New soul-quality will also manifest itself in mental hygiene, in a new, purified thought-life. You gain access to your astral body and can set it in motion by means of your thought-life. Every thought has an immediate astral effect, entirely in accordance with the thought's nature, quality, content and strength. So the nature of your mentality is of the greatest importance for the quality and maintenance of your entire personality.

 

However, after the initial step of thought-hygiene, the next most important thing is the psychological and physical organisation of your astral body. The pupil must know what he can and may do in that respect, for through the astral body ethers are released, and it is ethers that construct and maintain the material body.

 

As rose-power and rose-fragrance, new soul-quality makes the pupil's material body receptive to very sublime impressions, to astral influences far above the level of nature. Such a state of being will also protect the pupil from influences of a lower nature. These influences find it increasingly difficult to gain entrance to the system because of the ever finer, higher vibrations of the astral body.

 

Serious pupilship ensures the candidate a harmonious link with the Living Body of the Spiritual School. Then, through the power of the Living Body, one can easily rise above harmful effects which the candidate, in his weakness, would ordinarily find difficult to withstand.

 

J. van Rijckenborgh

The Alchemical Wedding of Christian Rosycross Part 1 p. 251-2.