The Integration of Matter and Spirit Initiation taught in the Ascension Healing Course aims to unify the consciousness that a person has of his corporeal part with his spiritual part. This initiation helps us understand that the physical body, like the other subtle bodies, is also a divine manifestation, and that we are owed the same respect that we owe the divine in general.
This understanding becomes especially important for those who are on a path of spiritual seeking and who sometimes, in considering only the spiritual part, devote less care to their physical body on the grounds that it is perishable but the other subtle bodies are not. Indeed, the physical body is perishable and lasts only for one incarnation but, despite this fact, it should not be despised since it serves as a vehicle for our Soul here in matter to manifest itself and it is through it that our Soul experiences matter and evolves.
Just as male and female are only different manifestations of God, so body and spirit are only different manifestations of God. Spirit and matter are not opposites but complementary to each other like the north and south poles of a magnet. When a person holds the belief that spirit and matter are two opposite realities, he will also tend to believe that Soul is pure and matter will be impure. Such thought derives from centuries of Judaeo-Christian tradition where one bets on the mortification of the flesh in favour of its submission to the will of the Soul.
There are two fundamental aspects to creation. The first aspect is called the inhalation of God which represents the ascent from matter to spiritual nature, in essence, the realization that man needs to realize the spiritual part for his material life to become meaningful. The second aspect is called the exhalation of God and consists in the descent of the Soul into matter to experience through it the values that characterize the Soul.
Some people, so-called materialists, consciously or unconsciously feel a sense of inner emptiness that comes from their resistance to accepting reality and its spiritual nature. Other people, called spiritualized, find it very difficult to adapt to life in matter and integrate their spirituality into their daily lives. Some of these people who are on the path of spiritual evolution, have difficulty in accepting their temporary stay on Earth and wish as soon as possible to return to the higher dimensions, where according to them, they would feel at home. However, neither the so-called materialistic nor the so-called spiritualized people are succeeding in fulfilling the purpose of Soul which is the integration of Soul with matter. The spiritualized person can enjoy all experiences in matter without becoming attached to them (vide the Law of Non-attachment) and at the same time, not to feel unhappy and wishing all the time to go back “home” since the “home” of this person is his own Soul and this one has no need to feel at “home” only in the higher dimensions.