ShinsungHwa: Visualizing Alice A. Bailey’s Spiritual Energy (2019)
What is ShinsungHwa?
ShinsungHwa is a unique form of spiritual art where drawings emerge through spontaneous, flowing movements. Artists tap into their subject’s energy and let Qi(氣) guide their hands, creating geometric patterns that serve as a universal language.
A Brief Explanation of Alice Bailey’s ShinsungHwa
When you look at Alice Bailey’s ShinsungHwa, you’ll notice a ‘symbol of light’ emerging from her head, casting a radiant aura. Above her, the ‘path to the spiritual core’ rises and meets another ‘symbol of light’ at the ‘spiritual core’—a place where spiritual energy and light flow outward together. Under her feet, energy gathers and forms an altar-like shape, standing for the material world.
At each corner of the ShinsungHwa, you can see circular, spinning energy bodies. These seem to represent the masters Alice Bailey communicated with. On her left, there’s one especially bright symbol. It connects to her ‘spiritual core’, chest, navel, hands, feet, and the altar shape below. This energy body likely represents the master who offered her the most direct spiritual support—almost like a guiding presence.
As I was drawing Alice Bailey’s ShinsungHwa and starting to see the outline take shape, my hand suddenly stopped on its own. Without thinking, I put down the pen. My hands began to move, as if guided by something else, and I experienced a kind of energy exchange with Alice Bailey through her ShinsungHwa. This sort of moment sometimes happens when I work, so I just let myself follow it.
The energy exchange went on for over an hour and a half, uninterrupted. It felt like I was receiving her spiritual information directly. Afterward, the meanings behind the various symbols in the ShinsungHwa became much clearer. Experiences like this feel like a blessing that comes with ShinsungHwa. Energy crosses beyond time and space, letting you connect with the spiritual essence a person has built up over a lifetime—while respecting certain limits. This blessing is open to anyone viewing the ShinsungHwa.
Quote
“Let pain bring due reward of light and love.”
— From: “The Labours of Hercules”
“The soul alone, therefore, is immune from illusion.”
— From: “Glamour: A World Problem”
“Let the plan of love and light work out, and may it seal the door where evil dwells.”
— From: “The Great Invocation”
“In silence, in patience, in work without any self-pity or self-interest, the soul grows into its true activity.”
— Paraphrased and combined from multiple works including “Discipleship in the New Age”
“The will to good must flower forth as goodwill.”
— From: “Discipleship in the New Age, Vol. 2”
“The emergence of light is inevitable because it is the nature of the soul.”
— From: “A Treatise on White Magic”
“All disciples are souls in incarnation, and all are governed by the same spiritual laws.”
— From: “Discipleship in the New Age”
“Unity is a spiritual and subjective fact.”
— From: “The Reappearance of the Christ”
The Curious Life of Alice Bailey: A Story of Mystical Messages and Earthly Troubles
Alice Bailey would sit at her desk before dawn each morning, pen in hand, claiming to receive messages from a mysterious teacher in Tibet. This was her daily routine for nearly thirty years. Her story has all the elements you’d expect – spiritual masters, grand visions, and plenty of real-world drama.
Her childhood
Alice Ann La Trobe-Bateman was born on June 16, 1880, in Manchester, England, into a well-to-do family that valued both religion and helping others. But fairy tales often start with tragedy, and Alice’s was no different. By the time she turned eight, both her parents had died from tuberculosis, leaving her and her sister to live with their grandparents in Surrey.
The girls were raised in the strict Victorian manner—governesses, finishing school in London, and lots of lessons about duty to the less fortunate. Alice later described these years as comfortable but lonely, filled with “miserable questioning” and searching for something deeper. Even as a child, she felt there was more to life than what she could see.
The Stranger Who Changed Everything
At eighteen, Alice followed family tradition and joined the Young Women’s Christian Association, eventually traveling to India to preach to British soldiers. It was there she met Walter Evans, an American studying to become an Episcopal priest. They married in 1907, and Alice moved to America, where she settled into the life of a minister’s wife and Bible teacher.
But then something extraordinary happened. One Sunday, while Alice was alone reading, her door opened and a stranger walked in. He wore European clothes with a large turban and spoke calmly about a plan for her life—if she could learn self-control and become more trustworthy. The man promised to check on her progress and then simply walked out.
Alice thought she’d met Jesus Christ himself. Years later, she’d learn this mysterious visitor was supposedly a spiritual teacher called Master Koot Hoomi. Whether you believe in such encounters or not, this moment changed everything for Alice.
Finding Her Voice Through Ancient Wisdom
Life with Walter Evans proved difficult—he had what Alice diplomatically called an “appalling temper”. They divorced in 1919, leaving Alice to raise three daughters alone. During this challenging time, she discovered the writings of Helena Blavatsky, the founder of Theosophy—a movement that blended Eastern spirituality with Western mysticism.
Soon after, Alice claimed another spiritual teacher appeared to her: the Tibetan Master Djwal Khul, or “D.K.”. Starting in 1919, she said D.K. began dictating books to her telepathically. Every morning at 3 AM, Alice would wake up to take these mysterious dictations, then get her daughters ready for school and head off to her regular job.
Over thirty years, this unusual partnership produced 25 books covering everything from meditation and healing to the destiny of nations. Alice called these teachings “Ageless Wisdom”—ancient spiritual knowledge meant for modern times.
Building a Spiritual Empire
Alice wasn’t content to just write books. In 1923, she founded the Arcane School to teach meditation and spiritual development, and World Goodwill to promote international understanding. She also established Lucis Trust, a publishing company that made her teachings available worldwide.
Her most famous creation was “The Great Invocation,” a prayer that begins with “From the point of Light within the Mind of God, let light stream forth into the minds of men”. Alice believed this prayer could help usher in a new spiritual age for humanity.
Working alongside her second husband, Foster Bailey, Alice built a global network of students and centers. She gave lectures, wrote thousands of letters each year, and worked tirelessly to spread her message. Friends said she literally worked herself to death, calling herself part of the “suicide squad” of spiritual servers.
The Shadows Behind the Light
But Alice’s story has a darker side that her followers often prefer to ignore. Critics have pointed out troubling elements in her teachings, particularly regarding race and religion. She wrote about “root races” and human evolution in ways that some scholars say echo racist ideologies.
Her attitude toward Judaism proved especially controversial. Alice spoke of the need to “cleanse” Christianity of its Jewish heritage and criticized what she saw as Jewish separateness. Researchers like Yonassan Gershom have argued that her teachings contain antisemitic elements disguised as spiritual wisdom.
Alice also promoted the idea of a coming “New World Order” guided by spiritual masters—language that has since been twisted by conspiracy theorists. While she claimed to oppose fascism and defend Jewish rights during World War II, her writings about eliminating certain religious traditions raise uncomfortable questions.
Complex Legacy
Alice Bailey died on December 15, 1949, leaving behind a complex legacy. Her followers see her as the mother of the New Age movement, someone who made ancient wisdom accessible to modern seekers. Her books continue to be read worldwide, and her organizations still operate today.
Yet the controversies surrounding her teachings refuse to fade. Academic scholars have begun examining her work more critically, questioning both her spiritual claims and the social implications of her ideas. Some see her as a visionary who helped bridge Eastern and Western spirituality; others view her as a product of her time whose prejudices undermined her message.
Perhaps the most honest assessment is that Alice Bailey was a complicated person who lived in complicated times. She genuinely believed she was receiving divine guidance, yet her human limitations—including the prejudices of her era—colored everything she wrote. Her story reminds us that spiritual teachers, like everyone else, are shaped by their circumstances and carry their own shadows alongside their light.
Whether you see Alice Bailey as a mystical messenger or a misguided mystic, her influence on modern spirituality cannot be denied. She gave the world the term “New Age” and helped countless people explore questions of meaning and purpose. But she also showed us how even the most well-intentioned spiritual movements can carry the seeds of division and intolerance.
In the end, Alice Bailey’s greatest teaching might be an unintended one: that we must approach all spiritual wisdom—no matter how elevated its source claims to be—with both an open heart and a critical mind.
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