is your higher mind, your ability to love, and your higher awareness.
Personality: This has three parts:
- Lower mind: Your everyday thoughts and intellect.
- Emotions: Your feelings and desires.
- Physical and etheric body: Your physical body and the energy field around it.

Each part of the personality is seen as an "energy body" or "aura." They are partial ways for your real self, the soul, to express itself. The soul uses these three parts of the personality. She also called these "vehicles" or "sheaths." The "etheric" body is closely linked to physical health. It is seen as the energy that keeps a person alive while they are in a physical body.

The Great Invocation

The Great Invocation is a special prayer that Alice Bailey shared in 1937. It begins with "From the point of Light within the Mind of God, let light stream forth into the minds of men..." The rest of the prayer talks about love, the return of The Christ (Maitreya), and people living according to God's plan.

Many people in the New Age movement use this prayer, especially in meditation groups. For example, the Findhorn Foundation community has used it since the 1970s. After the September 11 attacks in 2001, the Great Invocation became a key part of Findhorn's "Network of Light meditations for peace."

Alice Bailey believed that this new prayer could be as important to a new world religion as the Lord's Prayer is to Christianity or the 23rd Psalm is to Jewish people.

Helping Others and Serving Humanity

Alice Bailey's writings focused less on traditional religious worship. Instead, she emphasized a life of meditation and helping humanity. She believed that helping others is a natural desire that comes from the soul. It is the main sign of a soul's growth.

Unity of Nations and Groups

Alice Bailey's teachings stressed that all forms of life are connected. She also believed that all religions, sciences, and philosophies are essentially one. The New Group of World Servers was created to promote understanding between countries, sharing of resources, and religious unity.

How Her Ideas Compare to Theosophy

People who follow Theosophy have different opinions about Alice Bailey's writings. Some, like writer Geoffrey Hodson, praised her books. Others felt that her claims of talking with "the Tibetan" were not true. Alice Bailey herself criticized some parts of the Theosophical Society. She felt it had become too strict.

Alice Bailey's books rework many main Theosophical ideas. They offer a complete system of spiritual science and philosophy. They also consider current social and political events. Her work, like Blavatsky's, often talks about Tibet as the spiritual home of wise teachers. Alice Bailey saw her work as connected to Blavatsky's.

Many ideas are similar between Theosophy and Alice Bailey's work. For example, the Law of Attraction was discussed by both Blavatsky and Bailey. This idea, in a simpler form, became popular in the modern New Age movement.

Alice Bailey's work also describes a similar spiritual hierarchy: physical, etheric, astral, mental, and higher levels of existence. However, some people believe there are big differences between Alice Bailey's ideas and Blavatsky's Theosophy. For example, Alice Bailey used some Christian terms and ideas.

Nicholas Weeks, writing for a Theosophical magazine, felt that Alice Bailey's teachings were not truly in line with Blavatsky's original Theosophy. He believed her ideas were closer to the "pseudo-theosophy" of C. W. Leadbeater. He also disagreed with her Great Invocation, which he felt was meant to make Christ and his teachers appear in cities. He said Blavatsky's Theosophy focused more on finding the "Christ principle" within each person.

Ideas about Human Development

Alice Bailey described a way of understanding human development that looked at different stages of spiritual growth. These "stages" do not mean physical or national groups of people. Instead, they describe different levels of human evolution. For example, she talked about an "emerging new stage" of human consciousness. She said this new stage is developing in all countries, especially where people focus on thought and intellect. She believed that as humanity evolves, a "new stage" with a spiritual dimension will develop. This new stage will show up as group qualities and an idealistic vision. She thought this development might take many thousands of years.

Concerns about Her Ideas on Development

Some of Alice Bailey's ideas about these stages of human development have been misunderstood. Critics have pointed out that the terms she used, like "race," can be confusing today. In her time, these terms were sometimes used to describe stages of consciousness or spiritual evolution, not physical groups of people. Because of this, some people have wrongly linked her ideas to negative views about different cultures or groups.

For example, some have suggested that her ideas aimed to remove Jewish influence or destroy Judaism. However, Alice Bailey's followers say that her teachings emphasize unity and a universal spirituality for all people.

Influence

Groups Started by Bailey or Her Followers

The Arcane School, founded by Alice and Foster Bailey, spreads spiritual teachings. It organizes a worldwide "Triangles" program. This program brings three people together for daily meditation and study. They believe that through meditation, they receive divine energy. This energy is then sent to humanity, helping to raise spiritual awareness. The school aims to create a New Group of World Servers. This group would work with wise teachers, led by "the Christ."

Influence on the New Age Movement

Alice Bailey used the term "New Age" a lot in her books. Some writers say she founded the New Age movement. However, the term "The New Age" was used as a magazine title as early as 1894, before Bailey used it.

Many experts agree that Alice Bailey's works were a very important source for the ideas and the term "New Age" in the movement. Sir John Sinclair said that Alice Bailey had a major influence on the growth of spiritual awareness in the 20th century.

Influence on Psychotherapy and Healing

In 1930, Alice Bailey started the "School of Spiritual Research" in Switzerland. Roberto Assagioli, who created Psychosynthesis, was a teacher at this school. He stayed in close contact with Alice Bailey. Some of his writings were even published in her magazine, The Beacon. He was also a trustee of Lucis Trust. Assagioli's methods for psychology were later influenced by some of Alice Bailey's work. However, he kept his psychology separate from religion or spiritual ideas.

Alice Bailey's ideas can also be found in other healing practices. For example, some healing methods describe different energy bodies around the physical body. These ideas come from Alice Bailey's Theosophical writings. Her influence can be seen in many therapeutic groups, even those she wasn't directly involved with.

Influence on UFO Groups

Alice Bailey's books were written before unidentified flying objects (UFOs) became a popular topic. So, she doesn't mention them directly. However, she did talk about wise teachers who had evolved beyond human levels. She also described a living universe where planets and stars are seen as living beings. These ideas might be why some people connect her work with UFOs.

Some writers say that Alice Bailey's works, along with those of Rudolf Steiner and Theosophy in general, influenced "UFO religions." For example, a group of UFO believers called Understanding, Inc., used a prayer from Alice Bailey's writings as an opening prayer.