Law of Abstraction

Law of Abstraction

Below are all known references to The Law of Abstraction in the writings of Alice A. Bailey (AAB) and Djwhal Khul (DK). Links on these pages of the Laws of Alice A. Bailey are to the online books at the Lucis Trust website.

For a discussion of what AAB means by a “law” please see  Alice A. Bailey – What is a Law?


I have earlier told you that you are being trained to work with thoughtform creating processes. Hence, another reason for the long hours by yourself which characterise your life at this time and which will be expressive of your days for the remainder of your life. To this desire of your soul you must happily reconcile yourself. Because of this planned training—planned with the consent of your soul and of me, your Master—you are already peculiarly susceptible to group thoughtforms; you must learn increasingly to work under the influence of the Law of Abstraction.

Discipleship in the New Age, Vol. II , SECTION FOUR – PERSONAL INSTRUCTIONS TO DISCIPLES – Part 11


When the Law of Abstraction is wielded consciously by you from within the Ashram, you will discover that it has (as it might have been expected) various meanings and policies which will function on the different planes of consciousness, such as:

Discipleship in the New Age, Vol. II , SECTION FOUR – PERSONAL INSTRUCTIONS TO DISCIPLES – Part 11


1. Death or the effect of the Law of Abstraction upon the physical plane. This can refer to the abstraction of the life principle from the physical body in response to soul command; it can refer to the death of an old physical plane relationship; it can also refer to a cycle of physical plane conditioning or circumstance, to the termination of a relation to a physical plane group, or to the abstraction of an interest regarded hitherto as basic.

Discipleship in the New Age, Vol. II , SECTION FOUR – PERSONAL INSTRUCTIONS TO DISCIPLES – Part 11


The entire process is one of abstraction, involving pain. There is a close relation between pain and the law with which I am dealing. It is the Law of Abstraction which lifts a disciple out of the three worlds of human endeavour; it is this same law which brings about the upward drive which all units of life express and the search of all of them for identification with the ONE; it is with this law that you—along with all disciples—must learn to work.

Discipleship in the New Age, Vol. II , SECTION FOUR – PERSONAL INSTRUCTIONS TO DISCIPLES – Part 11


In these words you have adequate work for the remainder of your life. Approach them with consideration from the angle of personality detachment, from the angle of soul detachment, particularly when the antahkarana can be consciously used. In this way, great divine potencies can be used, and as one abstraction after another is mastered an increasing liberation will be sensed by you. Keep full notes and in a year’s time (if you care to do so) bring these monthly notes all together and write a paper upon the Law of Abstraction as it makes its presence felt in the mind of a typical disciple. This will be of service to you and also to your group brothers.

Discipleship in the New Age, Vol. II , SECTION FOUR – PERSONAL INSTRUCTIONS TO DISCIPLES – Part 11


You can, if you so desire, move forward into a clearer and closer relation to me and to my Ashram. You must, however, bear in mind that every step forward into the light and into a closer relation to the Hierarchy is made under the influence of the Law of Abstraction. Be strong, therefore, and know that the powerful qualities of your second ray soul relate you to D.H.B. and J.S.P. Take them into your daily meditation upon the plane of the soul, and remember that you three form an inner triangle which has certain spiritual activities for an esoteric objective for which this present incarnation is only preparatory.

Discipleship in the New Age, Vol. II , SECTION FOUR – PERSONAL INSTRUCTIONS TO DISCIPLES – Part 11


I have instructed D.I.J. to learn to work with the Law of Abstraction; I tell you to practise a reverse attitude to all life circumstances and contacts and to lose yourself in the interests of your associates and of humanity. Can you do this, my brother? At least you can try.

Discipleship in the New Age, Vol. II , SECTION FOUR – PERSONAL INSTRUCTIONS TO DISCIPLES – Part 12


You are welcome to post your comments and understanding of this law. 

Also see:

The Laws of Alice A. Bailey


2 thoughts on “Law of Abstraction

  1. The author and philosopher Ayn Rand, although very different from Alice A. Bailey, had some interesting things to say about Abstraction:

    “The act of isolation involved [in concept-formation] is a process of abstraction: i.e., a selective mental focus that takes out or separates a certain aspect of reality from all others (e.g., isolates a certain attribute from the entities possessing it, or a certain action from the entities performing it, etc.).”

    “Concept Formation,” Introduction to Objectivist Epistemology, 10

  2. Abstraction in its main sense is a conceptual process by which general rules and concepts are derived from the usage and classification of specific examples, literal (“real” or “concrete”) signifiers, first principles, or other methods. “An abstraction” is the product of this process — a concept that acts as a super-categorical noun for all subordinate concepts, and connects any related concepts as a group, field, or category.[1]

    Conceptual abstractions may be formed by filtering the information content of a concept or an observable phenomenon, selecting only the aspects which are relevant for a particular purpose. For example, abstracting a leather soccer ball to the more general idea of a ball selects only the information on general ball attributes and behavior, eliminating the other characteristics of that particular ball.[1] In a type–token distinction, a type (e.g., a ‘ball’) is more abstract than its tokens (e.g., ‘that leather soccer ball’).

    — Wikipedia

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abstraction

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