From her traditional British upbringing, Alice Bailey's life led her in many directions, but always towards one destination: to the moment when, through radical personal experiences of many kinds, she acquired a composite view and understanding and an absolute conviction that a divine life permeates and revitalizes humanity, and that the Plan for humanity needs the cooperation and service of trained and dedicated individuals who are informed and intelligent about global affairs, in collaboration with those who make up the spiritual Hierarchy, the inner government of the planet.

The work of her life became an integral part of this synthesis and realization. Without losing any of her human qualities and involvement, her soul assumed the obligation to her Teacher, and her personality provided full cooperation in the field of her accepted service.

Essentially, her work developed in two ways - her service apprenticeship, which included the establishment of an inner school, and her initially reluctant agreement to work with the Tibetan, Djwhal Khul, in writing a series of books that present the next phase in the continuation of the teachings of the Ageless Wisdom for the present and immediate future.

Towards the end of her life, Alice Bailey somewhat reluctantly agreed to write her autobiography. What ultimately prompted her to write about her life was a letter she received in 1941 from a friend, who, as she herself states, was from Scotland, and who felt deeply that "I would offer a real service if I could show people how I became what I am from what I was. It would be helpful for them to know how a fanatical, orthodox Christian worker could become a well-known teacher of the occult."