For countless incarnations the focus of evolution is directed toward the personality and its gradual integration. Once the soul is consciously sensed, however, an individual begin to recognize the dual nature of his or her consciousness. The soul is then experientially sensed for the first time, and the contrast between it and personality comes into view. Aspiring to live and express the soul then ensues, increasingly becoming the aim and intention of one’s life.  Yet, simultaneously, it is discovered that the personality tends to resist giving up its long held control. In this way, the Dweller on the Threshold makes its debut.

Within the nomenclature of esotericism, the Dweller on the Threshold is a title used in more than one way. In the broadest sense, it is a reference to the totality of the personality, particularly as it pertains to its resistance to the soul’s authority and promptings. More essentially, the dweller is the consciousness of the self wrongly identified with form—thus believing itself to be the thoughts, feelings and the physical sensations it experiences. Herein is the matrix from which the dweller arises.

However, when an individual has made the transition from life as an aspirant to that of a disciple, the Dweller on the Threshold is understood in a more refined manner. True discipleship presupposes not only that there has been an awakening to the soul, but that there are aspects of the personality that have already been infused by the soul. In this context, the dweller represents various personality facets that have not yet been redeemed (infused) by the soul. To the disciple, therefore, the Dweller on the Threshold is understood as the non-infused portion of the personality that remains unwilling to yield to the soul’s regime.

It may well be asked, why is the word “threshold” associated with the dweller? The answer is that when an individual is on the Path (therefore partially soul-infused) it is the dweller that stands on the threshold of further infusion. At each initiation, the soul and a facet of the dweller stand face-to-face. This inner standoff is, essentially, the foundation of the crisis that underlies every initiation. Indeed, to take initiation is to demonstrate that an aspect of the dweller has been transformed and no longer holds sway.

William Meader