Hans wrote: In Chapter 29 Jan van Rijckenborgh says It is the aim of
the Spiritual School to help you gain control over your astral body
in a liberating sense, and as a result, to bring you pure happiness,
the inexpressible joy of true healing from all the results of
suffering, sickness and death."
How do we do achieve this? Jan gives us the answer in the next
chapter, entitled The Ten Stories.

Dear Hans,

Thank you for suggesting Chapter 30 to me. What a treasure of a
chapter! "The Ten Stories" is filled with such Light on the Path. I
certainly need the faculty of equanimity it mentions. One becomes so
worn out and disheartened with bouncing between "attraction and
repulsion."

I'd like to post a portion from pages 255 and 256:

"We would like to point out that the first requirement for
gaining control over your astral self is the absolute constancy of
vibration of your entire astral body. Once you have atteined this
absolute constancy, the gate to the Alchemical Wedding is opened wide
to you. The ability to do so is present within you. The astral body
itself is able to achieve it."

I also read Chapter 20 which you suggested. It begins with the
reminder that "forced attempts to reach a higher, more serene, more
holy astral field, that does not correspond with one's own astral
state, must always rebound."

I'm certainly familiar with the "rebounding" so I really need to
learn more about this purification process. Reading "The Ten
Stories" also led me to go back in the book and read about
the "weights" and then "the six lanterns."

I also love the phrase "the stillness of the astral light" and
the promising words that our "astral chaos" can be "neutralized."

You mentioned about meeting me on the "board." Somehow I opened
to page 63 and read something new right after you wrote that, " the
Tabella mercurialis, a notice board with instructions, the new
insight which speaks within him." There is so much gold (an apt
methaphor) in the book "The Alchemical Wedding" .... so much new
insight. I think the house elvesfrom Harry Potter hid these parts
from me when I first began to read the book last Christmas! Perhaps
now I am ready to begin the necessary work of purifying the astral
body. I look forward to your elaboration on this whenever you have
time and to any else's sharing of experience with this process. In
the meantime, the Chapters you suggested are very helpful. Thank you
for steering me to them.

Love,
Cathy