Who are the Ascended Masters and what do they teach?
- Mitchell Stukaloff
- Feb 3
- 17 min read
You may know more about the ascended masters than you think. The terminology “ascended master” may be new to you, but the belief in beings who once lived on earth and now dwell in the spiritual realms of heaven is very natural and shared by every culture.
Some ascended masters that you are likely already aware of include Jesus, Mother Mary, Archangel Michael, Confucius, Moses, Gautama Buddha, and Kwan Yin. Other masters you may be less aware of include Saint Germain, who was incarnated as Joseph (the father of Jesus) and Francis Bacon; El Morya, who was incarnated as Abraham and King Arthur; and Kuthumi, who was incarnated as Shah Jahan (he built the Taj Mahal) and the illustrious Saint Francis.
Christians may think that Jesus is the only one in heaven or feel that he is the only one they are concerned with, and that is OK. However, the reality is there are more divine beings than there are stars shining in the night sky. Hindus worship a multitude of divine beings and Buddhists know there are many buddhas in the lineage of their spiritual path.
Persons who more recently became ascended masters include Padre Pio, Pope John XXIII, Mother Theresa, Aimee Semple McPherson, and Maria Montessori. Although a person is given a new divine name after they ascend, the ascended masters generally keep the name from their last incarnation when sharing their teachings with us. Endnote 1
The ascended masters named above were shining lights when they lived on earth through their service to God and man. Yet many other masters lived quiet, humble lives of contemplation, focusing on their love for God. And that love drew them back to reunion with him. Notoriety is not a requirement for the ascension.
The forgotten story of earth is about the parade of souls entering incarnation, learning their lessons in the schoolroom of earth, and working to qualify themselves for graduation into eternal life. This saga has been going on since the beginning. Eternal life is the ultimate goal for every soul and God does not wait until some final judgment day to reward a soul who has fulfilled its reason for being. God gathers that soul to himself and infuses it with spiritual fire, making it perfect and permanent according to its original endowment. The ascended masters are the souls that have achieved the goal before us. You and I have the opportunity and the prompting to follow their example.
The ascended masters refer to themselves as our “elder brothers and sisters” and this is the best way to relate to them, instead of than thinking we are separated from them by a vast, incomprehensible gulf of time, space, and spirit. During their prior lives, they mastered the same challenges we face today and therefore they are qualified to be our teachers and helpers. Just as the saying goes, “There is nothing new under the sun,” the masters know exactly what it takes to progress in soul mastery and freedom. So, if we are willing to apprentice ourselves to these teachers, we gain advantages that have not been available for many thousands of years, and these can lead directly to our ultimate victory.
For simplicity, the term “ascended master” is also used to refer to heavenly beings that never incarnated on earth or elsewhere and therefore never had to ascend to return to the spiritual world. These include sons and daughters of God whose consciousness spans the entire cosmos and angels of all types and levels. Taking incarnation is therefore not a necessity, but once a soul chooses to enter the path of incarnation, there is only one way to return to spirit and that is through the process of the ascension.
Ascended masters vs. channeling It is important to understand the difference between the masters in the ascended state and spirits that exist in lower levels that have delivered messages through channeling. Channeling was popular in the 1980s and 1990s and goes on today. The messages communicated by these spirits may contain some truth, but the information is flawed and potentially dangerous because it is inevitably mixed with error. In addition, these spirits may have ulterior motives in working through a channel, such as drawing to themselves a circle of devotees whose light energy they siphon off for their own benefit. Channeled spirits have not been perfected by God through the ascension and therefore anyone who studies their words put themselves at risk.
The ascended masters work only for the betterment of humanity, and they reside in the highest levels of heaven. Being aware of the ascended masters is a boon because it quickens our souls to the remembrance that eternal life is our ultimate assignment. It takes effort to overcome the gravitational pull of the world and re-enter spirit.
Heaven has waited until mankind was ready to receive greater understanding of the mysteries of God, such as the reality of eternal life, why it exists, and why and how a soul may achieve it. Now is the time ordained for many souls to integrate with the Truth of God. See this endnote for biblical references to eternal life. Endnote 2.
What Do the Ascended Masters Teach?
Our origin in God The first emphasis of the ascended masters is to help people relearn the truth about their origin in God and their own divine nature. The masters are not trying to establish a new religion but to help people reconnect with their original divine identity which has been displaced and forgotten. They promote the understanding of the goal of life and reawaken the soul to the fact that it has a unique God given mission to fulfill. The ascended masters provide knowledge and spiritual practices to help a person rediscover and activate the flow of God’s energy in their body and life. They encourage a person to “get in the driver’s seat” of their life by using spiritual light to clear the dust and cobwebs of the ages and draw forth from their inner being the capacity and freedom to fulfill their reason for being.
The Chart of Your Divine Self The chart shows a person’s spiritual anatomy including the I AM presence, Christ self, causal body, crystal cord, the threefold flame, and the tube of light that protects the soul and form in the planes of matter. The I AM Presence is a graphic representation of the image of God in which we were created. Follow this link to more information about the Chart: https://www.cosmic-law-insight.org/chart-of-your-divine-self.
Chakra spiritual centers and associated human aura Information about the chakras introduces a deeper layer of our spiritual anatomy. The chakras are distribution centers that supply God’s sustaining light to the organs and various systems of the body. The ascended masters reveal the true colors of the seven rays of energy that flow through the major chakras and explain methods and benefits of purifying these spiritual centers.
The human aura is the energy emanation of the chakra system, and its qualities indicate the level of health and vitality a person is maintaining in the body. Fortunately, a dull aura that shows stagnation and the potential for physical disease can be quickly improved by following a healthy diet, getting adequate physical exercise, and incorporating time tested spiritual disciplines, such as prayer, meditation, and hatha yoga.
Karma, reincarnation and NDEs Karma and reincarnation are two interconnected facets of cosmic law. These help to explain the cyclic nature of life on earth that enables the soul to work its way back to reunion with God. Understanding reincarnation helps explain the phenomenon of Near-Death Experiences (NDEs) that are being commonly reported, such as on YouTube. Understanding the soul as the spiritual essence of self that dwells within the physical body, accepting the fact that our soul has an assignment on earth for a given lifetime, and believing in the presence of heaven and angels and divine beings, explains much of what NDEs are all about. See my article, “What is the Soul?” on Medium.
My perspective is that heaven is enabling many people to have these NDE experiences and providing encouragement and the means to tell their stories to others. This approach helps the general population learn more about the existence and closeness of heaven in a matter-of-fact way that is mostly independent of religious doctrine.
Correcting religious dogma The ascended masters point out instances where the world religions have been distorted and corrupted over the intervening centuries since the underlying teachings of each religion were introduced. The masters provide corrected interpretations intended by the original teacher. Remember, many of the avatars and sages that were sent by God to bring profound spiritual teachings to mankind, such as Jesus, Gautama Buddha, and Confucius, are now ascended masters. And these are the very ones who are trying to correct key departures and misunderstandings of the truth they originally delivered.
Heavenly Hierarchy The ascended masters are part of a “heavenly hierarchy.” Heaven is organized and the cosmos operates according to universal laws that were established by the Almighty in the beginning. Divine energy/consciousness flows to sustain and govern creation, but the systems of worlds do not operate by the mere flow of energy, as if they were controlled by autopilot. They operate under the conscious awareness and attention of beings of God.
The heavenly hierarchy includes beings at many diverse levels and with various functions. While universal law (aka cosmic law) ties everything together to yield continuity and uniformity across the vast range of existence, all of it is managed at appropriate levels to insure harmony.
For example, beings referred to in the Old Testament as “Elohim” are responsible for the creation and maintenance of the structure of the cosmos. Archangels oversee and enforce universal laws as they pertain to the incarnation and evolution of the sons and daughters of God. Angels assist incarnated souls in learning obedience to divine law. These and many other levels of divine beings sustain the function of cosmos to achieve the purposes of the Almighty.
The cosmos is enormous and diverse. Photographs from the Hubble telescope have been used to estimate there are over 200 billion galaxies. With such a magnitude of stars and planets, it is not hard to understand that one of the challenges in servicing creation is the need to step down energy from the highest source to the individual soul. This is one of the functions of the heavenly hierarchy. It steps down the raw, unbridled power of creation to the level of the individual. An example is the way that the sun of our solar system emanates levels of light and heat that are well adjusted to the needs of life on the planet. This is not a product of good luck or happenstance. It is the result of the love and masterful work of cosmic beings in action.
Opposition to God’s plan With a dynamic heavenly hierarchy working continuously to bring “heaven on earth,” it may seem surprising that it has not already been accomplished. For many thousands of years, the hold up and been due to the nefarious influences of fallen angels who declared war against God and his Christ. They work overtime to subvert God’s plans for mankind and, unfortunately, the people of God have embraced many aspects of the fallen consciousness that has displaced the memory of their divine origin. As a result, we labor in a synthetic civilization not of God’s making. This is the real-world version of the story line portrayed in “The Matrix” movie series. See “The battle of Armageddon” paragraph just ahead for a link to more information about this dilemma and its solution.
The role of Mother Mary Mother Mary is a perfect example of an ascended lady master who is dedicated to helping and saving souls on earth. She is unique in her appearances to the faithful, such as at Fatima, Portugal, the Coptic Church in Cairo, Egypt, and Medjugorje, Bosnia-Herzegovina. She demonstrates how an ascended master working from heaven can profoundly uplift incarnated souls.
She has been successful in delivering important messages to the people of God to inspire them to lead live lives of righteousness and warn of coming chastisements as punishment for the failure to honor God in all things. As a new age of enlightenment is dawning, Mother Mary explains to souls that are ready to hear it, that God is not punishing us for wrongdoing. Rather, he must allow our own negative karma to return to us for balancing because simply being aware of what is right and what is wrong too often does not result in a person doing the right thing. The return of karma can be painful, yet if it has the intended effect of turning around a rebellious soul, a valuable lesson is learned.
Mother Mary asks the people of God, regardless of their chosen religion, to recite the Rosary. She explains that the flow of devotion from our hearts to her heart authorizes her to act on our behalf and for others who need heavenly assistance.
Mother Mary has updated the “Hail Mary” prayer to raise the devotee to a level of higher self-awareness than the prior version allowed. As indicated in the Ascended Master Encyclopedia, “Mary has asked us to affirm that we are sons and daughters of God rather than sinners. She also asks us to affirm our victory over sin, disease, and death. Endnote 3 The New Age Hail Mary is as follows.
Hail, Mary, full of grace. The Lord is with thee.
Blessed art thou among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.
Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us, sons and daughters of God,
Now and at the hour of our victory over sin, disease, and death.
Another lesson we can learn from Mother Mary is that just as she is an extraordinary representative from heaven, many other ascended masters serve in their own way to comfort and raise up the people of God. In the East, Kwan Yin is the compassionate Mother of Mercy to the people of China who has appeared to thousands in need of mercy. She also serves on the Karmic Board, which is a council of the heavenly hierarchy that oversees the requests of souls to take incarnation and helps in planning the parameters of a soul’s incarnation to promote the best possible outcomes. Archangel Michael and his legions of angels are constantly at work helping to save souls from calamity on earth, especially those who call to him for intercession and protection.
An example of how an ascended master is willing to support the work of a person on earth is Ludvig von Beethoven. An ascended master named the Great Divine Director sponsored Beethoven to write his nine symphonies, which are among the greatest works of music ever written. This shows what a person can accomplish with the divine help of an ascended master.
Holding the Light of God for humanity Another service rendered by the ascended masters is holding and radiating God’s Light to people everywhere. For example, Archeia Hope (archeia is a feminine office of hierarchy corresponding to an archangel) radiates the light/energy/consciousness of hope to the planet and beyond. Hope is not just a concept; it is a divine energy that is sustained and shared most especially by angels. So, Hope emanates the light of hope where it is needed through her own heart and her bands of angels.
Cosmic history Ascended masters have shared crucial details about cosmic history, periods of time prior to recorded history when golden age civilizations flourished that were far more advanced, both materially and spiritually than our world today. These were civilizations, such as Atlantis, Lemuria, and others that academicians generally consider to be only myths. Nevertheless, these continents and civilizations were entirely real and demonstrated the great heights of consciousness and culture that can exist when mankind lives in harmony with the laws of God.
The masters also share events in the history of life on earth preceding and following the Fall of consciousness that occurred many thousands of years ago. They give us a complete picture of what was going on during the time of Adam and Eve and why such an ancient event still results in dire consequences for civilization.
The battle of Armageddon The earth is in a battle of Light versus darkness. The battle of Armageddon is a war for the soul. Forces of darkness are trying to draw souls of God into the same patterns of self-annihilation the fallen angels and others have chosen. Heaven is working to enlighten and rescue the souls of God and lead them out of a fallen civilization and into a period of transition into a golden age of love, peace, and harmony. It sounds like the script for an epic movie, and it is exactly what is taking place. It is a crucial time for each soul and the body of God to rise up and claim their divine destiny by defeating evil and darkness both in themselves and in the world.
The following link connects to an article that documents the history of darkness and evil on the planet and how the victory of the people of God in this fight is the key to soul salvation. https://www.cosmic-law-insight.org/about-4.
Twin flames and soul mates Mankind needs understanding of the complimentary roles of the divine masculine and divine feminine. There is a troublesome level of conflict today between the sexes that has displaced the natural cooperation and harmony that God created for male and female in the beginning. The transgender movement is an example of the distortion and perversion of divine standards that been instigated by fallen angels to confuse the soul and draw it into a karma making detour.
When each person of God was created, they were created in the heavenly realms as a pair, one masculine, one feminine that together made a balanced, complete oneness of identity. These are called twin flames. Each of the pair had equal attributes, but with complimentary polarity: one with the plus polarity and one with the minus polarity of the yin and yang. The difference in polarity is what enables creation. This model of the Father and Mother God carries through the sons and daughters of God and even into animal life.
It is worth noting that each pair of twin flames are unique in the universe. No pairs are identical, and all are designed with unfailing perfection. When twin flames incarnate, each of the pair will experience incarnations in a male body and incarnations in a female body for the purposes of gaining soul mastery.
The existence of twin flames means that each one of us has an identical partner who is our counterpart in the universe with whom we will reunite one day to be a divine couple in eternity. The divine model of twin flames is the basis for the sacrament of marriage. Each married couple is wedded during their current lifetime as preparation for the ultimate reunion with their individual twin flames. It is not common on earth for twin flames to be married to one another because the personal karma each has created tends to keep them apart.
Soul mates are two souls that are not twin flames but have served together a number of times in prior incarnations for a common purpose. They have a similar mission and destiny and are sent into incarnation during the same time period, so they work together to accomplish a shared goal.
Right diet, right livelihood, right spiritual practice, and healthy family life The ascended masters teach on many subjects to help the people of God reorient themselves to the way life is intended to be on earth. So, they teach extensively on such subjects as right diet, right livelihood, and how to balance karma through prayers spoken aloud, called decrees. They provide spiritual tools to help a person overcome self-destructive habits and addictions. They teach that the traditional family is the essential unit that builds strong communities and nations. They teach about national and international issues and conflicts and the manipulation of civilization by power elites.
In short, ascended masters give heaven’s perspective on far reaching subjects and also provide tools and guidance on how the people of God can and must “rise and take dominion over the earth” individually and collectively.
The Ascension as the Goal of Life
One final example of the many teachings available from the ascended masters is about the ascension. The ascension is such a stupendous blessing that there is no earthly goal that can compare. One master has described it as “the beginning of life itself.” We currently dwell in the realm of relativity where lies often pass for truth and evil deeds often pass as accomplishments. As Gautama Buddha once observed, “Life is suffering.” After earning the ascension, we live in the realm of eternal peace, love and joy, and with the capacity for endless divine creativity.
The heaven world is not an ethereal, misty place where not much is happening. It is far more real than our dense physical planet because heaven and its inhabitants are charged with God’s pure and uplifting energy. This is how life is intended to be.
There are three key references in the Bible about persons that ascended. The best known is Jesus’ ascent into the air from Mount Olivet as described in the book of Acts. (Acts 1: 9-12) Thousands of years prior, Enoch, the seventh generation from Adam, made his ascension. The New Testament contains the following account: “By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and was not found, because God had translated him.” (Hebrews 11: 5) The prophet Elijah was taken up in a fiery spiritual whirlwind witnessed by his disciple, Elisha, as recounted in the second book of Kings. (2 Kings 2: 11)
Enoch, Ezekiel, and Jesus passed through what is called the “physical ascension” in which both the soul and physical body are transformed into Spirit. The physical ascension is rare. The masters indicate that Mother Mary also experienced the physical ascension at the close of her life as the mother of Jesus. The Catholic Church describes it as her “assumption into heaven” but it was the full ascension.
The rising up into the air is not the highpoint of the ascension. The most important part of the ascension is the transformative change that occurs to the soul and being. In short, the soul which has been separated from the Christ Self and I AM Presence (described in The Chart of Your Divine Self section above) is reunited with the Presence. The reunion is conducted through a sacred ritual that can only occur after the soul has completed the several requirements over a series of incarnations. A few of the requirements include the soul being reconciled with God, the soul must desire the ascension, a minimum of 51% of personal karma must be rightly qualified, and the threefold flame in the heart (the divine energies of love, wisdom, and power) must be in balance. Endnote 4
The reunion of the soul with the I AM Presence (the Father) is what the parable of the Prodigal Son taught by Jesus is all about. In the parable, the father declares a grand celebration for all, rejoicing in the return and reconciliation of his wayward son (soul). And so it is, each time a soul passes through the ascension.
The majority of ascensions occur in what is referred to as the “inner planes” after the soul has left the physical body following their final incarnation and has traveled to the heaven world. Representatives of the heavenly hierarchy witness each ascension ritual, and it is a grand event. See the following Endnote for an explanation of the changes to the form that occur with the ascension. Endnote 5
To show how much more there is to learn about the ascension and the mysteries of God, the ascended masters have revealed that Jesus lived in a physical body long after his crucifixion and resurrection and long after he rose into the air from Mount Olivet. Jesus wanted to prolong his mission beyond his 33 years, so he used the event at Mount Olivet to withdraw from the circumstances and further threats from the Romans and Jewish hierarchies. If he had taken his ascension at that time, he would have had to leave the physical world behind and not be able to come and go as he did for almost 50 more years.
After finishing his work in the Middle East, Jesus moved to the region of Kashmir where he had visited as a young man during the time referred to as the “lost years.” He married, had a family, and lived until 81 years old, at which time he took his physical ascension. For the more complete story about Jesus’ mission, connect to the following link: https://www.cosmic-law-insight.org/mission-of-jesus-christ.
For more information about the ascension, consider the book, Reality of Your Ascension-Teachings of Serapis Bey by Elizabeth Clare Prophet (Summit University Press 2022).
Images and adapted teachings used by kind permission of The Summit Lighthouse, www.SummitLighthouse.org. All rights reserved.
Endnotes
1 Revelation 2:17 “He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna, and will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth it.” [Emphasis added]
2 The gift of eternal life is a fundamental promise in the New Testament, but little is said about how it is attained and what it is like. The ascended masters have explained that eternal life is the goal of every soul and teach how to secure it. Bible references to eternal life include John 3:15, 6:69, 17:3; Matt 25:46; Mark 10:30, Luke 18:18, Acts 13:48, and Rom 6:23. They encourage us to actively pursue the disciplines that lead the soul back to reunion with God and let us know that this reunion occurs only through the ritual of the ascension.
3 See the entry about Mother Mary published by The Summit Lighthouse: at https://www.ascendedmasterencyclopedia.org/w/Mary,_the_mother_of_Jesus,
4 See https://www.ascendedmasterencyclopedia.org/w/Ascension for more information about the ascension.
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