1 Cosmic Fire Studies: An Academic Approach to the Esoteric Philosophy of Alice A. Bailey by David C. Borsos A Video Poster Presented at The Science of Consciousness Online Conference September 14 – 18, 2020 — Draft Copy with Notes and References — Hello, my name is David Borsos. I’m an independent scholar in Oakland California. Alice Bailey published twenty-four books in the first half of the 20 th century that I believe are among the most important writings available for integrating science, religion, and philosophy. This presentation will first introduce Bailey and her work. It will then focus on her philosophy, which ranges from cosmic levels to the atomic. Next it will discuss her soul-centered psychology and it concludes with several suggestions for approaching her work. Alice Bailey, The Tibetan, and Their Work The details of Bailey’s life are provided in her autobiography. 1 In 1919 she was contacted clairaudiently by one whom she refers to as the Tibetan. He requested that she write some books for the public and eventually she agreed to try this work as an experiment. The experiment was a success and for the next thirty years Alice telepathically received, wrote, and published eighteen books of esoteric philosophy and wrote six books on her own. Together with Roberto Assagioli, an Italian psychiatrist and colleague of both Freud and Jung, Bailey inaugurated the first three years of what came to be known as the Eranos conference, perhaps the first international conference on consciousness studies. Assagioli was one of the founders of transpersonal psychology and one of the few personal students of the Tibetan. 2 Bailey also inspired a proposal for what might have been the first integral studies program at a major university, the University of Pittsburgh in 1953. 3 With respect to psychology, Bailey provided strong foundations for a spiritual psychology by asserting the need for a new scientific psychology that would integrate the existing schools 4 and by publishing two books that offer a soul-centered psychology which connects the human being with the planet and the cosmos. 5 The Tibetan remained anonymous for 24 years until his identity and status as a Master of Wisdom were revealed by accident. 6 A Master of Wisdom basically means that one has passed beyond the state of nirvana and the constraints of human conditioning. 7 Despite this apparently advanced status, however, it’s important to note that the Tibetan is not omniscient by any means but rather has significant limitations. 8