Other Tongues

Other  Tongues

Martin Cecil   August 18, 1974

There is considerable evidence of the movement of the creative spirit of the living God,

bringing something new to birth through the conscious minds of many people.

As we sit together this evening do you hear the sound of angels' wings?

These are not just fanciful words;

they're a means of conveying an awareness consequent upon the movement of the Spirit of God.

That movement brings a consciousness of being a part of the Hosts of Heaven,

no longer restricted to the evident limitations of human beings on earth.

It is most essential that we should experience the feel of it. The mind tends to scoff, or if it doesn't scoff it wants to get in on the act with its self-centered trying to be something. The conscious mind of human beings uses human beings. We may see quite easily how this is happening everywhere in the world. Human beings try to use each other, and all this using business is based in the fact that the mind uses human beings. In the conscious mind an image is built of what the person is supposed to be, according to this conscious-mind view. The mind does this to us; it creates a false image, an idol. In the general sense, human beings accept this as what they are and the mind rules.

We have the opportunity of rising up out of this subservient condition, and begin to sense the truth that we are living, breathing beings, part of the living God. And this truth is not in the least dependent upon external appearances; this truth of ourselves is not dependent upon the shape of our bodies or the age of our bodies, the extent of mental development, or any of the usual things that are assumed to identify us in the human world. We begin to emerge out of that trap into a realm of freedom.

The truth makes free, but in order to allow the truth to make free we must know it—otherwise we cannot experience the freedom. We must know the truth, not just something about it. It isn't a matter of building peculiar concepts; no matter how accurate a model of the truth our concept may be, it's still a model. It's not the truth, and the model doesn't free us. It is knowing the truth that allows the truth to make us free.

We find ourselves voluntarily functioning in the world in rather restricted conditions, but this in no sense need restrict us. Our experience of ourselves transcends the apparent restrictions. And what is true is born in the moment into conscious expression in our living. This birth which takes place brings with it the creative power of change—of resurrection.

This morning mention was made of the outpouring of the spirit—mention was made of Father, Son and Holy Ghost. These are terms which have particular relatedness to the Christian world, presumably, but the truth is certainly not limited to the Christian world. Power, the creative power which changes things, which permits the resurrection, comes by reason of the Holy Ghost—the Spirit of Truth—the Spirit of Truth which provides what is necessary in the creative working of the human machinery.

We have seen it relative to what have been called the subconscious aspect of the mind. There is much to be known. Some have thought the truth was known in a blinding flash. “Now I am illuminated,” the individual might say But the illumination is of the moment—the truth of the moment is known. That's all that needs to be known; that's all we actually have capacity to know. We live in the moment and the truth is to be born in the moment in the conscious expression of life. This is the transmutation of water into wine—a miracle. But, as we have noted, the miracle is merely the natural happening. The lack of miracles in human experience is evidence of unnatural happenings, the unnatural happenings which are of a very plodding and heavy nature. “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden.”

This is the human state where there are no miracles—a very limited, restricted, unnatural state of affairs. Those functioning in that state, looking at the natural state, to the extent that they might be able to see it—which in any case is very little—say, “There is a miracle.” The miracles of Jesus are emphasized as being so rare and so exceptional and so apparently impossible. This simply gives evidence of how far the natural state has receded from human experience. So, power comes because of the Holy Ghost, the Spirit of Truth.

It is recorded that our Master said He had yet many things to say unto His disciples, but they couldn't bear it. “Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth.” There are some who have been inclined to imagine that the last word has been spoken and is all recorded in the Bible. What, then, about the things which Jesus could not say when He was on earth but which would be known by reason of the Spirit of Truth? There is much more to be known, much more to be experienced, than is written in the Bible. This does not detract from the value of what is written in the Bible or in various other scriptural writings, but the truth is open-ended. It certainly hasn't all been said yet; it hasn't all been known. If it had, what would we do for the rest of eternity?

This morning, because there have been those who have permitted a continuing experience of the truth in whatever measure in their daily living, so that they were capable of tarrying in Jerusalem, as it has been put, we were able to come together in an upper room, a higher level of consciousness and understanding, to be with one accord in one place. Because of this, there was the experience of the spirit moving. That was described as a mighty, rushing wind, a sound that was heard like that, which filled the whole house where they were sitting—and I think there was something of the sort here this morning. The sound may have related to spoken words, amongst other things, but all spoken words are consequent upon the controlled breath, aren't they?—the movement of air. There was the movement of the air of the spirit in the experience of those who were present, and a sense of delight, a sense of intensity, of zeal perhaps, of fire, an awareness of something moving in the heart, a consciousness of love, of oneness.

“And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost”—the Spirit of Truth which was with you and also came to be in you. “And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.” We have before considered this matter of other tongues, relinquishing some of the peculiar concepts that have been developed along these lines. When you reach into your grab bag of concepts, on the basis of your conscious mind, you bring out something that is more or less predictable. And we noted this with respect to those who may perhaps ask questions, seeking to have their needs filled.

Human beings everywhere are asking questions, being very conscious of their needs, of their emptiness, and looking for someone to fill them. Not necessarily are the needs looked upon as being spiritual needs. The need may be simply to go to the medical doctor and get a pill. People are looking for things with which to occupy themselves in various ways to fill the void. Those who are successful in the self-centered pattern are those who find ways and means of filling the needs that other people think they have. And people are willing to pay for that—concepts are hauled up out of the grab bag and those who have ingenious minds get them fitted together in a certain way and, lo and behold, here's the thing that is going to fill somebody's needs! People are fooled along these lines and imagine their needs are going to be filled that way.

Now that is the pattern of the usual tongue. This is what happens in the world; and, even coming into the realm of our own experience with respect to spiritual things, I'm sure that all of you have had experience in this endeavor to find a suitable concept to satisfy the mind of someone who comes to you seeking an answer. After all, you have the answer! Some of you have read a great deal of literature—you have the answers, so that you may look down your file and say, “Ah, here's the answer to this question,” and you hand it over. But it never is. It may seem to satisfy the individual for the moment, because he only had a concept as to what his question was, and so another concept may satisfy that concept. But it doesn't answer the question really—the true question that is present in that person, not the way he misinterpreted it. To answer the question truly, you must speak with other tongues.

What is born through your consciousness must come as the spirit gives it utterance, not as the mind, looking things over and deciding that it should be this way or that way, then provides a mental answer. That is the old tongue. But there are other tongues—the tongues which provide what is right and fitting in expression as the spirit gives utterance.

The Spirit of Truth guides into all truth, and all truth is quite a package, one would suppose, so it might even take eternity to experience it. And that's the truth! So it isn't all truth at once; it is truth in the moment, the truth that should be born into your living expression in the moment. The moment is all you have; you never have more than a moment, so why would you need more than can be born in that moment? This gives indication of the naturalness of patience.

When there is a tranquility of mind, a serenity of attitude, so that your mind is no longer in charge of the game, then the Spirit of Truth can begin to assume control. But the Spirit of Truth must have something to work with. We should have very much available for the Spirit of Truth to work with. Those of you who have attended Class know that one of the first things to be considered is the matter of the movement of the mind, the working of the mind, in the analogy of the water wheel. The water pours over the water wheel and the water wheel turns; that's the way it should work. It shouldn't be cranked around. In its turning it lifts up out of the cistern of the subconscious what is fitting for the expression of the moment, and it is that which is born into the conscious expression of the individual's life, rightly. It is born in each moment, springing forth eternally—all truth.

Of course, you may not have this same equipment eternally for your use, but at the moment that's beside the point. This is the present experience—the equipment is here; the mind is present and capable of being operated in the way that it was designed to be operated. It will move this way quite naturally when allowed to do so. The main sticker is the conscious mind which has become accustomed to ruling the roost and is reluctant to relinquish its authority. It is inclined to think that it knows best, and it's done a good job of convincing people that this is so, when it isn't. This is not the purpose of the conscious mind. The conscious mind is the facility through which the birth into the expression of life occurs. It is the only way you can live. If you try to make it work some other way you find yourself a dying soul and your experience of yourself in season will be a dead soul. That's not much of an experience.

The living soul is known when life is being born through the Son level of consciousness into expression on earth. And that birth comes by reason of the Father level of consciousness—which is there in any case, and no human being can touch it or change it—and also the Holy Ghost level of consciousness. Here in simplified terms is the equipment by which the living soul experience may be known. The Spirit of Truth is available, first of all because the Spirit of Truth is with you—external to you. It must be external to you before it can be internal to you. But the purpose of it being external to you first is that it should be internal to you. The purpose isn't that it should be kept external to you forever, although this is attempted by some who try to get external Spirit of Truth to tell them what to do. Well, external Spirit of Truth is not interested in that at all—that's not the purpose.

This occurred in relationship to Jesus when He was on earth. His disciples kept looking at Him. He had all the answers. They didn't need to have any of the answers because He had them all—He could give them, so they didn't need to bother. It was expedient for them that He went away, so that internal Spirit of Truth might be experienced. External Spirit of Truth had been with them in the person of Jesus—it continued to be with them in the person of the disciple John, but they failed to recognize that, even though there was a beginning of the experience of internal Spirit of Truth. Our concern is to be guided into all truth—not a blinding flash of truth in the moment but whatever the truth is that should be born in the moment, which is a very little thing if we see it relative to all truth. But if we let it be born in every moment and we go on letting it be born in every moment, then eventually it will be all truth. How long that eventually may be is another question. But this is the way it works. And we see the equipment for this creative process as being available to us and we begin to sense and feel its working.

We can't look at these principles and say, “Well, now, there should be something coming down from the Father consciousness and there should be something coming up from the Holy Ghost consciousness, and they'll get together here in my conscious mind and then I'll know.” No. We may be aware of the principles—let them rest where they belong. We don't have to worry about them; they're not going to change. They're still there even though they're in storage. There is the necessity of finding the feel of movement in this creative process. And we have guidance in this regard, guidance which allows the birth of an increased expression of life in each moment. That guidance comes partly externally, but increasingly internally. The provision is made externally for you and you properly make it for others. You can only make it for others to the extent that it is internal to you. If it's internal to you it can be external to somebody else. And when this works as it should, you're not struggling to find some concept to give to somebody to make you look as though you were wise.

You allow what is fitting to be born through you in the moment and it may possibly look foolish. It may look foolish to that wise creature, the conscious mind, because it thinks it knows when it doesn't. But you will find that what is expressed will fill the need, the real need, not the assumed need. The individual to whom you are giving the truth in this way may not be satisfied. You're not trying to satisfy that person anyway. All you are doing is providing what you may to assist the Holy Ghost to come upon that person, or to assist that individual to be willing to let it happen. You're not a celestial cow which may be milked periodically by those who want answers, so that they never need to discover the truth for themselves; they can always come to you to get a quart of milk. That isn't the way. What you provide you know,if you are functioning correctly, is what is required. The other person perhaps won't 

Most people have rather fixed ideas as to how the answer should come. If it doesn't come in the way that they think it should, they think the answer hasn't been given and they go away dissatisfied. But maybe somewhere along the way they'll suddenly awaken to the fact that the answer was given. You may have had the experience yourself. You didn't see it at the time, but then later there it was.

And also, from the standpoint of allowing this process of birth to take place through you, you provide things for people in other tongues, tongues which you may not know. You may have had someone come to you who had met you sometime in the poast, and they will say, "Well, you said something to me that stayed with me to this day," and you haven't the faintest idea as to what you said. But if the spirit gave utterance it was what was required. It hits home with the person if that person is open to receive it. Very often people receive it on the side, so to speak. You're not actually giving anything to that person; you're giving it to somebody else, but it slips in on that person. The person you're giving it to may receive refuse to receive it, but somebody else does. So, there are many other tongues, many ways by which this creative process works when the spirit gives utterance. Some of that utterance we understand. We know what is happening with respect to such and such a person perhaps, but we don't know what's happening in other realms where the particular tongue one was speaking to this person is another tongue to somebody else.

Now I'm speaking to all of you and each one hears in his own particular language, and yet what I'm saying is the same, in appearance, for everyone. But there is something more than the appearance, obviously, because it comes out differently for everyone and yet the same truth. We learn to allow this birth to take place, moment by moment. And the spirit gives utterance. The expression is of the spirit. And because it is that, it is powerful. It goes forth and achieves that whereunto it is sent. So here is a change from the expression of the liar—that is, the conscious mind on its own—to the expression of the spirit. And immediately the experience is a creative one, the outpouring of the spirit; the Holy Ghost is come upon you and you receive power. And that power relates to Cause insofar as your field of responsibility is concerned, where the effects appear.

This evening we have moved again in a cycle of meditation together to the extent that we have allowed ourselves to be moved by the creative spirit of the living God, to the extent that we have not been holding on to the crank of our mental processes, so that they can work as they were created to work and so that we may share in the unified movement of the creative spirit of the living God moving through all of us because we are with one accord in one place. As this is so—to the extent that it is so—the spirit gives utterance through each consciousness, the essential tongues are being used, and the creative power reaches forth into open and yielded hearts and minds everywhere on the face of the earth. Then, when we see that what goes forth does not return void—when we see what comes back by reason of what has gone forth of the increased expression of the truth of life—it is cause for joy unspeakable. It may be that tears come to our eyes—nothing wrong with that—tears of joy, the movement of the spirit of God known and experienced.

And we have an increasing feel of it; we have the feel of it not only with respect to our immediate circumstance but we have the feel of it with respect to the world. We do not segregate the immediate circumstance from the world. We do not segregate portions of our circumstance from other portions of our circumstance. It is you that provide the continuity.

Only when you judge by the appearance do you see walls and barriers between everything—fences. But there is no fence when you are giving expression to the Truth of Life, because this occurs regardless of the circumstance. The circumstance doesn't matter. There are some people who moan and say, “Oh, you should live where I live. You'd never be able to stay properly centered there—all these things coming at me all the time.” Well, people like to indulge in a little self-pity. How about indulging in the Truth, because the Spirit of Truth is present, wherever you are. That's the point!—wherever you are. And so, wherever you are the Truth of Life can be born through you. It doesn't matter where. It doesn't matter what the circumstance is, it can still be born through you—and it will be born in that circumstance in a way that is fitting. What I may express in a service here is not what I would express in Denver! But there is something to be born there just as much as there is something to be born here, and when the spirit gives utterance it will be fitting to the circumstance.

How beautiful to let it be so, to let the spirit give utterance because the conscious mind has resigned from its position of supposed authority. And it becomes the Son, by means of which the evidence of the Father is made known on earth. So, once again we've shared this time in the current of the spirit, with one accord in one place—living, breathing beings part of the living God.

© emissaries of divine light