Le Château De Liberté in Southern France

Spiritual Retreat of Paul the Venetian, Chohan of the 3rd Ray

In the south of France on the river Rhône is a focus of the flame of liberty and the Château De Liberté retreat presided over by Paul the Venetian, chohan of the third ray. The description of Paul’s retreat contained herein is of the etheric focus, which is congruent with and extends far beyond a physical castle now owned and maintained by a private French family.

Much of the physical surroundings resemble the etheric counterpart; however, the master rarely manifests in the lower octave. The castle itself contains many great works of art and at certain times during the year it is open to the public, even as the great halls in the etheric retreat are open to students of the Venetian who come to study art and culture and the true concepts of liberty.

This vast retreat of the chohan of the third ray lends itself to the function of gallery, museum and archives of art and artifacts from many cultures and civilizations. A Versailles of its own splendor, the retreat contains endless classrooms where great works of art of all ages are displayed. Paintings by Paul, his students and other masters abound.

A Retreat for All the Fine Arts: Music, Writing, Painting & Sculpture

Here workshops for musicians, writers, sculptors, students of voice as well as crafts of all kinds have been held, and ascended masters of all the rays have introduced new techniques in every field of art.

The art of beauty and the art of liberty are everywhere in evidence. When one is present upon its surrounding landscape, one enjoys the rise and fall of the waters from the marble fountains, the musical trills of the birds of multicolored plumage, the water lilies on the ponds, the beautiful and fragrant roses that bedeck the graceful marble columns, and the magnificent statuary from the many centuries past.

Within the walls one is also exposed to an exhibit of the grandeur of expression in sculpture, painting and music—the piano, cello, organ, harp and the caroling of the many voices of the choirs. Those who are accomplished in and are exponents of the fine arts—music, writing, sculpture—frequent the Château as guests to imbibe the radiation of its beauty.

One sees not only the sculpture of genius and hears the music of the spheres, but also the crude attempts of the hopeful amateurs—the timid endeavors of the beginners who have taken their first cautious steps upon the ladder of attainment. It is easy to enjoy the beauty and the fragrance of the flower once its petals are unfolded, but it is the tender shoot first appearing above ground that needs the nourishment of divine love.

 Ascended master Paul the Venetian, chohan of the love ray
Within the Château walls, therefore, the crudest of expressions have an honored place. For to the least of these aspirants, the ascended master Paul extends his loving care, lest their first attempts be shriveled and the bud fall from the stem. Within the circumference of his consciousness, he welcomes all those sons with motives pure; for he considers each man’s heart a “Château de Liberté” within which is enshrined the flame of liberty, pulsating to expand some talent, gift or grace—the individual facet of the God intent for each lifestream.

 

He sees each one’s potential and esteems it his reason for being to help each one refine his crude expressions into beautiful designs—whether in statesmanship, in education, in the fine arts, in science, in medicine, in ministration or in the understanding of pure Truth.

With the dignity and majesty of an ascended master and as host at his retreat, Paul the Venetian greets all these chelas of his heart.

Paul the Venetian’s Painting of the Holy Trinity

Beyond the entrance to the etheric retreat, they enter an expansive hall where they are held spellbound by the radiation from the canvas on the wall ahead. This is Paul’s painting of the Holy Trinity. Its vibrant emanations throughout the entrance chamber inspire in each beholder such reverent awe, he dare not move nor speak for quite some time.

The heavenly Father is portrayed by a majestic figure. The likeness of Jesus depicts the Son, and an impressive white dove with a nine-foot wingspan focuses the Holy Spirit. Begun before his ascension and completed thereafter, this great work of art focuses both dimensions of Paul’s service to the earth.

Beneath the painting Paul inscribed in gold letters, “Perfect love casteth out fear.”

The Retreat’s Room of the Threefold Flame

As they become accustomed to this exalted state, the students move across the tessellated floor and descend the stairs, passing through the corridor that leads to the auditorium known as the Flame Room. The threefold flame of liberty is in the center of the room, focused within a golden chalice. Within the base of the chalice is a concentration of the crystal fire mist, the white light out of which the threefold flame proceeds. The focus of the flame of liberty was brought by the Goddess of Liberty from the Temple of the Sun near what is now Manhattan just before the sinking of Atlantis, when the physical structure of the Temple of the Sun was destroyed by cataclysmic action.

The radiance from the flame renders the room as bright as the sun. Paintings done by Paul depicting the saints and sages of all times grace the circular walls of the room. Devotees enter the Flame Room to pay their respects to the flame and to briefly absorb its pulsations, which expand as the rhythm of a giant heartbeat. The focus is so intense that they are asked to meditate in other rooms of the retreat provided for that purpose. The entire retreat vibrates to the rhythm of the liberty flame.

The fleur-de-lis design that we see in the retreat is the symbol of the threefold flame. It is no mere coincidence that the crowned heads of France adopted this symbol as their emblem, for the real liberty flame blazed upon their native soil.

Beauty As Foundational to the Spiritual Journey

For centuries Paul has felt that beauty is a necessary part of the thought and feeling processes of those who desire spiritual progress, who desire to obtain their freedom and the liberty to do the will of God. He feels that one’s capacity to appreciate eternal beauty is expanded in accordance with one’s adoration to his own God Presence.

Speaking to his chelas, Paul the Venetian said:

“I come as the lord of the third ray of God’s divine love to strengthen the children of God by the power of the Lord’s strengthwherewith he strengthened his prophet of old….

“I would impress upon you the very patterns that issue from the heart of God — patterns that, as floral cups, are made up of the exact geometry that is required to sustain a momentum of love upon the planet in the last days.

“Precious hearts, it is one thing to have in the mind an idea of love, to think of love, to accept love when all is going well; but I would train you to magnetize love as a vortex of pulsating light-essence that is not moved—that cannot be moved—come what may.

“To sustain a focus of love when all the world is confounded by the volleying of their hatreds is the calling of the avatars and of their chelas who count not the cost as they give their all for the salvation of a planet and its people.

“Now then, I would take you into my drill sessions. Yes indeed, we do drill in my retreat. Those of you who think that we spend all our days and nights in painting and sculpture and divine arts must realize that each of the seven rays issues forth from the white-fire core of God’s Being, and in that white-fire core is the full complement of his consciousness. And so, I have an army of beauty-bearers, those who bear the consciousness of beauty to mankind; and they do march in formation and most lovingly come under the disciplines of Serapis Bey. For they see that out from the flaming center of ordered purity comes forth the pattern whereby they can not only precipitate beauty, but they can also release it to mankind and impress it upon the consciousness of the race.

“Patterns of loveliness are the salvation of mankind, for each perfect design that originates as divine blueprint within the fiery center of life and is then embellished by the adoration of the cherubim and the flaming-pink angels presents to the consciousness of mankind a passion for living, for striving and for reaching the ultimate goal of reunion with the God Self….

“In our drill exercises we impress upon the neophytes as well as the advanced disciples in our retreat the necessity of discipline in outpicturing beauty. We drill the mind through meditation upon perfect forms. We drill the emotions of God-control; and we show how each one may command the perfect feelings of God to be the receptacles of God’s light within his consciousness and how he can, in the name of the risen Christ, refuse to admit aught else, especially the teeming emotions of the mass mind.

“This can be done, precious hearts. Do not doubt that you, even in your present state, can rise quickly—no matter what your level of attainment—to greater self-mastery and greater control of the fires of creation. For when you come right down to it, the fires of creativity held within the forcefield of man determine what he can accomplish in his earthly span.

“If you are ready for the disciplines of love, then I invite you to come to France, to the Château de Libertê. Come on wings of song and wings of glory.”1

Calls to Paul the Venetian and the Love Flame of the Heart

Morning Prayer
This is a prayer to expand the heart’s fire can be given in multiples of three.

I AM the light of the heart
Shining in the darkness of being
And changing all into the golden treasury of the mind of Christ!

I AM projecting my love out into the world
To erase all error, to break down all barriers!

I AM the power of Infinite Love
Amplifying itself until it is victorious
World without end!

Evening Prayer to Travel to Paul the Venetian’s Retreat

In preparation for the spiritual tests we face the next day, El Morya invites us to call in the name of our own Christ Self to the seven Chohans of the Rays to invoke their assistance on the path. Ask to be taken to Paul the Venetian’s retreat on Sunday night to prepare for Monday’s tests on the third ray of love. (Attending retreats to prepare for the daily spiritual tests is different than attending the two week University of the Spirit lessons at the chohans’ retreats.)

In the name of the Christ, my own Real Self, I call to the heart of the I AM Presence and to the angel of the Presence to take me in my soul and in my soul consciousness to the retreat of Paul the Venetian in southern France. I ask to receive the instruction of the law of love and to be given the formula for the victory of the love flame within my heart. And I ask that all information necessary to the fulfillment of my divine plan be released to my outer waking consciousness as it is required. I thank thee and I accept this done in the full power of the risen Christ.

Ascended Master Retreats of the Chohans

1. Paul the Venetian, “The Opening of the Temple Doors III,” Pearls of Wisdom®, vol. 16, no. 12, March 25, 1973.